World Health Organization Checklist Research Articles

A profile of emergency departments in Baghdad hospitals.

To assess the structure as well as availability of essential equipment and medicine at emergency departments in Baghdad hospitals. The descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2021 after approval from the ethics review committee pf the College of Medicine, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq, and comprised emergency departments of general and teaching hospitals in the city. Evaluations were done using the World Health Organisation checklist and the guidelines of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine related to Emergency Department Design. Of the 26 secondary care hospitals in Baghdad, 13(50%) were evaluated. Triage was not available in 8(62%) hospitals, resuscitation room in 10(77%) and waiting room in all the 13(100%). An obvious shortage of medicines and vaccines was noted in 11(85%) hospitals. Coronary care unit and intensive care unit were not close to the emergency department in 7(54%) hospitals, and liaison psychiatry and social work links were not available in all 13(100%) hospitals. There is a need to improve service delivery at emergency departments functioning at hospitals in Baghdad.

Adaptation and validation of the Safe Birth Checklist for the nursing team

The objective of the research was to adapt and validate a safe birth checklist for the nursing team. This is a methodological study, carried out in 2021, conducted through the bibliographical survey phases; adaptation of the World Health Organization checklist; appearance and content validation with 22 expert judges; Adequacy of the checklist and validation with 11 nursing technicians. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. The adapted material brought a more robust checklist and the old points of attention were also converted into a checklist, resulting in 19 new questions related to childbirth safety. The expert judges evaluated the material regarding objective, structure, presentation and relevance, obtaining an Overall Content Validity Index of 0.99. Total Cronbach's alpha 0.93. Among the target audience, there was a minimum agreement of 72.7% on the topics organization, writing, appearance and motivation. The manual is considered adapted and validated by experts and representatives of the target audience in terms of its content and appearance.

The Impact of Exposure to Previous Disasters on Hospital Disaster Surge Capacity Preparedness in Finland: Hospital disaster surge capacity preparedness.

As disasters are rare and high-impact events, it is important that the learnings from disasters are maximized. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of exposure to a past disaster or mass casualty incident (MCI) on local hospital surge capacity planning. The current hospital preparedness plans of hospitals receiving surgical emergency patients in Finland were collected (n = 28) and analyzed using the World Health Organization (WHO) hospital emergency checklist tool. The surge capacity score was compared between the hospitals that had been exposed to a disaster or MCI with those who had not. The overall median score of all key components on the WHO checklist was 76% (range 24%). The median surge capacity score was 65% (range 39%). There was no statistical difference between the surge capacity score of the hospitals with history of a disaster or MCI compared to those without (65% for both, P = 0.735). Exposure to a past disaster or MCI did not appear to be associated with an increased local hospital disaster surge capacity score. The study suggests that disaster planning should include structured post-action processes for enabling meaningful improvement after an experienced disaster or MCI.

Audit of the use of WHO surgical safety checklist and assessment of attitudes towards it among surgical team personnel in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) launched in 2009 was developed to address preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the perioperative period by promoting communication among all team members and ensuring that all necessary safety checks are done as and when due and that they are done appropriately. Studies have shown that implementation of the WHO checklist reduces the risk of SSI and preventable deaths by about 50%. Thus, it is encouraged that all hospitals, domesticate the tool to improve patient safety. The study aims to assess the level of usage of the WHO SSC, the gaps in its implementation and to evaluate the awareness, perception and acceptability of this tool among theatre staff personnel at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Materials and methods: We prospectively conducted an audit of the use of the WHO SSC at the main and emergency theatres, University College Hospital, Ibadan by observing the level of implementation of the different events in the WHO SSC using a pre-developed questionnaire. We subsequently conducted a survey on the awareness, perception and acceptability of the WHO SSC among the operating team personnel using a 15-item self-administered questionnaire. The data were analysed with SPSS. Results: A total of 117 surgeries were observed during the audit and 81 surgical team personnel took part in the survey. The WHO SSC was used in about half (52.1%) of the surgeries and it was sparingly used during minor surgeries (5.4%). The Sign Out Phase was the least completed phases of the checklist. The personnel administering the check list (usually the circulating nurse) did not ask the scrub nurse the required questions in more than half of the time (53.1–58.7%) in the Time Out Phase and this was significantly higher when compared with unasked questions to other professionals of the team (11.3–15.6%). In the Sign Out Phase, of the five questions, four questions were barely asked in about half of the time (44.6–76.8%). Eighty-one per cent personnel were surveyed, half (50%) were surgeons and about a quarter were anaesthetists (23%) and Nurses (27%). More than half of respondents (58%) have more than 5-year work experience in the hospital. Majority (65.4%) of members of the surgical team had not had any formal training on the WHO SSC. About a third of respondents (28%) who had made an error in surgery agreed that it could have been prevented by proper implementation of the WHO SSC. The respondents also agree that the sign out phase was completed in less than a third (27.2%) of the time. There was no difference in its awareness, perception and acceptability based on profession of the respondents. Conclusion: The WHO SSC should be made available at all theatres in the hospital and should be administered during all surgeries. There should be more formal training of members of the surgical team to improve implementation. Assessing for the barriers to the implementation of the WHO Safety Surgical Checklist is the logical next step to improve the use in our theatre.

Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude Regarding World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) in Operating Room Personnel of Medical Teaching Institutes (MTIS) Peshawar Pakistan

Background: World health organization surgical safety checklist is basically the guideline for the operating room personnel. These guidelines are properly started by WHO in 2007-8. The purpose was to improve the outcomes of the surgical procedures, communication, decline the mortality and morbidity ratio perioperatively. Using WHO checklist plays a very important significant role in patient safety especially in perioperative time. One study shows that about 47 % reduction occur in mortality and 36 % in morbidity while using the SSC. In the developed countries having proper safety system and knowledge complication rate was reported 0.4 to 0.8% while in the developing countries this ratio was about 3 to 16 % (2004 report). Objective: To Assess the knowledge and attitude regarding WHO SSC of operating room personnel of MTIs Khyber teaching hospital (KTH) and Hayat Abad medical complex (HMC) of Peshawar Pakistan. Methods: Cross sectional study conducted. Data collected through semi structured questionnaire from operating room personnel including surgeons, anesthesia provider, surgical technician, technologist, and OT nurses working in MTI KTH and MTI HMC. Results: According to the study about 30(14.6%) OT personnel having good knowledge,115(56%) having average and 60(29.2%) of personnel having poor knowledge regarding WHO SSC. The result of the attitude of OT personnel regarding safety checklist was 141(6.7%) positive means they agreed with WHO rules and want them to be implemented in the OT while 64 (31.2%) showed negative attitude. Conclusion: Adverse events are common in the preoperative period. This is due to poor organizational, limited, knowledge respect less attitude of the staff toward their duty, and patient self-mistakes. But the great responsibility of the staff is to care for the patient in the proper while according to the rules and regulation set by the WHO in the form of surgical safety checklist. By using safety checklists properly, the adverse events can minimize up to a great number. For the best result the personnel must have proper knowledge, awareness, importance and need of practical implementation. By default, our health system is still going on previous knowledge base and not properly adjusted in the advanced system. In these two hospitals most of the HCPs are not aware of the importance of the WHO checklist and some are against the practical implementation of the checklist. This is an amazing and questionable point that can be overcome through education.

The Western Cape Surgical Recovery Project: experience at Groote Schuur Hospital

Background Data from six Western Cape secondary-level hospitals have shown that during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (which lasted from May to July of 2020), total surgeries decreased by 44%, and elective surgeries by 74%, due to secondment of nursing, anaesthetic and surgical staff to COVID high-care and intensive-care services. At Groote Schuur Hospital, the loss of surgical output over the two years of the pandemic-related surgical service de-escalation (2020-2021) was estimated at 10 000 cases, with 6 000 patients with progressive disease waiting for elective surgical care. Methods In early May 2022, a Surgical Recovery Project was initiated; funding from the Western Cape Department of Health, and donations from the Gift of the Givers Foundation, private individuals, businesses, and other non-governmental organisations were used to build, staff, and equip a Day-Case Surgery Suite. Results By the Project midway point (end October 2022), a total of 800 extra cases had been completed, and the Project is currently on track to exceed the target of 1 500 cases in a calendar year by at least 10%. The largest number of procedures done were eye cases (n = 191), followed by cases involving surgery to the integumentary system (n = 141), and musculoskeletal system cases (n = 123). There were a total of 30 patient cancellations. While the Project expectedly had poorer on-time-start statistics in the first quarter of operation (range 0.0 - 6.9%), the percentage of on-time-start statistics improved markedly over the second quarter (range 43.3 - 56.5%). World Health Organization checklists were completed for 85.1% of operations performed at the Day-Case Surgery Suite, and no adverse incidents or mortalities were recorded at the Unit. Conclusions This project demonstrates that the volume of services provided in the public sector can be escalated with the use of external funding of capital for human resources, equipment and consumables. However, these services become truly effective when there is sufficient multi-disciplinary planning, alignment and support, at operational, strategic and executive levels of healthcare facilities.

Improvement in Infection Prevention and Control Performance Following Operational Research in Sierra Leone: A Before (2021) and After (2023) Study.

Infection prevention and control (IPC) is crucial to limit health care-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance. An operational research study conducted in Sierra Leone in 2021 reported sub-optimal IPC performance and provided actionable recommendations for improvement. This was a before-and-after study involving the national IPC unit and all twelve district-level secondary public hospitals. IPC performance in 2021 (before) and in 2023 (after) was assessed using standardized World Health Organization checklists. IPC performance was graded as: inadequate (0-25%), basic (25.1-50%), intermediate (50.1-75%), and advanced (75.1-100%). The overall IPC performance in the national IPC unit moved from intermediate (58%) to advanced (78%), with improvements in all six core components. Four out of six components achieved advanced levels when compared to the 2021 levels. The median score for hospitals moved from basic (50%) to intermediate (59%), with improvements in six of eight components. Three of four gaps identified in 2021 at the national IPC unit and four of seven at hospitals had been addressed by 2023. The study highlights the role of operational research in informing actions that improved IPC performance. There is a need to embed operational research as part of the routine monitoring of IPC programs.

The Role of an Assistant Nurse in Implementing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist: Perception and Perspectives.

Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist is a tool developed by the WHO to promote safer surgical practices and reduce the incidence of surgical errors and complications. This study aims to describe the role of assistant nurses in the implementation of this checklist by surgical teams. Materials and methods This descriptive study utilized a questionnaire-based survey conducted between September 2018 and March 2019 among 196 healthcare professionals at two surgical units in a university hospital in Sweden.The questionnaire covered demographic information such as age, gender, and occupation, as well as details about their workplace, experience, education/training on using the WHO checklist, the adaptation of the checklist to their department, their responsibilities in implementing and using the checklist, the frequency of use in emergency situations, and the impact on patient safety. Results The results of the study showed that assistant nurses, despite having the lowest level of education among healthcare professionals, were highly trusted and valued by other members of the surgical team. Most healthcare professionals were unsure who was responsible for using the WHO checklistbut believed it was the assistant nurse's responsibility to ensure its implementation. Assistant nurses reported little to no training on using the checklist but noted that it had been adapted to the department's needs. Almost half (48.8%) of assistant nurses believed that the checklist was often used in emergency surgery, and most believed that it improved patient safety. Conclusions Improved understanding of the significance of assistant nurses in implementing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist may enhance adherence to the checklist and potentially improve patient safety, as they were the most valued and trusted healthcare professionals in the surgical team according to the study's findings.

Experience with Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a Central London Tertiary Pediatric Hospital

Abstract Objective Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is very serious, and thus, it is common practice, worldwide, to screen for MRSA colonization at admission and institute decolonization procedures. Our aim was to review adherence to local guidelines and sepsis risk in pediatric patients with a focus on surgical cases. Methods A retrospective case note review was conducted from January 2019 to October 2020 in a tertiary pediatric hospital. Data collected included demographics, incidence of sepsis, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions, and adherence to guidelines. The results were analyzed with an SPSS statistical package. Results MRSA screening was performed in all 47,904 admissions; 161/47,904 had MRSA colonization. All underwent topical decontamination; however, isolation guidelines were adhered in only 7.45%; 71/161 were surgical patients; 23/71 were admitted to the PICU. Irrespective of the class of wound, 4/71 surgical patients developed MRSA sepsis. Of these, 2/5 surgical patients did not receive MRSA appropriate preoperative antibiotics; 4/5 surgical patients who had sepsis were admitted to PICU. Standard preoperative World Health Organization (WHO) surgical checklists were completed in all surgical cases. There was no mention of MRSA status in these forms. Conclusion MRSA remains a risk for sepsis and PICU admissions despite a 100% compliance with screening and decontamination. Adherence to WHO checklist did not result in the administration of correct antibiotics. High risk of postoperative sepsis (6.8%), with 80% needing PICU, irrespective of class of wound, mandates a more robust approach to prevention. Changes need to be made to WHO local surgical checklists.

A quasi experimental study on hand hygiene practices among secondary school children in Khyber PakhtunKhwa.

To evaluate the effectiveness of hand-hygiene training on handwashing practices among schoolchildren. The quasi-experimental study was conducted from 1st August- 2018 to 5th October- 2018 in four secondary schools in Peshawar and Kohat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and comprised male students grades 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10. They were given a live demonstration about the standard steps of hand-hygiene as per the World Health Organisation checklist, and they were shown the steps in pictorial form as well to reinforce the message. Pre- and post-intervention scores were recorded on the 14- point checklist. Data was analysed by using SPSS 23. There were 200 boys with a mean age of 13.23±0.92 years (range: 11-16 years); 87(43.5%) of them being from grade 7. Post-intervention score increased significantly compared to the baseline (p<0.01). Significant differences were identified with respect to geographical location, type of school, grade in school and mothers' education (p<0.05). Hand-hygiene training significantly increased students' hand-washing practices and behaviours.

A multi-stakeholder situation assessment of COVID-19 disease preparedness and mitigation measures in a large prison complex in Malawi.

Prisons in the sub-Saharan African region face unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Malawi, the first prison system case of COVID-19 was notified in July 2020. While prison settings were included in the second domestic COVID-19 response plan within the Law Enforcement cluster (National COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, July-December 2020), they were initially not included in the K157bn (US$210m) COVID-19 fund. The purpose of the study was to assess prison preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19 in Malawi.. A multi-method situation assessment of the COVID-19 response and human rights assurance of prisoners and staff was conducted in a large prison complex in Malawi. Qualitative research underpinned by the Empirical Phenomenological Psychological (EPP) framework consisted of interviews with key informants such as prison health personnel, senior prison staff, penal and judicial policymakers, government and civil society organisations (n = 14) and focus group discussions with consenting male (n = 48) and female prisoners (n = 48) and prison wardens (n = 24). Prison site visits were supported by detailed observations based on the World Health Organisation Checklist for COVID-19 in prisons (n = 9). Data were collected and analysed thematically using the EPP stepwise approach and triangulated based on Bronfenbrenner's model conceptualising COVID-19 as a multi-level event disrupting the prison eco-system. The results are presented as MICRO-MESO level individual and community experiences of incarceration during COVID-19 spanning several themes: awareness raising and knowledge of COVID-19 in prisons; prison congestion and the impossibility of social distancing; lack of adequate ventilation, hygiene and sanitation and provisions and correct use of personal protective equipment; MESO-MACRO level interplay between the prison community of prisoners and staff and judicial policy impacts; medical system COVID-19 response, infrastructure and access to health care; COVID-19 detection and quarantine measures and prisoner access to the outside world. This unique situation assessment of the Malawian prison system response to mitigate COVID-19 illustrates the dynamics at the micro-level whereby prisoners rely on the state and have restricted agency in protecting themselves from disease. This is due to severe structural inadequacies based on low resource allocation to prisons leading to a compromised ability to prevent and treat disease; an infirm and congested infrastructure and bottlenecks in the judicial system fuelling a continued influx of remand detainees leading to high overcapacity. Multi-pronged interventions involving key stakeholders, with prison management and line Ministry as coordinators are warranted to optimise COVID-19 interventions and future disease outbreaks in the Malawian prison system.

"We sleep 10cm apart so there is no social distancing": COVID-19 preparedness in a Zimbabwean prison complex.

Prisons in Africa face unprecedented challenges during Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In July 2020, the first prison system case of COVID-19 was notified in Zimbabwe. Subsequently, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services released their COVID-19 operational plan. The purpose of the study was to assess preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19 in selected prisons in Zimbabwe. A multi-method situation assessment of COVID-19 preparedness was conducted across three Zimbabwean prisons. The World Health Organization checklist to evaluate preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19 in prisons was administered to frontline health managers. Information garnered was further explored during site observation and in multi-stakeholder key informant interviews with policymakers, prison health directorate, frontline health-care professionals, officers in charge and non-governmental organizations (n = 26); focus group discussions with correctional officers (n = 18); and male/female prisoners (n = 36). Data was triangulated and analyzed using content thematic analysis. Outdated infrastructure, severe congestion, interrupted water supply and inadequate hygiene and sanitation were conducive to ill-health and spread of disease. Health professionals had been well-trained regarding COVID-19 disease control measures. COVID-19 awareness among prisoners was generally adequate. There was no routine COVID-19 testing in place, beyond thermo scanning. Access to health care was good, but standards were hindered by inadequate medicines and personnel protective equipment supply. Isolation measures were compromised by accommodation capacity issues. Flow of prison entries constituted a transmission risk. Social distancing was impossible during meals and at night. This unique situation assessment of Zimbabwean prisons' preparedness and approach to tackling COVID-19 acknowledges state and prison efforts to protect prisoners and staff, despite infrastructural constraints and inadequate resourcing from government.

World health organization surgical safety checklist of all OT cases

Background: The available literature shows that approximately 75 million patients are experiencing postoperative complications that lead to about 2 million deaths every year. Thereby, there is an immense need to take care of all safety precautions for the surgery listed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Aim and Objectives: The aim is (1) To study the impact of the implementation of a surgical safety checklist on patient safety. (2) To study the compliance of the surgical team to the implementation of a surgical safety checklist following an education program. Materials and Methods: The present study is a prospective randomized controlled study conducted at Santosh Medical College and Hospital, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh). The study was conducted from December 2019 to November 2020. Results: More than half of the standards were above 50% implemented in the operation theaters. Of the standards of before skin incisions, above 50% of them were not implemented. However, of the implemented standards, &gt;75% were followed. In addition, the standards of before any member of the team left the operating room, above 75% of them were appropriately implemented in our setup. Conclusion: We conclude that the use of the WHO checklist prevents complications and reduces the inhospital length of stay, changes in morbidity, and potentially mortality as well across a wide range of patients undergoing simple or complex surgical procedures in hospitals within a well-developed and funded health-care system.

Tuberculosis infection control in health care facilities in Enugu State, Nigeria: a cross-sectional facility-based study.

Introductionovertime, tuberculosis (TB) has remained the most common opportunistic infection among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Proper implementation of TB infection control (TBIC) practices in health care facilities can curb TB menace among PLHIV and the public. We assessed the implementation of TB infection control in health care facilities offering Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) in Enugu State, Nigeria.Methodswe employed a cross-sectional research design and assessed TB infection control practices in nine State owned public health care facilities offering antiretroviral therapy (ART) services for PLHIV. A 23 item World Health Organization (WHO) checklist for infection control in health care facilities was used to collect data. We assessed the five minimum standards as well as the four sets of TB infection control (TBIC) measures. Frequencies, percentages and chi square statistic were used to analyze data.Resultsonly four (44%) health care facilities that provides ART services studied in Enugu State implemented TBIC practices. Higher proportion of the rural and secondary facilities implemented TBIC although the difference is not statistically significant (p>0.05). Implementation was better with the administrative controls while the personal protective equipment was almost non-existent.Conclusionless than half of the facilities offering ART services in the Enugu State have TB infection control measures. We therefore recommend that in order to reduce TB infection among PLHIV, the issue of proper TBIC in health care facilities need urgent attention. Materials provision, staff training and retraining are issues that must be tackled to achieve the aim of reduction of TB infection among PLHIV, health care workers and the public.

Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Hand Hygiene Compliance in Indian Special Newborn Care Unit.

We did this study in 3 phases: Baseline phase (2 months), Intervention phase (8 months), and Postintervention phase (2 months). A multidisciplinary Quality Improvement team composed of doctors, nursing staff, and ward attendants was constituted. The team analyzed potential barriers to HH by Fishbone analysis. Three trained observers randomly selected two target Special Newborn Care Unit patients daily and collected data on HH compliance unobtrusively during the three 8-h shifts over 24 h. In addition, we tested a range of interventions using multiple Plan Do Study Act cycles: Staff education; Displaying posters; Round the clock availability of soap and hand rub; Staff felicitation; Group performance feedback. We also collected data on healthcare-associated infections in all three phases. The total observations for HH during the baseline, intervention, and postintervention phase were 1488, 5808, and 1464, respectively. The HH compliance improved from 27.2% to 57.1% in the postintervention phase. There was no difference in the healthcare-associated infections among the three phases. The HH compliance rates improved significantly but not to the desired extent. So, we planned to increase our workforce, and improve our training program and infrastructure.

Quality Evaluation of Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablet Batches Available in Governmental Health Facilities of Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia.

Background The availability of poor-quality drugs on the drug market might favor the ineffectiveness of the drug and/antimicrobial resistance. Aim To evaluate the quality of similar batches of ethambutol hydrochloride tablets available in different governmental health facilities of Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia. Methods The World Health Organization checklist was used to inspect the storage area of health facilities and check medicines for the sign of counterfeit. The test was conducted as per the United States Pharmacopeia on six similar batches of ethambutol hydrochloride sampled from different governmental health facilities. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20, and one-way ANOVA was used for comparing the dissolution profile and weight variation of batches. Results Three health facilities did not comply with the storage area specifications for pharmaceuticals. No batches have shown any sign of counterfeit. All of the tablet batches tested complied with USP specifications for weight variation, percentage purity, and dissolution test. Conclusions and Recommendation. The entire tablet batches complied with the World Health Organization specification for packaging and labelling of pharmaceuticals. All tablet batches complied with the test for weight variation, purity of drug substance, and dissolution. Since some health facilities did not comply with at least one specification for storage of pharmaceuticals, regulatory agencies and stack holders are advised to inspect the health facilities to ensure appropriate storage of pharmaceuticals in health facilities.

An overview of the characteristics and quality assessment criteria in systematic review of pharmacoeconomics.

The systematic review of economic evaluations plays a critical role in making well-informed decisions about competing healthcare interventions. The quality of these systematic reviews varies due to the lack of internationally recognized methodological evaluation standards. Nine English and Chinese databases including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase (Ovid), NHS economic evaluation database (NHSEED) (Ovid), Health Technology Assessment (HTA) database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WangFang, VIP Chinese Science & Technology Periodicals (VIP) and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) were searched. Two reviewers independently screened studies and extracted data. The methodological quality of the literature was measured with modified AMSTAR. Data were narrative synthesized. 165 systematic reviews were included. The overall methodological quality of the literature was moderate according to the AMSTAR scale. In these articles, thirteen quality assessment tools and 32 author self-defined criteria were used. The three most widely used tools were the Drummond checklist (19.4%), the BMJ checklist (15.8%), the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement (12.7%). Others included the Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES), the Consensus on Health Economic Criteria (CHEC), the checklist of Center for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD), the Philips checklist, the World Health Organization (WHO) checklist, the checklist of Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP), the Pediatric Quality Appraisal Questionnaire (PQAQ), the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist, Spanish and Chinese guidelines. The quantitative scales used in these literature were the QHES and PQAQ. Evidence showed that pharmacoeconomic systematic reviews' methodology remained to be improved, and the quality assessment criteria were gradually unified. Multiple scales can be used in combination to evaluate the quality of economic research in different settings and types.

The impact of wrong-site surgery on dental undergraduate teaching: a survey of UK dental schools.

Patient safety within dental education is paramount. Wrong-site surgery (WSS) tooth extraction is not uncommon and is a significant never event (NE) in dentistry. This study aimed to explore dental schools' undergraduate experience of NEs, safety interventions implemented and the impact on student experience. All 16 UK dental schools were surveyed via email. The response rate was 100%. A modified World Health Organization (WHO) checklist was used within institutions (94%) including pre-operative briefings and recording teeth on whiteboards (81%, respectively). Students were directly supervised performing extractions (63%) utilising a 1:4 staff: student ratio. WSS by students was reported in 69% of schools, with student experience being impacted by an increased patient safety focus. This study demonstrated an increased utilisation of an adapted WHO checklist. Modification of practices to ensure patient safety was demonstrated at all schools, irrespective of student WSS occurrences. Institutions experiencing student NEs commonly implemented WHO checklists and recording teeth for extraction on whiteboards. Other strategies included direct staff supervision and pre-operative briefings. UK dental schools have increased the emphasis on patient safety by the implementation of national healthcare models, for example WHO checklists and pre-operative briefings. These strategies both aim to improve communication and teamwork. Increased levels of staff supervision foster greater quality of teaching; however, this has resulted in reduced student clinical experience. A proposed minimum standard for undergraduate surgery is suggested to ensure safe and competent dental practitioners of the future.

Prática segura para partos em hospital universitário

Objetivo: identificar a aplicação das práticas essenciais da Lista de Verificação para Partos Seguros (LVPS) da Organização Mundial da Saúde realizadas em Hospital Universitário. Método: estudo transversal descritivo, realizado no período de janeiro a outubro de 2018, com 51 profissionais que assistem o trabalho de parto, parto e puerpério. Para identificar as práticas aplicadas, utilizou-se um questionário semiestruturado e análise estatística. Resultados: práticas relacionadas ao uso de fármacos, disponibilidade de recursos materiais, identificação de sangramento anormal, contato pele à pele, amamentação e planejamento reprodutivo estão conforme o preconizado. Contudo, não houve padronização quanto às avaliações no partograma e às orientações às mulheres e acompanhantes sobre os sinais de agravamento. Conclusões: a LVPS apresenta-se como uma ferramenta inovadora na assistência obstétrica. Oferece oportunidade de melhorias e qualificação dos cuidados, padronizando condutas essenciais, como as orientações sobre os sinais clínicos e registro no partograma, favorecendo a segurança do binômio mãe-bebê.

Public reporting on pharmaceutical industry-led access programs: alignment with the WHO medicine programs evaluation checklist

BackgroundThere has been increased demand for greater public accountability and transparency of private sector-led global health partnership programs. This study critically reviews and pilot tests the World Health Organization (WHO) medicine program checklist as a framework for public reporting and assessing of programs.MethodsWe reviewed each question on the WHO checklist for clarity and usability. Next, we pilot tested the subset of checklist questions focused on program assessment. We extracted and analyzed publicly available information on one randomly selected program from each of the 20 largest research-based biopharmaceutical companies. For each program, we assessed whether publicly available information allowed for an assessment of each relevant question in the checklist.ResultsChecklist questions fit in four main categories: [1] national health and development plans, needs, capacity, laws and policies; [2] financial, performance, and public accountability; [3] risk management and mitigation strategies; and [4] long-term sustainability. Nearly all (21 of 22) questions in the checklist require information best provided by companies; one question requires information best provided by governments.Programs frequently reported on the public health needs of their programs (100%), program objectives and activities (100%) and the actual or expected program outputs (95%). There was less information on program alignment with country plans and capacity (50%), detailed program monitoring and evaluation plan (20%), risks mitigation strategies (5%), program needs assessment (5%), and additional resources required from or contributed by government (0%).ConclusionThe WHO checklist of key considerations for evaluating proposals for access to medicine programs could be a useful framework for public reporting of program information as most of checklist questions ask for data that should be available to those leading the program. Further revisions of the WHO checklist will help refine it to improve clarity and content validity.