Codevelopment and Deployment of a System for the Telemonitoring of Activities of Daily Living Among Older Adults Receiving Home Care Services: Protocol for an Action Design Research Study.

BACKGROUND: Telemonitoring of activities of daily living (ADLs) offers significant potential for gaining a deeper insight into the home care needs of older adults experiencing cognitive decline, particularly those living alone. In 2016, our team and a health care institution in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, sought to test this technology to enhance the support provided by home care clinical teams for older adults residing alone and facing cognitive deficits. The Support for Seniors' Autonomy program (SAPA [Soutien à l'autonomie des personnes âgées]) project was initiated within this context, embracing an innovative research approach that combines action research and design science. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the research protocol for the SAPA project, with the aim of facilitating the replication of similar initiatives in the future. The primary objectives of the SAPA project were to (1) codevelop an ADL telemonitoring system aligned with the requirements of key stakeholders, (2) deploy the system in a real clinical environment to identify specific use cases, and (3) identify factors conducive to its sustained use in a real-world setting. Given the context of the SAPA project, the adoption of an action design research (ADR) approach was deemed crucial. ADR is a framework for crafting practical solutions to intricate problems encountered in a specific organizational context. METHODS: This project consisted of 2 cycles of development (alpha and beta) that involved cyclical repetitions of stages 2 and 3 to develop a telemonitoring system for ADLs. Stakeholders, such as health care managers, clinicians, older adults, and their families, were included in each codevelopment cycle. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected throughout this project. RESULTS: The first iterative cycle, the alpha cycle, took place from early 2016 to mid 2018. The first prototype of an ADL telemonitoring system was deployed in the homes of 4 individuals receiving home care services through a public health institution. The prototype was used to collect data about care recipients' ADL routines. Clinicians used the data to support their home care intervention plan, and the results are presented here. The prototype was successfully deployed and perceived as useful, although obstacles were encountered. Similarly, a second codevelopment cycle (beta cycle) took place in 3 public health institutions from late 2018 to late 2022. The telemonitoring system was installed in 31 care recipients' homes, and detailed results will be presented in future papers. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first reported ADR project in ADL telemonitoring research that includes 2 iterative cycles of codevelopment and deployment embedded in the real-world clinical settings of a public health system. We discuss the artifacts, generalization of learning, and dissemination generated by this protocol in the hope of providing a concrete and replicable example of research partnerships in the field of digital health in cognitive aging. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR1-10.2196/52284.

Identifying Patient Perceptions of Inequality in Public Health Care Services: Evidence From a Single Indian Administrative District.

Purpose: Assessment of patient experiences is an essential step to revamp patient-centered care and identify systemic effectiveness as part of universal health coverage. This paper analyzes the variation of health care at different levels of the public health care system in India by measuring patients' experience with the care they have received in the Alipurduar district of India. Methods: From May 2021 to April 2022, stratified sampling technique was applied to collect primary data from 450 patients having different health problems from different levels of the public health care system. In addition, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey results were used to evaluate patient experience, with the reliability of questions measured by Cronbach's alpha. Collected data were categorized with the help of exploratory factor analysis; after which, analysis of variance and post-hoc tests were applied to understand specific variations in patient experiences. Results: This study identified that the services delivered in the health centers were not suitable (6.160 out of 10) to fulfill the needs of the patients. Among the three domains of health care services - namely, proficiency, tangibility, and information - the experience of patients significantly varied (P<0.001) when comparing primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of the public health care system. Conclusions: Patients receiving services from the centers under the tertiary level have expressed lesser satisfaction than those patients who have received care at primary or secondary levels because of excessive patient load, inadequate manpower, and other infrastructure deficits at the tertiary level.

Health Care Resource Utilization in Adults Living With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in the South African Public Health Sector: Protocol for a 1-Year Retrospective Analysis With a 5-, 10-, and 25-Year Projection.

BACKGROUND: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is less common than type 2 diabetes mellitus but is increasing in frequency in South Africa. It tends to affect younger individuals, and upon diagnosis, exogenous insulin is essential for survival. In South Africa, the health care system is divided into private and public health care systems. The private system is well resourced, whereas the public sector, which treats more than 80% of the population, has minimal resources. There are currently no studies in South Africa, and Africa at large, that have evaluated the immediate and long-term costs of managing people living with T1DM in the public sector. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to quantify the cost of health care resource utilization over a 12-month period in patients with controlled and uncontrolled T1DM in the public health care sector. In addition, we will project costs for 5, 10, and 25 years and determine if there are cost differences in managing subsets of patients who achieve glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] <7%) and those who do not. METHODS: The study was performed in accordance with Good Epidemiological Practice. Ethical clearance and institutional permissions were acquired. Clinical data were collected from 2 tertiary hospitals in South Africa. Patients with T1DM, who provided written informed consent, and who satisfied the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Data collection included demographic and clinical characteristics, acute and chronic complications, hospital admissions, and so on. We plan to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis to quantify the costs of health care utilization in the preceding 12 months. In addition, we will estimate projected costs over the next 10 years, assuming that study participants maintain their current HbA1c level. The cost-effectiveness analysis will be modeled using the IQVIA CORE Diabetes Model. The primary outcome measures are incremental quality-adjusted life years, incremental costs, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, and incremental life years. RESULTS: Ethical clearance and institutional approval were obtained (reference number 200407). Enrollment began on February 9, 2021, and was completed on August 24, 2021, with 224 participants. A database lock was performed on October 29, 2021. The statistical analysis and clinical study report were completed in January 2022. CONCLUSIONS: At present, there are no data assessing the short- and long-term costs of managing patients with T1DM in the South African public sector. It is hoped that the findings of this study will help policy makers optimally use limited resources to reduce morbidity and mortality in people living with T1DM. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR1-10.2196/44308.

Implementing an Integrative Oncology Paradigm in Cancer Care: The Tuscan Regional Healthcare System.

Introduction: Recent cancer research highlighted specific patient needs, with a growing interest in integrative oncology (IO). Design: This is a narrative review concerning the Tuscan Healthcare System, which represents a virtuous example of progressive integration of complementary medicine in conventional cancer care. Results: The main steps of the process are described, with a specific focus on the 2021 Diagnostic and Therapeutic Care Pathway on Integrative Oncology. Conclusions: Implementing an IO service may contribute to respond to patients' demand for complementary therapies, also providing safety and equity of therapeutic access within public health care systems.

A Proposed Framework for Machine Learning-Aided Triage in Public Specialty Ophthalmology Clinics in Hong Kong.

The public specialty ophthalmic clinics in Hong Kong, under the Hospital Authority, receive tens of thousands of referrals each year. Triaging these referrals incurs a significant workload for practitioners and the other clinical duties. It is well-established that Hong Kong is currently facing a shortage of healthcare workers. Thus a more efficient system in triaging will not only free up resources for better use but also improve the satisfaction of both practitioners and patients. Machine learning (ML) has been shown to improve the efficiency of various medical workflows, including triaging, by both reducing the workload and increasing accuracy in some cases. Despite a myriad of studies on medical artificial intelligence, there is no specific framework for a triaging algorithm in ophthalmology clinics. This study proposes a general framework for developing, deploying and evaluating an ML-based triaging algorithm in a clinical setting. Through literature review, this study identifies good practices in various facets of developing such a network and protocols for maintenance and evaluation of the impact concerning clinical utility and external validity out of the laboratory. We hope this framework, albeit not exhaustive, can act as a foundation to accelerate future pilot studies and deployments.

Preparedness of public health-care system for Zika virus outbreak: An Indian perspective.

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that has emerged recently and affected in many countries. Since its discovery in Uganda in 1947, two major outbreaks were reported from Yap Islands in 2007 and French Polynesia in 2013. In 2015, the first case of ZIKV infection was confirmed from Brazil followed by a report of cases from American and Caribbean countries. In February 2016, the World Health Organization declared ZIKV infection a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. India reported the first Zika case in 2017. Subsequently, 157 laboratory-confirmed cases of ZIKV including 63 pregnant women were reported from Rajasthan, India in 2018. Since 2014, many countries took initiatives to boost their public health system to combat ZIKV. However, there is still scope for the improvement. This review describes ZIKV outbreaks, diagnostic challenges, surveillance and control measures in India and the future perspective to deal with the ZIKV outbreak in India.

Challenges in the work process in the Family Health Strategy / Desafio do processo de trabalho na Estratégia Saúde da Família

ABSTRACT Purpose: to analyze the work process of the Family Health teams in the municipality of Caxias do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Methods: this is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory research conducted in four Family Health Strategy (FHS) units, with the participation of 22 health professionals. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview and analyzed through the theme content analysis, aided by the Atlas.ti software. Results: the results were organized in three categories: (1) Roles, reality and idealization of working in the FHS, in which health prevention and curative practices appeared as the focus of the work process; (2) Elements of working in the FHS, which dealt with the purpose of the work connected to health prevention, related instruments, hard technologies and work object, in relation to professional specificities; and (3) Challenges and perspectives of working in the FHS, which emphasizes the fragilities, due to the shortage of professionals and the need for managerial improvement, as well as commitment and teamwork as potentialities. Conclusion: in the work process in health, the preventive professional actions with curative focus were predominant. The challenges were centered on redirecting the work process toward the Family Health approach.

RESUMO Objetivo: analisar o processo de trabalho das equipes de Saúde da Família no município de Caxias do Sul, RS, Brasil. Métodos: trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória. O estudo foi realizado em quatro Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) e participaram 22 profissionais de saúde. Os dados foram coletados por entrevista semiestruturada e analisados pela análise de conteúdo temática, com auxílio do software Atlas.ti. Resultados: foram organizados em três categorias: (1) Funções, realidade e idealização do trabalho na ESF, sendo a prevenção a saúde e as práticas curativistas apareceram como foco do processo de trabalho; (2) Elementos do trabalho na ESF, contemplou a finalidade do trabalho ligada à prevenção das doenças, os instrumentos vinculados as tecnologias duras e objeto de trabalho, relacionada as especificidades profissionais; e, (3) Desafios e perspectivas do trabalho na ESF, os quais enfatizam as fragilidades pela falta de profissionais e a necessidade de melhorias na gestão, bem como, o comprometimento e o trabalho em equipe como potencialidades. Conclusão: no processo de trabalho em saúde predominaram as ações profissionais preventivas com foco curativista, com desafios centrados no redirecionamento do processo de trabalho na lógica da Saúde da Família.

Evaluation of Hematuria in a Large Public Health Care System.

BACKGROUND: Hematuria is the most common presenting symptom in bladder cancer, but many patients are not adequately evaluated. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the type and frequency of hematuria evaluation in a large public health care system. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Electronic medical records of adult patients with urinalysis positive for hematuria (≥3 RBCs/HPF) from January 2015 to April 2018 in an outpatient setting were reviewed. Logistic regression was performed to determine factors associated with urology referral and complete evaluation. RESULTS: 11,422 patients met the inclusion criteria; the majority were females (72%) and white race (60%). There were an additional 3,221 patient's with initial diagnosis of UTI. Median age was 49.0 years. Testing included repeat urinalysis (50%), imaging (26%), urology referral (11.4%), cystoscopy (4.4%) and complete evaluation defined as cystoscopy and US/CT/MRI (4%). In the multivariable analysis, factors independently associated with higher referral to urology were age >35, male gender, hypertension, RBCs ≥20. African American race was associated with less referral to urology. Smoking was a significant variable on univariable analysis only. 37 patients (0.25%) were diagnosed with urological malignancies, with bladder cancer in 33, 12 of whom are missed by excluding UTI patients. CONCLUSIONS: In the outpatient setting of a public health care system, the vast majority of patients with hematuria are not referred and evaluated properly across all age categories and regardless of smoking status. This might result in missed cancer diagnoses and requires quality improvement measures.

[Community health workers: a health model without walls]. / Agents communautaires de santé : un modèle de santé sans murs.

The aim of this commentary is to respond to a published Canadian Journal of Public Health article on Brazil's family health strategy, in order to clarify some aspects - in particular, the work of community health workers - that make the strategy a unique experience. In the same vein, the authors explore the similarities, differences and peculiarities between Brazil and Québec with regard to the organizational model for primary health care.

O papel da saúde da família na atenção às urgências / The role of family health in urgent care

O presente artigo analisa o papel do Programa Saúde daFamília na atenção de urgência em relação aos demais níveisde complexidade que integram o Sistema Único de Saúde.Para tanto, apresenta um estudo de uma série de normas edocumentos legais recentes sobre a atenção de urgência nopaís, dentre outras, as Portarias: GM/MS nº. 2.048/2002 enº. 1.863/2003. O estudo evidenciou que, para uma efetivaoferta desse tipo de serviço, são necessárias condiçõespróprias adequadas, tais como: hierarquização das ações eserviços, protocolos clínicos, recursos humanos, referênciae contrarreferência, regulação do transporte e dos leitosde observação, sistemas de informação e comunicação,recursos tecnológicos, área física adequada. As normasbrasileiras não contêm ainda definições claras a respeitodessas condições em cada nível de atenção, especialmente,no Programa Saúde da Família.