The Need for Sustainable Teleconsultation Systems in the Aftermath of the First COVID-19 Wave

The physical and social distancing measures that have been adopted worldwide because of COVID-19 will probably remain in place for a long time, especially for senior adults, people with chronic conditions, and other at-risk populations. Teleconsultations can be useful in ensuring that patients continue to receive clinical care while reducing physical crowding and avoiding unnecessary exposure of health care staff. Implementation processes that typically take months of planning, budgeting, pilot testing, and education were compressed into days. However, in the urgency to deal with the present crisis, we may be forgetting that the introduction of digital health is not exclusively a technological issue, but part of a complex organizational change problem. This viewpoint offers insight regarding issues that rapidly adopted teleconsultation systems may face in a post–COVID-19 world.

Download Full-text

The Need for Sustainable Teleconsultation Systems in the Aftermath of the First COVID-19 Wave (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.21211 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Guido Giunti ◽

Richard Goossens ◽

Antoinette De Bont ◽

Jacob J Visser ◽

Mark Mulder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Digital Health ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Care Staff ◽

Health Care Staff ◽

Senior Adults ◽

Implementation Processes ◽

Long Time ◽

Technological Issue ◽

At Risk Populations ◽

To Receive

UNSTRUCTURED The physical and social distancing measures that have been adopted worldwide because of COVID-19 will probably remain in place for a long time, especially for senior adults, people with chronic conditions, and other at-risk populations. Teleconsultations can be useful in ensuring that patients continue to receive clinical care while reducing physical crowding and avoiding unnecessary exposure of health care staff. Implementation processes that typically take months of planning, budgeting, pilot testing, and education were compressed into days. However, in the urgency to deal with the present crisis, we may be forgetting that the introduction of digital health is not exclusively a technological issue, but part of a complex organizational change problem. This viewpoint offers insight regarding issues that rapidly adopted teleconsultation systems may face in a post–COVID-19 world.

Download Full-text

Suicide by prisoners

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.184.3.263 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 184 (3) ◽

pp. 263-267 ◽

Cited By ~ 137

Author(s):

Jenny Shaw ◽

Denise Baker ◽

Isabelle M. Hunt ◽

Anne Moloney ◽

Louis Appleby

Keyword(s):

Mental Disorder ◽

Clinical Care ◽

National Sample ◽

Primary Diagnosis ◽

Care Staff ◽

Health Care Staff ◽

Prevention Measures ◽

Prison Health ◽

History Of ◽

Clinical Survey

BackgroundThe number of suicides in prison has increased over recent years. This is the first study to describe the clinical care of a national sample of prison suicides.AimsTo describe the clinical and social circumstances of self-inflicted deaths among prisoners.MethodA national clinical survey based on a 2-year sample of self-inflicted deaths in prisoners. Detailed clinical and social information was collected from prison governors and prison health care staff.ResultsThere were 172 self-inflicted deaths: 85 (49%; 95% CI 42–57) were of prisoners on remand; 55 (32%; 95% CI 25–39) occurred within 7 days of reception into prison. The commonest method was hanging or self-strangulation (92%; 95% CI 88–96). A total of 110 (72%; 95% CI 65–79) had a history of mental disorder. The commonest primary diagnosis was drug dependence (39, 27%; 95% CI 20–35). Eighty-nine (57%; 95% CI 49–64) had symptoms suggestive of mental disorder at reception into prison.ConclusionsSuicide prevention measures should be concentrated in the period immediately following reception into prison. Because hanging is the commonest method of suicide, removal of potential ligature points from cells should be a priority.

Download Full-text

Views from health professionals on accessing rehabilitation for people with dementia following a hip fracture

Dementia ◽

10.1177/1471301216631141 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. 1020-1031 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Stephen T Isbel ◽

Maggie I Jamieson

Keyword(s):

Hip Fracture ◽

Elderly Patients ◽

Residential Care ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Care Staff ◽

Future Research ◽

Health Care Staff ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Moderate Dementia

The literature reports that rehabilitation for elderly patients with mild-to-moderate dementia who have a hip fracture improves functional outcomes. However, access to rehabilitation may be difficult due to misconceptions about the ability of these patients to engage in and benefit from rehabilitation. Additionally, people who are admitted from residential care may not have the same options for rehabilitation as those admitted from home. This study sought to understand from expert clinicians how and why decisions are made to accept a person with dementia post-fracture for rehabilitation. In this Australian-based qualitative study, 12 health professionals across a state and territory were interviewed. These clinicians were the primary decision makers in accepting or rejecting elderly patients with dementia post-fracture into rehabilitation. Three key themes emerged from the data: criteria for accessing rehabilitation, what works well and challenges to rehabilitation. The participants were unanimous in the view that access to rehabilitation should be based on the ability of the patient to engage in a rehabilitation programme and not assessed solely on cognition. In terms of clinical care, a coherent rehabilitation pathway with integration of geriatric and ortho-geriatric services was reported as ideal. Challenges remain, importantly, the perception of some health care staff that people with dementia have limited capability to benefit from rehabilitation. Rehabilitation for this growing group of patients requires multiple resources, including skilled practitioners, integrated clinical systems and staff education regarding the capabilities of people with dementia. Future research in this area with patients with moderate-to-severe dementia in residential care is warranted.

Download Full-text

Use of the Internet and Mobile Phones for Self-Management of Severe Mental Health Problems: Qualitative Study of Staff Views

JMIR Mental Health ◽

10.2196/mental.8311 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. e52 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Natalie Berry ◽

Sandra Bucci ◽

Fiona Lobban

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Digital Health ◽

Health Problems ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Care Staff ◽

The Internet ◽

Health Care Staff

Background Researchers are currently investigating the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of digital health interventions for people who experience severe mental health problems such as psychosis and bipolar disorder. Although the acceptability of digital health interventions for severe mental health problems appears to be relatively high and some people report successfully using the Internet and mobile phones to manage their mental health, the attitudes of mental health care staff toward such approaches have yet to be considered. Objective The aim of this study was to explore mental health care staff experiences of clients with severe mental health problems engaging with the Internet and mobile phones to self-manage their mental health and their views toward these behaviors. The study also sought to examine the opinions expressed by mental health care staff toward digital health interventions for severe mental health problems to identify potential facilitators and barriers to implementation. Methods Four focus groups were conducted with 20 staff working in mental health care services in the North West of the England using a topic guide. Focus groups involved 12 staff working in secondary care psychological services (7 participants in focus group 1 and 5 participants in focus group 4), 4 staff working in a rehabilitation unit (focus group 2), and 4 staff working in a community mental health team (focus group 3). Focus groups were transcribed verbatim, and transcripts were analyzed thematically to identify key themes that emerged from the data. Results Four overarching themes, two with associated subthemes, were identified: (1) staff have conflicting views about the pros and cons of using Web-based resources and digital health interventions to manage mental health; (2) digital health interventions could increase access to mental health support options for severe mental health problems but may perpetuate the digital divide; (3) digital health interventions’ impact on staff roles and responsibilities; and (4) digital health interventions should be used to enhance, not replace, face-to-face support. Conclusions This study is the first, to our knowledge, to qualitatively explore the experiences and attitudes of mental health care staff toward individuals with severe mental health problems using the Internet, mobile phones, and digital health interventions to self-manage their mental health. Understanding the positive and negative experiences and views shared by staff toward both current and potential digital health intervention use has enabled the identification of several considerations for implementation. Additionally, the findings suggest mental health care staff need clear guidance and training in relation to their responsibilities in recommending reputable and secure websites, forums, and digital health interventions and in how to manage professional boundaries on the Internet. Overall, the study highlights that digital health interventions could be well received by staff working in mental health services but importantly, such management options must be presented to frontline staff as an avenue to enhance care and extend choice, rather than as a method to reduce costs.

Download Full-text

Long-Term Social Human-Robot Interaction for Neurorehabilitation: Robots as a Tool to Support Gait Therapy in the Pandemic

Frontiers in Neurorobotics ◽

10.3389/fnbot.2021.612034 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Nathalia Céspedes ◽

Denniss Raigoso ◽

Marcela Múnera ◽

Carlos A. Cifuentes

Keyword(s):

Clinical Care ◽

Human Robot Interaction ◽

Assistive Robotics ◽

Care Staff ◽

Health Care Staff ◽

Robot Interaction ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Term Evaluation ◽

Gait Therapy

COVID-19 pandemic has affected the population worldwide, evidencing new challenges and opportunities for several kinds of emergent and existing technologies. Social Assistive Robotics could be a potential tool to support clinical care areas, promoting physical distancing, and reducing the contagion rate. In this context, this paper presents a long-term evaluation of a social robotic platform for gait neurorehabilitation. The robot's primary roles are monitoring physiological progress and promoting social interaction with human distancing during the sessions. A clinical validation with ten patients during 15 sessions were conducted in a rehabilitation center located in Colombia. Results showed that the robot's support improves the patients' physiological progress by reducing their unhealthy spinal posture time, with positive acceptance. 65% of patients described the platform as helpful and secure. Regarding the robot's role within the therapy, the health care staff agreed (>95%) that this tool can promote physical distancing and it is highly useful to support neurorehabilitation throughout the pandemic. These outcomes suggest the benefits of this tool to be further implemented in the pandemic.

Download Full-text

Pertussis Cases Show Threat To Infants, Health Care Staff

Internal Medicine News ◽

10.1016/s1097-8690(05)70316-4 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 38 (7) ◽

pp. 64

Author(s):

MIRIAM E. TUCKER

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Care Staff ◽

Health Care Staff

Download Full-text

H1N1-Infected Health Care Staff Report Poor Infection Control

Hospitalist News ◽

10.1016/s1875-9122(09)70162-2 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 2 (7) ◽

pp. 6

Author(s):

HEIDI SPLETE

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Infection Control ◽

Care Staff ◽

Health Care Staff

Download Full-text

ReCOV: recovery and rehabilitation during and after COVID-19 – a study protocol of a longitudinal observational study on patients, next of kin and health care staff

BMC Sports Science Medicine and Rehabilitation ◽

10.1186/s13102-021-00299-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

E. Rydwik ◽

L. Anmyr ◽

M. Regardt ◽

A. McAllister ◽

R. Zarenoe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Psychosocial Support ◽

Care Staff ◽

Psychological Wellbeing ◽

Health Care Staff ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Next Of Kin ◽

Related Quality ◽

Long Term Consequences

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.

Download Full-text