Introduction: To decrease the risk of complications from ventilator-associated pneumonia, it is essential to implement preventative measures in all ICU patients. Since 2018, with the help of Japanese experts, we have applied a ventilator-associated pneumonia care bundle with 10 basic standards in patient care and monitoring. Therefore, we conducted a study to evaluate the results of applying 10 solutions to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia over 24 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA free maternal health policy started in Ghana in 2008, however, health facility utilization is still low, and out-of-pocket payments (OOPPs) are putting households at risk of catastrophic expenditure. To improve this situation, some rural communities have assigned a midwife to a health post called community-based health planning and services (CHPS), where only assistant nurses are allocated. This study explored the effectiveness of the new approach in Upper West Region, Ghana.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVentilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as pneumonia occurring after the first 48 hours of intubation and mechanical ventilation and is the most frequent hospital-acquired infection associated with intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. Herein, we defined a novel VAP bundle including 10 preventive items. We analyzed compliance rates and clinical effectiveness associated with this bundle in patients undergoing intubation at our medical center.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe infection control team (ICT) ensures the implementation of infection control guidelines in healthcare facilities. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of ICT, with or without an infection control link nurse (ICLN) system, in reducing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). We searched four databases to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in inpatient, outpatient and long-term care facilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Pregnancy Childbirth
August 2022
Background: Out-of-pocket payment (OOPP) is reported to be a major barrier to seeking maternal health care especially among the poor and can expose households to a risk of catastrophic expenditure and impoverishment.This study examined the OOPPs women made during childbirth in the Upper West region of Ghana.
Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study and interviewed women who gave birth between January 2013 and December 2017.
Occupational needle stick and sharp injuries (NSSIs) affect healthcare workers' (HCWs') mental health, however, limited evidence is available on the psychological impact of NSSIs, especially in developing countries where most of NSSIs have been reported. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the anxiety and psychological impact regarding NSSIs among HCWs at tertiary hospitals in Lao PDR. In this study, four among seven items of anxiety scale in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (Cronbach's α=0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Health insurance (HI) has been introduced to achieve universal health coverage. In Viet Nam, mandatory HI for the poor and the minorities has been strengthened since 2012. : The study explored affordability and healthcare-seeking behaviour for delivery and antenatal care (ANC) among the poor and ethnic minority women after HI-reform in rural Northwestern Viet Nam.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is limited knowledge on cost of treating malaria in children under-five years in northern Ghana which poses a challenge in determining whether interventions such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) have reduced the economic burden of malaria to households or not. This study examined the malaria care seeking and cost of treatment in children under-five years in the Upper West Region of Ghana.
Methods: The study used a cross-sectional, quantitative design and data were collected between July and August 2016 in three districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana.
BMC Health Serv Res
November 2017
Background: There is limited knowledge on the cost of delivering health services at primary health care facilities in Ghana which is posing a challenge in resource allocations. This study therefore estimated the cost of providing health care in primary health care facilities such as Health Centres (HCs) and Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) in Ghana.
Methods: The study was cross-sectional and quantitative data was collected from the health provider perspective.
Objectives: Health care workers (HCWs) face risks of needle stick and sharp injuries (NSIs). Most NSIs occur in developing countries, however, no epidemiological study on NSIs is publicly available in Lao PDR. The objective of this study is to identify the prevalence and risk factors of NSIs among HCWs in Lao PDR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The Great East Japan Earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that devastated the coasts of northern Japan on March 11, 2011. Despite the large number of "resident survivors," who have continued to reside on the upper floors of damaged houses, few studies have examined the mental health of these residents. We explored the prevalence and risk factors of post-traumatic stress reaction (PTSR) among resident survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Japan, the number of patients receiving dialysis is 314,180 at the end of 2013 and 97% are treated with hemodialysis. And the mean age of patients and the percentage of diabetes have been increasing. For this reason, preparations of a new vascular access (VA) and its long-term maintenance have become difficult.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe describe an 80-year-old man with end-stage renal disease due to type 2 diabetes who had been maintained on hemodialysis for 9 years. He developed refractory ulcers from an abraded wound in the right hand of his access arm. The arteriovenous fistula (AVF) was located between the right brachial artery and the median antecubital vein draining into the cephalic vein and the deep veins close to the elbow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The Great East Japan Earthquake caused a gigantic tsunami which devastated coastal areas of northern Japan on 11 March 2011. Despite the large number of 'resident survivors' who continued to reside in their damaged houses on the second or upper floors, research on the mental health of these individuals has been limited. This study explored the prevalence of depressive reaction and risk factors for depressive reaction among these resident survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Satisfaction is an important indicator of the quality of care during childbirth. Previous research found that a good environment at a health facility can increase the number of deliveries at that facility. In contrast, an unsatisfying childbirth experience could cause postpartum mental disorder.
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