Internationalization process of skypro shoes in the east coast of the US

This work project studies the internationalization potential of Abotoa SA, in particular to Skypro, its footwear brand targeted at aviation professionals, to the East Coast of the US. I firstly developed a company overview followed by a detailed analysis of country criteria based on population, country risk, the airline and footwear industries, consumer behavior and aviation professionals’ profile. Based on company information, statistic and governmental data, as well as professional insights from clients and aviation professionals, I further developed the internationalization plan, focusing on the B2C market, concluding that it will bring benefits to the company

A Successful niche brand in Portugal?

CEM

Impact of providing patients access to electronic health records on quality and safety of care: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of sharing electronic health records (EHRs) with patients and map it across six domains of quality of care (ie, patient-centredness, effectiveness, efficiency, timeliness, equity and safety). DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: CINAHL, Cochrane, Embase, HMIC, Medline/PubMed and PsycINFO, from 1997 to 2017. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Randomised trials focusing on adult subjects, testing an intervention consisting of sharing EHRs with patients, and with an outcome in one of the six domains of quality of care. DATA ANALYSIS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. Title and abstract screening were performed by two pairs of investigators and assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. For each domain, a narrative synthesis of the results was performed, and significant differences in results between low risk and high/unclear risk of bias studies were tested (t-test, p<0.05). Continuous outcomes evaluated in four studies or more (glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) were pooled as weighted mean difference (WMD) using random effects meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses were performed for low risk of bias studies, and long-term interventions only (lasting more than 12 months). RESULTS: Twenty studies were included (17 387 participants). The domain most frequently assessed was effectiveness (n=14), and the least were timeliness and equity (n=0). Inconsistent results were found for patient-centredness outcomes (ie, satisfaction, activation, self-efficacy, empowerment or health literacy), with 54.5% of the studies (n=6) demonstrating a beneficial effect. Meta-analyses showed a beneficial effect in effectiveness by reducing absolute values of HbA1c (unit: %; WMD=-0.316; 95% CI -0.540 to -0.093, p=0.005, I 2=0%), which remained significant in the sensitivity analyses for low risk of bias studies (WMD= -0.405; 95% CI -0.711 to -0.099), and long-term interventions only (WMD=-0.272; 95% CI -0.482 to -0.062). A significant reduction of absolute values of SBP (unit: mm Hg) was found but lost in sensitivity analysis for studies with low risk of bias (WMD= -1.375; 95% CI -2.791 to 0.041). No significant effect was found for DBP (unit: mm Hg; WMD=-0.918; 95% CI -2.078 to 0.242, p=0.121, I 2=0%). Concerning efficiency, most studies (80%, n=4) found either a reduction of healthcare usage or no change. A beneficial effect was observed in a range of safety outcomes (ie, general adherence, medication safety), but not in medication adherence. The proportion of studies reporting a beneficial effect did not differ between low risk and high/unclear risk studies, for the domains evaluated. DISCUSSION: Our analysis supports that sharing EHRs with patients is effective in reducing HbA1c levels, a major predictor of mortality in type 2 diabetes (mean decrease of -0.405, unit: %) and could improve patient safety. More studies are necessary to enhance meta-analytical power and assess the impact in other domains of care. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO (CRD42017070092)

Learning from complaints in healthcare: a realist review of academic literature, policy evidence and front-line insights

Introduction: A global rise in patient complaints has been accompanied by growing research to effectively analyse complaints for safer, more patient-centric care. Most patients and families complain to improve the quality of healthcare, yet progress has been complicated by a system primarily designed for case-by-case complaint handling. Aim: To understand how to effectively integrate patient-centric complaint handling with quality monitoring and improvement. Method: Literature screening and patient codesign shaped the review's aim in the first stage of this three-stage review. Ten sources were searched including academic databases and policy archives. In the second stage, 13 front-line experts were interviewed to develop initial practice-based programme theory. In the third stage, evidence identified in the first stage was appraised based on rigour and relevance, and selected to refine programme theory focusing on what works, why and under what circumstances. Results: A total of 74 academic and 10 policy sources were included. The review identified 12 mechanisms to achieve: patient-centric complaint handling and system-wide quality improvement. The complaint handling pathway includes (1) access of information; (2) collaboration with support and advocacy services; (3) staff attitude and signposting; (4) bespoke responding; and (5) public accountability. The improvement pathway includes (6) a reliable coding taxonomy; (7) standardised training and guidelines; (8) a centralised informatics system; (9) appropriate data sampling; (10) mixed-methods spotlight analysis; (11) board priorities and leadership; and (12) just culture. Discussion: If healthcare settings are better supported to report, analyse and use complaints data in a standardised manner, complaints could impact on care quality in important ways. This review has established a range of evidence-based, short-term recommendations to achieve this

Klotho levels: association with insulin resistance and albumin-to-creatinine ratio in type 2 diabetic patients

The present study aimed at evaluating the relationship between Klotho levels and insulin resistance and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) in type 2 diabetic patients with CKD. We conducted an observational, cross-sectional study in our outpatient diabetic nephropathy clinic from 2014 to 2016, enrolling a total of 107 type 2 diabetic patients with stage 2-3 CKD, with a mean age of 59 years. Several clinical and laboratorial parameters were evaluated, including those related to mineral and carbohydrate metabolism. The mean eGFR at baseline was 53.2 mL/min, and the mean levels of ACR and Klotho were 181.9 A mu g/mg and 331.1 pg/m, respectively. In the simple linear regression model, Klotho levels were correlated with age, phosphorus, PTH, ACR, HOMA, IL-6, FGF-23, OxLDL, eGFR and vitamin D levels. Applying a multivariate linear regression model, only the ACR, HOMA-IR, FGF-23 and vitamin D independently influenced the Klotho levels. In the generalized linear model, only the Klotho groups were statistically significant as independent variable (p = 0.007). The results show that the group 1 ( 440) had higher odds in the higher ACR (ae181), ORa = 3.429, p = 0.014. There were no statistically significant differences between Klotho groups 2 and 3, and the HOMA-IR obtained showed that group 1 (2 when compared with group 3 (> 440), ORa = 21.59, p = 0.017. Our results showed that Klotho levels are influenced by FGF23, vitamin D and insulin resistance. This suggests that Klotho levels might be affected by renal function as well as having a relevant role on insulin metabolism and ACR homeostasis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Patients’ access to their medical records

Until recently, the medical record was seen exclusively as being the property of health institutions and doctors. Its great technical and scientific components, as well as the personal characteristics attributed by each doctor, have been the reasons appointed for that control. However, nowadays throughout the world that paradigm has been changing. In Portugal, since 2007 patients are allowed full and direct access to their medical records. Nevertheless, the Deontological Code of the Portuguese Medical Association (2009) explicitly states that patients’ access to their medical records should have a doctor as intermediary and that the records are each physician’s intellectual property. Furthermore, several doctors and health institutions, receiving requests from patients to access their medical records, end up requesting the legal opinion of the Commission for access to administrative documents. Each and every time, that opinion goes in line with the notion of full and direct patient access. Sharing medical records with patients seems crucial and inevitable in the current patient-centred care model, having the potential to improve patient empowerment, health literacy, autonomy, self-efficacy and satisfaction with care. With the recent technological developments and the fast dissemination of Personal Health Records, it is foreseeable that a growing number of patients will want to access their medical records. Therefore, promoting awareness on this topic is essential, in order to allow an informed debate between all the stakeholders.Até muito recentemente, o processo clínico era visto exclusivamente como propriedade das instituições de saúde ou dos médicos que o elaboravam. A sua grande componente técnica e científica, bem como com o forte cunho pessoal por parte do médico, têm sido as razões invocadas para esse controlo. Atualmente, um pouco por todo o mundo, assiste-se a uma mudança neste campo. Em Portugal, desde 2007 que os pacientes podem aceder diretamente à totalidade dos seus processos clínicos. No entanto, o Código Deontológico da Ordem dos Médicos (2009) defende que o acesso dos pacientes aos seus processos clínicos deverá ser feito através de um médico e que este último é o detentor da propriedade intelectual dos registos que elabora. Além disso, muitos médicos e instituições de saúde confrontados com os pedidos de acesso dos pacientes aos seus processos clínicos acabam por solicitar o parecer da Comissão de Acesso aos Documentos Administrativos. Esse parecer vai, invariavelmente, no sentido do acesso total e direto. A partilha dos processos clínicos com os pacientes parece fulcral e inevitável num modelo de medicina centrada na pessoa, tendo o potencial de melhorar a capacitação, a literacia em saúde, a autonomia, a autoeficácia e a satisfação dos pacientes. Com os progressivos avanços tecnológicos e a crescente disseminação dos Sistemas Personalizados de Informação de Saúde, é previsível que cada vez mais pacientes desejem aceder aos seus processos clínicos. Assim, a consciencialização sobre esta matéria é essencial, por forma a que seja possível promover o debate informado entre as várias partes envolvidas

POP-Brazil study protocol : a nationwide cross-sectional evaluation of the prevalence and genotype distribution on human papillomavirus (HPV) in Brazil

Introduction Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with the development of genital warts and different types of cancer, including virtually all cervical cancers and a considerable number of penile, anal and oropharyngeal cancers. Data regarding the prevalence of HPV infection in Brazil are limited and fragmented. We aim to determine HPV prevalence in sexually active women and men aged 16–25 years and to investigate regional differences in virus prevalence and types. Methods and analysis This is a nationwide, multicentric, cross-sectional, prospective study that will include participants aged 16–25 years from all Brazilian capital cities. Recruitment will occur in primary health units by trained health professionals who will be responsible for collecting biological samples and interviewing the volunteers. After signing informed consent, all participants will answer a questionnaire that will collect sociodemographic and behavioural data All samples will be processed in a certified central laboratory, and strict quality control will be performed by many different procedures, including double data entry, training and certification of primary care health professionals responsible for data collection, simulation of interviews, and auditing and monitoring of visits. The sample size will be standardised based on the population distribution of each capital using SAS and R statistical software. Ethics and dissemination The project was approved by the research ethics committee of the main institution and the corresponding ethics committees of the recruitment sites. This will be the first Brazilian nationwide study to determine overall HPV prevalence and to examine regional differences and social, demographic and behavioural factors related to HPV infection. Critical analysis of the study results will contribute to epidemiological knowledge and will set a baseline for future evaluation of the impact of the National HPV Vaccination Program