Health Care Provider Interventions Research Articles

Prevalence of Implicit Bias in Practicing Physical Therapists

Background: Implicit biases (IB) are unconscious or automatic attitudes and stereotypes that all people hold towards individuals or groups based on social group membership, categories, or traits. While implicit biases are unconscious or automatic, one is by definition more aware and conscious of their explicit biases. In the healthcare setting, implicit biases can and do impact perceptions, interactions, and clinical decision-making involving patients. Most research regarding the prevalence of implicit bias in healthcare, to date, focuses on physicians and nurses, but no evidence exists regarding implicit bias prevalence in physical therapists (PTs). Our objectives were to determine the difference, if any, between levels of race- and disability-related implicit biases using Implicit Association Test (IAT) score comparisons between PTs practicing in orthopedic and pediatric settings. Methods: A total of 59 licensed orthopedic and pediatric PTs completed the IAT race and disability subtests, self-reported levels of explicit racial and disability biases, and demographic characteristics. Results: On average, participants reported slight levels of IB favoring White over Black people despite reports of neutral explicit bias (EB). Similarly, participants reported moderate levels of IB favoring individuals without disabilities over those with disabilities despite reports of only neutral to slight EB on average. PTs practicing in pediatric settings reported significantly higher levels of race-related IB than those practicing in orthopedic settings (Wilcoxon S=623.5, p=0.014), but there was no significant difference between the levels of disability-related IB based on practices setting (Wilcoxon S= 850, p=0.245). Conclusions: This sample of PTs demonstrated rates of IB on the basis of race or disability status similar to other healthcare providers and the general population. Furthermore, participants generally rated their EBs towards racial minorities and individuals with disabilities more favorably than IAT test results indicated. The disconnect between IBs and EBs was confirmed in our study and highlights the continued need for IB awareness and subsequent bias reduction interventions for healthcare providers given the negative consequences.

‘It turned my life upside down’: Parents' emotional experience of the transition with their preterm infant from birth to discharge Home—A qualitative study

BackgroundA smooth transition from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to home is critical for establishing parents' competence as primary caregivers and ensuring infant health. In the clinical context with a restrictive visiting policy, family-centred care is challenging to implement, prohibiting a smooth transition of care for the families. According to Meleis’ Transition Theory, parents might experience emotional change initiated by critical events during this transition. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to understand parents' emotional experience of their preterm infant's birth to discharge home from the NICU to facilitate the care transition better. MethodsThis qualitative descriptive study using semistructured interviews was conducted between June and August 2020. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 17 parents (6 fathers and 11 mothers) from the NICU of a tertiary hospital in eastern China. Data were analysed using content analysis. ResultsThe following three situational themes characterised by three-phase emotions related to 16 critical events were obtained from the data and were used to describe parents’ experiences during the transition: Theme 1, Life falling apart; Theme 2, Feeling anxious and struggling with uncertainty; and Theme 3, Feeling both hopeful and inadequate at discharge. ConclusionsParents of preterm infants have distinctive emotional experiences in each phase during their infants' transition from the NICU to home. Awareness of parents’ critical events and emotional experiences in each phase could help NICU staff anticipate and provide timely and targeted support for parents. The next step is to develop a family-centred intervention for healthcare providers to better prepare parents for the transition from the NICU to home.

The perceived impact of project ECHO networks in Northern Ireland for health and social care providers, patients, and the health system: A qualitative analysis.

This study assesses the perceived impact and benefits of Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), a tele-mentoring intervention for health and social care providers, patients and the health system in Northern Ireland. Having access to a specialist, a space to share experiences, and being able to disseminate up-to-date best practice were all cited as improving provider knowledge as well as improving quality of care for patients. Healthcare providers reported being more confident in managing patients and that relationships had been improved between different levels of the health system. ECHO was described as improving access to education and training by removing geographic and time barriers. This is one of the first studies to qualitatively analyse impact across a number of different clinical and social care ECHO networks. The results strongly indicate the perceived benefit of ECHO in improving provider, patient and health system outcomes such as increased healthcare provider knowledge and confidence to manage patients at primary levels of the health system. This has implications for future service design, particularly within the context of COVID-19 in which virtual and online training is necessitated by social distancing requirements.

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict postoperative delirium in type B aortic dissection patients underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common postoperative complication after cardiovascular surgery with adverse outcomes. No prediction tools are currently available for assessing POD in the type B aortic dissection (TBAD) population. The purposes of this study were to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting POD among TBAD patients who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). The retrospective cohort included 631 eligible TBAD patients who underwent TEVAR from January 2019 to July 2021. 434 patients included before 2021 were in the develop set; 197 others were in the independent validation set. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and logistic regression were applied to identify the most useful predictive variables for constructing the nomogram. Discrimination and the agreement of the model was assessed with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), Brier score and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. The results were validated using a bootstrap resampling and the validation set. The incidence rate of POD observed in the development and validation cohort were 15.0% and 14.2%, respectively. Seven independent risk factors, including age ≥60 years, syncope or coma, postoperative blood transfusion, atelectasis, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <80 ml/min/1.73 m2, albumin <30 g/L, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, were included in the nomogram. The model showed a good discrimination with an AUC of 0.819 (95% CI, 0.762-0.876) in the developed set, and adjusted to 0.797 (95% CI, 0.735-0.849) and 0.791 (95% CI, 0.700-0.881) in the internal validation set and the external validation, respectively. Favorable calibration of the nomogram was confirmed in both the development and validation cohorts. The nomogram based on seven readily available predictors has sufficient validity to identify POD risk in this population. This tool may facilitate targeted initiation of POD preventive intervention for healthcare providers.

Best Practices for the Independent Medical Examination of Mental and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract Independent medical examinations (IMEs) are elective evaluations of clinical conditions and differ from a clinical consultation in several important ways. They are conducted in many medicolegal contexts and are performed by a regulated health professional who is not the treating health care provider. An IME seeks objective information about the examinee's diagnoses, functional abilities and impairments, and other features relevant to addressing medicolegal-related cases by relying on multiple data sources. Best practice guidelines have been established for the completion of physical IMEs. However, similar mental and behavioral disorder (M&amp;BD) standards are less common, and M&amp;BD IMEs often do not follow a consistent process. This article offers guidance on applying and adapting existing standards to M&amp;BD IMEs. We outlined the appropriate use of psychiatric nomenclature and how to apply recent changes to Chapter 14 of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. The article further offers a mechanism for introducing greater objectivity into an otherwise subjective process by employing relevant psychological validity testing and conducting a coherence analysis in formulating an opinion. In summary, we provide a synopsis of current best practices and offer the examiner a method for aligning M&amp;BD IMEs with equally high standards of excellence.

The future of telemedicine and wearable technology in IBD.

Telemedicine has quickly become an essential part of modern healthcare, particularly in the management of chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. The purpose of this review is to describe the current use of telehealth, mobile applications and wearable devices in inflammatory bowel disease and potential future applications. Telemedicine was increasingly used during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. Virtual consultations allowed clinical care to continue despite pandemic-related restrictions without compromising the quality of care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It also benefits patients who would not have access to care due to financial or geographical barriers. Mobile applications allow patients with IBD to record disease activity among other metrics, allowing for earlier healthcare provider intervention. Wearable devices are increasingly being explored to monitor physiological indicators of disease activity and flare. Telehealth and remote patient monitoring has been successfully integrated into the care of IBD patients. The advantages of these modalities include better access to specialist care and remote noninvasive disease monitoring. Careful consideration must be given to patient privacy, data protection and equitable access. These modalities have enormous potential to improve patient care through accurate consistent data collection and even the prediction of disease activity.

The Critical Need for a Meaning-Centered Team-Level Intervention to Address Healthcare Provider Distress Now.

COVID-19 has unveiled and amplified the burnout, grief, and other forms of distress among healthcare providers (HCPs) that long preceded the pandemic. The suffering of the healthcare workforce cannot be simply and sufficiently addressed with a single psychotherapeutic intervention. Nevertheless, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Studies recommended prioritizing interventions that generate an increased sense of meaning in life and in work to reduce burnout and cultivate clinician wellbeing. Despite their guidance, there is a dearth of interventions for HCPs specifically targeting meaning and purpose as an avenue to reduce HCP distress. In a time when such an intervention has never been more essential, Meaning-Centered Pyschotherapy (MCP), a brief, evidence-based intervention designed for patients with advanced cancer may be key. This piece describes the principles underlying MCP and how it might be adapted and applied to ameliorate burnout among HCPs while providing a rationale to support future empirical studies in this area. Importantly, the systemic factors that contribute to the emotional and mental health burdens of HCPs are discussed, emphasizing the need for systems-level changes that are needed to leverage the potential outcomes of MCP for HCPs.

Responding to Elder Abuse in GERiAtric care (REAGERA) educational intervention for healthcare providers: a non-randomised stepped wedge trial

IntroductionElder abuse is prevalent and associated with different forms of ill health. Despite this, healthcare providers are often unaware of abusive experiences among older patients and many lack training about...

A longitudinal analysis of the role of potentially morally injurious events on COVID-19-related psychosocial functioning among healthcare providers.

Medical leaders have warned of the potential public health burden of a “parallel pandemic” faced by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. These individuals may have experienced scenarios in which their moral code was violated resulting in potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs). In the present study, hierarchical linear modeling was utilized to examine the role of PMIEs on COVID-19 pandemic-related difficulties in psychosocial functioning among 211 healthcare providers (83% female, 89% White, and an average of 11.30 years in their healthcare profession [9.31]) over a 10-month span (May 2020 –March 2021). Reported exposure to PMIEs was associated with statistically significant poorer self-reported psychosocial functioning at baseline and over the course of 10-months of data collection. Within exploratory examinations of PMIE type, perceptions of transgressions by self or others (e.g., “I acted in ways that violated my own moral code or values”), but not perceived betrayal (e.g., “I feel betrayed by leaders who I once trusted”), was associated with poorer COVID-19 related psychosocial functioning (e.g., feeling connected to others, relationship with spouse or partner). Findings from this study speak to the importance of investing in intervention and prevention efforts to mitigate the consequences of exposure to PMIEs among healthcare providers. Interventions for healthcare providers targeting psychosocial functioning in the context of moral injury is an important area for future research.

Referral Patterns of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion to an Academic Center Affiliated With a Stroke Center.

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a medical emergency, and patients who present acutely should be immediately referred to the nearest stroke center. We evaluated practice patterns for CRAO management at one academic center over the last decade. This was a retrospective study on all adult patients diagnosed with a CRAO seen at one tertiary hospital and outpatient clinic affiliated with a comprehensive stroke center ("our institution") from 2010 to 2020. Our electronic medical records were searched for CRAO diagnoses, and patient medical records were reviewed. The exclusion criteria were incorrect diagnosis, unclear diagnosis, historical CRAO, or satellite clinic location. Demographics, distance and time to presentation to our institution, number and type of prior providers seen, diagnostic tests performed, and treatments provided were collected. Summary statistics of median, mean, and frequency were calculated and reported with measures of variance (interquartile range [IQR], ranges). F, Tukey, and Fisher exact tests were used for comparisons. We included 181 patients with a diagnosis of CRAO (80 [44.2%] women; median age 69 years [range 20-101]). The median distance from patient's home to our institution was 27.8 miles (IQR 15.5-57.4; range 2.4-930). The median time from visual loss to presentation at our institution was 144 hours (IQR 23-442 hours, range 0.5-2,920) from 2010 to 2013, 72 hours (IQR 10.5-372 hours, range 0-13,140) from 2014 to 2016, and 48 hours (IQR 7-180 hours, range 0-8,030) from 2017 to 2020 (P = 0.07). 91/181 (50%) patients presented to an outpatient provider. 73/181 (40%) presented to an emergency department. Eighty-six percent presented within 1 week of visual loss onset, and rates of comprehensive inpatient evaluation for acute CRAO improved from 44% in 2010-2013 to 82% in 2017-2020 (P < 0.01). Patients with CRAO often present late and only after evaluation by multiple outpatient providers. Improvement has occurred over the past decade, but delays underscore the barriers to performing clinical trials evaluating very acute treatments for CRAO. Educational interventions for healthcare providers and patients are necessary.

Factors affecting adherence with treatment advice in a clinical trial of patients with severe asthma.

BackgroundUnderstanding why patients with severe asthma do not follow healthcare provider (HCP) advice to adjust treatment is critical to achieving personalised disease management.MethodsWe reviewed patient choice to follow HCP advice to adjust asthma treatment in a UK-based randomised, controlled, single-blind (study participant), multicentre, parallel group 48-week clinical study comparing biomarker-directed treatment adjustment with standard care in severe asthma.ResultsOf 1572 treatment advisories (291 participants), instructions were followed in 1377 cases (87.6%). Patients were more likely to follow advice to remain on treatment (96.7%) than to either reduce (70.3%) or increase (67.1%) their treatment, with 64% of patients following all treatment advice. Multivariate analysis associated belonging to an ethnic minority group (OR 3.10, 95% CI 1.68–5.73) and prior study medication changes (two or more changes: OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.51–5.10) with failure to follow treatment advice. In contrast, emergency room attendance in the prior year (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.32–0.92) was associated with following treatment advice. The largest effect was seen with transition onto or off oral corticosteroids (OR 29.28, 95% CI 16.07–53.36) when compared with those requested to maintain treatment. Centre was also an important determinant regarding the likelihood of patients to follow treatment advice.ConclusionsBelonging to an ethnic minority group and multiple prior treatment adjustments were associated with not following HCP treatment advice. Patients also responded differently to HCP advice across UK specialist centres. These findings have implications for the generalisability of models of care in severe asthma and require further focused studies.

Sensing the lightness: a narrative analysis of an integrative medicine program for healthcare providers in the COVID-19 department.

Objectives The research addressing physical and emotional exhaustion among healthcare providers (HCPs) in COVID-19 departments is limited. We examined the impact of integrative medicine (IM) intervention for HCPs working in isolated COVID-19 in-patient departments, addressing concerns and well-being.MethodsHCPs working in 3 isolated COVID-19 in-patient departments underwent 40-min IM treatment sessions (including acupuncture, manual movement, and/or mind–body modalities) provided by integrative oncology practitioners. The MYCAW (Measure Yourself Concerns and Well-being) questionnaire examined HCP concerns and free-text narratives following IM treatments. Data were qualitatively analyzed using ATLAS.Ti software for systematic coding.ResultsA total of 181 HCPs underwent 305 IM treatments. Narrative themes focused on physical symptoms (primarily pain and fatigue) and emotional concerns, including perceived communication barriers with patients, and reflections on well-being and insights following IM treatments. HCPs reported feeling a sense of “relief” which was likely related to the 3 main effects of the IM intervention: a sense of “being cared for” and treated; experiencing emotional, sometimes spiritual effects of the treatment; and the feeling of relaxation, combined with the relief of pain. Qualitative analysis identified clusters of emotional and spiritual-related keywords such as “calming,” “release,” “relaxation,” and “disengagement” following the first IM session (119 of 181 narratives, 65.7%).ConclusionsHCPs working in isolated COVID-19 departments reported improved well-being and the addressing of their concerns following IM treatment sessions provided during their work shift. Further research is needed to explore the impact of IM on HCP burnout and resilience in palliative care settings.

Jail as a Point of Contraceptive Care Access: Needs and Preferences Among Women in an Urban Jail.

Individuals who are incarcerated in the United States often struggle to access family planning care because of the common practice of jails not providing contraceptives on site. However, less is known about the contraceptive needs and preferences, including the desirability of intrauterine devices and implants, among those who are incarcerated. Cross-sectional, in-person surveys were administered to 148 reproductive-age women (aged 18-48) incarcerated at an urban jail in Utah to identify women's contraceptive needs and preferences while incarcerated. We used summary statistics and logistic regression to investigate relationships between demographic characteristics, the desire to access contraceptive services while incarcerated, and interest in specific contraceptive methods. Surveys indicate a high interest in accessing contraceptives while in jail (73%). Participants who were more likely to prefer access to contraceptive services in jail were also more likely to be interested in the injectable (odds ratio [OR], 4.75; 95% CI, 1.03-21.94), the implant (OR, 8.44; 95% CI, 1.70-41.99), and intrauterine devices (OR, 10.04; 95% CI, 3.46-29.20) than participants indicating no desire to access contraceptive services while in jail. Jails could be an access point for contraceptive methods requiring health care provider intervention in the state of Utah. However, care must be taken due to broader historical legacies of reproductive coercion in carceral settings.

Telemental Health For Youth With Chronic Illnesses: Systematic Review.

BackgroundChildren, adolescents, and young adults with chronic conditions experience difficulties coping with disease-related stressors, comorbid mental health problems, and decreased quality of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global mental health crisis, and telemental health has necessarily displaced in-person care. However, it remains unknown whether such remote interventions are feasible or efficacious. We aimed to fill this research-practice gap.ObjectiveIn this systematic review, we present a synthesis of studies examining the feasibility and efficacy of telemental health interventions for youth aged ≤25 years with chronic illnesses.MethodsPubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched from 2008 to 2020. We included experimental, quasiexperimental, and observational studies of telemental health interventions designed for children, adolescents, and young adults aged ≤25 years with chronic illnesses, in which feasibility or efficacy outcomes were measured. Only English-language publications in peer-reviewed journals were included. We excluded studies of interventions for caregivers or health care providers, mental health problems not in the context of a chronic illness, disease and medication management, and prevention programs for healthy individuals.ResultsWe screened 2154 unique study records and 109 relevant full-text articles. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria, and they represented seven unique telemental health interventions. Five of the studies included feasibility outcomes and seven included efficacy outcomes. All but two studies were pilot studies with relatively small sample sizes. Most interventions were based on cognitive behavioral therapy and problem-solving therapy. The subset of studies examining intervention feasibility concluded that telemental health interventions were appropriate, acceptable, and satisfactory to patients and their parents. Technology did not create barriers in access to care. For the subset of efficacy studies, evidence in support of the efficacy of telemental health was mixed. Significant heterogeneity in treatment type, medical diagnoses, and outcomes precluded a meta-analysis.ConclusionsThe state of the science for telemental health interventions designed for youth with chronic illnesses is in a nascent stage. Early evidence supports the feasibility of telehealth-based delivery of traditional in-person interventions. Few studies have assessed efficacy, and current findings are mixed. Future research should continue to evaluate whether telemental health may serve as a sustainable alternative to in-person care after the COVID pandemic.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Comprehensive Qualitative Research Study on Unmet Needs in the "Patient Journey".

PurposeThis qualitative research study aimed to characterize the “patient journey” for patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and identify the unmet needs related to the management and treatment of the condition for healthcare providers (HCPs), patients, and their caregivers.Materials and MethodsMultifaceted, dynamic methodology, iteratively gathering cognitive, emotional and social insights, was used to support and conduct in-depth, immersion interviews across the USA with 59 HCPs in-office and in roundtable discussions, and 20 patient-support partner dyads in-home.ResultsPatients were aged >18 years, primarily female, and all were diagnosed with CRPS (limited to type 1 in this patient cohort). Results show that the current state of CRPS treatment may fall short in multiple key areas. In some cases, poor awareness of CRPS causes delayed diagnoses impacting the opportunity for early treatment, resulting in long-term poor health outcomes. Consequently, the CRPS “patient journey” may be characterized by clinical frustration of physicians and disappointment for some patients. The poor treatment experiences and outcomes for some patients and HCPs may build the perception of a non-collaborative relationship. HCPs and patients agree that an effective treatment would be one that addresses CRPS rather than its symptoms, and the availability of such an option would transform the treatment experience.ConclusionCRPS leads to cognitive, social and emotional burdens for patients and their caregivers. There is an unmet need for improved CRPS disease awareness and successful therapeutic options to aid in earlier diagnoses, effective treatment and better outcomes for HCPs, patients, and their caregivers.

What Is the State of Compassion Education? A Systematic Review of Compassion Training in Health Care.

To investigate the current state and quality of compassion education interventions offered to health care providers during training or practice, determine how the components of each education intervention map onto the domains of an empirically based clinical model of compassion, and identify the most common approaches to compassion education. The MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science, ERIC, and Education Research Complete databases were searched from inception to March 2020 in this systematic review. Studies that evaluated a compassion education intervention for health care providers or those in training to enhance compassion toward patients and/or families were included. A narrative synthesis of the included studies was performed. The components of each intervention were mapped onto the domains of compassion described in the Patient Compassion Model. One hundred eight peer-reviewed publications describing 103 interventions were included. Modalities ranged from establishing curricula and interventions in clinical settings to programs that used humanities-based reflective practices, clinical simulation, role modeling, and contemplative practices, with many education interventions adopting a multimodal approach. Most interventions mapped to the virtuous response domain of the Patient Compassion Model; very few mapped to the other domains of this model. Most interventions were limited as they focused on a single domain of compassion; did not adequately define compassion; were assessed exclusively by self-report; were devoid of a comparator/control group; and did not evaluate retention, sustainability, and translation to clinical practice over time. The authors suggest that compassion education interventions be grounded in an empirically based definition of compassion; use a competency-based approach; employ multimodal teaching methods that address the requisite attitudes, skills, behaviors, and knowledge within the multiple domains of compassion; evaluate learning over time; and incorporate patient, preceptor, and peer evaluations.

#55: Development of a quality improvement educational intervention in febrile neutropenia in pediatric cancer patients in Peru: Preliminary results of the DoTT project

Abstract Background/Aims Severe infections are the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in children with cancer. In Peru, a major limitation for an optimal treatment of children with fever and neutropenia due to chemotherapy is the delay in the administration of the first dose of antibiotics. We performed an intervention aimed to decrease the time to antibiotics (TTA) in pediatric patients presenting to the emergency room (ER) with fever and neutropenia: We increased the perception risk of neutropenic fever to the ER medical staff by explaining the importance of a timely administration of antibiotics as part of the initial approach of children with fever and neutropenia. This study forms part of a larger project (DoTT project) that is being implemented in Peru, and is aligned to the WHO Global Initiative of Childhood Cancer in Peru. Methods This study was performed at Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati, which is a tertiary care National Hospital located in Lima. We included patients younger than 14 years with hemato-oncological conditions who arrived at the Pediatric Emergency Room. The DoTT project consists in an quality improvement educational intervention for health care providers in the Pediatric ED and the Oncology and Hematology Departments, based on the Kern’s six-steps (i) Problem identification and general needs assessment, (ii) targeted needs assessment, (iii) goals and objectives, (iv) educational strategies, (v) implementation and (vi) evaluation. We defined time-to-antibiotic (TTA) by measuring the time elapsed between patient′s arrival to the ER and the administration of the fist dose of an antibiotic. We compared the TTA between thirteen patients admitted from July to December 2020 with fever and neutropenia (after intervention), and historical data from 2017–2018. Results Median age was 7 years. 9/13 patients had leukemia and 4 patients had malignant solid tumors receiving oncological treatment. Mean pre-hospital delay was 176 minutes (range, 14–906 minutes) and TTA was 133 minutes (range, 34–400 minutes). One patient died of sepsis. Age, sex, source and timing of antibiotics did not significantly affect hospital stay, antifungal use and/or antibiotic turnover. Based on our historical data, mean TTA was 206 minutes (range, 137–390). Early results indicate a decrease in the TTA, although not statistically significant, likely due to the sample size. General and targeted needs assessment was performed by the DoTT project team and administrators at Rebagliati hospital, which lead to develop a curriculum based on a 5-lectures mini-course for health care providers. Conclusions The TTA exceeds the recommended time at international level, causing the evitable morbimortality. It is necessary to perform a multidisciplinary intervention to improve antibiotic start time. Ongoing educational intervention refinement and testing of the instruments are planned.

Psychological Support Interventions for Healthcare Providers and Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers and informal caregivers were at an increased risk of adverse mental health effects. This systematic review provides a summary of the available evidence on the content and efficacy of the psychological support interventions in increasing mental health among healthcare providers and informal caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, PsychINFO, and Scopus databases were systematically searched for relevant articles, and the methodological quality of selected articles was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Results: A search of electronic databases identified five reports based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. All psychological support interventions for caregivers were delivered digitally. Despite the large heterogeneity of the selected studies, the findings support the efficacy of mental health interventions in reducing distress and burnout, while promoting self-efficacy and well-being in both healthcare providers and informal caregivers. Conclusion: Since mental health problems are expected to increase during, and as a result of, the COVID-19 pandemic, and digital tools might offer a range of mental health treatments to meet the unique and immediate needs of people, further research is needed to test the cost-effectiveness of digital psychological interventions.

Nonpharmaceutical Interventions for Health Care Providers

Career Connection| May 2021 Nonpharmaceutical Interventions for Health Care Providers Dibash Kumar Das, PhD Dibash Kumar Das, PhD Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar ASA Monitor May 2021, Vol. 85, 22. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000751496.39157.4f Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Dibash Kumar Das; Nonpharmaceutical Interventions for Health Care Providers. ASA Monitor 2021; 85:22 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000751496.39157.4f Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAll PublicationsASA Monitor Search Advanced Search Topics: health personnel Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are public health measures that play a critical role in preventing and/or controlling the transmission rates and impact of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The daily work of anesthesiologists and their team of health care professionals (those who provide direct bedside care in ORs, emergency departments, and critical care units, as well as in labor and delivery suites, and other procedural locations) puts them and their families at risk for acquiring COVID-19. For this reason, many U.S. and international organizations and professional societies have published guidelines or recommendations for the prevention of infection transmission to health care providers for perioperative care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ASA Monitor spoke with Harsha Shanthanna, MD, PhD, MSc, FRCPC, to discuss his insights on NPIs in health care providers and why they are still essential to curbing the... © 2021 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), All Rights Reserved.2021 You do not currently have access to this content.

Developing and Evaluating a Capacity-Building Intervention for Healthcare Providers to Improve Communication Skills and Awareness of Hard of Hearing and D/deaf Populations: Protocol for a Participative Action Research-Based Study.

Background: D/deaf and hard of hearing populations are at higher risk for experiencing physical and mental health problems compared to hearing populations. In addition, they commonly encounter barriers to accessing and benefiting from health services, which largely stem from challenges they face in communicating with healthcare providers. Healthcare providers commonly lack tailored communication skills in caring for D/deaf and hard of hearing populations, which lead to difficulties and dissatisfaction for both staff and D/deaf and hard of hearing communities. This research project aims to develop and evaluate a capacity-building intervention for healthcare providers with the goal of increasing their awareness of D/deaf and hard of hearing individuals' experiences with the healthcare system, their distinct needs, and improving their capacity to communicate effectively with this patient population.Methods: This research project features a participative action research design using qualitative and quantitative methods. Consistent with participative action research, the study will actively involve the target populations, key stakeholders and representative associations. The intervention will be developed and tested through iterative phases. The Integrated Model of Training Evaluation and Effectiveness will guide prospective evaluation of the intervention. The latter will involve qualitative and quantitative assessments in participants before and after the intervention and at 6-months follow-up.Discussion: Results will contribute to research aimed at decreasing barriers to accessing and benefiting from healthcare services for D/deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Findings will be presented to representative associations and political authorities, as well as disseminated at research conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.