Addressing integration in the organization of palliative care in belgium: a multilevel ecosystems approach using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method.

Background: Palliative care is becoming an essential component of healthcare, but there is insufficient research on how integration across different levels of care (micro, meso, and macro) is realized in practice. Without such integration, care may become fragmented, leading to suboptimal patient outcomes. While many studies have explored palliative care models, there is a gap in understanding how priorities for integrated care align across these levels within healthcare ecosystems.

Enhancing hospital emergency response based on the experience of COVID-19.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic required a significant response from global healthcare systems. In Belgium, the crisis began in March 2020, prompting quick action in hospitals. This study assesses the effectiveness of Belgium's hospital emergency plans and compares them with global standards for potential enhancements.

Bedside handovers in mental health care: An explorative review.

Introduction: Involving mental healthcare patients in nursing handover practices seems a promising method for increasing patient participation, empowerment, and shared decision-making but is hardly found in practice.

Method: An explorative review on bedside handovers in mental health care was conducted. Searched databases included CINHAHL, Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase.

The effect of different care delivery models in a hospital setting on patient- and nurse-related outcomes: A systematic review with narrative synthesis.

Aim: To synthesize and assess the effectiveness of different care delivery models in a hospital setting, taking into account patient- and nurse-related outcomes.

Design: A systematic review with narrative synthesis in which a comparison was made between different care delivery models.

Methods: The search string consisted of four clusters: 'nursing', 'care delivery models', 'hospital setting' and 'quantitative research designs'.

Flemish critical care nurses' experiences regarding the influence of work-related demands on their health: a descriptive interpretive qualitative study.

Background: Critical care nurses (CCNs) around the globe face other health challenges compared to their peers in general hospital nursing. Moreover, the nursing workforce grapples with persistent staffing shortages. In light of these circumstances, developing a sustainable work environment is imperative to retain the current nursing workforce.

How much do we know about nursing care delivery models in a hospital setting? A mapping review.

To deal with the upcoming challenges and complexity of the nursing profession, it is deemed important to reflect on our current organization of care. However, before starting to rethink the organization of nursing care, an overview of important elements concerning nursing care organization, more specifically nursing models, is necessary. The aim of this study was to conduct a mapping review, accompanied by an evidence map to map the existing literature, to map the field of knowledge on a meta-level and to identify current research gaps concerning nursing models in a hospital setting.

Engaging healthcare professionals and patient representatives in the development of a quality model for hospitals: a mixed-method study.

Top-down and externally imposed quality requirements can lead to improvement but do not seem as sustainable as intended. There is a need for a quality model that intrinsically motivates healthcare professionals to contribute to quality and safe care in hospitals. This study shows how a quality model that matches the identity and the quality vision of the organization was developed.

Implementing bedside handovers in mental health care: Insights from an experience-based co-design.

Objectives: Bedside handovers have the potential to provide opportunities to increase patient involvement in mental health care. However, limited research has been conducted on this subject.

Methods: In this study, we investigate the suitability of experience-based co-design as a method for designing bedside handover in mental health care.

Application of NRS2002 to detect malnutrition in a tertiary care centre: agreement between nurse and dietician's screening steps and relation with clinical outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the agreement between nurse and dietician nutritional risk assessments when using the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002) protocol, and to explore the relations of falsely labeling patients 'not at risk' for malnutrition and the screening time difference (STD) between nurse and dietician with the length of stay (LoS).

Methods: Included are all patients hospitalized in a tertiary care center between January 2017 and December 2019 and screened for malnutrition by both a nurse and a dietician. The inter-rater reliability is evaluated using Cohen's Kappa.

Role of Social and App-Related Factors in Behavioral Engagement With mHealth for Improved Well-being Among Chronically Ill Patients: Scenario-Based Survey Study.

Background: The last decade has seen a considerable increase in the number of mobile health (mHealth) apps in everyday life. These mHealth apps have the potential to significantly improve the well-being of chronically ill patients. However, behavioral engagement with mHealth apps remains low.

Cornerstones of a sustainable national quality policy: A qualitative study based on international expert opinions.

Background: National initiatives launched to improve the quality of care have grown exponentially over the last decade. Public reporting, accreditation and governmental inspection form the basis for quality in Flemish (Belgian) hospitals. Due to the lack of evidence for these national initiatives and the questions concerning their sustainability, our research aims to identify cornerstones of a sustainable national quality policy for acute-care hospitals based on international expert opinion.

The cost of a first and second hospital-wide accreditation in Flanders, Belgium.

Background: Hospital accreditation is a popular and widely used quality control and improvement instrument. Despite potential benefits, ques-tions are raised whether it constitutes appropriate use of hospitals' limited financial resources.

Objective: This study aims to calculate the cost of preparing for and undergoing a first and second accreditation by the Joint Commission International or Qualicor Europe in acute-care hospitals.

Encouraging Digital Patient Portal Use in Ambulatory Surgery: A Mixed Method Research of Patients and Health Care Professionals Experiences and Perceptions.

Purpose: As more complex surgery is performed in 1-day admissions there is a growing demand for appropriate postoperative follow-up. A digital patient portal (DPP) is a promising tool to support this and increase patients' quality of recovery. However, both patients and health care professionals have not fully embraced this eHealth technology.

Malnutrition risk and severity: Impact on patient outcomes and financial hospital reimbursement in a tertiary teaching hospital.

Background & Aims: Despite its negative impact on patients and health care expenditures, malnutrition remains an under-recognized problem in hospitals. The objectives were thus: 1) to study the prevalence of malnutrition risk, protein-calorie malnutrition and cachexia in a Belgian tertiary care hospital, 2) to evaluate the impact thereof on patient outcomes, and 3) to evaluate the impact of optimizing malnutrition screening, diagnosing, registration and coding on hospital reimbursement.

Methods: Data was included from all multi-day admissions between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019.

Exploring non-physician care professionals' roles in cancer multidisciplinary team meetings: A qualitative study.

The growing complexity of cancer care necessitates collaboration among different professionals. This interprofessional collaboration improves cancer care delivery and outcomes. Treatment decision-making within the context of a multidisciplinaire team meeting (MDTMs) may be seen as a particular form of interprofessional collaboration.

The future of hospital quality of care policy: A multi-stakeholder discrete choice experiment in Flanders, Belgium.

Background: Collaboration between policymakers, patients and healthcare workers in hospital quality of care policy setting can improve the integration of new initiatives. The aim of this study was to quantify preferences for various characteristics of a future quality policy in a broad group of stakeholders.

Materials And Methods: 450 policymakers, clinicians, nurses, patient representatives and hospital board members in Flanders (Belgium) participated in five discrete choice experiments (DCE) on quality control, quality improvement, inspection, patient incidents and transparency.

A decade of commitment to hospital quality of care: overview of and perceptions on multicomponent quality improvement policies involving accreditation, public reporting, inspection and pay-for-performance.

Background: Quality improvement (QI) initiatives such as accreditation, public reporting, inspection and pay-for-performance are increasingly being implemented globally. In Flanders, Belgium, a government policy for acute-care hospitals incorporates aforementioned initiatives. Currently, questions are raised on the sustainability of the present policy.

Nursing handover involving consumers on inpatient mental healthcare units: A qualitative exploration of the consumers' perspective.

Handovers between nurses are a significant cause of communication problems and possible consumer safety issues. A potential solution for both problems is the nursing handover involving consumers, in which the consumer is present at the time of handover. This practice invites consumers to be more involved in their care process and supports a recovery-oriented practice.

Individualised care in Flemish and Dutch hospitals: Comparing patients' and nurses' perceptions.

Background: Patient-centred care has been recognised as vital for today's healthcare quality. This type of care puts patients at the centre, contributing to positive patient outcomes such as patient autonomy. Empirical research comparing nurses' and patients' perceptions of the support and provision of patient-centred care is limited and focuses solely on nurses and patients working and staying on surgical wards.

Ethical reflections on Covid-19 vaccines.

Objectives: More than 1 year after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic it is becoming increasingly clear that vaccines will prove to be essential in combating this global pandemic. The demand for such vaccines is great (since nearly everyone is a candidate for vaccination) yet supplies are currently limited. This raises clear ethical questions regarding the current and future Covid-19 vaccines.

Prediction of hospital bed capacity during the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Background: Prediction of the necessary capacity of beds by ward type (e.g. ICU) is essential for planning purposes during epidemics, such as the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Ethical issues in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense and worldwide impact. In light of future pandemics or subsequent waves of COVID-19 it is crucial to focus on the ethical issues that were and still are raised in this COVID-19 crisis. In this paper, we look at issues that are raised in the testing and tracing of patients with COVID-19.

Integrated care for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium: Lessons learned the hard way.

The corona pandemic challenges countries worldwide in many different ways. Due to its magnitude and impact on global health, this health crisis exposes several shortcomings in their health systems and emphasizes their shortcomings and deficiencies. These deficiencies have quickly affected the most frail citizens, such as older people.

Perceptions of interdisciplinary bedside rounds by head nurses in Flanders: a cross-sectional exploration.

ObjectivesInterdisciplinary bedside rounds is gaining ground as a method to improve patient centredness and involvement, quality of care and team collaboration. An exploratory study was conducted in Flemish hospitals to (1) map and (2) examine the current form of rounds and the extent to which these were bedside, patient and family participatory and interdisciplinary.MethodsIn February 2020, a quantitative cross-sectional self-reporting web-based survey was conducted in 23 hospitals in Flanders, 213 head nurses of 213 wards completed the survey.