Results of a sector-wide quality improvement initiative for substance-abuse care: an uncontrolled before-after study in Catalonia, Spain

BACKGROUND: The Health Department of the Regional Government of Catalonia, Spain, issued a quality plan for substance abuse centers. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of a multidimensional quality improvement initiative in the field of substance abuse care and to discuss potentials and limitations for further quality improvement. METHODS: The study uses an uncontrolled, sector-wide pre-post design. All centers providing services for persons with substance abuse issues in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia participated in this assessment. Measures of compliance were developed based on indicators reported in the literature and by broad stakeholder involvement. We compared pre-post differences in dimension-specific and overall compliance-scores using one-way ANOVA for repeated measures and the Friedman statistic. We described the spread of the data using the inter-quartile range and the Fligner-Killen statistic. Finally, we adjusted compliance scores for location and size using linear and logistic regression models. RESULTS: We performed a baseline and follow up assessment in 22 centers for substance abuse care and observed substantial and statistically significant improvements for overall compliance (pre: 60.9%; post: 79.1%) and for compliance in the dimensions 'care pathway' (pre: 66.5%; post: 83.5%) and 'organization and management' (pre: 50.5%; post: 77.2%). We observed improvements in the dimension 'environment and infrastructure' (pre: 81.8%; post: 95.5%) and in the dimension 'relations and user rights' (pre: 66.5%; post: 72.5%); however, these were not statistically significant. The regression analysis suggests that improvements in compliance are positively influenced by being located in the Barcelona region in case of the dimension 'relations and user rights'. CONCLUSION: The positive results of this quality improvement initiative are possibly associated with the successful involvement of stakeholders, the consciously constructed feedback reports on individual and sector-wide performance and the support of evidence-based guidance wherever possible. Further research should address how contextual issues shape the uptake and effectiveness of quality improvement actions and how such quality improvements can be sustained

"It's like two worlds apart": an analysis of vulnerable patient handover practices at discharge from hospital.

BACKGROUND: Handover practices at hospital discharge are relatively under-researched, particularly as regards the specific risks and additional requirements for handovers involving vulnerable patients with limited language, cognitive and social resources. OBJECTIVE: To explore handover practices at discharge and to focus on the patients' role in handovers and on the potential additional risks for vulnerable patients. METHODS: We conducted qualitative interviews with patients, hospital professionals and primary care professionals in two hospitals and their associated primary care centres in Catalonia, Spain. RESULTS: We identified handover practices at discharge that potentially put patients at risk. Patients did not feel empowered in the handover but were expected to transfer information between care providers. Professionals identified lack of medication reconciliation at discharge, loss of discharge information, and absence of plans for follow-up care in the community as quality and safety problems for discharge handovers. These occurred for all patients, but appeared to be more frequent and have a greater negative effect in patients with limited language comprehension and/or lack of family and social support systems. CONCLUSIONS: Discharge handovers are often haphazard. Healthcare professionals do not consider current handover practices safe, with patients expected to transfer information without being empowered to understand and act on it. This can lead to misinformation, omission or duplication of tests or interventions and, potentially, patient harm. Vulnerable patients may be at greater risk given their limited language, cognitive and social resources. Patient safety at discharge could benefit from strategies to enhance patient education and promote empowerment

Measuring professionalism in medicine and nursing : Results of a European survey

Background: Leveraging professionalism has been put forward as a strategy to drive improvement of patient care. We investigate professionalism as a factor influencing the uptake of quality improvement activities by physicians and nurses working in European hospitals. Objective: To (i) investigate the reliability and validity of data yielded by using the self-developed professionalism measurement tool for physicians and nurses, (ii) describe their levels of professionalism displayed, and (iii) quantify the extent to which professional attitudes would predict professional behaviors. Methods and Materials: We designed and deployed survey instruments amongst 5920 physicians and nurses working in European hospitals. This was conducted under the cross-sectional multilevel study "Deepening Our Understanding of Quality Improvement in Europe" (DUQuE). We used psychometric and generalized linear mixed modelling techniques to address the aforementioned objectives. Results: In all, 2067 (response rate 69.8%) physicians and 2805 nurses (94.8%) representing 74 hospitals in 7 European countries participated. The professionalism instrument revealed five subscales of professional attitude and one scale for professional behaviour with moderate to high internal consistency and reliability. Physicians and nurses display equally high professional attitude sum scores (11.8 and 11.9 respectively out of 16) but seem to have different perceptions towards separate professionalism aspects. Lastly, professionals displaying higher levels of professional attitudes were more involved in quality improvement actions (physicians: b = 0.019, P<0.0001; nurses: b = 0.016, P<0.0001) and more inclined to report colleagues' underperformance (physicians - odds ratio (OR) 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.24; nurses - OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01-1.23) or medical errors (physicians - OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01-1.23; nurses - OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.22-1.67). Involvement in QI actions was found to increase the odds of reporting incompetence or medical errors. Conclusion: A tool that reliably and validly measures European physicians' and nurses' commitment to professionalism is now available. Collectively leveraging professionalism as a quality improvement strategy may be beneficial to patient care quality. © 2014 Lombarts et al

Deepening our Understanding of Quality in Australia (DUQuA): a study protocol for a nationwide, multilevel analysis of relationships between hospital quality management systems and patient factors.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the growing body of research on quality and safety in healthcare, there is little evidence of the association between the way hospitals are organised for quality and patient factors, limiting our understanding of how to effect large-scale change. The 'Deepening our Understanding of Quality in Australia' (DUQuA) study aims to measure and examine relationships between (1) organisation and department-level quality management systems (QMS), clinician leadership and culture, and (2) clinical treatment processes, clinical outcomes and patient-reported perceptions of care within Australian hospitals. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The DUQuA project is a national, multilevel, cross-sectional study with data collection at organisation (hospital), department, professional and patient levels. Sample size calculations indicate a minimum of 43 hospitals are required to adequately power the study. To allow for rejection and attrition, 70 hospitals across all Australian jurisdictions that meet the inclusion criteria will be invited to participate. Participants will consist of hospital quality management professionals; clinicians; and patients with stroke, acute myocardial infarction and hip fracture. Organisation and department-level QMS, clinician leadership and culture, patient perceptions of safety, clinical treatment processes, and patient outcomes will be assessed using validated, evidence-based or consensus-based measurement tools. Data analysis will consist of simple correlations, linear and logistic regression and multilevel modelling. Multilevel modelling methods will enable identification of the amount of variation in outcomes attributed to the hospital and department levels, and the factors contributing to this variation. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been obtained. Results will be disseminated to individual hospitals in de-identified national and international benchmarking reports with data-driven recommendations. This ground-breaking national study has the potential to influence decision-making on the implementation of quality and safety systems and processes in Australian and international hospitals

Errores clínicos y eventos adversos: percepción de los médicos de atención primaria

ObjetivoMostrar cómo el médico percibe y afronta los errores clínicos y/o acontecimientos adversos (Ec-Ea).DiseñoEstudio transversal (encuesta postal personalizada).EmplazamientoAtención primaria del «Ámbito territorial Costa de Ponent».ParticipantesTodos los médicos con plaza en propiedad en atención primaria (n=717).Mediciones principalesCuestionario estandarizado: frecuencia de errores y eventos adversos; comparación de las respuestas en función de la edad, el sexo, la formación MIR en medicina de familia, en los «negadores» (jamás se han equivocado de manera importante), los «perceptivos» (admiten errores en el último año), los «hiperperceptivos» (admiten 28 o más errores-acontecimientos adversos/año), los «loci internos» (admiten causas personales en los errores) y los hiperseguros (> 7 puntos sobre 10 en seguridad clínica escala de Likert).ResultadosContestaron 238 médicos (33,2%), con una edad media de 42,6 años (intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%, 41,6-43,6). El 28% eran «negadores» (IC del 95%, 22,34-34,26); el 67% «perceptivos» (IC del 95%, 60,79-73,23); el 7,4% «hiperperceptivos» (IC del 95%, 4,41-11,44); el 6%, «loci interno» (IC del 95%, 3,34-9,91), y el 23,4% hiperseguros (IC del 95%, 18,14-29,22). Se informó sobre 10,6 acontecimientos adversos/año/profesional, sobre todo eventos adversos de fármacos (37%) (IC del 95%, 35,36- 39,15) y retraso diagnóstico en una enfermedad neoplásica (33%) (IC del 95%, 31,16-34,85). La reacción más frecuente era intentar contactar con el paciente (80%; IC del 95%, 73,24-85,73) y comentar el caso con el equipo (el 41,4%; IC del 95%, 33,97-49,22).ConclusionesLos Ec-Ea se reconocen como frecuentes, pero un tercio de los médicos afirma no haberse equivocado nunca de manera importante. El médico varón joven, a diferencia del experimentado, socializa sus errores con el equipo. Los profesionales de «locus interno» e «hiperperceptivos» son proclives a reacciones emocionales más acusadas ante la comisión de errores clínicos. Los médicos reconocen menos seguridad en ORL y oftalmología y, además de éstos, los médicos experimentados también declaraban inseguridad en dermatología y cuidados paliativos.ObjectiveTo evaluate how primary care physicians perceive and face clinical errors (CE) and/or adverse events (AE).DesignCross-sectional study (personal mail survey).SettingPrimary care physicians from “Ambit Costa de Ponent”.ParticipantsAll doctors with tenure from this area (717).Main measurementsStandardized questionnaire with error and adverse event frequencies.We compared answers considering age, gender, family medicine residency, “deniers” (never make a mistake), “perceptive” (admitting a mistake in the last year), “hyper-perceptive” (28 or more errors/adverse events a year), “internal locus of control” (admitting personal reasons in errors), and “hypersecure” (>7 points out of 10 in clinical security on Likert scale).ResultsTwo hundred thirty eight physicians (33.2%) with an average age of 42.6 (95% CI, 41.6-43.6) replied. The 28% were “deniers” (95% CI, 22.34-34.26), 67% “perceptive” (95% CI, 60.79-73.23), 7.4% “hyperperceptive” (95% CI, 4.41-11.44), 6% had “internal locus of control” (95% CI, 3.34-9.91), and 23.4% were “hypersecure” (95% CI, 18.14-29.22). Every doctor had on average 10.6 adverse events yearly, mainly drug side-effects (37%) (95% CI, 35.36-39.15), and diagnostic delay in oncology scenarios (33%) (95% CI, 31.16-34.85). The most common reaction to an error was to try and contact the patient (80%) (95% CI, 73.24-85.73) and to communicate the case to the team (41.4%) (95% CI, 33.97-49.22).ConclusionsAE and CE were recognized as frequent, but a third of doctors affirmed they never made a mistake. Young male physicians, unlike senior ones, communicate mistakes to the team. “Internal locus of control” and “hyperperceptive” professionals tended to have stronger emotional reactions after committing errors. Physicians felt less secure with ophthalmology and ENT problems; and older doctors added to these dermatology and palliative care

challenges and opportunities from a public health perspective

ABSTRACT - Despite improvements in healthcare interventions, the incidence of adverse events and other patient safety problems constitutes a major contributor to the global burden of diseases and a concern for Public Health. In the last years there have been some successful individual and institutional efforts to approach patient safety issues in Portugal, unless such effort has been fragmented or focused on specific small areas. Long-term and global improvement has remained elusive, and most of all the improvement of patient safety in Portugal, must evaluate not only the efficacy of a change but also what was effective for implementing the change. Clearly, patient safety issues result from various combinations of individual, team, organization, system and patient factors. A systemic and integrated approach to promote patient safety must acknowledge and strive to understand the complexity of work systems and processes in health care, including the interactions between people, technology, and the environment. Safety errors cannot be productively attributed to a single human error. Our objective with this paper is to provide a brief overview of the status quo in patient safety in Portugal, highlighting key aspects that should be taken into account in the design of a strategy for improving patient safety. With these key aspects in mind, policy makers and implementers can move forward and make better decisions about which changes should be made and about the way the needed changes to improve patient safety should be implemented. The contribution of colleagues that are international leaders on healthcare quality and patient safety may also contribute to more innovative research methods needed to create the knowledge that promotes less costly successful changes.-------------------------- RESUMO – As questões relacionadas com a Segurança do Doente, e em particular, com a ocorrência de eventos adversos tem constituído, de há uns tempos a esta parte, uma crescente preocupação para as organizações de saúde, para os decisores políticos, para os profissionais de saúde e para os doentes/utentes e suas famílias, sendo por isso considerado um problema de Saúde Pública a que urge dar resposta. Em Portugal, nos últimos anos, têm sido desenvolvidos esforços baseados, maioritariamente, em iniciativas isoladas, para abordar os aspectos da Segurança do Doente. O facto de essas iniciativas não serem integradas numa estratégia explícita e de dimensão regional ou nacional, faz com que os resultados sejam parcelares e tenham visibilidade reduzida. Paralelamente, a melhoria da qualidade dos cuidados de saúde (a longo prazo) resultante dessas iniciativas tem sido esparsa e nem sempre a avaliação tem sido feita tendo em conta critérios de efectividade e de eficiência. A Segurança do Doente resulta da interacção de diversos factores relacionados, por um lado, com o doente e, por outro, com a prestação de cuidados que envolvem elementos de natureza individual (falhas activas) e organizacional/estrutural (falhas latentes). Devido à multifactorialidade que está na base de «problemas/falhas» na Segurança do Doente, qualquer abordagem a considerar deve ser sistémica e integrada. Simultaneamente, tais abordagens devem contemplar a compreensão da complexidade dos sistemas e dos processos de prestação de cuidados de saúde e as suas interdependências (envolvendo aspectos individuais, tecnológicos e ambientais). O presente trabalho tem por objectivo reflectir sobre o «estado da arte» da Segurança do Doente em Portugal, destacando os elementos-chave que se consideram decisivos para uma estratégia de acção nesse domínio. Com esses elementos os responsáveis pela governação da saúde poderão valorizar os aspectos que consideram decisivos para uma política de Segurança do Doente mais eficaz. A contribuição de quatro colegas internacionalmente reconhecidos como líderes na área da Qualidade em Saúde e da Segurança do Doente, constitui, por certo, uma oportunidade ímpar para a identificação e discussão de alguns dos principais desafios, ameaças e oportunidades que se colocarão, no curto prazo em Portugal, na área da Segurança do Doente.publishersversionpublishe

El marco sanitario y el entorno psicosocial de la población inmigrante magrebí en Cataluña

Introducción: Este estudio pretende obtener información sobre el marco sanitario y el entorno psicosocial de la población inmigrante magrebí en Cataluña, para orientar las actuaciones en planificación y provisión de servicios sociales y de las organizaciones que apoyan a este colectivo. Método: Se utilizó un cuestionario de creación propia que explora aspectos sanitarios y psicosociales, incluidos los factores estresores y de apoyo social. La recogida de datos se realizó mediante encuestadores y en lengua árabe. Resultados: Se realizaron 403 entrevistas. La mayoría de los encuestados tenían tarjeta sanitaria y sabían a dónde acudir para recibir asistencia. Los servicios más utilizados son los de atención primaria y urgencias hospitalarias. En atención primaria, casi todos los encuestados reciben explicaciones, pero un 30% no las comprende adecuadamente. Se percibe que los profesionales sanitarios no tienen muy en cuenta las diferencias culturales o religiosas. Trabajo, vivienda, alejamiento familiar y legalización son factores estresores para más de la mitad de esta población. El apoyo social es bajo. Tres cuartas partes de los encuestados se sienten solos. Más de la mitad de esta población ve cumplidas total o parcialmente sus expectativas migratorias y un 11% considera estar peor. Conclusiones: Las principales áreas de acción pasan por reforzar la información sobre condiciones de acceso al sistema sanitario, fomentar la interacción social y el asociacionismo entre los inmigrantes, especialmente durante las primeras fases del proceso migratorio, y facilitar las actividades religiosas. Parece importante formar a los profesionales sanitarios sobre las culturas de origen.Introduction: The aim of this study was to gather information on the healthcare background and social environment of the Maghrebian immigrant population in Catalonia in order to guide the management and provision of social services and the work of the organizations supporting this collective. Methods: To gather data, we used a questionnaire exploring healthcare and social variables, including stressors and social support. Data collection was performed by pollsters in Arabic. Results: We performed 403 interviews. Most interviewees had a health card providing access to public healthcare and knew where to access healthcare. The most frequently used services were primary care and emergency departments. In primary care, almost all of the interviewees were provided explanations, but 30% were unable to understand them properly. Health professionals seemed to have inadequate awareness of cultural and religious differences. Work, housing, distance from the family, and legal status were stressful factors for more than half of this population. Social support was low. Three quarters of the interviewees felt lonely. More than half of this population had completely or partially fulfilled their expectations of migration, while 11% felt they were in a worse situation. Conclusions: The main areas for improvement are the provision of information on conditions of healthcare access, promotion of social interaction, the use of associations for immigrants -especially during the first phases of the migration process- and facilitating religious activities. Health professionals should be provided with training in intercultural issues. © 2008 Sociedad Española de Salud Pública y Administración Sanitaria

Gender-Specific Neuroimmunoendocrine Response to Treadmill Exercise in 3xTg-AD Mice

The 3xTg-AD mouse develops a progressive Alzheimer's disease- (AD-) like brain pathology that causes cognitive- and neuropsychiatric-like symptoms of dementia. Since its neuroimmunoendocrine axis is likewise impaired, this mouse is also useful for modelling complex age-related neurodegeneration. This study analyzed behavioral, physiological, neurochemical, pathological and immunoendocrine alterations in male and female 3xTg-AD mice and assayed the effects of a short therapy of forced physical exercise at the moderate pathology stage of 6 months of age. Gender effects were observed in most AD-related pathology and dysfunctions. Five weeks of treadmill training produced beneficial effects, such as the reduction of brain oxidative stress and GABA-A receptor dysfunction in males and improvement of sensorimotor function in females. In both sexes, exercise decreased the brain amyloid β 42/40 ratio levels. The results highlight the importance of analyzing experimental therapies in both mouse model genders in order to improve our understanding of the disease and develop more appropriate therapies

Predictors of patient safety culture in hospitals in Venezuela

An organization's culture with regard to patient safety is important because it defines the beliefs and practices of the organization, and consequently its efficiency and productivity. Knowing the level of this and the factors that influence or not their dynamic represents a challenge, due to the degree of complexity and specificity of the elements involved. The aim of this study was to analyze predictors of patient safety culture in public and private hospitals and examining the factors that contribute to it, constructing a new and specific theoretical and methodological model. This study was carried out by reviewing medical records, detecting healthcare professionals directly involved in caring (N = 588), for patients in 2 public hospitals and 2 private hospitals in Venezuela (N = 566), conducting an "Analysis of Patient Safety Culture" questionnaire. The results were subsequently analyzed, derived 3 predictors factors and using a Patient Safety Culture Index (PSCI) for specific determination to evaluate patient safety culture level. The analysis showed that all hospitals had a "moderately unfavorable" PSCI (public = 52.96, private = 52.67, sig = 0.90). The PSCI was calculated by assessing the weight of the following factors in the index: occupational factors (factor loading = 32.03), communication factors (factor loading = 11.83), and organizational factors (factor loading = 9.10). Traumatology presented the lowest PSCI of all the care units, falling into the "unfavorable" category (36.48), and Laboratory the highest (70.02) (sig = 0.174), falling into the "moderately favorable" category. When analyzing professional groups, nurses had the highest PSCI, with a "moderately unfavorable" rating (PSCI = 61.1) and medical residents the lowest, falling into the "unfavorable" category (35.2). Adverse event reporting is determined by "management expectations and actions" (sig = 0.048) and "direct interaction with the patient" (sig = 0.049). The use of this theoretical and methodological approach in other contexts may provide a more objective system for identifying more specific needs and factors that influence in patient safety culture, and consequently, opportunities for improvement when constructing a patient safety culture in healthcare institutions. Efforts need to be made to improve safety culture in the hospitals studied, irrespective of whether they are public or private