In a January 31, 2003 letter to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) (Footnote 2) commenting on its proposed new standards, leaders of the hospital bar made their position clear (Footnote 3). According to them, the medical staff is not an independent, self-governing body -it is just a part of the hospital, like the dietary department. In their view, the medi...

BACKGROUND The implementation and use of telecare requires significant changes to healthcare service organisation and delivery, including new ways of working for staff. Competency development and training for healthcare professionals is therefore required to enable necessary adaptation of clinical practice and ensure competent provision of telecare services. It is however unclear what skills he...

A recent countrywide MRSA spa-type 1081 outbreak in The Netherlands predominantly affected nursing homes, generating questions on how infection spreads within and between nursing homes despite a low national prevalence. Since the transfer of residents between nursing homes is uncommon in The Netherlands, we hypothesized that staff exchange plays an important role in transmission. This explorato...

BACKGROUND Assessing quality of health services, for example through supportive supervision, is essential for strengthening healthcare delivery. Most systematic health facility assessment mechanisms, however, are not suitable for routine supervision. The objective of this study is to describe a quality assessment methodology using an electronic format that can be embedded in supervision activit...

aim: injury from needle is one of the main ways of transmitting blood diseases in the medical staff. prevention and reduction of such diseases' side effects have been emphasized by the health ministry. this study aimed to investigate factors influencing the behavior of the elam city medical staff when working with sharps instruments. methods: in a cross-sectional study, using a census method, a...

AIMS To investigate the impact of a new structure for supporting healthcare students and mentors in practice placements (Placement Development Teams). INTRODUCTION The English Model National Partnership Agreement for healthcare education required Strategic Health Authorities, Higher Education Institutions and National Health Service Trusts to redesign strategies for student support. Placement...

INTRODUCTION Primary care settings are often the first and only point of contact for persons with mental health and/or substance use problems. However, staff experience and training in this area are often limited. These factors as well as a multitude of other components such as structural and systemic stigma experienced by staff can lead to clients being stigmatised, leading to poorer outcomes....

BACKGROUND The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices among healthcare professionals in Barbados in relation to healthcare ethics and law in an attempt to assist in guiding their professional conduct and aid in curriculum development. METHODS A self-administered structured questionnaire about knowledge of healthcare ethics, law and the role of an Ethics Committee...

BACKGROUND Approximately one fifth of school-aged children spend a significant portion of their year at residential summer camp, and a growing number have chronic medical conditions. Camp health records are essential for safe, efficient care and for transitions between camp and home providers, yet little research exists regarding these systems. OBJECTIVE To survey residential summer camps for...

Background: The continual rise of health workforce unemployment in the country indicates the need to explore policy and planning of the physician and nurse requirements in Serbia. The study aimed to identify variables that were significantly related to physicians and nurses’ employment in the public healthcare sector of Serbia from 1961 to 2008 and to forecast the physicians and nurse’ requirem...