Improvement of the Patient Safety Culture in the Primary Health Care Corporation - Qatar.

OBJECTIVES: Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) is the public primary health care provider in Qatar. Having a patient safety culture (PSC) is the keystone to enabling a continuous process to improve the quality of services and to reduce errors. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of accreditation, quality improvement trainings, and patient safety (PS) trainings on the improvement of the PSC at the PHCC in Qatar. METHODS: The Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was used in 2012 and 2015 to assess the culture of PS and health care quality in the 21 health centers. The results of the two surveys were compared using the χ2 test. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Out of 2689 staff working in the 21 health centers, 1810 (67.3%) completed the survey in 2012, and 2616 (70.0%) of 3735 completed the survey in 2015. The comparison between 2012 and 2015 survey's results showed a statistically significant improvement for all the 10 dimensions (P < 0.05). Although a statistically significant difference was observed between 2012 and 2015 results for work pressure and pace, three of the four questions of the work pressure and pace dimension presented nonsignificant differences. CONCLUSIONS: The survey was a good tool to raise awareness on PS and quality issues at PHCC. There is evidence that the implementation of accreditation program, the quality improvement trainings, and PS trainings helped the organization improve its PS culture.

Examining the impact of accreditation on a primary healthcare organization in Qatar.

BACKGROUND: Although a modest body of literature exists on accreditation, little research was conducted on the impact of accreditation on primary healthcare organizations in the Middle East. This study assessed the changes resulting from the integration of Accreditation Canada International's accreditation program in a primary healthcare organization in the State of Qatar. METHODS: The study investigated how accreditation helped introduce organizational changes through promoting organizational learning as well as quality improvement initiatives. Applying a quantitative design, a structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 500 staff. The study used Spearman's correlation coefficient to analyze the collected survey data. RESULTS: Overall employees agreed on the positive impact of accreditation. The results showed a significantly positive correlation between staff perception of accreditation and of quality of care. The two dominant cultures at Primary Health Care Corporation were "group" (with a score of 28.61) and "hierarchical" (with a score of 26.59). The results showed a positive correlation between staff perception of accreditation and their perception of culture type whenever the culture was identified as "group". CONCLUSIONS: This study provided much-needed insight on the possible changes that organizations might go through in relation to quality improvement and organizational learning.

Assessing health beliefs about osteoporosis among women attending primary health care centres in Qatar.

OBJECTIVE: Osteoporosis is a global health problem, and its prevalence is rapidly increasing worldwide. Misconceptions about osteoporosis and the lack of preventive measures among women are still common, emphasizing the need for primary prevention at an early age. The process of planning an effective osteoporosis prevention programme requires sufficient information about women's osteoporosis health beliefs. The objective of this study is to assess the health beliefs of 20-44 year-old Arab women about osteoporosis at primary health care centres in the State of Qatar. METHODS: The researchers utilized a cross-sectional study design, where cluster sampling with proportionate allocation was employed to enrol 766 eligible women who were interviewed using a structured Arabic questionnaire. RESULTS: The majority of the participating women showed lower perceived susceptibility to osteoporosis (71.7%) but higher perceived benefits of preventive practices (91.7%). CONCLUSION: Despite lower perception of susceptibility to osteoporosis, women were highly motivated to take care of their health and believed in the benefits of a calcium-rich diet and regular exercise. The integration of osteoporosis prevention into women's health programmes at the primary health care level, as well as physical activity and nutritional programs, are recommended.

Perceptions of school nurses and principals towards nurse role in providing school health services in Qatar.

BACKGROUND: The school nurse plays a crucial role in the provision of comprehensive health services to students. This role encompasses both health and educational goals. The perception of the school nurse's role and its relation to health promotion is fundamental to the development of school nursing. This study aimed to determine the perception of school nurses and principals toward the role of school nurses in providing school health services in Qatar. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among all school nurses (n=159) and principals (n=159) of governmental schools in Qatar. The participants were assessed for their perception toward the role of the school nurse in the school using 19-Likert-type scaled items Questionnaire. RESULTS: The response rates were 100% for nurses and 94% for principals. The most commonly perceived roles of the school nurse by both nurses and principals were 'following up of chronically ill students', 'providing first aid', and 'referral of students with health problems', whereas most of the roles that were not perceived as school nurse roles were related to student academic achievements. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: School nurses and principals agreed on the clinical/medical aspects of nurses' role within schools, but disagreed on nurses' involvement in issues related to the school performance of students. The study recommends raising awareness of school principals on the school nursing role, especially in issues related to the school performance of students.

Breastfeeding practice and determinants among Arab mothers in Qatar.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the breastfeeding practices of Arab mothers by measuring breastfeeding indicators, and to identify the related determinants that affect maternal practices in Qatar. METHODS: Using interview administered questionnaires, we carried out this cross-sectional study with cluster sampling of 770 Arab mothers of children below 24 months of age attending primary health care centers in Qatar from June to October 2009. RESULTS: Early initiation of breastfeeding was found in 57%, exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months in 18.9%, and continued breastfeeding at one year in 49.9% of mothers. Children ever breastfed comprised 97.9%, continued breastfeeding at 2 years old comprised 45.4%, and predominant breastfeeding 11.9%. The proportion of children who were appropriately breastfed was 29%. The `rooming in` rate was 43.9%. Receiving breast milk substitutes, exposure to advertisements for artificial teats, and employment status showed a significant relation with both early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding. On demand feeding was related to exclusive breastfeeding, and `rooming in` and mode of delivery was related to early initiation. CONCLUSION: Breastfeeding practice among Arab mothers in Qatar is not at an acceptable level. Core indicators, optional indicators, and health facility indicators for breastfeeding practice are not at the desired World Health Organization recommended levels.

Flu vaccine among health workers in Qatar.

OBJECTIVE: To assessed the coverage rate of influenza vaccination among Health Care Workers at Hamad Medical Corporation in 2006 vaccination campaign and also assessed the reasons for non-vaccination in among physicians and nurses. METHODS: This is an observational study conducted in Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar between April 2007 and August 2007. The 2006 vaccination campaign records were analyzed to determine the influenza vaccination coverage rate among all staff in 6 independent facilities. We used a self-administrative questionnaire to assess the reasons for not getting the influenza vaccine among a random sample of non-vaccinated physicians and nurses. RESULTS: Approximately 19.4% of all staff were vaccinated and there were statistically significant differences between the type of health care facilities among physicians and nurses group. Approximately 58% of the random sample of 1261 physicians and nurses returned the questionnaire. The most frequently cited reasons for non-vaccination were lack of time to get immunized (16.5%) and concerns on vaccine side effects (13.6%). CONCLUSION: Influenza vaccination coverage of health care workers is low and variable depending on type of health care setting, therefore, it is essential to identify the reasons for low vaccination rate in different health care facility in which assists the guidance to improve the coverage rates for the following years.