BACKGROUND Health related quality of life (HRQoL) in very late life is not well understood. The aim of the present study was to assess HRQoL and health outcomes at four months follow-up in a group of older people awaiting transfer to residential aged care. METHODS Secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial conducted in three public hospitals in Adelaide. A total of 320 pati...

BACKGROUND Service quality is perceived as an important factor for developing patient's loyalty. The aim of this study was to determine the hospital service quality from the patients' viewpoints and the relative importance of quality dimensions in predicting the patient's loyalty. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2010. The study sample was composed of 943 patients selected fro...

INTRODUCTION Physiotherapy practice in Africa faces a number of challenges, one of which is the limited number of therapists in most public hospitals. In Africa, physiotherapy is still mainly institution based with very little community-based practice, leading to lack of access to services for a large part of the population. This study explores users' perceptions of physiotherapy, challenges fa...

BACKGROUND The inappropriate use or interpretation of intrapartum fetal surveillance (IFS) continues to be a major contributor to adverse obstetric outcomes, suggesting that training in IFS is deficient. What professional education in intrapartum fetal surveillance currently exists in Victorian public hospitals is unknown. AIMS To map the current formal IFS education and competency assessment...

BACKGROUND International research shows that medical errors (MEs) are a major threat to patient safety. The present study aimed to describe MEs and barriers to reporting them in Shiraz public hospitals, Iran. METHODS A cross-sectional, retrospective study was conducted in 10 Shiraz public hospitals in the south of Iran, 2013. Using the standardised checklist of Shiraz University of Medical Sc...

BACKGROUND This study is an initial effort to examine the dynamics of efficiency and productivity in Greek public hospitals during the first phase of the crisis 2009-2012. Data were collected by the Ministry of Health after several quality controls ensuring comparability and validity of hospital inputs and outputs. Productivity is estimated using the Malmquist Indicator, decomposing the estimat...

Personal powers of decision and individuality must be respected, grounded on autonomy expressed through informed consent. This paper examines data on the actual use of informed consent in public hospitals in Brazil's Federal District. A questionnaire was completed by dentists in public hospitals, and its findings show that verbal informed consent is obtained at the start of treatment in most of...

Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate healthcare provider perceptions of the impact of refugee patients at two public hospitals, one rural and one urban, in designated refugee resettlement areas. Healthcare professionals' views regarding improvements that could be made in this area were also sought. Methods Two-page anonymous questionnaires containing demographic, quantitat...

The evaluation of hospital reform effectiveness in health care reform is very important and beneficial since it helps the government to understand the current situation of pilot county public hospitals and smoothly start the reform in all county hospitals. This study used sample hospitals data from 2010 to 2012 to evaluate the effectiveness of public hospital reform through comparisons between ...

BACKGROUND Nurses observe regulations restricting the use of uncovered surgical attire outside the operating room (OR), but there are no guidelines for physicians nor data on their habits in this matter. We assessed physicians' attitudes and behavior about OR attire in non-OR areas. STUDY DESIGN A multicenter study was conducted among 106 units and departments in 23 university-affiliated, tea...