Are improvements needed in the management of severe acute skin reactions following completion of breast radiotherapy? A discussion of some possible service options

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cumming ◽  
D. Routsis
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Breast Radiotherapy ◽  
Skin Reactions ◽  
Quality Patient Care ◽  
Moist Desquamation ◽  
Acute Skin Reactions ◽  
Supplementary Section

AbstractRadiotherapy is a critical component for many patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Most patients develop some degree of acute radiation skin reaction as a result of the treatment. Acute skin reactions range from faint erythema to moist desquamation and often peak within 1 month after completion of treatment.The emphasis of radiotherapy skincare advice is often during treatment with less attention paid to post-radiotherapy skincare. This article highlights this gap in service provision at one radiotherapy centre and demonstrates the difficulties encountered when there is an inadequate support system. Possible options are discussed for the management of skin reactions after radiotherapy and the potential implications of adopting these strategies. The pragmatic solution introduced to Addenbrookes’ Hospital was to amend patient information providing a supplementary section for health-care professionals overseeing patient care after completion of treatment. This has gone some way to addressing this issue but still has limitations.Provision of timely and consistent skincare advice and support is vital to provide high-quality patient care. This article emphasises the importance of standardisation of radiotherapy skincare and providing an effective support network for patients after completion of radiotherapy.

scholarly journals Looking to Improve Your Practice? Consider the Science of Quality Improvement to Get Started

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 1137-1141
Author(s):  
Alison R. Snyder Valier
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Quality Initiatives ◽  
Processes Of Care ◽  
Quality Patient Care

Quality improvement in health care is the responsibility of everyone (eg, patients, families, health providers, and administrative staff) to work toward delivering high-quality patient care, advancing professional knowledge and skills, and creating effective and efficient processes of care. Those involved in athletic health care, similar to other health care professionals, should strive to create patient care experiences that are safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient centered. Exploring the differences between quality improvement and research will help define the focus of improvement sciences on the health of systems, which is to identify quality gaps and evaluate processes of care, as opposed to filling knowledge gaps. Furthermore, considering the principles of quality improvement will set the foundation for quality initiatives in health care to focus on patients, value teams, emphasize systems and processes of care, appreciate variability, and require data. With a greater understanding of the principles of the quality improvement sciences, athletic trainers will be better positioned to create a culture of quality improvement and to take the initiative in leading improvement efforts so that local systems support the delivery of high-quality patient care.

Pain Assessment: An Overview

2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-230
Author(s):  
M. Jane Rolf
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Care Provider ◽  
Pain Assessment ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Quality Patient Care ◽  
Assessment And Treatment

Pain assessment is an integral part of providing quality patient care. Treatment of pain is driven by the findings of the pain assessment. Pain assessment provides health care professionals with the information necessary to effectively mange a patient's course of treatment and plan of care. To assess and manage pain with the best possible outcomes, the health care provider must depend on the patient's subjective description in addition to objective tools. Barriers, related to the patient's religion or cultural beliefs, and/or lack of knowledge on the part of the health care providers often impede proper assessment and treatment of patients' pain.

Policy Direction for Philippine Level 3 Local Government Hospitals based on the Predictors of Quality Patient Care

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 53-63
Author(s):  
Lucille A. Abraham ◽  
Mary Caroline N. Castaño
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Quality Patient Care ◽  
Industry Type ◽  
Government Hospitals ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Policy Direction

ABSTRACT Objective – The study aims to formulate a policy direction (through a model) among Philippine level 3 local government hospitals based on the predictors of Quality Patient Care (QPC). The predictors are cost-effectiveness, utilization of materials, services by human resources, accessibility, leadership and management and ethical standards as independent variables in relation to the dependent variable which is QPC. Methodology/Technique – Survey questionnaires and interviews were conducted to patients, hospital directors, doctors, nurses, administrative and ancillary officers. The study used descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (ordinary least squares and multiple regression analysis) statistics. Findings – The study revealed that the utilization of materials has the most influence/effect on QPC wherein an increase in 1% of materials brought about an increase of 0.55 % in QPC. Likewise, accessibility brought about an increase in QPC by 0.42 %; and services rendered by human resources brought about an increase in QPC by 0.05 %. Novelty – This is the first study of Philippine Level 3 local government hospitals which aims to formulate a policy direction (through a model) based on the predictors of QPC. This can be used by the national and local governments in devising policies to improve healthcare, particularly in the hospital industry. Type of Paper: Empirical Keywords: local government hospitals; Philippines; policy direction; quality patient care

scholarly journals Building capacity for implementation—the KT Challenge

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes T. Black ◽  
Marla Steinberg ◽  
Amanda E. Chisholm ◽  
Kristi Coldwell ◽  
Alison M. Hoens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Health Care Settings ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The KT Challenge program supports health care professionals to effectively implement evidence-based practices. Unlike other knowledge translation (KT) programs, this program is grounded in capacity building, focuses on health care professionals (HCPs), and uses a multi-component intervention. This study presents the evaluation of the KT Challenge program to assess the impact on uptake, KT capacity, and practice change. Methods The evaluation used a mixed-methods retrospective pre-post design involving surveys and review of documents such as teams’ final reports. Online surveys collecting both quantitative and qualitative data were deployed at four time points (after both workshops, 6 months into implementation, and at the end of the 2-year funded projects) to measure KT capacity (knowledge, skills, and confidence) and impact on practice change. Qualitative data was analyzed using a general inductive approach and quantitative data was analyzed using non-parametric statistics. Results Participants reported statistically significant increases in knowledge and confidence across both workshops, at the 6-month mark of their projects, and at the end of their projects. In addition, at the 6-month check-in, practitioners reported statistically significant improvements in their ability to implement practice changes. In the first cohort of the program, of the teams who were able to complete their projects, half were able to show demonstrable practice changes. Conclusions The KT Challenge was successful in improving the capacity of HCPs to implement evidence-based practice changes and has begun to show demonstrable improvements in a number of practice areas. The program is relevant to a variety of HCPs working in diverse practice settings and is relatively inexpensive to implement. Like all practice improvement programs in health care settings, a number of challenges emerged stemming from the high turnover of staff and the limited capacity of some practitioners to take on anything beyond direct patient care. Efforts to address these challenges have been added to subsequent cohorts of the program and ongoing evaluation will examine if they are successful. The KT Challenge program has continued to garner great interest among practitioners, even in the midst of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and shows promise for organizations looking for better ways to mobilize knowledge to improve patient care and empower staff. This study contributes to the implementation science literature by providing a description and evaluation of a new model for embedding KT practice skills in health care settings.

New Nursesʼ Perceptions of Nursing Practice and Quality Patient Care

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Boswell ◽  
Lois W. Lowry ◽  
Kathryn Wilhoit
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Nursing Practice ◽  
Quality Patient Care

scholarly journals Perspectives from Dentists, Dental Assistants, Students, and Patients on Dental Care Adapted to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 3940
Author(s):  
Maximiliane Amelie Schlenz ◽  
Alexander Schmidt ◽  
Bernd Wöstmann ◽  
Andreas May ◽  
Hans-Peter Howaldt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Dental Clinics ◽  
Positive Perspective ◽  
Dental Assistants

Dental care has been affected by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) worldwide. In contrast to other dental clinics, the Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (Germany) decided not to limit dental treatment to emergencies alone, but to continue dental care for all patients, with increased safety measures. As such, health care professionals may be exposed to additional physical and mental stress. The aim of this study was to assess the perspectives of all persons involved in dental care (dentists, dental assistants, students, and patients) regarding the aspects of safety measures, anxiety about self-infection and infecting others, and other prospects in the period March to December 2020 using a questionnaire. Data collection was performed between 14 December 2020 and 23 January 2021. A total of 35 dentists (response rate of 79.5%), 23 dental assistants (65.7%), 84 students (80%), and 51 patients (21.8%) completed the survey. The patients did not notice any changes in the care received. Dentists and dental assistants reported a higher workload due to additional safety measures. The majority of dentists, students, and patients agreed that normal patient care was maintained. One-third of dental assistants would have preferred emergency treatment alone and expressed significantly higher anxiety about COVID-19 infection than all other groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, all groups showed a predominantly positive perspective on dental care, and anxiety about self-infection and infecting others was especially low. However, additional measures are time-consuming and compound daily patient care. This concept, based on well-established infection control, might be a viable proposal for current and future pandemics.

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