Hospital Care Workers Research Articles

The role of patient navigation in supporting low-income older adults in their housing needs during hospital to home transitions: A qualitative descriptive study from Ontario, Canada

Introduction Housing is an important determinant of health. Little research has explored hospital and community agency staff perspectives on how to support the housing needs of low-income older adults. Therefore, this paper examines the challenges associated with supporting low-income seniors as they transition from hospital to home and explores what role, if any, patient navigation models of care could have in addressing housing needs. Methods A thematic secondary analysis that triangulated data from two qualitative studies was used. In total, interviews and/or focus groups with 109 hospital and community care workers were re-analyzed, applying a new interpretive lens to the data to reveal new insights. Data were collected in Ontario, Canada. Results Participants described how low-income older adults have increasing complex care needs that influence their housing, but housing supports are limited and difficult to navigate. Participants believed further support was needed and suggested that a housing-specific patient navigation model of care may be beneficial, but difficult to implement due to the limitations of existing services. Discussion Our findings provide a unique perspective on the challenges hospital and community staff face in caring for older adults with housing needs. Patient navigation with a focus on housing may support these older adults. Further work needs to be undertaken to better understand how to best implement sustainable housing patient navigation models of care.

The Influence of Psychosocial Factors according to Gender and Age in Hospital Care Workers – ADDENDUM

An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Influence of Psychosocial Factors according to Gender and Age in Hospital Care Workers.

Even though psychosocial risks can affect the entire working population regardless of demographic variables, multiple publications claim that women are more exposed to psychosocial risks and that psychosocial risks affect people in a different way, depending on their age. This study aims to investigate demographic differences (i.e., sex and age) in health care workers, with an aim which is twofold: (i) To know if these geographic differences lead to differences in perception of psychosocial risks; and (ii) to identify the job demands and resources with the highest impact on work engagement and performance. A sample of 4,451 people from the sanitary sector, pertaining to 75 Spanish hospitals, was analyzed to test the hypotheses. ANOVA results demonstrated that women show significantly higher impact values in job demands than men, as well as higher values in job resources. Moreover, the group of younger people (< 40 years) showed significantly lower levels in demands, and significantly higher in job resources, wellbeing, and organizational outcomes. Finally, multi-group SEM analyses showed that the impact of job demands and resources on work engagement and performance is significant, regardless of sex and age, although there are changes in the coefficients. The differences in the perception of job demands and resources of the different demographic groups can be used to develop specific psychosocial intervention in health care workers.

Assessing Serum Ferritin Together with Some Inflammatory Biomarkers in Overweight and Obese Hospital Care Workers at Elgalaa Teaching Hospital and Its Correlation with Metabolic Syndrome

Assessing Serum Ferritin Together with Some Inflammatory Biomarkers in Overweight and Obese Hospital Care Workers at Elgalaa Teaching Hospital and Its Correlation with Metabolic Syndrome

Contributing factors for acute stress in healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador

This study analyzed the frequency and intensity of acute stress among health professionals caring for COVID-19 patients in four Latin American Spanish-speaking countries during the outbreak. A cross-sectional study involved a non-probability sample of healthcare professionals in four Latin American countries. Participants from each country were invited using a platform and mobile application designed for this study. Hospital and primary care workers from different services caring for COVID-19 patients were included. The EASE Scale (SARS-CoV-2 Emotional Overload Scale, in Spanish named Escala Auto-aplicada de Sobrecarga Emocional) was a previously validated measure of acute stress. EASE scores were described overall by age, sex, work area, and experience of being ill with COVID-19. Using the Mann–Whitney U test, the EASE scores were compared according to the most critical moments of the pandemic. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to investigate associations between these factors and the outcome ‘acute stress’. Finally, the Kruskal–Wallis was used to compare EASE scores and the experience of being ill. A total of 1372 professionals responded to all the items in the EASE scale: 375 (27.3%) Argentines, 365 (26.6%) Colombians, 345 (25.1%) Chileans, 209 (15.2%) Ecuadorians, and 78 (5.7%) from other countries. 27% of providers suffered middle-higher acute stress due to the outbreak. Worse results were observed in moments of peak incidence of cases (14.3 ± 5.3 vs. 6.9 ± 1.7, p < 0.05). Higher scores were found in professionals in COVID-19 critical care (13 ± 1.2) than those in non-COVID-19 areas (10.7 ± 1.9) (p = 0.03). Distress was higher among professionals who were COVID-19 patients (11.7 ± 1) or had doubts about their potential infection (12 ± 1.2) compared to those not infected (9.5 ± 0.7) (p = 0.001). Around one-third of the professionals experienced acute stress, increasing in intensity as the incidence of COVID-19 increased and as they became infected or in doubt whether they were infected. EASE scale could be a valuable asset for monitoring acute stress levels among health professionals in Latin America.ClinicalTrials: NCT04486404.

Population homogeneity for the antibody response to COVID-19 BNT162b2/Comirnaty vaccine is only reached after the second dose across all adult age ranges

While mRNA vaccines are administrated worldwide in an effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the heterogeneity of the humoral immune response they induce at the population scale remains unclear. Here, in a prospective, longitudinal, cohort-study, including 1245 hospital care workers and 146 nursing home residents scheduled for BNT162b2 vaccination, together covering adult ages from 19 to 99 years, we analyse seroconversion to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and amount of spike-specific IgG, IgM and IgA before vaccination, and 3-5 weeks after each dose. We show that immunogenicity after a single vaccine dose is biased to IgG, heterogeneous and reduced with increasing age. The second vaccine dose normalizes IgG seroconversion in all age strata. These findings indicate two dose mRNA vaccines is required to reach population scale humoral immunity. The results advocate for the interval between the two doses not to be extended, and for serological monitoring of elderly and immunosuppressed vaccinees.

Hepatitis B immunization survey at fitness assessment of newly recruited hospital care workers

Hepatitis B immunization survey at fitness assessment of newly recruited hospital care workers

Development of a SARS-CoV-2 Total Antibody Assay and the Dynamics of Antibody Response over Time in Hospitalized and Nonhospitalized Patients with COVID-19.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 infections often cause only mild disease that may evoke relatively low Ab titers compared with patients admitted to hospitals. Generally, total Ab bridging assays combine good sensitivity with high specificity. Therefore, we developed sensitive total Ab bridging assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2 Abs to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and nucleocapsid protein in addition to conventional isotype-specific assays. Ab kinetics was assessed in PCR-confirmed, hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients (n = 41) and three populations of patients with COVID-19 symptoms not requiring hospital admission: PCR-confirmed convalescent plasmapheresis donors (n = 182), PCR-confirmed hospital care workers (n = 47), and a group of longitudinally sampled symptomatic individuals highly suspect of COVID-19 (n = 14). In nonhospitalized patients, the Ab response to RBD is weaker but follows similar kinetics, as has been observed in hospitalized patients. Across populations, the RBD bridging assay identified most patients correctly as seropositive. In 11/14 of the COVID-19-suspect cases, seroconversion in the RBD bridging assay could be demonstrated before day 12; nucleocapsid protein Abs emerged less consistently. Furthermore, we demonstrated the feasibility of finger-prick sampling for Ab detection against SARS-CoV-2 using these assays. In conclusion, the developed bridging assays reliably detect SARS-CoV-2 Abs in hospitalized and nonhospitalized patients and are therefore well suited to conduct seroprevalence studies.

Stepping up detection, response, preparedness and readiness measures for “COVID-19”- A Pandemic

In a very short period of time, “COVID-19” has seized the consciousness globally by making remarkable changes in our day to day living and has superintended as a public health emergency globally. It has high radar of transmission, affecting an individual at work to frontline workers. The measures and planning for a response plays a key role from drawing up an emergency committee and this follows an equation which broadly deals with epidemiological to clinical history of the patient, management steps from isolation, screening, diagnostic assays for identification and treatment. The application of an organized plan with secure structure aids in better performance, increases efficacy of management and saves time. Also saves time for a health care worker to g through routine levels of channels of administration if already a familiar way of operation is known for such situations. Thus, planning and developing a ‘blueprint of approach’ towards management of patient while facing such situation is a must. This review provides an insight to the measures for detection, response and preparedness of the hospital and health care workers should largely be inclusive of; also highlights the measures to be taken at every step after coming in contact with a positive case of “COVID-19”.

Indispensable outsiders: A qualitative study of the working experiences of hospital care workers in China.

To explore the working experiences of Chinese hospital care workers from their own perspectives. Many countries face an increasing demand for nursing care and an acute shortage of registered nurses. As a result, much of the care work at hospitals is delegated to assistant staff, such as care workers. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 22 hospital care workers in three hospitals of Guangzhou City, China. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Hospital care workers are mainly rural-to-urban migrant women, partaking in caregiver jobs to make a living. They play a significant role in the hospital to aid patients as well as nurses. Hospital care workers experience a sense of ambiguity towards their job, viewing it as "low" and "isolated", yet at the same time, "acceptable" and "helping". Hospital care workers are a workforce that is not well supported, trained or regulated. Their working experiences suggest that attention needs to be given to protecting this vulnerable group. The working conditions of hospital care workers should be improved. Hospital care workers need improved status, increased rewards, and channels for further training and opportunities for continued career advancement.

Regional shortages in a small country: how to provide the right care in the right place?

Abstract Background The Netherlands, though being a relatively small and densely populated country, is faced with a similar challenge as other countries in terms of regional differences in access to care and attractiveness for care workers to build their careers. Both in primary care and hospital care new solutions are being sought which should help resolve these growing difficulties. Methods We conducted a literature review, survey and registry analysis, and held interviews with key stakeholders. Results Substantial differences exist between regions in the supply of both primary care and hospital care doctors. Particular and less populated regions appear to be hit in multiple ways, both with an extra ageing population requiring more care as well as by limited attractiveness for both primary care and hospital care workers. Solutions being used so far are mostly initiated by individual health care settings, such as strategic personnel management, redistribution of tasks and campaigns to increase the inflow of staff. Increasingly, solutions are also being explored at regional level, including a growing emphasis on regional collaboration, both in providing the right care in the right place as well as in terms of joint recruitment strategies. Still, such approaches only have a limited effect as a result of which new approaches are needed. Conclusions Strategies to improve the attractiveness of particular regions are now often fragmented, both between types of professions and sectors and different regions. In addition, innovative and new solutions appear to be hampered by vested interests of stakeholders. If new solutions are to be developed it is key that stakeholders are willing to compromise, be it when it comes to the autonomy of health care professionals and their associations and to the financial commitments required from government and insurer side.

Prevalence and molecular characteristics of MRSA nasal carriage among hospital care workers in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines.

Hospital-care workers (HCWs) are at risk for MRSA carriage, subsequent infection and potential transmission of nosocomial infection. Epidemiological typing of MRSA among HCWs would provide data that can be used for control measures. This is a cross sectional study that involved 92 participants from pediatric and surgery department of a tertiary hospital. Nasal swabs were collected and inoculated onto MRSASelect Chromogenic Media. Samples characterized as MRSA underwent SCCmec typing and detection of Panton Valentine leucocidin (PVL) by PCR. The overall prevalence of MRSA was 13%. Six were from Pediatrics and another six were from Surgery. Seven out of 12 MRSA isolates carried SCCmec type I gene and five isolates carried SCCmec type IV gene. Six samples were found positive for PVL, four of which PVL-SSCmec IV, while the other two isolates were PVL-SCCmec I. The isolates were grouped into four main sequence types (STs) namely ST 1147, ST30, ST5 and ST97. Two samples from both departments were found to be PVL-positive SCCmec I ST 30; PVL-positive SCCmec IV ST 97 was found in two MRSA samples from Pediatrics and PVL-positive SCCmec IV ST 30 from Surgery. Data collected from a non-outbreak setting suggest the presence of different clones of MRSA from nasal swabs of HCWs belonging to the Department of Pediatrics and Surgery. The data collected by this study can be used as reference for other succeeding studies on the surveillance of MRSA among HCWs.

Healthcare workers’ attitudes toward hand hygiene practices: Results of a multicentre qualitative study in Quebec

Background: Hand hygiene (HH) is one of the most effective practices to reduce healthcare-associated infection (HAI) transmission, though compliance remains inadequate among hospital personnel. The aim of this study was to explore perceived barriers and enablers of HH compliance in hospital care and healthcare workers’ (HCW) HAI risk and severity perceptions. Methods: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and observations. Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and supplemented with transcribed observations and field notes. Data was aggregated and coded thematically using a qualitative data analysis software. Results: 65 interviews and 18 observations with HCWs were conducted in nine hospital centres in Quebec, Canada. Data analysis revealed several factors that may influence HCWs’ compliance with HH recommendations. These included clinical environment factors (e.g., lack of sinks), organizational factors (e.g., inadequate staffing, demanding workloads), and communication factors (e.g., dissemination of infection prevention and control [IPAC] information, feedback, and interpersonal professional relationships). At the individual level, knowledge of IPAC and HAI risk perceptions were associated with the adoption of HH. Conclusion: Understanding the determinants of HH adoption is crucial for improving current practices and reducing HAI rates in hospital care. Our findings suggest that environmental strategies (e.g., additional sinks and HH stations) and organizational and communication strategies (e.g., continuing education and training sessions, support from hospital management, positive feedback) could help raise HCWs’ awareness of HAI prevention and adoption of HH guidelines.

Epidemiology of needlestick and sharp injuries among health care workers based on records from 252 hospitals for the period 2010\u20132014, Poland

BackgroundNeedlestick and sharp injuries (NSIs) are an important element of public health and should be closely monitored. On the other hand there are no precise Polish data on a number of the occupational NSIs. The aim of the study was to assess the failure to report injuries and then to estimate the actual number of NSIs among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Poland based on the collected data.MethodsAnalysis of injury registers on the basis of 252 hospitals in Poland. Conducting 487 surveys among doctors, nurses and paramedics. Calculation of rates of injuries per 1000 workers per year (with 95% confidence intervals (CI)). The level of statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.ResultsIn the study period, 9775 NSIs were registered in the hospitals. Majority of the NSIs were recorded among nurses (72.6%,p < 0.01). The needle was the tool responsible for the greatest number of the NSIs in all professional groups (79.5%, p < 0.01). The average annual NSIs rates based on hospital registers were: 16.0/1000 doctors, 20.5/1000 nurses, 16.8/1000 paramedics. Every second NSIs was not reported (45.2%). We estimated that there are probably 13,567 NSIs every year among hospital care workers in Poland.ConclusionsNSIs are a significant health problem for HCWs and should be subject to epidemiological surveillance. The purpose of the training of medical personnel should be to increase the number of injuries reported. The implementation of the epidemiological surveillance system will allow for the unification of the obtained data, which would be more comparable on the national scale as well as between different countries.

Qualitative study on compliance and influencing factors of hand washing in hospital nursing assistants

Objective To explore the compliance and the influencing factors of hand washing of hospital care workers, so as to propose an effective management strategy. Methods Using the qualitative study interview, care workers from 18 hospital were interviewed in depth and recorded on site. And the content of the interviews was used to analyze the compliance and influencing factors of hand washing of hospital care workers. Results In this study, the compliance of hand washing of hospital care workers was low, and the main factors affecting the compliance of hospital care workers were heavy workload, the hospital care workers′ hands contamination, paying no enough attention to the problems, cultural differences between ethnic groups, and the measures of cost-saving in the clinical departments. Conclusions The reasons of low compliance of hand washing of hospital care workers were hospital management, hand washing facilities, personal reasons, and etc.Therefore, the hospital administrators should enhance the consciousness of hospital care workers to wash their hands, to standardize their hand-washing behaviors, in order to enhance hospital care workers′ compliance, and to avoid nosocomial infections. Key words: Hospital care workers; Hand washing; Compliance; Influencing factors; Qualitative research

Effects of Emotional Labor on Burnout in Long-term Care Hospital Care Workers

Effects of Emotional Labor on Burnout in Long-term Care Hospital Care Workers

Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among hospital healthcare workers in a tertiary care hospital: A cross-sectional study

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections associated with a significant morbidity and mortality. Healthcare workers (HCWs) act as carriers for MRSA and transmit the organism across individuals. Hence, we undertook this study to assess the prevalence of MRSA among HCWs in a tertiary care hospital and their hand washing hygienic practices. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study between March and November 2014 was conducted. Dry swabs were taken from the nasal mucosal membrane, both the palms, web space between the fingers from each of the participants and were subsequently cultured on mannitol salt agar and antibiotic susceptibility to methicillin was assessed using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method using cefoxitin. In addition, information on demographics, occupation, and use of antiseptics were collected from the study participants. Results: A total of 17/150 (11.3%) were found to be MRSA positive of which 10 were staff nurses, three each were laboratory technicians and class IV employees and one was a doctor. Of the 17, 11 (64.7%) had shown growth from nasal swabs, 5 (29.4%) from digital and 1 (5.9%) in both the regions. Of them, 8/15 (53.3%) reported the use of only soap for hand washing whereas 7/15 (46.7%) were using soap and hand sanitizers and the remaining two not responded to this question. Only 9/15 (60%) frequently washed their hands, and the rest rarely did. Conclusion: More awareness and training sessions on the importance of MRSA and hand hygienic measures to contain the carrier status of MRSA among hospital care workers is warranted.

요양병원 요양보호사 이직의도와 관련변인

Abstract Purpose: This study was to explore the turnover intention and related factors of long-term care for hospital care workers. Methods: Data were collected from 150 health care workers by structured questionnaires in three different hospitals at K metropolitan city, Korea. Data was analyzed by using PASW (SPSS) 18.0 program with t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regressions. Results: study shown a negative correlation between turnover intention and self-esteem (r=.24. p=.004), job satisfaction (r=.50, p<.001), organizational commitment (r=59, p<.001), and social support (r=.32, p<.001). Variables of study such as turnover experience, job satisfaction and organizational commitment were revealed 40% of variance in turnover intention. Conclusion: study results suggested that, development program is needed which improve the hospital worker’s job satisfaction, organizational commitment and reduces turnover intention for long-term hospital care.Key Words : Self-esteem, Job satisfaction, Organizational commitment, Turnover intenion, Care workers

Psychometric properties of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, HSOPSC, applied on a large Swedish health care sample.

BackgroundA Swedish version of the USA Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality “Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture” (S-HSOPSC) was developed to be used in both hospitals and primary care. Two new dimensions with two and four questions each were added as well as one outcome measure. This paper describes this Swedish version and an assessment of its psychometric properties which were tested on a large sample of responses from personnel in both hospital and primary care.MethodsThe questionnaire was mainly administered in web form and 84215 forms were returned (response rate 60%) between 2009 and 2011. Eleven per cent of the responses came from primary care workers and 46% from hospital care workers. The psychometric properties were analyzed using both the total sample and the hospital and primary care subsamples by assessment of construct validity and internal consistency. Construct validity was assessed by confirmatory (CFA) and exploratory factor (EFA) analyses and internal consistency was established by Cronbachs’s α.ResultsCFA of the total, hospital and primary care samples generally showed a good fit while the EFA pointed towards a 9-factor model in all samples instead of the 14-dimension S-HSOPSC instrument. Internal consistency was acceptable with Cronbach’s α values above 0.7 in a major part of the dimensions.ConclusionsThe S-HSOPSC, consisting of 14 dimensions, 48 items and 3 single-item outcome measures, is used both in hospitals and in primary care settings in Sweden for different purposes. This version of the original American instrument has acceptable construct validity and internal consistency when tested on large datasets of first-time responders from both hospitals and primary care centres. One common instrument for measurements of patient safety culture in both hospitals and primary care settings is an advantage since it enables comparisons between sectors and assessments of national patient safety improvement programs. Future research into this version of the instrument includes comparing results from patient safety culture measurements with other outcomes in relation to safety improvement strategies.

Investigation of Staphylococcus aureus colonization on hospital care workers' mobile phones

Investigation of Staphylococcus aureus colonization on hospital care workers' mobile phones