The authors systematically studied the introduction of animal-assisted activity into a children's hospital in Italy. This pilot study examined the reactions of children, their parents and the hospital staff and the hospital-wide infection rate before and after the introduction of animals. The SAM (self-assessment manikin), three behavioral scales, analysis of children's graphic productions, a p...

BACKGROUND Peanut allergy is the leading cause of food-related anaphylaxis, and accidental exposures are common. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) has been posited as a potential treatment. METHODS Patients aged 3-65 years with peanut-specific IgE ≥7 kU/l and/or a positive skin prick test with a history of an allergic reaction to peanut were recruited to undergo an OIT protocol. All adverse reactions ...

CONTEXT Health care environments have been changing rapidly, and one of the changes is to emphasize patient satisfaction. However, most studies assume that all patients integrate their health care attribute reactions in the same way to arrive at their satisfaction. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to investigate how patients' experience of pain influences their attribute reaction inte...

PURPOSE Workplace violence in the emergency department is a significant problem world wide. The aims of this study were to identify the proportion of staff subjected to the types of violence, its sources, factors affecting violence experiences, reporting the incidence and the emotions of the victims after violence. METHODS This descriptive study was conducted between March and August 2009 in ...

BACKGROUND Violence committed by patients and their families and visitors against Emergency Department staff in the United States is common and detrimental to staff well being, morale, and care practices. Hospitals losses occur due to decreased staff retention, prestige, and patient and visitor satisfaction. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the baseline survey reported here was to identify and descri...