scholarly journals Women’s Experiences of Medical Miss-Diagnosis: How does gender matter in healthcare settings?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Thompson ◽  
Denise Blake
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Advocacy ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Unexplained Symptoms ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
Mental Well Being

Medical misdiagnosis for women continues to be a significant problem, leading to disparate health outcomes. To understand how women make sense of experiences of medical misdiagnosis, eight women from Aotearoa/ New Zealand were interviewed about misdiagnosis of conditions that equally affect female and male bodies. This work was guided by feminist principles and used narrative analysis to develop the following three themes: (1) Contradictory dialogues: doctor as expert or not? (2) Self-advocacy in the misdiagnosis experience; and (3) Not taken seriously in healthcare settings: it’s all in your head. Supported by previous work, our findings assert that women are treated poorly in healthcare settings with detrimental outcomes for them and their wider community. Reasons for this include female bodies being excluded from medical research, so that little is known about how illnesses present in female bodies, or how they affect women. Problematically, knowledge founded on male bodies is used to diagnose conditions in women. These biases perpetuate gender stereotypes and preconceived beliefs about women. Unexplained symptoms are considered ‘made up’ or are blamed on women’s mental well- being. Women are therefore not always considered credible symptom reporters and may be dismissed and ignored by healthcare professionals.

scholarly journals Women’s Experiences of Medical Miss-Diagnosis: How does gender matter in healthcare settings?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Thompson ◽  
Denise Blake
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Advocacy ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Unexplained Symptoms ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
Mental Well Being

Medical misdiagnosis for women continues to be a significant problem, leading to disparate health outcomes. To understand how women make sense of experiences of medical misdiagnosis, eight women from Aotearoa/ New Zealand were interviewed about misdiagnosis of conditions that equally affect female and male bodies. This work was guided by feminist principles and used narrative analysis to develop the following three themes: (1) Contradictory dialogues: doctor as expert or not? (2) Self-advocacy in the misdiagnosis experience; and (3) Not taken seriously in healthcare settings: it’s all in your head. Supported by previous work, our findings assert that women are treated poorly in healthcare settings with detrimental outcomes for them and their wider community. Reasons for this include female bodies being excluded from medical research, so that little is known about how illnesses present in female bodies, or how they affect women. Problematically, knowledge founded on male bodies is used to diagnose conditions in women. These biases perpetuate gender stereotypes and preconceived beliefs about women. Unexplained symptoms are considered ‘made up’ or are blamed on women’s mental well- being. Women are therefore not always considered credible symptom reporters and may be dismissed and ignored by healthcare professionals.

In the Moment: Fostering Mindfulness and Reducing Stressors in the Healthcare Workplace

2021 ◽  
pp. 193758672098824
Author(s):  
Shabboo Valipoor ◽  
Sheila J. Bosch
Keyword(s):  
Design Research ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Job Dissatisfaction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Environmental Interventions ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
The Moment

While healthcare design research has primarily focused on patient outcomes, there is a growing recognition that environmental interventions could do more by promoting the overall quality of care, and this requires expanding the focus to the health and well-being of those who deliver care to patients. Healthcare professionals are under high levels of stress, leading to burnout, job dissatisfaction, and poor patient care. Among other tools, mindfulness is recommended as a way of decreasing stress and helping workers function at higher levels. This article aims to identify potential environmental strategies for reducing work-related stressors and facilitating mindfulness in healthcare settings. By examining existing evidence on workplace mindfulness and stress-reducing design strategies, we highlight the power of the physical environment in not only alleviating stressful conditions but intentionally encouraging a mindful perspective. Strategies like minimizing distractions or avoiding overstimulation in the healthcare environment can be more effective if implemented along with the provision of designated spaces for mindfulness-based programs. Future research may explore optimal methods and hospital workers’ preferences for environments that support mindfulness and stress management. The long-term goal of all these efforts is to enhance healthcare professionals’ well-being, reignite their professional enthusiasm, and help them be resilient in times of stress.

scholarly journals Mental well-being of patients from ethnic minority groups during critical care: a qualitative ethnographic study

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e014075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Lima Van Keer ◽  
Reginald Deschepper ◽  
Luc Huyghens ◽  
Johan Bilsen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
Mental Well Being

ObjectivesTo investigate the state of the mental well-being of patients from ethnic minority groups and possible related risk factors for the development of mental health problems among these patients during critical medical situations in hospital.DesignQualitative ethnographic design.SettingOneintensive care unit (ICU) of a multiethnic urban hospital in Belgium.Participants84 ICU staff members, 10 patients from ethnic-minority groups and their visiting family members.ResultsPatients had several human basic needs for which they could not sufficiently turn to anybody, neither to their healthcare professionals, nor to their relatives nor to other patients. These needs included the need for social contact, the need to increase comfort and alleviate pain, the need to express desperation and participate in end-of-life decision making. Three interrelated risk factors for the development of mental health problems among the patients included were identified: First, healthcare professionals’ mainly biomedical care approach (eg, focus on curing the patient, limited psychosocial support), second, the ICU context (eg, time pressure, uncertainty, regulatory frameworks) and third, patients’ different ethnocultural background (eg, religious and phenotypical differences).ConclusionsThe mental state of patients from ethnic minority groups during critical care is characterised by extreme emotional loneliness. It is important that staff should identify and meet patients’ unique basic needs in good time with regard to their mental well-being, taking into account important threats related to their own mainly biomedical approach to care, the ICU’s structural context as well as the patients’ different ethnocultural background.

scholarly journals Health and Wellness Coaching in Serving the Needs of Today’s Patients: A Primer for Healthcare Professionals

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 216495612095927
Author(s):  
Adam I Perlman ◽  
Abd Moain Abu Dabrh
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Wellness Coaching ◽  
Medical Advances

The past six decades have been marked by leaps and bounds in medical advances, while concurrently clinical outcomes and the quality of life continued to lag or decline. There is a need for more comprehensive approaches to delivering healthcare to patients that address illness and wellness within and outside healthcare settings. Mounting evidence shows that making sustainable changes in healthcare requires approaching patients’/individuals’ care as a continuum—within and outside healthcare settings—while addressing their capacity (ie ability) and workload (ie demands) and incorporating their values and preferences. Health and Wellness Coaching (HWC) has been proposed as a solution to create partnerships to empower individuals to take ownership, leadership, and accountability of their well-being, using nondirective, empathic, and mindful conversations that employ motivational-interviewing and evidence-based approaches. Insufficient clarity exists among healthcare professionals in understanding the definition, roles, and types of HWC. This primer summarizes HWC concepts and history and compares HWC types and its potential role in promoting, supporting, and improving the well-being, clinical outcomes, and quality of life of the pertinent stakeholders. This primer also highlights current and potential areas of application of HWC within different subpopulations and healthcare-related settings.

scholarly journals Impact of enhanced personal protective equipment on the physical and mental well-being of healthcare workers during COVID-19

2020 ◽  
pp. postgradmedj-2020-139150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramanathan Swaminathan ◽  
Bimantha Perera Mukundadura ◽  
Shashi Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental Well Being

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the use of enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) in healthcare workers in patient-facing roles. We describe the impact on the physical and mental well-being of healthcare professionals who use enhanced PPE consistently.MethodsWe conducted a single-centre, cross-sectional study among healthcare professionals who use enhanced PPE. A web-based questionnaire was disseminated to evaluate the effects on individuals’ physical and mental well-being. Physical and mental impact was assessed through a visual analogue scale.ResultsProspective analysis of the views of 72 respondents is reported. 63.9% were women and 36.1% were men. Physical impact included exhaustion, headache, skin changes, breathlessness and a negative impact on vision. Communication difficulties, somnolence, negative impact on overall performance and difficulties in using surgical instrumentation were reported.ConclusionOur study demonstrates the undeniable negative impact on the front-line healthcare workers using enhanced PPE and lays the ground for larger multicentric assessments given for it to potentially be the norm for the foreseeable future.

scholarly journals Can Psychological Resilience Protect the Mental Health of Healthcare Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic Period?

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 133-139
Author(s):  
Aynur Bahar ◽  
Hatice Serap Koçak ◽  
Sevgin Samancıoğlu Bağlama ◽  
Döndü Çuhadar
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The State ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Psychological Resilience ◽  
Psychological Issues ◽  
Review Study ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Anxiety And Fear

It is important to protect the mental health of healthcare employees who are facing the difficult experience of a pandemic. There are proofs indicating that the state of mental well-being is related with the levels of psychological resilience. It may be important for reducing the psychological issues and emotions of burnout in healthcare professionals by increasing their psychological resilience levels during this process in which disease anxiety and fear of death develop. The purpose of this review study was to attract attention to the mental issues and psychological resilience of healthcare professionals who have the closest contact with the patients.

Empowering LGBTQ parents: How to improve maternity services and child healthcare settings for this community – ‘She told us that we are good as a family’

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
Jenni Kerppola ◽  
Nina Halme ◽  
Marja-Leena Perälä ◽  
Anna Maija-Pietilä
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Maternity Services ◽  
Clear Sense ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
Child Healthcare ◽  
Parental Empowerment

Parental empowerment plays an essential role in maternity and child healthcare. Professionals delivering these services are ideally placed to improve parents' empowerment and well-being. This study aims to describe the supporting factors of parental empowerment from the perspective of self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or queer (LGBTQ) parents in Finland. The study was conducted using a qualitative inductive design, and 22 parents participated. Interviews were conducted between July and September of 2016 and analysed using inductive content analysis. Four categories emerged: 1) Parents' willingness to create socially recognized families, 2) Parenthood support, 3) Respectful partnership with all parents, and 4) Accessible services. Services were more empowering when parents were treated with dignity. This focus requires gender-neutral communication and a clear sense of security for parents. The findings indicate more education on LGBTQ-related issues is still needed.

scholarly journals Validation of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) in Pakistani healthcare professionals

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Waqas ◽  
Waqas Ahmad ◽  
Frances Taggart ◽  
Zerwah Muhammad ◽  
Muhammad Hamza HB Bukhari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Pakistani Population ◽  
High Internal Consistency ◽  
Unidimensional Construct ◽  
Mental Well Being

Background: This study was carried out to evaluate the psychometric properties of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in Pakistani healthcare professionals. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out from June, 2013 to December, 2014 among 1271 Pakistani health personnel (HCPs) belonging to seven different cities of Punjab province, Pakistan, to study the construct and reliability of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in Pakistani population. All data were analyzed in SPSS v.21. Results: Our analysis demonstrated a unidimensional construct, a high internal consistency (0.89), good convergent validity and easy readability of WEMWBS among Pakistani HCPs. Conclusion: WEMWBS is both reliable and valid for use in Pakistani population.

scholarly journals Measuring the well-being of health care professionals in the Punjab: a psychometric evaluation of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in a Pakistani population

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Waqas ◽  
Waqas Ahmad ◽  
Mark Haddad ◽  
Frances Taggart ◽  
Zerwah Muhammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pakistani Population ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Mental Well Being

Background: There is growing awareness of the public health importance of the mental well-being of population in general. This study was carried out to examine the wellbeing of Pakistani healthcare professionals, and to evaluate the psychometric properties of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in in this population. The well-being of health professionals is likely to influence their care delivery. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out from June, 2013 to December, 2014 among 1271 Pakistani health personnel (HCPs) belonging to seven different cities of Punjab province, Pakistan, to examine the acceptability, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and the content and construct validity of the English version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in a Pakistani population sample. All data were analyzed in SPSS v.21. Results: Our analysis demonstrated a unidimensional construct, a high internal consistency (0.89) and test-retest reliability, good convergent validity and easy readability of WEMBS among Pakistani HCPs. The mean on WEMWBS score was 48.1 (9.4) which is lower than general population sample in other nations. Male healthcare professionals scored significantly higher on WEMWBS than their female counterparts (P < .05), and older respondents had higher scores. Conclusion: The WEMBS appears feasible and acceptable for use in the Pakistani healthcare professionals, and findings from this study indicate its validity and internal consistency. The well-being scores of the health professional respondents were lower than those identified in general population surveys in the UK.

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