scholarly journals Patient-centred method to evaluate the spatial accessibility of primary health care in a case study in Shanghai

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 344
Author(s):  
Xuechen Xiong ◽  
Li Luo

Quantitative methodology investigating medical resource accessibility does not incorporate patients’ feelings about the adequacy and fairness of primary health care (PHC). In this study we quantified the spatial accessibility of PHC from the patient perspective. The main obstacles regarding access to PHC services are: (1) distance from the medical facility; and (2) waiting times after reaching the facility. The total time cost to access PHC is calculated as the sum of the time cost to access the PHC facility and the time cost waiting to receive health care; the total time cost was used in this study to reflect the potential spatial accessibility (i.e. probable entry into the healthcare system) of PHC. In Shanghai, it took residents approximately 13min to reach the nearest primary care facility, with an approximate 23min wait time after arriving at the facility. Thus, the spatial accessibility of PHC in Shanghai is approximately 36min. The method of assessing the spatial accessibility of PHC from the perspective of patients is more explanatory and easier to interpret. In the case of Shanghai, the regional accessibility of PHC is much better than its regional availability. Relevant managers should focus on increasing the resource supply capacity of existing facilities providing primary care in the suburbs of Shanghai.

Author(s):  
Abdul Bari Shaik ◽  
Noor Fathima Shaik ◽  
Shawqiya Salman Al Majid ◽  
Sanaulla Sheik

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems across the world. It has had a devastating impact on peoples’ health, well-being and livelihood, crippling the economy, aviation, travel, hospitality and various other sectors. In order to curb its impact various governments had to take drastic measures to deal with this crisis. In Qatar, the major healthcare providers led by the MOPH responded swiftly by implementing major changes. They developed infrastructure, revisited public health policies, modified their operations and functioning which helped to cope with this evolving public health emergency. This paper reviews how a small health center in Qatar had to adapt its services, infrastructure and pathways to the changing needs and demands in a timely fashion leading to improved patient care and helping to contain the outbreak in both patients and staff alike. It also evaluates how Primary health care corporation at an organization level paved the transition in every aspect to ensure efficient and safe delivery of primary care services to everyone. As the world is preparing to overcome the pandemic, the paper highlights the value of teamwork in responding to the adversity by creating innovative ways of working and how good leadership can have a positive influence on healthcare and society in general.   


Author(s):  
Khalid Alabbasi ◽  
Estie Kruger ◽  
Marc Tennant

<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> Excessive delays and emergency department (ED) overcrowding have become an increasingly major problem for public health worldwide. This study was to assess the key strategies adopted by an ED, at a public hospital in Jeddah, to reduce delays and streamline patient flow. <b><i>Materials and Methods:</i></b> This study was a service evaluation for a Saudi patient population of all age-groups who attended the ED of a public hospital for the period between June 2016 and July 2019. The Saudi initiative to reduce the ED visits at the King Abdullah Medical Complex hospital has started on August 7, 2018. The initiative was to apply an urgency transfer policy which outlines the procedures to follow when patients arrive to the ED where they are reviewed based on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS). Patients with less-urgent conditions (category 4 and 5) are referred to a primary health-care practice (where a family medicine consultant is available). Patients with urgent conditions (category 1–3) are referred to a specialized health-care centre if the service is not currently provided. To test the effectiveness of ED initiative on reducing the overcrowd, data were categorized into before and after the initiative. The bivariate analysis χ<sup>2</sup> tests and 2 sample <i>t</i>-tests were run to explore the relationship of gender and age with dependent variable emergency. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 233,998 patients were included in this study, 61.8% of them were males and the average age of ED patients were 35.5 ± 18.6 years. The majority of cases were those classified as “less urgent” (CTAS 4), which accounted for 65.4%. Number of ED visits before and after the initiative was 67 and 33%, respectively. ED waiting times after the initiative have statistically significantly decreased across all acuity levels compared to ED waiting times before the initiative. <b><i>Conclusion and Implication:</i></b> The findings suggest that the majority of patients arrive to the ED with less-urgent conditions and arrived by walking-in. The number of cases attending the ED significantly decreased following the introduction of the urgency transfer policy. Referral for less-urgent patients to primary health-care centre may be an important front-end operational strategy to relieve congestion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
L F Pinto ◽  
D Soranz ◽  
L J Santos ◽  
M S Paranhos ◽  
L S Malta ◽  
...  

Abstract Brazil is divided into five administrative regions, 27 federation units and 5,570 municipalities. Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states located in the Midwest region and has 1.6 million km2 and a resident population of 2.8 million inhabitants, that is, it has an even lower demographic density than its region - only 7.8 inhabitants/km2. Mato Grosso do Sul has part of the Pantanal, a biome considered the largest continuous floodplain in the world, rich in biodiversity. For this reason, displacements for data collection in household surveys combine roads and rivers. In 2019, the Brazilian National Institute of Geography and Statistics (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica del Brasile) in partnership with the Ministry of Health launched the world's largest household sample survey, the National Health Survey (PNS-2019), in which part of its questions included the use of Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT, adult version), created by professors Barbara Starfield and Leiyu Shi in the 2000s. IBGE interviewers visited more than 100,000 households across the country. In Mato Grosso do Sul, more than 3,000 households were surveyed. In this work, we present the data collection instrument used by IBGE and its multiple analysis possibilities in the scope of primary health care, crossing the variables from other questionnaire modules in order to compare the results from Brazil with the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and its capital, Campo Grande. Developing a baseline and measuring the attributes of primary health care in each of the Brazilian states is another step towards giving health policy accountability, towards strong primary care. IBGE's experience in household surveys and innovation in data collection in primary care is an example for the world that yes, it is possible to develop statistically representative national sample surveys and make them perennial in their regular household surveys, by the time World Health Organization (WHO) discusses universal health coverage. Key messages Evaluation of primary care using an internationally validated instrument is possible on national bases with random household sample surveys. A questionnaire elaborated academically can be used as an instrument of public policy to evaluate nationwide health services.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Pinto ◽  
J V Santos ◽  
M Lobo ◽  
J Viana ◽  
J Souza ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In Portugal, there are different organizational models in primary health care (PHC), mainly regarding the payment scheme. USF-B is the only type with financial incentives to the professional (pay-for-performance). Our goal was to assess the relationship between groups of primary healthcare centres (ACES) with higher proportion of patients within USF-B model and the rate of avoidable hospitalizations, as proxy of primary care quality. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study considering the 55 ACES from mainland Portugal, in 2017. We used data from public hospitalizations to calculate the prevention quality indicator (avoidable hospitalizations) adjusted for age and sex, using direct standardization. The main independent variable was the proportion of patients in one ACES registered in the USF-B model. Unemployment rate, proportion of patients with family doctor and presence of Local Health Unit (different organization model) within ACES were also considered. The association was assessed by means of a linear regression model. Results Age-sex adjusted PQI value varied between 490 and 1715 hospitalizations per 100,000 inhabitants across ACES. We observed a significant effect of the proportion of patients within USF-B in the crude PQI rate (p = 0.001). However, using the age-sex adjusted PQI, there was not a statistical significant association (p = 0.504). This last model was also adjusted for confounding variables and the association remains non-significant (p = 0.865). Conclusions Our findings suggest that, when adjusting for age and sex, there is no evidence that ACES with more patients enrolled in a pay-for-performance model is associated with higher quality of PHC (using avoidable hospitalizations as proxy). Further studies addressing individual data should be performed. This work was financed by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 - POCI, and by Portuguese funds through FCT in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030766 “1st.IndiQare”. Key messages Adjusting PQI to sex and age seems to influence its value more than the type of organizational model of primary health care. Groups of primary healthcare centres with more units under the pay-for-performance scheme was not associated with different rate of avoidable hospitalizations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 419-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabete Pimenta Araujo Paz ◽  
Pedro Miguel Santos Dinis Parreira ◽  
Alexandrina de Jesus Serra Lobo ◽  
Rosilene Rocha Palasson ◽  
Sheila Nascimento Pereira de Farias

Objective To develop the cross-cultural validation and assessment of the psychometric properties of the Questionnaire about the quality and satisfaction dimensions of patients with primary health care. Methods Methodological cultural adaptation and assessment study of the psychometric properties, involving 398 users from a primary care service. The construct validity was verified through principal components factor analysis and internal consistency assessment as determined by Cronbach’s alpha, using SPSS. Results A factorial structure was identified that is equivalent to the original instrument, showing six factors that explain 70.81% of the total variance. All internal consistency coefficients were higher than 0.84, indicating appropriate psychometric properties. Conclusion The results show that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the instrument is culturally and linguistically appropriate to assess the satisfaction of users attended in primary care services.


Author(s):  
Sabrina T. Wong ◽  
Julia M. Langton ◽  
Alan Katz ◽  
Martin Fortin ◽  
Marshall Godwin ◽  
...  

AbstractAimTo describe the process by which the 12 community-based primary health care (CBPHC) research teams worked together and fostered cross-jurisdictional collaboration, including collection of common indicators with the goal of using the same measures and data sources.BackgroundA pan-Canadian mechanism for common measurement of the impact of primary care innovations across Canada is lacking. The Canadian Institutes for Health Research and its partners funded 12 teams to conduct research and collaborate on development of a set of commonly collected indicators.MethodsA working group representing the 12 teams was established. They undertook an iterative process to consider existing primary care indicators identified from the literature and by stakeholders. Indicators were agreed upon with the intention of addressing three objectives across the 12 teams: (1) describing the impact of improving access to CBPHC; (2) examining the impact of alternative models of chronic disease prevention and management in CBPHC; and (3) describing the structures and context that influence the implementation, delivery, cost, and potential for scale-up of CBPHC innovations.FindingsNineteen common indicators within the core dimensions of primary care were identified: access, comprehensiveness, coordination, effectiveness, and equity. We also agreed to collect data on health care costs and utilization within each team. Data sources include surveys, health administrative data, interviews, focus groups, and case studies. Collaboration across these teams sets the foundation for a unique opportunity for new knowledge generation, over and above any knowledge developed by any one team. Keys to success are each team’s willingness to engage and commitment to working across teams, funding to support this collaboration, and distributed leadership across the working group. Reaching consensus on collection of common indicators is challenging but achievable.


1995 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 371-371
Author(s):  
Michael Phelan

This one day seminar was arranged by the King's Fund Organisational Audit team (KFOA), to take a multidisciplinary view of quality improvement in primary care. Despite the title of the day all the speakers were general practitioners and managers, and input from other professional groups was limited to questions and comments from the audience of nearly 200.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S157-S157
Author(s):  
Shabinabegam A M Sheth ◽  
Bhavya Bairy ◽  
Aurobind Ganesh ◽  
Sumi Jain ◽  
Prabhat Chand ◽  
...  

AimsAs per National Mental Health Survey-2015-16, 83 out of 100 people having mental health problems do not have access to care in India. Further, primary health care providers (PCPs) have not been adequately trained in the screening, diagnosis, and initial management of common mental health conditions. There is thus a need to train health care providers at the State level to incorporate mental health into primary health care. In this paper, we report the findings of a collaborative project between the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore India, and the state of Chhattisgarh incorporating mental health into primary care and addressing urban-rural disparities through tele-mentoring.MethodWe assessed the impact of the NIMHANS Extended Community Health Care Outcome (ECHO), an online, blended training program on participants' knowledge and competence (primary outcome) and commitment, satisfaction, and performance (Secondary outcomes) using Moore's evaluation framework. Primary and secondary outcomes were determined through a pre-post evaluation, assessment of trainee participation in the quarterly tele ECHO clinic as well as periodic assignments, respectively.ResultOver ten months of the NIMHANS ECHO program, there was a significant improvement in the participants' knowledge post-ECHO (p < 0.05, t = −3.52). Self-efficacy in diagnosis and management of mental health problems approached significance; p < 0.001. Increased engagement in tele-ECHO sessions was associated with better performance for declarative and procedural knowledge. The attrition rate was low (5 out of 30 dropped out), and satisfaction ratings of the course were high across all fields. The participants reported a 10- fold increase in the number of patients with mental health problems they had seen, following the training. A statistically significant increase in the number of psychotropic drugs prescribed post ECHO with t = −3.295, p = 0.01.ConclusionThe outcomes indicate that the NIMHANS ECHO with high participant commitment is a model with capacity building potential in mental health and addiction for remote and rural areas by leveraging technology. This model has the potential to be expanded to other states in the country in providing mental health care to persons in need of care.


Author(s):  
Mikaela Lopes de Caldas ◽  
Francisco Das Chagas Cardoso Filho

A tuberculose (TB) é uma doença infecciosa e transmissível, causada pelo Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A detecção de casos figura entre as principais medidas de controle da tuberculose, embora grandes avanços tenham ocorrido no que se relaciona ao diagnóstico, tratamento e prevenção da doença, a mesma ainda requer atenção especial, por parte dos profissionais da saúde (equipe multiprofissional) e da sociedade como um todo. A Atenção Básica se caracteriza como ferramenta primordial na suspeição e na detecção dos casos de tuberculose na comunidade. O objetivo geral do presente trabalho é identificar produções científicas que avaliem o desempenho da Atenção Básica no controle da tuberculose. Os objetivos específicos foram: ressaltar a importância da Atenção Básica na detecção dos casos suspeitos; expor a relevância da Atenção Básica como fator indispensável no controle da tuberculose. Caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa bibliográfica explicativa e explorativa, realizada no recorte histórico de 1998 a 2011, período esse definidor para a implementação de medidas de controle da tuberculose. Encontraram-se 29 referências, das quais 19 obedeciam aos critérios de inclusão. Portanto, a Atenção Básica caracterizada como principal porta de entrada ao acesso à saúde, proporciona a aproximação do cidadão às medidas de controle da tuberculose, assim como promove a educação em saúde, que visa a prevenção dos agravos e proporcionam autonomia e autoconhecimento que são indispensáveis para a manutenção da saúde frente às doenças preveníveis como a tuberculose, porém que se configuram como problemas de saúde pública. Palavras-chave: Tuberculose. Atenção Básica. Controle. AbstractTuberculosis (TB) is an infectious and communicable disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis. The case detection is one of the main control  measures of tuberculosis, although major advances have occurred regarding the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the disease, the same still requires special attention on the part of health professionals (multidisciplinary team) and society as a whole. The primary care is characterized as a primary tool in suspicion and detection of tuberculosis cases in the community. The overall objective of this study is to identify scientific production to assess the performance of primary health care in tuberculosis control. The specific objectives were to highlight the importance of primary care in the detection of suspected cases; expose the relevance of primary health care as an essential factor in tuberculosis control. It is characterized as an explanatory and exploratory literature survey, conducted in historical period from 1998 to 2011, a period defined for the implementation of tb control measures. It was found 29 references, 19 of which obeyed the inclusion criteria. Therefore, the primary care characterized as the main gateway to access to health, provides the citizen’s approach to tuberculosis control measures and promotes health education aimed at prevention of injuries and provides autonomy and self-knowledge that are essential for maintenance health against preventable diseases such as tuberculosis, but which are seen as  the main  public health problems. Keywords: Tuberculosis. Primary Care. Control. 


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