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.

Análise cinemática da marcha em indivíduos com hemiparesia espástica após acidente vascular cerebral / Kinematic analysis of gait in individuals with spastic hemiparesis secondary to stroke

OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a cinemática linear e angular da marcha em pacientes hemiparéticos espásticos após acidente vascular cerebral, considerando os valores da normalidade e o membro não afetado. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal, no qual participaram indivíduos adultos com hemiparesia espástica após acidente vascular cerebral, selecionados na Clínica de Fisioterapia da Universidade de Caxias do Sul. A análise cinemática da marcha foi realizada no Laboratório de Análises Biomecânicas do Movimento Humano da mesma instituição, seguindo o protocolo de Laroche. Para análise de dados foi utilizada estatística descritiva, teste t para média de uma amostra e teste t pareado. O nível de significância adotado foi p<0,05. RESULTADOS: Foram estudados oito indivíduos adultos, com idade entre 43 a 59 anos, de ambos os sexos. Foi identificada diferença significativa na cinemática linear da marcha do membro afetado para todas as variáveis estudadas. Considerando a comparação entre os membros inferiores, o comprimento do passo e o tempo do passo foram significativamente maiores no hemicorpo acometido. Com relação às variáveis angulares, os indivíduos demonstraram diferença significativa da normalidade em todas as variáveis, exceto flexão de quadril. Observou-se ainda, menor variação angular (flexão/extensão) no joelho do membro afetado quando comparado com o sadio. CONCLUSÕES: O estudo indicou alterações na cinemática da marcha do membro acometido de indivíduos hemiparéticos após acidente vascular cerebral, comparando com a normalidade e com o membro contralateral, caracterizando a presença de um padrão flexor incomum. Essas alterações podem estar relacionadas com diminuição do equilíbrio e do controle motor, fraqueza muscular, déficit proprioceptivo, aumento do tônus, contraturas e deformidades.

AIMS: To evaluate linear and angular kinematics of gait in patients with spastic hemiparesis secondary to stroke considering reference values and the unaffected limb. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of adult patients with spastic hemiparesis secondary to stroke selected from the Physical Therapy Clinic of Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS). The kinematic gait analysis was performed at the Human Motion Biomechanical Analysis Laboratory at UCS according to Larouche's protocol. Descriptive statistics, one-sample t test, and paired t test were used for the data analysis. Statistical significance was set as p<0.05. RESULTS: Eight adult male and female individuals aged 43 to 59 years were assessed. All variables indicated a significant difference in the linear kinematics of the gait of the affected limb. By comparing the lower limbs, stride length and rate were significantly higher in the affected hemibody. Angular kinematics was significantly different from reference values, except for hip flexion. There was a lower angular variation (flexion/extension) in the knee of the affected limb in comparison to the healthy one. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed changes in the gait kinematics of the affected limb in hemiparetic patients after a stroke in comparison to normal patterns and to the contralateral limb, which indicates an unusual flexor pattern. These changes may be related to poor balance and motor control, muscle weakness, proprioceptive deficit, increased muscle tone, contractures, and deformities.