scholarly journals Can an Emergency Surgery Scheduling Software Improve Residents’ Time Management and Quality of Life?

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Lee ◽  
Ahmed Aoude ◽  
Becher Alhalabi ◽  
Ayden Watt ◽  
Lucie Lessard

Background: Operating room efficiency is invaluable.  Particularly in public health systems, where resources are limited and patient loads are high, efficient systems underpin the continued delivery of high quality care. In addition to impacting patients, the implementation of efficient healthcare tools has the potential to improve staff quality of life. In the face of growing surgical resident attrition and healthcare worker burnout, developments in standard practice, such as the implementation of the 80-hour work week, are necessary to improve quality of life. Materials and methods: A new online scheduling software (ORNET.CA) was created, installed, and piloted in a Level I Trauma Center after instructing users (physicians and nurses) on its use. A 20-item survey was then distributed to all users to assess the effect implementation of the software had on their quality of life. Results: ORnet was shown to improve communication between hospital staff and physicians, reduce workflow interruptions, and improve the quality of the working environment. The survey showed that 60% of residents and 50% of attending staff believed that ORNET.CA improved their quality of life. Conclusions: We present data from a novel emergency operating room scheduling system that allowed surgical residents and attending physicians to better plan their on-call shifts. Staff (resident and physician) reported survey results suggest that implementation of this system resulted in an improved quality of life and a decrease in stress and anxiety levels.

Author(s):  
Min-Hua Lin ◽  
She-Yu Chiu ◽  
Wen-Chao Ho ◽  
Hui-Ying Huang

This study was the first institution-wide health promotion program in Taiwan to apply the five priority areas for taking action in public health highlighted in the Ottawa Charter for diabetes patients. We aimed to improve the quality of home care received by diabetic patients by training health care professionals in health promotion. This program consisted of developing personal skills, reorienting health services, strengthening community actions, creating supportive environments, and building healthy public policy. It was applied in the Yunlin Christian Hospital located in central Taiwan from August 2011 to November 2011. A health-promoting education course consisting of weight control, diabetes care, and quality management for diabetes was developed and applied to all 323 hospital staff. Then, hospital staff volunteers and diabetes patients were recruited to participate in the program. A total of 61 staff volunteers and 90 diabetes patients were involved in this study. Staff volunteers were trained to participate in communities to provide care and guidance to patients with diabetes. The World Health Organization Quality of Life(WHOQOL)-BREF-Taiwan Version questionnaires were investigated before and after implementation of this program for the patients. A health-promoting lifestyle profile questionnaire was filled by the staff. The investigation data were then analyzed by statistical methods. The diabetes patients experienced a significant increase in their satisfaction with health and health-related quality of life as well as significant improvements in health-promotion and self-management behaviors (p < 0.05). In addition, staff volunteers significantly consumes food from the five major groups than the other staff (p < 0.05). Various improvements in health-promoting behaviors were observed amongst the hospital staff and the diabetic patients. Our project could be a reference for other medical organizations to implement an institution-wide health-promotion program for diabetic patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2311
Author(s):  
Eleonora Gaetani ◽  
Fabiana Agostini ◽  
Luigi Di Martino ◽  
Denis Occhipinti ◽  
Giulio Cesare Passali ◽  
...  

Background: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) needs high-quality care and multidisciplinary management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most non-urgent clinical activities for HHT outpatients were suspended. We conducted an analytical observational cohort study to evaluate whether medical and psychological support, provided through remote consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic, could reduce the complications of HHT. Methods: A structured regimen of remote consultations, conducted by either video-calls, telephone calls, or e-mails, was provided by a multidisciplinary group of physicians to a set of patients of our HHT center. The outcomes considered were: number of emergency room visits/hospitalizations, need of blood transfusions, need of iron supplementation, worsening of epistaxis, and psychological status. Results: The study included 45 patients who received remote assistance for a total of eight months. During this period, 9 patients required emergency room visits, 6 needed blood transfusions, and 24 needed iron supplementation. This was not different from what was registered among the same 45 patients in the same period of the previous year. Remote care also resulted in better management of epistaxis and improved quality of life, with the mean epistaxis severity score and the Euro-Quality of Life-Visual Analogue Scale that were significantly better at the end than at the beginning of the study. Discussion: Remote medical care might be a valid support for HHT subjects during periods of suspended outpatient surveillance, like the COVID-19 pandemic.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-114
Author(s):  
Hilary L. Schroeder ◽  
Marianinha Joanes ◽  
Andre Small ◽  
Raghu Maramraj,

  Background: Quality of life is considered a crucial component to the well-being of patients with Down syndrome. The strength of quality care through stable social and psychological interactions has built a framework for a positive well-being for patients with Down syndrome, improving their quality of life. Case: A 55-year-old African American female with a history of Down syndrome, congenital heart disease, and newly-diagnosed early onset Alzheimer’s disease presented with an arm contusion resulting from regular caretaking. The patient’s history was reviewed, and the complexity of her condition was discovered. While a subset of Down syndrome patients have cardiac complications and others have early-onset Alzheimer’s, our patient had both. We believe this complicated her condition. After the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s was made, the caregivers noticed a significant decline in her ability to communicate and continue day-to-day activities. Despite the decline in functions, a positive mood was apparent. Conclusion: Multiple medical interventions, along with strong family support, positively contributed to the patient’s quality of life. Therapies targeting cognition could result in the maintenance of quality of life and, ultimately, lower health care costs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 72-77
Author(s):  
Hee-Chul Choi

This study aimed to contribute to the preparation of an action plan for the improvement of the quality of life of firefighters at the individual level by examining how the working environment as perceived by firefighters affects their quality of life. To this end, this study conducted a survey that used purposive sampling targeting 201 fire-fighting officers in Incheon. The survey results showed that of the sub-variables of the working environment of firefighters, monetary rewards, challenges, and promotion had a significant influence on the quality of life. Based on the results, this study suggested various action plans that can support the working environment and improve the quality of life of firefighters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-361
Author(s):  
Andreea Acasandre

This paper is concerned with the analysis of some worrying present tendencies of urban sprawl in the large, important economic centers of Romania. It focuses on the tendency of building new residential apartments on the outskirts of the big cities. Most of these developments target young people that belong to a still-developing middle class. Big problems emerge, however, when real estate investors take advantage of the buyers’ lack of experience and of the authorities’ poor management, offering small, badly-built apartments in new residential areas which are designed around only one function: housing. The absence of complementary functions that could support the development of communities gravely impairs the inhabitants’ quality of life. At the local level, I was able to identify two main problems: the absence of the necessary infrastructure to support such a massive increase in population, and the absence of local amenities. On a larger scale, the consequences are significant as well: chronic traffic jams due to the large number of people who commute to Bucharest daily, for work. Even though at first Popeşti-Leordeni (a satellite-town of Romania’s capital) was considered a good housing option, the people living there are rapidly becoming highly unsatisfied with their quality of life. In their opinion, the biggest problems of this urban area are the absence of green spaces, of leisure services, of parking options, and of means of public transportation. To these complaints, the inhabitants add dissatisfaction with the general problems caused by the endless building sites, which also represent one of the main causes for the lack of cleanliness, bad roads, noise and pollution plaguing the area. This paper, based both on the analysis of statistical data and on empirical research, aims to show that Popeşti-Leordeni, especially the New Popeşti neighborhood, is an example of bad housing caused by corruption, investors’ greed, bad management on the part of the authorities, and the young buyers’ inexperience. Keywords: quality of life; urban sprawl; satellite-town; mono-functionality; community.


1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-67
Author(s):  
Katherine J. Graham

Author(s):  
Lokesh Kumar Ranjan ◽  
Pramod R Gupta ◽  
Nilesh Maruti Gujar ◽  
Shefali Baraik

Background: Hospital staff has been constant and at the forefront to provide treatment services to the patient with risk of COVID-19 infection. The fear and uncertainty forced by the COVID-19 pandemic have become a risk for physical and psychological health among health care professionals.Aim: To explore the stress, anxiety, depression, and quality of life among hospital staff working in general and mental health hospitals during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: The present survey was an online study among hospital staff in India. We received a total of 373 responses by the stipulated time from hospital staff - participants with written consent diverted for further study. Socio-demographic datasheet, quality of life (QOL- BREF), depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) were included in the Google form.Results: The results showed 2.4% of depression, 6.3% of anxiety, and 5.9% of stress among hospital staff. Nursing staff, physicians, and lab technicians had higher stress, anxiety, and depression. The result also revealed 4.3% physical, 16.6% psychological, 65.4% social, and 21.7% environmental health had a poor level of QOL in hospital staff.Conclusion: Healthcare workers are stressed, anxious, and depressive while working in the COVID-19 pandemic situation. To sustain and develop quality in healthcare services, physical and psychological wellness programs can enhance mental health and quality of life among hospital staff.


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