scholarly journals Primary Care Practice Workplace Social Capital: A Potential Secret Sauce for Improved Staff Well-Being and Patient Experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam T Perzynski ◽  
Aleece Caron ◽  
David Margolius ◽  
Joseph J Sudano

Patient experiences with the health-care system are increasingly seen as a vital measure of health-care quality. This study examined whether workplace social capital and employee outcomes are associated with patients’ perceptions of care quality across multiple clinic sites in a diverse, urban safety net care setting. Data from clinic staff were collected using paper and pencil surveys and data from patients were collected via a telephone survey. A total of 8392 adult primary care patients and 265 staff (physicians, nurses, allied health, and support staff) were surveyed at 10 community health clinics. The staff survey included brief measures of workplace social capital, burnout, and job satisfaction. The patient-level outcome was patients’ overall rating of the quality of care. Factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted to examine measurement properties of the employee data. Data were aggregated and measures were examined at the clinic site level. Workplace social capital had moderate to strong associations with burnout ( r = −0.40, P < .01) and job satisfaction ( r = 0.59, P < .01). Mean patient quality of care rating was 8.90 (95% confidence interval: 8.86-8.94) ranging from 8.57 to 9.18 across clinic sites. Pearson correlations with patient-rated care quality were high for workplace social capital ( r = 0.88, P = .001), employee burnout ( r = −0.74, P < .05), and satisfaction ( r = 0.69, P < .05). Patient-perceived clinic quality differences were largely explained by differences in workplace social capital, staff burnout, and satisfaction. Investments in workplace social capital to improve employee satisfaction and reduce burnout may be key to better patient experiences in primary care.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Berthelsen ◽  
Mikaela Owen ◽  
Hugo Westerlund

Abstract Background Welfare societies like Sweden face challenges in balancing the budget while meeting the demand for good quality healthcare. The aim of this study was to analyse whether care quality, operationalized as survival of dental fillings, is predicted by workplace social capital and if this effect is direct or indirect (through stress and/or job satisfaction among staff at the clinic), controlling for patient demographics. Methods The prospective design includes A) work environment data from surveys of 75 general public dental clinics (aggregated data based on 872 individual ratings), and B) register-based survival of 9381dental fillings performed during a 3-month period around the time of the survey, and C) patient demographics (age, gender, income level and birth place). Using a multi-level discrete-time proportional hazard model, we tested whether clinic-level social capital, stress, and job satisfaction could predict tooth-level filling failure, controlling for patient demographics. One direct and two indirect pathways, moderated by filling tooth, location, and filling type, were tested. Results High workplace social capital reduced the risk of early failure of fillings in molar teeth, mediated by group-perceived job satisfaction (indirect path: OR = 0.93, p < .05, direct path from job satisfaction: OR = 0.89, p < .05). Contrary to expectations, we found no support for a direct effect from social capital on care quality or for the indirect pathway via stress at the clinic level. Conclusions Workplace social capital boosted the quality of dental fillings through increased levels of job satisfaction. In addition, staff at clinics with higher social capital reported less stress and higher levels of job satisfaction. These results indicate that promotion of social capital may improve both occupational health and care quality.


Author(s):  
Diana Delnoij

This chapter will help you to analyse the health care process and, in particular, the quality of this process and its outcomes from the patient’s perspective. You will read how you can measure quality from the patient’s perspective, how to interpret the findings, and how to take action based on the results. This chapter provides hands-on guidance with respect to the development and implementation of surveys measuring patient experiences. However, keep in mind that this is only a first step in the quality cycle. The results of such a survey give you a ‘diagnosis’ of the quality of care from the patients’ perspective. It does not really tell you what you should do to improve patient experiences, however. To find effective remedies for negative experiences, often you will have to do additional research.


Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Hoa ◽  
Anselme Derese ◽  
Jeffrey F. Markuns ◽  
Nguyen Minha Tam ◽  
Wim Peersman

Abstract Aim: To adapt the provider version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) for Vietnam and determine its internal consistency and validity. Background: There is a growing need to measure and explore the impact of various characteristics of health care systems on the quality of primary care. It would provide the best evidence for policy makers if these evaluations come from both the demand and supply sides of the health care sector. Comparatively more researchers have studied primary care quality from the consumer perspective than from the provider’s perspective. This study aims at the latter. Method: Our study translated and adapted the PCAT provider version (PCAT PE) into a Vietnamese version, after which a cross-sectional survey was conducted to examine the feasibility, internal consistency and validity of the Vietnamese PCAT provider version (VN PCAT PE). All general doctors working at 152 commune health centres in Thua Thien Hue province had been selected to participate in the survey. Findings: The VN PCAT PE is an instrument for evaluation of primary care in Vietnam with 116 items comprising six scales representing four core primary care domains, and three additional scales representing three derivative domains. From the translation and cultural adaptation stage, two items were combined, two items were removed and one item was added. Six other items were excluded due to problems in item-total correlations. All items have a low non-response or ‘don’t know/don’t remember’ response rate, and there were no floor or ceiling effects. All scales had a Cronbach’s alpha above 0.80, except for the Coordination scale, which still was above the minimum level of 0.70. Conclusion: The VN PCAT PE demonstrates adequate internal consistency and validity to be used as an effective tool for measuring the quality of primary care in Vietnam from the provider perspective.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (suppl 2) ◽  
pp. 811-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovana Aparecida de Souza Scolari ◽  
Leidyani Karina Rissardo ◽  
Vanessa Denardi Antoniassi Baldissera ◽  
Lígia Carreira

ABSTRACT Objective: to understand the conception of the elderly and their caregivers about the accessibility to health mediated by the service in Emergency Care Units. Methodo: a qualitative study conducted with 25 elderly patients and caregivers at Emergency Care Units in a city of Paraná, using Grounded Theory as a methodological reference. Results: According to the participants, the resources available in these services guarantee medical consultation and provide access to exams and medicines. Such resources have attracted patients and caused excess demand, which implies a set of compromising factors for the quality of care in these services. Final considerations: Investments in the restructuring of the care network, especially in primary care, with an increase in the number of consultations and the creation of a bond, can contribute to the emergency care units achieving the goal of access to qualified assistance to the elderly population.


2007 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuan-Fen Liu ◽  
Michael K. Chapko ◽  
Mark W. Perkins ◽  
John Fortney ◽  
Matthew L. Maciejewski

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Kaboli ◽  
Daniel M. Shivapour ◽  
Michael S. Henderson ◽  
Areef Ishani ◽  
Mary E. Charlton

Background: Discontinuity is common in US healthcare. Patients access multiple systems of care and in the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system, Veteran’s Administration (VA) patients frequently use non-VA primary care providers. The impact of this “dual-management” on quality is unknown. The authors’ objective was to identify dual-management and associations with markers of care quality for hypertension and associated conditions. Methods: Data was collected via surveys and chart reviews of primary care patients with hypertension from six VA clinics in Iowa and Minnesota. Clinical measures abstracted included the following: goal blood pressure (BP) and use of guideline-concordant therapy, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, hemoglobin A1C, and body mass index (BMI). Dual-management data was obtained through self-report. Results: Of 189 subjects (mean age = 66), 36% were dual-managed by non-VA providers. There was no difference in hypertension quality of care measures by dual-management status. A total of 51% were at BP goal and 58% were on guideline-concordant therapy. Dual-managed patients were more likely to use thiazide diuretics (43% vs 29%; P = .03) and angiotensin receptor blockers (13% vs 3%; P < .01), but less likely to use angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (43% vs 61%; P = .02). There was no difference in LDL cholesterol (97.1 mg/dl vs 100.1 mg/dl; P = .55), hemoglobin A1C (7% vs 6%; P = .74), or BMI (29.8 vs 30.9; P = .40) for dual-managed versus VA managed patients, respectively. Conclusions: Although dual-management may decrease continuity, VA/private sector dual-management did not impact quality of care, though some medication differences were observed. With the high prevalence of dual-management, future work should further address quality and evaluate redundancy of services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 716-737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim C. Brimhall

Nonprofit leaders and managers are recognizing the benefits of creating inclusive organizations in which everyone feels valued and appreciated, yet little is known about how leaders can foster workplace inclusion. This study examined the relationships among leader engagement, inclusion, innovation, job satisfaction, and perceived quality of care in a diverse nonprofit health care organization. Data were collected at three points in 6-month intervals from a U.S. nonprofit hospital. Multilevel path analysis indicated significant direct associations between leader engagement, inclusion, and innovation. Innovation was directly linked to improved job satisfaction and perceived quality of care. Significant indirect effects were found from leader engagement to increased job satisfaction and perceived quality of care through increased climates for inclusion and innovation. Findings suggest that nonprofit leaders who engage others in critical organizational processes can help foster an inclusive climate that leads to increased innovation, employee job satisfaction, and perceived quality of care.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document