Conectar
by Daiane Rubinato Fernandes, Bruna Nogueira dos Santos, Carolina Scoqui Guimarães, Elaine Barros Ferreira, Amanda Salles Margatho, Paula Elaine Diniz dos Reis, Didier Pittet, Renata Cristina de Campos Pereira Silveira
AimTo gather available scientific evidence on technologies used to teach hand hygiene to professional populations and lays involved in health care in the hospital setting. This systematic review was designed as proposed by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis, included studies reporting primary, original, quantitative research findings with no date limit and written in English, Spanish or Portuguese. The search was performed in the following electronic databases: Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Excerpta Medica dataBASE, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde, US National Library of Medicine, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and ProQuest. The eligibility criteria were applied independently by two reviewers to select the studies, first by reading the titles and abstracts on the Rayyan platform and then by full text reading of the eligible studies. After a descriptive analysis, the studies were subjected to critical evaluation of their methodological quality using JBI tools.
ResultsSeven studies were included, addressing various methods for teaching hand hygiene using different technological resources, such as audiovisual electronic devices, videos, virtual reality, and gamification using tablets and smartphones, in different populations.
ConclusionUsing technologies to teach hand hygiene considerably helps patients, visitors, and relatives in learning the procedures and efficiently improves hand hygiene compliance rates among healthcare professionals, creating evidence-based repetitive learning opportunities for patients and caregivers.
by Giovanna Angela Leonel Oliveira, Vivian Siqueira Santos Gonçalves, Eduardo Yoshio Nakano, Natacha Toral
BackgroundConsumption of ultra-processed foods and low dietary diversity are risk factors for chronic diseases.
AimTo evaluate the association between food consumption and sedentary and unhealthy eating behaviors of Brazilian schoolchildren between 6 and 11 years old.
MethodsCross-sectional study. A prevalence sample was calculated considering the number of children enrolled in elementary school. This sample was distributed proportionally to Brazil’s macro-regions and the type of school (public or private). The questionnaire was developed in Google Forms and disseminated through the snowball technique. The questionnaire was filled in by the children’s parents, with information about the child’s identification and health. Afterward, the child completed a questionnaire by her/himself. We used the previously validated Illustrated Questionnaire on Food Consumption for Brazilian Schoolchildren and the Illustrated Questionnaire on Eating and Sedentary Behaviors. Food consumption was analyzed using the NOVA score and the dietary diversity score. Poisson’s regression with robust variance was performed (p Results
The study included 2,021 dyads. Of these, 27.6% of children reported eating five or more ultra-processed foods and 39.0% four or fewer natural or staple foods the previous day. Using screens, proxy of sedentary behavior (Prevalence Ratio–PR = 1.8, Confidence Interval–CI95%1.2–2.8) and eating at irregular hours (PR = 1.6, CI95%1.2–2.2) were risk factors for high consumption of ultra-processed foods and low dietary diversity in schoolchildren. In addition, eating the three main meals on the previous day (PR = 0.6, CI95%0.4–0.8) was identified as protective factors against the consumption of ultra-processed foods and in favor of dietary diversity among schoolchildren.
ConclusionSedentary and unhealthy eating behaviors were associated with the consumption of ultra-processed foods and low dietary diversity in Brazilian schoolchildren.
by Baoli Xie, Ming Liao, Yingqin Huang, Fu Hang, Nana Ma, Qianwen Hu, Jiawei Wang, Yufu Jin, Aiping Qin
Endometriosis is a multifactorial disease associated with inflammation. Vitamin D has anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, anti-oxidative, and immunomodulatory effects. Whether vitamin D levels are correlated with endometriosis is a subject of ongoing debate. This study aimed to examine the association between endometriosis and serum vitamin D levels. From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, this study examined the cross-sectional data of American women aged 20–54 years from 2001 to 2006. After adjusting for covariates, multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess correlations. A total of 3,232 women were included in this study. The multiple linear regression model demonstrated a negative correlation between the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) concentration and the risk of endometriosis after controlling for all confounding variables. The odds ratio was 0.73 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.54–0.97 in the adequate vitamin D level group compared with the insufficient vitamin D level group. Our results showed that endometriosis was inversely correlated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels. Further research is needed to establish a causal relationship and determine the potential benefits of maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels for endometriosis prevention.Longitudinal studies can provide timely and accurate information to evaluate and inform COVID-19 control and mitigation strategies and future pandemic preparedness. The Optimise Study is a multidisciplinary research platform established in the Australian state of Victoria in September 2020 to collect epidemiological, social, psychological and behavioural data from priority populations. It aims to understand changing public attitudes, behaviours and experiences of COVID-19 and inform epidemic modelling and support responsive government policy.
This protocol paper describes the data collection procedures for the Optimise Study, an ongoing longitudinal cohort of ~1000 Victorian adults and their social networks. Participants are recruited using snowball sampling with a set of seeds and two waves of snowball recruitment. Seeds are purposively selected from priority groups, including recent COVID-19 cases and close contacts and people at heightened risk of infection and/or adverse outcomes of COVID-19 infection and/or public health measures. Participants complete a schedule of monthly quantitative surveys and daily diaries for up to 24 months, plus additional surveys annually for up to 48 months. Cohort participants are recruited for qualitative interviews at key time points to enable in-depth exploration of people’s lived experiences. Separately, community representatives are invited to participate in community engagement groups, which review and interpret research findings to inform policy and practice recommendations.
The Optimise longitudinal cohort and qualitative interviews are approved by the Alfred Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (# 333/20). The Optimise Study CEG is approved by the La Trobe University Human Ethics Committee (# HEC20532). All participants provide informed verbal consent to enter the cohort, with additional consent provided prior to any of the sub studies. Study findings will be disseminated through public website (https://optimisecovid.com.au/study-findings/) and through peer-reviewed publications.
Detailed simulation models are needed to assess strategies for prevention and treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the world’s leading cause of liver disease. We sought to develop and validate a simulation model of chronic HBV that incorporates virological, serological and clinical outcomes.
We developed a novel Monte Carlo simulation model (the HEPA-B Model) detailing the natural history of chronic HBV. We parameterised the model with epidemiological data from the Western Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa. We simulated the evolution of HBV DNA, ‘e’ antigen (HBeAg) and surface antigen (HBsAg). We projected incidence of HBeAg loss, HBsAg loss, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and death over 10-year and lifetime horizons. We stratified outcomes by five HBV DNA categories at the time of HBeAg loss, ranging from HBV DNA106 copies/mL. We tested goodness of fit using intraclass coefficients (ICC).
Model-projected incidence of HBeAg loss was 5.18% per year over lifetime (ICC, 0.969 (95% CI: 0.728 to 0.990)). For people in HBeAg-negative phases of infection, model-projected HBsAg loss ranged from 0.78% to 3.34% per year depending on HBV DNA level (ICC, 0.889 (95% CI: 0.542 to 0.959)). Model-projected incidence of cirrhosis was 0.29–2.09% per year (ICC, 0.965 (95% CI: 0.942 to 0.979)) and HCC incidence was 0.06–1.65% per year (ICC, 0.977 (95% CI: 0.962 to 0.986)). Over a lifetime simulation of HBV disease, mortality rates were higher for people with older age, higher HBV DNA level and liver-related complications, consistent with observational studies.
We simulated HBV DNA-stratified clinical outcomes with the novel HEPA-B Model and validated them to observational data. This model can be used to examine strategies of HBV prevention and management.
Wound infections and delayed complications after caesarean section surgical procedure to mothers would have a prevalence of discomfort, stress and dissatisfaction in the postpartum period. In this report, one-pot synthesis is used for the preparation of chitosan (CS)-based copper nanoparticles (nCu), which was used for the preparation of zinc oxide (ZnO) hydrogel as wound dressing materials after surgery. The antibacterial activity of (CS-nCu/ZnO) developed hydrogels was studied zone of inhibition, against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The antibacterial activity of the CS-nCu/ZnO hydrogel demonstrated that nanoformulated hydrogel materials have provided excellent bactericidal action against clinically approved bacterial pathogens. The biocompatibility and in vitro wound healing potential of the developed wound closure materials were studied by MTT assay and wound scratch assay methods, respectively. The MTT assay and cell migration assay results demonstrated that CS-nCu/ZnO hydrogel material induces cell compatibility and effective cell proliferation ability. These findings suggest that the CS-nCu/ZnO hydrogel outperforms CS-ZnO in terms of wound healing and could be used as a wound closure material in caesarean section wound treatment.
To date, we have reviewed the synthesis literature critically through four databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. Eight relevant studies were examined after compliance with the criteria for inclusion and exclusion, as well as documentation quality evaluation. This report covered all randomised, controlled studies of total hip arthroplasty (THA) comparing the direct anterior approach (DAA) with the postero-lateral approach (PLA). The main result was surgical site infection rate. The secondary results were duration of the operation, length of the incision and VAS score after surgery. The results of the meta-analyses of wound infections in the present trial did not show any statistically significant difference in DAA versus PLA (between DAA and PLA) (OR = 1.42, 95%CI: 0.5 to 4.04, p = 0.51). Compared with PLA, DAA had shorter surgical incision (WMD = −3.2, 95%CI: −4.00 to −2.41; p < 0.001) and longer operative times(WMD = 14. 67, 95%CI: 9.24 to 20.09; p < 0.001). Postoperative VAS scores were markedly lower in DAA compared with PLA within 6 weeks of surgery (p < 0.05), with low heterogeneities(I 2 = 0). We found that DAA did not differ significantly from PLA in terms of the risk of wound infection for THA and that the surgical incisions was shorter and less postoperative pain after surgery, even though DAA surgery takes longer.
by Maciej Koscielniak, Dorota Marciniak, Dariusz Doliński
Previous laboratory and field studies have demonstrated that the dishonesty of commercial transaction participants may depend on subtle cues. In this field study conducted on a sample of 216 shop assistants in Poland, we planned to demonstrate that coronavirus disease-related factors could result in an increased propensity for dishonesty among shop assistants. This investigation is unique in its application of social psychological theories to illuminate hitherto unexplored side effects of combating the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Our supposition was that the potential detriment encountered by individuals wearing solid surgical masks would involve being viewed as more abstract and remote, thereby heightening the likelihood of being deceived by a vendor. Moreover, we examined the potential relationship between the limited number of customers in retail establishments (related to pandemic restrictions) and the unscrupulous practices of sellers—specifically the act of retaining change. The effect of wearing masks was statistically non-significant, whereas the impact of other customers’ absence was significant. Moreover, unexpected results related to transaction parties’ genders were obtained, showing that shop assistants tended to be more honest when dealing with customers of the same gender. The results are discussed in the context of empathy toward masked customers, self-awareness theory, social norms of honesty, and identification with gender groups.Complex, chronic or hard-to-heal wounds are a prevalent health problem worldwide, with significant physical, psychological and social consequences. This study aims to identify factors associated with the healing process of these wounds and develop a mobile application for wound care that incorporates these factors. A prospective multicentre cohort study was conducted in nine health units in Portugal, involving data collection through a mobile application by nurses from April to October 2022. The study followed 46 patients with 57 wounds for up to 5 weeks, conducting six evaluations. Healing time was the main outcome measure, analysed using the Mann–Whitney test and three Cox regression models to calculate risk ratios. The study sample comprised various wound types, with pressure ulcers being the most common (61.4%), followed by venous leg ulcers (17.5%) and diabetic foot ulcers (8.8%). Factors that were found to impair the wound healing process included chronic kidney disease (U = 13.50; p = 0.046), obesity (U = 18.0; p = 0.021), non-adherence to treatment (U = 1.0; p = 0.029) and interference of the wound with daily routines (U = 11.0; p = 0.028). Risk factors for delayed healing over time were identified as bone involvement (RR 3.91; p < 0.001), presence of odour (RR 3.36; p = 0.007), presence of neuropathy (RR 2.49; p = 0.002), use of anti-inflammatory drugs (RR 2.45; p = 0.011), stalled wound (RR 2.26; p = 0.022), greater width (RR 2.03; p = 0.002), greater depth (RR 1.72; p = 0.036) and a high score on the healing scale (RR 1.21; p = 0.001). Integrating the identified risk factors for delayed healing into the assessment of patients and incorporating them into a mobile application can enhance decision-making in wound care.
by Jason Lang, Georgia Wylie, Caroline Haig, Christopher Gillberg, Helen Minnis
BackgroundChildren’s health services in many countries are moving from single condition diagnostic silo assessments to considering neurodevelopment in a more holistic sense. There has been increasing recognition of the importance of clinical overlap and co-occurrence of different neurotypes when assessing neurodivergent children. Using a cross-sectional service evaluation design, we investigated the overlap of neurodivergences in a cohort of children referred for autism assessment, focusing on motor, learning, and attention/activity level domains. We aimed to determine what proportion of children in a cohort referred for an autism assessment showed traits of additional neurodivergences, and what proportion were further investigated.
MethodsWe evaluated anonymised medical records of children aged between two and 17 years referred for autism assessment. We used validated questionnaires to assess for neurodivergent traits. A weighted scoring system was developed to determine traits in each neurodevelopmental domain and a score above the median was considered to indicate a neurodivergent trait. Evidence of further investigations were recorded. We then examined the relationships between autism traits and traits of additional neurodivergence.
Results114 participants were included for evaluation. 62.3% (n = 71) had completed questionnaires for analysis. Of these, 71.8% (n = 51) scored greater than the median for at least one additional neurotype, indicating the presence of other neurodivergent traits, and 88.7% (n = 64) attracted a diagnosis of autism. Only 26.3% of children with evidence of additional neurotypes were further investigated beyond their autism assessment.
ConclusionsOur results demonstrate the extensive overlap between additional neurodivergent traits in a population of children referred with suspected autism and show that only a small proportion were further investigated. The use of standardised questionnaires to uncover additional neurodivergences may have utility in improving the holistic nature of neurodevelopmental assessments.
by Alexandre Perret, Marion Le Marechal, Raphaele Germi, Daniele Maubon, Cécile Garnaud, Johan Noble, Aude Boignard, Loïc Falque, Mathieu Meunier, Théophile Gerster, Olivier Epaulard
ObjectivesCytomegalovirus (CMV) is frequently detected in lung and/or blood samples of patients with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP), although this co-detection is not precisely understood. We aimed to determine whether PJP was more severe in case of CMV detection.
MethodsWe retrospectively included all patients with a diagnosis of PJP between 2009 and 2020 in our centre and with a measure of CMV viral load in blood and/or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). PJP severity was assessed by the requirement for intensive care unit (ICU) admission.
ResultsThe median age of the 249 patients was 63 [IQR: 53–73] years. The main conditions were haematological malignancies (44.2%), solid organ transplantations (16.5%), and solid organ cancers (8.8%). Overall, 36.5% patients were admitted to ICU. CMV was detected in BAL in 57/227 patients; the 37 patients with viral load ≥3 log copies/mL were more frequently admitted to ICU (78.4% vs 28.4%, p Conclusions
PJP is more severe in the case of concomitant CMV detection. This may reflect either the deleterious role of CMV itself, which may require antiviral therapy, or the fact that patients with CMV reactivation are even more immunocompromised.
by Caroline Schon, Amanda Felismino, Joceline de Sá, Renata Corte, Tatiana Ribeiro, Selma Bruno
The acute myocardial infarction (AMI) present high mortality rate that may be reduced with cardiac rehabilitation. Despite its good establishment in outpatient care, few studies analyzed cardiac rehabilitation during hospitalization. Thus, this study aims to clarify the safety and efficacy of early cardiac rehabilitation after AMI. This will be a clinical, controlled, randomized trial with blind outcome evaluation and a superiority hypothesis. Twenty-four patients with AMI will be divided into two groups (1:1 allocation ratio). The intervention group will receive an individualized exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation protocol during hospitalization and a semi-supervised protocol after hospital discharge; the control group will receive conventional care. The primary outcomes will be the cardiac remodeling assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, functional capacity assessed by maximal oxygen consumption, and cardiac autonomic balance examined via heart rate variability. Secondary outcomes will include safety and the total exercise dose provided during the protocol. Statistical analysis will consider the intent-to-treat analysis. Trial registration. Trial registration number: Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) (RBR- 9nyx8hb).To explore challenges in everyday life for people with long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19 and whether a rehabilitation programme contributed to the remedy thereof.
Healthcare systems around the world need knowledge about acute COVID-19 treatment, long-term effects exerting an impact on peoples' everyday lives, and how to remedy these.
This is a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach.
Twelve people with long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19 participated in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme. Individual semi-structured interviews were made. Data were analysed thematically.
Three themes and eight sub-themes emerged with respect to everyday life challenges and experiences of the rehabilitation programme. The themes were (1) Personal insight and knowledge, (2) Changed daily routines at home and (3) Coping with working life.
Participants experienced long-term effects of COVID-19 as cognitive challenges, fatigue and headaches, which affected their everyday lives, that is inability to overcome daily tasks at home and at work, maintaining family roles and relations with relatives. The rehabilitation programme contributed to a vocabulary and insights related to the long-term effects of COVID-19 and the experience of being a different person. The programme contributed to changes in daily routines, organising breaks in everyday life and explaining challenges to family/relatives and the way in which they affected daily routines and their role in the family. In addition, the programme supported several of the participants in finding the right workload and working hours.
We recommend multidisciplinary rehabilitation programmes inspired by cognitive remediation of long-term COVID-19 cognitive effects. Municipalities and organisations could collaborate in the development and completion of such programmes, possibly comprising both virtual and physical elements. This could facilitate access and reduce costs.
Patients contributed to the conduct of the study by participating in the data collection via interviews.
Data collection and processing of data are approved by the Region of Southern Denmark (journal number: 20/46585).
This paper aims to: (a) determine the personal, sociodemographic, clinical, behavioural, and social characteristics of older Brazilians with clinical evidence of long COVID; (b) evaluate perceived quality of life and determine its association with personal, sociodemographic, behavioural, clinical and social variables; and (c) assess significant predictors of high perceived QoL.
Given the inherent vulnerabilities of the ageing process, the older people are an at-risk group for both contagion of SARS-CoV-2 and the perpetuation of residual symptoms after infection, the so-called long COVID or post-COVID syndrome.
A cross-sectional survey design using the STROBE checklist.
Brazilian older people with long COVID syndrome (n = 403) completed a phone survey measuring personal, sociodemographic, behavioural, clinical, and social characteristics, and perceived Quality of Life (QoL). Data were collected from June 2021–March 2022. A multiple linear regression model was performed to identify salient variables associated with high perceived QoL.
The mean age of participants was 67.7 ± 6.6 years old. The results of the multivariate regression model showed that race, home ownership, daily screen time, musculoskeletal and anxiety symptoms, and work situation were the significant predictors of QoL among COVID-19 survivors.
Knowledge about the persistence of physical, emotional, and social symptoms of COVID-19 can help nurses and other healthcare providers to improve the management of survivors, bringing benefits to the whole society.
Given the novelty of long-COVID and its heterogeneous trajectory, interventions focusing on the repercussions and requirements unique to more vulnerable older persons should be developed and these aspects should be included in public health recommendations and policymakers' concerns.
No patient or public contribution was required to design, to outcome measures or undertake this research. Patients/members of the public contributed only to the data collection.
To describe how family members of critically ill patients experienced the COVID-19 visiting restrictions in Sweden.
In Sweden, the response to COVID-19 was less invasive than in many other countries. However, some visiting restrictions were introduced for intensive care units, with local variations. Although there is a growing body of literature regarding healthcare professionals' and family caregivers' perspectives on visiting restriction policies, there may be inter-country differences, which remain to be elucidated.
This study has a qualitative descriptive design. Focus group interviews with 14 family members of patients treated for severe COVID-19 infection were conducted. The interviews took place via digital meetings during the months after the patients' hospital discharge. Qualitative content analysis was used to interpret the interview transcripts. Reporting of the study followed the COREQ checklist.
Two categories—dealing with uncertainty and being involved at a distance—described family members' experiences of coping with visiting restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. These restrictions were found to reduce family members' ability to cope with the situation. Communication via telephone or video calls to maintain contact was appreciated but could not replace the importance of personal contact.
Family members perceived that the visiting restriction routines in place during the COVID-19 pandemic negatively influenced their ability to cope with the situation and to achieve realistic expectations of the patients' needs when they returned home.
This study suggests that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the visiting restrictions were experienced negatively by family members and specific family-centred care guidelines need to be developed for use during crises, including the possibility of regular family visits to the ICU.
None in the conceptualisation or design of the study.
To explore and describe senior nursing students’ perspectives on clinical practice during COVID-19 and provide the most up-to-date information on the quality of clinical experience for nursing students in relation to nursing practice, nursing education, and nursing research.
The research design that was employed is a qualitative, explorative, descriptive in order to explore and describe nursing students’ perceptions of clinical, training during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study took place in a local university located in the Northwest province, South Africa.
The population consisted of 16 senior nursing students who had been exposed to clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 14 women and 2 men. Study included full-time, registered undergraduate nursing students who enrolled in 2019. All nursing students who did not engage in clinical practice before or during COVID-19 were exempt.
There were no direct interventions in this study; however, few recommendations were made for each of the themes that emerged in this study.
The researchers’ aim with the study was to find out the nursing students’ perspective on clinical training during a global pandemic, through interviews and focus group discussions. The researcher did in fact receive such feedback from the participants.
Four major themes emerged: (1) the lack of preceptors to facilitate clinical teaching; (2) not allowed to work in COVID-19 wards; (3) difficulties with online classes and tests and (4) poor communication.
The COVID-19 pandemic influenced how students viewed and experienced clinical training, which in turn had an impact on their learning experiences. These effects also had some impact on their experiences and decisions to continue working as professional nurses.
Surgical site infections still remain a major public health challenge and have become an increasing universal risk, especially for the implantation of orthopaedic devices.
Unfortunately, the discovery and increasingly widespread use (especially the misuse) of antibiotics have led to the rapid appearance of antibiotic-resistant strains today; more and more infections are caused by microorganisms that fail to respond to conventional treatments.
Oxygen-ozone therapy has been extensively used and studied for decades across various potential medical applications and has provided consistent effects with minimal side effects.
This study aims to determine the superiority of oxygen-ozone therapy in combination with oral antibiotic therapy in patients with wound infections after an orthopaedic device implantation when compared with antibiotic therapy alone.
This is an open-label, multicentre, randomised, parallel-group study that aims to assess the efficacy and safety of oxygen-ozone therapy in combination with oral antibiotic therapy to treat infections in patients (male or female aged ≥18 years) having undergone surgery for the implant of an orthopaedic device. Patients must have at least one (but no more than three) postoperative wounds in the site of surgery (ulcers, eschars and sores) and at least one symptom (pain, burning, redness and malodour) and at least one sign (erythema, local warmth, swelling and purulent secretion) of infection of at least moderate intensity (score ≥2) in the target lesion at the screening visit (patients with wounds without signs of localised infection or with undermining wounds will be excluded).
Patients (n=186) will be recruited from five Italian hospitals and studied for 7 weeks. All will be assigned to one of the two treatment groups according to a web-based, centralised randomisation procedure and placed into either the (1) intervention: oxygen-ozone therapy 2–3 times a week for 6 weeks (for a maximum of 15 sessions) simultaneously with an appropriate oral antibiotic therapy prescribed at baseline or (2) control: oral antibiotic therapy prescribed at baseline.
The primary outcome is the efficacy and superiority of the treatment (ozone and oral antibiotic therapies); secondary outcomes include the resolution of signs and symptoms, modifications in lesion size and the treatment’s safety and tolerability.
This study has been reviewed and approved by the responsible Independent Ethics Committee (IEC) of COMITATO ETICO CAMPANIA NORD, located at ‘Azienda Ospedaliera San Giuseppe Moscati di Avellino’.
After completion of the study, the project coordinator will prepare a draft manuscript containing the final results of the study on the basis of the statistical analysis. The manuscript will be derived by the co-authors for comments, and after revision, it will be sent to a major scientific journal. Findings will be disseminated via online and print media, events and peer-reviewed journals.
Third delay refers to delays in delivering requisite care to patients after they arrive at a health facility. In low-resource care settings, effective triage and flow of care are difficult to guarantee. In this study, we aimed to identify delays in the delivery of care to critically ill patients and possible ways to address these delays.
This was an exploratory qualitative study using in-depth interviews and patient journeys. The qualitative data were transcribed and aggregated into themes in NVivo V.12 Plus using inductive and deductive approaches.
This study was conducted in four secondary-level public Kenyan hospitals across four counties between March and December 2021. The selected hospitals were part of the Clinical Information Network.
Purposive sampling method was used to identify administrative and front-line healthcare providers and patients. We conducted 12 in-depth interviews with 11 healthcare workers and patient journeys of 7 patients. Informed consent was sought from the participants and maintained throughout the study.
We identified a cycle of suboptimal systems for care with adaptive mechanisms that prevent quality care to critically ill patients. We identified suboptimal systems for identification of critical illness, inadequate resources for continuity care and disruption of the flow of care, as the major causes of delays in identification and the initiation of essential care to critically ill patients. Our study also illuminated the contribution of inflexible bureaucratic non-clinical business-related organisational processes to third delay.
Eliminating or reducing delays after patients arrive at the hospital is a time-sensitive measure that could improve the care outcomes of critically ill patients. This is achievable through an essential emergency and critical care package within the hospitals. Our findings can help emphasise the need for standardised effective and reliable care priorities to maintain of care of critically ill patients.
FreshRSS 