Multidisciplinary care needs in an Australian tertiary teaching hospital

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy H. M. To ◽  
Owen J. Davies ◽  
Jackie Sincock ◽  
Craig Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Multidisciplinary Care ◽  
Tertiary Hospital ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Surgical Units

Background.The ageing of the Australian population is placing increasing demand on the nation’s healthcare system. This study set out to describe the level of need for multidisciplinary care in an Australian tertiary hospital setting. Methods.A cross-sectional audit by case note review of all patients on acute medical and surgical wards in an Australian tertiary hospital. The primary outcome was an identified need for multidisciplinary assessment and intervention. Results.A total of 60% of the 295 inpatients audited required multidisciplinary care. Of those who were admitted to geriatric and rehabilitation units, 84% required multidisciplinary care. Patients in acute medical and surgical units also had substantial multidisciplinary care needs. Age was a significant influence with 79% of those aged 86 and above having multidisciplinary care needs, whilst only 38% of those aged 55 or less required multidisciplinary care. Difficulties with mobility, need for assistance with self-care, and continence problems were associated with higher requirement for multidisciplinary care. Conclusions.In the hospital population, significant multidisciplinary care needs exist. These needs are not limited to inpatients that are elderly or admitted to geriatric or rehabilitation units. This has implications for planning, funding, provision of health care resources, and training of medical and allied health staff. What is known about the topic?Multidisciplinary care is the collaboration of health care staff from a variety of disciplines. This approach has been attributed to reductions in mortality and the duration of length of stay in hospital. Multidisciplinary care is widely applied to older patients and those requiring rehabilitation. However, multidisciplinary care is less frequently adopted in other areas, suggesting that some patients requiring this approach may not receive it. What does this paper add?The findings of this study demonstrate that the need for multidisciplinary care extends beyond aged care and rehabilitation patients. Although the majority of aged care and rehabilitation patients required multidisciplinary care, a significant number of patients in medical and surgical units also needed this approach. What are the implications for practitioners?A need exists for a multidisciplinary approach to be utilised more widely in the hospital setting. Collaboration between allied health and medical staff may require consideration in the allocation of resources for patient care. This also has implications for the training of medical and allied health staff both now and in the future.

scholarly journals DOMICILIARY SERVICES IMPROVE ACCESS TO DENTAL CARE FOR FUNCTIONALLY DEPENDENT OLDER ADULTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S492-S492
Author(s):  
Mathew A Lim ◽  
Gelsomina L Borromeo
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Residential Aged Care ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Dental Services ◽  
Unique Challenge ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Aged Care Facilities

Abstract There is growing evidence demonstrating links between oral diseases and general health. The increased retention of teeth among functionally-dependent older adults presents a unique challenge in maintaining the oral health of these individuals from basic oral hygiene to accessing dental services. The results of our cross-sectional study demonstrate the important role domiciliary dental services play in reducing the barriers to accessing oral health care in this cohort. In our study, most individuals treated by domiciliary services lived in residential aged care facilities and were significantly older than those treated by hospital and community-based dental services dedicated to the specialized care of individuals with additional health care needs. A significantly higher number of those receiving domiciliary care were unable to self-consent for treatment compared to those managed in other settings. 27.4% of these patients had a diagnosis of dementia. More than half (56.9%) of patients treated by domiciliary services received some form of treatment with almost half (48.1%) of these requiring a dental extraction. Only two of these patients were not diagnosed with a chronic condition known to affect oral health (dementia, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, stroke, osteoporosis). 23.7% of domiciliary appointments were used for denture fabrication. The results depict the worrying level of unmet treatment need in residents of aged care facilities. However, they also demonstrate the potential for domiciliary dental services to play a role in developing partnerships between carers and oral health professionals to improve the oral health of functionally-dependent older adults.

scholarly journals Associations Among Depression, Leisure-time and Occupational Physical Activity of Health Care Providers in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital Setting

1970 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
E.S. Aliyu ◽  
A.F. Adeniyi
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Leisure Time ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Tertiary Hospital ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Workers

Physical activity (PA) has been consistently associated with enhanced quality of life. The tight schedule of duty of health care workers may predispose them to physical inactivity and psychosocial morbidities which most of them tend to ignore while rendering services to others. The prevalence of depression among Nigerian health care workers and its association with PA is not known. This study investigated the levels of leisure-time and occupational PA and their association with depression among health care providers in a Nigerian tertiary hospital setting. The research was a cross-sectional survey of 734 health care providers. The Godin-Shephard Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire, Occupational Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale were used to assess leisure-time PA, occupational PA and depression respectively. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at α= 0.05. The mean age of participants was 39.6 ± 9.4 years (range 22-57 years). Nearly half of the health care providers (46.2%) reported low participation or insufficient leisure-time PA that could provide substantial health benefits, while 20.2% participated in leisure-time PA that could give some health benefits and 33.7% participated in leisure-time PA that could give substantial health benefits. Sitting/standing were the main occupational PAs of the majority (96.2%) of the health workers. The overall prevalence for depression was 11.4%. There was a significant association between leisure-time PA and depression (χ2 =18.9, p= 0.016). There was no significant association between occupational PA and depression. There is low participation in leisure-time PA among health care workers and this is linked with depression. Efforts to improve participation in leisure-time PA among workers may help to relieve their depression symptoms. KEY WORDS: leisure time, occupation, physical activity, depression

From theory to practice of electronic handover

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara L. Barnes ◽  
Donald A. Campbell ◽  
Keith A. Stockman ◽  
Dirk Wunderlink
Keyword(s):  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Tertiary Hospital ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Serious Adverse Events ◽  
Handover Process

Clinical handover is an essential process occurring at many levels of inpatient care. Multiple studies within a hospital setting have identified that a breakdown in the handover process can lead to poor patient outcomes and serious adverse events. The use of electronic handover tools is an intervention identified to decrease errors in clinical care arising from poor handover practice. An electronic handover tool was implemented in a general medical unit in a metropolitan tertiary hospital setting. The program was written by a Medical Professional who also used the tool. The program was evaluated with a pre- and post-intervention survey within the medical, allied health and nursing staff members of the multidisciplinary teams. The use of the Electronic Handover program resulted in improved satisfaction of the handover process within the medical, nursing and allied health professions. This trial demonstrates that an electronic handover program can be successfully integrated into normal medical work practice, resulting in positive outcomes for a multidisciplinary staff team. Further work is required to determine whether patient outcomes are improved as a result.

scholarly journals Exploring the Impact of Obesity on Health Care Resources and Coding in the Acute Hospital Setting: A Feasibility Study

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 459
Author(s):  
Winnie S. Y. Tan ◽  
Adrienne M. Young ◽  
Alexandra L. Di Bella ◽  
Tracy Comans ◽  
Merrilyn Banks
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hospital Care ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Tertiary Hospital ◽  
Anthropometric Measurements ◽  
Participant Recruitment ◽  
Orthopaedic Ward ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Care Costs

Obesity is costly, yet there have been few attempts to estimate the actual costs of providing hospital care to the obese inpatient. This study aimed to test the feasibility of measuring obesity-related health care costs and accuracy of coding data for acute inpatients. A prospective observational study was conducted over three weeks in June 2018 in a single orthopaedic ward of a metropolitan tertiary hospital in Queensland, Australia. Demographic data, anthropometric measurements, clinical characteristics, cost of hospital encounter and coding data were collected. Complete demographic, anthropometric and clinical data were collected for all 18 participants. Hospital costing reports and coding data were not available within the study timeframe. Participant recruitment and data collection were resource-intensive, with mobility assistance required to obtain anthropometric measurements in more than half of the participants. Greater staff time and costs were seen in participants with obesity compared to those without obesity (obesity: body mass index ≥ 30), though large standard deviations indicate wide variance. Data collected suggest that obesity-related cost and resource use amongst acute inpatients require further exploration. This study provides recommendations for protocol refinement to improve the accuracy of data collected for future studies measuring the actual cost of providing hospital care to obese inpatients.

The Attitudes of Health Professionals to the Psychological Preparation of Children for Hospitalisation

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Whelan ◽  
Robert J. Kirkby
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Health Care Staff ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Psychological Preparation ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Provider Perceptions

Research into the perceptions of health care staff about the psychological impact of medical procedures on children and their parents has been sparse. Those findings that have been published suggest that there are discrepancies between parent and health care provider perceptions of the hospital experience. It appears that health care staff, in particular medical practitioners, are inclined to overestimate satisfaction with the information they provide and underestimate the extent of emotional problems experienced by children and their parents. In addition, research has indicated that children report dissatisfaction with the information that they are given by either medical staff or their parents. Given the therapeutic and economic benefits of psychological preparation procedures, it seems surprising that research into the views of health staff about the importance of preparation programs has been ignored by investigators.

An online ASD learning module for pediatric health care professionals

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscilla Burnham Riosa ◽  
Andrea Greenblatt ◽  
Barbara Muskat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Behavior Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daily Work

Purpose Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have co-occurring health care needs and are likely to come into contact with several health care professionals over their lives. At the hospital, youth with ASD may require specialized supports to optimize health care experiences and for medical services to be delivered safely. At present, there is a limited understanding of how to best support this patient population. The purpose of this paper is to develop, implement, and evaluate an online training module for hospital staff about ASD. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate participants’ perceived utility of the learning tool, a post-module survey was administered. Findings In all, 102 health care professionals and other hospital staff completed the training and evaluation measure. Majority of participants had prior ASD-focused education (66 percent) and had experience working with at least 20 youths with ASD (57 percent). Majority of participants (88 percent) perceived the information from the module to be helpful in their daily work and reported that they learned something new (63 percent). Participants were interested in receiving additional ASD online module training opportunities on topics including: hands-on behavior management strategies, in-hospital resources, guidance on treatment adherence, and ASD training geared specifically to protection services staff. Originality/value The results from this evaluation have important practice implications for hospital staff working with patients with ASD and their families. Evidence-based strategies were easily accessible for staff and the module can be feasibly built upon and expanded as well as disseminated beyond the current hospital setting.

scholarly journals Integration, Coordination and Multidisciplinary Care: What can These Approaches Offer to Australian Primary Health Care?

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tieman ◽  
G. Mitchell ◽  
T. Shelby-James ◽  
D. Currow ◽  
B. Fazekas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health System ◽  
Complex Interventions ◽  
Multidisciplinary Care ◽  
Chronically Ill ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Coordinated Care ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Primary Health

Australia's population is ageing and the consequential burden of chronic disease increasingly challenges the health system. This has raised interest in, and awareness of, approaches built on multidisciplinary teams and integrated and coordinated care in managing the complex care needs of patient groups such as the chronically ill or frail aged. A systematic investigation of the literature relating to these approaches provided the opportunity to explore the meaning of these terms and their potential application and relevance to the Australian primary health care setting. Five systematic reviews of a sentinel condition and an exemplar approach to coordinated and multidisciplinary care were completed. Common learnings from the individual reviews were identified. The literature suggests that approaches encouraging a coordinated and multidisciplinary plan of care for individual patients and/or particular populations may improve a variety of outcomes. There are many methodological considerations in conducting reviews of complex interventions and in assessing their applicability to the Australian health system.

scholarly journals Lifestyles and non-communicable diseases status among primary health care staff in Kuantan, Pahang

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Aznan Md Aris ◽  
Tin Myo Han ◽  
Nor Azwani Mohd Shukri ◽  
Fa'iza Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Registered Nurses ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Balance Diet

Introduction:  Unhealthy lifestyle is one of the risks of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in our population even among the healthcare provider. They should be as the role model for their NCDs patients in the clinics. Therefore, this study was to determine the lifestyle practice and lifestyle-related NCDs (LR-NCDs) status among primary health care staffs. Methods:  A cross-sectional survey was done among 69 health-staff (20- physicians (PCPs), 16-nurses and 33-Para-Med) aged between 20-60 years from 3 selected governments primary health care clinics in Kuantan on April 2015. A pre-tested questionnaire is used to the collect history of LR-NCDs, smoking, exercise status and 24-hours- dietary recall. The BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the participants were also measured. The Nutritionist-Pro-(g) software was used to extract macronutrients (Carbohydrate, Protein and Total-Fat %) and balance-diet (within recommended %). Results: The most common LR-NCDs among health-staff were overweight (34.8%) and followed by obesity (24.6%), DM (8.7%) and hypertension (3.2%). The majority (95.7%) were non-smokers and 69.6% did not exercise regularly. Diet-recall analysis showed that only 8.9% (2-PCPs, 1-nurse & 3-ParaMed) had balanced-diet. The status of the DM, hypertension and smoking and practicing balance-diet were not significantly different (p>0.05) among the PCPs, registered-nurses and Para-Med except for the exercise. Most PCPs (90%) have inadequate exercise compared to registered-nurses (43.8%) and Para-Med (69.7%) (p<0.05). Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, inadequate exercise and having an unbalance-diet were noticed among all levels of health-staff.

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