[Chronic patient activation and their relationship with health professionals in Andalusia]. / La activación de pacientes crónicos y su relación con el personal sanitario en Andalucía.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the (inter)relation between chronic patient activation and its relationship with health professionals in Andalusia. METHODS: Descriptive and quantitative study involving 258 chronic patients from the School of Patients, contacted by email. One hundred and forty-two answered the Patient Activation Measurement (PAM) and the chronic patient's experience (IEXPAC) questionnaires. Statistical analyses included correlation study and comparison of means. RESULTS: The mean of Patient Activation Measurement was 87 points (scale from 0 to 100) and IEXPAC scale was 5.3 (scale from 0 to 10), with a directly proportional relation between variables. Males and participants belonging to patients' associations had higher levels of activation. The relationship with health professionals was better among patients with primary education and with <10 years of chronic disease. In general, medical staff received better evaluation, yet nurses were considered more prone to encouraging relationships among patients. The dimensions with higher impact on patient activation were inter-professional coordination and the attention paid to treatment and medication. Feeling confident to communicate one's concerns had more impact on IEXPAC scale. CONCLUSIONS: The correlation observed between patient activation and its relationship with health professionals leads to the need to improve the involvement and self-management of chronic patients, as well as to strengthen improved professional coordination and patient-staff communication.

[Quality in the anesthesia department of San Cecilio Hospital from the professionals' perspective]. / La calidad en el Bloque Quirúrgico del Hospital Clínico San Cecilio. La perspectiva del cliente interno.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of the services provided by the anaesthesia department of the San Cecilio Clinical University Hospital, from the health professionals' point of view. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Location: Andalusia. PARTICIPANTS: 134 health professionals in contact with the hospital anaesthesia department. Tool: self-administered questionnaire, measuring: accessibility, personal treatment, comfort, scientific and technical quality (scale 1 to 5), overall satisfaction (scale 0 to 10), and suggestions for improvement. A descriptive statistical and correlation analysis were performed, including mean differences (by sex, frequency of contact with the anaesthesia department, and unit), as well as a regression model. RESULTS: The quality of personal treatment received a mean of 4.2 points (SD 0.651), the scientific and technical quality 4.00 points (SD 0.532), accessibility 3.3 (SD 0.795), professional comfort 3.30 (SD 0.988), and patient comfort 2.62 points (SD 1.051). Overall satisfaction obtained a mean of 7.1 points (0 to 10 scale). Women and professionals working in units with less than 10 people had a better general evaluation of the anaesthesia department. The worse perspective was that of staff with daily contact with the anaesthesia department. Among the suggestions for improvement there were: Reducing waiting lists, creating special rooms to give information to families, improving working conditions, training and work satisfaction for staff, and achieving better communication and collaboration between health professionals. CONCLUSIONS: The internal evaluation shows the need for training strategies and organisational interventions in the anaesthesia department, in order to achieve a better quality and satisfaction for both professionals and patients.

[Emotional climate in Primary Health Care teams. A qualitative approach]. / El clima emocional en los equipos de atención primaria. Una aproximación cualitativa.

OBJECTIVE: The social interactions met in the Primary Health Care work teams are driven by important emotional aspects that affect the environment, results and the satisfaction of the professional and the patients. The objective of this work is to describe the emotional climate of Primary Care work teams, looking for the perceptions of different professional category and different work groups (selected by the quality of their emotional climate). METHODS: A qualitative methodology was used: 2 nominal groups and 2 focal groups, with 18 physicians and nurses working in the Andalusian Primary Health Care system. The information was recorded and then a content analysis was made. RESULTS: Health care professionals identify the following explanatory dimensions: professional relationship (high scored), shared work project, professional recognition, leadership, burnout and personal attitudes, as well as work conditions. Different opinions were recorded among physicians and nurses, especially when the group had a bad emotional atmosphere. CONCLUSIONS: More studies on the emotional climate in Primary Health Care are needed in order to propose strategies to improve satisfaction and quality of work life among professionals.