scholarly journals Effects of Mindfulness practice on work stress: a study with professionals in Primary Health Care

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. e23210414002
Author(s):  
Mariana Fernandes ◽  
João Paulo Souza ◽  
Edilaine Cristina da Silva Gherardi-Donato ◽  
Hayala Cristina Cavenague de Souza ◽  
Ana Carolina Arruda Franzon ◽  
...  

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of a Mindfulness-based program on mindfulness levels and in the risk of illness associated with stress at work in primary health care (PHC) professionals in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. This is a quasi-experimental study, with 26 PHC professionals, using quantitative methods and an analytical before and after approach of an 8-week Mindfulness Program. The intervention was evaluated applying the instruments: Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and Job Stress Scale. There were significant differences in six Mindfulness facets after the intervention: Observe (p = 0.002); Describe (p = 0.01); Act with awareness - autopilot (p = 0.01) and distraction (p = 0.05); Non-reactivity to inner experience (p = 0.0005); Non-judgement of inner experience (p = 0.01); and in total Mindfulness scores (p = 0.0000018). Regarding the stress levels at work, the reduction of the organizational mode in high job strain was observed (before: 35%, after: 19%).  It is concluded that interventions based on Mindfulness applied to PHC professionals can improve the levels of mindfulness and modify the modes of organization at work, reducing the risk of illness associated with stress in these professionals.

Author(s):  
Mumtaz Abbas ◽  
Fidele K. Mukinda ◽  
Mosedi Namane

Background: There is an increasing amount of blood sample rejection at primary health care facilities (PHCFs), impacting negatively the staff, facility, patient and laboratory costs.Aim: The primary objective was to determine the rejection rate and reasons for blood sample rejection at four PHCFs before and after a phlebotomy training programme. The secondary objective was to determine whether phlebotomy training improved knowledge among primary health care providers (HCPs) and to develop a tool for blood sample acceptability.Study setting: Two community health centres (CHCs) and two community day centres (CDCs) in Cape Town.Methods: A quasi-experimental study design (before and after a phlebotomy training programme).Results: The sample rejection rate was 0.79% (n = 60) at CHC A, 1.13% (n = 45) at CHC B, 1.64% (n = 38) at CDC C and 1.36% (n = 8) at CDC D pre-training. The rejection rate remained approximately the same post-training (p > 0.05). The same phlebotomy questionnaire was administered pre- and post-training to HCPs. The average score increased from 63% (95% CI 6.97‒17.03) to 96% (95% CI 16.91‒20.09) at CHC A (p = 0.039), 58% (95% CI 9.09‒14.91) to 93% (95% CI 17.64‒18.76) at CHC B (p = 0.006), 60% (95% CI 8.84‒13.13) to 97% (95% CI 16.14‒19.29) at CDC C (p = 0.001) and 63% (95% CI 9.81‒13.33) to 97% (95% CI 18.08‒19.07) at CDC D (p = 0.001).Conclusion: There is no statistically significant improvement in the rejection rate of blood samples (p > 0.05) post-training despite knowledge improving in all HCPs (p < 0.05).


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 205031212091826
Author(s):  
Tuomo Lehtovuori ◽  
Anna M Heikkinen ◽  
Marko Raina ◽  
Timo Kauppila

Objectives: This study examined whether using electronic reminders leads to an increase in the rate of diagnosis recordings in the electronic health record system following visits to a general practitioner. The impact of electronic reminders was studied in the primary health care of a Finnish city. Methods: This observational quasi-experimental study based on a before-and-after design was carried out by installing an electronic reminder to improve the recording of diagnoses in the computerized electronic health record system. The quantity of the recorded diagnoses was observed before and after the intervention. The effect of this intervention on the distribution of different diagnoses was also studied. Results: Before intervention, 33%–46% of visits (to general practitioners/month) had recorded diagnose in the primary health care units. After 4 years, the recording rate had risen to 87%–95% (p < 0.001). The rate of change in the recording of diagnoses was highest during the first year of intervention and plateaued about 3.5 years after application reminders. In the present study, most of the visits concerned mild respiratory infections, elevated blood pressure, low back pain and type 2 diabetes. Conclusion: An electronic reminder is likely to improve the recording of diagnoses during the visits to general practitioners. The distribution of diagnoses was in line with former reports concerning diagnoses in Finnish primary care.


Author(s):  
Khalid Alabbasi ◽  
Estie Kruger ◽  
Marc Tennant

<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> Excessive delays and emergency department (ED) overcrowding have become an increasingly major problem for public health worldwide. This study was to assess the key strategies adopted by an ED, at a public hospital in Jeddah, to reduce delays and streamline patient flow. <b><i>Materials and Methods:</i></b> This study was a service evaluation for a Saudi patient population of all age-groups who attended the ED of a public hospital for the period between June 2016 and July 2019. The Saudi initiative to reduce the ED visits at the King Abdullah Medical Complex hospital has started on August 7, 2018. The initiative was to apply an urgency transfer policy which outlines the procedures to follow when patients arrive to the ED where they are reviewed based on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS). Patients with less-urgent conditions (category 4 and 5) are referred to a primary health-care practice (where a family medicine consultant is available). Patients with urgent conditions (category 1–3) are referred to a specialized health-care centre if the service is not currently provided. To test the effectiveness of ED initiative on reducing the overcrowd, data were categorized into before and after the initiative. The bivariate analysis χ<sup>2</sup> tests and 2 sample <i>t</i>-tests were run to explore the relationship of gender and age with dependent variable emergency. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 233,998 patients were included in this study, 61.8% of them were males and the average age of ED patients were 35.5 ± 18.6 years. The majority of cases were those classified as “less urgent” (CTAS 4), which accounted for 65.4%. Number of ED visits before and after the initiative was 67 and 33%, respectively. ED waiting times after the initiative have statistically significantly decreased across all acuity levels compared to ED waiting times before the initiative. <b><i>Conclusion and Implication:</i></b> The findings suggest that the majority of patients arrive to the ED with less-urgent conditions and arrived by walking-in. The number of cases attending the ED significantly decreased following the introduction of the urgency transfer policy. Referral for less-urgent patients to primary health-care centre may be an important front-end operational strategy to relieve congestion.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela dos Santos de Jesus ◽  
Julia Moreira Pescarini ◽  
Andréa Silva ◽  
Ana Wieczorek Torrens ◽  
Elzo Pereira Pinto Júnior ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 666-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navdeep Kaur ◽  
Isabelle Vedel ◽  
Reem El Sherif ◽  
Pierre Pluye

Abstract Background Mixed methods (MM) are common in community-based primary health care (CBPHC) research studies. Several strategies have been proposed to integrate qualitative and quantitative components in MM, but they are seldom well conceptualized and described. The purpose of the present review was to identify and describe practical MM strategies and combinations of strategies used to integrate qualitative and quantitative methods in CBPHC research. Methods A methodological review with qualitative synthesis (grouping) was performed. Records published in English in 2015 were retrieved from the Scopus bibliographic database. Eligibility criteria were: CBPHC empirical study, MM research with detailed description of qualitative and quantitative methods and their integration. Data were extracted from included studies and grouped using a conceptual framework comprised of three theoretical types of MM integration, the seven combinations of these types and nine practical strategies (three per type of integration) and multiple combinations of strategies. Results Among the 151 articles reporting CBPHC and MM studies retrieved, 54 (35.7%) met the inclusion criteria for this review. The included studies provided examples of the three theoretical types of MM integration, the seven combinations of these types as well as the nine practical strategies. Overall, 15 combinations of these strategies were observed. No emerging strategy was observed that was not predicted by the conceptual framework. Conclusions This review can provide guidance to CBPHC researchers for planning, conducting and reporting practical strategies and combinations of strategies used for integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in MM research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Ribeiro dos Santos ◽  
Sandra Pinto ◽  
Juliana Dias Reis Pessalacia ◽  
Bruna Moretti Luchesi ◽  
Lucimeire Aparecida da Silva ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: Evaluate the effects of clown activities on quality of life, depression, stress, anxiety, aid, and social support in patients eligible for palliative care (PC) attended in Primary Health Care (PHC). Method: A quasi-experimental study, with pre-intervention and post-intervention evaluation, carried out with 16 patients eligible for early PC in PHC in a Midwestern city. Patients received 24 visits with home-based clown activities. Results: The interventions evidenced improved quality of life and social support, with significant results for the Social Activities dimension (p = 0.023). Increased scores for Anxiety (p = 0.007) and Depression (p = 0.023) were also observed. Conclusion: Clown activities can bring positive results for the quality of life and social support of patients eligible for PC at home. They should be encouraged to interact with family knowledge and enhance humanized care, integral and centered on human relationships in PHC.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mesele Damte Argaw ◽  
Binyam Fekadu Desta ◽  
Sualiha Abdlkader Muktar ◽  
Nurhan Tewfik ◽  
Bekele Belayhun Tefera ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Leadership, management, and governance (LMG) interventions play a significant role in improving management systems, enhancing work climate, and creating responsive health systems. The Federal Ministry of Health with the support of USAID Transform: Primary Health Care project, cascaded its basic LMG trainings and interventions to primary health care staff. The purpose of this evaluation was to measure the changes observed on performance improvement at primary health care entities after implementing the interventions for one year. The results of this research will help policy makers, program managers, and implementers to make informed decisions in the area of performance improvement. Methods The study used a quasi-experimental pre-post survey design to assess the changes observed as a result of LMG in performance management at primary health care entities. It was conducted from August 28, 2017 to September 30, 2018 in Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regions. The data was collected through document review and interviewer and self-administered questionnaires across 136 health facilities, in which there are 293 health workers who attended the LMG training; and 333 health workers who did not attend the training. In addition, training records were reviewed to capture change in knowledge and skill through pre-post training and, baseline and end-line performance improvement project achievements, respectively. The data were analyzed using SSPS IBM V 20. Results The response rates were 100% for staff who attended the training; and 87% for staff who did not attend the training. Of those who attended the training, 235 (80.9%) and 252 (86%) trainees scored above 70% on post-test, and 80% or more achieved the desired measurable results of their performance improvement projects. Using the above-mentioned criteria, composite scores were compiled from post-test and performance improvement project results. The result showed that 70% (205/293) of basic LMG trainees completed the course. As a result of the LMG trainings, management systems, work climate, and responsiveness of the health system to challenges significantly improved (p<0.001). Because of the leadership projects, an additional 2,290.3 units of health service coverage were gained. Conclusions The performance of the primary health care entities was significantly improved as a result of enhanced knowledge and skills through LMG trainings, and leadership projects implemented at primary health care entities. We recommend providing LMG trainings for more health workers and managers working at primary health care entities to accelerate implementation of prioritized health sector interventions helpful to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals as a global target. Evaluation of effectiveness and efficiency of the basic LMG training package is recommended.


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