scholarly journals COVID-19 Preparedness and Perceived Safety in Nursing Homes in Southern Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Survey-Based Study in the Initial Phases of the Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7983
Author(s):  
Óscar Brito Fernandes ◽  
Pedro Lobo Julião ◽  
Niek Klazinga ◽  
Dionne Kringos ◽  
Nuno Marques
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Safety Culture ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Southern Portugal

(1) Background: Nursing homes’ preparedness in managing a public health emergency has been poor, with effects on safety culture. The objective of this study was to assess nursing homes’ COVID-19 preparedness in southern Portugal, including staff’s work experiences during the pandemic. (2) Methods: We used a COVID-19 preparedness checklist to be completed by management teams, followed by follow-up calls to nursing homes. Thereafter, a survey of staff was applied. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and thematic analysis of open-end questions. (3) Results: In total, 71% (138/195) of eligible nursing homes returned the preparedness checklist. We conducted 83 follow-up calls and received 720 replies to the staff survey. On average, 25% of nursing homes did not have an adequate decision-making structure to respond to the pandemic. Outbreak capacity and training were areas for improvement among nursing homes’ contingency plans. We identified teamwork as an area of strength for safety culture, whereas compliance with procedures and nonpunitive response to mistakes need improvement. (4) Conclusions: To strengthen how nursing homes cope with upcoming phases of the COVID-19 pandemic or future public health emergencies, nursing homes’ preparedness and safety culture should be fostered and closely monitored.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Preparedness and Perceived Safety in 138 Nursing Homes in Southern Portugal: A Cross-sectional Survey-based Study in the Initial Phases of the Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Óscar Brito Fernandes ◽  
Pedro Lobo Julião ◽  
Niek Klazinga ◽  
Dionne Kringos ◽  
Nuno Marques
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Safety Culture ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Southern Portugal

(1) Background: Nursing homes’ preparedness in managing a public health crisis has been fragile, with effects on safety culture. The objective of this study was to assess nursing homes’ COVID-19 preparedness in Southern Portugal, including personnel’s work experiences during the pandemic. (2) Methods: We used a COVID-19 preparedness checklist to be completed by management teams, followed by follow-up calls to nursing homes. Thereafter, a survey to personnel was applied. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and thematic analysis of open-end questions. (3) Results: In total, 71% (138/195) of eligible nursing homes returned the preparedness checklist. We conducted 83 follow-up calls and received 720 replies to the personnel survey. On average, 25% of nursing homes did not have an adequate decision-making structure to respond to the pandemic. Outbreak capacity and training were fragile areas among nursing homes’ contingency plans. We identified compliance with procedures and nonpunitive response to mistakes as fragile areas of safety culture, and teamwork as a strong safety area. (4) Conclusions: To strengthen how nursing homes cope with upcoming phases of the COVID-19 pandemic or future public health emergencies, nursing homes’ preparedness and safety culture should be fostered and closely monitored.

scholarly journals Influence of A Public Health Emergency On Care For Patients With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: An Online, Cross-Sectional Survey

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Zhang ◽  
Shaoxia Wang ◽  
Yuru Dong ◽  
Xinyu Chen ◽  
Miao Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Rehabilitation Services ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Public

Abstract Background: The public health emergency has created challenges for the care of patients, particularly those with chronic diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. To elucidate the challenges faced by Chinese patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy during the public health emergency coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey, the responses of which were collected between March 27 and June 30, 2021. Results: In total, valid questionnaire responses were obtained from 2,105 patients, of whom 49 lived in pandemic lockdown areas. Of the 2,056 responders from non-lockdown areas, 42.8% reduced their outside daily activities, 49.4% reduced their use of rehabilitation services, 39.7% postponed regular follow-up appointments, and 40.8% complained of accelerated declines in motor function over the previous year. The corresponding figures for the 49 participants from lockdown areas were almost all higher, with 67.3% reducing outside daily activities, 44.9% reducing their use of rehabilitation services, 79.6% postponing regular follow-up appointments, and 55.1% complaining of accelerated declines in motor function. When asked whether they expected more assistance from society than they had received before the pandemic, 60.8% of patients in non-lockdown areas and 87.8% of those in lockdown areas responded affirmatively. When asked whether they felt more anxious than they had before the pandemic and needed psychological counseling, 11.5% of respondents in non-lockdown areas and 18.4% of respondents in lockdown areas responded affirmatively. In non-lockdown areas, 76% of respondents had at least one telemedicine visit, and 71% of them thought that telemedicine was helpful. In lockdown areas, 91.8% had used telemedicine at least once, and 66.7% of them found it helpful.Conclusions: These public health emergency control measures have affected the care of patients with chronic diseases worldwide, particularly pronounced in lockdown areas. It is imperative that healthcare workers assist patients and establish more robust chronic disease management systems. Telemedicine is an effective model for providing healthcare to such patients.

scholarly journals Evaluation and improvement of the emergency capacity of medical staff for COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Xiao Hu ◽  
Chang-Fu Chen ◽  
Qing Liu ◽  
Gao-Fei Zhang ◽  
Hua-Lin Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Medical Staff ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
The Self ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Public Health Emergencies

Abstract Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to 216 countries and territories around the world. Most studies on response to public health emergencies, focus on health systems, local governments or medical organizations, but fewer studies focus on individuals. However, medical staff are the core strength for responding to public health emergencies. The aims of this study are to investigate the status of medical staff’s emergency capacity during the pandemic and to provide intellectual support to further enhance medical staff's ability to ensure the smooth operation of medical rescue. Methods: This study conducted a cross-sectional survey of four hospitals designated to treat patients with COVID-19 in China. Based on the emergency capacity system of medical staff for infectious diseases, an improved Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire was used to evaluate the emergency capacity of medical staff. Linear regression and one-way analysis of variance were used to test the differences in the emergency capacity of medical staff. Spearman correlation analysis was used to study the correlation between the self-efficacy and emergency capacity of medical staff. Results: The overall emergency capacity of the surveyed medical staff was at a medium level. There was a correlation between emergency capacity and age, working years, position, educational background and the area where medical staff worked. Emergency capacity was not related to the hospital grade. Emergency capacity was significantly related to whether medical staff had participated in frontline pandemic prevention work. There was also a positive correlation between emergency capacity and the self-efficacy of medical staff. Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of the training mechanism for emergency personnel. The emergency input for public health emergencies should be increased to improve the emergency capacity of medical staff. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the mental health of medical staff.

scholarly journals Transcultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the mainland China version of Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Questionnaire: a cross-sectional survey based on 50 nursing homes in China

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e043994
Author(s):  
Yaqin Li ◽  
Yufei Cheng ◽  
Xiuying Hu ◽  
Longhao Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Safety Culture ◽  
Southwest China ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Psychometric Evaluation ◽  
Patient Safety Culture ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Transcultural Adaptation

ObjectiveTo provide a validated Chinese-language measurement of the Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture (NHSOPS) in mainland China. The primary goal is to carry out a transcultural adaptation of the NHSOPS Questionnaire into Chinese and evaluate its psychometric properties.DesignA psychometric evaluation study is constructed. First, the ‘translation–back-translation–cultural adaptation’ and the pretesting procedure were followed to introduce the NHSOPS. Second, a cross-sectional survey was used to assess the psychometric properties for the mainland China version of the NHSOPS (M-NHSOPS), and a test–retest survey was then applied.Setting and participantsThe survey was carried out among 1397 nursing home staff from 50 nursing homes in Southwest China.Outcome measuresExploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to assess the potential structure, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then applied. Reliability was assessed by the content validity index, Cronbach’s α and the test–retest value.ResultsAmong the 1397 respondents, 1211 were included (86.7%). EFA was used, and a nine-factor structure was explored. Five factors (Cronbach’s α ＞0.6) were selected into the new structure for the M-NHSOPS. Moreover, data showed that it was suitable for CFA, and convergent validity and discriminant validity were satisfactory. On the other hand, M-NHSOPS contains five dimensions and 22 items. The overall Cronbach’s α value was 0.883; the values of each dimension ranged from 0.648 to 0.913. Additionally, content validity showed significant performance. Eventually, test–retest reliability was 0.892, and each dimension was 0.713, 0.809, 0.924, 0.795 and 0.859, respectively (p<0.001).ConclusionsM-NHSOPS has acceptable reliability and satisfactory validity among staff of nursing homes in Southwest China, and further verification among samples in other regions of mainland China is required.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Hesitancy (VBH) of Healthcare Workers in Czechia: National Cross-Sectional Study

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1437
Author(s):  
Miloslav Klugar ◽  
Abanoub Riad ◽  
Lekshmi Mohanan ◽  
Andrea Pokorná
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Symptomatic Infection ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Vaccine Booster

The emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and waning vaccine-elicited immunity are two public health challenges that occurred simultaneously and synergistically during the summer of 2021 and led to a surging demand for COVID-19 vaccine booster dose (BD) rollout. This study aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine booster hesitancy (VBH) among Czech healthcare workers to explore the potential determinants of VBH. A national cross-sectional survey-based study was carried out between 3 and 11 November 2021, using an online self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) that explored the participants’ demographic characteristics, COVID-19 infection and vaccine anamneses, willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine BD, and the psychosocial drivers of VBH. A total of 3454 HCW properly responded to the online SAQ, of which 80.9% were females, 30.3% were medical professionals, and 50.5% were ≤47 years old. Most of the participants were already inoculated against SARS-CoV-2 (95.2%), and BTN162b2 was the most commonly administered vaccine (90.7%). As the study sample was planned to represent the target population, it revealed a high level of BD acceptance (71.3%) among Czech HCW, while 12.2% were still hesitant and 16.6% were against the currently available BD. These results are consistent with other recent results from central Europe. Medical professional, male, and older participants were more likely to accept BD rather than allied health professional, female, and younger participants. The BDs’ perceived effectiveness against severe illness, symptomatic infection, and community transmission was a significant and strong predictor for BD acceptance, while the effectiveness against the circulating variants was not that important for our target population. The BDs’ perceived safety and ethical dilemmas of vaccine justice should be addressed sufficiently while communicating with HCW and other population groups. The altruistic reasons for BD acceptance, i.e., family protection, patient protection, and community health protection, underpin the recommendation of postponing the COVID-19 vaccine mandating in favour of stressing these altruistic concerns amid public health messaging.

scholarly journals Evaluation and improvement of emergency capacity of medical staff for the COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Xiao Hu ◽  
Chang-Fu Chen ◽  
Qing Liu ◽  
Gao-Fei Zhang ◽  
Hua-Lin Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Medical Staff ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Public Health Emergencies

Abstract Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to 215 countries around the world. In the studies of responding to public health emergencies, most of them are focused on health systems, local governments or medical organizations, but less on individuals. Medical staff, however, are the core strength for responding to public health emergencies. The aims of this study are to investigate the status of medical staff’s emergency capacity during the Pandemic and to provide intellectual support for further enhancing the medical staff's ability to ensure the smooth operation of medical rescue. Methods: This study conducted a cross-sectional survey of four hospitals, which were designated to treat patients with COVID-19 in China. Based on the emergency capacity system for infectious diseases of medical staff, an improved Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire was used to evaluate the emergency capacity of medical staff. Linear regression and one-way analysis of variance were used to test the difference in the emergency capacity of medical staff; Spearman correlation analysis was used to study the correlation between self-efficacy and emergency capacity of medical staff. Results: The overall emergency capacity of the surveyed medical staff was at a medium level. There was a correlation between emergency capacity and age, working years, position, educational background and area where medical staff work. Emergency capacity was not related to the hospital grades. Emergency capacity was significantly related to whether medical staff had participated in frontline Pandemic prevention work. There was also a positive correlation between emergency capacity and self-efficacy of medical staff. Conclusions: The results highlighted the importance of the training mechanism for emergency personnel. The emergency input for public health emergencies should be increased to improve the emergency capacity of medical staff. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the mental health of medical staff.

scholarly journals Public Health Workforce Burnout in the COVID-19 Response in the U.S.

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4369
Author(s):  
Kahler W. Stone ◽  
Kristina W. Kintziger ◽  
Meredith A. Jagger ◽  
Jennifer A. Horney
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The U.S

While the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline health care workers have been well described, the effects of the COVID-19 response on the U.S. public health workforce, which has been impacted by the prolonged public health response to the pandemic, has not been adequately characterized. A cross-sectional survey of public health professionals was conducted to assess mental and physical health, risk and protective factors for burnout, and short- and long-term career decisions during the pandemic response. The survey was completed online using the Qualtrics survey platform. Descriptive statistics and prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals) were calculated. Among responses received from 23 August and 11 September 2020, 66.2% of public health workers reported burnout. Those with more work experience (1–4 vs. <1 years: prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08−3.36; 5–9 vs. <1 years: PR = 1.89, CI = 1.07−3.34) or working in academic settings (vs. practice: PR = 1.31, CI = 1.08–1.58) were most likely to report burnout. As of September 2020, 23.6% fewer respondents planned to remain in the U.S. public health workforce for three or more years compared to their retrospectively reported January 2020 plans. A large-scale public health emergency response places unsustainable burdens on an already underfunded and understaffed public health workforce. Pandemic-related burnout threatens the U.S. public health workforce’s future when many challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 response remain unaddressed.

scholarly journals Vaccination knowledge, attitudes and practices in patients with HIV: a cross-sectional survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Rousset ◽  
G Voglino ◽  
E Boietti ◽  
A Corradi ◽  
M R Gualano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health System ◽  
Vaccination Coverage ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Hiv Patients ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Contagion Risk ◽  
High Level

Abstract Background Infectious diseases are more common and severe in patients with HIV, which show different response to vaccines and a diminished protection. It is therefore very important to assess knowledge and attitudes towards vaccination in people with HIV, since precise vaccination coverage and vaccine hesitancy are not well established in this subgroup of patients. Methods A sample of 119 patients with HIV completed a cross-sectional survey. Patients were recruited during their routine medical examination at the infectious diseases clinic in Turin. The survey explored these main areas: demographics and history of HIV infection, vaccination history, attitudes towards vaccination, confidence in the public health system, contagion risk and disease seriousness perception. In this preliminary phase descriptive analysis were conducted. Results Preliminary data show that mean age of the participants was 49.51 years, 80% were males. The median of HIV infection duration was 10 years, while the median of the lymphocyte count was 762.50 cells/mm3. The disease with the highest vaccination coverage was tetanus (88.7%), considered a serious or very serious disease by 85.6% of the participants, despite low or very low contagion risk perception (84.1%). The disease with the lowest vaccination coverage was Herpes Zoster (7.3%), despite high or very high seriousness perception (70%). Furthermore, 99.1% of the participants showed high or very high confidence toward public health system professionals, and the majority of them (59.5%) stated that vaccines are more useful for the community than for the single person. Conclusions Vaccination coverage is still not fully satisfactory regarding diseases considered infrequent or mild. Considering the high level of confidence toward the public health system that has emerged, it is necessary to implement informative and operative strategies about vaccination for European HIV patients, which are particularly at risk regarding infectious diseases. Key messages Vaccination coverage and risk perception in HIV patients is not satisfactory for many diseases and an effort to implement informative strategies in Europe is needed. The role of vaccination in preventing infectious diseases in HIV patients should be recognized and strengthened by relying on the high level of confidence toward European public health systems.

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