scholarly journals Mobile Health Adoption in Mental Health: User Experience of a Mobile Health App for Patients With an Eating Disorder (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitra Anastasiadou ◽  
Frans Folkvord ◽  
Eduardo Serrano-Troncoso ◽  
Francisco Lupiañez-Villanueva
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
The Web

BACKGROUND Despite the worldwide growth in mobile health (mHealth) tools and the possible benefits for both patients and health care providers, the overall adoption levels of mHealth tools by health professionals remain relatively low. OBJECTIVE This study aimed (1) to investigate attitudes of health care providers and mHealth experts toward mHealth tools in the health context in general, and this study aimed (2) to test the acceptability and feasibility of a specific mHealth tool for patients with an eating disorder (ED), called TCApp, among patients and ED specialists. METHODS To this purpose, we conducted an explorative qualitative study with 4 in-depth group discussions with several groups of stakeholders: our first focus group was conducted with 11 experts on mHealth from the Catalan Association of Health Entities; the second focus group included 10 health care professionals from the Spanish College of Doctors of Barcelona; the third focus group involved 9 patients with an ED who had used the TCApp over a 12-week period, and the fourth and last focus group involved 8 ED specialists who had monitored such ED patients on the Web. RESULTS The focus groups showed that health care providers and mHealth experts reported barriers for mHealth adoption more often than facilitators, indicating that mHealth techniques are difficult to obtain and use. Most barriers were attributed to external factors relating to the human or organizational environment (ie, lack of time because of workload, lack of direct interest on a legislative or political level) rather than being attributed to internal factors relating to individual obstacles. The results of the mHealth intervention study indicate that the TCApp was considered as easy to use and useful, although patients and the ED specialists monitoring them on the Web reported different adoption problems, such as the inability to personalize the app, a lack of motivational and interactive components, or difficulties in adhering to the study protocol. CONCLUSIONS In general, this paper indicates that both health professionals and patients foresee difficulties that need to be addressed before comprehensive adoption and usage of mHealth techniques can be effectively implemented. Such findings are in line with previous studies, suggesting that although they acknowledge their possible benefits and cost-effectiveness, health care providers are quite resistant and conservative about integrating mHealth technologies in their daily practice.

Functioning in lymphoedema from the health professionals’ perspective using the international classification of functioning, disability and health as a reference

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 554-563
Author(s):  
Peter B Viehoff ◽  
Lianne Pelzer ◽  
Yvonne F Heerkens ◽  
Dorine C van Ravensberg ◽  
Martino Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Mail Survey ◽  
International Classification ◽  
International Classification Of Functioning ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Disability And Health

Purpose To capture the views of different health care providers involved in the treatment of patients with lymphoedema from various countries around the world on the functioning of lymphoedema patients and the factors influencing functioning of these patients using the international classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF). Method A worldwide e-mail survey with questions based on components of the ICF. Results In total, 142 health professionals from seven different health professions and 20 different countries answered the questions. The aspects of functioning that were named by the health professionals could be linked to 359 different ICF categories. Of these categories, 109 belonged to body functions (30.4%), 55 to body structures (15.3%), 121 to activities and participation (33.7%) and 74 to environmental factors (20.6%). Overall, the most mentioned items were health services, systems and policies, immunological system functions, looking after one’s health, products and technology for personal use in daily life and dressing. Conclusions The ICF provided a valuable reference for identifying concepts in statements from international health care professionals experienced in the treatment of lymphoedema patients. The results of this research will be used in the development of ICF core sets for lymphoedema.

scholarly journals A Health Care Professionals Training Needs Assessment for Oncology in Uganda

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josaphat Byamugisha ◽  
Ian G Munabi ◽  
Aloysius G. Mubuuke ◽  
Amos D. Mwaka ◽  
Mike Kagawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Incidence And Mortality

Abstract Background Cancer incidence and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing and do account for significant premature death. The expertise of the health care providers is critical to down staging cancer at diagnosis and improving survival in low- and middle-income countries. We set out to determine the training needs of health care providers for a comprehensive oncology services package in selected hospitals in Uganda, in order to inform capacity development intervention to improve cancer outcomes in the East African region. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey using the WHO Hennessey-Hicks questionnaire to identify the training needs of health workers involved in cancer care, across 22 hospitals in Uganda. Data were captured in real time using the open data kit platform from which the data was exported to Stata Version 15 for analysis using the Wilcoxon sign rank test and Somers-Delta. Results There were 199 respondent health professionals who were predominately female (146/199, 73.37%), with an average age of 38.97 years. There were 158/199 (79.40%) nurses, 24/199 (12.06%) medical doctors and 17/199 (8.54%) allied health professionals. Overall the research and audit domain had the highest ranking for all the health workers (Somers-D=0.60). The respondent’s level of education had a significant effect on the observed ranking (P-value =0.03). Most of the continuing medical education (CME) topic suggested by the participants were in the clinical task related category. Conclusion The “research and audit” domain was identified as the priority area for training interventions to improve oncology services in Uganda. There are opportunities for addressing the identified training needs with an expanded cancer CME program content, peer support networks and tailored training for the individual health care provider.

scholarly journals A Health Care Professionals Training Needs Assessment for Oncology in Uganda

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josaphat Byamugisha ◽  
Ian G Munabi ◽  
Aloysius G. Mubuuke ◽  
Amos D. Mwaka ◽  
Mike Kagawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Incidence And Mortality

Abstract Background Cancer incidence and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing and do account for significant premature death. The expertise of the health care providers is critical to down staging cancer at diagnosis and improving survival in low- and middle-income countries. We set out to determine the training needs of health care providers for a comprehensive oncology services package in selected hospitals in Uganda, in order to inform capacity development intervention to improve cancer outcomes in the East African region. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey using the WHO Hennessey-Hicks questionnaire to identify the training needs of health workers involved in cancer care, across 22 hospitals in Uganda. Data were captured in real time using the open data kit platform from which the data was exported to Stata Version 15 for analysis using the Wilcoxon sign rank test and Somers-Delta. Results There were 199 respondent health professionals who were predominately female (146/199, 73.37%), with an average age of 38.97 years. There were 158/199 (79.40%) nurses, 24/199 (12.06%) medical doctors and 17/199 (8.54%) allied health professionals. Overall the research and audit domain had the highest ranking for all the health workers (Somers-D = 0.60). The respondent’s level of education had a significant effect on the observed ranking (P-value = 0.03). Most of the continuing medical education (CME) topic suggested by the participants were in the clinical task related category. Conclusion The “research and audit” domain was identified as the priority area for training interventions to improve oncology services in Uganda. There are opportunities for addressing the identified training needs with an expanded cancer CME program content, peer support networks and tailored training for the individual health care provider.

scholarly journals Public Disclosure on Social Media of Identifiable Patient Information by Health Professionals: Content Analysis of Twitter Data

10.2196/19746 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. e19746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wasim Ahmed ◽  
Reshma Jagsi ◽  
Thomas G Gutheil ◽  
Matthew S Katz
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Privacy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Intercoder Reliability

Background Respecting patient privacy and confidentiality is critical for doctor-patient relationships and public trust in medical professionals. The frequency of potentially identifiable disclosures online during periods of active engagement is unknown. Objective The objective of this study was to quantify potentially identifiable content shared on social media by physicians and other health care providers using the hashtag #ShareAStoryInOneTweet. Methods We accessed and searched Twitter’s API using Symplur software for tweets that included the hashtag #ShareAStoryInOneTweet. We identified 1206 tweets by doctors, nurses, and other health professionals out of 43,374 tweets shared in May 2018. Tweet content was evaluated in January 2019 to determine the incidence of instances where names or potentially identifiable information about patients were shared; content analysis of tweets in which information about others had been disclosed was performed. The study also evaluated whether participants raised concerns about privacy breaches and estimated the frequency of deleted tweets. The study used dual, blinded coding for a 10% sample to estimate intercoder reliability using Cohen κ statistic for identifying the potential identifiability of tweet content. Results Health care professionals (n=656) disclosing information about others included 486 doctors (74.1%) and 98 nurses (14.9%). Health care professionals sharing stories about patient care disclosed the time frame in 95 tweets (95/754, 12.6%) and included patient names in 15 tweets (15/754, 2.0%). It is estimated that friends or families could likely identify the clinical scenario described in 242 of the 754 tweets (32.1%). Among 348 tweets about potentially living patients, it was estimated that 162 (46.6%) were likely identifiable by patients. Intercoder reliability in rating the potential identifiability demonstrated 86.8% agreement, with a Cohen κ of 0.8 suggesting substantial agreement. We also identified 78 out of 754 tweets (6.5%) that had been deleted on the website but were still viewable in the analytics software data set. Conclusions During periods of active sharing online, nurses, physicians, and other health professionals may sometimes share more information than patients or families might expect. More study is needed to determine whether similar events arise frequently and to understand how to best ensure that patients’ rights are adequately respected.

scholarly journals Public Disclosure on Social Media of Identifiable Patient Information by Health Professionals: Content Analysis of Twitter Data (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wasim Ahmed ◽  
Reshma Jagsi ◽  
Thomas G Gutheil ◽  
Matthew S Katz
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Privacy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Intercoder Reliability

BACKGROUND Respecting patient privacy and confidentiality is critical for doctor-patient relationships and public trust in medical professionals. The frequency of potentially identifiable disclosures online during periods of active engagement is unknown. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to quantify potentially identifiable content shared on social media by physicians and other health care providers using the hashtag #ShareAStoryInOneTweet. METHODS We accessed and searched Twitter’s API using Symplur software for tweets that included the hashtag #ShareAStoryInOneTweet. We identified 1206 tweets by doctors, nurses, and other health professionals out of 43,374 tweets shared in May 2018. Tweet content was evaluated in January 2019 to determine the incidence of instances where names or potentially identifiable information about patients were shared; content analysis of tweets in which information about others had been disclosed was performed. The study also evaluated whether participants raised concerns about privacy breaches and estimated the frequency of deleted tweets. The study used dual, blinded coding for a 10% sample to estimate intercoder reliability using Cohen κ statistic for identifying the potential identifiability of tweet content. RESULTS Health care professionals (n=656) disclosing information about others included 486 doctors (74.1%) and 98 nurses (14.9%). Health care professionals sharing stories about patient care disclosed the time frame in 95 tweets (95/754, 12.6%) and included patient names in 15 tweets (15/754, 2.0%). It is estimated that friends or families could likely identify the clinical scenario described in 242 of the 754 tweets (32.1%). Among 348 tweets about potentially living patients, it was estimated that 162 (46.6%) were likely identifiable by patients. Intercoder reliability in rating the potential identifiability demonstrated 86.8% agreement, with a Cohen κ of 0.8 suggesting substantial agreement. We also identified 78 out of 754 tweets (6.5%) that had been deleted on the website but were still viewable in the analytics software data set. CONCLUSIONS During periods of active sharing online, nurses, physicians, and other health professionals may sometimes share more information than patients or families might expect. More study is needed to determine whether similar events arise frequently and to understand how to best ensure that patients’ rights are adequately respected.

Benefits, Challenges, and Social Impact of Health Care Providers’ Adoption of Social Media

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110257
Author(s):  
Md Irfanuzzaman Khan ◽  
Jennifer (M.I.) Loh
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Australian Health ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Use Of Social Media

With the advent of telecommunication technologies and social media, many health care professionals are using social media to communicate with their patients and to promote health. However, the literature reveals a lacuna in our understanding of health care professionals’ perception of their behavioral intentions to use innovations. Using the Unified Technology Acceptance Framework (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology), in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 Australian health care experts to uncover their intent and actual use of social media in their medical practices. Results revealed that social media tools offered five significant benefits such as (i) enhanced communication between health care professionals and their patients, (ii) community support, (iii) enabled e-learning, (iv) enhanced professional network, and (v) expedited health promotion. However, result also revealed barriers to social media usage including (i) inefficiency, (ii) privacy concerns, (iii) poor quality of information, (iv) lack of trust, and (v) blurred professional boundary. Peer influence and supporting conditions were also found to be determinants of social media adoption behaviors among health care professionals. This study has important implications for health care providers, patients, and policy makers on the responsible use of social media, health promotion, and health communication. This research is also among the very few studies that explore Australian health care professionals’ intent and actual use of innovations within a health care setting.

scholarly journals Burnout Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Health-Care Professionals at Assiut University Hospitals, 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5368
Author(s):  
Shimaa A. Elghazally ◽  
Atef F. Alkarn ◽  
Hussein Elkhayat ◽  
Ahmed K. Ibrahim ◽  
Mariam Roshdy Elkhayat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Personal Accomplishment ◽  
Burnout Syndrome ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
University Hospitals

Background: burnout syndrome is a serious and growing problem among medical staff. Its adverse outcomes not only affect health-care providers’ health, but also extend to their patients, resulting in bad-quality care. The COVID-19 pandemic puts frontline health-care providers at greater risk of psychological stress and burnout syndrome. Objectives: this study aimed to identify the levels of burnout among health-care professionals currently working at Assiut University hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: the current study adopted an online cross-sectional design using the SurveyMonkey® website for data collection. A total of 201 physicians were included and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) scale was used to assess the three burnout syndrome dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Results: about one-third, two-thirds, and one-quarter of the respondents had high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment, respectively. Younger, resident, and single physicians reported higher burnout scores. The personal accomplishment score was significantly higher among males. Those working more than eight hours/day and dealing with COVID-19 patients had significantly higher scores. Conclusion: during the COVID-19 pandemic, a high prevalence of burnout was recorded among physicians. Age, job title, working duration, and working hours/day were significant predictors for burnout syndrome subscale results. Preventive and interventive programs should be applied in health-care organizations during pandemics.

scholarly journals Preferences and Perceptions of Patients Attending Emergency Departments with Low Acuity Problems in Hong Kong

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
CA Graham ◽  
WO Kwok ◽  
YL Tsang ◽  
TH Rainer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Waiting Time ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Waiting Times ◽  
Medical Advice ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Waiting Area

Objective To explore why patients in Hong Kong seek medical advice from the emergency department (ED) and to identify the methods by which patients would prefer to be updated on the likely waiting time for medical consultation in the ED. Methods The study recruited 249 semi-urgent and non-urgent patients in the ED of Prince of Wales Hospital from 26th September 2005 to 30th September 2005 inclusive. A convenience sample of subjects aged ≥15 years old in triage categories 4 or 5 were verbally consented and interviewed by research nurses using a standardized questionnaire. Results From 1715 potential patients, 249 were recruited ad hoc (mean age 44 years [SD18]; 123 females). About 63% indicated that an acceptable ED waiting time was less than or equal to two hours, and 88% felt that having individual number cards and using a number allocation screen in the ED waiting area would be useful. Perceived reasons for attending the ED rather than other health care providers such as primary health care or the general outpatient clinic (GOPC) included: a desire for more detailed investigations (56%); a perception that more professional medical advice was given in the ED (35%); patients were under the continuing care of the hospital (19%); and patients were referred to the ED by other health care professionals (11%). Notably, 26% of participants had considered attending the GOPC prior to attending the ED. Patients educated to tertiary level expected a shorter waiting time than those educated to lesser degrees (p=0.026, Kruskal-Wallis test). Suggestions were made on how to provide a more pleasant ED environment for the wait for consultations, which included the provision of a television screen with sound in the waiting area (43%), more comfortable chairs (37%) and health care promotion programs (32%). Conclusion Patients chose ED services because they believed they would receive more detailed investigations and more professional medical advice than available alternatives. Clear notification of the likely waiting times and enhancement of comfort before consultation are considered desirable by patients. Enhanced public education about the role of the ED and making alternatives to ED care more accessible may be useful in reducing inappropriate ED attendances in Hong Kong.

The Use of and Attitude Towards Telehealth in Rural Communities

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Mauldon
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Urban Hospital ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rural Patients

This paper reports on the attitudes of a sample of health care providers towards the use of telehealth to support rural patients and integrate rural primary health and urban hospital care. Telehealth and other information technologies hold the promise of improving the quality of care for people in rural and remote areas and for supporting rural primary health care providers. While seemingly beneficial for rural patients, study participants believed that telehealth remains underused and poorly integrated into their practice. In general, participants thought that telehealth is potentially beneficial but places constraints on their activities, and few actually used it. Published literature usually reports either on the success of telehealth pilot projects or initiatives that are well resourced and do not reflect the constraints of routine practice, or has an international focus limiting its relevance to the Australian context. Because of the paucity of systematic and generalisable research into the effects of the routine use of telehealth to support rural patients, it is unclear why health care professionals choose to provide such services or the costs and benefits they incur in doing so. Research and policy initiatives continue to be needed to identify the impact of telehealth within the context of Australian primary health care and to develop strategies to support its use.

scholarly journals Safeguarding Abuse in Health Care

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Chanda Karki Bhandari ◽  
Gehanath Baral
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Care Facility ◽  
Health Care Facility ◽  
Healthcare Facility ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Abuse In Health Care

Aims: The aim of the review is to understand the concept of abuse in health care in general and its various forms. It includes- review what is meant by healthcare and health care abuse; identify its various forms and to recognize who may be the most potential victims; find out the reasons of abuse by health care providers; and know the role of  ethical guidelines and institutional policy in confronting abuse in health care.Methods: Literatures and publications on the subject were searched in order to identify research studies investigating abuse in health care that were studied, analyzed and presented.  Results: Abuse in health care today is an emerging concept in need of a clear analysis and definition. At the same time, boundaries to the related concepts are not demarcated. Medical professionals and institutions are being targeted worldwide today for negligence and the medical litigation has become a huge challenge. Throughout history, health care professionals have been trusted because of their competency and caring abilities. However, the disturbing reality is that physical and psychological maltreatment of patients do occur in the health care settings throughout the world. The abuse can vary from treating someone with disrespect in a way which significantly affects the person's quality of life, to causing actual physical suffering. Differently able and dependent people are more susceptible to such abuse. Work overload, Staff burnout, lack of information and instructions were also indicated to underlie instances of abuse in health care.Conclusions: We in the healthcare facility should first accept that abuse in health care does occur and causes distress. This change needs to occur at individual, cultural and structural level. Next step will be for the staffs to be aware of abuse in health care when it happens and recognize it as such. It is always better to create a situation where we could prevent abuse from happening at health centers. Hospital personnel must implement a change in workplace culture to stop abusive behaviors wherever they occur. Each and every health care facility should be client friendly and respecting their rights. Effective ethical guidelines were needed to minimize abuse as existing ethical codes were found to be ineffective and above all there was a lack of awareness of the contents of the relevant ethical documents.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document