The nursing profession belongs to helping professions which are heavily demanding in terms of mental and physical aspects. The nurses who are university graduates enter into practice more mentally and physically mature, and their approach to patients and the care provided may be better than in nurses with secondary education. In care provision nurses have to cooperate with physicians, but also with other healthcare professionals. Due to the lack of medical personnel nurses assume responsibilities of other team members, which they may perceive as a restriction in fulfilling their professional identity. This restriction may be reflected in the quality of the care provided. It often happens that a nurse cannot fulfill her professional identity because of the pressure of her family which requires the fulfillment of their own requirements prior to fulfilling the professional identity of a nurse.The aim of the thesis was to determine how nurses, but also their family members, perceive the professional identity of nurses. The aim was achieved. The research was carried out in two phases. The first phase was conducted using interviews with six nurses of different ages both with and without university education. The second phase was carried out through a quantitative survey using a questionnaire method in health care facilities in Písek, České Budějovice and Plzeň. Results of the research can be used in qualification and lifelong education of nurses to strengthen their identification with the profession.

Introdução: Esta tese de doutorado é mais uma contribuição Grupo Brasileiro de Estudos em Qualidade de Vida (WHOQOL-Brasil) do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas: Psiquiatria, UFRGS. O Grupo WHOQOL-Brasil tem trabalhado em projetos transculturais de elaboração de instrumentos de qualidade de vida (QV) sob a coordenação da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS). Dentre os instrumentos já desenvolvidos estão o WHOQOL-1000, o WHOQOL-Bref, o WHOQOL-HIV, o WHOQOL-SRPB, o WHOQOL-OLD e, com esta tese, o WHOQOL-Dis. O desenvolvimento de uma escala de QV para pessoas com deficiências é especialmente importante se levarmos em conta o crescimento desta porção da população e suas peculiaridades. Este estudo fez parte do projeto transcultural de metodologia simultânea da OMS chamado Qualidade do Cuidado e Qualidade de Vida para Pessoas com Incapacidades Intelectuais e Físicas: Viver Integrado, Inclusão Social e Participação como Usuários de Serviços (Projeto Disqol). Objetivos: O objetivo principal deste estudo foi desenvolver versões de instrumentos transculturais, válidos para o português brasileiro, para a mensuração da QV, da qualidade de cuidado e das atitudes frente a incapacidades para pessoas com incapacidades e investigar variáveis associadas a incapacidade com base em regressão linear múltipla. Os objetivos específicos foram: (1) apresentar evidências de validade da versão em português brasileiro do WHOQOL-Dis: instrumento de avaliação da QV da OMS para pessoas com incapacidades (artigo 1), (2) apresentar evidências de validade da versão em português brasileiro do Quality of Care Scale, instrumento de avaliação da qualidade de cuidado da OMS para pessoas com incapacidades (artigo 2), (3) apresentar evidências de validade da versão em português brasileiro do Attitudes towards Disability Scale, instrumento de avaliação das atitudes frente a incapacidades da OMS para pessoas com incapacidades (artigo 3) e (4) propor um modelo empírico exploratório para funcionalidade (artigo 4). Métodos: Foram recrutadas pessoas com incapacidades físicas e intelectuais com idade entre 18-65 anos, em hospitais, entidades de apoio e organizações não-governamentais. Para os estudos relatados nos artigos 1 a 3, as análises foram baseadas na psicometria clássica e realizadas de forma independente para pessoas com incapacidades físicas e incapacidades intelectuais. O projeto foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (processos no 06-016, 06-017 e 06-021). Resultados: Participaram do estudo 162 pessoas com incapacidades físicas (98 mulheres), distribuídas entre condições de saúde variadas. As deficiências mais comuns foram: deficiência visual (n= 25; 15,4%), deficiência auditiva (n=11; 6,8%), sequela de acidente vascular cerebral (n=4; 2,5%). Na amostra de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais, participaram 156 pessoas (55 mulheres). A idade média ficou em 45,48 anos (DP=12,26) para pessoas com incapacidades físicas e de 30,53 anos (DP 9,42) para pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais. Evidências satisfatórias de validade e fidedignidade foram encontradas nos instrumentos desenvolvidos (Artigos 1, 2 e 3). Os alfas de Cronbach dos instrumentos foram: WHOQOL-Dis-D, 0,91; WHOQOL-Dis-ID, 0,86; QOCS-D, 0,87; QOCS-ID, 0,74; ADS-D, 0,76; e ADS-ID, 0,72. Os resultados do teste-reteste na amostra de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais foram satisfatórios. Os resultados da análise fatorial sugerem bom ajuste com a manutenção do modelo fatorial proposto pela OMS. No Artigo 4 são apresentados dois modelos exploratórios para a funcionalidade, nos quais a visibilidade da incapacidade e aspectos físicos são elementos presentes para as duas amostras. Conclusões: Neste trabalho a percepção de pessoas com incapacidades físicas e intelectuais foi explorada para que se pudesse desenvolver instrumentos de medida sensíveis às reais necessidades dessas duas populações. O resultado é a publicação de seis instrumentos de medida de uso gratuito: (1) WHOQOL-Dis-D, instrumento de medida para a avaliação da qualidade de vida na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades físicas; (2) WHOQOL-Dis-ID, instrumento de medida para a avaliação da qualidade de vida na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais; (3) Quality of Care Scale-D, instrumento de medida para a avaliação da qualidade de cuidado na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades físicas; (4) Quality of Care Scale-ID, instrumento de medida para a avaliação da qualidade de cuidado na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais; (5) Attitudes Towards Disabilities Scale-D, instrumento de medida para a avaliação das atitudes frente a incapacidades na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades físicas; e (6) Attitudes Towards Disabilities Scale-ID, instrumento de medida para a avaliação das atitudes frente a incapacidades na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais. Através dos modelos teóricos empíricos e exploratórios apresentados apontam-se variáveis que merecem atenção de pesquisas futuras. / Introduction: This thesis is a contribution of the Brazilian Branch of the Quality of Life Group (WHOQOL-Group) from the Medical Sciences Graduation Program: Psychiatry, UFRGS. The Brazilian WHOQOL-Group-has worked on transcultural projects for the development of instruments on quality of life (QOL) under the coordination of the World Health Organization (WHO). Among the instruments are already developed are WHOQOL-1000, WHOQOL-Bref, WHOQOL-HIV, WHOQOL-SRPB, WHOQOL-OLD and, with this thesis, WHOQOL-Dis. The development of an instrument to assess the QOL of people with disabilities is especially important if we take into account the growth of this portion of the population and its peculiarities. This study was part of cross-cultural and simultaneous methodology project by WHO called Quality of Care and Quality of Life for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Individuals: Integrated Living, Social Inclusion and Service Users Participation (Disqol Project). Objetives: The main objective of this study was to develop versions of cross-cultural instruments, valid for Brazilian Portuguese, for the measurement of QOL, quality of care (QC) and attitudes towards disabilities (ATT) for people with disabilities, and to present a theoretical model of disability based on multiple linear regression (MLR). Specific objectives were to: (1) present evidence of validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the WHOQOL-Dis: WHO’s QOL assessment instrument for people with disabilities (Article 1); (2) present evidence of validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of QOCS: WHO’s instrument for assessing the quality of care for people with disabilities (Article 2); (3) provide evidence of validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of ADS: WHO’s instrument for assessing attitudes towards disabilities for people with disabilities (Article 3); and (4) propose an empirical exploratory model por functioning (Article 4). Methods: People with physical and intellectual disabilities aged 18-65 years were recruited from hospitals, supporting organizations and non-governmental organizations. For the studies reported in Articles 1-3, analyzes were based on classical psychometrics and performed independently for the two samples. The project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (processes numbers 06-016, 06-017, and 06-021). Results: The study included 162 people with disabilities (98 women), distributed among various health conditions, the most common being visual impairment (n=25; 15.4%), hearing loss (n=11; 6.8%) and stroke sequelae (n=4; 2.5%), and 156 people with intellectual disabilities (55 women). The age average was 45.48 years for people with disabilities (SD 12.26) and 30.53 for people with intellectual disabilities (SD 9,42). Satisfactory evidence of validity and reliability was found in the developed instruments (Articles 1, 2 and 3). Cronbach's alphas of the instruments were: WHOQOL-Dis-D, 0.91; WHOQOL-Dis-ID, 0.86; QOCS-D, 0.87; QOCS-ID, 0.74; ADS-D, 0, 76, and ADS-ID, 0.72. Test-retests results in samples with intellectual disabilities were satisfactory. Results from factorial analisis sugest a good adjustment with the maintenance of the factorial model proposed by WHO. Article 4 presents two models of functioning in which physical aspects and the visibility of disability appear as elements for both samples. Conclusions: In this study the perception of people with physical and intellectual disabilities was explored so to develop measurement instruments sensitive to the real needs of these two populations. The result is the publication of six use free measuring instruments: (1) WHOQOL-Dis-D, measuring instrument for the evaluation of quality of life from the perspective of people with physical disabilities, (2) WHOQOL-Dis-ID, measuring instrument for the assessment of quality of life from the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities, (3) Quality of Care Scale – D, measuring instrument for assessing quality of care from the perspective of people with physical disabilities, (4) Quality of Care Scale – ID, measuring instrument for assessing quality of care from the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities, (5) Attitudes towards Disabilities Scale – D, measuring instrument for assessing attitudes towards disability from the perspective of people with physical disabilities, and (6) Attitudes towards Disabilities Scale – ID, measuring instrument for assessing attitudes towards disability from the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities. Through the theoretical models and empirical exploration presented point to variables that deserve attention for future research.

Introdução: Esta tese de doutorado é mais uma contribuição Grupo Brasileiro de Estudos em Qualidade de Vida (WHOQOL-Brasil) do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas: Psiquiatria, UFRGS. O Grupo WHOQOL-Brasil tem trabalhado em projetos transculturais de elaboração de instrumentos de qualidade de vida (QV) sob a coordenação da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS). Dentre os instrumentos já desenvolvidos estão o WHOQOL-1000, o WHOQOL-Bref, o WHOQOL-HIV, o WHOQOL-SRPB, o WHOQOL-OLD e, com esta tese, o WHOQOL-Dis. O desenvolvimento de uma escala de QV para pessoas com deficiências é especialmente importante se levarmos em conta o crescimento desta porção da população e suas peculiaridades. Este estudo fez parte do projeto transcultural de metodologia simultânea da OMS chamado Qualidade do Cuidado e Qualidade de Vida para Pessoas com Incapacidades Intelectuais e Físicas: Viver Integrado, Inclusão Social e Participação como Usuários de Serviços (Projeto Disqol). Objetivos: O objetivo principal deste estudo foi desenvolver versões de instrumentos transculturais, válidos para o português brasileiro, para a mensuração da QV, da qualidade de cuidado e das atitudes frente a incapacidades para pessoas com incapacidades e investigar variáveis associadas a incapacidade com base em regressão linear múltipla. Os objetivos específicos foram: (1) apresentar evidências de validade da versão em português brasileiro do WHOQOL-Dis: instrumento de avaliação da QV da OMS para pessoas com incapacidades (artigo 1), (2) apresentar evidências de validade da versão em português brasileiro do Quality of Care Scale, instrumento de avaliação da qualidade de cuidado da OMS para pessoas com incapacidades (artigo 2), (3) apresentar evidências de validade da versão em português brasileiro do Attitudes towards Disability Scale, instrumento de avaliação das atitudes frente a incapacidades da OMS para pessoas com incapacidades (artigo 3) e (4) propor um modelo empírico exploratório para funcionalidade (artigo 4). Métodos: Foram recrutadas pessoas com incapacidades físicas e intelectuais com idade entre 18-65 anos, em hospitais, entidades de apoio e organizações não-governamentais. Para os estudos relatados nos artigos 1 a 3, as análises foram baseadas na psicometria clássica e realizadas de forma independente para pessoas com incapacidades físicas e incapacidades intelectuais. O projeto foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (processos no 06-016, 06-017 e 06-021). Resultados: Participaram do estudo 162 pessoas com incapacidades físicas (98 mulheres), distribuídas entre condições de saúde variadas. As deficiências mais comuns foram: deficiência visual (n= 25; 15,4%), deficiência auditiva (n=11; 6,8%), sequela de acidente vascular cerebral (n=4; 2,5%). Na amostra de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais, participaram 156 pessoas (55 mulheres). A idade média ficou em 45,48 anos (DP=12,26) para pessoas com incapacidades físicas e de 30,53 anos (DP 9,42) para pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais. Evidências satisfatórias de validade e fidedignidade foram encontradas nos instrumentos desenvolvidos (Artigos 1, 2 e 3). Os alfas de Cronbach dos instrumentos foram: WHOQOL-Dis-D, 0,91; WHOQOL-Dis-ID, 0,86; QOCS-D, 0,87; QOCS-ID, 0,74; ADS-D, 0,76; e ADS-ID, 0,72. Os resultados do teste-reteste na amostra de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais foram satisfatórios. Os resultados da análise fatorial sugerem bom ajuste com a manutenção do modelo fatorial proposto pela OMS. No Artigo 4 são apresentados dois modelos exploratórios para a funcionalidade, nos quais a visibilidade da incapacidade e aspectos físicos são elementos presentes para as duas amostras. Conclusões: Neste trabalho a percepção de pessoas com incapacidades físicas e intelectuais foi explorada para que se pudesse desenvolver instrumentos de medida sensíveis às reais necessidades dessas duas populações. O resultado é a publicação de seis instrumentos de medida de uso gratuito: (1) WHOQOL-Dis-D, instrumento de medida para a avaliação da qualidade de vida na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades físicas; (2) WHOQOL-Dis-ID, instrumento de medida para a avaliação da qualidade de vida na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais; (3) Quality of Care Scale-D, instrumento de medida para a avaliação da qualidade de cuidado na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades físicas; (4) Quality of Care Scale-ID, instrumento de medida para a avaliação da qualidade de cuidado na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais; (5) Attitudes Towards Disabilities Scale-D, instrumento de medida para a avaliação das atitudes frente a incapacidades na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades físicas; e (6) Attitudes Towards Disabilities Scale-ID, instrumento de medida para a avaliação das atitudes frente a incapacidades na perspectiva de pessoas com incapacidades intelectuais. Através dos modelos teóricos empíricos e exploratórios apresentados apontam-se variáveis que merecem atenção de pesquisas futuras. / Introduction: This thesis is a contribution of the Brazilian Branch of the Quality of Life Group (WHOQOL-Group) from the Medical Sciences Graduation Program: Psychiatry, UFRGS. The Brazilian WHOQOL-Group-has worked on transcultural projects for the development of instruments on quality of life (QOL) under the coordination of the World Health Organization (WHO). Among the instruments are already developed are WHOQOL-1000, WHOQOL-Bref, WHOQOL-HIV, WHOQOL-SRPB, WHOQOL-OLD and, with this thesis, WHOQOL-Dis. The development of an instrument to assess the QOL of people with disabilities is especially important if we take into account the growth of this portion of the population and its peculiarities. This study was part of cross-cultural and simultaneous methodology project by WHO called Quality of Care and Quality of Life for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Individuals: Integrated Living, Social Inclusion and Service Users Participation (Disqol Project). Objetives: The main objective of this study was to develop versions of cross-cultural instruments, valid for Brazilian Portuguese, for the measurement of QOL, quality of care (QC) and attitudes towards disabilities (ATT) for people with disabilities, and to present a theoretical model of disability based on multiple linear regression (MLR). Specific objectives were to: (1) present evidence of validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the WHOQOL-Dis: WHO’s QOL assessment instrument for people with disabilities (Article 1); (2) present evidence of validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of QOCS: WHO’s instrument for assessing the quality of care for people with disabilities (Article 2); (3) provide evidence of validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of ADS: WHO’s instrument for assessing attitudes towards disabilities for people with disabilities (Article 3); and (4) propose an empirical exploratory model por functioning (Article 4). Methods: People with physical and intellectual disabilities aged 18-65 years were recruited from hospitals, supporting organizations and non-governmental organizations. For the studies reported in Articles 1-3, analyzes were based on classical psychometrics and performed independently for the two samples. The project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (processes numbers 06-016, 06-017, and 06-021). Results: The study included 162 people with disabilities (98 women), distributed among various health conditions, the most common being visual impairment (n=25; 15.4%), hearing loss (n=11; 6.8%) and stroke sequelae (n=4; 2.5%), and 156 people with intellectual disabilities (55 women). The age average was 45.48 years for people with disabilities (SD 12.26) and 30.53 for people with intellectual disabilities (SD 9,42). Satisfactory evidence of validity and reliability was found in the developed instruments (Articles 1, 2 and 3). Cronbach's alphas of the instruments were: WHOQOL-Dis-D, 0.91; WHOQOL-Dis-ID, 0.86; QOCS-D, 0.87; QOCS-ID, 0.74; ADS-D, 0, 76, and ADS-ID, 0.72. Test-retests results in samples with intellectual disabilities were satisfactory. Results from factorial analisis sugest a good adjustment with the maintenance of the factorial model proposed by WHO. Article 4 presents two models of functioning in which physical aspects and the visibility of disability appear as elements for both samples. Conclusions: In this study the perception of people with physical and intellectual disabilities was explored so to develop measurement instruments sensitive to the real needs of these two populations. The result is the publication of six use free measuring instruments: (1) WHOQOL-Dis-D, measuring instrument for the evaluation of quality of life from the perspective of people with physical disabilities, (2) WHOQOL-Dis-ID, measuring instrument for the assessment of quality of life from the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities, (3) Quality of Care Scale – D, measuring instrument for assessing quality of care from the perspective of people with physical disabilities, (4) Quality of Care Scale – ID, measuring instrument for assessing quality of care from the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities, (5) Attitudes towards Disabilities Scale – D, measuring instrument for assessing attitudes towards disability from the perspective of people with physical disabilities, and (6) Attitudes towards Disabilities Scale – ID, measuring instrument for assessing attitudes towards disability from the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities. Through the theoretical models and empirical exploration presented point to variables that deserve attention for future research.

Introdução: A segurança do paciente tem sido discutida amplamente no âmbito da assistência e da gerência de serviços de saúde, frente a sua magnitude no cenário nacional e internacional. Nesse sentido, o incremento da temática segurança do paciente no ensino e na pesquisa vem sendo também debatido e disseminado, a fim de gerar uma força de trabalho consciente e capaz de atender as demandas das instituições de saúde. Objetivo: Compreender a percepção do corpo docente e discente acerca dessa temática nos cursos de graduação em Enfermagem, Nutrição, Biomedicina, Farmácia, Fisioterapia e Psicologia de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior (IES) privada do interior do Estado de São Paulo. Percurso metodológico: Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo, exploratório, descritivo na modalidade estudo de caso, cujo cenário foi o Centro Universitário Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio. Os participantes foram seis docentes e seis discentes dos cursos supracitados da referida IES. Os dados foram coletados após a anuência do Comitê de Ética, por meio de entrevista semiestruturada, no período de agosto a dezembro de 2015. Os achados foram apresentados na forma de narrativa e analisados segundo Minayo, e à luz do referencial teórico da integralidade em saúde proposto por Ceccim. Resultados: Das narrativas dos participantes emergiram quatro categorias, a saber: visão da temática segurança do paciente nos conteúdos programáticos de cursos de graduação em saúde; valorização da interdisciplinaridade; interface entre a visão holística e a segurança do paciente; lacuna da temática segurança do paciente nos conteúdos programáticos. Desse modo, constatamos que a percepção da temática segurança do paciente esteve associada à importância da interdisciplinaridade e à necessidade do ensino dessa temática de forma articulada. Considerações finais: O estudo permitiu conhecer a percepção de docentes e discentes a respeito da temática segurança do paciente, destacando-se a necessidade de fomentar a inclusão dessa temática nas matrizes curriculares. Por conseguinte, acreditamos que cabe às IES a implantação e a implementação de estratégias de ensino concernentes à segurança do paciente, com a finalidade de verticalizar o conhecimento entre os futuros profissionais da área da saúde e, consequentemente, contribuir para a efetiva incorporação da cultura de segurança nos estabelecimentos de atenção à saúde. / Introduction: Patient Safety has been widely discussed in the context of managing and assistance in health services, due to its magnitude in national and international scenario. Considering this, the debate around the theme \"patient safety\" has raised in order to create and improve a workforce that should be conscious and able to meet the need of Health Institutions. Objective: Understanding teachers and students perceptions about patient safety, in undergraduate courses, specifically in Nursing, Nutrition, Biomedicine, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Psychology, from a private college in São Paulo State heartland. Methodology: Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study, based on case study, that took place at Centro Universitário Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio. The participants were six teachers and six students from the graduation courses mentioned before. All the data were collected after Ethics Committee approval, through semi-structured interviews, from August to December 2015. The findings of this study were presented into the narrative form and analyzed according to Minayo\'s studies, assisted by the Health Integrality theoretical scheme proposed by Ceccim. Results: Four categories emerged from participants\' narratives: perspective about the theme \"patient safety\" in Global Health Courses\' curricula; interdisciplinarity appreciation; interface between holistic perspective and patient safety; the lack of the theme \"patient safety\" in courses\' curricula. Therefore, we could observe that this theme has always been connected to the importance of interdisciplinarity and to the need of teaching and discussing it in an articulated manner. Final comments: This study showed teachers and students perceptions about the theme \"patient safety\", emphasizing the need to stimulate discussions and the inclusion of this theme in courses curricula. Consequently, we believe it is colleges responsibility to include and initiate teaching and researching strategies about it, in order to spread this knowledge to future Global Health professionals and, as a result, contribute to the internalization of patient safety culture in health care places.

Since the late 1980s, policymakers have attempted to reduce the institutional bias of their long-term services and supports by investing in more accessible home and community-based services for older adults with long-term care needs and adults with disabilities. To further advance rebalancing discussions, this study examined the resident, facility, and state characteristics associated with the admission of community-dwelling older adults to the nursing home and the subsequent discharge of this population back to community settings. Data from the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 2.0 were used to construct episodes of care for all newly-admitted residents aged 65 and older to any free-standing U.S. nursing home. Several secondary datasets including the Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting Database (OSCAR), LTCFocus.org website, Nursing Home Compare, Nursing Home Data Compendium, and U.S. census estimates were used in the study analyses. On average, approximately 5.3% of all newly admitted nursing home residents were admitted directly from home with substantial variations across states. Most residents admitted directly from home had limited to extensive dependency in activities of daily living and moderate cognitive impairment. The most common diagnoses on admission included dementia and diabetes. While 31% of residents admitted from home remained in the facility at least 365 days after admission, 32% were discharged to the community, 15% were discharged to the hospital, and 21% died. Most residents admitted from assisted living communities, either remained in the facility or died by the end of the study. Findings from multivariate analyses suggest that resident-level factors, including demographics and health status, influenced the community transition of nursing home residents. Facility characteristics, including ownership, deficiency scores, the ratio of Medicare and Medicaid residents, and urban location were associated with discharge to the community but the effect of these factors differed according to length of stay. The commitment of a state to home and community-based services was also predictive of community discharge. Collectively, findings suggest that resident, facility, and state characteristics influence the community discharge of residents admitted from home or assisted living communities. By understanding the reasons for admission to the nursing home and the factors influencing discharge from the facility, policymakers and administrators can better anticipate and care for community-dwelling older adults with long-term care needs.

Introduction: Decentralization of antiretroviral therapy (ART) services faces decreasing quality when increasing ART coverage. This study compares nurse initiated and managed patients to doctor managed patients under these circumstances, using retention in care as a crude measure of quality of care. Methods: This was an observational retrospective cohort study. A simple data abstraction tool was used to collect baseline patient data from medical records of HIV positive patients (N=871) initiating ART at Mbabane Government Hospital and four of its outreach clinics, between 1st January and 30th June 2011. Descriptive summary statistics and comparison of the two cohorts using multivariate analysis was done. Results There was no statistically significant difference in retention rates between the doctors and nurses cohorts at 69.1% and 70.9%, respectively (P was 0.56). After adjusting for sex, haemoglobin, CD4 cell count, weight and WHO stage, the odds of being retained in care were similar between the two groups, adjusted OR: 1.11(95% CI: 0.72, 1.69), with a p value of 0.64. Haemoglobin and weight were positively associated with retention in care, while male sex was negatively associated with retention in care. Discussion: The similar retention rates between the two cohorts suggest that in terms of retention in care the service provided by the nurses was comparable to that provided by doctors. This is important to ART program managers as they scale-up ART decentralization. Conclusion: Task-shifting of ART initiation from doctors to nurses is feasible as nurse initiated and managed antiretroviral therapy is comparable to doctor initiated and managed treatment. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Clinical Epidemiology / unrestricted

Bakgrund: Arbetsmiljön på akutmottagningen är komplex och ständigt föränderlig. Sjuksköterskan förväntas hantera ett högt inflöde av patienter med varierande omvårdnadsbehov och allvarlighetsgrad. I takt med en allt högre arbetsbelastning, överbelagda sjukhus, långa väntetider och sjuksköterskebrist är det angeläget att tydliggöra hur sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö på akutmottagningen ser ut och vad det har betydelse för patientsäkerheten. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att sammanställa forskning om sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö på akutmottagningen med särskilt fokus på patientsäkerhet. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en beskrivande litteraturstudie baserad på 14 vetenskapliga artiklar. Artiklarna söktes i Pubmed och Cinahl samt via sekundär sökning. Resultatet: Genom att identifiera och kategorisera mönster och centrala teman i artiklarna kunde bärande aspekter passande syftet sammanställas. Analysen resulterade i två huvudområden: ”Sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö på akutmottagningen” och ”Arbetsmiljöns betydelse för patientsäkerheten”. I sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö framträdde sex faktorer som presenteras med underrubrikerna: arbetsbelastning, erfarenhet/kompetens, teamarbete, kommunikation, avbrott/störningar och ledning/organisation. Slutsats: Flera faktorer i sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö på akutmottagningen har betydelse för patientsäkerheten. Faktorer som hög arbetsbelastning kan ses som både positivt och negativt beroende på sjuksköterskans kompetens, erfarenhet och personlighet. Vidare är tydlig organisatorisk ansvarsfördelning, ett välfungerande teamarbete med rak och riktad kommunikation av betydelse för arbetsmiljön och patientsäkerheten. När patientsäkerheten äventyras är det ofta brister i en eller flera arbetsmiljöfaktorer. Om nämnda faktorer är välfungerande finns förutsättningar för en god arbetsmiljö vilket gynnar vårdkvaliteten samt personalens arbetsglädje. / Abstract: The working environment within emergency care is complex and constantly changing. The nurse is expected to handle high inflows of patients with variety of severity and care needs. In keeping with increasing workload, overcrowded hospitals, long waiting times and lack of nurses it is important to clarify the nurse´s work environment in emergency care and its influence on patients’ safety. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compile nurse´s working environment research within the emergency department with a particular focus on patient’s safety. Method: The study was conducted as a descriptive literature study based on 14 scientific articles. The articles referenced were searched in Pubmed and Cinahl, as well as via a secondary search. Results: By identifying and categorizing patterns and key themes in the articles, fundamental aspects could be compiled. The analysis resulted in two main areas: “Nurse´s working environment within emergency departments” and “the work environments influence on patients’ safety”. In the nurses working environment, six different influencing factors are described; workload, experience, teamwork, communication, interruptions and organization. Conclusion: Several factors in the nurse's work environment within emergency care are important for patient safety. Factors like high workload can be both positive and negative depending on the nurse's skills, experience and personality. Furthermore, clear organizational allocation of responsibilities, well-functioning teamwork and objective, direct communication is of importance to the work environment and patient safety. There are often shortcomings in one or more work environments where the patient’s safety is compromised. The presence of well - functioning factors in the work environment provide beneficial conditions for quality of patient care and staff satisfaction.

Disparate healthcare experiences continue to pose a challenge; vulnerable populations such as low-income and racial and ethnic minorities may not be able to afford or utilize care when needed or receive quality care. The sources of disparities are complex and multi-factorial, which include health care system-level factors such as insurance and health care workforce. It is relatively less known to what extent these contribute to disparities related to a patient’s overall health care experience across three important domains – affordability, utilization and satisfaction with care. This dissertation has three objectives. First, to assess how insurance benefit design affects health care utilization among poorest adults. Second, examine the role of insurance in addressing racial and ethnic disparities in access to preventive care. Finally, examine the role of health care providers in differences related to satisfaction with care among low-income patients. To answer questions posed in this dissertation, two different types of datasets are used: a unique hospital administrative data from a coverage program for low-income adults and 2008-2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). To examine the role of insurance and health care providers in disparities related to different outcomes of patient experience, several models are estimated; including mixed effects linear probability and negative binomial regressions, decomposition and multivariate linear probability models. Several efforts are being made to address inequalities through coverage expansions, removal of financial barriers for preventive services and incentivizing health care providers to improve patient satisfaction. The findings suggest that differences in utilization and satisfaction with care continue to persist among low-income and racial and ethnic minorities. However, policy levers and system-level reforms including value-based insurance designs that may curb healthcare costs without shifting the cost burden to poorer adults, continued reforms to expand coverage and improve access to a usual of care, and policy interventions that extend beyond improving workforce diversity and enhance provider skills to elicit patient communication preferences may foster positive patient experiences and ameliorate existing disparities. Improving patient experiences of care will thus require policy efforts with a comprehensive multi-level strategy that targets broad sectors – including payers, health care providers and society at large.

Bakgrund: Stress är ett vanligt förekommande problem inom vården och grundas i underbemanning samt hög arbetsbelastning. Sjuksköterskans tid med patienter påverkas av dessa faktorer. Relationen mellan sjuksköterskan och patienten utgör grunden för vårdandet. Relationen påverkas genom stress i sjuksköterskans arbete som leder till att patienter inte blir sedda eller bekräftade. Sjuksköterskan har ett ansvar att se till helheten hos patienten. Stress kan resultera i en försämrad vårdmiljö samt arbetsmiljö. Sjuksköterskan påverkas emotionellt av dessa faktorer vilket kan leda till utbrändhet och avsikt att lämna professionen, samt leda till försämrad omvårdnadskvalitet och patientsäkerhet. Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva sjuksköterskans upplevelser av otillräcklighet i vårdandet när sjuksköterskan påverkas av stress. Metod: En systematisk litteraturöversikt är vald och innefattar både kvalitativa och kvantitativa artiklar. Resultat: I resultatet framkom tre teman, dessa var bristande tid, dokumentationens inverkan samt sjuksköterskans välbefinnande. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskans stressiga arbetsmiljö behöver reduceras för att sjuksköterskan ska ha möjlighet att uppnå sina omvårdnadsmål och därmed uppleva sig nöjd med vårdandet. Underbemanning, hög arbetsbelastning och tidsbrist är faktorer som påverkar vårdandet och resulterar i försämrad omvårdnad samt patientsäkerhet. Detta påverkar även sjuksköterskan fysiskt och psykiskt. / Background: Stress is a common problem in nursing care, based on understaffing and high workload. The nurse’s time with patients are affected by these factors. The relationship between the nurse and the patient is the basis in nursing care. The relationship is affected by the stress in nurse’s work leading to patients not being seen or confirmed. Nurses have a responsibility to ensure patient’s integrity. Stress can result in a deterioration of care environment and work environment. Nurses are affected by this emotionally, leading to burnout and intention to leave the profession and may result in deterioration in quality of care and patient safety. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe nurses’ experiences of inadequacy in nursing care when the nurse is affected by stress. Method: A systematic literature review is selected and include qualitative and quantitative articles. Findings: The findings revealed three themes: lack of time, the impact of documentation and the nurse’s well—being. Conclusions: Nurse’s stressful work environment needs to be reduced to achieve optimal nursing care and so that they can feel satisfied with their care. Understaffing, high workload and lack of time are factors that affect nursing care and results in deteriorated care and patient safety. This also affects the nurse physically and mentally.

The primary motivation of this PhD by publication has been the apparent disconnect between the metrics of hospital quality of care at national and board level and patients’ experiences. Exploration of the gap led to the realisation of two key points. Firstly, the concept of healthcare quality continually evolves. Secondly, the NHS Scotland Measurement Framework does not include a measure of patient experience at the microsystem level (e.g. hospital ward). This is needed to counterbalance easier to obtain metrics of quality (e.g. waiting times). Resource tends to follow measurement. Papers 1 and 2 were exploratory, investigating theoretical and practical aspects of measuring quality of hospital care at the clinical microsystem level. With the associated Chapters, they highlighted both the necessity and the possibility of measuring the patient experience at the micro level of the healthcare system. They also drew attention to the inadequacy of “satisfaction” as a metric, leading to closer examination of “experience” as the decisive metric. This required the development of a systematic review protocol (Paper Three), then a systematic review (Paper Four). The review (Paper Four) examined the utility (validity, reliability, cost efficiency, acceptability and educational impact) of questionnaires to measure the patient experience of hospital quality of care, with a newly devised matrix tool. Findings highlighted a gap for an instrument with high utility for use at the clinical microsystem level of healthcare. Paper Five presents the development and preliminary psychometric testing of such an instrument; the Care Experience Feedback Improvement Tool (CEFIT). The thesis provides, as well as the matrix tool and CEFIT, theoretical and methodological contributions in the field of healthcare quality. It contributes to an aspiration that the patient’s voice can be heard and acknowledged, in order to direct improvements in the quality of hospital care.