Risk management and healthcare policy
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Risk Manag Healthc Policy · Jan 2021
Monitoring COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in Kuwait During the Pandemic: Results from a National Serial Study.
With COVD-19 cases on the rise globally and two approved vaccines, determining vaccine acceptance is imperative to avoid low inoculation rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes and determinants of vaccine acceptance among citizens and non-citizens, over time during the pandemic in Kuwait. ⋯ Vaccine acceptance was multifactorial, heterogenous among citizens and non-citizens, and changed over time. While acceptance was relatively high, it decreased throughout the pandemic and as restrictions in the country loosened. This increase in vaccine hesitancy reveals a challenge in achieving high inoculation levels, and the need for effective vaccine-promotion campaigns and increased health education in the country.
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Risk Manag Healthc Policy · Jan 2021
ReviewThe Effects of the Health System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chronic Disease Management: A Narrative Review.
Individuals with chronic conditions require ongoing disease management to reduce risks of adverse health outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care for non-COVID-19 cases was affected due to the reallocation of resources towards urgent care for COVID-19 patients, resulting in inadequate ongoing care for chronic conditions. ⋯ Overall, this review elucidates the disproportionately greater barriers to primary and specialty care that patients with chronic diseases face during the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasizes the urgent need for better chronic disease management strategies moving forward.
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Risk Manag Healthc Policy · Jan 2021
Predictors and Direct Cost Estimation of Long Stays in Pediatric Intensive Care Units in Saudi Arabia: A Mixed Methods Study.
Several factors influence patients' length of stay (LOS) in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). This study explored the factors and cost associated with long LOS among pediatric patient population across various PICUs and pediatric surgical cardiac intensive care units (SCICUs). ⋯ If the recommendation to transfer LSPs after a 60-day PICU stay to SDUs is taken, the estimated cost savings among this sample of patients alone can be as high as SAR 109.47 million (USD 29.19 million). Therefore, future studies should examine the factors contributing to long LOSs in PICUs and SCICUs as well as the effectiveness of different policies aimed at improving the resource allocation and management using more robust study designs and diverse patient population.
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Risk Manag Healthc Policy · Jan 2021
Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Diagnosis and Treatment Delays in Urological Disease: Single-Institution Experience.
In the background of the global pandemic, we aim to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on diagnosis and treatment delay in urology patients. ⋯ With the impact of COVID-19, delay in diagnosis or treatment of non-COVID-19 diseases is inevitable whether the medical resources allocation is effective or not. Psychological status of patients might be the major cause of postponing diagnosis or treatment. For urological patients with locally advanced tumor or rapid progression, who need long-term postoperative intervention, the delay of regular treatment could lead to inevitable progression or recurrence.
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Risk Manag Healthc Policy · Jan 2021
Social Support and Mortality in Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Frailty.
Population ageing is posing an unprecedented challenge globally, necessitating a better understanding of modifiable factors and underlying pathways that could contribute to health and longevity in older age. We thus aim to investigate how the modifiable social support (and its various sources) is related to mortality among older adults, as well as whether and to what extent geriatric frailty plays a role in mediating the relationship. ⋯ Social support could be associated with reduced risks for frailty and mortality, and such protective influences are especially manifested in its family support component among Chinese older adults. Frailty functions as potential mediator underlying the association of mortality with social support and family support. Our findings indicate the importance of social support as an integral part of geriatric care and underline the potential benefits of frailty assessment and intervention.