Exploring health service preparation for the COVID-19 crisis utilizing simulation-based activities in a Norwegian hospital: a qualitative case study.

INTRODUCTION: The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic caused stress in healthcare organizations worldwide. Hospitals and healthcare institutions had to reorganize their services to meet the demands of the crisis. In this case study, we focus on the role of simulation as part of the pandemic preparations in a large hospital in Norway. The aim of this study is to explore hospital leaders' and simulation facilitators' expectations of, and experiences of utilizing simulation-based activities in the preparations for the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This is a qualitative case study utilizing semi-structured in-depth interviews with hospital leaders and simulation facilitators in one large hospital in Norway. The data were sorted under three predefined research topics and further analyzed by inductive, thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke within these pre-defined topics. RESULTS: Eleven members of the hospital leadership and simulation facilitators were included in the study. We identified four themes explaining why COVID-19 related simulation-based activities were initiated, and perceived consequences of the activities; 1) a multifaceted method like simulation fitted a multifaceted crisis, 2) a well-established culture for simulation in the hospital was crucial for scaling up simulation-based activities during the crisis, 3) potential risks were outweighed by the advantages of utilizing simulation-based activities, and finally 4) hospital leaders and simulation facilitators retrospectively assessed the use of simulation-based activities as appropriate to prepare for a pandemic crisis. CONCLUSIONS: The hospital leadership's decision to utilize simulation-based activities in preparing for the COVID-19 crisis may be explained by many factors. First, it seems that many years of experience with systematic use of simulation-based activities within the hospital can explain the trust in simulation as a valuable tool that were easy to reach. Second, both hospital leaders and simulation facilitators saw simulation as a unique tool for the optimization of the COVID-19 response due to the wide applicability of the method. According to hospital leaders and simulation facilitators, simulation-based activities revealed critical gaps in training and competence levels, treatment protocols, patient logistics, and environmental shortcomings that were acted upon, suggesting that institutional learning took place.

Exploring health literacy in patients with chronic kidney disease: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic kidney disease make day-to-day decisions about how to self-manage their disease. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) includes a risk for progression towards end-stage renal disease and the development of comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, which represents the leading cause of death among these patients. To reduce these risks, CKD patients are recommended to follow a healthy lifestyle with physical activity, food and fluid restrictions, and adherence to complex medication regimes throughout all phases of the disease. To manage the complexity of this health situation, health literacy (HL) is considered essential. The current prevailing understanding is that HL is a multidimensional concept and comprises a range of cognitive, affective, social, and personal skills that determine the motivation and ability to gain access to, understand, and use health information. Recently, we investigated multiple aspects of HL in CKD patients in a quantitative cross-sectional study utilizing the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) and observed that finding good health information and appraising health information were the most challenging aspects of HL. This study aimed to explore CKD patients' lived experiences of different dimensions of HL presented in the HLQ. METHODS: This qualitative study utilized in-depth semistructured interviews. Twelve patients with different levels of HL were included. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke. RESULTS: We identified three main themes that were significant for CKD patients' HL: 1. Variation in people's attitudes and behavior as health information seekers, 2. The problem of fragmented healthcare in the context of multimorbidity makes the healthcare system challenging to navigate, and 3. The value of a good relationship with healthcare providers. CONCLUSION: CKD patients take different approaches to health information. Limiting or avoiding health information may be a strategy used by some individuals to cope with the disease and does not necessarily mean that health information is inaccessible or difficult to understand. Comorbidity and a fragmented healthcare system can make the healthcare system challenging to navigate. A good and trusting relationship with healthcare providers seems to promote several aspects of HL and should be promoted to optimize CKD patients' HL.

A cross-sectional study of health literacy in patients with chronic kidney disease: Associations with demographic and clinical variables.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate health literacy in patients with chronic kidney disease in a multidimensional perspective. DESIGN: A descriptive, cross-sectional study. METHODS: Patients with chronic kidney disease at stages 3-5 were included in the study between February-August 2017 (N = 187). Health literacy was measured by the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ). Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify associations between health literacy and demographic and clinical variables. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to identify characteristics of groups with high and low health literacy. RESULTS: Finding and critical appraise health information were the most challenging dimensions of health literacy. Female gender, lower level of education, greater number of prescribed medications and depressive symptoms were associated with lower health literacy. The group identified with lowest health literacy was further characterized by living alone and presence of comorbidity.