Articles: patients.
-
There are challenges to timely adoption of, and ongoing adherence to, evidence-based practices known to improve patient care in the intensive care unit (ICU). Quality improvement initiatives using a collaborative network approach may increase the use of such practices. Our objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel knowledge translation program for increasing the proportion of patients who appropriately receive the following six evidence-based care practices: venous thromboembolism prophylaxis; ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention; spontaneous breathing trials; catheter-related bloodstream infection prevention; decubitus ulcer prevention; and early enteral nutrition. ⋯ This study design evaluates a new system for knowledge translation and quality improvement across six common ICU problems. All participating ICUs receive quality improvement initiatives during every study phase, improving buy-in. This study design could be considered for other quality improvement interventions and in other care settings.
-
Health Qual Life Out · Jan 2009
Evaluation of the impact of fibromyalgia on patients' sleep and the content validity of two sleep scales.
Disturbed sleep is commonly reported in fibromyalgia (FM). Both the Sleep Quality Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-Sleep) have demonstrated positive psychometric properties in patients with FM. However, these assessments were developed prior to the current recommendation to include patient input during the concept elicitation or item generation phases. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of FM on participants, including their sleep, and to test the content validity of these two sleep measures in FM patients. ⋯ This study demonstrates the significant impact that FM has on patients' lives, particularly sleep. While patients with FM were not part of the development of the generic sleep assessments that were evaluated, this study provides evidence of their content validity, supporting their use in FM studies. Modifications to the MOS-Sleep may improve the psychometric properties and relevance to patients with FM.
-
The management of patients with headaches is a major component of every paediatric practice. In a nationally representative sample of Canadian adolescents, it was found that 26.6% of those 12 to 13 years of age and 31.2% of those 14 to 15 years of age reported that they experienced headaches at least once per week. The diagnosis of headaches in children and adolescents is established through a headache history in the vast majority of patients. ⋯ The optimal treatment of primary headaches should begin with nonpharmacological methods. Preventive pharmacological therapy should be considered when headaches significantly impair the patient's quality of life. Flunarizine may be valuable in paediatric headache prevention, and ibuprofen, acetaminophen and nasal sumatriptan may be effective in the acute management of headaches.
-
Information is limited about the experiences of delirium among patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers, which makes designing interventions to relieve delirium-related distress difficult. To better understand the experience and thus permit the design of effective interventions, we collected and analyzed data from patients with advanced cancer who had recovered from delirium and their family caregivers. ⋯ The main finding that delirium leads to distress for both patients and caregivers indicates the importance of recognizing, treating, and, if possible, preventing delirium in this population. Concerns about pain medications also indicate the need to educate patients and caregivers about symptom management. Caregivers also need emotional support.