Patient-Perceived Quality Assessment in Orthopedics and Traumatology Departments during COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant disruptions in various healthcare systems. In Romania, the elective procedures in the orthopedic and traumatology specialty were one of the most affected. The study aims to investigate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient perceptions of quality in these departments. Standardized assessment tools were used, which consist of satisfaction questionnaires addressed to patients in order to assess the quality of health services in orthopedics and traumatology departments. Thus, a retrospective study was conducted using satisfaction questionnaires addressed to patients admitted to the orthopedics and traumatology departments of the County Clinical Emergency Hospital Bihor between January 2019 and December 2022. Eight reports, based on 746 questionnaires conducted during the studied period, were evaluated. To gauge patient satisfaction, Likert scales featuring five response options were used. A total of 627 questionnaires were valid, the exclusion criteria being incomplete questionnaires (the patients did not respond on all questions, n = 119). Four domains were analyzed: demographic data, hotel conditions, quality of medical care, and overall satisfaction. Demographic data highlight that patients exhibited an equitable distribution across residences, with 50.2% hailing from urban locales, while 53.5% (n = 333) were female. Regarding the overall impression, in 2020, there was a decline in the top rating of 5 compared to 2019, dropping to just 45.10% from 53.45%. Scores of 4 increased to 41.83%, while scores of 3 stayed under 8.5%. Scores of 2 and 1 were negligible. In 2021 and 2022, we can observe a sustained increase in the number of patients who awarded 5 points for overall impression and a decrease in the number of patients who awarded 4 points compared to previous years. The maximum difference between 2020 and 2021 and the period before and after this period was 27.24% (p-value < 0.001). The results indicate that while overall impressions of the hospital remained positive throughout the studied period, there were notable fluctuations in satisfaction levels during the pandemic. Patient satisfaction with attending physicians dipped in 2020 from 86.70% to 77.78% but recovered by 2022. The same trend can be observed with nurses and caregivers, as well as hotel services, during this period. These findings underscore the importance of addressing patient concerns and improving the quality of care delivery, particularly during times of crisis.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Intentions and Vaccine Hesitancy among Postpartum Mothers in a Region from the Northwest of Romania.

This study aims to identify the presence of vaccine hesitancy and the factors that could have determined it in a group of mothers in the postpartum period, with an evaluation of both the level of knowledge and information, as well as the attitudes, perceptions, intentions and sources of information about vaccination. The study was based on a survey-Vaccine Hesitancy Identification Survey-applied in two maternity wards from Bihor County and structured into six subscales (34 items). Based on the answers to the key questions ("Which of the following statements best describes your plans for vaccinating your child?"-item 1 of subscale 4; "Overall, how hesitant do you consider yourself to be about vaccinating your child?"-item 4 of subscale 4), we identified two groups: the group of mothers without hesitant behavior (non-hesitant), called the group pro vaccine (GPV), and the group of mothers with hesitant behavior, called the group non vaccine (GNV). Vaccine hesitancy was identified in our study in 47.28% of the participants (191 of the 404 mothers included). Most of them come from an urban environment (57.59%), have university and post-secondary education (58.64%) and are prim parous (58.64%). The behavior of participants from GNV is influenced by a low level of knowledge and information regarding vaccination and by concerns related to adverse reactions, new vaccines and the number of vaccines administered. Also, this group is characterized by an increased perception of the risks related to vaccination, while the perception of the risks associated with the disease is low. For all subscales, important differences were registered between the two groups in favor of GPV, a group characterized by positive attitudes and perceptions and a better level of knowledge compared to GNV. This study aims to represent a starting point for the organization and running of information campaigns regarding vaccination at the level of Bihor County, especially in areas with low vaccination coverage, where this behavior is identified.

Comparative Analysis of Patient Satisfaction Surveys-A Crucial Role in Raising the Standard of Healthcare Services.

(1) Background: The study aimed to assess the patients' perception of the quality of the medical staff's care, the hotel's services, and the hospital's overall impression as well as to determine the best rating scale through a comparative analysis of patient satisfaction questionnaires. (2) Methods: A retrospective study was performed based on satisfaction questionnaires addressed to the patients hospitalized in the Orthopedics and Traumatology departments of the County Clinical Emergency Hospital Oradea between 2015 and 2019. Three different types of questionnaires were used during the study period, with the number of questions varying between 30 (variant A) and 37 (variant C). The evaluation was done using the Likert scales with three, four, or five answer variables. (3) Results: The items that we found to be present in all three categories of surveys and for which at least two different questionnaire variants used the Likert scales with various answer variables were chosen. In terms of the treatment given by the medical staff, hotel services, and the overall perception of the hospital, the patients perceive a higher level of quality. (4) Conclusions: The level of patient overall satisfaction or general impression about the hospital is strongly dependent on the quality of medical care provided by the doctors and the specific hotel conditions of the hospital. The quality assessment using the Likert rating scale with five binary variables is more accurate.

Evaluation of the Knowledge and Attitude of Adolescents Regarding the HPV Infection, HPV Vaccination and Cervical Cancer in a Region from the Northwest of Romania.

Purpose: In Romania, after reaching the age of 18, teenage girls can make an informed decision about vaccination. The aim of the study was to evaluate both knowledge and attitudes related to HPV infection, HPV vaccination, cervical cancer, as well as intentions, reservations, reasons that could influence the decision related to vaccination. Patients and Methods: We applied an anonymized questionnaire to 690 teenage girls in the 18-19 age group, recruited from 15 high schools in Bihor County. Based on the answers to the question corresponding to item 14 of subscale 3, 2 groups were identified: the group with a hesitant behavior called the non-vaccine group (GNV) and the group with a positive behavior called the pro-vaccine group (GPV). The statistical analysis was processed by using IBM-SPSS 22. Results: The analysis revealed significant differences between the groups in terms of the level of knowledge and attitudes related to vaccination, the adolescent girls in the GPV being more aware of the role and importance of HPV vaccination and more open to the idea of vaccination. For the GNV, the behavior can be explained by the fact that even if they have heard about the HPV infection being transmitted through unprotected sex and they think that vaccination in general is necessary to prevent certain diseases, they do not know if HPV vaccination would be effective in protecting them in the future. Adolescents from GPV declare they would accept HPV vaccination if it would be offered to them or they are already vaccinated. Conclusion: Alongside interventions targeting parents and health-care professionals, it is necessary to improve the level of knowledge of adolescents about HPV infection, HPV vaccination and cervical cancer, by organizing information campaigns in schools, campaigns in which professionals in the field should be involved, but also by implementing education programs addressed to them.

The Motivation of Medical Staff and the Work Interestedness in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic, in a Tertiary Hospital in Romania.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the motivation and work interestedness of employees in a tertiary hospital located in the northwest of Romania. In the study, 2230 employee satisfaction questionnaires distributed during 2019-2021 in the Oradea Emergency County Clinical Hospital (CCEHO) were analyzed. The percentage of those who declare themselves motivated at the hospital level remains relatively constant, at around 75%. There were differences between staff categories. The percentage of those who evaluate work interestedness with the qualifier "high" decreased from 45.45% for the year 2019 to 41.78% for the year 2021. The degree of motivation and work interestedness showed a significant increase for TESA staff during the pandemic period compared to the year 2019. A non-significant statistical increase in the percentage of motivated staff was observed among physicians, auxiliary staff and the radiology department staff. The motivation of nurses and laboratory staff decreased, but statistically insignificantly. The COVID-19 pandemic brought statistically significant changes at the level of motivation of the hospital staff only for the administrative staff, and the work interestedness for physicians and nurses decreased statistically significantly, especially in the second year of the pandemic. Older staff with an average level of education are more likely to be unmotivated, as shown by the regression model.