Objects of dissertation: the quality in health care inpatient institutions and health damage compensation in medical malpractice litigation cases. This work is a scientific assessment of the implementation of the patients‘ rights to quality in health care and health damage compensation in Lithuania, where the functioning of two patients' rights is assessed in a systematic and integrated manner, both in the medical and the legal aspect. Research: the modified Picker Institute‘s questionnaire was used for the scientific research of 1917 patients treated in hospitals in order to examine and assess their opinions on the quality of health care provided to them and evaluate the opportunities to realize their right to health care of good quality. The study analyzed 32 medical malpractice lawsuit cases of general jurisdiction courts in terms of the principles of health damage compensation, procedural characteristics and efficiency. Conclusions: statutory regulation of patients 'rights to quality in health care services and health damage compensation in Lithuania meets international and European patients' rights protection principles. The research showed that the vast majority of surveyed patients (nine out of ten) realized their right to quality in health care service in the hospital. However, six out of ten plaintiffs received the health damage compensation, plaintiffs were awarded only nearly a fifth of the requested overall pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages. / Disertacijos objektai: sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų kokybė stacionarinėse asmens sveikatos priežiūros įstaigose ir žalos sveikatai atlyginimas gydytojų civilinės atsakomybės bylose. Šis darbas - pacientų teisių į kokybišką sveikatos priežiūros paslaugą ir žalos sveikatai atlyginimą įgyvendinimo mokslinis vertinimas Lietuvoje. Iki šiolei paciento teisė į kokybišką sveikatos priežiūros paslaugą nacionaliniuose moksliniuose darbuose buvo analizuojama kokybės vadybos aspektu, o teisė į žalos sveikatai atlyginimą buvo vertinama pagal galiojančius teisės aktus ir Lietuvos teismų praktiką. Tai pirmasis mokslinis darbas, kuomet dviejų pacientų teisių funkcionavimas vertinamas sistemiškai ir integruotai, kartu tiek medicininiu, tiek teisiniu požiūriais. Tyrimai. Pritaikius Europos Picker instituto modifikuotą klausimyną tirta 1917 stacionarinėse asmens sveikatos priežiūros įstaigose gydytų pacientų nuomonė apie jiems suteiktų sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų kokybę ir vertintos pacientų galimybės realizuoti teisę į kokybišką sveikatos priežiūros paslaugą. Analizuotos 32 LR bendrosios kompetencijos teismų civilinės bylos dėl žalos sveikatai atlyginimo, vertinant patirtos žalos sveikatai kompensavimo principus, procesinius ypatumus bei efektyvumą, atskleidžiant probleminius paciento teisės į žalos sveikatai atlyginimą įgyvendinimo aspektus. Disertacijos išvadose konstatuojama, kad paciento teisių į kokybišką sveikatos priežiūros paslaugą ir žalos sveikatai atlyginimą įstatyminis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Résumé Objectif : Identifier les facteurs institutionnels qui influencent la mortalité maternelle (MM) hospitalière dans les maternités chirurgicales au Sénégal. Méthode : cette étude est une analyse secondaire des données de la troisième Enquête Nationale sur la Couverture Obstétrico-chirurgicale au Sénégal en 2001. Les données analysées, issues des fiches d'activité des maternités, comptaient pour 38,239 admissions en obstétrique dans 19 hôpitaux et 450 décès maternels. Les taux de mortalité maternelle hospitalière (TMMH) brut et ajusté ont été utilisés comme variables dépendantes. Le TMMH ajusté sur les caractéristiques de la clientèle ('cases-mix') a été estimé pour chaque établissement de santé par la méthode de standardisation directe. Les indicateurs de la qualité des structures, de la gestion des ressources, et un score de qualité ont été utilisés comme variables indépendantes pour prédire la MM hospitalière. Les tests de Mann-Whitney et de Kruskal-Wallis ont été utilisés pour analyser l’association entre les variables indépendantes, le score de qualité et la MM. Une analyse multivariée a été utilisée pour estimer l’impact du score de qualité sur la MM, en tenant compte de la situation géographique (Dakar versus autre région).Résultats: En analyse bivariée, la présence d'anesthésiste, la disponibilité de boîtes de césarienne complète et la supervision de tous les accouchements par du personnel qualifié sont les facteurs institutionnels associés significativement à une réduction du TMMH brut. Quant au TMMH ajusté ce sont la présence de scialytique, la disponibilité du sulfate de magnésium, l'utilisation des guides de pratiques cliniques (GPC) pour la prise en charge des complications obstétricales. Le score de qualité est associé significativement au TMMH brut, y compris en analyse multivariée, mais pas au TMMH ajusté. Conclusion : La disponibilité du Sulfate de magnésium, et du scialytique pourrait contribuer à la réduction de la MM. En complément, une réorganisation adéquate des ressources pour réduire la disparité géographique rurale/urbaine est essentielle ainsi qu’une sensibilisation du personnel à l’usage des GPC. De plus, l’assistance par un personnel qualifié de tous les accouchements est nécessaire pour améliorer la qualité des soins et la prise en charge des complications obstétricales. / Abstract Objective: To identify which institutional factors are associated to the hospital maternal mortality in surgical maternities in Senegal. Method: This study is a secondary data analysis of the third National survey of the Surgical-Obstetric Coverage in Senegal in 2001. The hospital statistics data analyzed represent 38,239 admissions in obstetrics in 19 hospitals and 450 maternal deaths. The hospital maternal death rates (TMMH) crude and adjusted were used as dependent variables. The TMMH adjusted on the characteristics of the customers (`cases-mix') was estimated for each health structure by the direct standardization method. The indicators of the structure, resources management’s complexity score quality were used as independent variables to predict hospital MM. The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to analyze the association between independent variables, the complexity score of quality and MM. A multivariate analysis was used to estimate the impact of quality score on the MM, taking into account the geographical location (Dakar versus other region). Results: In bivariate analysis, the presence of anaesthetist, the availability of Caesarean kit and supervision of all births by trained personnel are the institutional factors significantly associated with the crude TMMH decreased. For the adjusted TMMH, the presence of Scialytic, the availability of Magnesium Sulphate, the use of clinical guidelines of good practice (GPC) for obstetrical complications are the institutional factors associated to his decreased. The complexity score quality is significantly associated with the crude TMMH, including multivariate analysis, but not with adjusted TMMH. Conclusion: The availability of the Magnesium Sulphate, and the Scialytic could contribute to the reduction of maternal mortality. In addition, an adequate reorganization of the resources to reduce the geographical rural/urban disparity is essential, as well as a developing the personnel’s awareness for the use of GPC. Moreover, qualified assistance at birth for all women is necessary to improve the quality of care and the treatment obstetrical complications.

Le cancer du poumon a une incidence et une létalité parmi les plus hautes de tous les cancers diagnostiqués au Canada. En considérant la gravité du pronostic et des symptômes de la maladie, l’accès au traitement dans les plus brefs de délais est essentiel. Malgré l’engagement du gouvernement fédéral et les gouvernements provinciaux de réduire les délais de temps d’attente, des balises pour les temps d’attente pour le traitement d’un cancer ne sont toujours pas établis. En outre, le compte-rendu des indicateurs des temps d’attente n’est pas uniforme à travers les provinces. Une des solutions proposées pour la réduction des temps d’attente pour le traitement du cancer est les équipes interdisciplinaires. J’ai complété un audit du programme interdisciplinaire traitant le cancer du poumon à l’Hôpital général juif (l’HGJ) de 2004 à 2007. Les objectifs primaires de l’étude étaient : (1) de faire un audit de la performance de l’équipe interdisciplinaire à l’HGJ en ce qui concerne les temps d’attente pour les intervalles critiques et les sous-groupes de patients ; (2) de comparer les temps d’attente dans la trajectoire clinique des patients traités à l’HGJ avec les balises qui existent ; (3) de déterminer les facteurs associés aux délais plus longs dans cette population. Un objectif secondaire de l’étude était de suggérer des mesures visant à réduire les temps d’attente. Le service clinique à l’HGJ a été évalué selon les balises proposées par le British Thoracic Society, Cancer Care Ontario, et la balise pan-canadienne pour la radiothérapie. Les patients de l’HGJ ont subi un délai médian de 9 jours pour l’intervalle «Ready to treat to first treatment», et un délai médian de 30 jours pour l’intervalle entre le premier contact avec l’hôpital et le premier traitement. Les patients âgés de plus de 65 ans, les patients avec une capacité physique diminuée, et les patients avec un stade de tumeur limité étaient plus à risque d’échouer les balises pour les temps d’attente. / Lung cancer is among the most lethal and the most diagnosed cancers in Canada. Given the poor prognosis and symptom burden of the disease, timely access to treatment and quality care are essential. In spite of government commitments to reduce waiting times in cancer care, national clinical benchmarks for cancer care have yet to be established, and waiting time reporting by provinces is inconsistent. One of the proposed strategies for reducing waiting times in cancer care is the use of interdisciplinary teams. I undertook an audit of the interdisciplinary pulmonary oncology program at the Jewish General Hospital from 2004 to 2007. The primary objectives of this study were: (1) to audit the performance of the interdisciplinary pulmonary oncology service at the Jewish General Hospital with respect to waiting times for key intervals and subgroups of patients; (2) to compare waiting times in the clinical trajectory of lung cancer patients seen at the Jewish General Hospital with existing waiting time guidelines; (3) to determine those factors associated with longer waiting times in this population. A secondary objective was to suggest measures to be considered in order to reduce waiting times. The JGH’s lung cancer service was compared against benchmarks developed by the British Thoracic Society, Cancer Care Ontario, and the pan-Canadian waiting time benchmarks for radiation oncology. Patients waited a median of 9 days from the time they were ready to treat until their first treatment, and a median of 30 days from their first contact with the pulmonary service until their first treatment. Patients over age 65, those with early-stage disease and those with good performance status were less likely to meet the recommended guidelines.

Les patients atteints de mono-traumatisme à un membre doivent consulter un médecin de première ligne qui assurera la prise en charge initiale et référera au besoin le patient vers un orthopédiste. L‟objectif principal de cette étude est de décrire ce mécanisme de référence envers un Service d‟orthopédie affilié à un Centre de traumatologie Niveau 1. La collecte de données concernant l‟accès aux soins spécialisés et la qualité des soins primaires a été faite lors de la visite en orthopédie. Nous avons étudié 166 patients consécutifs référés en orthopédie sur une période de 4 mois. Avant leur référence en orthopédie, 23 % des patients ont dû consulter 2 médecins de première ligne ou plus pour leur blessure. Le temps entre la consultation en première ligne et la visite en orthopédie (68 heures) dépasse le temps compris entre le traumatisme et l‟accès au généraliste (21 heures). Parmi les cas jugés urgents, 36 % n‟ont pas été vus dans les temps recommandés. La qualité des soins de première ligne fut sous-optimale chez 49 % des patients concernant l‟analgésie, l‟immobilisation et/ou l‟aide à la marche. Les facteurs associés à une diminution d‟accès en orthopédie et/ou une qualité de soins inférieure sont : tabagisme, jeune âge, habiter loin de l‟hôpital, consulter initialement une clinique privée, avoir une blessure au membre inférieur ou des tissus mous et une faible sévérité de la blessure selon le patient. Ces résultats démontrent qu‟il faut mieux cibler l‟enseignement relié aux mono-traumatismes envers les médecins de première ligne afin d‟améliorer le système de référence. / Patients with isolated traumatic limb injuries usually consult primary care for first line treatment. The primary care physician will often refer the patient to an orthopaedic surgeon when needed. The research objective was to study the referral mechanism to an Orthopaedic Service in a Level 1 Trauma Center for patients with an isolated limb injury. Access to specialized care and quality of primary care are used to describe the referral mechanism. We studied 166 consecutives patients referred to orthopaedic surgery over a 4 months period. Before the orthopaedic visit, 23 % had seen 2 or more doctors for their injury. The time between the first primary care visit and the orthopaedic evaluation was greater (68 hours) then the interval between the injury and the visit with primary care (21 hours). Among the cases that were considered urgent, 36 % had not been seen within the recommended delay. Quality of initial care was judged sub optimal for 49 % of patients in terms of immobilization, analgesia and/or walking aids. Factors associated with decreased access or quality of care are: smoking, younger age, living far from the hospital, consulting first in a private clinic, lower limb or soft tissue injury and a patient‟s low self-perception of severity. These results underline the necessity of targeting primary care education and improving the referral mechanism for patients with isolated limb injuries.

Resident-centered care has been the standard philosophy in accredited personal care homes (PCHs) across Canada since 1990. Health care aides (HCAs) are the primary health care providers in PCHs and key to residents' quality of care and quality of life. However, studies have not examined HCA work satisfaction in relation to the four elements of resident-centered care: providing flexible scheduling, following residents' preferences, promoting a home-like environment and offering permanent assignment to promote consistency of care. This cross-sectional, ethnographic study was conducted using face-to-face interviews with nine HCAs working in four PCHs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The results indicate that HCAs' work satisfaction was highly related to their caring relationships with residents and their working relationships with other HCAs and staff. The implementation of resident-centered care depended on institutional and managerial support. Lack of this support created stressful situations for HCAs and caused them concern about the quality of care and quality of life of residents.

Resident-centered care has been the standard philosophy in accredited personal care homes (PCHs) across Canada since 1990. Health care aides (HCAs) are the primary health care providers in PCHs and key to residents' quality of care and quality of life. However, studies have not examined HCA work satisfaction in relation to the four elements of resident-centered care: providing flexible scheduling, following residents' preferences, promoting a home-like environment and offering permanent assignment to promote consistency of care. This cross-sectional, ethnographic study was conducted using face-to-face interviews with nine HCAs working in four PCHs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The results indicate that HCAs' work satisfaction was highly related to their caring relationships with residents and their working relationships with other HCAs and staff. The implementation of resident-centered care depended on institutional and managerial support. Lack of this support created stressful situations for HCAs and caused them concern about the quality of care and quality of life of residents.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2010. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

The purpose of the study was to analyse if the two year upgrading programme done at Malawi College of Health Sciences attended by Nurse Midwife Technicians (NMTs) is able to improve the competencies, knowledge, skills and attitude of the graduates when providing comprehensive nursing and midwifery care. The main objectives of this study were • to determine the effectiveness of the Upgrading Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery programme in preparing the competencies of State Registered Nurse Midwifes (SRNMs) • to make recommendations on the training of Upgrading Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery programme The researcher used a quantitative, exploratory, descriptive design. A questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions was used to collect data from SRNMs who completed the upgrading programme. The findings indicated that the upgrading programme has a significant impact to improve the competencies of the NMTs to work as SRNMs. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

This descriptive quantitative survey attempted to identify reasons why pregnant women who have been screened as low-risk pregnancies failed to utilise MOUs for the delivery of their babies. The objective of the study was to investigate the factors determining the under-utilisation of Sharpville MOU in Emfuleni sub-district. The research population comprised all postnatal mothers residing in Sharpeville who delivered their babies at hospital and who were screened as low-risk pregnancies; the accessible convenience sample consisted of all postnatal mothers who attended Sharpeville Clinic for their six weeks follow-up postnatal care from 5 December 2005 till 6 January 2006 and who were willing to complete questionnaires. Data was collected by means of a structured questionnaire and analysed using the SPSS computer program. Major factors drawn from the study that influence their decision on place of delivery were nurses' attitudes, lack of doctors, transport, privacy and resources. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Introdução: Com o aumento da expectativa de vida, os profissionais da área da saúde estão cada vez mais preocupados em estudar não apenas as doenças crônicas, mas também suas consequências no longo prazo. O termo incapacidade amplia a visão biológica da deficiência, de forma a incluir aspectos sociológicos e políticos. A forma como a incapacidade é visualizada vem se modificando nas últimas décadas. Segundo a Classificação Internacional de Funcionalidade, Incapacidade e Saúde, desenvolvida pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), a incapacidade é um termo que abrange deficiências (problemas nas funções ou nas estruturas do corpo), limitação de atividades (dificuldade na execução de tarefas) ou restrição na participação (problemas ao se envolver em situações de vida diária). As pessoas com incapacidades apresentam singularidades que se refletem em diversos aspectos de sua vida. Entretanto, poucos estudos em nosso meio procuraram avaliar o conceito e os determinantes de qualidade de vida nessa população. A qualidade do cuidado que essas pessoas recebem também é um fator importante, moderador do impacto da deficiência no indivíduo, daí a necessidade de sua investigação. Objetivos: Explorar o significado dos conceitos de qualidade de vida e qualidade do cuidado para as pessoas com incapacidades e os diferentes fatores que os influenciam, de forma a possibilitar um embasamento adequado para a construção de itens de questionários que avaliem os conceitos estudados na população-alvo Métodos: Estudo qualitativo, exploratório. Foram realizados cinco grupos focais: 1) Pessoas com diferentes incapacidades físicas; 2) Profissionais; 3) Familiares e cuidadores; 4) Pessoas com incapacidade intelectual e 5) Pessoas com uma incapacidade física específica (deficiência visual). A amostragem foi por conveniência. Os encontros foram gravados e posteriormente transcritos em sua íntegra. O moderador, amplamente experiente na condução de grupos focais, seguiu um manual padronizado, desenvolvido pelo centro coordenador do projeto. A discussão dos temas foi incentivada a partir de perguntas abertas. Também foram examinadas as facetas do instrumento WHOQOL-BREF, que avalia a qualidade de vida na população geral. A análise dos grupos baseou-se na Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin e foi realizada através dos seguintes passos: 1) Leitura exaustiva do conteúdo transcrito por três avaliadores, de forma independente; 2) Identificação de unidades de significação ou unidades de registro (temas); 3) Leitura e exploração dessas unidades para a definição de categorias que sintetizassem os comentários feitos; 4) Reconciliação das três diferentes versões, através de um painel com os três avaliadores e com o coordenador do projeto. Posteriormente, foi realizada a comparação e o agrupamento dos temas levantados nos diferentes grupos Resultados: Na discussão sobre qualidade de vida (artigo 1), 20 das 24 facetas do WHOQOL-BREF foram espontaneamente citadas pelos participantes. As facetas não mencionadas inicialmente foram: sentimentos negativos, capacidade de trabalho, atividade sexual e transporte. Foram propostos diversos temas novos, com ênfase nos temas relacionados ao trabalho, educação, integração na comunidade e inclusão social. Foi comentada a ocorrência de preconceito e outras atitudes negativas e a importância do respeito para com essas pessoas. Também foi destacada a importância da aceitação da incapacidade por parte dos familiares e cuidadores e a participação dos mesmos no tratamento. Em quatro grupos foi ressaltada a importância da acessibilidade universal. Na investigação do tema qualidade do cuidado (artigo 2), diferentes aspectos dos temas a seguir foram mencionados nos cinco grupos: educação, acessibilidade, leis protetoras para pessoas com incapacidades e inclusão social. Qualificação profissional, capacitação dos profissionais da saúde e da educação para lidar com pessoas com deficiências e acesso ao atendimento foram considerados relevantes em quatro grupos. Quatro outros tópicos foram citados em três grupos: atendimento em equipe, treinamento e informação da família e dos cuidadores, acesso a emprego e oportunidades de lazer Conclusões: Os temas considerados importantes para a qualidade de vida pelas pessoas em geral também são valorizados pelas pessoas com incapacidades. Variados aspectos de uma visão ampla da qualidade do cuidado foram reforçados por nosso estudo. Alguns tópicos não relacionados diretamente ao atendimento também foram mencionados. Foram citados diversos temas relacionados a incapacidades, valorizando a criação de instrumentos específicos para essa população. A metodologia qualitativa utilizada mostrou-se profícua para a investigação dos conceitos de qualidade de vida e qualidade do cuidado na população estudada. / Background: Considering the increase of life expectancy, health professionals are getting more concerned in studying not only chronic diseases but also their long term outcomes. The word disability broadens the biologic perspective of impairment in order to include sociological and political aspects. The way disability is perceived has been changing over the last decades. According to the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), disability is an expression that comprises impairments (problems in body function or structure), activity limitations (difficulties in execution of tasks) or participation restrictions (problems in involvement in life situations). People with disabilities have singularities that reflect in different life aspects. However, there are few studies that evaluate the meaning of quality of life concept and its determinants for this population in our setting. The quality of care offered to people with disabilities is also an important factor that moderates the impact of the impairment, warranting its study. Objective: To explore the concept of quality of life and quality of care for people with disabilities and the diverse factors that affect them in order to generate an accurate basis to questionnaires item development that evaluate the studied concepts in the target-population. Methods: Qualitative, exploratory study Five focal groups were conducted as follows: 1) Mixed physical disabilities group; 2) Professionals; 3) Family members and caregivers; 4) Intellectual disabilities group; and 5) Specific physical disability group (visual disability). The sample was enrolled by convenience. The meetings were recorded and later fully transcribed. The group moderator had a lot of previous experience in conducting focus groups and used a standardized guide, developed by the coordinating center of the project. Discussion was encouraged by open questions. WHOQOL-BREF's facets were also examined (an instrument designed to evaluate quality of life in general population).Group analysis was based on the Bardin content analysis and was performed through the following steps: 1) Exhaustive reading of the transcripted material by three independent evaluators; 2) Units of meaning (themes) identification; 3) Reading and exploration of these units to delimitate categories that synthesized the comments; 4) Reconciliation of the three different versions in a panel with the three evaluators and the project coordinator. Afterwards, themes from the different groups were compared and merged. Results: In the quality of life discussion, twenty out of the twenty four WHOQOL-BREF's facets were brought up spontaneously by the participants. The facets that were not initially mentioned were: negative feelings, work capacity, sexual activity and transportation. Many new items emerged from the discussion, mainly themes related to work, education, community integration and social inclusion. Prejudice and negative attitudes towards disabilities appeared as factors influencing quality of life, as the groups emphasized the importance of being respected. Acceptance by family members and caregivers were considered of major relevance, as well as their involvement in the treatment process. Four groups mentioned the importance of universal accessibility. When talking about quality of care different aspects of the following domains were mentioned by the five groups: education, accessibility, protective laws to people with disabilities, and social inclusion. Professional qualification, training of health care and educational professionals to deal with disabilities and access to care were considered relevant by four groups. Four other topics were brought up by three groups: multidisciplinary care, training and information of family members and caregivers, employment access and leisure opportunities. Conclusion: the items considered important to the maintenance of quality of life of people with disabilities were the same ones emphasized by the general population. Many aspects of a broad view upon quality of care were sought by our study. Some topics not related to quality of care per se were mentioned. Many aspects related to disabilities aroused during the group meetings, what reinforces the need of development of instruments specific to this population. Qualitative methodology proved to be useful to the investigation of the concepts of quality of life and quality of care in the studied population.