Practice Of Health Professionals Research Articles

Toward genetic counseling practice standards for diagnostic testing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia

Objective: Genetic counseling and diagnostic genetic testing are considered part of the multidisciplinary care of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We aimed to investigate the ideal components of genetic counseling for ALS/FTD diagnostic testing amongst various stakeholders using an online, modified Delphi survey. Methods: Experts in genetic counseling and testing for ALS/FTD were purposively then snowball recruited and included genetic health professionals, health professionals outside of genetics and consumer experts (patients, relatives, and staff representatives from ALS/FTD support organizations). First-round items were informed by two systematic literature reviews and qualitative interviews with patients and families who had experienced diagnostic testing. Analysis of each round informed the development of the subsequent round and the final results. Results: Forty-six experts participated in the study, 95.65% completed both rounds. After round one, items were updated based on participant responses and were presented again for consensus in round two. After round two, a high level of consensus (≥80% agreement) was achieved on 16 items covering various topics related to genetic counseling service delivery, before and after diagnostic testing is facilitated. Conclusions: Genetic counseling for individuals with ALS/FTD and their families should include the provision of client-centered counseling, education and support throughout. The items developed are adaptable to varied healthcare settings and may inform a standard of genetic counseling practice for health professionals who facilitate testing and counseling discussions. This area of work is timely, given demand for testing is likely to increase as more genotype-driven clinical trials become available.

Clinician guidelines for the treatment of psychiatric disorders with nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals: The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) Taskforce

Clinician guidelines for the treatment of psychiatric disorders with nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals: The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) Taskforce

A multi-component evaluation framework of a state-wide preventive health program: My health for life.

Chronic disease is a growing problem affecting approximately half of all Australian adults. In response to growing calls for action on chronic disease, the My health for life program was created, aimed at improving the health of individuals at high risk of developing preventable chronic disease. The preventive health program is multi-modal, cross-culturally tailored and contains complex social marketing, community engagement, risk assessment and health promotion components. Therefore, a multi-component evaluation framework is essential to understand the effectiveness of the My health for life program. This brief report details the evaluation. The evaluation design uses non-randomised, longitudinal analysis using repeated measures, observational, program goal-based and pretest-posttest design features to assess the program, its specific modalities and its program adaptations. To ensure timely and credible evaluation, different evaluative implementation frameworks and methods are considered. Quantitative and qualitative methods collect an array of program data at differing levels to assess the processes, outcomes and impacts of My health for life. The implemented evaluation framework has allowed measurement of: (i) process impacts including uptake, retention and attrition, participant satisfaction, fidelity and program stakeholder engagement and (ii) outcomes relating to individual participant level changes in health behaviours. SO WHAT?: This evaluation is an example of an integrated evaluation approach in a large successful preventive health program. Findings from the evaluation will ultimately inform the applicability and transferability of the program and inform policy makers, stakeholders and other health professionals in preventive health practice.

L’exercice de la médecine générale à l’épreuve des crises sanitaires : de Lubrizol à la COVID

Following the fire of the chemical products stored by the Lubrizol (Seveso upper tier) and Normandie Logistique companies on 26September 2019 in Rouen, a research group bringing together general practitioners (GP), anthropologists and sociologists has undertaken a multidisciplinary qualitative investigation of general practitioners. The initial objective was to study the practice of primary care health professionals following the event. Initiated in February 2020, this survey was strongly transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 changed the object of this study, imposed a reflection and a link between the two crises, where GPs found themselves once again on the front line. To analyze the practices of general practitioners in situations of uncertainty in the context of these extraordinary events, namely an industrial fire and a viral pandemic. Eighteen general practitioners were interviewed between February and July 2019 in semi-structured interviews conducted by a pair of researchers (sociologist and GP). An analysis inspired by the grounded theory was carried out on three levels (individual thematic analysis, paired confrontation, and collective restitution). In the health crisis contexts studied, GPs were confronted with more recurrent complaints while they had relatively little robust knowledge on which to base their responses. Finally, physicians responded to these situations of high uncertainty by drawing in original ways on their personal experiences of these crises.

Serenity Integrated Mentoring and the High Intensity Network: a scheme that raises serious questions for practice and governance in UK psychiatry.

Serenity Integrated Mentoring (SIM) involved the police and mental health crisis services working in a single team, developing case management plans that allowed a seamless move from offers of therapeutic engagement (by the mental health team) to use of coercive measures (by the police) with those who persisted with frequent crisis presentations. Withdrawn after widespread criticism, the scheme raises important questions - about the practice of mental health professionals who are involved in decisions about using criminal sanctions for people presenting in crisis, about the ethical and legal status of the sharing of confidential clinical information with the police, and about the processes that professional bodies use in promoting, monitoring and responding to controversial service developments.

Device-related pressure ulcers: SECURE prevention. Second edition.

Device-related pressure ulcers: SECURE prevention. Second edition.

Adequação terapêutica: apresentação de um protocolo hospitalar

Abstract Therapeutic adequacy is defined as a medical decision shared with patients and family members and that seeks to adjust therapeutic and diagnostic resources appropriate to each care plan. This article aims to present a protocol on therapeutic adequacy implemented in a university hospital. This protocol aims to guide practices of health professionals in the light of the bioethical, legal and clinical principles relevant to each case. It is concluded that the protocol can assist in the decisions to abstain or suspend certain treatment procedures of patients with severe, progressive and irreversible diseases.

Physical Activity Assessment and Promotion in Clinical Settings in the United States: A Scoping Review

The purpose of this scoping review was to systematically examine interventions that focused on physical activity assessment and promotion in clinical settings in the United States. A literature search was performed in 6 major databases to extract published peer-reviewed studies from 2008 to 2019. Interventions with practicing health professionals in the United States who performed physical activity assessment and promotion with adult patients 18 years of age and older. Studies were excluded if they were published in non-English, observational or case study designs, or gray literature. Studies were screened and coded based on the population, intervention, comparison, outcomes and study setting for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) framework. Of 654 studies that were identified and screened for eligibility, 78 met eligibility criteria and were independently coded by two coders. Data were synthesized using qualitative and descriptive methods. Forty-three of the included studies were randomized controlled trials with a majority being delivered by physicians and nurses in primary care settings. Fifty-six studies reported statistically significant findings in outcome measures such as anthropometrics and chronic disease risk factors, with 17 demonstrating improvements in physical activity levels as a result of the interventions. The assessment and promotion of physical activity in clinical settings appears to be effective but warrants continued research.

NSW Cannabis Medicines Advisory Service preliminary survey results: enquirer perceptions and patient outcomes.

BackgroundIn 2018, an innovative, State government‐funded cannabis medicines drug information service was established for health professionals in New South Wales (NSW). The NSW Cannabis Medicines Advisory Service (CMAS) provides expert clinical guidance and support to medical practitioners considering prescribing a cannabis medicine to their patient(s).AimsThis research examines quality assurance and patient outcomes related to enquirers' experience with NSW CMAS.MethodsData collection involved an online, anonymous survey with two components. Following a health professional enquiry, quality assurance data were collected about the enquirers' experience with NSW CMAS. The second survey focussed on patient outcomes and provides real‐world observational data about cannabis medicines safety and effectiveness across a wide range of indications.ResultsData collection occurred between January 2020 and June 2021. Preliminary analyses were based on 68 quality assurance and 50 patient outcomes survey responses. General practitioners represented the highest proportion of survey responses (n = 33; 49%). The most common enquiry involved ‘patient‐specific advice’ (n = 50; 74%). Patient‐specific information provided by the service was mainly used for prescribing decision support (n = 45; 90%).ConclusionsPreliminary findings highlight the impact of an innovative cannabis medicines drug information service in supporting health professional clinical practice in an area of rapid knowledge translation. Quality assurance data indicate that the service is perceived well by the majority of enquirers. Patient outcomes data across a wide range of indications suggest some effectiveness and a reasonable safety profile for prescribed cannabis medicines for most patients.

Diabetes Capabilities for the Healthcare Workforce Identified via a 3-Staged Modified Delphi Technique.

Consumers access health professionals with varying levels of diabetes-specific knowledge and training, often resulting in conflicting advice. Conflicting health messages lead to consumer disengagement. The study aimed to identify capabilities required by health professionals to deliver diabetes education and care to develop a national consensus capability-based framework to guide their training. A 3-staged modified Delphi technique was used to gain agreement from a purposefully recruited panel of Australian diabetes experts from various disciplines and work settings. The Delphi technique consisted of (Stage I) a semi-structured consultation group and pre-Delphi pilot, (Stage II) a 2-phased online Delphi survey, and (Stage III) a semi-structured focus group and appraisal by health professional regulatory and training organisations. Descriptive statistics and central tendency measures calculated determined quantitative data characteristics and consensus. Content analysis using emergent coding was used for qualitative content. Eighty-four diabetes experts were recruited from nursing and midwifery (n = 60 [71%]), allied health (n = 17 [20%]), and pharmacy (n = 7 [9%]) disciplines. Participant responses identified 7 health professional practice levels requiring differences in diabetes training, 9 capability areas to support care, and 2 to 16 statements attained consensus for each capability—259 in total. Additionally, workforce solutions were identified to expand capacity for diabetes care. The rigorous consultation process led to the design and validation of a Capability Framework for Diabetes Care that addresses workforce enablers identified by the Australian National Diabetes Strategy. It recognises diversity, creating shared understandings of diabetes across health professional disciplines. The findings will inform diabetes policy, practice, education, and research.

Evaluating the Clinical Reasoning of Student Health Professionals in Placement and Simulation Settings: A Systematic Review.

(1) Background: Clinical reasoning is essential to the effective practice of autonomous health professionals and is, therefore, an essential capability to develop as students. This review aimed to systematically identify the tools available to health professional educators to evaluate students’ attainment of clinical reasoning capabilities in clinical placement and simulation settings. (2) Methods: A systemic review of seven databases was undertaken. Peer-reviewed, English-language publications reporting studies that developed or tested relevant tools were included. Searches included multiple terms related to clinical reasoning and health disciplines. Data regarding each tool’s conceptual basis and evaluated constructs were systematically extracted and analysed. (3) Results: Most of the 61 included papers evaluated students in medical and nursing disciplines, and over half reported on the Script Concordance Test or Lasater Clinical Judgement Rubric. A number of conceptual frameworks were referenced, though many papers did not reference any framework. (4) Conclusions: Overall, key outcomes highlighted an emphasis on diagnostic reasoning, as opposed to management reasoning. Tools were predominantly aligned with individual health disciplines and with limited cross-referencing within the field. Future research into clinical reasoning evaluation tools should build on and refer to existing approaches and consider contributions across professional disciplinary divides.

Early career programs for mental health occupational therapists: A survey of current practice.

Early in their career, occupational therapists may require a range of additional development for a successful transition to the profession. However, both the definition of 'early career' and the relevant development for this career stage vary between sources. In regard to occupational therapists transitioning to mental health professional practice, there is very little evidence to draw upon when designing the structure and content of development programs. This study aimed to review current practices in early career programs for mental health occupational therapists within the Australian state of Victoria. Tertiary mental health services in Victoria were purposefully recruited, supplemented by snowball recruitment. The participants responded to a bespoke survey including open and closed questions, designed to benchmark practices against previous research and explore current practices with early career mental health occupational therapists. Thirteen services participated, with respondents including senior clinicians, allied health chiefs, allied health clinical educators and early career development program coordinators. The participants confirmed the perceived value of development programs for early career mental health occupational therapists; however, limited resources were available to develop, implement and sustain these supports. Program content, structure and terminology varied significantly, as did the identified competencies for participants to achieve. Some of this variability was related to program eligibility criteria and early career workforce structure within organisations. Early career mental health occupational therapist development should be responsive to their local service environments. A better understanding of the outcomes of these programs for early career occupational therapists, from both an individual and service perspective, could also provide a firmer rationale and foundation for sustained resourcing of this valuable approach to workforce development.

Articulating Methodology – Weaving a Trans-Disciplinary Knowledge

Background: With the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the educational context became more complex, and other challenges were added to the already-existing ones. The way of doing and thinking about education mediated by digital technologies emerged suddenly. It put our view of the world into question because the world has changed, we are no longer the same, and the need for humanitarian health and transdisciplinary education has expanded in all contexts. The new educational reality is evidenced by the social distancing and the teaching and learning processes, requiring prepared teachers and committed to the act of educating. The current pandemic exposed some needs that foster policies, projects and actions with innovative strategies, which enhance learning, so that participants are immersed in an inclusive, trans-disciplinary, dialogic, free and universal education, with a view to unraveling the complexity of social interactions. The new reality aspires to generate a transforming awareness of society, in which people recognize themselves as part of the problems, but above all as part of the solutions. In the education and health sectors, it is essential to reconstruct dynamics, processes, participatory methodologies, and forms of democratic management, which are reaffirmed in the daily practice of educators and health professionals. Objective: Systematize the concepts of the Articulating Methodology (AM) with the Permanent Health Education principles in a perspective that promotes transdisciplinarity, multiple identities, knowledge exchanges and singularities that configure the subjects involved in the education and learning act. Method: This is a descriptive-exploratory study carried out in three stages: description of the authors' personal and professional experiences; conducting of bibliographic research; conducting of an integrative review for a broad discussion on the contextualization of active methodologies in the education and health sectors. Results: We identified important elements in the bibliographic and integrative review that can be added to the Articulating Methodology. In addition, we note that information technology can facilitate trans-disciplinary, as well as a fast, effective and inclusive communication, as long as some dimensions brought by the Articulating Methodology (e.g. lovingness, humanization, intersectoriality, for example, articulation of education and health sectors), interculturality and internationalization of knowledge. Conclusion: We emphasize that it is essential to reaffirm the importance of the role of the educator in the construction of knowledge, whether in the education and health sectors, however, it is necessary to develop a "sensitive reason" for a more humanized practice filled with meanings, emotions and motivation. The applicability of AM, as a device that enhances Permanent Health Education, reinforces dialogue, exchanges of experiences, trans-disciplinary, intersectoral and intercultural actions. In addition, Articulating Methodology, through Proactive Agendas, encourages social participation, the use of information technologies and the creation of bridges between policy maker, managers, inter-disciplinary professionals and social environment, allowing the tone of the narratives and propositions to emerge from the experiences, voices and intercommunication of the participants, thus, enabling a direct impact on the practice of educators and health professionals.

Barriers and facilitators for access to PrEP by vulnerable populations in Brazil: the ImPrEP Stakeholders Study

HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been considered a fundamental strategy for controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and since 2018 it has been the object of an implementation study (ImPrEP Stakeholders Study), conducted in Brazil, México, and Peru. A qualitative component of this study was developed with the objective of identifying the social and structural contexts that involve and organize the supply of PrEP services in Brazil, the stakeholders' subjectivities, and the different perceptions that can impact the strategy's implementation. The current article's focus was to analyze access by vulnerable populations to PrEP services from the perspective of managers, health professionals, leaders or activists, and users of PrEP. This was a qualitative study using a comprehensive methodology, conducted in six Brazilian state capitals, interviewing 71 key actors from November 2018 to May 2019. The analysis was based on access analysis models as proposed by Giovanella & Fleury, McIntyre et al. and Penchansky & Thomas. The results are presented along three lines: "perceptions of combined prevention and PrEP", "availability and adequacy: profile and structure of services in the context of ImPrEP", and "acceptability: attitudes and practices of health professionals and users".

Knowledge and Practices of Health Professionals on the Optimization of Radiation Protection in Diagnostic Radiology in Children and Adults in the General Referral Hospitals of Bukavu in South Kivu, DRC

Knowledge and Practices of Health Professionals on the Optimization of Radiation Protection in Diagnostic Radiology in Children and Adults in the General Referral Hospitals of Bukavu in South Kivu, DRC

Religious implications in the positioning and practice of health professionals and students about induced abortion: systematic review

Religious implications in the positioning and practice of health professionals and students about induced abortion: systematic review

Primary health care in the Amazon and its potential impact on health inequities: a scoping review.

Health studies of the Amazon often focus on diseases and infections prevalent in the region, and few studies address health organizations and services. In this sense, this study fills a gap by reviewing the studies aimed at primary healthcare (PHC) implementation in the nine Amazonian countries. This review addresses a need to explore the forms in which PHC is implemented in the Amazon areas outside the urban centers and its potential to reduce health inequities. This study contributes to improvements in the practices of managers and health professionals and research on the topic. Scoping review methodology was applied to peer-reviewed articles. The databases searched were PubMed, Scopus, Lilacs, Embase and Web of Science. Selected studies included peer-reviewed publications, published between January 2000 and November 2019, that focused on PHC or one of its components in the Amazon, and were published in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The study used Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review guidelines, supported by Levac, and included five steps: (i) identification phase, where search queries were applied to the databases followed by the removal of duplicates; (ii) screening phase, where titles and abstracts of articles were screened to exclude irrelevant articles; (iii) eligibility phase, where the full texts of articles were read to assess their relevancy to this study; (iv) data extraction, using a spreadsheet designed to capture relevant information required in this review, using an iterative process; (v) summarizing and classification of each article according to content. The second and third phases were conducted independently by two reviewers. If a disagreement arose between the reviewers, a third reviewer was consulted to help decide whether to include or exclude a study. This review included 25 studies. Of these, 11 presented promising results regarding PHC functioning in the Amazon region, and 14 presented challenges and difficulties in its functioning. Some PHC strategies implemented in the Amazon showed the potential to reduce inequities, mostly when they involved actions that increased access to PHC in the region when they developed a culturally adapted role and engaged community members in the decision-making and in the collaborative construction of health services. Actions that exposed challenges and difficulties were related to ill-prepared healthcare professionals, inadequate service approach and the inability to adapt to cultural issues. The findings reveal information about PHC implementations that have had promising results in the Amazon region and, at the same time, show the challenges and difficulties of the PHC actions. The findings also highlight and synthesize knowledge about the potential that PHC strategies have to affect existing inequities in the Amazon region and gaps in the studies that have been undertaken, or at least published, including a lack of studies of PHC implementation and examination of strategies aimed at health determinants.

Bases conceptuales de las actividades profesionales a confiar para la educación de profesionales de la salud en Latinoamérica

The concept of entrustable professional activities emerged as an attempt to overcome some of the criticisms to the competency-based medical education approach; it has had a broad impact in practice and health professions education research. It has been disseminated internationally with its English acronym: EPA. This approach proposes to orient assessment and teaching to specific activities in the profession, which allows the integration of several competencies, and to determine which responsibilities can be entrusted to the trainee, in a gradual and explicit manner. The model assumes the definition of levels of supervision that allow progressive autonomy for each EPA, in students or residents, once they demonstrate the required competencies. Practice, supervision and feedback in real clinical scenarios are key to the development of autonomy in EPA performance. The dissemination of the EPA approach is still limited in Latin America, but it has the potential to create a significant contribution to curriculum design and evaluation, and to assessment practices of health professionals across their careers. It provides a deep review of the assumptions under which healthcare professional practice decisions are made, at under and postgraduate levels.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of health professionals working in emergency units towards disaster and emergency preparedness in South Gondar Zone hospitals, Ethiopia, 2020.

Introductioncatastrophe is a thoughtful community's well-being problem nowadays. Tragedies of any kind can strike at any time and have claimed many lives. Because, the emergency unit is at the frontline of disaster/emergency response system and helps as initial point to the most proper care of causalities, health professionals who are working in this area are the first caregivers, main players, and upfront role in calamity responses after pre-hospital medical services to disaster victims. The aim of this study was to assess emergency unit health professionals´ knowledge, attitude, practice, and related factors towards disasters and emergency preparedness at hospitals in the South Gondar Zone, Ethiopia, 2020.Methodsinstitution-based cross-sectional study with the census method was conducted at South Gondar Zone hospitals. All health professionals working in emergency units of South Gondar Zone hospitals were taken as a sample. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. EPI-data version 4.2 and SPSS version 25 were used to enter and analyze data, respectively. The result was presented by narration, tables, and charts. Binary logistic regression was employed to determine the relations between dependent and independent variables.Resultsthe majority of the respondents (58.3%) were male. Regarding their profession, 52.2% were nurses, followed by physicians, 18.5%, while the rest were others. The mean age of the respondents was 29.48 ± 6.34 years. A substantial proportion (58.9%) of the study participants didn´t know whether their hospitals had a disaster management plan or not. In general, fifty-one-point seven percent´s (51.7%) of the study participants had poor knowledge toward disaster/emergency preparedness. Concerning their attitude, 55.0% had a negative attitude toward disaster preparedness. Regarding their levels of practice, 67.5% had inadequate practice disaster/emergency preparedness. Age category and profession of the respondents had a significant effect on the knowledge and attitude of respondents at P-value 0.05.Conclusionmore than half of the study participants had poor knowledge, negative attitudes, and inadequate practice about disaster/emergency preparedness.

Construção e validação de podcast para educação em saúde sexual e reprodutiva de adolescentes

Abstract Objective: to construe and validate a podcast for teen sexual and reproductive health education. Method: a methodological study was conducted based on Freire’s perspective. The podcast was construed based on the Knowledge about Sexuality Questionnaire applied to 60 adolescents and an integrative literature review. Eleven experts conducted the validation process. Internal consistency was evaluated using Item-level Content Validity Index ≥0.78 and Cronbach’s alpha ≥0.700. Results: four podcast episodes were produced with the adolescents’ participation using the radio play format, addressing sex and sexuality, contraceptive methods, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted infections. The podcast episodes last between 8 and 11 minutes and was validated with Item-level Content Validity Index = 0.87 and Cronbach’s alpha = 0.951. Conclusion: the podcast was validated for teen sexual and reproductive health education and constitutes a tool for health professional practices, particularly nurses, as well as autonomous use by adolescents.