An Inquiry into Unionizing Home Healthcare Workers: Benefits for Workers and Patients

Susan Carter has not been feeling well for days. She would like to see a doctor about her chest pain and wheezing, but Susan knows that missing work will leave her client without a replacement and, worse, she could be fired. Susan is a home healthcare worker in Illinois. Like many of her fellow workers, Susan has no health insurance and cannot afford to risk losing her job by going to see a doctor.Often, Susan feels unable to handle the constant stress of her job. She helps her clients bathe and dress, prepares their meals and assists them with their medications and housekeeping. Susan travels by bus daily to care for two to five clients. She carries a pager day and night in case a client needs help with a plugged catheter or another emergency. Susan often has to work seven days a week, and she steps in to care for patients whose caregivers have left for better-paying jobs.

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Barriers to infection prevention and control practice among Amhara region teaching hospitals in Ethiopia: Qualitative study

International Journal of Infection Control ◽

10.3396/ijic.v15i2.007.19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Walelegn Worku Yallew ◽

Abera Kumie ◽

Feleke Moges Yehuala

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Worker ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Teaching Hospitals ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Amhara Region ◽

Implementation Barriers ◽

Control Practice ◽

And Control

Healthcare workers have good perception towards infection prevention, but there has been a poor practice towards it. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore barriers to practice of infection prevention and control practice in teaching hospitals in Amhara region. A phenomenological approach used to explore the lived experience of healthcare workers and management staffs towards infection prevention practice and control. The data was collected from ten in-depth interviews and 23 focus group discussion participants, by face to face interview using open ended interview performed in safe and quiet places. Data was managed using OpenCode software version 4.03 and contents were analyzed thematically. Totally ten different barriers were identified, such as availability of facilities, shortage of material supply, lack of maintenance of facilities and equipment, high patient flow, experience, emergency situation, healthcare worker behaviour and healthcare worker’s information about infection prevention, low awareness of patients and visitors and overflow of families and visitors to the hospital. For effective infection prevention practice implementation, barriers should be considered via identifying specific organizational, healthcare worker, patients and visitors as targets.

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Socioeconomic and Behavioral Correlates of COVID-19 Infections among Hospital Workers in the Greater Jakarta Area, Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105048 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5048

Author(s):

Adrianna Bella ◽

Mochamad Thoriq Akbar ◽

Gita Kusnadi ◽

Olivia Herlinda ◽

Putri Aprilia Regita ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Worker ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Hospital Staff ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Household Size ◽

Risk Of Infection ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Hospital Workers ◽

Behavioral Correlates ◽

Cross Sectional

(1) Background: because of close contacts with COVID-19 patients, hospital workers are among the highest risk groups for infection. This study examined the socioeconomic and behavioral correlates of COVID-19 infection among hospital workers in Indonesia, the country hardest-hit by the disease in the Southeast Asia region. (2) Methods: we conducted a cross-sectional study, which collected data from 1397 hospital staff from eight hospitals in the Greater Jakarta area during April–July 2020. The data was collected using an online self-administered questionnaire and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests. We employed descriptive statistics and adjusted and unadjusted logistic regressions to analyze the data of hospital workers as well as the subgroups of healthcare and non-healthcare workers. (3) Results: from a total of 1397 hospital staff in the study, 22 (1.6%) were infected. In terms of correlates, being a healthcare worker (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 8.31, 95% CI 1.27–54.54) and having a household size of more than five (AOR = 4.09, 1.02–16.43) were significantly associated with a higher risk of infection. On the other hand, those with middle- and upper-expenditure levels were shown to have a lower risk of infection (AOR = 0.06, 0.01–0.66). Behavioral factors associated with COVID-19 infection among healthcare and non-healthcare workers included knowledge of standard personal protective equipment (PPE) (AOR = 0.08, 0.01–0.54) and application of the six-step handwashing technique (AOR = 0.32, 0.12–0.83). (4) Conclusion: among hospital staff, correlates of COVID-19 infection included being a healthcare worker, household size, expenditure level, knowledge and use of PPE, and application of appropriate hand washing techniques.

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New working conditions and consequences on activity of home healthcare workers

Work ◽

10.3233/wor-2012-0127-1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. 1-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Corinne Van De Weerdt ◽

René Baratta

Keyword(s):

Working Conditions ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Home Healthcare

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Financial sustainability of home care in the health system of the Republic of Serbia

Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo ◽

10.2298/sarh1304214k ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 141 (3-4) ◽

pp. 214-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dejan Konstantinovic ◽

Vesna Lazarevic ◽

Valentina Milovanovic ◽

Mirjana Lapcevic ◽

Vladan Konstantinovic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Insurance ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Home Healthcare ◽

Fixed Costs ◽

Home Therapy ◽

Healthcare Centre ◽

Therapy Services ◽

The Republic ◽

The Cost ◽

Therapy Team

Introduction. Over the last several years, during the economic crisis, the Ministry of Health and the Republican Health Insurance Fund (RHIF) have been faced with new challenges in the sphere of healthcare services financing both in the primary as well as other types of health insurance in the Republic of Serbia (RS). Objective. Analysis of cost?effectiveness of two models of organization of home treatment and healthcare in the primary insurance, with evaluation of the cost sustainability of a single visit by the in?home therapy team. Methods. Economic evaluation of the cost of home treatment and healthcare provision in 2011 was performed. In statistical analysis, the methods of descriptive statistics were employed. The structure of fixed costs of home healthcare was developed according to the RS official norms, as well as fixed costs of providing services of home therapy by the Healthcare Centre "New Belgrade". The statement of account for provided home therapy services was made utilizing the RHIF price list. Results. The results showed that the cost of home healthcare and therapy of the heterogeneous population of patients in the Healthcare Centre "New Belgrade" was more cost?effective in relation to the cost of providing home therapy services according to the RS official norms. Conclusion. Approved costs utilized when making a contract for services of home therapy and healthcare with the RHIF are not financially sustainable. It was shown that the price of 10 EUR for each home visit by the in?home therapy team enables sustainability of this form of providing healthcare services in RS.

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Acceptability of and symptom findings from an online symptom check-in tool for COVID-19 outpatient follow-up among a predominantly healthcare worker population

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050444 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. e050444

Author(s):

Colm Kerr ◽

Simon O’ Regan ◽

Donnacha Creagh ◽

Gerry Hughes ◽

Una Geary ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Worker ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Primary Objective ◽

Text Messages ◽

Online Tool ◽

Mild Disease ◽

Healthcare Experiences ◽

Inpatient Settings ◽

Cardinal Symptoms

IntroductionHealth systems worldwide have had to prepare for a surge in volume in both the outpatient and inpatient settings since the emergence of COVID-19. Early international healthcare experiences showed approximately 80% of patients with COVID-19 had mild disease and therfore could be managed as outpatients. However, SARS-CoV-2 can cause a biphasic illness with those affected experiencing a clinical deterioration usually seen after day 4 of illness.ObjectiveWe created an online tool with the primary objective of allowing for virtual disease triage among the increasing number of outpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 at our hospital. Secondary aims included COVID-19 education and the promotion of official COVID-19 information among these outpatients, and analysis of reported symptomatology.MethodsOutpatients with acute COVID-19 disease received text messages from the hospital containing a link to an online symptom check-in tool which they were invited to complete.Results296 unique participants (72%) from 413 contacted by text completed the online check-in tool at least once, generating 831 responses from 1324 texts sent. 83% of text recipients and 91% of unique participants were healthcare workers. 7% of responses to the tool were from participants who admitted to a slight worsening of their symptoms during follow-up. Fatigue was the most commonly reported symptom overall (79%), followed by headache (72%). Fatigue, headache and myalgia were the most frequently reported symptoms in the first 3 days of illness. 8% of responses generated in the first 7 days of illness did not report any of the cardinal symptoms (fever, cough, dyspnoea, taste/smell disturbance) of COVID-19. Participants found the tool to be useful and easy to use, describing it as ‘helpful’ and ‘reassuring’ in a follow-up feedback survey (n=140). 93% said they would use such a tool in the future. 39% reported ongoing fatigue, 16% reported ongoing smell disturbance and 14% reported ongoing dyspnoea after 6 months.ConclusionThe online symptom check-in tool was found to be acceptable to participants and saw high levels of engagement and satisfaction. Symptomatology findings highlight the variety and persistence of symptoms experienced by those with confirmed COVID-19 disease

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Examining the cost-effectiveness of personal protective equipment for formal healthcare workers in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/s12913-021-07015-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jacob Kazungu ◽

Kenneth Munge ◽

Kalin Werner ◽

Nicholas Risko ◽

Andres I. Vecino-Ortiz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Incremental Cost ◽

Healthcare Worker ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Return On Investment ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Health Economic Evaluation ◽

Response Strategy ◽

Decision Analytic Model ◽

Protective Equipment

Abstract Background Healthcare workers are at a higher risk of COVID-19 infection during care encounters compared to the general population. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have been shown to protect COVID-19 among healthcare workers, however, Kenya has faced PPE shortages that can adequately protect all healthcare workers. We, therefore, examined the health and economic consequences of investing in PPE for healthcare workers in Kenya. Methods We conducted a cost-effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) analysis using a decision-analytic model following the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) guidelines. We examined two outcomes: 1) the incremental cost per healthcare worker death averted, and 2) the incremental cost per healthcare worker COVID-19 case averted. We performed a multivariate sensitivity analysis using 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations. Results Kenya would need to invest $3.12 million (95% CI: 2.65–3.59) to adequately protect healthcare workers against COVID-19. This investment would avert 416 (IQR: 330–517) and 30,041 (IQR: 7243 – 102,480) healthcare worker deaths and COVID-19 cases respectively. Additionally, such an investment would result in a healthcare system ROI of $170.64 million (IQR: 138–209) – equivalent to an 11.04 times return. Conclusion Despite other nationwide COVID-19 prevention measures such as social distancing, over 70% of healthcare workers will still be infected if the availability of PPE remains scarce. As part of the COVID-19 response strategy, the government should consider adequate investment in PPE for all healthcare workers in the country as it provides a large return on investment and it is value for money.

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Emergency department ‘outbreak rostering’ to meet challenges of COVID-19

Emergency Medicine Journal ◽

10.1136/emermed-2020-209614 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (7) ◽

pp. 407-410 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Wei Lin Tallie Chua ◽

Li Juan Joy Quah ◽

Yuzeng Shen ◽

Diana Zakaria ◽

Paul Weng Wan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Infection Control ◽

Healthcare Worker ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Open Channels ◽

Outbreak Response ◽

Face To Face ◽

Psychological Wellness ◽

Close Contacts

The COVID-19 outbreak has posed unique challenges to the emergency department rostering. Additional infection control, the possibility of quarantine of staff and minimising contact among staff have significant impact on the work of doctors in the emergency department. Infection of a single healthcare worker may require quarantine of close contacts at work. This may thus affect a potentially large number of staff. As such, we developed an Outbreak Response Roster. This Outbreak Response Roster had fixed teams of doctors working in rotation, each team that staff the emergency department in turn. Members within teams remained constant and were near equally balanced in terms of manpower and seniority of doctors. Each team worked fixed 12 hours shifts with as no overlapping of staff or staggering of shifts. Handovers between shifts were kept as brief as possible. All these were measures to limit interactions among healthcare workers. With the implementation of the roster, measures were also taken to bolster the psychological wellness of healthcare workers. With face-to-face contact limited, we also had to maintain clear, open channels for communication through technology and continue educating residents through innovative means.

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