The Impact of Long COVID on Employment and Well-Being: A Qualitative Study of Patient Perspectives.

Background: Exploring the experiences of Long COVID patients who face challenges with employment may inform improvements in how healthcare systems can provide holistic care for this patient population.

Objective: Understand perspectives about the impact of Long COVID on employment and well-being among patients seeking healthcare for Long COVID.

Design: Qualitative study involving one-on-one interviews.

When Infections Are Found: A Qualitative Study Characterizing Best Management Practices for Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection and Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection Performance Monitoring and Feedback.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a significant patient safety problem that can lead to illness and death, despite the implementation of clinical bundles to prevent HAIs. Management practices can support HAI prevention, but their role in HAI performance monitoring and feedback is not well understood. To address this knowledge gap, we previously conducted semi-structured interviews with staff at 18 hospitals to examine the role of management practices around the prevention of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).

Differences by Race in Outcomes of an In-Person Training Intervention on Use of an Inpatient Portal: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Differences in patient use of health information technologies by race can adversely impact equitable access to health care services. While this digital divide is well documented, there is limited evidence of how health care systems have used interventions to narrow the gap.

Objective: To compare differences in the effectiveness of patient training and portal functionality interventions implemented to increase portal use among racial groups.

COVID-19 vaccination perspectives among patients with Long COVID: A qualitative study.

Individuals who have Long COVID may have unique perspectives about COVID-19 vaccination due to the significant impact that COVID-19 has had on their lives. However, little is known about the specific vaccination perspectives among this patient population. The goal of our study was to improve our understanding of perspectives about COVID-19 vaccines among individuals with Long COVID.

Patient Experiences Navigating Care Coordination For Long COVID: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Little is known about how to best evaluate, diagnose, and treat long COVID, which presents challenges for patients as they seek care.

Objective: Understand experiences of patients as they navigate care for long COVID.

Design: Qualitative study involving interviews with patients about topics related to seeking and receiving care for long COVID.

Perspectives of patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a lapse in routine health care and cancer screenings for many individuals. This study sought to improve our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women being treated for breast cancer, both in general, and specifically related to their diagnosis.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted between August 2021 and February 2022 with women who were receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer at the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Understanding Concerns about COVID-19 and Vaccination: Perspectives from Kidney Transplant Recipients.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a significant risk for immunosuppressed groups such as transplant patients. The purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on kidney transplant recipients, including their views on COVID-19 vaccination. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from December 2021 to August 2022 with 38 kidney transplant recipients who had an appointment with their transplant care team within the previous 6 months.

Perspectives of Volunteer Firefighters during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Stumbling Blocks and Silver Linings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the lives of almost every individual in every nation, with numbers of infections continuing to grow. Across these nations, first responders are essential in their roles addressing emergencies, despite their risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the course of their work. We sought to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of volunteer firefighters in the United States, an understudied group of these first responders.

Concerns and frustrations about the public reporting of device-related healthcare-associated infections: Perspectives of hospital leaders and staff.

Background: Public reporting of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) aims to incentivize improvement in infection prevention. The motivation and mechanisms of public reporting have raised concerns about the reliability of this data, but little is known about the specific concerns of hospital leaders and staff. This study sought to better understand perspectives of individuals in these roles regarding the identification and public reporting of HAIs.

A Qualitative Examination of Interprofessional Teamwork for Infection Prevention: Development of a Model and Solutions.

Health care-associated infections (HAIs), such as central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), are associated with patient mortality and high costs to the health care system. These are largely preventable by practices such as prompt removal of central lines and Foley catheters. While seemingly straightforward, these practices require effective teamwork between physicians and nurses to be enacted successfully.

Making It Work: Physicians' Perspectives on the Rapid Transition to Telemedicine.

Telemedicine is a major pillar in the health care system's response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the rapid implementation of telemedicine is not without its challenges. We examined the strategies primary care physicians (PCPs) used to make the transition to telemedicine during the pandemic.

Doctoring from home: Physicians' perspectives on the advantages of remote care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, stay-at-home orders as well as shortages of personal protective equipment forced primary care physicians (PCPs) to transition rapidly from in-person visits to telehealth. While telehealth expanded extensively in a short period of time, research about the consequences of the shift to remote care is lacking. The objective of this qualitative study was to examine how telehealth benefited PCPs and their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Silver Linings Around the Increased Use of Telehealth After the Emergence of COVID-19: Perspectives From Primary Care Physicians.

Introduction/objectives: With the emergence of COVID-19, the transition from in-person care to widespread use of telehealth raised many well-described challenges for primary care providers (PCP). The purpose of this study was to improve understanding of how this increased use of telehealth impacted PCPs in positive ways, and specifically focus on any "silver linings" of using telehealth.

Methods: We interviewed PCPs working at a large Midwestern academic medical center between June and July 2020 and asked for perspectives about the use of telehealth during the pandemic.

Pandemic Experience of First Responders: Fear, Frustration, and Stress.

Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics are on the front lines of crises and emergencies, placing them at high risk of COVID-19 infection. A deeper understanding of the challenges facing first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic is necessary to better support this important workforce. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic, asking about the impact of COVID-19.

Improving Provisioning of an Inpatient Portal: Perspectives from Nursing Staff.

Background: Inpatient portals are recognized to provide benefits for both patients and providers, yet the process of provisioning tablets to patients by staff has been difficult for many hospitals.

Objective: Our study aimed to identify and describe practices important for provisioning an inpatient portal from the perspectives of nursing staff and provide insight to enable hospitals to address challenges related to provisioning workflow for the inpatient portal accessible on a tablet.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 210 nursing staff members across 26 inpatient units in six hospitals within The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC) following the introduction of tablets providing access to an inpatient portal, MyChart Bedside (MCB).

The Impact of COVID-19 on Primary Care Teamwork: a Qualitative Study in Two States.

Background: The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disrupted how primary care physicians (PCPs) and their staff delivered team-based care.

Objective: To explore PCPs' perspectives about the impact of stay-at-home orders and the increased use of telemedicine on interactions and working relationships with their practice staff during the first 9 months of the pandemic.

Design: Qualitative research.

An Opportunity to Understand Concerns about COVID-19 Vaccination: Perspectives from EMS Professionals.

Some healthcare professionals, including emergency medical service (EMS) professionals, remain hesitant about receiving COVID-19 vaccines. This study sought to understand EMS professionals' perspectives regarding COVID-19 vaccination. Using open-ended comments from a national survey deployed electronically to over 19,000 EMS professionals in April of 2021, we examined perspectives about acceptance of and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccines.

Closing the Gap on COVID-19 Vaccinations in First Responders and Beyond: Increasing Trust.

Although COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in the U.S. and much of the world, many have chosen to forgo this vaccination.

Identifying management practices for promoting infection prevention: Perspectives on strategic communication.

Background: Engaging leaders to share information about infections and infection prevention across their organizations is known to be important in initiatives designed to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Yet the topics and communication strategies used by leaders that focus on HAI prevention are not well understood. This study aimed to identify and describe practices around information sharing used to support HAI prevention.

Improving Training Motivation and Transfer in Hospitals: Extension of a Conceptual Model.

Health-care professionals undergo numerous training programs each year in order to fulfill licensure requirements and organizational obligations. However, evidence suggests that a substantial amount of what is taught during training is never learned or transferred back to routine work. A major contributor to this issue is low training motivation.

Perspectives of hospital leaders and staff on patient education for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections.

Objective: Device-related healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), such as catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), are largely preventable. However, there is little evidence of standardized approaches to educate patients about how they can help prevent these infections. We examined the perspectives of hospital leaders and staff about patient education for CAUTI and CLABSI prevention to understand the challenges to patient education and the opportunities for improvement.

Management practices for leaders to promote infection prevention: Lessons from a qualitative study.

Background: Prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is critical to reduce preventable deaths and healthcare costs. Variable success with HAI prevention efforts has suggested that management practices are critical to support clinical infection prevention practices. This study examined hospital leaders' management practices around the prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) to identify actions that leaders can take to promote HAI prevention efforts.

An Examination of the Barriers to and Facilitators of Implementing Nurse-Driven Protocols to Remove Indwelling Urinary Catheters in Acute Care Hospitals.

Background: Urinary catheter nurse-driven protocols (UCNDPs) for removal of indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) can potentially prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). However, they are used inconsistently. The objective of this study was to examine the barriers to and facilitators of implementation of UCNDPs in acute care hospitals.

Rewarding and recognizing frontline staff for success in infection prevention.

Management practices help support efforts to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Providing rewards and recognition to frontline staff is one management practice found to be in use by hospitals that are higher-performers in HAI prevention. Using data from interviews with hospital managers and frontline staff at 18 US hospitals, our study identifies how managers can use reward and recognition programs as motivational tools to sustain frontline HAI prevention efforts.

Searching for management approaches to reduce HAI transmission (SMART): a study protocol.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) impact patients' lives through prolonged hospitalization, morbidity, and death, resulting in significant costs to both health systems and society. Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are two of the most preventable HAIs. As a result, these HAIs have been the focus of significant efforts to identify evidence-based clinical strategies to reduce infection rates.