scholarly journals Examination of Coping Strategies among On-Site Paramedics

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-195
Author(s):  
Vladimír Moskola ◽  
Ágnes Dóra Sándor ◽  
Éva Susánszky ◽  
Andrea Székely ◽  
István Hornyák ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Patient Treatment ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Ambulance Personnel ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Ways Of Coping Questionnaire

The occurrence of physical and psychological symptoms that negatively influence everyday activities, efficient job performance, and professional patient treatment are common among paramedic workers. Aim: We uncovered the characteristic coping strategies applied by on-site paramedics and searched for correlations between these strategies and demographic, socio-economic characteristics, as well as factors related to work, workplace, and health behaviours. Sample and methodology: The survey was conducted between March 1, 2018, and February 28, 2019, among employees of the DG National Ambulance Service and participants of the Chamber of Hungarian Health Care Professionals. We used an abbreviated version of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire that contains 22 items (WOC-22). Descriptive statistics, independent samples T-tests, correlation calculations, analysis of variance with the Games-Howell post-hoc test were also carried out. Results: Tension reduction was a more common coping strategy among female and/or single paramedics as well as also being characteristic of people who work as paramedic officers. Problem-oriented coping stood out as a characteristic of people who have a higher level of education and/or are more satisfied with their financial situation. Risk-seeking appears dominantly among those who are not religious and/or have a lower level of education. Conclusions: Although paramedics are basically characterized by problem-oriented coping strategies, they quite often apply non-adaptive strategies as well; consequently, the chance of developing anxiety remains higher for them. Our aim is to use effective intervention methods for curbing the development of anxiety conditions among the ambulance personnel that have long-lasting negative effects on health care. To achieve this goal, we recommend including a questionnaire about coping strategies into the admission process of would-be paramedics; also, completing such questionnaires among the whole emergency workforce.

scholarly journals Health Care Professionals’ Knowledge of Stalking Perpetrators, Victims, Behaviors, and Coping Strategies: A Preliminary Study among Italian Hospitals

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Daniela Acquadro Maran ◽  
Barbara Loera ◽  
Alberto D’Argenio
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Large City ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Male Victims ◽  
Physical Consequences ◽  
And Coping

The aim of this study was to investigate health care professionals’ level of in-depth understanding about the various types and characteristics of stalking. In particular, the study examines knowledge on the characteristics of stalkers and their victims, acted behaviors, and coping strategies used to stop the harassment. The data were collected by means of an ad hoc questionnaire. The sample comprised 210 participants working in local health units in Turin, a large city located in the northern part of Italy. The majority were women (160, 76.2%). The participants were aged 20–64 years, and the mean age was 41.63 years (SD = 11.18). The majority of participants were psychologists (99, 47.1%), 31 (14.8%) were nurses, 31 (14.8%) had an unspecified medical profession, 29 (13.8%) were psychiatrists, and 20 (9.5%) were general practitioners. According to the findings, interventions with male victims of stalking, especially when the stalker is a woman, require attention in particular. Underestimating the stalking experience is a risk, so health care professionals in their interventions must explain to the men the emotive and physical consequences of the victimization. Moreover, in suggesting coping strategies, health care professionals must consider the victim’s fear of reporting the incident not only to law enforcement authorities but also to family and friends. The findings showed that health care professionals need a better understanding of the stalking phenomenon. Education courses are a valuable tool to identify characteristics of the phenomenon, validate existing knowledge, and decrease the level of missing information to develop the skills needed to take appropriate action in cases of stalking.

Incidence and outcomes of bulimia nervosa: a nationwide population-based study

2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 823-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Keski-Rahkonen ◽  
H. W. Hoek ◽  
M. S. Linna ◽  
A. Raevuori ◽  
E. Sihvola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Bulimia Nervosa ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Clinical Recovery ◽  
Dsm Iv ◽  
First Time

BackgroundLittle is known about the epidemiology of bulimia nervosa outside clinical settings. We report the incidence, prevalence and outcomes of bulimia nervosa using for the first time a nationwide study design.MethodTo assess the incidence and natural course and outcomes of DSM-IV bulimia nervosa among women from the general population, women (n=2881) from the 1975–79 birth cohorts of Finnish twins were screened for lifetime eating disorders using a two-stage procedure consisting of a questionnaire screen and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Clinical recovery was defined as 1-year abstinence from bingeing and purging combined with a body mass index (BMI) ⩾19 kg/m2.ResultsThe lifetime prevalence of DSM-IV bulimia nervosa was 2.3%; 76% of the women suffered from its purging subtype and 24% from the non-purging subtype. The incidence rate of bulimia nervosa was 300/100000 person-years at the peak age of incidence, 16–20 years, and 150/100000 at 10–24 years. The 5-year clinical recovery rate was 55.0%. Less than a third of the cases had been detected by health-care professionals; detection did not influence outcome. After clinical recovery from bulimia nervosa, the mean levels of residual psychological symptoms gradually decreased over time but many women continued to experience significantly more body image problems and psychosomatic symptoms than never-ill women.ConclusionsFew women with bulimia nervosa are recognized in health-care settings. Symptoms of bulimia are relatively long-standing, and recovery is gradual. Many clinically recovered women experience residual psychological symptoms after attaining abstinence from bingeing and purging.

Involuntary automaticity: a work-system induced risk to safe health care

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Toft ◽  
Hugo Mascie-Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Safety ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Care Community ◽  
Work System ◽  
Skilled Action ◽  
Conscious Attention

Automaticity is the term given by psychologists to the skilled action that people develop through repeatedly practising the same activity, for example driving a car. Usually, automaticity is discussed in terms of the benefits it brings to people, such as the reduction in the degree of conscious attention a person needs to pay to such skilled activities. However, there is evidence to suggest that substantial costs may also be associated with such learned behaviour. Managing patient safety is a difficult task and one of the ways in which health-care professionals seek to accomplish it is through the use of verbal challenge-response protocols. However, it is argued in this paper that it is possible for the negative effects of automaticity to involuntarily capture those using such verbal checklist techniques and cause them to erroneously believe that the treatment that they are about to administer to a patient is safe when it is not. This phenomenon does not, however, seem to have been recognized by the health-care community nationally or internationally. We conclude that patient safety could be significantly improved worldwide if the organizational arrangements which appear to induce involuntary automaticity were to be robustly addressed by the management of all health-care organizations.

scholarly journals Continuous Monitoring of Vital Signs in the General Ward Using Wearable Devices: Randomized Controlled Trial

10.2196/15471 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. e15471
Author(s):  
Mariska Weenk ◽  
Sebastian J Bredie ◽  
Mats Koeneman ◽  
Gijs Hesselink ◽  
Harry van Goor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Continuous Monitoring ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Physician Assistants ◽  
Wearable Devices ◽  
General Ward ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Randomized Controlled

Background Wearable devices can be used for continuous patient monitoring in the general ward, increasing patient safety. Little is known about the experiences and expectations of patients and health care professionals regarding continuous monitoring with these devices. Objective This study aimed to identify positive and negative effects as well as barriers and facilitators for the use of two wearable devices: ViSi Mobile (VM) and HealthPatch (HP). Methods In this randomized controlled trial, 90 patients admitted to the internal medicine and surgical wards of a university hospital in the Netherlands were randomly assigned to continuous vital sign monitoring using VM or HP and a control group. Users’ experiences and expectations were addressed using semistructured interviews. Nurses, physician assistants, and medical doctors were also interviewed. Interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Psychological distress was assessed using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. The System Usability Scale was used to assess the usability of both devices. Results A total of 60 patients, 20 nurses, 3 physician assistants, and 6 medical doctors were interviewed. We identified 47 positive and 30 negative effects and 19 facilitators and 36 barriers for the use of VM and HP. Frequently mentioned topics included earlier identification of clinical deterioration, increased feelings of safety, and VM lines and electrodes. No differences related to psychological distress and usability were found between randomization groups or devices. Conclusions Both devices were well received by most patients and health care professionals, and the majority of them encouraged the idea of monitoring vital signs continuously in the general ward. This comprehensive overview of barriers and facilitators of using wireless devices may serve as a guide for future researchers, developers, and health care institutions that consider implementing continuous monitoring in the ward. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02933307; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02933307.

scholarly journals The Year of Care approach: developing a model and delivery programme for care and support planning in long term conditions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Roberts ◽  
Simon Eaton ◽  
Tracy Finch ◽  
Nick Lewis-Barned ◽  
Monique Lhussier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Implementation Framework ◽  
Long Term Conditions ◽  
Training Support ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Health Communities

Abstract Background: People with long term conditions (LTCs) make most of the daily decisions and carry out the activities which affect their health and quality of life. Only a fraction of each contact with a health care professional (HCP) is spent supporting this. This paper describes how care and support planning (CSP) and an implementation framework to redesign services, were developed to address this in UK general practice. Focussed on what is important to each individual, CSP brings together traditional clinical issues and the person’s lived experience in a solution focussed, forward looking conversation with an emphasis on ‘people not diseases’. Methods: The components of CSP were developed in three health communities using diabetes as an exemplar. This model was extended and refined for other single conditions and multimorbidity across 40 sites and two nations, over 15 years. Working with local teams and communities the authors used theoretical models of care, implementation and spread, developing and tailoring training, support and resources to embed CSP as usual care, sharing learning across a community of practice. Results: The purpose, content, process, developmental hurdles and impact of this CSP model are described, alongside an implementation strategy. There is now a robust, reproducible five step model; preparation, conversation, recording, actions and review. Uniquely, preparation, involving information sharing with time for reflection, enables an uncluttered conversation with a professional focussed on what is important to each person. The components of the Year of Care House act as a checklist for implementation, a metaphor for their interdependence and a flexible framework. Spreading CSP involved developing exemplar practices and building capacity across local health communities. These reported improved patient experience, practitioner job satisfaction, health behaviours and outcomes, teamwork, practice organisation, resource use, and links with wider community activities. Conclusions: Tested in multiple settings, CSP is a reproducible and practical model of planned care applicable to all LTCs, with the capacity to be transformative for people with LTCs and health care professionals. It recaptures relational dimensions of care with transactional elements in the background. Options for applying this model and implementation framework at scale now need to be explored.

scholarly journals The Mindful Body: A Phenomenology of the Body With Multiple Sclerosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (14) ◽  
pp. 2239-2249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanneke van der Meide ◽  
Truus Teunissen ◽  
Pascal Collard ◽  
Merel Visse ◽  
Leo H Visser
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Body Experience ◽  
Phenomenology Of The Body ◽  
Health And Illness

For people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), one’s own body may no longer be taken for granted but may become instead an insistent presence. In this article, we describe how the body experience of people with MS can reflect an ongoing oscillation between four experiential dimensions: bodily uncertainty, having a precious body, being a different body, and the mindful body. People with MS can become engaged in a mode of permanent bodily alertness and may demonstrate adaptive responses to their ill body. In contrast to many studies on health and illness, our study shows that the presence of the body may not necessarily result in alienation or discomfort. By focusing the attention on the body, a sense of well-being can be cultivated and the negative effects of MS only temporarily dominate experience. Rather than aiming at bodily dis-appearance, health care professionals should therefore consider ways to support bodily eu-appearance.

The second victim phenomenon in health care: A literature review

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 629-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Puvashnee Nydoo ◽  
Basil J. Pillay ◽  
Thajasvarie Naicker ◽  
Jagidesa Moodley
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professional ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Obstetric Care ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Second Victim ◽  
Adverse Medical Events

Aim: This study aimed to explore the knowledge on the second victim phenomenon (SVP) in health care, more specifically within the speciality of obstetrics. Methods: An extensive electronic search of multiple databases, with additional hand searching of the reference lists of pertinent articles regarding the SVP, was performed from May 2017 to December 2018. Results: A review of the literature suggests consistent evidence of the substantial impact of adverse medical events on health-care professionals across a range of specialities. The effects of an adverse medical event for the health-care professional are ominous, with many experiencing feelings of sadness, guilt and anxiety, as well as some displaying symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder. Negative effects may be exacerbated for health-care professionals in the case of an adverse maternal event due to its highly sensitive and dramatic nature, involving both maternal and neonatal lives. The provision of timely and effective support at the individual and more specifically the organisational level has been positively correlated with a second victim’s recovery. Yet, limited organisations have formal support interventions designed specifically for the needs of the second victim. Conclusions: It is evident that the consequences of adverse medical events on health-care professionals can be intense and numerous. The unique nature and high sensitivities surrounding obstetric care have the potential to exacerbate the negative consequences for the health-care professional following an adverse event. Still, there remains a dearth of information of the extent of adverse medical events and the SVP in the speciality of obstetrics.

scholarly journals CNS volume 14 supplement 14 Cover and Front matter

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (S14) ◽  
pp. f1-f1
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Depressive Disorders ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Patient Comfort ◽  
Patient Treatment ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Residual Symptoms

AbstractIt is estimated that 15 million Americans have a depressive disorder, including major depressive disorder, and many of those afflicted do not receive recommended guideline levels of care. Of patients who are correctly diagnosed with depression, a majority of patients do not recover by 4-6 months, often due to discontinuing treatment prior to the initiation of therapeutic effect. It is important for clinicians to understand the factors involved in nonadherence to treatment for the depressive disorders, including presence of residual symptoms, younger age, and less educational attainment. Once clinicians believe a patient is at risk for nonadherence—which is the rule rather than the exception—health care professionals have various techniques available to increase treatment adherence, including communication techniques and other health care interventions.In this Expert Panel Supplement, Richard C. Shelton, MD, reviews data from the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression study to determine the role residual depressive symptoms have in causing patients to become nonadherent to treatment as well as defines characteristics common to patients who discontinue their medications. Steven R. Hahn, MD, outlines several strategies for improving adherence among patients, including a four-step process to bolster patient comfort with treatment guidelines and “Ask-Tell-Ask,” a communication technique aimed to provide clinicians additional understanding as to patient attitudes and beliefs. Finally, Wayne J. Katon, MD, describes how collaborative care—a health care model that involves not only primary care but also additional health care providers in patient treatment—can be beneficial in improving adherence by providing further patient education and additional screening to ensure that patients remain adherent to antidepressants.

Use of Alternative Treatments by People with Multiple Sclerosis

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy S. Berkman ◽  
Monica G. Pignotti ◽  
Pamela F. Cavallo ◽  
Nancy J. Holland
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Complementary Therapies ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Alternative Treatments ◽  
Disease Characteristics ◽  
Specific Alternative ◽  
National Multiple Sclerosis Society ◽  
Treatment Use

The prevalence, predictors, and description of alternative treatment use among peo ple with multiple sclerosis (MS) have not been well studied despite interest and con cern about such use among health care professionals and people with MS. The goal of this study was to describe the prevalence of the use of specific alternative treatments by people with MS, the sociodemographic and disease characteristics of those most likely to use alternative treatments, perceived benefits and harms from use of these treatments, and the reasons for their use. Almost three-fifths of the study sample of 240 people diagnosed with MS from two chapters of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society had used alternative treatments. Most (90 percent) of those who had used al ternative treatments did so in combination with traditional treatments. Only 7.1 per cent used any treatments considered to be high risk or dangerous. The primary reason for using alternative treatments was to obtain relief from physical and psychological symptoms. Implications of these findings for health care professionals are discussed. Key Words: Multiple sclerosis—Alternative therapies—Complementary therapies— Alternative medical practices—Unconventional medicine.

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