Using active learning strategies during a quality improvement collaborative: exploring educational games to enhance learning among healthcare professionals.

BACKGROUND: The Breakthrough Series model uses learning sessions (LS) to promote education, professional development and quality improvement (QI) in healthcare. Staff divergences regarding prior knowledge, previous experience, preferences and motivations make selecting which pedagogic strategies to use in LS a challenge. AIM: We aimed to assess new active-learning strategies: two educational games, a card game and an escape room-type game, for training in healthcare-associated infection prevention. METHODS: This descriptive case study evaluated the performance of educational strategies during a Collaborative to reduce healthcare-associated infections in Brazilian intensive care units (ICUs). A post-intervention survey was voluntarily offered to all participants in LS activities. RESULTS: Seven regional 2-day LS were held between October and December 2022 (six for adult ICUs and one for paediatric/neonatal ICUs). Of 194 institutions participating in a nationwide QI initiative, 193 (99.4%) participated in these activities, totalling 850 healthcare professionals. From these, 641 participants responded to the survey (75.4%). The post-intervention survey showed that the participants responded positively to the educational activities. CONCLUSION: The participants perceived the various pedagogical strategies positively, which shows the value of a broad and diverse educational approach, customised to local settings and including game-based activities, to enhance learning among healthcare professionals.

Adapting lean management to prevent healthcare-associated infections: a low-cost strategy involving Kamishibai cards to sustain bundles' compliance.

Lean healthcare visual management has been successfully integrated into infection control programs, leading to lower healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates and greater provider compliance with evidence-based prevention practices; however, its implementation during quality improvement (QI) initiatives in limited-resource settings has not yet been well exploited. We aimed to describe a low-cost strategy involving Kamishibai cards to sustain bundles' adherence to prevent HAIs in a middle-income country. This descriptive case study evaluated the implementation of a lean healthcare visual management tool-Kamishibai board (K-board)-during a nationwide QI collaborative preventing three critical HAIs in 189 adult and pediatric/neonatal intensive care units (ICUs) from September 2021 to January 2023. Considering a limited-resource setting, our team adapted a K-board using simple, cheap, and easy-to-handle materials for routine monitoring of QI procedures, including safety bundles' compliance. After test prototypes, the final K-board version was implemented. The chart materials and assembly cost BRL 80.00 (USD 15.48). Before launching, expert working group meetings were held to shape the contents, refine technical issues, and prepare the ICU teams for implementation. After starting, plan-do-study-act cycles were conducted according to the Breakthrough Series model. Participating ICU teams, including leaders and front-line health workers, performed bedside audits following a weekly chronogram. Two indicators were calculated: the percentage of ICUs in which K-boards were being implemented and whether bundles' compliance was addressed in the K-board. Audit data were recorded in 'SimpleQI'. After 17 months of this initiative, 177 (93.7%) participating ICUs had included this visual management tool in their daily care routines. When more than 94 (>50%) ICUs posted K-board data, the mean compliance for the bundles for each HAI was sustained above 85%. A lean healthcare visual management tool can be adapted to local settings, including healthcare facilities with limited resources. K-board seems to be a feasible method for auditing evidence-based practices in medical care, including safety bundles to simultaneously prevent three types of HAIs.

Manejo das alterações glicêmicas em pacientes com síndrome coronariana aguda: programa educativo para enfermeiros / Management of glucose in patients with acute coronary syndrome: an educational program for nurses

A pesquisa, de natureza qualitativa, teve como objetivos implementar e avaliar uma intervenção educativa para enfermeiros voltada ao reconhecimento precoce e manejo das alterações glicêmicas em pacientes com diagnóstico de síndrome coronariana aguda e identificar o número de inclusões de pacientes ao protocolo hospitalar de tratamento das alterações glicêmicas antes e após intervenção educativa aplicada aos Enfermeiros. Foi realizada em duas Etapas. A Etapa Um (De Investigação) consistiu na identificação dos participantes da pesquisa, no manejo do diabetes e do protocolo de tratamento hospitalar. A Etapa Dois consistiu na Implementação e Avaliação do Programa Educativo (PE) para enfermeiros, que foi desenvolvido em três fases: reconhecimento dos sujeitos e mobilização afetiva; discussão de casos clínicos com foco na problematização e retomada de situações clínicas vivenciadas; mobilização de conceitos e avaliação do Programa Educativo. O PE foi estruturado com base em métodos psicodramáticos e no referencial problematizador de Paulo Freire. Participaram do PE todos os 14 enfermeiros da Unidade Coronariana do Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, em São Paulo, sendo resguardados os preceitos éticos de desenvolvimento de pesquisas. Os resultados evidenciaram grupo de participantes jovem, com experiências profissionais variadas. A análise de conteúdo das respostas aos questionários aplicados na Etapa Um e na Fase três da Etapa Dois permitiu seis categorias: Conhecimento, Manifestações Clínicas, Raciocínio Clínico, Tomada de Decisão, Manejo das alterações glicêmicas e intervenções de Enfermagem. Após aplicação do PE em todas as categorias houve a inserção de novos elementos com maior destaque ao aprofundamento dos aspectos relacionados à fisiopatologia, aos sinais e sintomas e às complicações agudas;maior preocupação com a identificação precoce de situações predisponentes a eventos de hipoglicemia; maior consistência na descrição das ações contempladas no protocolo institucional de tratamento principalmente em relação à dose e à frequência das insulinas utilizadas. As cenas dramatizadas nas fases um e três e a discussão dos casos clínicos promoveram grande interação e confiança no grupo e agregação de conceitos. O número de inclusões de pacientes no protocolo hospitalar de tratamento no trimestre que antecedeu a implementação do programa educativo foi de um enquanto que no trimestre posterior ao PE foram de três. Os participantes atribuíram conceitos de excelentes e bons ao conteúdo, à metodologia, ao desempenho da instrutora, à participação, às expectativas, aos recursos e objetivos do PE. O estudo abre perspectivas para utilização de novas estratégias educativas para o desenvolvimento de profissionais de saúde com foco na atenção aos indivíduos com doença crônica.

The research was qualitative, aimed to implement and evaluate an educational intervention for nurses aimed at early recognition and management of glucose in patients with acute coronary syndrome and identify the number of inclusions of patients to hospital protocol for treatment of changes glucose before and after educational intervention applied to nurses was carried out in two steps. Step A (Investigation) involved the identification of research participants in the management of diabetes and treatment protocol hospital. Step Two was the Implementation and Evaluation of Educational Program (EP) for nurses, which was developed in three stages: recognition of subjects and affective mobilization, clinical case discussions focusing on questioning and resumption of clinical situations experienced, mobilizing concepts and evaluation of the educational program. The EP was structured based on Puschel and Psychodramatic methods and problem-solving framework of Paulo Freire. EP participated all 14 nurses of the Coronary Care Unit of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, being safeguarded the ethical development of research. The results showed group of young participants with varied professional experiences. A content analysis of responses to questionnaires applied in Step One and Step Two Phase Three possible to build six categories: Knowledge, Clinical Manifestations, Clinical Reasoning, Decision Making, Management of glucose and Nursing Interventions.After application of PE in all categories was the insertion of new elements, most notably the deepening of the aspects related to the pathophysiology, signs and symptoms and the acute complications; biggest concern with the early identification of conditions predisposing to nocturnal hypoglycemia; greater consistency in the description of the actions contemplated in institutional treatment protocol especially in relation to the dose and frequency of insulin used. Dramatized scenes in phases one and three and the discussion of clinical cases promoted great interaction and confidence in the group and aggregation concepts. The number of inclusions of patients in hospital protocol treatment in the quarter prior to the implementation of the educational program was a while later in the quarter to PE were three. Participants attributed concepts of good and excellent content, methodology, instructor performance, participation, expectations, resources and objectives of the EP, the study opens new perspectives for the use of educational strategies for the development of health professionals with focus on attention to individuals with chronic disease.