scholarly journals 2544. An Exploratory Study of Resource Utilization by Practitioners when Managing Infections

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S883-S884
Author(s):  
Emily Abdoler ◽  
Katherine Gruenberg ◽  
Brian Schwartz ◽  
Brian Schwartz ◽  
Conan MacDougall

Abstract Background Antimicrobial prescribing mistakes are common and adherence to guidelines for treatment of infections is poor. Effective use of clinical resources could help ameliorate these issues, but little is known about the use of such resources by physicians and pharmacists. We thus aimed to explore how practitioners utilize clinical resources in the management of infections. Methods We conducted individual interviews with a purposeful sample of eight Hospitalists, eight ID attendings, four ID pharmacists, and six non-ID pharmacists. As part of a larger, semi-structured interview exploring ID practice patterns, we asked respondents how they utilize resources when managing infections. We describe the resources mentioned by the different practitioners, as well as the frequency of their reported use. Results All respondents reported using at least one resource to help manage infections, with a mean of 5.6 resources each. The majority of respondents use resources daily, although some ID practitioners use resources more frequently and some general practitioners less frequently (Figure 1). The types of resources utilized by respondents fell into six main categories: local ID resources, outside ID resources, primary literature, guidelines, colleagues, and pharmacy resources (Figure 2). In general, local resources are utilized more frequently by non-ID practitioners, while guidelines and the primary literature are utilized more frequently by ID practitioners. ID physicians use pharmacy resources more frequently than non-ID physicians. Six respondents spontaneously reported being motivated to review resources for their own interest or learning. Several also commented that accessibility was important in choosing resources. Conclusion Providers report use of resources to manage infections, although the type of resource and frequency of use varies. ID practitioners utilize more detailed resources than nonspecialists. Accessibility seems to influence resource utilization, which may explain the popularity of local ID resources. As such, efforts to make local ID resources as accessible and clear as possible may have an impact on appropriate antibiotic use. Future quantitative studies could help illuminate rates and perceived advantages of specific resource utilization. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Author(s):  
Justin Steyn

This paper encapsulates the outputs of a Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) funded project that aimed to improve the levels of HIV governance at the district level in Malawi and Zambia by encouraging public participation in an effort to more effective use of local resources. The methodology for this project, developed by the Institute for Democracy in Africa (Idasa) and SDC, included a barometer which assessed perceptions of district HIV governance among key stakeholders. Perceptions were gathered on governance principles of effectiveness, efficiency, rule of law, accountability, participation and equity. The stakeholders ranged from administrators, political representatives, community-based organisations and the private sector on the supply side and citizens on the demand or beneficiary side. The findings of the research indicate specific sector governance issues that may be generalised to governance. Communication and transparency appear to be major issues underpinning the bottlenecks and shortcomings in the HIV sector governance at the district level. Information gaps have given rise to accountability deficits and coordination deficiencies. Addressing these matters would make more effective use of resources and lessen dependence on external funding sources.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan C Cheruiyot ◽  
Petra Brysiewicz

This study explores and describes caring and uncaring nursing encounters from the perspective of the patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation settings in South Africa. The researchers used an exploratory descriptive design. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data through individual interviews with 17 rehabilitation patients. Content analysis allowed for the analysis of textual data. Five categories of nursing encounters emerged from the analysis: noticing and acting, and being there for you emerged as categories of caring nursing encounters, and being ignored, being a burden, and deliberate punishment emerged as categories of uncaring nursing encounters. Caring nursing encounters make patients feel important and that they are not alone in the rehabilitation journey, while uncaring nursing encounters makes the patients feel unimportant and troublesome to the nurses. Caring nursing encounters give nurses an opportunity to notice and acknowledge the existence of vulnerability in the patients and encourage them to be present at that moment, leading to empowerment. Uncaring nursing encounters result in patients feeling devalued and depersonalised, leading to discouragement. It is recommended that nurses strive to develop personal relationships that promote successful nursing encounters. Further, nurses must strive to minimise the patients’ feelings of guilt and suffering, and to make use of tools, for example the self-perceived scale, to measure this. Nurses must also perform role plays on how to handle difficult patients such as confused, demanding and rude patients in the rehabilitation settings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S96-S96
Author(s):  
Katryna A Gouin ◽  
Sarah Kabbani; Angela Anttila ◽  
Josephine Mak ◽  
Elisabeth Mungai ◽  
Ti Tanissha McCray ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Since 2016, nursing homes (NHs) enrolled in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s NHSN Long-term Care Facility (LTCF) Component have reported on their implementation of the core elements of antibiotic stewardship. In 2016, 42% of NHs reported implementing all seven core elements. Recent regulations require antibiotic stewardship programs in NHs. The objectives of this analysis were to track national progress in implementation of the core elements and evaluate how time dedicated to infection prevention and control (IPC) is associated with the implementation of the core elements. Methods We used the NHSN LTCF 2016–2018 Annual Surveys to assess NH characteristics and implementation of the core elements, defined as self-reported implementation of at least one corresponding stewardship activity. We reported absolute differences in percent implementation. We used log-binomial regression models to estimate the association between weekly IPC hours and the implementation of all seven core elements, while controlling for confounding by facility characteristics. Results We included 7,506 surveys from 2016–2018. In 2018, 71% of NHs reported implementation of all seven core elements, a 28% increase from 2016 (Fig. 1). The greatest increases in implementation from 2016–2018 were in Education (+19%), Reporting (+18%) and Drug Expertise (+15%) (Fig. 2). Ninety-eight percent of NHs had an individual responsible for antibiotic stewardship activities (Accountability), with 30% indicating that the role was fulfilled by an infection preventionist. Furthermore, 71% of NHs reported pharmacist involvement in improving antibiotic use, an increase of 27% since 2016. NHs that reported at least 20 hours of IPC activity per week were 14% more likely to implement all seven core elements, when controlling for facility ownership and affiliation, 95% CI: (1.07, 1.20). Conclusion NHs reported substantial progress in antibiotic stewardship implementation from 2016–2018. Improvements in accessing drug expertise, providing education and reporting antibiotic use may reflect increased stewardship awareness and use of resources among NH providers under new regulatory requirements. NHs with at least 20 hours dedicated to IPC per week may have greater capacity to implement all core elements. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 87-89
Author(s):  
Stephen Scypinski ◽  
John Baiano ◽  
Theodore Sadlowski

Projects that require analytical support can evolve from a number of different situations, for example new molecular entities from drug discovery; process changes; packaging changes; site changes; line extensions; and inlicensed projects and compounds. Laboratory automation has been shown to provide a viable and practical solution to assisting in analytical development. However, it is not always the most logical answer. A truly flexible and responsive analytical unit will make a decision on a case-by-case basis, when faced with a new project, whether it is best to: automate some or all aspects/testing involved; contract out to a reputable and approved contract research organization (CRO); hire temporary help; use available in-house resources; use a combination of the options shown above (for example to evaluate the complexity of the new project versus what the in-house resources are currently working on). The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the various options with respect to providing analytical support and suggests optionsfor the most effective use of resources. The role of automation as one of the important tools in the arsenal of these options is highlighted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. 02022
Author(s):  
Shih-Feng Chang ◽  
Wei-Zheng Zhang ◽  
Wan-Yin Liang ◽  
Jia-Yue Qiu ◽  
Sui Pan ◽  
...  

Under the thinking of “sharing economy”, Wish Magic wants to create a platform called “shared time bank”, so that users of the platform can store their free time in the “shared time bank” platform in advance. Then, according to the precise docking of products and services as well as supply and demand, Wish Magic also carries out the “wishing tree hole” platform to effectively interact with users according to the latest news and wish list released by users, and regularly goes to poor areas to carry out relevant poverty alleviation activities, so as to provide education support for local people with educational needs and truly play the role of targeted poverty alleviation. In addition, in today’s situation of prevailing pressure, Wish Magic will also create a “spitting tree hole” platform to provide a space for everyone to spit and vent their negative energy, and provide advice for everyone in work, study, love or marriage and other aspects, and help to solve practical problems. The combination of these three platforms enable people to arrange their time reasonably, make effective use of resources, and help people improve their work efficiency and quality of life, so as to create greater economic and social benefits.


Author(s):  
Izolda Chiladze

Profitability is one of the fundamental directions of the financial stability of enterprises. Resources in nature are finite. Thus, the effective use of resources by each enterprise is of great interest to the public. The Profit is a means of expanding of production, of material incentives, of growth of investments and state revenue. Profit is also used by enterprises to finance employees’ awarding charitable and other programs. So, in order to make the enterprise profitable, it is important for owners, employed personnel, the state, and the whole society. Consequently, the research of the factors that increase the profitability of enterprises is always relevant. Purpose of the article is to create a multifactorial model of profitability. Therefore, the object of research is the system of indicators of profit and profitability. The article discusses different indicators of profit and profitability of the enterprise. On the basis of their logical and qualitative analysis, the most general indicator was selected: the ratio of annual profit (profit before taxation) to total assets. The purpose of the research was exactly to create a new factor model of this indicator. Based on the logical analysis, synthesis and professional judgment methods, eight indicators were selected which influence the profitability change and whose insertion (layout) into one model is possible and reasonable. And the method of so-called absolute difference is used to measure the influence of factors affecting profitability. For the testing of this model, the article uses the data of the Teliani Valley financial information of the Georgian wine company. This company was very interesting because it was the most financially stable and high-profile one but it became unprofitable for the past three years. As a result of the logical and empirical analysis of the factor-indicators of the new multi-factor model, it is obvious that this model can be used in all branches of the economy, except for commercial banks. Annual use of this factor model of profitability will be intellectual assistance for management of companies in order to find negative factors for profitability change and to make relevant decisions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Carolyn Donohoe ◽  
Kate Frazer ◽  
Diarmuid Stokes ◽  
Thilo Kroll

Background: Strategy in hospitals is based on distinct principles and rules which lead organisations to act on chosen priorities. Hospitals are struggling to cope with increasing service demands and activity and need to become more responsive to changing environments while demonstrating effective use of resources. Strategizing involves the active process of sensing, planning, implementing and evaluating strategy. Strategy-as-practice is concerned with what people do about strategy in an organisation, as opposed to the traditional focus on what the organisation has as a strategy. It is recognised that there is a disconnection between strategic planning and implementation, however little is known about how organisational context influences the strategic process or how hospital personnel engage in strategic activities. The aim of this scoping review is to explore the literature on strategizing by hospital personnel in hospitals, and will include literature for hospital both professional and managerial backgrounds, to establish the extent and breadth of strategizing or as it is often termed ‘strategy-as-practice’ in hospitals. Methods: The systematic scoping review will search the literature within the databases of PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ABI/INFORM (Proquest) and OpenGrey.net to explore the scientific evidence on strategizing in hospitals. The review will be based on the Arksey & O’Malley (2005) framework of five mandatory steps which was updated (Levac et al 2010, Colquhoun et al 2014 & Peters 2015) and is published online by the Joanna Briggs Institute. It will follow the PRISMA-ScP reporting guidelines. Conclusion: A scoping review methodology will provide a framework to explore strategizing in hospitals comprehensively and map the body of literature for this subject, which has not been conducted previously. This review will summarise the evidence on the use of strategy as practice in hospitals.  Based on the findings we will identify knowledge gaps and areas for future research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Kimberly Skinner ◽  
Barbara Maxwell ◽  
Amanda Baskerville ◽  
Jovan Milanović

Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration improves health outcomes, enhances health care satisfaction, and facilitates more effective use of resources. Interprofessional collaborators increasingly understand and value other professions. A.T. Still University provides students from multiple programs with opportunities to develop interprofessional collaboration skills. This research note presents details of one such interprofessional education (IPE) opportunity, a collaborative case. Audiology was part of this case in two ways: Audiologic details of the simulated patient were provided to all students, and audiology students participated in the experience. The results of this involvement are reported. This research note is primarily descriptive in nature; however, the question of whether students viewed their interprofessional competencies as improving following the IPE experience was explored using a validated self-report tool, the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS). Method: A total of 23 students completed the ICCAS. Additionally, student case presentations were reviewed and audiology-based recommendations were tallied. Results: Highly significant differences ( p  ≤ .01) for all 20 items on the ICCAS were observed for differences in self-assessed interprofessional skills knowledge. All but one of the 12 teams made specific recommendations regarding the communication needs of the patient. Conclusions: Students viewed their own competencies related to interprofessional collaboration as improved following the collaborative case experience. Overall, the collaborative case experience was effective in providing students with the opportunity to develop a breadth of skills needed for interprofessional collaboration. Providing audiologic information in the case history prompted all but one team to consider patient communication needs.


Author(s):  
Berrin Kurşun ◽  
Bhavik R. Bakshi

The applicability of emergy analysis (EA), a nature oriented thermodynamic analysis technique, as a regional sustainability assessment tool is explored in the context of an Indian village (Rampura). EA provides information about how much environmental support is required, system renewability, system efficiency, load of system to environment and dependency of system on external resources (self-sufficiency). The results of Rampura analysis reveal that sustainability is achieved neither at village level nor at subsystem levels. The chapter shows that the effective use of the renewable local resources can reduce the dependence on external resources and increase self-sufficiency and sustainability


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