Working for patient safety: a qualitative study of women's help-seeking during acute perinatal events

Understanding the co-construction of safety in the paediatric intensive care unit: A meta-ethnography of parents' experiences

BACKGROUND

Children experiencing critical illness or injury may require admission to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to receive life-sustaining or life-saving treatment. Studies have explored the experience of parents with a child in PICU but tend to focus on subgroups of children or specific healthcare systems. Therefore, we aimed to undertake a meta-ethnography to draw together the published research.

METHODS

A systematic search strategy was developed to identify qualitative studies, which had explored the experiences of parents with a critically ill child treated in a PICU. A meta-ethnography was undertaken following the structured steps of identifying the topic; undertaking a systematic search; reading the research; determining how the studies relate and translate into each other; and synthesising and expressing the results.

RESULTS

We identified 2989 articles from our search and after a systematic series of exclusions, 15 papers remaining for inclusion. We explored the original parent voices (first order) and the interpretation of the study authors (second order) to identify three third-order concepts (our interpretation of the findings), which related to technical, relational and temporal factors. These factors influenced parents' experiences, providing both barriers and facilitators to how parents and caregivers experienced the time their child was in the PICU. The dynamic and co-constructed nature of safety provided an analytical overarching frame of reference.

CONCLUSION

This synthesis demonstrates novel ways in which parents and caregivers can contribute to the vital role of ensuring a co-created safe healthcare environment for their child when receiving life-saving care within the PICU.

Women's experiences of trauma, the psychosocial impact and health service needs during the perinatal period

BACKGROUND

Traumatic events are associated with psychological and physical health problems for women in the perinatal period (i.e., pregnancy-12-months after childbirth). Despite the negative impact of trauma on perinatal women, the long-term impact of such diverse trauma and women's experience during the perinatal period remains understudied.

METHODS

This study explored two research questions: 1) What are the psychological experiences of perinatal women who have experienced interpersonal traumatic events? And 2) What are the service needs and gaps expressed by women relating to perinatal medical protocols and psychological services? These questions were addressed via in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews with nine perinatal women (one pregnant and eight postpartum) residing in central Canada who reported experiencing interpersonal traumatic events occurring from adolescence to the perinatal period. Recruitment and data collection occurred from October 2020 to June 2021. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed according to constructivist grounded theory.

RESULTS

The emergent grounded theory model revealed the central theme of the role of prior trauma in shaping women's perinatal experiences, with four related main themes including perinatal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of social support in women's perinatal experiences, the barriers that women experienced while seeking psychological and medical services prior to the perinatal period and during the perinatal period, and the specific needs of perinatal women with a history of interpersonal trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings of this research highlight the negative and long-lasting impact of traumatic events experienced on women's psychological health and psychosocial functioning during the perinatal period, as well as perinatal women's unmet psychological and medical service needs. A call to action for perinatal researchers and clinicians is imperative in furthering this important area of research and practicing person-centered and trauma-informed care with this population.

Undertaking risk and relational work to manage vulnerability: Acute medical patients' involvement in patient safety in the NHS

Over the last decade a wealth of studies have explored the way that patients are involved in patient safety internationally. Most begin from the premise that patients can and should take on the role of identifying and reporting safety concerns. Most give little attention, however, to the impact of the patient's health status and vulnerability on their ability to participate in their safety. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 28 acute medical patients, this article aims to show how patients' contributions to their safety in the acute medical context are less about involvement as a deliberate intervention, and more about how patients manage their own vulnerability in their interactions with staff. Our analysis is underpinned by theories of vulnerability and risk. This enables us to provide a deeper understanding of how vulnerability shapes patients' involvement in their safety. Acute medical patients engage in reassurance-seeking, relational and vigilance work to manage their vulnerability. Patients undertake reassurance seeking to obtain evidence that they can trust the organisation and the professionals who work in it and relational and vigilance work to manage the vulnerability associated with dependence on others and the unpredictability of their status as acute medical patients. Patients are made responsible for speaking up about their care but simultaneously, by virtue of the expectations of the sick role and their relational vulnerability, encouraged to remain passive, compliant or silent. We show how risk frames the extent to which patients can activate their role in creating patient safety at the point of care. Foregrounding the theory of vulnerability, the concept of the sick role and the relationship of both to risk offers new insights into the potentials and limits of patient involvement in patient safety in the acute care context.

Digital mediation of candidacy in maternity care: Managing boundaries between physiology and pathology

This paper brings together scholarship across sociology, media and communication, and human computer interaction to explore the intersection of digital health and the maternity care system. We draw on data (including interviews, focus groups, observations, and analyses of digital media content) from 19 studies involving over 400 women to explore women's experiences of using different forms of digital support such as the Internet, mobile technologies (apps and text messaging), social media, and remote monitoring devices in their reproductive journeys. We use a best fit approach to analysis, mapping our findings to the candidacy framework and notions of trajectory work to understand how women engage in digital health practices to negotiate boundaries between physiology and pathology and to enter dialogue with maternity services during conception, pregnancy and the postnatal period. We propose an integrated revised conceptual framework which explicates intersections between digital and care practices, and micro-level negotiations between women and professionals in the maternal health context. Our revised framework retains the dimensions of candidacy, but it introduces a precursor to the identification of candidacy in the form of 'understanding normality'. It identifies distinct forms of digital work (e.g. information work, navigation work, machine work) which operate across the candidacy dimensions that women (and partners at times) engage in to negotiate legitimacy when entering into encounters with the maternity care system. Operating conditions (norms around expert motherhood; neoliberal discourses around health optimisation, risk and responsibilisation) provide a broader macro-level context, influencing the micro-level dialogic processes between women and healthcare professionals. Our synthesis highlights digital mediation as a useful filter to understand care systems, distribution of lay/professional responsibilities, relational practices and the (dis)enablement of candidacy.

Interventions to increase patient and family involvement in escalation of care for acute life-threatening illness in community health and hospital settings

BACKGROUND

There is now a rising commitment to acknowledge the role patients and families play in contributing to their safety. This review focuses on one type of involvement in safety - patient and family involvement in escalation of care for serious life-threatening conditions i.e. helping secure a step-up to urgent or emergency care - which has been receiving increasing policy and practice attention. This review was concerned with the negotiation work that patient and family members undertake across the emergency care escalation pathway, once contact has been made with healthcare staff. It includes interventions aiming to improve detection of symptoms, communication of concerns and staff response to these concerns.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of interventions designed to increase patient and family involvement in escalation of care for acute life-threatening illness on patient and family outcomes, treatment outcomes, clinical outcomes, patient and family experience and adverse events.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, MEDLINE (OvidSP), Embase (OvidSP), PsycINFO (OvidSP) ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform from 1 Jan 2000 to 24 August 2018. The search was updated on 21 October 2019.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster-randomised controlled trials where the intervention focused on patients and families working with healthcare professionals to ensure care received for acute deterioration was timely and appropriate. A key criterion was to include an interactive element of rehearsal, role play, modelling, shared language, group work etc. to the intervention to help patients and families have agency in the process of escalation of care. The interventions included components such as enabling patients and families to detect changes in patients' conditions and to speak up about these changes to staff. We also included studies where the intervention included a component targeted at enabling staff response.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Seven of the eight authors were involved in screening; two review authors independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, with any disagreements resolved by discussion to reach consensus. Primary outcomes included patient and family outcomes, treatment outcomes, clinical outcomes, patient and family experience and adverse events. Our advisory group (four users and four providers) ensured that the review was of relevance and could inform policy and practice.

MAIN RESULTS

We included nine studies involving 436,684 patients and family members and one ongoing study. The published studies focused on patients with specific conditions such as coronary artery disease, ischaemic stroke, and asthma, as well as pregnant women, inpatients on medical surgical wards, older adults and high-risk patients with a history of poor self-management. While all studies tested interventions versus usual care, for four studies the usual care group also received educational or information strategies. Seven of the interventions involved face-to-face, interactional education/coaching sessions aimed at patients/families while two provided multi-component education programmes which included components targeted at staff as well as patients/families. All of the interventions included: (1) an educational component about the acute condition and preparedness for future events such as stroke or change in fetal movements: (2) an engagement element (self-monitoring, action plans); while two additionally focused on shared language or communication skills. We had concerns about risk of bias for all but one of the included studies in respect of one or more criteria, particularly regarding blinding of participants and personnel. Our confidence in results regarding the effectiveness of interventions was moderate to low. Low-certainty evidence suggests that there may be moderate improvement in patients' knowledge of acute life-threatening conditions, danger signs, appropriate care-seeking responses, and preparedness capacity between interactional patient-facing interventions and multi-component programmes and usual care at 12 months (MD 4.20, 95% CI 2.44 to 5.97, 2 studies, 687 participants). Four studies in total assessed knowledge (3,086 participants) but we were unable to include two other studies in the pooled analysis due to differences in the way outcome measures were reported. One found no improvement in knowledge but higher symptom preparedness at 12 months. The other study found an improvement in patients' knowledge about symptoms and appropriate care-seeking responses in the intervention group at 18 months compared with usual care. Low-certainty evidence from two studies, each using a different measure, meant that we were unable to determine the effects of patient-based interventions on self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was higher in the intervention group in one study but there was no difference in the other compared with usual care. We are uncertain whether interactional patient-facing and multi-component programmes improve time from the start of patient symptoms to treatment due to low-certainty evidence for this outcome. We were unable to combine the data due to differences in outcome measures. Three studies found that arrival times or prehospital delay time was no different between groups. One found that delay time was shorter in the intervention group. Moderate-certainty evidence suggests that multi-component interventions probably have little or no impact on mortality rates. Only one study on a pregnant population was eligible for inclusion in the review, which found no difference between groups in rates of stillbirth. In terms of unintended events, we found that interactional patient-facing interventions to increase patient and family involvement in escalation of care probably have few adverse effects on patient's anxiety levels (moderate-certainty evidence). None of the studies measured or reported patient and family perceptions of involvement in escalation of care or patient and family experience of patient care. Reported outcomes related to healthcare professionals were also not reported in any studies.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Our review identified that interactional patient-facing interventions and multi-component programmes (including staff) to increase patient and family involvement in escalation of care for acute life-threatening illness may improve patient and family knowledge about danger signs and care-seeking responses, and probably have few adverse effects on patient's anxiety levels when compared to usual care. Multi-component interventions probably have little impact on mortality rates. Further high-quality trials are required using multi-component interventions and a focus on relational elements of care. Cognitive and behavioural outcomes should be included at patient and staff level.

Exploring the potential for introducing home monitoring of blood pressure during pregnancy into maternity care: current views and experiences of staff-a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

One in 20 women are affected by pre-eclampsia, a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity, death and premature birth worldwide. Diagnosis is made from monitoring blood pressure (BP) and urine and symptoms at antenatal visits after 20 weeks of pregnancy. There are no randomised data from contemporary trials to guide the efficacy of self-monitoring of BP (SMBP) in pregnancy. We explored the perspectives of maternity staff to understand the context and health system challenges to introducing and implementing SMBP in maternity care, ahead of undertaking a trial.

DESIGN

Exploratory study using a qualitative approach.

SETTING

Eight hospitals, English National Health Service.

PARTICIPANTS

Obstetricians, community and hospital midwives, pharmacists, trainee doctors (n=147).

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews with site research team members and clinicians, interviews and focus group discussions. Rapid content and thematic analysis undertaken.

RESULTS

The main themes to emerge around SMBP include (1) different BP changes in pregnancy, (2) reliability and accuracy of BP monitoring, (3) anticipated impact of SMBP on women, (4) anticipated impact of SMBP on the antenatal care system, (5) caution, uncertainty and evidence, (6) concerns over action/inaction and patient safety.

CONCLUSIONS

The potential impact of SMBP on maternity services is profound although nuanced. While introducing SMBP does not reduce the responsibility clinicians have for women's health, it may enhance the responsibilities and agency of pregnant women, and introduces a new set of relationships into maternity care. This is a new space for reconfiguration of roles, mutual expectations and the relationships between and responsibilities of healthcare providers and women.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03334149.

Online resources and apps to aid self-diagnosis and help seeking in the perinatal period: A descriptive survey of women's experiences

OBJECTIVE

Assess the role of online resources and apps for women's help seeking and staff's response to concerns in the perinatal period.

DESIGN

Online survey. Descriptive analysis of women's use and experiences of digital resources for self-diagnosis and help seeking, drawing on numerical and free-text responses.

SETTING

Two tertiary referral centres and one district general hospital in two UK geographic locations.

PARTICIPANTS

632 postnatal women, surveyed over a 4 month period.

MEASUREMENTS

Women's access to digital devices; frequency and type of health concerns experienced after 22 weeks' gestation; variability in use and experiences of websites/apps; perceptions of staff's response to concerns after help-seeking.

FINDINGS

1254 women were approached over a 4-month period; 632 participated (response rate: 50%). Women reported a 'mix and match' blended use of digital resources to both learn about, and self-diagnose/self-triage for potential complications in pregnancy as an adjunct to care provided by maternity staff. Over half the participants experienced concerns about themselves or their baby after 22 weeks. The top concern was fetal movements, reported by 62%. Women used 91 different digital resources to help with understanding and decision-making, in addition to seeking support from family, friends and healthcare professionals. Enabling features of staff responses were identified from free-text responses (n = 292) by women who sought professional help regarding their health concerns, and influencing factors at clinical, organisational and digital level.

KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Online information retrieval and digital self-monitoring is increasingly integral to women's self-care during pregnancy and offers opportunities to support escalation of care and shared decision-making. Further work should assess optimal inclusion of this 'digital work' into clinical consultations.

An Opportunity to Engage Obstetrics and Gynecology Patients Through Shared Visit Notes

OBJECTIVE

To assess obstetrics and gynecology patients' interest in reading their ambulatory visit notes, identification of documentation errors, and perceptions of sensitive language through a quality improvement (QI) initiative.

METHODS

Beginning April 2016, as part of a QI project all obstetrics and gynecology patients (except family planning) were invited to read their ambulatory visit notes and provide feedback using a patient reporting tool codeveloped with patients. Two physicians with safety expertise reviewed all patient-reported errors over the first 16 months.

RESULTS

Among obstetrics and gynecology patients with an active portal account and an available note, 6,594 of 9,550 (69%) read at least one note. Two hundred twelve (3.2%) patients used the electronic reporting tool, submitting a total of 232 reports, in a "natural" environment with no advertisement, incentives, or clinician encouragement. In total, 94% felt they understood the notes, 95% understood the next steps in the care plan, and 92% felt the notes accurately described their visit. Of all reports, 27% of patients identified inaccuracies in the notes, including descriptions of symptoms (29%); family history (21%); medications (15%); health problems (15%); social history and physical examination, including elements that were reportedly documented but not performed (each 11%). Patients rated inaccuracies as important in 58% of reports, and, on clinician review, 75% of patient-reported mistakes had the potential to affect care. Among all reports, 7% of patients indicated bothersome words. More than half (56%) of patients included voluntary positive feedback such as appreciation for the health care provider, reassurance from notes, greater visit recall and care plan adherence, and positive effects on the patient-doctor relationship.

DISCUSSION

Obstetrics and gynecology patients are interested in reading notes, which can promote engagement and safety. Few patients provided feedback, but those who did identified documentation inaccuracies in about one quarter of reports; the majority were relevant to care. Greater outreach and patient encouragement are needed to further engage patients in safety.

Medically high-risk pregnancy: Women's perceptions of their relationships with health care providers

The purpose of this article is to examine women's perceptions of the patient-provider relationship in the context of medically high-risk pregnancy (MHRP). Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted with women hospitalized for MHRP on a maternal-fetal medical unit in the US. Tenets of phenomenology guided the data analysis. We found that beyond normative stress related to managing physical aspects of MHRP, women reported added emotional stressors associated with navigating the fragmented health care environment. This study suggests that improved care coordination and systematic integration of psychosocial professionals within the perinatal interdisciplinary health care team are vital to reduce care-related stressors on this vulnerable patient group.

[Experiences of survivors of maternal near miss in Mexico: a qualitative study based on the three delays model]

The objectives were to analyze the experiences of survivors of maternal near miss based on the three delays model and to identify the obstacles to this process in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. In 2016-2017, a qualitative study was performed with 27 women who had experienced maternal near miss in public hospitals between 2014 and 2016. The informants were selected with theoretical sampling and interviewed at their homes. Data analysis was based on the theoretical framework proposed by Strauss & Corbin. The categories associated with the first delay were: (1) missed opportunities for identification of maternal near miss; (2) failure of the women to voice their symptoms out of fear of reprimand; (3) dilemma between fear and the faith that a higher power will solve the problem; and (4) development of the perception of obstetric risk. The second delay involved: (1) lack of urban transportation infrastructure to access healthcare services; (2) lack of regulation of transportation costs; (3) lack of clarity on itineraries and critical routes to access care; and (4) lack institutional coordination for timely transportation. The third delay involved: (1) institutional refusal of care; (2) deficient infrastructure, personnel, and equipment; and (3) lack of expertise and experience in the healthcare personnel. The shared experiences reveal challenges for public policies and inter-sector work to improve the results in maternal near miss.

Employing the arts for knowledge production and translation: Visualizing new possibilities for women speaking up about safety concerns in maternity

OBJECTIVES

This project used animated film to translate research findings into accessible health information aimed at enabling women to speak up and secure professional help for serious safety concerns during pregnancy and after birth. We tested as proof of concept our use of the arts both as product (knowledge production) and process (enabling involvement).

BACKGROUND

Emergencies during pregnancy and birth, while unusual, can develop rapidly and unexpectedly, with catastrophic consequences. Women's tacit knowledge of changes in their condition is an important resource to aid early detection, but women can worry about the legitimacy of their concerns and struggle to get these taken seriously by staff.

DESIGN

Arts-based knowledge translation. A user group of women who had experienced complications in the perinatal period (n = 34) helped us develop and pilot test the animation. Obstetricians and midwives (15), clinical leads (3) and user group representatives (8) helped with the design and testing.

FINDINGS

The consultation process, script and storyboard enabled active interaction with the evidence, meaningful engagement with stakeholders and new understandings about securing help for perinatal complications. The method enabled us to address gender stereotypes and social norms about speaking up and embed a social script for women within the animation, to help structure their help seeking. While for some women, there was an emotional burden, the majority were glad to have been part of the animation's development and felt it had enabled their voices to be heard.

CONCLUSION

This project has demonstrated the benefits of arts-science collaborations for meaningful co-production and effective translation of research evidence.