Epidemiology of influenza over a ten-year period in Belgium: overview of the historical and current evidence.

Background: Generally influenza, a contagious respiratory disease, leads to mild illness, but can present as a severe illness with significant complications for some. It entails significant health challenges and an economic burden. Annual vaccination is considered the most effective preventive measure against influenza, especially in high-risk groups.

Oncologic Home-Hospitalization Delivers a High-Quality and Patient-Centered Alternative to Standard Ambulatory Care: Results of a Randomized-Controlled Equivalence Trial.

Purpose: Given the increasing burden of cancer on patients, health care providers, and payers, the shift of certain outpatient procedures to the patients' homes (further indicated as oncologic home-hospitalization [OHH]) might be a high-quality, patient-centered, and cost-effective alternative to standard ambulatory cancer care (SOC).

Methods: A randomized-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the quality of a locally implemented model for OHH (n = 74) compared with SOC (n = 74). The model for OHH consisted of home administration of certain subcutaneous cancer drugs (full OHH) and home nursing assessments before ambulatory systemic cancer therapy (partial OHH).

Hospital referrals of patients with acute poisoning by the Belgian Poison Centre: analysis of characteristics, associated factors, compliance and costs.

Objective: Aims were (1) to assess the characteristics, associated factors and compliance of patients with acute poisoning advised by the Belgian Poison Centre (BPC) to go (conditionally) to the hospital, (2) to assess the compliance and potential health-economic impact.

Methods: Three types of referrals to the hospital of patients who called the BPC between 1 January and 30 June 2018 were analysed: referrals in case of deterioration in the patient's condition (Hosp-watchful-wait), referrals (Hosp-referral) or urgent referrals (Hosp-urgent-referral). Factors associated with type of recommendation were registered.

Quality of blood samples collected at home does not affect clinical decision making for the administration of systemic cancer treatment.

The aim of this exploratory clinical study was to evaluate whether the preanalytical quality of blood samples subjected to delayed centrifugation and transport - as a result of home-sampling - is affected in a way it alters the clinical decision-making for patients under systemic cancer therapy. This evaluation is part of a comprehensive investigation of the opportunities for oncological home-hospitalization. Forty-nine patients with cancer donated two additional blood samples during their ambulatory hospital visit.

Characteristics and costs in adults with acute poisoning admitted to the emergency department of a university hospital in Belgium.

Objective: The aims of this study were to assess the characteristics of all acute poisoning admissions among adult emergency department (ED) patients, to identify factors associated with admission and to calculate direct medical cost.

Methods: Data of 2017 (1st January to 31st December) were collected and analyzed retrospectively using patients' medical records and hospital invoices. Factors associated with type of hospitalization were identified using appropriate statistics.

Adults with acute poisoning admitted to a university hospital in Belgium in 2017: cost analysis benchmarked with national data.

Aims were to (1) analyse the direct cost charged by a university hospital to the government and the patient in case of an admission for acute poisoning, (2) identify the factors associated with the cost, and (3) compare the cost in the hospital studied with national data from the government. Patient records and invoices of all poisoning-related episodes of patients 14 years or older admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of Ghent University Hospital (GUH) in 2017 were analysed. A generalised linear model with gamma loglink was applied to assess the variables associated with the cost.

Belgian Poison Centre impact on healthcare expenses of unintentional poisonings: a cost-benefit analysis.

Objectives: This study evaluates the impact of the Belgian Poison Centre (BPC) on national healthcare expenses for calls from the public for unintentional poisonings.

Methods: The probability of either calling the BPC, consulting a general practitioner (GP) or consulting an emergency department (ED) was examined in a telephone survey (February-March 2016). Callers were asked what they would have done in case of unavailability of the BPC.

An observational pilot study to evaluate the feasibility and quality of oncological home-hospitalization.

Purpose: The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of oncological home-hospitalization and to compare its quality with standard ambulatory hospital care in terms of patient-reported quality of life and related endpoints by means of a set of validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).

Methods: An observational cohort study (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03073499) was conducted, allocating patients to (partial) home-hospitalization or standard ambulatory hospital care.

Shifting specialized oncological care from hospital- to home-setting: is there support among patients, specialists and general practitioners?

Objectives: Oncological home-hospitalization (OHH) might be a patient-centred approach to deal with the increasing burden of cancer on health-care facilities and finances. Before implementation into practice, its feasibility, costs and support among stakeholders should be evaluated. The purpose of this trial was to explore patients', specialists' and general practitioners' (GPs) perspectives towards the opportunities of implementing OHH within the Belgian health-care system.

Communication satisfaction and job satisfaction among critical care nurses and their impact on burnout and intention to leave: A questionnaire study.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between communication and job satisfaction and their association with intention to leave and burnout among intensive care unit nurses.

Research Methodology/design: A multicentre questionnaire study.

Setting/participants: Intensive care nurses (n = 303) from three Flemish hospitals.

Organization, quality and cost of oncological home-hospitalization: A systematic review.

Background: Home-hospitalization might be a patient-centred approach facing the increasing burden of cancer on societies. This systematic review assessed how oncological home-hospitalization has been organized and to what extent its quality and costs were evaluated.

Results: Twenty-four papers describing parenteral cancer drug administration to adult patients in their homes were included.

Assessing Resident Safety Culture in Six Nursing Homes in Belgium.

Objectives: The primary aim was to measure resident safety culture in six nursing homes in northern Belgium (Flanders). In addition, differences in safety culture perceptions between professions were also examined. Finally, results of the present study were compared with the Nursing Home Comparative Database from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (USA).

Prenatal Remote Monitoring of Women With Gestational Hypertensive Diseases: Cost Analysis.

Background: Remote monitoring in obstetrics is relatively new; some studies have shown its effectiveness for both mother and child. However, few studies have evaluated the economic impact compared to conventional care, and no cost analysis of a remote monitoring prenatal follow-up program for women diagnosed with gestational hypertensive diseases (GHD) has been published.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the costs of remote monitoring versus conventional care relative to reported benefits.

Patient perspectives on electronic health record accessibility and patient participation: a questionnaire survey.

Objectives To explore patient perceptions on personal comfort with participation in their own care process and on support of this patient participation through electronic health record (EHR) accessibility. Methods Explorative quantitative questionnaire study in ambulatory patients visiting the departments of General Internal Medicine or Head, Neck and Maxillo-Facial Surgery of a Belgian tertiary referral center. Results Patients were recruited by convenience sampling of 438 out of the total of 1270 patients visiting either one of these departments within a time period of two weeks.

Exploring and Evaluating Patient Safety Culture in a Community-Based Primary Care Setting.

Objectives: The primary aim was to measure patient safety culture in two home care services in Belgium (Flanders). In addition, variability based on respondents' profession was examined.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by administering the SCOPE-Primary Care questionnaire in two home care service organizations.

Seen through the patients' eyes: surgical safety and checklists.

Objective: We sought to explore the views patients have towards surgical safety and checklists. As a secondary aim, we explored if previous experience of error or other patient characteristics influence these views.

Design: A cross-sectional survey study design was applied.

Nurses' Sedation Practices During Weaning of Adults From Mechanical Ventilation in an Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Sedation and analgesia have an important impact on the outcome of patients treated with mechanical ventilation. International guidelines recommend use of sedation protocols to ensure best patient care.

Objective: To determine the sedation practice of intensive care nurses weaning adults from mechanical ventilation.

Seen through the patients' eyes: quality of chronic illness care.

Background: Most well-developed healthcare systems are facing the challenge of managing the increasing prevalence of patients with chronic diseases. Comprehensive frameworks, such as the chronic care model (CCM), receive widespread acceptance for improving care processes, clinical outcomes and costs.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore chronic patients' perceptions of the quality of chronic care and the alignment with the CCM.

Seen through the patients' eyes: Safety of chronic illness care.

Objective: Due to the increasing burden of chronic diseases, a considerable part of care delivery will continue to shift from secondary to primary care, and home care settings. Despite the growing importance of primary care, concerns about the safety of patients in hospitals have thus far driven most research in the field. Therefore, the present study sought to explore patients' perceptions and experiences of the safety of primary chronic care.

Systematic psychometric review of self-reported instruments to assess patient safety culture in primary care.

Aims: To give an overview of empirical studies using self-reported instruments to assess patient safety culture in primary care and to synthesize psychometric properties of these instruments.

Background: A key condition for improving patient safety is creating a supportive safety culture to identify weaknesses and to develop improvement strategies so recurrence of incidents can be minimized. However, most tools to measure and strengthen safety culture have been developed and tested in hospitals.

A tailored intervention to improving the quality of intrahospital nursing handover.

Introduction: Nursing handover is a process central to the delivery of high-quality and safe care. We aimed to improve the quality of nursing handover from the emergency department to ward and intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: A quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group pre-test - post-test design was applied.

Economic and social impact of increased cardiac rehabilitation uptake and cardiac telerehabilitation in Belgium - a cost-benefit analysis.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation for ischaemic heart disease effectively reduces cardiovascular readmission rate and mortality. Current uptake rates however, remain low. This study assesses the social and economic impact of increasing centre-based cardiac rehabilitation uptake and the additional value of cardiac telerehabilitation using cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in Belgium.

The SCOPE-PC instrument for assessing patient safety culture in primary care: a psychometric evaluation.

Introduction: Primary healthcare differs from hospitals in terms of - inter alia - organisational structure. Therefore, patient safety culture could differ between these settings. Various instruments have been developed to measure collective attitudes of personnel within a primary healthcare organisation.

Intraorganizational Communication and Job Satisfaction Among Flemish Hospital Nurses: An Exploratory Multicenter Study.

Intraorganizational communication affects job satisfaction and turnover. The goal of this study was to explore relationships between communication and job satisfaction, intention to leave, and burnout among Flemish hospital nurses. A multicenter questionnaire study was conducted in three hospitals using the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Turnover Intention subscale of the Questionnaire on the Experience and Evaluation of Work, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory.