scholarly journals International Students’ Experience With Health Care in Japan

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110092
Author(s):  
Masumi Soneta ◽  
Akiko Kondo ◽  
Renaguli Abuliezi ◽  
Aya Kimura

The number of foreign residents and visitors in Japan is increasing, which necessitates culturally competent care in hospitals. This study aimed to describe the experience of international students who visited hospitals in Japan. In total, nine international graduate students in a medical university participated in semi-structured interviews in English. The interview contents were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. While participants were satisfied with an efficient medical system and kind staff, they also had difficulty communicating with staff and receiving health care due to language and cultural differences. Participants desired Japanese health care staff speak English, as well as have English documents. The differences from their own countries were mainly medical fees, insurance, the medical system itself, and use of English to communicate with foreign patients. It is necessary to improve staff’s English skills, provide English documents, use multilanguage interpreter services, and explain Japanese hospitals’ medical system.

Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Schwei ◽  
Natalie Guerrero ◽  
Alissa L. Small ◽  
Elizabeth A. Jacobs

AbstractPurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand different roles that interpreters play in a pediatric, limited English proficient (LEP) health care encounter and to describe what factors within each role inform physicians’ assessment of the overall quality of interpretation.BackgroundLanguage barriers contribute to lower quality of care in LEP pediatric patients compared to their English-speaking counterparts. Use of professional medical interpreters has been shown to improve communication and decrease medical errors in pediatric LEP patients. In addition, in many pediatric encounters, interpreters take on roles beyond that of a pure language conduit.MethodsWe conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with pediatricians and family medicine physicians in one health system. Transcripts were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We analyzed our data using directed content analysis. Two study team members coded all transcripts, reviewed agreement, and resolved discrepancies.FindingsPhysicians described four different interpreter roles: language conduit, flow manager, relationship builder, and cultural insider. Within each role, physicians described components of quality that informed their assessment of the overall quality of interpretation during a pediatric encounter. We found that for many physicians, a high-quality interpreted encounter involves multiple roles beyond language transmission. It is important for health care systems to understand how health care staff conceptualize these relationships so that they can develop appropriate expectations and trainings for medical interpreters in order to improve health outcomes in pediatric LEP patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 233372142091063
Author(s):  
Sachin Ganorkar ◽  
Zarina Nahar Kabir ◽  
Nasreen Rustomfram ◽  
Harshad Thakur

Objective: The study aims to describe the experiences of older persons in seeking health care in a private hospital in urban India. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 older persons admitted in or visiting a private hospital in Hyderabad city in India between the period November 2017 and April 2018. The data were analyzed using Content Analysis. Results: Dimensions related to payment mechanisms, quality of health care staff, and hospital quality were reported to be important for the older persons. Payment mechanisms were related to discounts, insurance support, and reducing out-of-pocket expenditure. Quality of care was related to optimizing hospital operational processes like discharge time, standard of treatment, and trustworthiness of the medical staff. Discussion: Payment mechanism can be made friendly for the older persons. Quality of hospital including its staff can be enhanced by developing geriatric-specific competencies which can help them to understand and treat complex health problems specific for the older population.


Dementia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 2710-2730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Prato ◽  
Lyndsay Lindley ◽  
Miriam Boyles ◽  
Louise Robinson ◽  
Clare Abley

It is acknowledged that there are many challenges to ensuring a positive hospital experience for patients with cognitive impairment. The study (‘Improving hospital care for adults with cognitive impairment’) aimed to explore the positive and negative experiences of older adults with cognitive impairment (dementia and delirium) and their relatives and/or carers, during an acute hospital stay, from admission to discharge, using a qualitative, case study methodology. Six participants with cognitive impairment, eight relatives and 59 members of the health care team were recruited. Data was collected via ethnographic, observational periods at each stage of the hospital journey and through the use of semi-structured interviews with relatives, carers and health care staff including: medical staff; nursing staff; physiotherapists and ward managers. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to facilitate data analysis. 52 hours 55 minutes of ethnographic observations and 18 interviews with ward staff and relatives were undertaken. Three superordinate themes emerged from the data as crucial in determining the quality of the hospital experience: valuing the person; activities of empowerment and disempowerment and the interaction of environment with patient well-being. Whether the patient’s hospital experience was positive or negative was powerfully influenced by family involvement and ward staff actions and communication. Participants identified a requirement for a ward based activity service for patients with cognitive impairment. Further research must be undertaken focusing on the development of ward based activities for patients with cognitive impairment, alongside a move towards care which explores measures to improve and expand relative involvement in hospital care.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Arnaldo ◽  
Isabel Cambe ◽  
Amílcar Magasso ◽  
Sérgio Chicumbe ◽  
Eduard Rovira-Vallbona ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundMalaria remains a significant health problem in Mozambique, particularly to pregnant women and children less than five years old. Intermittent preventive treatment is recommended for malaria prevention in pregnancy (IPTp). Despite the widespread use and cost-effectiveness of this intervention, the coverage remains low. In this study, we aimed to explore the factors limiting the access and use of IPTp-SP in Chókwè district.Methods and findingsWe used qualitative research methods through semi-structured interviews to collect data from 46 pregnant women and four health care staff from Chókwè, a rural area of southern Mozambique. Data were transcribed, manually coded and analysed using content and thematic method. Participants were not aware of pregnancy-related risks of malaria infection or the benefit of malaria prevention in pregnancy. Late and infrequently antenatal care (ANC) attendance, concerns about the long waiting time at ANC consultations,plus reluctance to disclose the pregnancy early, emerged as driving factors for inadequate IPTp delivery.ConclusionsPregnant women experience substantial barriers to receive adequate IPTp-SP dosing for malaria prevention. Poor awareness, non-compliance with ANC attendance and poor attitude of health care staff were main barriers to IPTp-SP delivery. There is a need to strengthen actions that improve awareness about malaria and prevention among pregnant women, as well as quality services across the ANC services in order to increase IPTp-SP uptake.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 239920262094136
Author(s):  
Dinsie B Williams ◽  
Jillian C Kohler ◽  
Andrew Howard ◽  
Zubin Austin ◽  
Yu-Ling Cheng

Background: Transnational funders provide up to 80% of funds for medical devices in resource-limited settings, yet sustained access to medical devices remains unachievable. The primary goal of this study was to identify what factors hinder access to medical devices through the perspectives of frontline public hospital staff in Ghana involved in the implementation of transnational funding initiatives. Methods: A case study was developed that involved an analysis of semi-structured interviews of 57 frontline technical, clinical and administrative public health care staff at 23 sites in Ghana between March and April 2017; a review of the national guidelines for donations; and images of abandoned medical devices. Results: Six key themes emerged, demonstrating how policy, collaboration, quality, lifetime operating costs, attitudes of health care workers and representational leadership influence access to medical devices. An in-depth assessment of these themes has led to the development of an enterprise-wide comprehensive acquisition and management framework for medical devices in the context of transnational funding initiatives. Conclusion: The findings in this study underscore the importance of incorporating frontline health care staff in developing solutions that are targeted at improving delivery of care. Sustained access to medical devices may be achieved in Ghana through the adoption of a rigorous and comprehensive approach to acquisition, management and technical leadership. Funders and public health policy makers may use the study’s findings to inform policy reform and to ensure that the efforts of transnational funders truly help to facilitate sustainable access to medical devices in Ghana.


Author(s):  
E. Rydwik ◽  
L. Anmyr ◽  
M. Regardt ◽  
A. McAllister ◽  
R. Zarenoe ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The knowledge of the long-term consequences of covid-19 is limited. In patients, symptoms such as fatigue, decreased physical, psychological, and cognitive function, and nutritional problems have been reported. How the disease has affected next of kin, as well as staff involved in the care of patients with covid-19, is also largely unknown. The overall aim of this study is therefore three-fold: (1) to describe and evaluate predictors of patient recovery, the type of rehabilitation received and patients’ experiences of specialized rehabilitation following COVID-19 infection; (2) to study how next of kin experienced the hospital care of their relative and their experiences of the psychosocial support they received as well as their psychological wellbeing; (3) to describe experiences of caring for patients with COVID-19 and evaluate psychological wellbeing, coping mechanisms and predictors for development of psychological distress over time in health care staff. Methods This observational longitudinal study consists of three cohorts; patients, next of kin, and health care staff. The assessments for the patients consist of physical tests (lung function, muscle strength, physical capacity) and questionnaires (communication and swallowing, nutritional status, hearing, activities of daily living, physical activity, fatigue, cognition) longitudinally at 3, 6 and 12 months. Patient records auditing (care, rehabilitation) will be done retrospectively at 12 months. Patients (3, 6 and 12 months), next of kin (6 months) and health care staff (baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months) will receive questionnaires regarding, health-related quality of life, depression, anxiety, sleeping disorders, and post-traumatic stress. Staff will also answer questionnaires about burnout and coping strategies. Interviews will be conducted in all three cohorts. Discussion This study will be able to answer different research questions from a quantitative and qualitative perspective, by describing and evaluating long-term consequences and their associations with recovery, as well as exploring patients’, next of kins’ and staffs’ views and experiences of the disease and its consequences. This will form a base for a deeper and better understanding of the consequences of the disease from different perspectives as well as helping the society to better prepare for a future pandemic.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110035
Author(s):  
Jennifer Utter ◽  
Sally McCray

Family meals provide a unique opportunity for families to eat well and engage positively with each other. In response to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, a new initiative to support health care staff to share healthy meals with their families was developed. At a hospital in Queensland, Australia, dietetic staff collaborated with the on-site food service retailer to develop and offer a range of hot meals that staff could take home for their families at the end of their day. The meals were nutritious, reasonably priced, and designed to feed a family of four. The dietetic staff worked with the hospital marketing department and staff health and wellness program to promote the initiative. Over the 3 months that it has been running, nearly 300 meals have been purchased. Anecdotal comments from the food service retailer highlighted that the initiative was a good thing to do for staff to maintain a positive reputation of the business. The staff evening meal initiative is a healthy, affordable, educational, and socially engaging alternative to takeaway meals and food delivery by app, and it is mutually beneficial for health care staff and the on-site food retailer. The initiative also offers a unique opportunity for promoting nutrition and social engagement during stressful times.


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