[Analysis of Subgroups with Lower Level of Patient Safety Perceptions Using Decision-Tree Analysis]

[Structural Topic Modeling Analysis of Patient Safety Interest among Health Consumers in Social Media]

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate healthcare consumers' interest in patient safety on social media using structural topic modeling (STM) and to identify changes in interest over time.

METHODS

Analyzing 105,727 posts from Naver news comments, blogs, internet cafés, and Twitter between 2010 and 2022, this study deployed a Python script for data collection and preprocessing. STM analysis was conducted using R, with the documents' publication years serving as metadata to trace the evolution of discussions on patient safety.

RESULTS

The analysis identified a total of 13 distinct topics, organized into three primary communities: (1) "Demand for systemic improvement of medical accidents," underscoring the need for legal and regulatory reform to enhance accountability; (2) "Efforts of the government and organizations for safety management," highlighting proactive risk mitigation strategies; and (3) "Medical accidents exposed in the media," reflecting widespread concerns over medical negligence and its repercussions. These findings indicate pervasive concerns regarding medical accountability and transparency among healthcare consumers.

CONCLUSION

The findings emphasize the importance of transparent healthcare policies and practices that openly address patient safety incidents. There is clear advocacy for policy reforms aimed at increasing the accountability and transparency of healthcare providers. Moreover, this study highlights the significance of educational and engagement initiatives involving healthcare consumers in fostering a culture of patient safety. Integrating consumer perspectives into patient safety strategies is crucial for developing a robust safety culture in healthcare.

Analysis of Factors Related to Domestic Patient Safety Incidents Using Decision Tree Technique

Purpose

To address the increasing number of patient safety incidents, their scope and extent should be assessed and the situations in which they occur determined. This study employed a decision tree analysis based on patient safety incident cases to identify groups at high risk for adverse patient safety incidents and provide data to develop prevention strategies for minimizing their occurrence or recurrence.

Methods

In total, 8934 patient safety incidents were analyzed using the "2021 Patient Safety Report Data", which were systematically collected by the Korea Institute for Healthcare Accreditation. A decision tree analysis (Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection) was employed to identify the characteristics associated with the degree of risk for patient safety incidents.

Results

The groups most vulnerable to adverse events were those who experienced healthcare-associated infections (HAI) in long-term care facilities, followed by those experiencing HAI in tertiary hospitals, general hospitals, or clinics, and those experiencing fall-related events in neuropsychiatry departments of tertiary hospitals, general hospitals, or clinics.

Conclusion

The most important factor in the degree of harm in patient safety accidents was the type of accident, followed by the type of medical institution, and then the treatment department. Particularly, HAI and falls are the most important factors determining the degree of harm in patient safety accidents.

Smoking Awareness and Intention to Quit Smoking in Smoking Female Workers: Secondary Data Analysis

Although the smoking rate among women has been continuously increasing recently, it is very difficult to explore the actual situation because of negative social views. This study aimed to analyze the effects of smoking awareness and living environment on the intention to quit smoking among female smokers. After receiving approval from the Research Ethics Committee in September 2021, secondary data analysis was performed for this study. A total of 378 working women who smoked were included in this study. The mean age was 34.4 years. The results showed that women living alone had significantly lower intentions to quit smoking, and women with experience in smoking cessation education had significantly higher intentions to quit smoking. In addition, it was found that the group having awareness of smoking cessation policy and smoking cessation treatment had high intention to quit smoking. As a result of the analysis of decision trees using data mining techniques, the strongest predictor of the intention of female workers who smoke to quit smoking was their perception of smoking cessation policies. In addition, it was found that the state’s policy support was important in that the group with the highest intention to quit smoking was the one with high awareness of both the smoking cessation policy and smoking cessation treatment. Finally, the risk group with the lowest intention to quit smoking was the group with low awareness of the anti-smoking policy, living alone, and having low awareness of the harmfulness of cigarettes. The importance of establishing policies for this vulnerable group, smoking cessation policies and treatment of female smokers, and improving awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco are discussed.

Development and Effectiveness of a Patient Safety Education Program for Inpatients

BACKGROUND

Patient safety is considered an important issue in the field of healthcare, and most advanced countries.

PURPOSE

This study was designed to evaluate a patient safety education program among hospitalized patients. Of the 69 participants, 33 completed the patient safety education program while the 36 remaining participants were given educational booklets. The program was used to measure knowledge about patient safety, patient safety perception, and willingness to participate in patient safety.

METHODS

Patient safety education was developed by the analysis-design-development-implementation-evaluation model considering expert advice, patient needs, and an extensive literature review. Data were collected from 20 July to 13 November 2020. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical program. The effectiveness of the experimental and control groups before and after education was analyzed using paired t-tests, and the difference in the amount of increase in the measured variables for each group was analyzed using independent t-tests.

RESULTS

The experimental group had significantly higher patient safety scores (t = 2.52, p = 0.014) and patient safety perception (t = 2.09, p = 0.040) than those of the control group. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the willingness to participate in patient safety.

CONCLUSION

The patient safety education program developed using mobile tablet PCs could be an effective tool to enhance patient involvement in preventing events that may threaten the safety of patients. Further studies are recommended to develop a variety of educational interventions to increase patient safety knowledge and perceptions of patients and caregivers.