A multifaceted risk management program to improve the reporting rate of patient safety incidents in primary care: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: While patient safety incident reporting is of key importance for patient safety in primary care, the reporting rate by healthcare professionals remains low. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a risk management program in increasing the reporting rate within multiprofessional primary care facilities. METHODS: A nation-wide cluster-randomised controlled trial was performed in France, with each cluster defined as a primary care facility. The intervention included professional e-learning training, identification of a risk management advisor, and multidisciplinary meetings to address incident analysis. In the first observational period, a patient safety incident reporting system for professionals was implemented in all facilities. Then, facilities were randomised, and the program was implemented. Incidents were reported over the 15-month study period. Quasi-Poisson models were used to compare reporting rates. RESULTS: Thirty-five facilities (intervention, n = 17; control, n = 18) were included, with 169 and 232 healthcare professionals, respectively, involved. Overall, 7 out of 17 facilities carried out the entire program (41.2%), while 6 did not hold meetings (35.3%); 48.5% of professionals logged on to the e-learning website. The relative rate of incidents reported was 2.7 (95% CI = [0.84-11.0]; p = 0.12). However, a statistically significant decrease in the incident rate between the pre-intervention and post-intervention periods was observed for the control arm (HR = 0.2; 95% CI = [0.05-0.54]; p = 0.02), but not for the intervention arm (HR = 0.54; 95% CI = [0.2-1.54]; p = 0.23). CONCLUSION: This program didn't lead to a significant improvement in the patient safety incident reporting rate by professionals but seemed to sustain reporting over time. Considering that the program was fully implemented in only 41% of facilities, this highlights the difficulty of implementing such multidisciplinary programs in primary care despite its adaptation to the setting. A better understanding of how risk management is currently organized in these multiprofessional facilities is of key importance to improve patient safety in primary care. TRIAL REGISTRATIONS: The study has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02403388) on 30 March 2015.

Comparison of healthcare costs before and after a STEMI: A French national health data system-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated real-world healthcare costs following a myocardial infarction (MI) and, to our knowledge, none after an ST-elevation MI (STEMI) specifically. Producing such data is important in order to help evaluate the economic burden of STEMI, but also to feed economic evaluation models and eventually show the economic interest of reducing STEMI incidence. The aim of this study was to estimate the healthcare cost in the year preceding and the year following a STEMI in France, in order to estimate the surplus in healthcare resource consumption after a STEMI. METHODS: This study was conducted from the healthcare system perspective. The individual data from the HIBISCUS-STEMI cohort, which included patients with acute STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention, were matched with the French national health data system (Système National des Données de Santé, SNDS) using a probabilistic method. All expenses (in- and out-hospital) presented for reimbursement were taken into account to estimate a mean annual healthcare cost. RESULTS: A total 258 patients from the HIBISCUS-STEMI cohort were included in this economic study. The total mean healthcare cost was estimated at €3516 before the STEMI, and at €9980 after the STEMI. Hospitalizations constituted the largest cost item, 27 % of the total cost before the STEMI and 41.8 % after the STEMI (Δ + 338.8 %). Follow-up and rehabilitative care represented the second largest cost item (25.9 % before and 18 % after the STEMI, Δ + 96.7 %). Treatments represented 19.4 % of the total cost before the STEMI and 17.2 % after (Δ + 150.8 %). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a significant surplus (threefold) of healthcare resource consumption in the year following a STEMI compared to the year preceding the STEMI.

Comparison of Pathway Referrals for Liver Fibrosis Risk Stratification Performed in Diabetology and Nutrition Clinics.

Purpose: A systematic screening for the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-related advanced fibrosis is currently recommended in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. However, real-world data of such liver fibrosis risk stratification pathway from diabetology and nutrition clinics towards hepatology clinics are scarce. Therefore, we compared data from two pathways with or without transient elastography (TE) performed in diabetology and nutrition clinics. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study comparing the proportion of patients with intermediate/high risk of advanced fibrosis (AF) as defined by a liver stiffness measurement (LSM) ≥8kPa, among patients referred in hepatology from two diabetology-nutrition departments at Lyon University Hospital, France between November 1st 2018 to December 31st 2019. Results: Among the two diabetology and nutrition departments using TE or not, 27.5% (62/225) versus 44.2% (126/285) were referred to hepatology, respectively. The pathway using TE in diabetology and nutrition referred to hepatology a higher proportion of patients with intermediate/high risk of AF compared to the pathway without TE: 77.4% versus 30.9%, p<0.001. In the pathway with TE, the odds of patients with intermediate/high risk of AF referred to hepatology was significantly higher: OR: 7.7, 95% CI: 3.6-16.7, p<0.001 after adjustment for age, sex and presence of obesity and T2D compared to the pathway without TE in diabetology and nutrition clinics. However, among the patients not referred, 29.4% had an intermediate/high risk of AF. Conclusion: A pathway-referral using TE performed in diabetology and nutrition clinics, significantly improves the liver fibrosis risk stratification and avoids over-referral. However, collaboration between diabetologist, nutritionists and hepatologists is needed to avoid under-referral.

Excess mortality among non-COVID-19 surgical patients attributable to the exposure of French intensive and intermediate care units to the pandemic.

PURPOSE: The mobilization of most available hospital resources to manage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have affected the safety of care for non-COVID-19 surgical patients due to restricted access to intensive or intermediate care units (ICU/IMCUs). We estimated excess surgical mortality potentially attributable to ICU/IMCUs overwhelmed by COVID-19, and any hospital learning effects between two successive pandemic waves. METHODS: This nationwide observational study included all patients without COVID-19 who underwent surgery in France from 01/01/2019 to 31/12/2020. We determined pandemic exposure of each operated patient based on the daily proportion of COVID-19 patients among all patients treated within the ICU/IMCU beds of the same hospital during his/her stay. Multilevel models, with an embedded triple-difference analysis, estimated standardized in-hospital mortality and compared mortality between years, pandemic exposure groups, and semesters, distinguishing deaths inside or outside the ICU/IMCUs. RESULTS: Of 1,870,515 non-COVID-19 patients admitted for surgery in 655 hospitals, 2% died. Compared to 2019, standardized mortality increased by 1% (95% CI 0.6-1.4%) and 0.4% (0-1%) during the first and second semesters of 2020, among patients operated in hospitals highly exposed to pandemic. Compared to the low-or-no exposure group, this corresponded to a higher risk of death during the first semester (adjusted ratio of odds-ratios 1.56, 95% CI 1.34-1.81) both inside (1.27, 1.02-1.58) and outside the ICU/IMCU (1.98, 1.57-2.5), with a significant learning effect during the second semester compared to the first (0.76, 0.58-0.99). CONCLUSION: Significant excess mortality essentially occurred outside of the ICU/IMCU, suggesting that access of surgical patients to critical care was limited.

Perspectives in prospective comparative economic evaluations: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Depending on countries and health systems, medico-economic assessment guidelines recommend to adopt one or several perspectives. We conducted a systematic literature review in order to assess the fit between the country guidelines and the perspectives announced in the published studies. AREAS COVERED: Searches were carried out within the Medline electronic database for records published between 1 January 2000 and 31 August 2020. Only studies from countries in which guidelines recommending a perspective to adopt were available online were selected. EXPERT OPINION: A total of 398 studies were included. Among those studies, 212 (54.9%) adopted as a main perspective a public payer perspective, 141 (36.5%) a societal perspective, 25 (6.5%) a hospital perspective, and 8 (2.1%) a patient perspective. Recommendations in terms of perspective were followed by 267 (67.1%) studies, mainly from Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands. Two thirds of the perspectives chosen in studies were in line with the recommendations. While the choice of a perspective does not question the quality of the studies published, it raises the question of the relevance of the perspectives that must be adapted to the question asked, the pathology studied, and the feasibility of the studies.

Parental experience of parent-mediated intervention for children with ASD: A systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis.

LAY ABSTRACT: The effectiveness of parent-mediated interventions in the field of autism spectrum disorder is well documented but information on the experience of parents involved in parent-mediated interventions is limited.This study is the first synthesis of evidence concerning the experience of parents involved in parent-mediated interventions. It synthesizes the voice of 345 parents across the world into four general themes: barriers to implementation and logistical issues, feeling overwhelmed and stressed (a need for support), facilitators of implementation, and empowerment in the parent and improvement in the child.The findings of our study provide evidence that parent-mediated interventions should be adapted to the needs of each family. Specific care and support should be offered to parents in addition to parent-mediated interventions. Our study, however, highlights which outcomes are important to parents and should be considered in future studies.

Safety Attitude of Operating Room Personnel Associated With Accurate Completion of a Surgical Checklist: A Cross-sectional Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: How the checklist is executed in routine practice may reflect the teamwork and safety climate in the operating room (OR). This cross-sectional study aimed to identify whether the presence of a fully completed checklist in medical records was associated with teams' safety attitudes. METHODS: Data from 29 French hospitals, including 5677 operated patients and 834 OR professionals, were prospectively collected. The degree of checklist compliance was categorized for each patient in 1 of 4 ways: full, incomplete, inaccurate, and no checklist completed. The members of OR teams were invited to complete a questionnaire including teamwork climate measurement (Safety Attitudes Questionnaire) and their opinion regarding checklist use, checklist audibly reading, and communication change with checklist. Multilevel modeling was performed to investigate the effect of variables related to hospitals and professionals on checklist compliance, after adjustment for patient characteristics. RESULTS: A checklist was present for 83% of patients, but only 35% demonstrated full completion. Compared with no checklist, full completion was associated with higher safety attitude (high teamwork climate [adjusted odds ratio for full completion, 4.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.75-9.76]; communication change [1.31, 1.04-1.66]; checklist aloud reading [1.16, 1.02-1.32]) and was reinforced by the designation of a checklist coordinator (2.43, 1.06-5.55). Incomplete completion was also associated with enhanced safety attitude contrary to inaccurate completion. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with checklists is associated with safer OR team practice and can be considered as an indicator of the extent of safety in OR practice.

Feasibility and efficacy of combined pancreatic islet-lung transplantation in cystic fibrosis-related diabetes-PIM study: A multicenter phase 1-2 trial.

Cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) is a common complication of cystic fibrosis (CF), and restoring metabolic control in these patients may improve their management after lung transplantation. In this multicenter, prospective, phase 1-2 trial, we evaluate the feasibility and metabolic efficacy of combined pancreatic islet-lung transplantation from a single donor in patients with CFRD, terminal respiratory failure, and poorly controlled diabetes. Islets were infused via the portal vein under local anesthesia, 1 week after lung transplantation. At 1 year, the primary outcome was transplant success as evaluated by a composite score including four parameters (weight, fasting glycemia, HbA1c, and insulin requirements). Ten participants (age: 24 years [17-31], diabetes duration: 8 years [4-12]) received a combined islet-lung transplant with 2892 IEQ/kg [2293-6185]. Transplant success was achieved in 7 out of 10 participants at 1-year post transplant. Fasting plasma C-peptide increased from 0.91 µg/L [0.56-1.29] to 1.15 µg/L [0.77-2.2], HbA1c decreased from 7.8% [6.5-8.3] (62 mmol/mol [48-67]) to 6.7% [5.5-8.0] (50 mmol/mol [37-64]), with 38% decrease in daily insulin doses. No complications related to the islet injection procedure were reported. In this pilot study, combined pancreatic islet-lung transplantation restored satisfactory metabolic control and pulmonary function in patients with CF, without increasing the morbidity of lung transplantation.

Assessing the implementation of community-based learning in public health: a mixed methods approach.

BACKGROUND: The French government has set up a community-based learning programme on health promotion for undergraduate health students to involve them in key public health objectives. At the University of Lyon, students first underwent formal instruction, including e-learning, lectures, and interactive seminars, and then became health educators for school pupils. The main objective of the present study was to assess the process of implementing this programme during the 2018-2019 academic year. METHODS: The satisfaction and perception of medical and midwife students with community-based learning experiences were assessed by a questionnaire, semi-directive interviews, and observations. Replies to the questionnaire were described by median and interquartile range or by proportion. A paired Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was used to compare self-evaluated students' competence scores before and after the seminars (alpha risk of 5%). Thematic analyses using grounded theory were performed on recorded and transcribed interviews, and on transcribed notes taken during the observations. RESULTS: Over time the students have evolved from a negative perception of the community-based learning to a positive one. The students were mostly satisfied by interactive seminars that allowed them to gain confidence and competencies in health education. Their involvement in the programme increased their self-esteem. They became more aware of their educative responsibilities regarding public health issues as future professionals. CONCLUSIONS: The students had a positive perception of the implementation of a community-based learning programme in our University, as it appeared a pertinent strategy to raise their awareness of prevention and health education issues.

Comparison of rural and urban French GPs' activity: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: In various countries, a shortage of general practitioners (GPs) and worrying health statistics on risk factors, morbidity and mortality have been observed in rural areas. However, few comparative data are available on GP activities according to their location. The aim of this study was to analyse French GP activities according to their rural or urban practice location. METHODS: This study was ancillary to the Eléments de la COnsultation en médecine GENérale (ECOGEN) study, which was a cross-sectional, multicentre, national study conducted in 128 French general practices in 2012. Data were collected by 54 interns in training during a period of 20 working days from December 2011 to April 2012. GP practice location was classified as rural area, urban cluster or urban area. The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2) was used to classify reasons for encounter, health problem assessments, and processes of care. Univariate analyses were performed for all dependent variables, then multivariable analyses for key variables, using hierarchical mixed-effect models. RESULTS: The database included 20 613 consultations. The mean yearly number of consultations per GP was higher in rural areas (p<0.0001), with a shorter consultation length (p<0.0001). No difference was found for GP sex (p=0.41), age (p=0.87), type of fees agreement (p=0.43), and type of practice (p=0.19) according to their practice location. Urban patients were younger, and there was a lower percentage of patients over 75 years (p<0.001). GPs more frequently consulted at patients' homes in rural areas (p<0.0001). The mean number of chronic conditions managed was higher in rural areas and urban clusters than in urban areas (p<0001). Hypertension (p<0.0001), type 2 diabetes (p=0.003), and acute bronchitis/bronchiolitis (p=0.01) were more frequently managed in rural areas than in urban clusters and areas. Health maintenance/prevention (p<0.0001) and no disease situations (p<0.0001) were less frequent in rural areas. Drug prescription was more frequent in rural areas than in urban clusters and areas (p<0.0001). Multivariable analysis confirmed the influence of a GP's rural practice location on the consultation length (p<0.0001), the number of chronic conditions per consultation (p<0.0001) and the number of health maintenance/prevention situations (p<0.0001), and a trend towards a higher yearly number of consultations per GP (p=0.09). CONCLUSION: French rural GPs tend to have a higher workload than urban GPs. Rural patients have more chronic conditions to be managed but are offered fewer preventive services during consultations. It is necessary to increase the GP workforce and develop cooperation with allied health professionals in rural areas.

Improving patient self-reporting of antihypertensive adverse drug events in primary care: a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: About 25% of patients experience adverse drug events (ADE) in primary care, but few events are reported by the patients themselves. One solution to improve the detection and management of ADEs in primary care is for patients to report them to their general practitioner. The study aimed to assess the effect of a booklet designed to improve communication and interaction between patients treated with anti-hypertensive drugs and general practitioners on the reporting of ADEs. METHODS: A cluster randomized controlled cross-sectional stepped wedge open trial (five periods of 3 months) was conducted. A cluster was a group of general practitioners working in ambulatory offices in France. Adults consulting their general practitioner to initiate, modify, or renew an antihypertensive prescription were included. A booklet including information on cardiovascular risks, antihypertensive treatments, and ADE report forms was delivered by the general practitioner to the patient in the intervention group. The primary outcome was the reporting of at least one ADE by the patient to his general practitioner during the three-month period after enrolment. Two clusters were randomised by sequence for a total of 8 to receive the intervention. An intention-to-treat analysis was conducted. A logistic mixed model with random intercept was used. RESULTS: Sixty general practitioners included 1095 patients (median: 14 per general practitioner; range: 1-103). More patients reported at least one ADE to their general practitioner in the intervention condition compared to the control condition (aOR = 3.5, IC95 [1.2-10.1], p = 0.02). The modification and initiation of an antihypertensive treatment were also significantly associated with the reporting of ADEs (aOR = 4.4, CI95 [1.9-10.0], p <  0.001 and aOR = 11.0, CI95 [4.6-26.4], p <  0.001, respectively). The booklet delivery also improved patient satisfaction on general practitioner communication and high blood pressure management. CONCLUSION: A booklet can improve patient self-reporting of ADEs to their general practitioners. Future research should assess whether it can improve general practitioner management of ADEs and patient's health status. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registry identifier NCT01610817 (2012/05/30).

[General practitioners' views on cognitive disorders diagnosis: a qualitative study]. / Représentations des médecins généralistes à propos du diagnostic des troubles cognitifs.

Diagnosis of cognitive disorders is at medical and ethical stake. The aim of an qualitative study based on interviews was to explore the views of general practitioners on this diagnosis. General practitioners are ambivalent about the relevance and temporality of the diagnosis of cognitive disorders, which could be resolved by a shared decision making at each stage of the diagnostic approach.

Ten-year outcomes of islet transplantation in patients with type 1 diabetes: Data from the Swiss-French GRAGIL network.

To describe the 10-year outcomes of islet transplantation within the Swiss-French GRAGIL Network, in patients with type 1 diabetes experiencing high glucose variability associated with severe hypoglycemia and/or with functional kidney graft. We conducted a retrospective analysis of all subjects transplanted in the GRAGIL-1c and GARGIL-2 islet transplantation trials and analyzed components of metabolic control, graft function and safety outcomes over the 10-year period of follow-up. Forty-four patients were included between September 2003 and April 2010. Thirty-one patients completed a 10-year follow-up. Ten years after islet transplantation, median HbA1c was 7.2% (6.2-8.0) (55 mmol/mol [44-64]) versus 8.0% (7.1-9.1) (64 mmol/mol [54-76]) before transplantation (p < .001). Seventeen of 23 (73.9%) recipients were free of severe hypoglycemia, 1/21 patients (4.8%) was insulin-independent and median C-peptide was 0.6 ng/ml (0.2-1.2). Insulin requirements (UI/kg/day) were 0.3 (0.1-0.5) versus 0.5 (0.4-0.6) before transplantation (p < .001). Median (IQR) ß-score was 1 (0-4) (p < .05 when comparing with pre-transplantation values) and 51.9% recipients had a functional islet graft at 10 years. With a 10-year follow-up in a multicentric network, islet transplantation provided sustained improvement of glycemic control and was efficient to prevent severe hypoglycemia in almost 75% of the recipients.

Women's dissatisfaction with inappropriate behavior by health care workers during childbirth care in France: A survey study.

BACKGROUND: Quality care during childbirth requires that health care providers have not only excellent skills but also appropriate and considerate attitudes and behavior. Few studies have examined the proportion of women in Western countries expressing dissatisfaction with such inappropriate or inconsiderate behavior. This study evaluated this proportion in a sample presumably representative of French maternity units. METHODS: This prospective multicenter study, using data from a selfadministered questionnaire, took place in 25 French maternity units during one week in September 2018. The primary outcome measure was mothers' self-reported dissatisfaction with blatantly inappropriate behavior (ie, inappropriate attitude, inadequate respect for privacy, insufficient gentleness of care, and/or inappropriate language) by health care workers in the delivery room. The secondary outcome was their self-reported dissatisfaction with these workers' inconsiderate behavior (ie, unclear and inappropriate information, insufficient participation in decision-making, or deficient consideration of pain). RESULTS: Of 803 potentially eligible women, 627 completed the questionnaire after childbirth; 5.62% (35/623, 95% CI: 3.94-7.73) reported dissatisfaction with blatantly inappropriate behaviors and 9.79% (61/623, 95% CI: 7.57-12.40) with inconsiderate behaviors. The main causes of dissatisfaction reported by women in this survey were the inadequate consideration of their pain and the failure to share decision-making. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the women were satisfied with how health care workers behaved towards them in the delivery room. Nonetheless, health care staff must be aware of women's demands for greater consideration of their expressions of pain and of their voice in decisions.

Contours et organisations des activités de santé publique au sein des centres hospitaliers universitaires français.

PURPOSE OF RESEARCH: This study, conducted at the initiative of the French academic college of public health, aimed to describe, from the point of view of public health physicians, the outlines and organization of public health activities within French university hospitals. In the first half of 2018, a survey was sent to physicians in charge of public health specialties and to chiefs of public health divisions from the 41 French university hospitals. The survey was supplemented by 10 telephone interviews. RESULTS: Among the 33 hospitals from which we received answers, 28 had a division that encompassed the majority of public health activities, usually combined with other disciplines (occupational medicine, pharmacy…). The existence of a public health division improved the visibility of this specialty and allowed to leverage its strengths. Epidemiology, biostatistics and health information were the most represented activities. Several public health activities were shared with other divisions and directions (healthcare quality and safety, infection control, etc.), due, in part, to a lack of public health physicians. Most respondents cited health promotion, health economics and big data analytics as activities that need to be developed in their institution. CONCLUSION: While most institutions have an identified public health division, their organizations are still heterogeneous and constantly evolving. Despite several difficulties, hospital public health activities are more diversified than before, but need the collaboration of extra hospital public health departments to progress.

Cancer screening and follow-up in general practice: A French nationwide cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The overall activity of general practitioners (GPs) related to cancer screening and follow-up is poorly documented. OBJECTIVES: To describe cancer screening and follow-up activities carried out in general practice and analyse them according to the socio-economic characteristics of patients. METHODS: We used data from a French nationwide, multicentre, cross-sectional study that described the distribution of health problems managed in general practice and the associated processes of care. Analyses were adjusted on age and gender when appropriate, using a multivariate, hierarchical, linear mixed-effects model. RESULTS: Among 20,613 consultations recorded, 580 involved cancer screening (2.8%) and 475 cancer follow-ups (2.3%). The most frequent cancer screening procedures concerned colorectal cancer (38.6% of screening procedures), breast cancer (32.6%), cervical cancer (17.0%), and prostate cancer (9.3%). In consultations with female patients, the most frequent types of cancer followed up were breast (44.9%) and colorectal cancer (10.5%), and with male patients, the most frequent were prostate (37.3%) and skin cancer (10.3%). After adjustment on age and gender, consultations with cancer follow-up included a mean 1.9 health problems managed in addition to cancer. Consultations with cancer screening or follow-up issue less often involved a patient on low income than other consultations (2.4% vs. 4.2%, and 1.1% vs. 4.2%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Around 5% of French general practice consultations include cancer screening or follow-up. Socio-economical inequalities demand further research.

Myocardial infarction: Economic, health, and social impacts on informal caregivers.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to measure the economic impact of informal care (IC) on caregivers assisting myocardial infarction (MI) survivors in France. Health and social impacts were also described. METHODS: Data from the prospective 2008 Health and Disabilities Households Survey (Enquête Handicap-Santé), carried out among the French general population, were used to obtain information about patients with MI and their informal caregivers. To estimate the approximate monetary value of IC, three methods were used: the proxy good method, opportunity cost method (OCM), and contingent valuation method (CVM). A multivariate analysis was performed to determine the associations of the IC duration and the existence of professional care with the health indicators stated by caregivers. RESULTS: The analysis included data from 147 caregivers. The mean value of IC ranged from €9,679 per year using the CVM to €11,288 per year using the OCM (p > .05). The mean willingness to pay for an additional hour of IC was €10.9 (SD = 8.3). A total of 46.2 percent of caregivers reported that IC negatively affected theirs physical condition, and 46.3 percent reported that it negatively affected their psychological health. In addition, 40.1 percent declared that caregiving activity made them anxious and 38.8 percent stated they felt alone. Associations were identified between the duration of IC and feeling the need to be replaced, feeling alone and making sacrifices (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Informal caregiver burden may be recognized in health technology assessment in order not to underestimate the cost of strategies and to facilitate the comparability of cost-effectiveness outcomes between studies.

[Organization of public health activities within university hospitals in France]. / Contours et organisations des activités de santé publique au sein des centres hospitaliers universitaires français.

Purpose of research: This study, conducted at the initiative of the French academic college of public health, aimed to describe, from the point of view of public health physicians, the outlines and organization of public health activities within French university hospitals. In the first half of 2018, a survey was sent to physicians in charge of public health specialties and to chiefs of public health divisions from the 41 French university hospitals. The survey was supplemented by 10 telephone interviews.Results: Among the 33 hospitals from which we received answers, 28 had a division that encompassed the majority of public health activities, usually combined with other disciplines (occupational medicine, pharmacy…). The existence of a public health division improved the visibility of this specialty and allowed to leverage its strengths. Epidemiology, biostatistics and health information were the most represented activities. Several public health activities were shared with other divisions and directions (healthcare quality and safety, infection control, etc.), due, in part, to a lack of public health physicians. Most respondents cited health promotion, health economics and big data analytics as activities that need to be developed in their institution.Conclusion: While most institutions have an identified public health division, their organizations are still heterogeneous and constantly evolving. Despite several difficulties, hospital public health activities are more diversified than before, but need the collaboration of extra hospital public health departments to progress.

Economic valuation of informal care provided to people after a myocardial infarction in France.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to estimate the mean cost per caregiver of informal care during the first year after myocardial infarction event in France. METHODS: We used the Handicap-Santé French survey carried out in 2008 to obtain data about MI survivors and their caregivers. After obtaining the total number of informal care hours provided by caregiver during the first year after MI event, we estimated the value of informal care using the proxy good method and the contingent valuation method. RESULTS: For MI people receiving informal care, an annual mean cost was estimated at €12,404 (SD = 13,012) with the proxy good method and €12,798 (SD = 13,425) with the contingent valuation method per caregiver during the first year after myocardial infarction event. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that informal care should be included more widely in economic evaluations in order not to underestimate the cost of diseases which induce disability.