Leveraging Innovative Leadership Models within Community and Healthcare Organizations to Support Safe School Reopening during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Little has been published on successful leadership models within integrated care systems. Within East Toronto Health Partners, there have been considerable efforts at the executive leadership level to empower local leadership, particularly physician leaders, to develop and execute effective solutions across the community. What does distributed leadership look like, and what does it take to implement it? A number of activities demonstrating the impact of a distributed leadership model in East Toronto are outlined in this paper, offering an effective defence against the enormous challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mobilizing a Whole Community: Policy and Strategy Implications of an Integrated Local System Response to a Global Health Crisis.

The East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP) include more than 50 organizations working collaboratively to create an integrated system of care in the east end of Toronto. This existing partnership proved invaluable as a platform for a rapid, coordinated local response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Months after the first wave of the pandemic began, with the daily numbers of COVID-19 cases finally starting to decline, leaders from ETHP provided preliminary reflections on two critical questions: (1) How were existing integration efforts leveraged to mobilize a response during the COVID-19 crisis? and (2) How can the response to the initial wave of COVID-19 be leveraged to further accelerate integration and better address subsequent waves and system improvements once the pandemic abates?

Applying the extension for community healthcare outcomes (ECHO) model to promote collaborative and effective school mental health services.

School staff increasingly seek to implement evidence-based school mental health services to promote student mental health. However, barriers to accessing programming and support mean that implementing these programs is difficult. Popular strategies to address these challenges, like one time professional development, often fail to be effective or sustainable. This study used mixed methods to evaluate how a set of training activities-sequential online learning modules combined with interprofessional telementoring, following the extension for community healthcare outcomes (ECHO) model-influenced provision of school mental health services. School counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers (n = 46) participated in training activities, which included nine, cohort-based ECHO sessions and 12 modules. We used a concurrent mixed methods design in which quantitative (implementation data and pre-post surveys) and qualitative (posttraining focus groups with a subset of participants, n = 11) data were used to evaluate training. Quantitative results indicated statistically significant pre-post improvements in participants' clinical self-efficacy (d = .83) and knowledge of evidence-based practices (d = .37). Qualitative data corroborated quantitative results. Post training, focus groups described positive reactions, learning, and behavior change, particularly with respect to equitable service provision and interprofessional teaming. ECHO appeared to facilitate the application of evidence-based strategies to real-life practice and improved participants' understanding of effective coordination of services. Taken together, findings suggest that group-based telementoring may be a high-impact strategy for supporting the implementation of effective, culturally specific, and collaborative school mental health services. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supporting School Mental Health Providers: Evidence from a Short-Term Telementoring Model.

Background: To support student mental health, school staff must have knowledge of evidence-based practices and the capacity to implement them. One approach used to address this challenge is a group-based telementoring model called Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO). In other applications (e.g., healthcare settings), ECHO has been shown to increase healthcare professionals' self-efficacy and knowledge of evidence-based practices leading to improved patient outcomes. Objectives: This study examined the potential for ECHO to be used as a method for increasing school staff engagement and knowledge of evidence-based school mental health practices. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design, this study compared outcomes across two professional development experiences aimed at promoting school staff ability to provide evidence-based mental health services. School staff from four school districts participated in a school mental health training initiative. All participants (N = 57) had access to asynchronous, online mental health modules. A sub-sample (n = 33) was also offered monthly ECHO sessions. Results: Tests of group difference in outcomes revealed significant increases in engagement with online learning (d = 0.58) and satisfaction (d = 0.82) for those who participated in ECHO as compared to those who did not. Knowledge about evidence-based practices was not significantly different between groups. Conclusions: Results suggest that group-based telementoring may be a promising approach for improving engagement and satisfaction with training initiatives aimed at promoting evidence-based school mental health practices. However, further study of ProjectECHO using experimental designs is needed to make causal inferences about its effect on provider outcomes.

Models of care in outpatient cancer centers.

While rapid changes in the treatment of cancer have been driven by research-based evidence, innovations in cancer care delivery have lagged behind that seen in cancer treatment. A literature review and ten semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify models of care in the ambulatory oncology setting to be adopted by a comprehensive cancer center. Four models were identified from the literature review but none were widely recognized or adopted by administrators. Findings suggested some common themes that should be included in an optimal model of care. These themes are in support of the burgeoning efforts seen in the promotion of interprofessional education and practice for quality improvement. Unique challenges related to the contextual factors in the ambulatory oncology settings suggest quality improvement interventions should be tailored to meet the specific needs of the care facility and its workforce.

Improving the patient experience through design.

Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) received a major financial gift to redesign its chemotherapy daycare and transfusion facilities, which were over capacity and in need of improvement, both functionally and aesthetically. PMH's vision was to create a new space and experience that was truly patient centric and world class. Meanwhile, a research team at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management had also received a gift from a corporate donor with a patient-focused mandate to examine ways in which healthcare in Canada could be made more patient centric. The Rotman research team was invited to work with the hospital's staff, physicians, patients and families to explore a more patient-centered approach to care.

Towards Value in an Integrated Care Environment: Early Lessons from an Ontario Health Team.

Integrated healthcare models are being experimented with in many jurisdictions as a way to improve patient care and lower system costs. This commentary presents early lessons from one Ontario Health Team as it works towards new models of care. The authors recount early discussions on developing an integrated health services network, how funding for "winter surge initiatives" became an opportunity to test ideas and how these experiences are informing current planning. Some of the early lessons learned include the value of trusted relationships, moving care upstream and framing problems as collective challenges.

Work-Based Assessments in Higher General Surgical Training Program: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Trainers' and Trainees' Views and Experiences.

Introduction In the United Kingdom, work-based assessments (WBAs) including procedure-based assessments (PBAs), case-based discussions (CBDs), clinical evaluation exercises (CEXs), and direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) have been used in Higher General Surgical Training Program (HGSTP) since the introduction of Modernising Medical Careers. Although the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Project states that they should be used for the formative development of trainees using feedback and reflection, there is no study to look at the perception of their usefulness and barriers in using them, particularly in HGSTP. The aim of this study is to investigate trainer's and trainee's perception of their usefulness, barriers in using them, and way forward for their improvement in HGSTP. Methods This was a mixed method study. In phase I, after ethics committee approval, an online survey was sent to 83 trainers and 104 trainees, with a response rate of 33 and 37%, respectively, using Online Surveys (formerly Bristol Online Survey) from July 2018 to December 2018. After analysis of this result, in phase II, semistructured interviews were conducted with five trainees and five trainers who had volunteered to take part from phase I. Thematic analysis was performed to develop overarching themes. Results For professional formative development, 15% of the trainers and 53% of the trainees felt that WBAs had a low value. Among 4 WBAs-CEX, CBD, PBA, and DOPS-PBA was thought to be the most useful WBA by 52% trainers and 74% trainees. More trainers than trainees felt that it was being used as a formative tool (33 vs. 16%). The total number of WBAs thought to be required was between 20 and 40 per year, with 46% of the trainers and 53% of the trainees preferring these numbers. The thematic analysis generated four themes with subthemes in each: theme 1, "factors affecting usefulness," including the mode of validation, trainer/trainee engagement, and time spent in validating; theme 2, "doubt on utility" due to doubt on validity and being used as a tick-box exercise; theme 3, "pitfalls/difficulties" due to lack of time to validate, late validation, e-mail rather than face-to-face validation, trainer and trainee behavior, variability in feedback given, and emphasis on number than quality; and theme 4, "improvement strategies." Conclusions The WBAs are not being used in a way they are supposed to be used. The perception of educational impact (Kirkpatrick levels 1 and 2) by trainers was more optimistic than by trainees. Improvements can be made by giving/finding more time, trainer training, more face-to-face validation, and better trainer trainee interactions.

Coexpression of parathyroid hormone related protein and its receptor in early breast cancer predicts poor patient survival.

PURPOSE: Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHRP) is in part responsible for the clinical syndrome of hypercalcaemia of malignancy and has been implicated as an important factor in the development of bone metastases. The aim of this study was to determine the coexpression of PTHRP and its receptor in early breast cancer (EBC) and bone metastases (BM), and correlate these findings to clinical outcome. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Samples of surgically excised EBC (n = 176) and BM (n = 43) were collected and stored in liquid nitrogen. PTHRP protein was determined using immunohistochemistry and receptor mRNA using in situ hybridization (n = 107) or semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR (n = 69). RESULTS: PTHRP protein was expressed in 115 of 170 (68%) EBC compared with 100% of BM (P < 0.001), whereas its receptor mRNA was expressed in 88 of 176 (50%) EBC compared with 35 of 43 (81%) BM (P < 0.001). Coexpression of both PTHRP and its receptor was present in 62 EBC samples (37%) and in 35 BM samples (81%; P < 0.001). The PTHRP receptor correlated well with increasing patient age, but not with tumor size, grade, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, or lymph node status. Individually PTHRP and PTHRP receptor both correlated well with a reduced disease-free survival (P < 0.004) and receptor alone with reduced overall survival (P < 0.003). Coexpression of both PTHRP and receptor predicted the worst clinical outcome at 5 years, with a mortality rate of 20 of 62 (32%) compared with the ligand and receptor-negative group with 2 of 32 (6%; P < 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Overall these results show that the PTHRP receptor is expressed more frequently in BM than EBC, and is associated with poor clinical outcome and survival.

Hospital priority setting with an appeals process: a qualitative case study and evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and evaluate priority setting in the context of hospital priority setting and more specifically to evaluate the use of an appeals process. DESIGN: Qualitative case study and evaluation using the ethical framework 'accountability for reasonableness'. SETTING: The University Health Network (UHN), a network of three large urban teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. This study focused on Clinical Activity Target Setting (CATS), the final component of the strategic planning process. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-six board members, senior administrators, managers, clinical leaders and other hospital staff who participated in the hospital strategic planning exercise. DATA COLLECTION: Three primary sources of data were used: key documents, interviews with participants and stakeholders and observations of group deliberations. DATA ANALYSIS: Open and axial coding using an explicit conceptual framework 'accountability for reasonableness'. RESULTS: This was the first time an appeal process has been described and evaluated. The appeals process was found to be a fundamental component to overall perceived fairness of the priority setting process. The appeals process also enhanced the involvement of stakeholders and increased overall participant satisfaction. In addition, four areas of 'good practice' and ten recommendations for improvement of the larger priority setting process were identified. CONCLUSIONS: This case study has provided an in-depth analysis of a priority setting process at a hospital, with a particular focus on the appeals process. Also, we compared the lessons learned from this study with those from a previous study at a different hospital.

Hospitals in a globalized world: a view from Canada.

Globalization is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon that has already influenced the way hospitals operate and will increasingly impact the healthcare landscape and patients' experience worldwide. This paper briefly analyzes the direct and indirect effects of globalization on healthcare systems and services, mainly focusing on the experience of academic health sciences centres. Building their analysis on the belief that globalization is neither negative nor positive in itself, the authors compare alternative definitions of globalization, suggest possible ways in which it could impact health systems, examine how the role of large teaching and research institutions could evolve over the next decade or so, and put forward some fundamental questions faced by healthcare institutions. In the first part of the paper, the complex and multidimensional nature of globalization is analyzed and the highly polarized debate on the nature of this phenomenon briefly summarized. The second part focuses on the effects of globalization on health and healthcare. A pre-existing conceptual framework is used to analyze the complex linkages between globalization and health, and alternative scenarios are presented to illustrate the current and potential effects of international trade policies and regulations on health systems. In the third part, changes in hospitals' structure, organization and functions triggered by globalization and the introduction of new information and communication technologies are examined. The analysis is built around five main elements: patients, human resources, capital, information and funding. Finally, the paper highlights some of the most fundamental challenges, both practical and ethical, that healthcare institutions have to face in the transition to a new era of globalized health services.

Sigmoid perforation caused by an ingested chicken bone presenting as right iliac fossa pain mimicking appendicitis: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Gastrointestinal perforation due to a foreign body is not unknown. The foreign body often mimics another cause of acute abdomen and requires emergency surgical intervention. The majority of patients do not recall ingesting the foreign body. Perforations have been reported to occur in a pathologically abnormal colon. CASE PRESENTATION: We report an interesting case of a 47-year-old Caucasian man who had a perforation of the sigmoid colon caused by an ingested chicken bone mimicking acute appendicitis. Our patient presented with right iliac fossa pain and local tenderness. When a laparotomy was performed, a chicken bone was found protruding through the sigmoid colon, which was found to lie in the right iliac fossa, thus mimicking acute appendicitis. Our case is different from previously reported cases in that perforation occurred in a non-pathological colon. CONCLUSION: Our case emphasises the fact that the operating surgeon has to be aware of various differential diagnostic possibilities which mimic acute appendicitis. This has implications on the training of junior surgeons who are often involved in performing these procedures, and may do so out of hours. Care needs to be taken while obtaining consent for the necessary operation.