Drawing on healthcare professionals’ ethnicity: lessons learned from a Danish community pharmacy intervention for ethnic minorities

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-243
Author(s):  
Anna Mygind ◽  
Lotte Stig Nørgaard ◽  
Janine M. Traulsen ◽  
Mira El-Souri ◽  
Maria Kristiansen

Aims: To present and discuss implementation experiences regarding the involvement of community pharmacists with ethnic minority backgrounds in a medication review intervention for ethnic minority poly-pharmacy patients in Denmark. Methods: Data sources include 1) reflection notes from an introductory seminar with pharmacists and the cross-disciplinary research team and 2) five individual interviews and one focus group interview with pharmacists. Data were thematically coded and synthesised to identify underlying rationales and challenges encountered when involving professionals with ethnic minority backgrounds in interventions for ethnic minorities. Results: Informants perceived the need for interventions targeted at ethnic minority poly-pharmacy patients, and highlighted the potential of involving professionals with diverse ethnic backgrounds in such interventions. However, implementation created challenges, because the professional identity of the pharmacists reduced their options for serving as peers with the same ethnic background. Furthermore, issues related to organisational difficulties and overcoming language barriers in the intervention impacted on the potential of involving professionals with ethnic minority backgrounds. Conclusions: Involving healthcare professionals with ethnic minority backgrounds in encounters with ethnic minorities holds potential for the adaptation of services to ethnically diverse populations, thus improving access to and quality of care. However, it is important to ensure sufficient personal and organisational support and to acknowledge the delicate balance between simultaneously serving as a peer and as a professional.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. e000532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstin Woody Scott ◽  
Theophile Dushime ◽  
Vincent Rusanganwa ◽  
Liana Woskie ◽  
Clint Attebery ◽  
...  

Improving the quality of healthcare delivery is increasingly a global health priority. However, quality improvement training opportunities that provide theoretical foundations and basic skills for patient safety and other quality initiatives have been limited or historically out of reach, especially in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). To address this gap, the Harvard Initiative on Global Health Quality (HIGHQ) created and launched a massive open online course (MOOC) in 2014 focused on patient safety and quality of care using the edX platform. More than 30 000 students from across 195 countries registered for the online course. This paper summarises an innovative educational partnership between the course team and one of these countries, Rwanda, to develop a blended-learning model to bolster participation in this new course among Rwandan healthcare professionals. Although a small country, Rwanda was among the top performing countries for attracting course registrants and was the leading country for the proportion of enrollees who ultimately completed the course. Further, half (21 of 42) of Rwanda’s district hospitals opted to appoint a PH555x course facilitator at their site to help lead regular meetings and discussions about the course content at their facility. The majority of Rwandan enrollees were health professionals (63%) and 81% reported that PH555x was their first experience taking an online course. Among those participating in the ‘flipped’ component at hospital sites, 94% reported that the course helped them to think of specific ways to improve healthcare quality at their facility. In this paper, we describe this innovative public–private educational model, challenges to implementation and lessons learned that may be helpful for future MOOC developers who wish to augment learning opportunities among healthcare professionals in LMICs.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e037932
Author(s):  
Laura Emdal Navne ◽  
Stinne Høgh ◽  
Marianne Johansen ◽  
Mette Nordahl Svendsen ◽  
Jette Led Sorensen

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore women and partners’ experiences following critical perinatal events.DesignThis is a qualitative interview study. We conducted semistructured individual interviews with women and their partners in separate rooms. Interviews were analysed thematically and validated by a transdisciplinary group of anthropologists, obstetricians and a midwife.SettingDepartment of obstetrics at a tertiary referral university hospital in Denmark.ParticipantsWomen and partners who had experienced a critical perinatal event within the past 3–12 months.ResultsWe conducted 17 interviews and identified three main themes: (1) ambivalence towards medicalisation, (2) the extended temporality of a critical birth and (3) postnatal loss of attention from healthcare professionals. Overall, participants expressed a high degree of trust in and quality of provided healthcare during the critical perinatal events. They experienced medicalisation (obstetric interventions) as a necessity, linking them to the safety of the child and their new role as responsible parents. However, some women experienced disempowerment when healthcare professionals overlooked their ability to stay actively involved during birth events. Postnatally, women and their partners experienced shortages of healthcare professional resources, absent healthcare and lack of attention.ConclusionsWomen and their partners’ experiences of critical perinatal events begin long before and end long after the actual moment of childbirth, challenging conventional ideas about the birth as being the pivotal event in making families. In future healthcare planning, it is important to to align expectations and guide parental involvement in birth events and to acknowledge the postnatal period as equally crucial.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 233372141985566 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Courtney Hughes ◽  
Erin Vernon

Background: Medicare spends about 20% more on the last year of life for Black and Hispanic people than White people. With lower hospice utilization rates, racial/ethnic minorities receive fewer hospice-related benefits such as lesser symptoms, lower costs, and improved quality of life. For-profit hospices have higher dropout rates than nonprofit hospices, yet target racial/ethnic minority communities more through community outreach. This analysis examined the relationship between hospice utilization and for-profit hospice status and conducted an economic analysis of racial/ethnic minority utilization. Method: Cross-sectional analysis of 2014 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. Census, and Hospice Analytics data. Measures included Medicare racial/ethnic minority hospice utilization, for-profit hospice status, estimated cost savings, and several demographic and socioeconomic variables. Results: The prevalence of for-profit hospices was associated with significantly increased hospice utilization among racial/ethnic minorities. With savings of about $2,105 per Medicare hospice enrollee, closing the gap between the White and racial/ethnic minority populations would result in nearly $270 million in annual cost savings. Discussion: Significant disparities in hospice use related to hospice for-profit status exist among the racial/ethnic minority Medicare population. CMS and state policymakers should consider lower racial/ethnic minority hospice utilization and foster better community outreach at all hospices to decrease patient costs and improve quality of life.


2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Chiarenza ◽  
Lidia Horvat ◽  
Katja Lanting ◽  
Anna Ciannameo ◽  
Jeanine Suurmond

Background: The global phenomenon of migration has dramatically changed the social context in which healthcare professionals operate. European states are facing a growing need to effectively train healthcare professionals to understand and respond appropriately to the diverse needs of migrants and ethnic minorities. While many European Union (EU) countries have adopted specific initiatives, there is considerable variation in these activities and few examples of evaluation of the quality of these training courses. Aims: This article describes findings from a review conducted as a part of the ‘Training packages for health professionals to improve access and quality of health services for migrants and ethnic minorities, including the Roma (MEM-TP)’ project, which sought to identify and assess training programmes for health professionals delivered in Europe between 2004 and 2013. Methods: The review and analysis of training materials comprised three components: (1) a review of the published and unpublished literature, (2) a survey addressing national contact persons, and representatives of international organisations and non-governmental organisations and (3) an assessment of the quality of the training programmes identified. Results: The review showed that training programmes tend to be characterised by low levels of participant involvement in training development, delivery and evaluation. Training programmes often lacked an explicit pedagogical approach, did not systematically focus on outcomes in training design, implementation and evaluation, and were poorly linked to key organisational and policy support. Finally, while cultural competence continues to be the broad conceptual approach used in training programmes, alternate approaches such as intersectionality, equity and person-centred care are emergent. Conclusion: Training programmes in Europe can be further improved in order to ensure an effective response to the diverse needs of patients, carers, health professionals and the community.


Author(s):  
Reema Harrison ◽  
Merrilyn Walton ◽  
Ashfaq Chauhan ◽  
Elizabeth Manias ◽  
Upma Chitkara ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Effective patient engagement has been associated with high quality health care. There is a dearth of evidence around effective engagement with consumers from ethnic minority backgrounds; specifically in relation to the role of cultural competence amongst healthcare professionals in effective engagement with consumers from ethnic minority backgrounds. To address this knowledge gap, we analysed the role of cultural competence in the consumer engagement approaches taken by community healthcare professionals working with consumers from ethnic minority backgrounds. Methods Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 21 healthcare professionals employed across four community healthcare and affiliated services in four local government areas in Australia. Results Adopting patient-centric approaches (that seek to understand and be responsive to the patient as an individual) featured as an underpinning theme that transcended other emerging themes. Recognition of diversity within communities and individuals in those communities, all with their own story, was described as pivotal to effective engagement. This was encapsulated in the theme of Cultural standpoints and personal context that contained four further themes of: (1) Build foundations of trust and respect; (2) Diversify communication channels; (3) Generate system, service and community partnerships; (4) Take the time. Conclusion Our findings indicate that cultural competence and effective consumer engagement are closely linked in ethnic minority populations. Embedding cultural competence as a health system, service and professional capability is therefore critical to ensure equitable healthcare quality for consumers from all ethnic backgrounds.


2007 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Waters ◽  
Nick Hardy ◽  
Domonique Delgado ◽  
Simone Dahlmann

This article considers some of the barriers to ethnic minority recruitment into the police, as well as those factors that would encourage interest in a police officer career. In addition to reviewing recent policy, the article incorporates results from research conducted on behalf of one UK police force. The research revealed a considerable degree of hostility towards the police among some ethnic minority respondents, many of whom would never consider pursuing a police officer career. The importance of securing a fully representative police service has been emphasised by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, and the Macpherson Inquiry (1999) added urgency to this aim. To encourage police recruitment, it is concluded that the quality of service to local ethnic minority communities is probably as important as any special police recruitment campaign.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 702-707
Author(s):  
Paul Regan ◽  
Sarah Shillitoe-Kehoe

Recommendation 195 of the Francis report suggested that the introduction of supervisory ward managers into clinical practice could improve the quality of patient care in England. The Department of Health and NHS Commissioning Board's vision and strategy Compassion in Practice in 2012 restated the recommendation in action area four, with trusts required to publish progress. With the aim of identifying whether the lessons of the Francis report had been learned, a review of the published literature since 2012 retrieved only five articles on the subject, with many anecdotal accounts of its implementation in local trusts. The three subsequent update reports of Compassion in Practice stopped backing recommendation 195 and promoted black and ethnic minority leadership, a laudable initiative, but not a recommendation of the Francis report. The authors suggest recommendation 195 and Compassion in Practice's original action area four should be promoted again to ensure public safety and address the notion that lessons learned are less likely to be repeated.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-280
Author(s):  
Giorgi Bobghiashvili ◽  
Graham Donnelly

Georgia is the most ethnically diverse state in the South Caucasus. Since independence, it has been blighted by violent secessionism and Russian invasion, the roots of which are invariably described as having stemmed from this diversity; the lack of integration of its ethnic minorities; and the recurrent failures of Georgian governments to adequately balance the nationalizing tendencies of constructing a newly independent state on the one hand and the needs and desires of its multinational citizenry on the other. In the first part of this report, we look at the roots of the present minority situation in Georgia, noting the main minority groups and the issues concerning them, before moving on in the second part to consider the issue of minority governance. We also provide a review of the most significant developments in 2014–2015 before commenting on the prospects for the coming year.


2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Major ◽  
Pamela J. Sawyer ◽  
Jonathan W. Kunstman

Whites’ nonprejudiced behavior toward racial/ethnic minorities can be attributionally ambiguous for perceivers, who may wonder whether the behavior was motivated by a genuine internal commitment to egalitarianism or was externally motivated by desires to avoid appearing prejudiced to others. This article reports the development of a scale that measures perceptions of Whites’ internal and external motives for avoiding prejudice (Perceived Internal Motivation Scale/Perceived External Motivation Scale [PIMS/PEMS]) and tests of its internal, test–retest, discriminant, convergent, and predictive validity among ethnic minority perceivers. Minorities perceived Whites as having internal and external motives for nonprejudiced behavior that were theoretically consistent with but distinct from established measures of minority-group members’ concerns in interracial interactions. Tests of the predictive validity of PIMS/PEMS showed that when a White evaluator praised the mediocre essay of a minority target, minorities who were high PEMS and low PIMS were most likely to regard the feedback as inauthentic and derogate the quality of the essay.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
B Pais ◽  
G Wuerzner ◽  
A Chiolero ◽  
P Schaller ◽  
L Cloutier ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Blood pressure (BP) control is poor in European countries. Team-based care (TBC) intervention involving different healthcare professionals has the potential to improve BP control. Within a patient-centered approach, we evaluated patients' and healthcare professionals' opinion about a TBC intervention involving nurses, pharmacists, and physicians (MD). Methods As part of the TBC study, a pragmatic randomized controlled study to evaluate the impact of a TBC interprofessional intervention on BP control, we collected opinion of patients and team-based members (nurses, community pharmacists, and MD) at the end of study period using specific questionnaires. A mean TBC-satisfaction score was computed, assessing various aspects of the intervention, and ranged from 0 to 60, where a higher score represents a greater satisfaction. Results All patients (100%), pharmacists (100%), MD (92%) and nurses (80%) were satisfied with TBC intervention. Most patients considered that TBC can help improving BP control (92%), drug intake (71%), and lifestyle habits (84%). Furthermore, patients reported that TBC improved their relationship with nurses (66%), pharmacists (55%), and MD (50%). Patients also reported that their discussion with nurses (95%) and pharmacists (89%) helped improve medication intake. Healthcare professionals considered that TBC improve the quality of care (91%) and an added value for the management of chronic disease (79%). Mean TBC-satisfaction score was higher among MD [42 (SD: 9)] and pharmacists [45 (SD: 6)] compared with nurses [36 (SD: 9)]. Conclusions Overall, patients and healthcare professionals were highly satisfied regarding TBC engaging different healthcare professionals in a primary care setting. Key messages TBC intervention seem to be well appreciated by patients and healthcare professionals. Favourable patients’ and healthcare professionals’ perspectives will help implementing TBC intervention.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document