Bmc Health Serv Res
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Mar 2014
The safety attitudes questionnaire - ambulatory version: psychometric properties of the Norwegian translated version for the primary care setting.
Patient safety culture is how leader and staff interaction, attitudes, routines and practices protect patients from adverse events in healthcare. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire is the most widely used instrument to measure safety attitudes among health care providers. The instrument may identify possible weaknesses in clinical settings, and motivate and guide quality improvement interventions and reductions in medical errors. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire - Ambulatory Version was developed for measuring safety culture in the primary care setting. The original version includes six major patient safety factors: Teamwork climate, Safety climate, Job satisfaction, Perceptions of management, Working conditions and Stress recognition. We describe the results of a validation study using the Norwegian translation of the questionnaire in the primary care setting, and present the psychometric properties of this version. ⋯ The results of our study indicate that the Norwegian translated version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire - Ambulatory Version, with the five confirmed factors, might be a useful tool for measuring several aspects of patient safety culture in the primary care setting. Further research should investigate whether there is an association between patient safety culture in primary care, as measured by the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire - Ambulatory Version, and occurrence of medical errors and negative patient outcome.
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Many Muslim diabetes patients choose to participate in Ramadan despite medical advice to the contrary. This study aims to describe Qatar pharmacists' practice, knowledge, and attitudes towards guiding diabetes medication management during Ramadan. ⋯ Qatar pharmacists face several practical barriers to guiding diabetes patient self-management during Ramadan, but are motivated to assume a greater role in such care. Educational programs are necessary to improve pharmacist knowledge in the provision of accurate patient advice.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Mar 2014
Provision of smoking cessation support for pregnant women in England: results from an online survey of NHS Stop Smoking Services for Pregnant Women.
Smoking during pregnancy is a major public health concern and an NHS priority. In 2010, 26% of UK women smoked immediately before or during their pregnancy and 12% smoked continuously. Smoking cessation support is provided through free at the point of use Stop Smoking Services for Pregnant women (SSSP). However, to date, little is known of how these services provide support across England. The aim of this study was to describe the key elements of support provided through English SSSP. ⋯ English Stop Smoking Services offer behavioural support and pharmacotherapy to pregnant women motivated to quit smoking. Interventions provided are generally evidence-based and delivered in a variety of both social and health care settings.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Feb 2014
Impact of ethnic-specific guidelines for anti-hypertensive prescribing in primary care in England: a longitudinal study.
In England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produces guidelines for the management of hypertension. In 2006, the NICE guidelines introduced an ethnic-age group algorithm based on the 2004 British Hypertension Society guidelines to guide antihypertensive drug prescription. ⋯ The introduction of the 2006 NICE guideline had the greatest impact on prescribing for younger non-black patients. Lower associated increases among black patients may be due to their higher levels of recommended prescribing at baseline. The analysis suggests that guidelines did not impact equally on all patient groups.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Feb 2014
Trends over time in prescribing by English primary care nurses: a secondary analysis of a national prescription database.
A growing number of countries legislate for nurses to have medication prescribing authority although it is a contested issue. The UK is one of these countries, giving authority to nurses with additional qualifications since 1992 and incrementally widened the scope of nurse prescribing, most recently in 2006. The policy intention for primary care was to improve efficiency in service delivery through flexibility between medical and nursing roles. The extent to which this has occurred is uncertain. This study investigated nurses prescribing activities, over time, in English primary care settings. ⋯ The percentage of prescriptions written by nurses in primary care in England is very small in comparison to physicians. Our findings suggest that nurse prescribing is used where it is seen to have relative advantage by all stakeholders, in particular when it supports efficiency in nursing practice and also health promotion activities by nurses in general practice. It is in these areas that there appears to be flexibility in the prescribing role between nurses and general practitioners.