Validation of a Mobile Health Technology Platform (FeverTracker) for Malaria Surveillance in India: Development and Usability Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND A surveillance system is the foundation for disease prevention and control. Malaria surveillance is crucial for tracking regional and temporal patterns in disease incidence, assisting in recorded details, timely reporting, and frequency of analysis. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aim to develop an integrated surveillance graphical app called FeverTracker, which has been designed to assist the community and health care workers in digital surveillance and thereby contribute toward malaria control and elimination. METHODS FeverTracker uses a geographic information system and is linked to a web app with automated data digitization, SMS text messaging, and advisory instructions, thereby allowing immediate notification of individual cases to district and state health authorities in real time. RESULTS The use of FeverTracker for malaria surveillance is evident, given the archaic paper-based surveillance tools used currently. The use of the app in 19 tribal villages of the Dhalai district in Tripura, India, assisted in the surveillance of 1880 suspected malaria patients and confirmed malaria infection in 93.4% (114/122; Plasmodium falciparum), 4.9% (6/122; P vivax), and 1.6% (2/122; P falciparum/P vivax mixed infection) of cases. Digital tools such as FeverTracker will be critical in integrating disease surveillance, and they offer instant data digitization for downstream processing. CONCLUSIONS The use of this technology in health care and research will strengthen the ongoing efforts to eliminate malaria. Moreover, FeverTracker provides a modifiable template for deployment in other disease systems.

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Validation of a Mobile Health Technology Platform (FeverTracker) for Malaria Surveillance in India: Development and Usability Study

JMIR Formative Research ◽

10.2196/28951 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (11) ◽

pp. e28951

Author(s):

Ipsita Pal Bhowmick ◽

Dibyajyoti Chutia ◽

Avinash Chouhan ◽

Nilay Nishant ◽

P L N Raju ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Disease Incidence ◽

Downstream Processing ◽

Malaria Surveillance ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Digital Surveillance ◽

Care Workers ◽

And Control

Background A surveillance system is the foundation for disease prevention and control. Malaria surveillance is crucial for tracking regional and temporal patterns in disease incidence, assisting in recorded details, timely reporting, and frequency of analysis. Objective In this study, we aim to develop an integrated surveillance graphical app called FeverTracker, which has been designed to assist the community and health care workers in digital surveillance and thereby contribute toward malaria control and elimination. Methods FeverTracker uses a geographic information system and is linked to a web app with automated data digitization, SMS text messaging, and advisory instructions, thereby allowing immediate notification of individual cases to district and state health authorities in real time. Results The use of FeverTracker for malaria surveillance is evident, given the archaic paper-based surveillance tools used currently. The use of the app in 19 tribal villages of the Dhalai district in Tripura, India, assisted in the surveillance of 1880 suspected malaria patients and confirmed malaria infection in 93.4% (114/122; Plasmodium falciparum), 4.9% (6/122; P vivax), and 1.6% (2/122; P falciparum/P vivax mixed infection) of cases. Digital tools such as FeverTracker will be critical in integrating disease surveillance, and they offer instant data digitization for downstream processing. Conclusions The use of this technology in health care and research will strengthen the ongoing efforts to eliminate malaria. Moreover, FeverTracker provides a modifiable template for deployment in other disease systems.

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Expectations and desires of palliative health care personnel concerning their future work culture

Journal of Hospital Administration ◽

10.5430/jha.v2n3p46 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 46 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Beate Andre ◽

Endre Sjøvold ◽

Marte Holmemo ◽

Toril Rannestad ◽

Gerd I. Ringdal

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Reference Group ◽

Health Care Personnel ◽

Future Perspective ◽

Work Culture ◽

Care Workers ◽

Positive Work Culture ◽

And Control ◽

Future Work ◽

Positive Work

Introduction: Exploring the work culture of health care personnel is important in order to understand the challenges they face and the issues they experience. Believing in and shaping their futures indicates a working culture influenced by promoting factors. The aims of this study were to explore how health care workers at a Palliative Medicine Unit perceive their future work culture would be and whether they perceive that their expectations and desires will be fulfilled. Design: A correlational study. Methods: Health care personnel, physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, and others (N = 26) at a PMU in Norway completed a questionnaire according to the two perspectives, expectations (future) and desire (wish). The findings in these two perspectives were compared. The method seeks to explore what aspects dominate the particular work culture and identifying challenges, limitations, and opportunities. The findings were also compared with a reference group of 347 ratings of well-functioning Norwegian organizations, named the “Norwegian Norm”. Results: The findings for the wish perspective showed significant (p<0.05; p<0.01) higher rates for nurturing and synergy dimensions and significant lower rates (p>0.05; p>0.05) for opposition and control dimensions than the findings for the future perspective. Conclusions: It appears that the health care personnel wish for changes that they don’t believe they will achieve. The changes the respondents wish for are fewer negative work culture qualities, such as assertiveness and resignation, and more positive work culture qualities, such as engagement and empathy. Changes must be made to give the health care personnel improved working conditions and empowerment in order to change their situations to reflect what they wish for. The present findings can give an indication as to the direction that research ought to follow in subsequent studies.

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The experience of European hospital-based health care workers on following infection prevention and control procedures for COVID-19

10.1101/2020.12.23.20248793 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Denise van Hout ◽

Paul Hutchinson ◽

Marta Wanat ◽

Caitlin Pilbeam ◽

Herman Goossens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Infection Risk ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Emotional Wellbeing ◽

Care Workers ◽

And Control ◽

The Impact

ABSTRACTBackgroundWorking under pandemic conditions exposes health care workers (HCWs) to infection risk and psychological strain. Protecting the physical and psychological health of HCWs is a key priority. This study assessed the perceptions of European hospital HCWs of local infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on their emotional wellbeing.MethodsWe performed two rounds of an international cross-sectional survey, between 31 March and 17 April 2020 via existing research networks (round 1), and between 14 May and 31 August 2020 via online convenience sampling (round 2). Main outcome measures were (1) behavioural determinants of HCW adherence with IPC procedures, (2) WHO-5 Well-Being Index, a validated scale of 0-100 reflecting emotional wellbeing. The WHO-5 was interpreted as a score below or above 50 points, a cut-off score used in previous literature to screen for depression.Results2,289 HCWs (round 1: n=190, round 2: n=2,099) from 40 countries in Europe participated. Mean age of respondents was 42 (±11) years, 66% were female, 47% and 39% were medical doctors and nurses, respectively. 74% (n=1699) of HCWs were directly treating patients with COVID-19, of which 32% (n=527) reported they were fearful of caring for these patients. HCWs reported high levels of concern about COVID-19 infection risk to themselves (71%) and their family (82%) as a result of their job. 40% of HCWs considered that getting infected with COVID-19 was not within their control. This was more common among junior than senior HCWs (46% versus 38%, P value <.01). Sufficient COVID-19-specific IPC training, confidence in PPE use and institutional trust were positively associated with the feeling that becoming infected with COVID-19 was within their control. Female HCWs were more likely than males to report a WHO-5 score below 50 points (aOR 1.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-1.8).ConclusionsIn Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a differential impact on those providing direct COVID-19 patient care, junior staff and women. Health facilities must be aware of these differential impacts, build trust and provide tailored support for this vital workforce during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

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Infection prevention and control, pillar for safety of healthcare worker: COVID-19 experience, Patan Hospital, Nepal

Journal of Patan Academy of Health Sciences ◽

10.3126/jpahs.v7i1.28882 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 93-96

Author(s):

Piyush Rajbhandari ◽

Deveshree Dongol

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Healthcare Worker ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Health Sciences ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Care Workers ◽

Response Plan ◽

And Control

Infection prevention and control (IPC) programs play an integral part in the safety of patients, visitors, health care workers and environment as these programs provide guidelines and standard for recognition, prevention and control of infection. With COVID-19 pandemic, Patan Hospital, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Nepal, is amongst the few hospitals in Nepal to have undertaken the responsibility of managing COVID patients. The COVID response plan has been activated and is currently the best prepared institution to manage this pandemic.

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Understanding the Predictors that Contribute to Liberian Health Care Workers Feeling Protected From Ebola While at Work

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2020.52 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Kayla Enriquez ◽

Kanagasabai Udhayashankar ◽

Michelle Niescierenko

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Ebola Virus ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Care Workers ◽

Before And After ◽

Returning To Work ◽

Care Worker ◽

And Control

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess Liberian health care workers’ feelings around safety in returning to work in the setting of the Ebola virus disease outbreak of 2014–2015 after receiving infection prevention and control (IPC) training. Methods: Academic Consortium Combating Ebola in Liberia (ACCEL) training surveys were done at 21 public, Liberian hospitals to understand health care workers’ attitudes surrounding Ebola and whether they felt safe while at work based on multiple factors. Logistic regression was used for analysis. Results: We found that health care workers feeling safe at work during the Ebola outbreak was primarily predicted by the number of IPC/Ebola trainings received pre-ACCEL interventions. Health care workers felt increasingly safer and motivated to return to work as trainings approached 3 (OR 8, p-value < 0.001); however, more than 3 trainings resulted in decreased safety and motivation. In addition, health care workers who reported washing their hands before and after patient contact were 3.4 times more likely to understand how to protect themselves from Ebola. Conclusions: These results help to better understand the utility of repeated trainings on health care worker practice attitudes and the importance of IPC policies within hospitals, such as hand hygiene promotion and education, when coordinating humanitarian efforts.

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Health Literacy, eHealth Literacy, Adherence to Infection Prevention and Control Procedures, Lifestyle Changes, and Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms Among Health Care Workers During Lockdown: Online Survey

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/22894 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (11) ◽

pp. e22894

Author(s):

Binh N Do ◽

Tien V Tran ◽

Dung T Phan ◽

Hoang C Nguyen ◽

Thao T P Nguyen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Online Survey ◽

Lifestyle Changes ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Ehealth Literacy ◽

Care Workers ◽

Lower Likelihood ◽

And Control

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a heavy burden on health care systems and governments. Health literacy (HL) and eHealth literacy (as measured by the eHealth Literacy Scale [eHEALS]) are recognized as strategic public health elements but they have been underestimated during the pandemic. HL, eHEALS score, practices, lifestyles, and the health status of health care workers (HCWs) play crucial roles in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the eHEALS and examine associations of HL and eHEALS scores with adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures, lifestyle changes, and suspected COVID-19 symptoms among HCWs during lockdown. Methods We conducted an online survey of 5209 HCWs from 15 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from April 6 to April 19, 2020. Participants answered questions related to sociodemographics, HL, eHEALS, adherence to IPC procedures, behavior changes in eating, smoking, drinking, and physical activity, and suspected COVID-19 symptoms. Principal component analysis, correlation analysis, and bivariate and multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used to validate the eHEALS and examine associations. Results The eHEALS had a satisfactory construct validity with 8 items highly loaded on one component, with factor loadings ranked from 0.78 to 0.92 explaining 76.34% of variance; satisfactory criterion validity as correlated with HL (ρ=0.42); satisfactory convergent validity with high item-scale correlations (ρ=0.80-0.84); and high internal consistency (Cronbach α=.95). HL and eHEALS scores were significantly higher in men (unstandardized coefficient [B]=1.01, 95% CI 0.57-1.45, P<.001; B=0.72, 95% CI 0.43-1.00, P<.001), those with a better ability to pay for medication (B=1.65, 95% CI 1.25-2.05, P<.001; B=0.60, 95% CI 0.34-0.86, P<.001), doctors (B=1.29, 95% CI 0.73-1.84, P<.001; B 0.56, 95% CI 0.20-0.93, P=.003), and those with epidemic containment experience (B=1.96, 95% CI 1.56-2.37, P<.001; B=0.64, 95% CI 0.38-0.91, P<.001), as compared to their counterparts, respectively. HCWs with higher HL or eHEALS scores had better adherence to IPC procedures (B=0.13, 95% CI 0.10-0.15, P<.001; B=0.22, 95% CI 0.19-0.26, P<.001), had a higher likelihood of healthy eating (odds ratio [OR] 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.06, P=.001; OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.07, P=.002), were more physically active (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.03, P<.001; OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03-1.05, P<.001), and had a lower likelihood of suspected COVID-19 symptoms (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96-0.98, P<.001; OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.95-0.98, P<.001), respectively. Conclusions The eHEALS is a valid and reliable survey tool. Gender, ability to pay for medication, profession, and epidemic containment experience were independent predictors of HL and eHEALS scores. HCWs with higher HL or eHEALS scores had better adherence to IPC procedures, healthier lifestyles, and a lower likelihood of suspected COVID-19 symptoms. Efforts to improve HCWs’ HL and eHEALS scores can help to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and minimize its consequences.

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Disparities in knowledge, attitude, and practices of infection prevention and control of lassa fever among health care workers at The Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria

Pan African Medical Journal ◽

10.11604/pamj.2021.38.357.26208 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 38 ◽

Author(s):

Victor Okoliko Ukwenya ◽

Temiloluwa Adeola Fuwape ◽

Tokunbo Ibukun Fadahunsi ◽

Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Lassa Fever ◽

Medical Centre ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Care Workers ◽

Ondo State ◽

And Control

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Disconnects in design and infection prevention and control – how the design of products and the environment in neonatal intensive care may be undermining infection prevention practice

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care ◽

10.1177/2327857916051011 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 44-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chantal Trudel ◽

Sue Cobb ◽

Kathryn Momtahan ◽

Janet Brintnell ◽

Ann Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Best Practice ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Infection Transmission ◽

Care Workers ◽

And Control

This study examined the role design plays in infection prevention and control within an existing neonatal intensive care unit. Methods from human-centred design such as planning, stakeholder meetings and naturalistic observation were used to obtain infection prevention information related to the existing unit design, interactions with products and the environment, and perspectives of front-line staff on design. Thematic analysis was used to categorize and structure the issues that were identified. The analysis revealed that the design of products and the environment may be undermining best practice in infection prevention. Health care workers experience a variety of difficulties in maintaining the recommended barriers to infection transmission, difficulties which stem from deficiencies in products and the environment. Various aspects of the neonatal care design lack the feedback or supports needed to help health care workers differentiate or work between infection transmission zones making the design challenging to use or maintain in a manner that supports best practice in infection prevention. Identifying issues in the design of products and the environment related to infection prevention practice led to the development of a ‘Design Exploration Guide’. The guide outlines issues and strategies for remediation based on feasibility within the project constraints.

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