Residuals in space: Potential pitfalls and applications from single-institution survival analysis.

In practice, survival analyses appear in pharmaceutical testing, procedural recovery environments, and registry-based epidemiological studies, each reasonably assuming a known patient population. Less commonly discussed is the additional complexity introduced by non-registry and spatially-referenced data with time-dependent covariates in observational settings. In this short report we discuss residual diagnostics and interpretation from an extended Cox proportional hazard model intended to assess the effects of wildfire evacuation on risk of a secondary cardiovascular events for patients of a specific healthcare system on the California's central coast. We describe how traditional residuals obscure important spatial patterns indicative of true geographical variation, and their impacts on model parameter estimates. We briefly discuss alternative approaches to dealing with spatial correlation in the context of Bayesian hierarchical models. Our findings/experience suggest that careful attention is needed in observational healthcare data and survival analysis contexts, but also highlights potential applications for detecting observed hospital service areas.

Pricing of hospital services: evidence from a thematic review.

The management implications of pricing healthcare services, especially hospitals, have received insufficient scholarly attention. Additionally, disciplinary overlaps have led to scattered academic efforts in this domain. This study performs a thematic synthesis of the literature and applies retrospective analysis to hospital service pricing articles to address these issues. The study's inputs were sourced from well-known online repositories, using a structured search string and PRISMA flow chart to select the pertinent documents. Our thematic analysis of pricing literature encompasses: (a) comprehension of hospital service pricing nature; (b) pricing objectives, strategies and practices differentiation; (c) presentation of factors impacting hospital service pricing. We observe that hospital pricing is an intricate and unclear matter. The terms 'pricing strategies' and 'pricing practices' are often used interchangeably in academic literature. Hospital service pricing is influenced by costs, demand and supply factors, market structure, pricing regulation and third-party reimbursements. The study's findings provide policy implications for service pricing in hospitals, in addition to suggesting avenues for future research on hospital pricing.

SARS-CoV-2 infections in "less visible" hospital staff: The roles and safety of environmental services and allied health professionals.

BACKGROUND: During the early SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, all healthcare workers had specific and essential functions. However, environmental services (e.g., cleaning staff) and allied health professionals (e.g., physiotherapists) are often less recognised inpatient care. The aim of our study was to evaluate SARS-CoV-2-infection rates and describe risk factors relevant to workplace transmission and occupational safety amongst healthcare workers in COVID-19 hospitals before the introduction of SARS-CoV-2-specific vaccines. METHODS: This cross-sectional study (from May 2020 to March 2021, standardised WHO early-investigation protocol) is evaluating workplace or health-related data, COVID-19-patient proximity, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, anti-SARS-CoV-2-antibody status, and transmission pathways. RESULTS: Out of n = 221 HCW (n = 189 cleaning/service staff; n = 32 allied health professionals), n = 17 (7.7 %) were seropositive. While even SARS-CoV-2-naïve HCW reported SARS-CoV-2-related symptoms, airway symptoms, loss of smell or taste, and appetite were the most specific for a SARS-CoV-2-infection. Adherence to IPC (98.6 %) and recommended PPE use (98.2 %) were high and not associated with seropositivity. In 70.6 %, transmission occurred in private settings; in 23.5 %, at the workplace (by interaction with SARS-CoV-2-positive colleagues [17.6 %] or patient contact [5.9 %]), or remained unclear (one case). CONCLUSIONS: Infection rates were higher in all assessed 'less visible' healthcare-worker groups compared to the general population. Our data indicates that, while IPC measures and PPE may have contributed to the prevention of patient-to-healthcare-worker transmissions, infections were commonly acquired outside of work and transmitted between healthcare workers within the hospital. This finding emphasises the importance of ongoing education on transmission prevention and regular infection screenings at work.

Physical and mental functioning trajectory classes among older adults and their association with specialized healthcare use.

BACKGROUND: Sex-specific physical and mental functioning trajectory classification could offer a way of understanding the differences in healthcare use at older age. METHODS: Using latent growth mixture models, sex-specific physical and mental functioning trajectory classes were formed for 1991 participants (mean age 61.5 years) of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. Physical and mental functioning were evaluated with the SF-36 survey conducted in clinical examinations in 2001-2004, 2011-2013, and 2017-2018. First and follow-up outpatient visits, emergency visits, and hospital days were extracted from a national register between the first clinical examination and the year 2017. We used regression models to examine the associations between healthcare use and trajectory classes. RESULTS: Two physical and mental functioning trajectory classes, high and intermediate, were observed for both sexes. The intermediate physical functioning trajectory class was associated with higher utilization rates of all examined specialized healthcare services (fully-adjusted IRRs varying 1.36-1.58; 95% CI = 1.03-1.79, 95% CI = 1.21-2.05) compared to the high trajectory class. Relative to the high trajectory class, the intermediate mental trajectory class was associated with the use of first outpatient visits (fully-adjusted IRRs 1.17, 95% CI = 1.03-1.33 for men, and 1.16, 95% CI = 1.04-1.30 for women). The findings were similar among both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the high trajectory class, the intermediate physical functioning trajectory class was associated with greater specialized healthcare use and the intermediate mental trajectory class with first outpatient visits. Public health interventions should be considered to support functioning with aging.

A fuzzy rough copula Bayesian network model for solving complex hospital service quality assessment.

Healthcare tends to be one of the most complicated sectors, and hospitals exist at the core of healthcare activities. One of the most significant elements in hospitals is service quality level. Moreover, the dependency between factors, dynamic features, as well as objective and subjective uncertainties involved endure challenges to modern decision-making problems. Thus, in this paper, a decision-making approach is developed for hospital service quality assessment, using a Bayesian copula network based on a fuzzy rough set within neighborhood operators as a basis of that to deal with dynamic features as well as objective uncertainties. In the copula Bayesian network model, the Bayesian Network is utilized to illustrate the interrelationships between different factors graphically, while Copula is engaged in obtaining the joint probability distribution. Fuzzy rough set theory within neighborhood operators is employed for the subjective treatment of evidence from decision makers. The efficiency and practicality of the designed method are validated by an analysis of real hospital service quality in Iran. A novel framework for ranking a group of alternatives with consideration of different criteria is proposed by the combination of the Copula Bayesian Network and the extended fuzzy rough set technique. The subjective uncertainty of decision makers' opinions is dealt with in a novel extension of fuzzy Rough set theory. The results highlighted that the proposed method has merits in reducing uncertainty and assessing the dependency between factors of complicated decision-making problems.

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health service utilisation in England.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on population mental health and the need for mental health services in many countries, while also disrupting critical mental health services and capacity, as a response to the pandemic. Mental health providers were asked to reconfigure wards to accommodate patients with COVID-19, thereby reducing capacity to provide mental health services. This is likely to have widened the existing mismatch between demand and supply of mental health care in the English NHS. We quantify the impact of these rapid service reconfigurations on activity levels for mental health providers in England during the first thirteen months (March 2020-March 2021) of the COVID-19 pandemic. We use monthly mental health service utilisation data for a large subset of mental health providers in England from January 1, 2015 to March 31, 2021. We use multivariate regression to estimate the difference between observed and expected utilisation from the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Expected utilisation levels (i.e. the counterfactual) are estimated from trends in utilisation observed during the pre-pandemic period January 1, 2015 to February 31, 2020. We measure utilisation as the monthly number of inpatient admissions, discharges, net admissions (admissions less discharges), length of stay, bed days, number of occupied beds, patients with outpatient appointments, and total outpatient appointments. We also calculate the accumulated difference in utilisation from the start of the pandemic period. There was a sharp reduction in total inpatient admissions and net admissions at the beginning of the pandemic, followed by a return to pre-pandemic levels from September 2020. Shorter inpatient stays are observed over the whole period and bed days and occupied bed counts had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels by March 2021. There is also evidence of greater use of outpatient appointments, potentially as a substitute for inpatient care.

Perfil de salud de los recién nacidos ingresados en una unidad de cuidados intermedios neonatales convencionales / Perfil de saúde de recém-nascidos admitidos em unidade de cuidados intermediários neonatais convencionais / Health profile of newborns admitted to a conventional neonatal intermediate care unit

Objetivo: Caracterizar el perfil de salud de los recién nacidos ingresados en una Unidad de Cuidados Intermedios Neonatales Convencionales de Maternidad de referencia en el Estado de Piauí. Método: Estudio descriptivo, exploratorio y analítico, con abordaje de datos cuantitativos, realizado en el período de julio a agosto de 2021 en una Unidad de Cuidados Intermedios Neonatales Convencionales de Maternidad de referencia en el Estado de Piauí. Se elaboró mediante la evaluación y el análisis de la propia lista de control de admisión de recién nacidos de la unidad. La recogida de datos se realizó mediante un formulario elaborado y probado. Se incluyeron 1.251 recién nacidos ingresados en la unidad en el periodo elegido, y se excluyeron los reingresos, los registros incompletos o no concluyentes, o los que estaban fuera de plazo. Los datos se analizaron mediante estadísticas descriptivas e inferenciales. Resultados: Los ingresos se produjeron en mayor porcentaje en 2020, con predominio de madres procedentes del interior del estado, recién nacidos varones, pretérmino, adecuados a la edad gestacional, con puntuación de Apgar de 8-10, nacidos de parto por cesárea y procedentes de la sala de partos. Conclusión: A partir de los datos obtenidos mediante la caracterización de los recién nacidos, se obtiene un manejo adecuado, la reducción de la morbimortalidad, la reducción del tiempo de internamiento y la adquisición de los recursos necesarios para la atención al recién nacido. (AU)

Objetivo: Caracterizar o perfil de saúde de recém-nascidos admitidos em uma Unidade de Cuidados Intermediários Neonatais Convencionais de Maternidade de referência do Estado do Piauí. Método: Estudo descritivo, exploratório e analítico, com abordagem quantitativa de dados, realizado no período de julho a agosto de 2021 em Unidade de Cuidados Intermediários Neonatais Convencionais de Maternidade de referência do Estado do Piauí. Ele foi desenvolvido por meio de avaliação e análise de checklist próprio de admissão de recém-nascidos da unidade. A coleta dos dados foi realizado por meio de formulário elaborado e testado. Foram incluidos 1.251 recém-nascidos internados na unidade no periodo elegido, e excluídos readmissões, registros incompletos, inconclusivos ou fora do recorte temporal. Os dados foram analisados utilizando estatística descritiva e inferencial. Resultados: As admissões ocorreram em maior porcentagem em 2020, com predominância de mães provenientes do interior do Estado, recém-nascidos do sexo masculino, pré-termos, adequado para a idade gestacional, com Apgar de 8-10, nascidos de parto cesáreos e provenientes da sala de parto. Conclusão: A partir dos dados obtidos por meio da caracterização dos recém-nascidos, obtém-se manejo adequado, redução da morbimortalidade, redução de tempo de internação e aquisição de recursos necessários para o atendimento ao neonato. (AU)

Objective: To characterize the health profile of newborns admitted a Conventional Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit of a reference Maternity in the State of Piauí. Method: Descriptive, exploratory and analytical study, with quantitative data approach, conducted from July to August 2021 in a Conventional Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit of a reference Maternity in the State of Piauí. It was developed through the evaluation and analysis of the unit's own newborn admission checklist. The data collection was performed using an elaborated and tested form. 1,251 newborns admitted to the unit during the selected period were included, and readmissions, incomplete or inconclusive records, or those outside the time frame were excluded. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The admissions occurred in a higher percentage in 2020, with a predominance of mothers from the interior of the state, male newborns, preterm, suitable for gestational age, with Apgar score of 8-10, born from cesarean delivery and coming from the delivery room. Conclusion: From the data obtained through the characterization of newborns, we obtain adequate management, reduced morbidity and mortality, reduced hospitalization time and acquisition of resources needed for the care of the newborn. (AU)

"You Have to Keep in Mind That You're Dealing with People's Lives": How Hospital Service Workers Enact an Ethic of Care.

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the need to examine the health and safety of all workers, especially frontline workers, like hospital service workers (HSWs). Given ongoing pandemic-related challenges like healthcare labor shortages, attention to HSWs is essential. This paper draws from 3 waves of in-depth interviews conducted with HSWs from 2017 to 2020 to understand the evolving nature and challenges of their work from their perspectives. By analyzing the interviews, we found their approach to labor consistent with a feminist ethic of care. The ethic of care framework understands care as a public responsibility necessary for a functioning society. Workers perceived the ethic of care to be consistently violated by their employer, which contributed to poor working conditions, threatening the well-being of workers and patients alike. Drawing from workers' experiences and insights, the ethic of care framework can inform organizational changes to improve both occupational health and patient care.

Conhecimento de enfemeiras sobre a criança com doença falciforme / Conocimiento de enfemeiras sobre el niño con enfermedad falciforme / Knowledge of nurses about children with sickle cell disease

Objetivo: conhecer a percepção das enfermeiras sobre a criança com doença falciforme. Método: pesquisa qualitativa Convergente-Assistencial, ocorrida em hospital público pediátrico, da qual participaram 12 enfermeiras da emergência no período de julho de 2020 a abril de 2021, após submissão ao Comitê de Ética. As técnicas de coleta de dados foram: sondagem do conhecimento por entrevista semiestruturada, grupos de convergência e observação participante. Os dados foram analisados conforme referencial da Pesquisa Convergente-Assistencial e suas fases, sendo elas concepção, instrumentalização, teorização, transferência e análise. Resultados: as enfermeiras reconheceram a doença pela principal manifestação clínica, a crise álgica, a qual foi citada como característica marcante da criança com doença falciforme. Considerações finais: as enfermeiras atuantes na emergência pediátrica conhecem alguns aspectos da doença falciforme e revelaram conhecimento incipiente sobre a fisiopatologia da doença.

Objetivo: conocer la percepción de las enfermeras sobre el niño con enfermedad falciforme. Método: Investigación cualitativa Convergente-Asistencial, ocurrida en hospital público pediátrico, de la cual participaron 12 enfermeras de la emergencia en el período de julio de 2020 a abril de 2021, tras sumisión al Comité de Ética. Las técnicas de recolección de datos fueron: sondeo del conocimiento por entrevista semiestructurada, grupos de convergencia y observación participante. Los datos fueron analizados conforme referencial de la Investigación Convergente-Asistencial y sus fases, siendo ellas concepción, instrumentalización, teorización, transferencia y análisis. Resultados: las enfermeras reconocieron la enfermedad por la principal manifestación clínica, la crisis álgica, la cual fue citada como característica distintiva del niño con enfermedad falciforme. Consideraciones finales: las enfermeras que actúan en la emergencia pediátrica conocen algunos aspectos de la enfermedad falciforme y revelaron conocimiento incipiente sobre la fisiopatología de la enfermedad.

Objective: to know the perception of nurses about the child with sickle cell disease. Method: qualitative Convergent-Care research, occurred in a public pediatric hospital, in which 12 emergency nurses participated from July 2020 to April 2021, after submission to the Ethics Committee. The data collection techniques were: survey of knowledge by semi-structured interview, convergence groups and participant observation. The data were analyzed according to the referential of the Convergent-Care Research and its phases, being them conception, instrumentalization, theorization, transfer and analysis. Results: the nurses recognized the disease by the main clinical manifestation, the pain crisis, which was cited as a striking characteristic of the child with sickle cell disease. Final considerations: the nurses working in the pediatric emergency know some aspects of sickle cell disease and revealed incipient knowledge about the pathophysiology of the disease.

COVID-19 Deaths and the Impact of Health Disparities, Hospital Characteristics, Community, Social Distancing, and Health System Competition.

The United States has one of the highest cumulative mortalities of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has reached 1 million deaths as of May 19th, 2022. Understanding which community and hospital factors contributed to disparities in COVID-19 mortality is important to inform public health strategies. This study aimed to explore the potential relationship between hospital service area (1) community (ie, health professional shortage areas, market competition, and uninsured percentage) and (2) hospital (ie, teaching, system, and ownership status) characteristics (2013-2018) on publicly available COVD-19 (February to October 2020) mortality data. The study included 2514 health service areas and used multilevel mixed-effects linear model to account for the multilevel data structure. The outcome measure was the number of COVID-19 deaths. This study found that public health, as opposed to acute care provision, was associated with community health and, ultimately, COVID-19 mortality. The study found that population characteristics including more uninsured greater proportion of those over 65 years, more diverse populations, and larger populations were all associated with a higher rate of death. In addition, communities with fewer hospitals were associated with a lower rate of death. When considering region in the United States, the west region showed a higher rate of death than all other regions. The association between some community characteristics and higher COVID-19 deaths demonstrated that access to health care, either for COVID-19 infection or worse health from higher disease burden, is strongly associated with COVID-19 deaths. Thus, to be better prepared for potential future pandemics, a greater emphasis on public health infrastructure is needed.

Service-, needs-, and quality-based hospital capacity planning - The evolution of a revolution in Switzerland.

Most developed countries spend a large amount of their health budget on hospital capacities and inpatient services. However, those capacities and services are often not comprehensively planned what leads to vague service delivery steering and non-need driven hospital facilities. Switzerland is different as the planning procedure was completely reformed in 2012 and is further refined in 2021/2022. The Canton of Zurich, the frontrunner in Switzerland, has made a comprehensive update of its hospital capacity planning model for acute, psychiatric, and rehabilitative care. The result of this model is the hospital list. This list includes all hospitals which fulfill predefined quality, efficiency, and need requirements. Hospitals on the list receive a mandate to provide inpatient treatments for specific and selected service groups (n = 196), clustered in three areas (acute care, psychiatry, rehabilitation). The underlying health care policy process is transparent and is characterized by a high participation of all relevant actors. The building blocks of the planning model are a classification system of service groups, different quality and efficiency requirements attached to these groups, and an analysis of current and future need for health care. Hospitals which are willing to perform services must apply and demonstrate that the requirements are fulfilled. The canton then decides needs-based which hospital can deliver which services.

Physical and psychological workloads and their association with occupational fatigue among hospital service personnel.

BACKGROUND: Physical and psychological workloads are a vital issue in the workplace. This study aimed to investigate the association between physical and psychological workloads and occupational fatigue among Iranian hospital service personnel. In Iran, hospital service personnel refers to a group of healthcare workers who undertake a range of duties, such as moving and carrying the hospital waste, transporting patients by wheelchair or gurney to the operating room, x-ray department, other wards, or other locations around the facility, performing cleaning tasks such as changing linens, mopping floors, and sterilizing equipment, and following infection control procedures to reduce the risk of spreading germs within the hospital setting. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 198 Iranian hospital service personnel. The response rate was 86%. The data were gathered using 1) The Persian version of the Job Content Questionnaire (P-JCQ) for assessing physical and psychosocial workloads and 2) The Persian version of the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (P-SOFI-20) for assessing fatigue dimensions. RESULTS: According to the P-JCQ, the physical and psychological workload intensities were high in 72.7% and 47% of the participants, respectively. Based on the P-SOFI, the participants' mean scores of "physical fatigue" (21.73 ± 6.2), "psychological fatigue" (13.61 ± 5.76), and "fatigue due to shift work" (18.17 ± 5.6) were moderate, while the mean score of "general fatigue" was high (27.3 ± 6.98). The findings revealed that various types of fatigue are associated with age, gender, marital status, daily working hours, and psychological workload. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological workload was a determinant of occupational fatigue among Iranian hospital service personnel. Hence, an interventional program, including job enrichment, job rotation, and work-rest cycle, is recommended.

Pediatric triage modifications based on vital signs: a nationwide study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical significance of a heart rate (HR) or respiratory rate (RR) higher or lower than the normal in pediatric triage. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted with data from the Korean National Emergency Department Information System. The subjects were children <15 years of age in 2016. Reported HRs and RRs were divided into seven groups: grade -3 (3 or more standard deviations [SDs]normal), grade 2 (2 SDs>normal), and grade 3 (3 or more SDs>normal). The main outcomes were hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship of the outcomes according to grade in each group. RESULTS: Data for 981,297 patients were analyzed. Hospitalization and ICU admission rates increased significantly in the higher HR group (grades 1 to 3; odds ratio [OR], 1.353; P<0.001; OR, 1.747; P<0.001; respectively) and in the higher RR group (OR, 1.144; P<0.001; OR, 1.396; P<0.001; respectively), compared with grade 0 group. In the lower HR group (grades -1 to -3), the hospitalization rate decreased (OR, 0.928; P<0.001), whereas the ICU admission rate increased (OR, 1.207; P=0.001). Although the hospitalization rate increased. In the lower RR group (OR, 1.016; P=0.008), the ICU admission rate did not increase (OR, 0.973; P=0.338). CONCLUSION: Deviations in HR and RR above normal are related to increased risks of hospitalization and ICU admission. However, this association may not apply to deviations below normal.

GIS-Automated Delineation of Hospital Service Areas in Florida: From Dartmouth Method to Network Community Detection Methods.

Since the Dartmouth hospital service areas (HSAs) were proposed three decades ago, there has been a large body of work using the unit in examining the geographic variation in health care in the U.S. for evaluating health care system performance and informing health policy. However, many studies question the replicability and reliability of the Dartmouth HSAs in meeting the challenges of ever-changing and a diverse set of health care services. This research develops a reproducible, automated, and efficient GIS tool to implement Dartmouth method for defining HSAs. Moreover, the research adapts two popular network community detection methods to account for spatial constraints for defining HSAs that are scale flexible and optimize an important property such as maximum service flows within HSAs. A case study based on the state inpatient database in Florida from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project is used to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the methods. The study represents a major step toward developing HSA delineation methods that are computationally efficient, adaptable for various scales (from a local region to as large as a national market), and automated without a steep learning curve for public health professionals.

Exploring the Relationship Between Hospital Service Quality, Patient Trust, and Loyalty From a Service Encounter Perspective in Elderly With Chronic Diseases.

Based on the service encounter perspective, this study combines theoretical foundations for such factors as service quality and the characteristics of the hospital service industry to develop a research model scale to investigate whether the quality of hospital services affects patients' perceptions of health service encounters, trust, and loyalty. Nowadays, with the advancement of medical technology, patients pay more attention to the quality of medical services and good service encounters provided by healthcare professionals in order to establish positive patient relationships; hospitals need to improve their own service quality and establish good patient trust relationships so that doctor-patient satisfaction and loyalty can be improved. In a review of related literature, this study found that most past studies focused on issues related of quality of medical services and patient satisfaction, but ignored those related to the relationship between medical service encounters and patient trust and loyalty, as well as the lack of scientific measurement markers for service encounters in the Chinese medical service industry. Therefore, this study uses the Service Encounter Perspective and Service Quality Theory Development Research Scale to collect and analyze data for a typical case of a Chinese tertiary hospital. Finally, this study explores the relationship between the four variables of service quality, service encounter, trust, and loyalty by means of a questionnaire and statistical analysis of the data. Finally, it is concluded that the higher the service quality of the hospital, the higher the customer trust, the higher the service encounter, and in the greater the doctor-patient loyalty.

Research on Maternal Service Area and Referral System in Hubei Province, China.

Hospital service area (HSA) and Hospital referral region (HRR) are significant in organizing maternal care resources in hierarchical medical systems. This quantitative study aims to delineate HAS and HRR by using obstetrics medical record data reflecting patients' medical behavior to improve the efficiency of the utilization of medical resources. The Dartmouth method and an improved version that considers the administrative division was applied to delineate HSA and HRR by using the obstetrics medical records in Hubei Province of China in 2016. The result shows that 117 Dartmouth HSAs have a strong correlation with the county boundaries and 22 Dartmouth HRRs are highly coincident with the prefecture boundaries in Hubei. In addition, 25 improved Dartmouth HRRs within prefecture boundaries and core areas serving patients across prefecture boundaries have been identified. Based on the above results, two sets of hierarchical healthcare systems were constructed, respectively, which can provide methods and references for delineating HAS and HRR in the hierarchical medical systems in other regions of China and developing countries. The findings of this study shed light on future research and policymaking in the spatial organization of medical resources for improving the efficiency and equity in maternal care delivery.

Perfil de pacientes com infarto agudo do miocárdio em um pronto socorro do distrito federal / Perfil de los pacientes con infarto agudo de miocardio en una urgencias del distrito federal / Profile of patients with acute myocardial infarction in an emergency room of the federal district

Objetivo: identificar o perfil sociodemográfico, epidemiológico, clínico e os desfechos dos pacientes com infarto agudo do miocárdio em um pronto socorro. Método: estudo descritivo, transversal, quantitativo, realizado através de dados secundários de pacientes infartados. Resultados: a idade predominante foi entre 50-59 anos, sendo em sua maioria homens, pardos, casados. Foram acometidos com infarto com Supradesnivelamento de ST, apresentando precordialgia, sendo hipertensos, diabéticos, com sobrepeso/obesidade além de histórico de tabagismo. Os infartados apresentaram quadro hipertensivo na admissão, e durante a internação necessitaram de drogas vasoativas e suporte de oxigênio. O principal tratamento utilizado foi uso de fibrinolíticos, tendo como desfecho a transferência para hospitais cardiológicos. Conclusão: Há necessidade de aprimorar e intensificar a prevenção de fatores de riscos, elaborar protocolos e dispor de recursos capazes de proporcionar um atendimento adequado(AU)

Objective: to identify the sociodemographic, epidemiological, clinical profile and outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction in an emergency department. Method: descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative study carried out using secondary data from infarcted patients. Results: the predominant age was between 50-59 years, being mostly men, brown, married. They were affected with infarction with ST elevation, presenting chest pain, being hypertensive, diabetic, overweight/ obese, in addition to a history of smoking. The infarcted patients presented with hypertension on admission, and during hospitalization they required vasoactive drugs and oxygen support. The main treatment used was the use of fibrinolytics, with the outcome being transfer to cardiology hospitals. Conclusion: There is a need to improve and intensify the prevention of risk factors, develop protocols and have resources capable of providing adequate care.(AU)

Objetivo: identificar el perfil sociodemográfico, epidemiológico, clínico y evolución de los pacientes con infarto agudo de miocardio en un servicio de urgencias. Método: estudio descriptivo, transversal, cuantitativo, realizado con datos secundarios de pacientes infartados. Resultados: la edad predominante fue entre 50-59 años, siendo en su mayoría hombres, morenos, casados. Se encontraban afectados de infarto con elevación del segmento ST, presentaban dolor torácico, eran hipertensos, diabéticos, con sobrepeso/obesidad, además de antecedentes de tabaquismo. Los pacientes infartados presentaban hipertensión arterial al ingreso y durante la hospitalización requirieron fármacos vasoactivos y soporte de oxígeno. El principal tratamiento utilizado fue el uso de fibrinolíticos, con resultado de traslado a hospitales de cardiología. Conclusión: Existe la necesidad de mejorar e intensificar la prevención de los factores de riesgo, desarrollar protocolos y contar con recursos capaces de brindar una atención adecuada(AU)

Analysis of the Characteristics of Cross-Regional Patient Groups and Differences in Hospital Service Utilization in Beijing.

When medical diagnostic difficulties occur at local hospitals, seeking high-quality services across regions becomes a priority for many patients. Traditional statistical methods in health care are unable to account for spatial characteristics such as outflow place or distributions of disease type and patient ages in the context of an increasing number of cross-regional groups; thus, these methods are incapable of studying service utilization differences among hospitals. From a geographic perspective, we analyzed the spatial characteristics of cross-regional patient groups who travelled from other places to Beijing and the spatial decay patterns in the actual service utilization of different hospitals in Beijing by using geographic calculations, geographic visualizations, and distance decay functions. We found the following results: (1) It is feasible to study patients' cross-regional mobility from a geographical perspective. Through interdisciplinary integration, we can explore laws and conclusions that cannot be examined by traditional statistical methods in health care. (2) The characteristics of cross-regional patients who travelled from other places to Beijing were as follows: (a) Most patients came from northern China, and neoplasm treatment was the main demand of cross-regional patients; (b) patients 40-65 years old were the main cross-regional treatment group, and the average age of patients from northern regions and certain eastern coastal cities was relatively high. (3) The exponential distance decay function was the best of all five distance decay functions in fitting the distribution of cross-regional patient mobility to hospitals of different levels, types, and functional areas. The results of applying this function and the centrality calculation method showed that hospital service utilization was least affected by distance and that average radial distances (AR) were greatest in tertiary hospitals (distance decay coefficient ß = 0.0786, AR = 664.70 km), traditional Chinese medicine hospitals (ß = 0.0752, AR = 743.52 km), and hospitals in urban extension areas (ß = 0.0782, AR = 693.29 km). Our results can serve as a reference for research concerning the allocation of medical resources and patients' choices regarding medical treatment.

Factors Impacting Patients' Willingness to Recommend: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Patient ratings of inpatient stay have been the focus of prior research since better patient satisfaction results in a financial benefit to hospitals and are associated with better patient health care outcomes. However, studies that simultaneously account for within- and between-hospital effects are uncommon. We constructed a multilevel structural equation model to identify predictors of patients' willingness to recommend a hospital at both within-hospital and between-hospital levels. We used data from 60 U.S. general medical and surgical hospitals and 12,115 patients. Multilevel structural equation modeling reported that patient ratings on the overall quality of care significantly affect the willingness to recommend within hospitals. Also, patients' perspectives on the hospital environment and nursing are the significant factors that predict the patient ratings on the overall quality of care. Overall patient satisfaction significantly predicts the willingness to recommend at the between-hospital level, whereas hospital size and location have marginal impacts.