Educational Program For Health Care Providers Research Articles

Diagnostic delays in breast cancer among young women: An emphasis on healthcare providers

Despite advances in breast cancer care, breast cancer in young women (BCYW) faces unique challenges, diagnostic delays, and limited awareness in many countries. Here, we discuss the challenges and consequences associated with the delayed diagnosis of BCYW. The consequences of delayed diagnosis in young women - which generally varies among developed, developing, or underdeveloped countries - are severe due to a faster breast tumor growth rate than tumors in older women, also contributing to advanced cancer stages and poorer outcomes. Though there are many underlying reasons for diagnostic delays due to age, the article delves explicitly deep into the diagnostic delay of BCYW, focusing on healthcare providers, potential contributing factors, its consequences, and the urgent need to start minimizing such incidences. The article suggests several strategies to address these issues, including increasing awareness, developing educational programs for healthcare providers to identify signs and symptoms in young women, developing clear diagnostic guidelines, and improving screening strategies.

Women’s knowledge of physiotherapy during pregnancy: a mixed study

BackgroundMany women may not be aware of physiotherapy in pregnancy. The objective of this study was to assess the level of awareness of physiotherapy in pregnancy among pregnant women in the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH), Kenya.MethodsA mixed study was conducted on ANC mothers, ANC nurses, and physiotherapists. Consecutive sampling was employed for the quantitative study (101 participants) and a purposive sample of 15 participants for the qualitative study. Questionnaire and interview guides were utilized for data collection. SPSS version 27 was applied for quantitative data analysis, while thematic content approach analyzed qualitative data.ResultsOne hundred one ANC mothers participated in the study; the mean age was 27.3 year. Forty percent (n = 40) had attained high school education; 54% (n = 55) lived in the urban area. Seventy-five percent (n = 76) were knowledgeable on the significance of antenatal care; however, only 27% (n = 27) attended the first ANC visit, and the numbers tapered with subsequent visits to 2% (n = 2) for the 6th visit. Eighty-five percent (n = 86) did not know about physiotherapy during pregnancy, while a meager 15% (n = 15) pregnant women had knowledge regarding physiotherapy in pregnancy. Fifty-three percent of pregnant women had no source of knowledge about physiotherapy; 22% experienced LBP as a complication during the pregnancy that would be managed by physiotherapy.Interviews elicited three themes which highlighted low knowledge of physiotherapy in pregnancy, low uptake of ANC, and the challenges facing physiotherapy education program in ANC.ConclusionThere was low knowledge on physiotherapy among ANC mothers despite the need for this service. Low education levels and staff shortage came out strongly as the main challenges. Programs should be instituted to empower women with lower educational status to seek for apt knowledge on all relevant services during ANC. Likewise, the government should improve staff establishment in public hospitals to facilitate ANC educational programs for healthcare providers and mothers.

White Paper on European Patient Needs and Suggestions on Chronic Type 2 Inflammation of Airways and Skin by EUFOREA.

BackgroundType 2 inflammation underlies the chronicity of disease in subgroups of patients with asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and atopic dermatitis (AD), that often co-exist. Although several studies have investigated the unmet needs of asthma, AD and CRSwNP as such, little is known about the similarities and differences in experiences and perspectives of the current management of patients with comorbid Type 2 inflammatory diseases.AimsTo improve insight into the common and organ-specific needs of patients with Type 2 inflammation and comorbidities, allowing the formulation of recommendations to better address these needs in the future.MethodologyThis qualitative study was conducted between July 2021 and December 2021 using semi-structured face-to-face or telephone interviews with patients suffering from year-long severe chronic Type 2 inflammation and at least one co-morbid inflammatory condition. Seven participating academic centers in Europe interviewed asthma (Copenhagen and Leuven), CRSwNP (London, Amsterdam and Crete) and/or AD (Oldenburg and Zurich) patients on patient characteristics, disease severity, shortcomings of current care pathways and suggestions for improvement of care. Transcripts were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach.ResultsEighty-one patients with severe Type 2 inflammation and comorbidities were interviewed. Similar needs were recognized by patients with Type 2 inflammation, with both a lack of coordination in care and a lack of a real cure reported as being most frustrating. However, several needs are specific to asthma, CRSwNP and AD. Suggestions for improvement of care were generic across diseases, such as the implementation of a multidisciplinary approach, the improved facilitation of access to better treatments, the increase of general awareness on disease burden, and better educational programs for healthcare providers and patients. Of note, patients with CRSwNP also stated the need for alternatives to sinus surgery, whereas patients with asthma requested better medical care to prevent exacerbations and patients with AD would warmly welcome the reimbursement of emollients.ConclusionPatients with asthma, CRSwNP and AD have shared unmet needs that need to be addressed by physicians, the academic community and health policy makers. This survey provides unique recommendations made by patients for the implementation of better care.

The Educational Program for Healthcare Providers Regarding Fertility Preservation for Cancer Patients: a Systematic Review.

The emerging discipline of oncofertility advocates for the timely provision of fertility preservation (FP) to all cancer patients of childbearing age by healthcare providers. A lack of practice due to limited FP-related knowledge was found among healthcare providers. A systematic review was undertaken on the educational programs on FP for healthcare providers. An initial search was performed in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases in October 2019. This review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Among the 160 articles that were identified, five relevant articles published between 2009 and 2019 were reviewed. Of the five studies, three were quantitative nonrandomized studies, one was a randomized controlled trial, and one was a qualitative study. Three programs were relevant to oncology nurses, one was relevant to social workers as well as nurses, and one was relevant to oncology fellows and residents. The four programs significantly increased healthcare providers' knowledge about FP, but clinical practice was only improved in the Educating Nurses about Reproductive Issues in Cancer Healthcare program (P < 0.01). Nevertheless, most of the studies used a self-made questionnaire or tool to assess the effects of the training programs. The educational programs improved the FP-related knowledge of healthcare providers but lacked the high-quality randomized controlled trials needed to provide robust evidence on the effectiveness of training programs using standard tools. More training projects should be developed based on learning theories or models to improve oncofertility care in clinical practice.

Survey of physicians' views on the clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics-based personalized therapy.

Despite quantitative increases and qualitative advances in pharmacogenomics (PGx) research, the clinical implementation of PGx-based personalized therapy has still been limited. The objective of this study was to assess physicians' self-reported knowledge of PGx-based personalized therapy, and to explore the most problematic and highest priority barriers preventing physicians from applying PGx into clinical practice under the Korean healthcare system. A 36-question survey was distributed to 53 physicians with various specialties in Korea. In the physicians' self-perceived knowledge, twenty-eight physicians (53%) reported a lack sufficient knowledge about PGx. The perceived largest barrier to clinical implementation of PGx was the high cost of PGx testing, followed by a lack of PGx education for healthcare providers or lack of clinical PGx experts. Physicians without clinical PGx experience or with indirect experience reported that the largest barrier to clinical implementation of PGx was the high cost of PGx testing, while physicians with clinical PGx experience pointed out that a lack of patients' education was the major concern, followed by a lack of PGx education for healthcare providers or lack of clinical PGx experts. The highest priority problem was reported to be a lack of actionable guidelines for drug selection and dosing using PGx. In conclusion, we should increase and expand extensive educational programs for healthcare providers and patients, and to develop and establish a clinical decision support systems for PGx-based personalized therapy in Korea.

USING CHRONIC DISEASE SELF-MANAGEMENT TO ENHANCE PATIENT-PROVIDER PARTNERSHIPS

The Partners in Aging Strategies and Training (PAST) project employed a bilateral approach to educate both healthcare professionals and consumers. Our theory is that improved health outcomes are attained by teaching healthcare providers and consumers how to engage better with each other, especially when consumers use the skills learned in community-based programs, such as self-management and healthy lifestyle choices. PAST activities provided an integrated educational program for healthcare providers and older adult patients, their families and caregivers to learn skills that enhance their ability to form productive patient-provider partnerships. We used three types of training: 1) multi-disciplinary health professions and primary care provider continuing-education face-to-face workshops and webinars; 2) older adult patient and caregiver workshops, resource materials; and 3) reverse marketing comprised of sending information to physicians whose patients attended a workshop that included the topics covered in the workshops and the patients’ three- to six-month action goals. We found that physicians who attended the grand rounds presentations were very receptive to the ‘nuts and bolts’ approach to things like doing a quick mobility assessment, effectively communicating with patients, health literacy, and referring patients to community-based non-medical services and supports. We conducted seven types of evidence-based workshops. Over 90% of participants gave permission to send a letter to their physician to tell them they attended the workshop. We used pre-post confidence scales based on each workshop’s learning objectives to measure changes in workshop participants’ self-management confidence. There was positive change in confidence for all seven workshops.

EFFECT OF AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS REGARDING HEALTHCARE WASTE MANAGEMENT AT MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH CENTERS

Background: Healthcare waste represents one of the most important environmental problems in the world because of the potential environmental hazards and public health risks, and its management is an integral part of infection control programs. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of an educational program for healthcare providers regarding healthcare waste management at maternal and child health centers. Design: A quasi-experimental design was used. Setting: The current study was conducted in 5 maternal and child health centers following kafr-shokr city at Qalyobia Governorate. Subjects: A Convenient sample of healthcare providers (nurses and health technicians) in the previously mentioned setting was recruited. Tools of data collection: Three tools were used. I. A structured interviewing questionnaire: consisting of 3 parts to assess: 1) demographic characteristics of healthcare providers. 2) Healthcare providers' past history of exposure to health problems due to healthcare wastes. 3) healthcare providers' knowledge about healthcare waste management. II. Observational checklist to assess healthcare providers' practices regarding healthcare waste management. III. Modified Likert Scale: was used to assess healthcare providers' attitude regarding healthcare waste management. Results: This study showed that 65.3% of healthcare providers aged from 35 to <50 years old, 93.9% of them were nurses, and 46.9% of them had less than 10 years of experience. Regarding healthcare providers' knowledge; only 12.2% of healthcare providers had good total knowledge score regarding healthcare waste management which increased to 73.5% post educational program intervention. The total score of healthcare providers' practices were satisfactory for 16.3 % of the preprogram and increased to 81.6 % post educatuionaprogram. Preprogram 22.4% of healthcare providers had positive total attitude score which increased post program implementation to 81.6%. Conclusion: This study concluded that the educational program had a significant effect on the improvement of the healthcare providers' knowledge, practices and attitude. Recommendations: Further studies should be provided in other MCH centers to implement healthcare waste management educational program for all healthcare providers.

A Framework for the Development of Healthcare Provider Education Programs on Human Trafficking Part Two: Survivors

ABSTRACT Background Previous work indicates that clinicians are seeing patients while they are being trafficked and these patients often have negative healthcare experiences. Survivor-recommended solutions are essential to training healthcare provider (HCPs) to better care for this patient population. Objective This investigation explored what content survivors of human trafficking (HT) recommend be included in HCP trainings on HT. Additionally, this study described the experiences of trafficking survivors who accessed healthcare to provide context to their recommendations. Methods A two-round mixed-methods Delphi was deployed to identify what topics trafficking survivors deemed important for inclusion in HCP educational programs. Survivors were recruited via purposive and snowball sampling, and received a $25 Amazon.com gift card for participation. Data was analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis and quantitatively using the Individual Content Validity Index (ICVI) with a predetermined cut-off of 0.78. Results In phase one, 38 of 51 survivors approached participated; in phase two, 30 of the 38 participated. Participants shared multiple negative clinical care experiences, including inappropriate physical exams, breach of confidentiality, and frank HCP disbelief at patient disclosures. Based on their experiences, participants recommended the following content be included in HCP education: acceptable approaches to physical and psychosocial exams, appropriate patient referral methods, safe discharge planning techniques, and strategies that minimized barriers to effective recognition, intervention and referral for victims. Conclusions Human trafficking survivors are experts on their lived experiences and have valuable insights into content that is important for inclusion in HCPs’ training on the issue. Survivor participants emphasized measurable and immeasurable content as crucial components of a comprehensive educational program for healthcare providers.

Evaluation of Colorado oncology providers on the use of medical marijuana.

10511 Background: There is a lack of knowledge regarding medical marijuana use in cancer patients. More information is needed due to increase in both state approvals and access to medical marijuana. We hypothesized that variation in provider knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors exists across all professions in oncology, which contributes to a lack of both provider awareness of patient use and patient education on marijuana use. Methods: A survey was distributed to oncology providers in the state of Colorado. The primary objective was to describe provider knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding medical marijuana use in cancer patients. Other objectives were identifying educational needs for oncology providers to feel comfortable recommending medical marijuana and reporting provider interest in future marijuana studies. Results: We received responses from 172 oncology providers; 48 advanced practice providers, 47 physicians, 53 registered nurses, 17 pharmacists, and 7 other. Most providers (73.3%) believe marijuana provides a medical benefit to cancer patients, and 81.5% believe it should be available as a prescription drug. Yet, 60.1% had not recommend its use to any cancer patient in the past 6 months, and 54.3% are not comfortable recommending or suggesting it to a patient to manage cancer related symptoms. Major concerns included uncertain dosing (83%), limited knowledge of available products and where to get them (73.1%), and interactions with other medications (64.9%). Providers reported that educational programs for healthcare providers (79.3%), more clinical data (74%), and endorsed clinical guidelines (67.5%) would increase their comfort level in recommending medical marijuana. The areas of research most interesting or important were specific product information and doses (77.6%), efficacy for specific side effects (77.6%), and drug-drug interactions (74.7%). Conclusions: Regardless of profession, the majority of oncology providers in Colorado do not recommend and do not feel comfortable recommending or suggesting medical marijuana to a cancer patient, yet most believe it provides medical benefit. Providers believe there is a need for education and research on the use of medical marijuana in oncology patients.

The Needs of Women and Healthcare Providers regarding Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Information, Resources, and Education: A Systematic Search and Narrative Review

This article aims to identify and summarize the information, resource, and education needs of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and their healthcare providers. A systematic search of peer-reviewed, primary research literature was conducted. A total of 4,230 articles were identified, duplicates were removed, as well as the title and abstract of 2,819 studies and the full texts of 123 studies were screened against predetermined inclusion criteria. Findings from 35 included studies are described narratively. Main outcome measures include women's perceived needs for, and experiences of, PCOS care and information; healthcare providers' delivery of PCOS care and information; and healthcare providers' perceived needs for PCOS information, education programs, or professional development. There is a wealth of literature informing how PCOS information, education, and resources can better meet the needs of women, and about the role women expect healthcare providers to play in providing information within optimal PCOS care. However, few studies evaluate how well existing resources meet women's diverse needs. There is growing indirect evidence about the information and education needed by healthcare providers to provide best-practice PCOS care. However, little research has directly investigated healthcare providers' information needs or efficacy of PCOS-specific educational programs for healthcare providers. PCOS resources for women should be comprehensive, evidence-based, include the bio-psychosocial dimensions of the condition, and available through a variety of modes. The range of healthcare providers that women may seek care from need resources to support consistent use of the recommended diagnostic criteria, effective recommendation of lifestyle management, and early detection and treatment of symptoms and complications.

Health literacy practices of physicians and patient care personnel in a hospital setting

Objective: Health literacy is a serious public health issue, and there are significant barriers to effective health communication among patients, physicians, and patient care personnel. We developed and implemented a hospital-wide health literacy survey to better determine the knowledge and practices of physicians and patient care personnel concerning health literacy in a hospital setting. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we invited physicians and patient care personnel from a pediatric hospital in the Midwest to participate in a health literacy survey. The survey combined open-ended questions and Likert-type items consisting of four domains: communication, decision-making, interpersonal skills, and health literacy knowledge. Quantitative data were analyzed - using SPSS software (descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, and t-test). Open-ended responses were analyzed thematically. Results: A total of 145 physicians and 891 patient care personnel completed the surveys. The results of Cronbach’s alpha, which was used to estimate the internal consistency of the scale, were 0.7 or greater for all domains. Most of the respondents had a general idea of what health literacy means, but only 37% of patient care personnel and 65% of physicians were able to define health literacy adequately. This study revealed several differences in health literacy perceptions between physicians and patient care personnel, but most respondents agreed that there is a need for health literacy training for health care professionals. Conclusion: The results of our study revealed insights and suggest that there is an obvious need to dedicate further efforts toward promoting health literacy. Health literacy training for all healthcare professionals is crucial to create health literate healthcare organizations. The findings are also useful for the health literacy group to plan health literacy initiatives and educational programs for healthcare providers to improve communication about health with patient and families.

Bias in medicine: a survey of medical student attitudes towards HIV‐positive and marginalized patients in Russia, 2010

BackgroundRussia has a substantial HIV epidemic which is poised to escalate in the coming years. The increases in prevalence of HIV will result in increased healthcare needs by a medical system with limited experience with HIV. A healthcare provider's attitude towards a patient plays a significant role in determining the patient's health-related behaviours and medical outcomes. Previous studies have identified negative attitudes of medical students towards people living with HIV. Studying the prevalence of such attitudes is of particular interest, as medical students represent the future workforce and also as the schooling years present a unique opportunity to nurture bias-free healthcare providers. The study measures prevalence of prejudicial attitudes towards HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients who belong to marginalized subgroups.MethodsThe cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical students of a Russian medical university. Of 500 students surveyed, 436 provided sufficient data to be included in the analysis. Prejudicial attitudes were defined as reluctance to provide medical care to a specified hypothetical patient. Nine hypothetical HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients were proposed: physicians, injecting drug users, commercial sex workers, men who have sex with men and a patient HIV-positive due to blood transfusion. A log-binomial regression solved using generalized estimating equations was utilized to identify factors associated with reluctance to treat.ResultsPrevalence of reluctance to provide medical care to HIV-positive patients in marginalized subgroups was high (ranging from 26.4% up to 71.9%), compared to a maximum of 7.5% if a patient was an HIV-negative physician. Students in their clinical years reported more negative attitudes than preclinical students. In general, female students were less willing to provide care than their male counterparts.ConclusionsPrejudicial attitudes about HIV-positive patients and those in marginalized subgroups of the population are prevalent among medical students in Russia. Given the increasing prevalence of HIV in the country, reasons for this hesitance to treat must be identified and addressed. Educational programs for healthcare providers are urgently needed to eliminate bias in the delivery of critically needed medical care. These targeted interventions should be coupled with other programs to eliminate structural barriers to care.