Fostering humanism: a mixed methods evaluation of the Footprints Project in critical care.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hoad N
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6830601 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Fostering humanism: a mixed methods evaluation of the Footprints Project in critical care.
Hoad Neala N Swinton Marilyn M Takaoka Alyson A Tam Benjamin B Shears Melissa M Waugh Lily L Toledo Feli F Clarke France J FJ Duan Erick Huaileigh EH Soth Mark M Cook Deborah J DJ
BMJ open 20191102 11
<h4>Objectives</h4>The objectives of this mixed-methods study were to assess the uptake, sustainability and influence of the Footprints Project.<h4>Setting</h4>Twenty-two-bed university-affiliated ICU in Hamilton, Canada.<h4>Participants</h4>ICU patients admitted and their families, as well as clinicians.<h4>Interventions</h4>We developed a personalised patient Footprints Form and Whiteboard to facilitate holistic, patient-centred care, to inform clinical encounters, and to create deeper connect ...[more]
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Project description:The cluster randomized trial ARena (sustainable reduction of antibiotic-induced antimicrobial resistance, 2017-2020) promoted appropriate use of antibiotics for acute non-complicated infections in primary care networks (PCNs) in Germany. A process evaluation assessed determinants of practice and explored factors associated with antibiotic prescribing patterns. This work describes its findings on uptake and impacts of the complex intervention program and indicates potential implementation into routine care. In a nested mixed-methods approach, a three-wave study-specific survey for participating physicians and medical assistants assessed potential impacts and uptake of the complex intervention program. Stakeholders received a one-time online questionnaire to reflect on network-related aspects. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews, with a purposive sample of physicians, medical assistants and stakeholders, explored program component acceptance for daily practice and perceived sustainability of intervention component effects. Intervention components were perceived to be smoothly integrable into practice routines. The highest uptake was reported for educational components: feedback reports, background information, e-learning modules and disease-specific quality circles (QCs). Participation in PCNs was seen as the motivational factor for guideline-oriented patient care and adoption of new routines. Future approaches to fostering appropriate antibiotics use by targeting health literacy competencies and clinician's therapy decisions should combine evidence-based information sources, audit and feedback reports and QCs.
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Project description:BackgroundTo evaluate intermediate care for knee and hip osteoarthritis (KHOA) in the general practice that incorporate specialist services into general practice to prevent unnecessary referrals to hospitals.MethodsWe used a mixed methods approach including semi-structured interviews, patient experience questionnaires and data from medical records from three intermediate care projects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients, general practitioners (GPs), orthopaedists and a healthcare manager in intermediate care. Satisfaction of patients who received intermediate care (n = 100) was collected using questionnaires. Referral data and healthcare consumption from medical records were collected retrospectively from KHOA patients before (n = 96) and after (n = 208) the implementation of intermediate care.ResultsGPs and orthopaedists in intermediate care experienced more intensive collaboration compared to regular care. This led to a perceived increase in GPs' knowledge enabling better selection of referrals to orthopaedics and less healthcare consumption. Orthopaedists felt a higher workload and limited access to diagnostic facilities. Patients were satisfied and experienced better access to specialists' knowledge in a trusted environment compared to regular care. Referrals to physiotherapy increased significantly after the implementation of intermediate care (absolute difference = 15%; 95% CI = 7.19 to 22.8), but not significantly to orthopaedics (absolute difference = 5.9%; 95% CI = -6.18 to 17.9).ConclusionsOrthopaedists and GPs perceived the benefits of an intensified collaboration in intermediate care. Intermediate care may contribute to high quality of care through more physiotherapy referrals. Further research with longer follow-up is needed to confirm these findings and give more insight in referrals and healthcare consumption.
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Project description:BackgroundVirtual care was rapidly integrated into pediatric health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. While virtual care offers many benefits, it is necessary to better understand the experiences of those who receive, deliver, and coordinate virtual care in order to support sustainable, high-quality, and patient-centered health care. To date, methods implemented to evaluate users' experiences of virtual care have been highly variable, making comparison and data synthesis difficult.ObjectiveThis study aims to describe evaluation strategies currently used to understand personal experiences with pediatric virtual care in Canada.MethodsIn this mixed methods environmental scan, we first distributed a web-based questionnaire to clinical, research, and operational leaders delivering and evaluating pediatric virtual care in Canada. The questionnaire collected information about how experiences with virtual care have been or are currently being evaluated and whether these evaluations included the perspectives of children or youth, families, providers, or support staff. Second, respondents were asked to share the questions they used in their evaluations, and a content analysis was performed to identify common question categories. Third, we conducted semistructured interviews to further explore our respondents' evaluation experiences across 4 domains-evaluation approaches, distribution methods, response rates, and lessons learned-and interest in a core set of questions for future evaluations.ResultsThere were 72 respondents to the web-based questionnaire; among those who had conducted an evaluation, we identified 15 unique evaluations, and 14 of those provided a copy of the tools used to evaluate virtual care. These evaluations measured the virtual care experiences of parents or caregivers (n=15, 100%), children or youth (n=11, 73%), health care providers (n=11, 73%), and support staff (n=4, 27%). The most common data collection method used was electronic questionnaires distributed by email. Two respondents used validated tools; the remainder modified existing tools or developed new tools. Content analysis of the 14 submitted questionnaires revealed that the most common questions were about overall participant satisfaction, the comparison of virtual care to in-person care, and whether participants would choose virtual care options in the future. Interview findings indicate respondents frequently relied on methods used by peers and that a standardized, core set of questions to evaluate experiences with virtual care would be helpful to improve evaluation practices and support pediatric health care delivery.ConclusionsAt our institution and elsewhere in Canada, experiences with pediatric virtual care have been evaluated using a variety of methods. A more consistent evaluation approach using standardized tools may enable more regular comparisons of experiences with virtual care and the synthesis of findings across health care settings. In turn, this may better inform our approach to virtual care, improve its integration into health systems, and facilitate sustainable, high-quality, patient-centered care.
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