Lifelong vaccination strategy as a tool against pandemics in Hungary / Élethosszan át tartó oltási stratégia mint eszköz a pandémiák elleni védekezésben Magyarországon.

Összefoglaló. Különbözo tényezok következtében az új és újra felbukkanó fertozo betegségek megjelenésére a 21. században egyre nagyobb az esély, ezzel párhuzamosan a pandémiák kialakulása is nagyobb valószínuségu. A 2019-ben felbukkant COVID-19-járvány azt is közvetíti számunkra, hogy egyes új és újra jelentkezo fertozo betegségek - az eredményes intézkedések elmaradása, késlekedése esetén - gyorsan terjedhetnek. A fertozo betegségek elleni harc egyik fo eszköze a védooltás segítségével történo immunizáció. A jelen tanulmány célja bemutatni a védooltások elonyeit, fókuszba helyezve az elöregedo társadalomban az élethosszan tartó immunizációs stratégiának a személyes egészségre ható, közegészségügyi, gazdasági, valamint társadalmi érdekeit. Az oltás elonyeinek minél nagyobb fokú kihasználásához egy élethosszan tartó immunizációs stratégia felállítása javasolható, amelynek aspektusait és gyakorlatba ültetésének lehetséges lépéseit foglaltuk össze közleményünkben. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(14): 535-543. Summary. Due to various factors, the chances of infectious disease emergence or re-emergence have increased in the 21st century, thus, the likelihood of new emerging pandemics has also increased. The COVID-19 pandemic, which appeared in 2019, has highlighted that certain new and re-emerging infectious diseases - in the case of lack or delay in effective measures - can spread very rapidly. The main tool for the fight against infectious diseases is immunization through vaccination. While focusing on the personal health, public health, economic and societal benefits of a lifelong immunization strategy, especially in light of the aging society, the goal of this paper is to present the benefits of vaccines. In order to increase the added value of vaccinations it is recommended to create a lifelong immunization strategy. Our paper summarizes the relevant aspects of such a strategy, highlighting potential practical steps towards implementation. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(14): 535-543.

The Emergency Performance of the Hungarian Ambulance Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a considerable impact on the whole health sector, particularly on emergency services. Our aim was to examine the performance of the Hungarian National Ambulance Service during the first four waves of the pandemic. We defined the 2019 performance of the service as the baseline and compared it with the activity during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. The data contained deliveries related to acute myocardial infarction, hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, overall non-COVID-related ambulance deliveries, COVID screenings performed by the ambulance service, and COVID-related ambulance deliveries. The data were aggregated for each week of the investigated time period and stratified by gender and age. Compared with the pre-pandemic era, we found a significant increase in all three medical conditions and overall deliveries (p < 0.001 in all cases). As a result of the increased burden, it is important for emergency services to prepare for the next global epidemic and to improve organizational performance and rescue activities. The Hungarian example highlights that in a pandemic, it can be beneficial to organize the emergency care of a country or a larger region under a single provider with a single decision maker supported by business intelligence.

Comparison of hesitancy between COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccinations within the general Hungarian population: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The willingness to get COVID-19 or seasonal influenza vaccines has not yet been thoroughly investigated together, thus, this study aims to explore this notion within the general adult population. METHODS: The responses of 840 Hungarian participants were analysed who took part in a nationwide computer-assisted telephone interviewing. During the survey questions concerning various demographic characteristics, perceived financial status, and willingness to get the two types of vaccines were asked. Descriptive statistics, comparative statistics and word co-occurrence network analysis were conducted. RESULTS: 48.2% of participants were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, while this ratio for the seasonal influenza was only 25.7%. The difference was significant. Regardless of how the participants were grouped, based on demographic data or perceived financial status, the significant difference always persisted. Being older than 59 years significantly increased the willingness to get both vaccines when compared to the middle-aged groups, but not when compared to the younger ones. Having higher education significantly elevated the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in comparison to secondary education. The willingness of getting any type of COVID-19 vaccine correlated with the willingness to get both influenza and COVID-19. Finally, those who were willing to get either vaccine coupled similar words together to describe their thoughts about a COVID-19 vaccination. CONCLUSION: The overall results show a clear preference for a COVID-19 vaccine and there are several similarities between the nature of willingness to get either type of vaccine.

Broadening the concept of patient safety culture through value-based healthcare.

PURPOSE: Decision-makers are looking for innovative approaches to improve patient experience and outcomes with the finite resources available in healthcare. The concept of value-based healthcare has been proposed as one such approach. Since unsafe care hinders patient experience and contributes to waste, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how the value-based approach can help broaden the existing concept of patient safety culture and thus, improve patient safety and healthcare value. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: In the arguments, the authors use the triple value model which consists of personal, technical and allocative value. These three aspects together promote healthcare in which the experience of care is improved through the involvement of patients, while also considering the optimal utilisation and allocation of finite healthcare resources. FINDINGS: While the idea that patient involvement should be integrated into patient safety culture has already been suggested, there is a lack of emphasis that economic considerations can play an important role as well. Patient safety should be perceived as an investment, thus, relevant questions need to be addressed such as how much resources should be invested into patient safety, how the finite resources should be allocated to maximise health benefits at a population level and how resources should be utilised to get the best cost-benefit ratio. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Thus far, both the importance of patient safety culture and value-based healthcare have been advocated; this paper emphasizes the need to consider these two approaches together.