Cultivating quality awareness in corona times.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a tragedy for those who have been hard hit worldwide. At the same time, it is also a test of concepts and practices of what good care is and requires, and how quality of care can be accounted for. In this paper, we present our Care-Ethical Model of Quality Enquiry (CEMQUE) and apply it to the case of residential care for older people in the Netherlands during the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of thinking about care in healthcare and social welfare as a set of separate care acts, we think about care as a complex practice of relational caring, crossed by other practices. Instead of thinking about professional caregivers as functionaries obeying external rules, we think about them as practically wise professionals. Instead of thinking about developing external quality criteria and systems, we think about cultivating (self-)reflective quality awareness. Instead of abstracting from societal forces that make care possible but also limit it, we acknowledge them and find ways to deal with them. Based on these critical insights, the CEMQUE model can be helpful to describe, interrogate, evaluate, and improve existing care practices. It has four entries: (i) the care receiver considered from their humanness, (ii) the caregiver considered from their solicitude, (iii) the care facility considered from its habitability and (iv) the societal, institutional and scholarly context considered from the perspective of the good life, justice and decency. The crux is enabling all these different entries with all their different aspects to be taken into account. In Corona times this turns out to be more crucial than ever.

The Influence of Intrinsic Motivation on Pay Satisfaction Among Caregivers in Residential Home for the Elderly in China: The Mediating Role of Job Burnout.

BACKGROUND: According to the theory of compensating differentials, caregivers with high levels of intrinsic motivation should exhibit a higher-than-average satisfaction with their pay. Whereas studies conducted in Western countries have provided empirical evidence for the theory of compensating differentials in various care settings, few studies have been conducted in China that focus on caregivers employed in residential homes for the elderly (RHE). The sociodemographic characteristics of caregivers in China different significantly from their counterparts in Western countries. PURPOSE: This study was developed to analyze the mediating role of job burnout to assess the influence of intrinsic motivation on pay satisfaction among caregivers in RHE. METHODS: Structural equation modeling was used to examine the influences of intrinsic motivation on pay satisfaction in a sample of 1,212 caregivers employed in RHE in China by analyzing the mediating role of job burnout. RESULTS: Intrinsic motivation was found to relate positively to pay satisfaction (ß = .11, p < .05). Negative relationships were identified between intrinsic motivation and job burnout (ß = -.46, p < .01) and between job burnout and pay satisfaction (ß = -.13, p < .01). Job burnout was found to have a significant mediating effect on the relationship between intrinsic motivation and pay satisfaction (ß = .06, p < .01). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: A significant relationship was found between intrinsic motivation and pay satisfaction, with job burnout playing a mediating role in caregivers employed in RHE in China. This research has profound implications for nursing education, practice, and research. First, greater efforts should be focused on instilling nursing values in nursing students to foster intrinsic motivation. Second, nonpecuniary rewards may be offered to caregivers to acknowledge the values of care work and strengthen intrinsic motivation. Third, a supportive working climate should be fostered to reduce job burnout. Fourth, caregivers should be informed of their rights to decent pay and their right to bargain collectively through unions. Fifth, appropriate public policies should be implemented to provide pay for caregivers at levels that recognize and appreciate their intrinsic motivation.

The Demographics and Economics of Direct Care Staff Highlight Their Vulnerabilities Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.

An estimated 3.5 million direct care staff working in facilities and people's homes play a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic. They allow vulnerable care recipients to stay at home and they provide necessary help in facilities. Direct care staff, on average, have decades of experience, often have certifications and licenses, and many have at least some college education to help them perform the myriad of responsibilities to properly care for care recipients. Yet, they are at heightened health and financial risks. They often receive low wages, limited benefits, and have few financial resources to fall back on when they get sick themselves and can no longer work. Furthermore, most direct care staff are parents with children in the house and almost one-fourth are single parents. If they fall ill, both they and their families are put into physical and financial risk.

Pharmaceutical care services available in Danish community pharmacies.

In recent years, increased longevity of the Danish population has resulted in a growing segment with age-related and chronic health conditions. This, together with a general increase in the demand on the services of doctors, has augmented the role of pharmacies in the provision of healthcare services. In Denmark, a variety of pharmacy services has been developed, evaluated and implemented since the introduction of pharmaceutical care. The services are aimed at the person responsible for administering the medicine e.g. the patient themselves or care workers, thereby supporting medication safety. The services available have been developed, evaluated and implemented in collaboration between community pharmacies, the Danish Association of Pharmacies, the Danish College of Pharmacy Practice and international collaborators. In this commentary we present an overview of the available pharmacy service, the contents of each service, remuneration and the scientific evidence behind each service. The commentary covers: Inhaler Technique Assessment Service; New Medicines Service; Medication Review; and Medication Safety in Residential Facilities.

Maternity waiting homes as part of a comprehensive approach to maternal and newborn care: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Increased encounters with the healthcare system at multiple levels have the potential to improve maternal and newborn outcomes. The literature is replete with evidence on the impact of antenatal care and postnatal care to improve outcomes. Additionally, maternity waiting homes (MWHs) have been identified as a critical link in the continuum of care for maternal and newborn health yet there is scant data on the associations among MWH use and antenatal/postnatal attendance, family planning and immunization rates of newborns. METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted to collect data from women who delivered a child in the past 13 months from catchment areas associated with 40 healthcare facilities in seven rural Saving Mothers Giving Life districts in Zambia. Multi-stage random sampling procedures were employed with a final sample of n = 2381. Logistic regression models with adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The use of a MWH was associated with increased odds of attending four or more antenatal care visits (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.26, 1.68), attending all postnatal care check-ups (OR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.29, 3.12) and taking measures to avoid pregnancy (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.10, 1.55) when compared to participants who did not use a MWH. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to quantitatively examine the relationship between the use of MWHs and antenatal and postnatal uptake. Developing a comprehensive package of services for maternal and newborn care has the potential to improve acceptability, accessibility, and availability of healthcare services for maternal and newborn health. Maternity waiting homes have the potential to be used as part of a multi-pronged approach to improve maternal and newborn outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: National Institutes of Health Trial Registration NCT02620436, Impact Evaluation of Maternity Homes Access in Zambia, Date of Registration - December 3, 2015.

Safer Housing for Homeless Women Veterans.

Homeless women veterans face unique vulnerability and significant mental health needs; it is important for their housing to include gender-specific safety measures. Providers of supportive housing for veterans can take important steps to accommodate the women they serve, including providing separate housing facilities or areas for women. More than half of all homeless women veterans were sexually assaulted during their military service, and many exhibit mental health disabilities as a result, which provides a strong legal basis for requiring gender-based accommodations. While significant progress has been made in addressing the needs of veterans who were sexually assaulted during their military service, the unique needs of homeless women veterans are still often overlooked. This oversight has consequences, particularly in the permanent supportive housing context, where male veterans significantly outnumber female veterans. Currently, there are no required minimum standards or safeguards for serving women veterans in these facilities, and most facilities provide no appropriate gender-specific accommodations. This failure persists despite the significant prior history of sexual assaults among this population and their extremely small number in veteran-only housing. Without basic gender-specific safeguards, permanent supportive housing facilities could worsen the mental health of homeless women veterans and expose them to further harm.

What drives changes in institutionalised mental health care? A qualitative study of the perspectives of professional experts.

BACKGROUND: Since 1990, the provision of mental healthcare has changed substantially across Western Europe. There are fewer psychiatric hospital beds and more places in forensic psychiatric hospitals and residential facilities. However, little research has investigated the drivers behind these changes. This study explored qualitatively the perspectives of mental health professional experts on what has driven the changes in Western Europe. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-four mental health experts in England, Germany and Italy, who as professionals had personal experiences of the changes in their country. Interviewees were asked about drivers of changes in institutionalised mental health care from 1990 to 2010. The accounts were subjected to a thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four broad themes were revealed: the overall philosophy of de-institutionalisation, with the aim to overcome old-fashioned asylum style care; finances, with a pressure to limit expenditure and an interest of provider organisations to increase income; limitations of community mental health care in which most severely ill patients may be neglected; and emphasis on risk containment so that patients posing a risk may be cared for in institutions. Whilst all themes were mentioned in all three countries, there were also differences in emphasis and detail. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct factors appear to have influenced changes in mental health care. Their precise influence may vary from country to country, and they have to be considered in the context of each country. The drivers may be influenced by professional groups to some extent, but also depend on the overall interest and attitudes in the society at large.

"I don't want to take any risks even if it's gonna mean this service-user is gonna be happier": A thematic analysis of community support staff perspectives on delivering Transforming Care.

BACKGROUND: Transforming Care is making mixed progress in supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and complex needs, move to more appropriate specialist accommodations closer to home. Community support staff often spend greatest amounts of time with service-users, yet are some of the least heard voices about why placements succeed and fail to varying extents. METHOD: Managers and support staff (n = 13), working in ostensibly "specialist" community placements, were interviewed about perceived barriers and facilitators to implementing Transforming Care. Transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. RESULTS: Participants identified difficulties balancing people's rights, safety and quality of life needs, and felt the system's expectations of them are hard to deliver within the resources, legislation, values and support models provided them. Multidisciplinary expertise was highly valued for both emotional and practical support, but was least valued when perceived as overly blaming or inspectorial. Specialist health input was seen to withdraw prematurely for this particular client group. CONCLUSION: Recommendations are provided for how staff perspectives should inform Transforming Care in interests of service-users.

Listening to the community: Using formative research to strengthen maternity waiting homes in Zambia.

BACKGROUND: The WHO recommends maternity waiting homes (MWH) as one intervention to improve maternal and newborn health. However, persistent structural, cultural and financial barriers in their design and implementation have resulted in mixed success in both their uptake and utilization. Guidance is needed on how to design a MWH intervention that is acceptable and sustainable. Using formative research and guided by a sustainability framework for health programs, we systematically collected data from key stakeholders and potential users in order to design a MWH intervention in Zambia that could overcome multi-dimensional barriers to accessing facility delivery, be acceptable to the community and be financially and operationally sustainable. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used a concurrent triangulation study design and mixed methods. We used free listing to gather input from a total of 167 randomly sampled women who were pregnant or had a child under the age of two (n = 59), men with a child under the age of two (n = 53), and community elders (n = 55) living in the catchment areas of four rural health facilities in Zambia. We conducted 17 focus group discussions (n = 135) among a purposive sample of pregnant women (n = 33), mothers-in-law (n = 32), traditional birth attendants or community maternal health promoters (n = 38), and men with a child under two (n = 32). We administered 38 semi-structured interviews with key informants who were identified by free list respondents as having a stake in the condition and use of MWHs. Lastly, we projected fixed and variable recurrent costs for operating a MWH. Respondents most frequently mentioned distance, roads, transport, and the quality of MWHs and health facilities as the major problems facing pregnant women in their communities. They also cited inadequate advanced planning for delivery and the lack of access to delivery supplies and baby clothes as other problems. Respondents identified the main problems of MWHs specifically as over-crowding, poor infrastructure, lack of amenities, safety concerns, and cultural issues. To support operational sustainability, community members were willing to participate on oversight committees and contribute labor. The annual fixed recurrent cost per 10-bed MWH was estimated as USD543, though providing food and charcoal added another $3,000USD. Respondents identified water pumps, an agriculture shop, a shop for baby clothes and general goods, and grinding mills as needs in their communities that could potentially be linked with an MWH for financial sustainability. CONCLUSIONS: Findings informed the development of an intervention model for renovating existing MWH or constructing new MWH that meets community standards of safety, comfort and services offered and is aligned with government policies related to facility construction, ownership, and access to health services. The basic strategies of the new MWH model include improving community acceptability, strengthening governance and accountability, and building upon existing efforts to foster financial and operational sustainability. The proposed model addresses the problems cited by our respondents and challenges to MWHs identified by in previous studies and elicits opportunities for social enterprises that could serve the dual purpose of meeting a community need and generating revenue for the MWH.

Medication management of type 2 diabetes in residential aged care

BACKGROUND: Medication management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) requires consideration of the residents' goals of care and susceptibility to adverse drug events (ADEs). OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to review best practice medication management for residents diagnosed with T2DM. DISCUSSION: Management of T2DM in RACFs is often focused on maintaining residents' quality of life rather than intensive glycaemic management to reduce chronic complications, because the risks of intensive glycaemic management typically outweigh the potential benefits. Australian RACF guidelines recommend individualised glycated haemoglobin targets of 7­8.5% (53­69 mmol/mol). Strategies to reduce the risk of preventable ADEs may include education for residents, carers and staff; assessment of hypoglycaemic risk and renal function; medication review and regimen simplification; de-intensification of glucose-lowering medications; and appropriate end-of-life medication management. Use of a resident-centred multidisciplinary approach and resources tailored to the RACF setting will support residents to achieve best possible health outcomes and quality of life.

Emergency residential care settings: A model for service assessment and design.

There have been calls for uncovering the "black box" of residential care services, with a particular need for research focusing on emergency care settings for children and youth in danger. In fact, the strikingly scant empirical attention that these settings have received so far contrasts with the role that they often play as gateway into the child welfare system. To answer these calls, this work presents and tests a framework for assessing a service model in residential emergency care. It comprises seven studies which address a set of different focal areas (e.g., service logic model; care experiences), informants (e.g., case records; staff; children/youth), and service components (e.g., case assessment/evaluation; intervention; placement/referral). Drawing on this process-consultation approach, the work proposes a set of key challenges for emergency residential care in terms of service improvement and development, and calls for further research targeting more care units and different types of residential care services. These findings offer a contribution to inform evidence-based practice and policy in service models of residential care.

New York State Medicaid Reforms: Opportunities and Challenges to Improve the Health of Those with Serious Mental Illness.

Individuals with serious mental illness face multiple barriers to accessing care and experience disproportionately poor health outcomes. Starting in 2011, New York State undertook a series of major reforms of its Medicaid system designed to address these concerns. In this commentary we review three reforms that aim to change the way New York Medicaid is delivered and experienced, especially for underserved individuals with SMI: Health Homes, Behavioral Health Managed Care, and the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program. We describe the history of these reforms' and their core themes: coordination and collaboration, cross-sector collaborations to address social determinants of health, prevention and early intervention, and financial reform. We describe the challenges and opportunities these reforms present for improving the health and health care of Medicaid members with SMI, both in New York and as models for change elsewhere.

Residential age care and domiciliary oral health services: Reach-OHT-The development of a metropolitan oral health programme in Sydney, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe an oral health care programme for older people in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) to improve access to care and support facilities. INTRODUCTION: Different models of residential care have been proposed, but few have been comprehensive (providing on-site health promotion and service delivery) or sustainable. METHODS: A partnership model of oral health care, with dental services plus oral health education, was integrated into the community outreach services of a metropolitan hospital department of aged care. The programme provided annual oral health education and training to staff, and on-site dental care to 10 (RACFs). RESULTS: None of the RACFs had received organised education or on-site dental service care prior to the programme. At the completion of the third year of the programme, 607 residents (75% of the total bed capacity for the 10 RACFs) had received an annual oral health assessment, and 271 (46.5%) had received on-site dental care. More than 120 nursing and allied health staff had received education and training in oral health support to residents. Oral cleanliness, the proportion not experiencing dental pain and referral for additional care decreased significantly over the period, but dental caries experience and periodontal conditions remained a concern. CONCLUSIONS: Sustainable domiciliary oral health services and oral health education are feasible and practical using a partnership model within the Australian health system. Adaptability, continuity and the use of oral health therapists/dental hygienists in the coordination and management of the programme further contribute to viability.

Cross-cultural comparison of long-term care in the United States and Finland: Research done through a short-term study-abroad experience.

In May 2014, a short-term study-abroad experience was conducted in Finland through a course offered at Indiana State University (ISU). Students and faculty from ISU and Eastern Illinois University participated in the experience, which was created to facilitate a cross-cultural comparison of long-term-care settings in the United States and Finland. With its outstanding system of caring for the health and social needs of its aging populace, Finland is a logical model to examine when considering ways to improve the quality of life for older adults who require care in the United States . Those participating in the course visited a series of long-term-care facilities in the region surrounding Terre Haute, Indiana, then travelled to Lappeenranta, Finland to visit parallel sites. Through limited-participation observation and semistructured interviews, similarities and differences in experiences, educations, and policies affecting long-term care workers in the United States and Finland were identified and are described here.