BMJ quality & safety
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BMJ quality & safety · Aug 2011
ReviewEffects of hospital-wide interventions to improve care for frail older inpatients: a systematic review.
Although it is widely recognised that frail older persons need adaptation of healthcare services, it is unclear how hospital care in general can best be tailored to their frailty. ⋯ No single best hospital-wide intervention could be identified using strict methodological criteria. However, several interventions had positive results, and may be used in hospital practice. Since strict methodological designs are not optimal for evaluating highly complex interventions and settings, the authors recommend studying hospital-wide interventions for older persons using adapted quality and research criteria.
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In 2008, the WHO produced a surgical safety checklist against a background of a poor patient safety record in operating theatres. Formal team briefings are now standard practice in high-risk settings such as the aviation industry and improve safety, but are resisted in surgery. Research evidence is needed to persuade the surgical workforce to adopt safety procedures such as briefings. ⋯ The study reports a powerful link between briefing practices and attitudes towards safety. Findings build on previous work by reporting on the relationship between briefings and safety climate within a 4-year period. Briefings, however, remain difficult to establish in local contexts without appropriate team-based patient safety education. Success in establishing a safety culture, with associated practices, may depend on first establishing unidirectional, positive change in attitudes to create a safety climate.
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BMJ quality & safety · Aug 2011
Reduction of central line infections in Veterans Administration intensive care units: an observational cohort using a central infrastructure to support learning and improvement.
Elimination of hospital-acquired infections is an important patient safety goal. ⋯ Capitalising on a large healthcare system, VA IPEC used strategies applicable to non-federal healthcare systems and communities. Such tactics included measurement through information technology, leadership, learning tools and mentoring.