Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the relationship between hospital structural characteristics and penalization status (penalized or not penalized) in any given hospital acquired condition (HAC) Reduction Program year, FY 2015 through 2018. Structural characteristics included hospital type, case mix index, average daily census, bed size, ownership, disproportionate share percentage, location, and American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet status. The secondary objective of the study was to determine whether a hospital's penalization status across one or more HAC Reduction Program years is related to quality performance (Total HAC Score) in subsequent years. These objectives were achieved through retrospective, longitudinal, multivariate regression analysis using 4 publicly available data sources. Background: The intention of pay-for-performance programs, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid HAC Reduction Program, is to improve the quality of care delivered; however, the theoretical and conceptual basis of pay-for-performance programs and their efficacy in improving care are widely debated. This study was designed to address the gap in knowledge related to the efficacy of value-based reimbursement as a means of motivating providers and organizations to improve healthcare quality. Results: Higher average daily census, disproportionate share percentage, and case mix index were associated with increased likelihood of receiving a penalty in the HAC Reduction Program. Approximately half (49%) of who did not experience a penalty at all improved their Total HAC Score. 51% of hospitals with 1 year of penalty improved their Total HAC Score; 54% of hospitals with 2 years of penalty improved their Total HAC Score; 73% of hospitals with 3 years of penalty improved their Total HAC Score. Conclusions: Despite the inability of some hospitals to meet the benchmark to avoid penalty, the vast majority of hospitals improved their performance over time. This finding holds promise for value-based reimbursement as a means for improving HAC incidence.

<p>Marketing researchers have long relied on customer perceptions of service encounters to represent the "true" underlying quality. Researchers and practitioners in healthcare, on the other hand, have long dismissed customer perceptions as a credible measure of service quality. We built a quality framework designed to address this fundamental question: are customer perceptions of service encounters unique, redundant, or wholly flawed measures of actual service quality?</p><p>We consistently show customer perspectives reflect a measure of service quality that is both unique from, and complimentary to, the competence with which a service is provided. In fact, we found the explanatory power of either single dimension of process care is completely dependent on the state of the other as they relate to service encounter outcomes. This latter finding may require both management and policy makers to rethink how they approach managing and incenting a balanced approach to investments in improving process care dimensions.</p><p>Our research also provides evidence of factors both within, and indirectly outside, the control of management in improving healthcare service quality. In addition, government administrators face a particularly challenging roll in the system; their own policies - whether too punitive or too generous - have the potential to institutionalize lower quality healthcare for the very populations they are most trying to protect.</p> / Dissertation

Quality assessment of healthcare systems is considered to be the basic tool of developing strategic concepts in healthcare quality improvement and has a great impact on quality of life. The thesis' main focus is on possibilities of quality assessment on international quality model level and its transformation into national structures. It includes teoretical points of quality and economic evaluation of quality in healthcare. The objective is to assess the participation of czech hospitals in healthcare quality evaluation systems.

This thesis researched whether or not Sweden’s Economic Equalisation for Local Government evens out differences in regions’ healthcare quality that are due to structural differences, such as differences in demographic and geography. To be able to analyse healthcare quality amongst Sweden’s regions six healthcare quality indicators were created. By performing regression analysis it was researched whether or not they correlate with the healthcare aspect of the cost equalisation system. If the correlation is high then it is assumed that there are systematic differences in healthcare quality, but if the correlation is low to non-existent it is assumed that there are few to no systematic differences amongst regions. But even if regions’s healthcare quality does not systematically differ this does not necessarily mean that it is due to the equalisation system. Some regions may simply be spending more per capita on healthcare than other regions to be able to provide a comparable healthcare quality. This thesis therefore also analysed whether regions’ healthcare expenditure rates systematically differed or not.  How regional decision makers decide to spend the money received from the equalisation system is also of importance. Even if the equalisation is sufficient (ie. if the money from the system is actually enough to be able to even out structural differences in healthcare quality) does not mean it will actually be spent on healthcare. Therefore it is of interest to determine how regional decision makers spend the money. Because there is a distinct lack of theories on this specific subject, I myself created two models which were based on the wider schools of thought sociological institutionalism and rational choice theory and these were used to help model the different possible outcomes of the study and to thereby help explain on what basis regional decision makers make their decisions when it comes to healthcare. From these models I created four hypotheses that were then tested.  The results of my study gave some modest support for the fact that the economic equalisation system fulfills its aim ie. it evens out structural differences in healthcare quality. It also supported the hypothesis that regional decision makers act in accordance with sociological institutionalism. But three outliers were found when it comes to healthcare expenditure, which if examined further may change the results of this study. More research is therefore needed on this topic.

The Swedish child welfare system is, in an international comparison, distinguished bya family service orientation. Which means that there's a focus on understanding childrenand families in their community context (Lundström, Shanks, Pålsson &amp; Sallnäs 2021).When a child is in a situation where their health or development is at risk or is harmed,social services have a responsibility to remove the child from that situation. In somecases, the child is then placed at an out of home care facility which is called HVB,where care or treatment is conducted (Kunskapsguiden 2022).In the beginning of the 21st century Sweden has had a rise of private out of home carefacilities (Sallnäs 2005). Which made us interested as to how different factors affect theway that decisions are being made when it comes to placement at HVB and furthermorehow these factors might lead to different dilemmas. Therefore will this paper study whatfactors might exist and how they affect the social workers.The result of the study shows that the child's needs and participation, location of thehome and how the organization is built are all factors that affect the way decisions aremade. The result also shows that there are some dilemmas that might occur. One is thefact that HVB might not actually be a good treatment, another is risks within placementand co-morbidity, another is economics versus the child's best interests and lastlywhether or not the placement should be close to home. Through the study we’ve cometo the conclusion that more research on the field is needed to make sure that Sweden asa society is providing the best possible care for children and adolescents.

No description available.

yes / Background: Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD) is a participatory design method which was originally developed and is still primarily used as a healthcare quality improvement tool. Traditionally, EBCD has been sited within single services or settings and has yielded improvements grounded in the experiences of those delivering and receiving care. Method: In this article we present how EBCD can be adapted to develop complex interventions, underpinned by theory, to be tested more widely within the healthcare system as part of a multi-phase, multi-site research study. We begin with an outline of co-design and the stages of EBCD. We then provide an overview of how EBCD can be assimilated into an intervention development and evaluation study, giving examples of the adaptations and research tools and methods that can be deployed. We also suggest how to appraise the resulting intervention so it is realistic and tractable in multiple sites. We describe how EBCD can be combined with different behaviour change theories and methods for intervention development and finally, we make suggestions about the skills needed for successful intervention development using EBCD. Conclusion: EBCD has been recognised as being a collaborative approach to improving healthcare services that puts patients and healthcare staff at the heart of initiatives and potential changes. We have demonstrated how EBCD can be integrated into a research project and how existing research approaches can be assimilated into EBCD stages. We have also suggested where behaviour change theories can be used to better understand intervention change mechanisms.

Objetivos Avaliamos a incidência de infecção hospitalar no CTI clínico-cirúrgico de um hospital escola no sul do Brasil. Foram utilizadas taxas ajustadas para o tempo de permanência dos pacientes e para o tempo de exposição aos procedimentos invasivos. Também investigamos a influência da causa básica de internação (trauma, neurológico e clínico-cirúrgico) nas taxas de infecções. Material e Métodos Os pacientes internados no CTI Clínico-cirúrgico de março a dezembro de 1999, foram prospectivamente seguidos para a detecção de infecção hospitalar. Para o diagnóstico de infecção hospitalar utilizou-se as definições do Centro de Controle e Prevenção de Doenças dos EUA (CDC) e as taxas foram calculadas de acordo com a metodologia NNIS (Sistema Nacional de Vigilância Epidemiológica). Resultados Foram acompanhados 686 pacientes (4201 pacientes-dia). Ocorreram 125 infecções hospitalares, sendo que a incidência global foi de 18,2% ou 29,8 infecções por 1000 pacientes-dia. Os sítios de infecção mais freqüente foram: pneumonia (40%), infecção urinária (24%) e septicemia primária (12,8%). As taxas de infecções hospitalares, associadas aos procedimentos invasivos, foram as seguintes: 32,2 pneumonias por 1000 ventiladores mecânico-dia, 9,7 infecções urinárias por 1000 sondas vesicais-dia e 7 septicemias por 1000 cateteres venosos centrais-dia. A incidência global de infecção nos pacientes com trauma (26,8) e neurológicos (20,7%) foi superior quando comparada com o grupo clínico-cirúrgico (12,2%), p < 0,001. Conclusões Encontramos altas taxas de infecções relacionadas com os procedimentos invasivos neste CTI. A causa básica de internação influenciou as taxas de infecção, sugerindo a necessidade de analisar-se estratificadamente os pacientes em CTI clínico-cirúrgico. / Objectives The incidence of nosocomial infections in the General ICU of the Hospital São Vicente de Paulo was evaluated using adjusted rates for patients’ lenght of stay and time of device exposure. We also determined the differences in the rates of infections according basic reason for admission (trauma, neurological, and medical-surgical). Material and Methods From March 1 to December 31 1999, patients in the General ICU were prospectively followed for detection of nosocomial infection during their stay. Diagnosis of nosocomial infection was made according to the Centers for Disease Control e Prevention (CDC) definitions and the rates were calculated according to the methods of the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System. Results Six hundred eighty-six patients (4,201 patient-days) were followed. One hundred twenty-five nosocomial infections occurred and the overall rate was 18.2% or 29.8 infections per 1,000 patient-days. The most commonly found infection sites were: pneumonia (40%), urinary tract infection (24%), and primary bloodstream infections (12.8%). Device-associated nosocomial infection rates were as follows: 32.2 pneumonias per 1,000 ventilator-days, 9.7 urinary infections per 1,000 indwelling urinary catheter-days, and 7 bloodstream infection per 1,000 central venous catheter-days. Overall incidence of infection in trauma (26.8) and neurological (20.7%) groups was higher than in the medical-surgical group (12.2%), p<0.001. Conclusions Our study found a high incidence of pneumonia and high rates of nosocomial infections associated with use of an invasive device in this ICU. The basic cause for admission affected infection rates, suggesting the need for a stratified analysis of patients in the General ICU by basic reason for admission.

Objetivos Avaliamos a incidência de infecção hospitalar no CTI clínico-cirúrgico de um hospital escola no sul do Brasil. Foram utilizadas taxas ajustadas para o tempo de permanência dos pacientes e para o tempo de exposição aos procedimentos invasivos. Também investigamos a influência da causa básica de internação (trauma, neurológico e clínico-cirúrgico) nas taxas de infecções. Material e Métodos Os pacientes internados no CTI Clínico-cirúrgico de março a dezembro de 1999, foram prospectivamente seguidos para a detecção de infecção hospitalar. Para o diagnóstico de infecção hospitalar utilizou-se as definições do Centro de Controle e Prevenção de Doenças dos EUA (CDC) e as taxas foram calculadas de acordo com a metodologia NNIS (Sistema Nacional de Vigilância Epidemiológica). Resultados Foram acompanhados 686 pacientes (4201 pacientes-dia). Ocorreram 125 infecções hospitalares, sendo que a incidência global foi de 18,2% ou 29,8 infecções por 1000 pacientes-dia. Os sítios de infecção mais freqüente foram: pneumonia (40%), infecção urinária (24%) e septicemia primária (12,8%). As taxas de infecções hospitalares, associadas aos procedimentos invasivos, foram as seguintes: 32,2 pneumonias por 1000 ventiladores mecânico-dia, 9,7 infecções urinárias por 1000 sondas vesicais-dia e 7 septicemias por 1000 cateteres venosos centrais-dia. A incidência global de infecção nos pacientes com trauma (26,8) e neurológicos (20,7%) foi superior quando comparada com o grupo clínico-cirúrgico (12,2%), p < 0,001. Conclusões Encontramos altas taxas de infecções relacionadas com os procedimentos invasivos neste CTI. A causa básica de internação influenciou as taxas de infecção, sugerindo a necessidade de analisar-se estratificadamente os pacientes em CTI clínico-cirúrgico. / Objectives The incidence of nosocomial infections in the General ICU of the Hospital São Vicente de Paulo was evaluated using adjusted rates for patients’ lenght of stay and time of device exposure. We also determined the differences in the rates of infections according basic reason for admission (trauma, neurological, and medical-surgical). Material and Methods From March 1 to December 31 1999, patients in the General ICU were prospectively followed for detection of nosocomial infection during their stay. Diagnosis of nosocomial infection was made according to the Centers for Disease Control e Prevention (CDC) definitions and the rates were calculated according to the methods of the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System. Results Six hundred eighty-six patients (4,201 patient-days) were followed. One hundred twenty-five nosocomial infections occurred and the overall rate was 18.2% or 29.8 infections per 1,000 patient-days. The most commonly found infection sites were: pneumonia (40%), urinary tract infection (24%), and primary bloodstream infections (12.8%). Device-associated nosocomial infection rates were as follows: 32.2 pneumonias per 1,000 ventilator-days, 9.7 urinary infections per 1,000 indwelling urinary catheter-days, and 7 bloodstream infection per 1,000 central venous catheter-days. Overall incidence of infection in trauma (26.8) and neurological (20.7%) groups was higher than in the medical-surgical group (12.2%), p<0.001. Conclusions Our study found a high incidence of pneumonia and high rates of nosocomial infections associated with use of an invasive device in this ICU. The basic cause for admission affected infection rates, suggesting the need for a stratified analysis of patients in the General ICU by basic reason for admission.

Objetivos Avaliamos a incidência de infecção hospitalar no CTI clínico-cirúrgico de um hospital escola no sul do Brasil. Foram utilizadas taxas ajustadas para o tempo de permanência dos pacientes e para o tempo de exposição aos procedimentos invasivos. Também investigamos a influência da causa básica de internação (trauma, neurológico e clínico-cirúrgico) nas taxas de infecções. Material e Métodos Os pacientes internados no CTI Clínico-cirúrgico de março a dezembro de 1999, foram prospectivamente seguidos para a detecção de infecção hospitalar. Para o diagnóstico de infecção hospitalar utilizou-se as definições do Centro de Controle e Prevenção de Doenças dos EUA (CDC) e as taxas foram calculadas de acordo com a metodologia NNIS (Sistema Nacional de Vigilância Epidemiológica). Resultados Foram acompanhados 686 pacientes (4201 pacientes-dia). Ocorreram 125 infecções hospitalares, sendo que a incidência global foi de 18,2% ou 29,8 infecções por 1000 pacientes-dia. Os sítios de infecção mais freqüente foram: pneumonia (40%), infecção urinária (24%) e septicemia primária (12,8%). As taxas de infecções hospitalares, associadas aos procedimentos invasivos, foram as seguintes: 32,2 pneumonias por 1000 ventiladores mecânico-dia, 9,7 infecções urinárias por 1000 sondas vesicais-dia e 7 septicemias por 1000 cateteres venosos centrais-dia. A incidência global de infecção nos pacientes com trauma (26,8) e neurológicos (20,7%) foi superior quando comparada com o grupo clínico-cirúrgico (12,2%), p < 0,001. Conclusões Encontramos altas taxas de infecções relacionadas com os procedimentos invasivos neste CTI. A causa básica de internação influenciou as taxas de infecção, sugerindo a necessidade de analisar-se estratificadamente os pacientes em CTI clínico-cirúrgico. / Objectives The incidence of nosocomial infections in the General ICU of the Hospital São Vicente de Paulo was evaluated using adjusted rates for patients’ lenght of stay and time of device exposure. We also determined the differences in the rates of infections according basic reason for admission (trauma, neurological, and medical-surgical). Material and Methods From March 1 to December 31 1999, patients in the General ICU were prospectively followed for detection of nosocomial infection during their stay. Diagnosis of nosocomial infection was made according to the Centers for Disease Control e Prevention (CDC) definitions and the rates were calculated according to the methods of the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System. Results Six hundred eighty-six patients (4,201 patient-days) were followed. One hundred twenty-five nosocomial infections occurred and the overall rate was 18.2% or 29.8 infections per 1,000 patient-days. The most commonly found infection sites were: pneumonia (40%), urinary tract infection (24%), and primary bloodstream infections (12.8%). Device-associated nosocomial infection rates were as follows: 32.2 pneumonias per 1,000 ventilator-days, 9.7 urinary infections per 1,000 indwelling urinary catheter-days, and 7 bloodstream infection per 1,000 central venous catheter-days. Overall incidence of infection in trauma (26.8) and neurological (20.7%) groups was higher than in the medical-surgical group (12.2%), p<0.001. Conclusions Our study found a high incidence of pneumonia and high rates of nosocomial infections associated with use of an invasive device in this ICU. The basic cause for admission affected infection rates, suggesting the need for a stratified analysis of patients in the General ICU by basic reason for admission.