Influence of various factors on the legal outcome of cases of child abuse-experiences gathered at an interdisciplinary forensic examination center in Vienna, Austria.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To improve the currently low conviction rate in cases of child abuse a forensic examination center for children and adolescents (FOKUS) was established in Vienna, Austria. Besides a state of the art treatment combined with forensic documentation, one of FOKUS' key goals is to identify potential areas for improvements within the process legal proceedings in cases of child abuse through constant scientific monitoring. The accompanying study at hand includes all patients referred to FOKUS within a two year timeframe (n = 233), monitoring their progression from first contact with the medical professionals from FOKUS to the end of criminal proceedings. A detailed analysis of case files was performed in those cases that were reported to the legal authorities by the clinicians of FOKUS (n = 87). Aim of the study is to investigate which factors contribute to the initiation of legal proceedings and a successful conviction. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that main proceedings were opened more often in cases where the offender was an adult (p < 0.001) or admitted his guilt (p < 0.001) and if digital traces were available (p = 0.001) or trial support (p = 0.024) present. Furthermore, the combined occurrence of medical documentation and victim disclosure was related to a higher probability of opening main trials. CONCLUSION: These findings underline how challenging the successful persecution of an offender in cases of child abuse is.

Views on Assisted Suicide and Religious Beliefs.

After the Austrian constitutional court decided to legalise assisted suicide, we conducted this cross-sectional survey study to assess how persons living in Austria viewed the decision, and whether their views associated with religious and/or moral beliefs. We found that persons claiming to be religious were significantly less likely to approve of the court's decision. They also advocated for significantly stricter regulations than non-religious respondents. When asked to give reasons for their response, several religious respondents cited their religious beliefs, highlighting that there is often an association between stronger religious beliefs and less favourable views on assisted suicide.

Patient Safety and Legal Regulations: A Total-Scale Analysis of the Scientific Literature.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to quantitatively analyze the scientific literature landscape covering legal regulations of patient safety. METHODS: This retrospective bibliometric analysis queried Web of Science database to identify relevant publications. The identified scientific literature was quantitatively evaluated to reveal prevailing study themes, contributing journals, countries, institutions, and authors, as well as citation patterns. RESULTS: The identified 1295 publications had a mean of 13.8 citations per publication and an h-index of 57. Approximately 78.8% of them were published since 2010, with the United States being the top contributor and having the greatest publication growth. A total of 79.2% (n = 1025) of the publications were original articles, and 12.5% (n = 162) were reviews. The top authors (by number of publications published on the topic) were based in the United States and Spain and formed 3 collaboration clusters. The top institutions by number of published articles were mainly based in the United States and United Kingdom, with Harvard University being on top. Internal medicine, surgery, and nursing were the most recurring clinical disciplines. Among 4 distinct approaches to improve patient safety, reforms of the liability system (n = 91) were most frequently covered, followed by new forms of regulation (n = 73), increasing transparency (n = 67), and financial incentives (n = 38). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 78.8% of the publications on patient safety and its legal implications were published since 2010, and the United States was the top contributor. Approximately 79.2% of the publications were original articles, whereas 12.5% were reviews. Healthcare sciences services was the most recurring journal category, with internal medicine, surgery, and nursing being the most recurring clinical disciplines. Key relevant laws around the globe were identified from the literature set, with some examples highlighted from the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, Poland, and Indonesia. Our findings highlight the evolving nature and the diversity of legislative regulations at international scale and underline the importance of healthcare workers to be aware of the development and latest advancement in this field and to understand that different requirements are established in different jurisdictions so as to safeguard the necessary standards of patient safety.

Enhancing patient safety through the quality assured use of a low-tech video interpreting system to overcome language barriers in healthcare settings.

Professional interpretation and translation are key issues in the improvement of public health and patient safety in an area of increased migration and multicultural healthcare system needs. Patient safety requires clear and reliable communication to avoid errors in diagnosis, treatment, and neglect of informed consent. Due to the range of languages to be covered, telephone and video interpretation (VI) can be expected to face up to the demands for trained interpreters available on short notice and in more remote healthcare sites.In a pilot project, we implemented a new up to date model video interpretation unit and used a mixed methods approach integrating quantitative and qualitative data in assessing barriers encountered prior to the use of the pilot system and satisfaction with the use of video interpretation in a number of clinical settings, including inpatient and outpatient units, in Austria. Of all respondents (n = 144) 71% reported frequently encountering language barriers, only 37% reported the use of professional interpreters, 81% reported using siblings, parents or other non-professional interpreters, while a considerable percentage (66%) reported using gestures or drawings to communicate, resulting in very low overall satisfaction rate (only 12%) with the prior situation.In the qualitative study the users observed rapid availability, data protection compliance, ability to see the interpreter despite physical distance, absence of potential external influence resulting from personal relationships, user-friendly nature of the technique, legal certainty, absence of the requirement for personal presence, and cost savings as key benefits in the use of the new technology. Of the users of the system 88% (n = 58) rated it as very good (72%) or good (16%).