Dataset Information

Informing the model of care for an academic integrative healthcare centre: a qualitative study exploring healthcare consumer perspectives.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:In response to high demand and the growing body of evidence for traditional and complementary therapies, the practice of integrative medicine and integrative healthcare has emerged where these therapies are blended with conventional healthcare. While there are a number of academic integrative healthcare centres worldwide, there are none in Australia. Western Sydney University will soon establish an academic integrative healthcare centre offering evidence-informed traditional and complementary therapies integrated with conventional healthcare in a research-based culture. The aim of this study was to explore healthcare consumers' views about the perceived need, advantages, and disadvantages of the proposed centre and its relevance to community-defined problems and health and service needs. METHODS:Qualitative methods, informed by community-based participatory research, were used during 2017. Focus groups supplemented with semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare consumers. Participants were recruited through paid advertisements on Facebook. Thematic coding, informed by an integrative healthcare continuum, was used to analyse and organise the data. Analysis was augmented with descriptive statistics of participant demographic details. RESULTS:Three main themes emerged: (i) the integrative approach, (i) person-centred care, and (iii) safety and quality. Participants proposed a coordinated healthcare model, with perspectives falling along a continuum from parallel and consultative to fully integrative models of healthcare. The importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and culturally appropriate, team-based care within a supportive healing environment was emphasised. A priority of providing broad and holistic healthcare that was person centred and treated the whole person was valued. It was proposed that safety and quality standards be met by medical oversight, evidence-informed practice, practitioner competency, and interprofessional communication. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings demonstrate that participants desired greater integration of conventional healthcare with traditional and complementary therapies within a team-based, person-centred environment with assurances of safety and quality. Findings will be used to refine the model of care for an academic integrative healthcare centre in Western Sydney.

SUBMITTER: Ee C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7076816 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Informing the model of care for an academic integrative healthcare centre: a qualitative study exploring healthcare consumer perspectives.

Ee Carolyn C Templeman Kate K Grant Suzanne S Avard Nicole N de Manincor Michael M Hunter Jennifer J

BMC complementary medicine and therapies 20200218 1

<h4>Background</h4>In response to high demand and the growing body of evidence for traditional and complementary therapies, the practice of integrative medicine and integrative healthcare has emerged where these therapies are blended with conventional healthcare. While there are a number of academic integrative healthcare centres worldwide, there are none in Australia. Western Sydney University will soon establish an academic integrative healthcare centre offering evidence-informed traditional a ...[more]

PMID: 32070328

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background and objectivesCompared with non-Latino whites with advanced illness, Latinos are less likely to have an advance directive or to die with hospice services. To improve palliative care disparities, international ESRD guidelines call for increased research on culturally responsive communication of advance care planning (ACP). The objective of our study was to explore the preferences of Latino patients receiving dialysis regarding symptom management and ACP.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsQualitative study design using semistructured face-to-face interviews of 20 Latinos on hemodialysis between February and July of 2015. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsFour themes were identified: Avoiding harms of medication (fear of addiction and damage to bodies, effective distractions, reliance on traditional remedies, fatalism: the sense that one's illness is deserved punishment); barriers and facilitators to ACP: faith, family, and home (family group decision-making, family reluctance to have ACP conversations, flexible decision-making conversations at home with family, ACP conversations incorporating trust and linguistic congruency, family-first and faith-driven decisions); enhancing wellbeing day-to-day (supportive relationships, improved understanding of illness leads to adherence, recognizing new self-value, maintaining a positive outlook); and distressing aspects of living with their illness (dietary restriction is culturally isolating and challenging for families, logistic challenges and socioeconomic disadvantage compounded by health literacy and language barriers, required rapid adjustments to chronic illness, demanding dialysis schedule).ConclusionsLatinos described unique cultural preferences such as avoidance of medications for symptom alleviation and a preference to have family group decision-making and ACP conversations at home. Understanding and integrating cultural values and preferences into palliative care offers the potential to improve disparities and achieve quality patient-centered care for Latinos with advanced illness.

Project description:INTRODUCTION:The burden of childhood mortality continues to be born largely by low-income and middle-income countries. The critical postdischarge period has been largely neglected despite evidence that mortality rates during this period can exceed inpatient mortality rates. However, there is a paucity of data on the paediatric discharge process from the perspective of the healthcare provider. Provider perspectives may be important in the development of an improved understanding of the barriers and facilitators to improving the transition from hospital to home. OBJECTIVES:To explore healthcare providers' and facility administrators' perspectives of the paediatric discharge process with respect to: (1) current procedures, (2) barriers and challenges, (3) ideas for change, (4) facilitators for change and (5) the importance of discharge planning. DESIGN:A qualitative exploratory approach using focus groups (14) and in-depth interviews (7). SETTING:This study was conducted at seven hospitals providing paediatric care in Uganda. RESULTS:Current discharge procedures are largely based on hospital-specific protocols or clinician opinion, as opposed to national guidelines. Some key barriers to an improved discharge process included caregiver resources and education, critical communication gaps, traditional practices, and a lack of human and physical resources. Teamwork and motivation to see improved paediatric transitions to home were identified as facilitators to implementing the ideas for change proposed by participants. The need for a standardised national policy guiding paediatric discharges, implemented through education at many levels and coupled with appropriate community referral and follow-up, was broadly perceived as essential to improving outcomes for children. CONCLUSIONS:Although significant challenges and gaps were identified within the current health system, participants' ideas and the identified facilitators provide a significant basis from which change may occur. This work can facilitate the development of sustainable and effective interventions to improve postdischarge outcomes in Uganda and other similar settings.

Project description:BackgroundProactive integrated virtual healthcare resource (VHR) use can improve efficiency, maximize resource capacity for delivering optimal coordinated care and improve patient outcomes. Proactive integrated VHR use is vital for delivering high quality care. Our objectives were to identify proactive integrated VHR use among primary care teams, best practices and targeted implementation strategies to promote proactive integrated VHR use.MethodsThis is a mixed-method descriptive study. We employed a community-based participatory approach to collect data and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to analyze and contextualize findings. A cross-sectional sample of primary care team members (n = 65) from a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center participated in focus groups, follow-up interviews (n = 16), and respond to self-report surveys. Operational subject matter experts (n = 15) participated in informant interviews.ResultsSurvey data described current use and factors that influenced singular VHR use and were convergent with qualitative findings. Focus group and interview data described no evidence of proactive integrated VHR use. Differences and similarities were identified between both utilization groups, such as facilitators and barriers, recommendations, patient education and preferred implementation strategies. All groups reported issues around VHR availability knowledge and access and functionality. Participants identified the need for best practices that are specific to care tasks and performance measures. Expert informant interviews identified a list of VHR tools that could be proactively integrated across the healthcare continuum.ConclusionsHealth systems are leveraging technologies to proactively integrate VHR to maximize information exchange, clinical decision support and patient engagement. VHR is critical during global pandemics, such as COVID-19, to maintain access to care coordination and delivery while abiding by public health recommendations. Though recent requirements for reducing contact create an intrinsic motivation, cultural change through education and best practices of proactive integrated use across the healthcare continuum is needed to create a culture of VHR super users.

Project description:BackgroundThere are increasing opportunities for healthcare professionals outside medicine to be involved in and lead clinical research. However, there are few roles within these professions that include time for research. In order to develop such roles, and evaluate effective use of this time, the range of impacts of this clinical academic activity need to be valued and understood by healthcare leaders and managers. To date, these impacts have not been comprehensively explored, but are suggested to extend beyond traditional quantitative impact metrics, such as publications, citations and funding awards.MethodsTen databases, four grey literature repositories and a naïve web search engine were systematically searched for articles reporting impacts of clinical academic activity by healthcare professionals outside medicine. Specifically, this did not include the direct impacts of the research findings, rather the impacts of the research activity. All stages of the review were performed by a minimum of two reviewers and reported impacts were categorised qualitatively according to a modified VICTOR (making Visible the ImpaCT Of Research) framework.ResultsOf the initial 2704 identified articles, 20 were eligible for inclusion. Identified impacts were mapped to seven themes: impacts for patients; impacts for the service provision and workforce; impacts to research profile, culture and capacity; economic impacts; impacts on staff recruitment and retention; impacts to knowledge exchange; and impacts to the clinical academic.ConclusionsSeveral overlapping sub-themes were identified across the main themes. These included the challenges and benefits of balancing clinical and academic roles, the creation and implementation of new evidence, and the development of collaborations and networks. These may be key areas for organisations to explore when looking to support and increase academic activity among healthcare professionals outside medicine. The modified VICTOR tool is a useful starting point for individuals and organisations to record the impact of their research activity. Further work is needed to explore standardised methods of capturing research impact that address the full range of impacts identified in this systematic review and are specific to the context of clinical academics outside medicine.

Project description:BackgroundDespite the popularity of maternal and infant health mobile apps, ongoing consumer engagement and sustained app use remain barriers. Few studies have examined user experiences or perceived benefits of maternal and infant health app use from consumer perspectives.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess users' self-reported experiences with maternal and infant health apps, perceived benefits, and general feedback by analyzing publicly available user reviews on two popular app stores-Apple App Store and Google Play Store.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative assessment of publicly available user reviews (N=2422) sampled from 75 maternal and infant health apps designed to provide health education or decision-making support to pregnant women or parents and caregivers of infants. The reviews were coded and analyzed using a general inductive qualitative content analysis approach.ResultsThe three major themes included the following: app functionality, where users discussed app features and functions; technical aspects, where users talked about technology-based aspects of an app; and app content, where users specifically focused on the app content and the information it provides. The six minor themes included the following: patterns of use, where users highlighted the frequency and type of use; social support, where users talked about receiving social support from friends, family and community of other users; app cost, where users talked about the cost of an app within the context of being cost-effective or a potential waste of money; app comparisons, where users compared one app with others available in app stores; assistance in health care, where users specifically highlighted the role of an app in offering clinical assistance; and customer care support, where users specifically talked about their interaction with the app customer care support team.ConclusionsUsers generally tend to value apps that are of low cost and preferably free, with high-quality content, superior features, enhanced technical aspects, and user-friendly interfaces. Users also find app developer responsiveness to be integral, as it offers them an opportunity to engage in the app development and delivery process. These findings may be beneficial for app developers in designing better apps, as no best practice guidelines currently exist for the app environment.

Dataset Information

Informing the model of care for an academic integrative healthcare centre: a qualitative study exploring healthcare consumer perspectives.

Publications

Informing the model of care for an academic integrative healthcare centre: a qualitative study exploring healthcare consumer perspectives.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets