Stakeholder collaboration in long-term care of older people in Lithuania

Demographic situation, changes in the role of women in society and growing demand for long-term care (LTC) of older people have challenged the ability to meet the growing LTC needs in most developed countries. In countries where responsibility for LTC is still largely laid on families, it is, however, even more critical and calls for improvements in formal LTC systems. More intensive stakeholder collaboration in LTC policy development, organising and delivery are of primary importance in improving LTC systems. Such collaboration, however, is not always successful; thus, it is critical to understand what makes it effective and efficient. In this paper, we specifically look into multistakeholder collaboration in LTC in Lithuania, one of the fastest ageing countries in the EU, with the demand for LTC services growing fast and exceeding the supply despite rising business and NGO engagement. To determine facilitators of such collaboration, we build on the data obtained through eight focus group discussions with all key stakeholder representatives (LTC policymakers, organisers and service providers [public, private and NGOs], 54 participants in total). Our findings indicate that in addition to national and organisational level facilitators studied in prior research, there are important individual level factors, such as meaningfulness at work, concern and care for others, possibility for personal growth and development, satisfaction with supervision, a sense of belonging and role clarity. On the other hand, our results show that collaboration is constrained by a shortage of human resources, increased workload caused by growing LTC demand, bureaucratic requirements, legal restrictions, lack of awareness of LTC service availability among elder persons, and prevailing social norms and attitudes to institutionalised care. Interestingly, a lack of financial resources is not perceived as a major constraint.     

神经外科教学中虚拟现实技术、Seminar模式应用

目的探讨神经外科教学中虚拟现实技术、Seminar模式的应用效果。方法选取本院2014级临床专业实习学生24人,随机选取12人作为对照组,采用传统教学法;12人为观察组,采用虚拟现实技术、Seminar模式教学法。比较两组学生的病理分析能力,多学科协作能力,临床操作能力。结果观察组理论考试和操作考试评分分别为(84.5±3.9)分、(86.3±2.7)分,对照组分别为(80.2±2.8)分、(80.0±2.1)分,观察组理论考试和操作考试评分均高于对照组(P<0.05)。观察组病情分析、临床操作、手术胜任和多学科协作能力评分分别为(1.8±0.7)分、(1.7±0.5)分、(1.6±0.4)分、(1.5±0.5)分;对照组分别为(1.2±0.4)分、(1.1±0.2)分、(1.0±0.3)分、(1.1±0.2)分,观察组病情分析、临床操作、手术胜任和多学科协作能力评分均高于对照组(P<0.05)。结论虚拟现实技术、Seminar模式教学法联合应用提高学生的学习主动性、理论知识水平和实践技能操作水平,提高了神经外科教学效果。     

加速康复外科护理专业组管理模式构建及应用研究

目的评价基于多学科协作的加速康复外科(ERAS)护理专业组管理模式在临床实践中的效果。方法将接受常规ERAS方案的500例外科患者设为对照组,将接受ERAS护理专业组管理(在外科13个病区共设置6个专业小组,在常规ERAS方案的基础上,以专业组为依托,推动多学科协作,实现ERAS护理精准化)的750例患者作为干预组。比较干预前后护士的专业知识、职业认同水平以及两组患者ERAS相关指标。结果实施后护士专业知识水平及职业认同感均显著高于实施前(均P0.01);干预组术前禁食水时间、术中低体温发生率、早期下床时间、留置尿管时间以及术后中重度疼痛、营养不良和深静脉血栓发生率显著低于对照组,术后住院时间、住院费用显著少于对照组(P0.05,P0.01)。结论多学科ERAS护理专业组管理模式可有效提升护士的专业能力,保障ERAS的实施,改善患者结局。     

Informal caregivers’ judgements on sharing care with home care professionals from an intersectional perspective: the influence of personal and situational characteristics

The European policy emphasis on providing informal care at home causes caregivers and home care professionals having more contact with each other, which makes it important for them to find satisfying ways to share care. Findings from the literature show that sharing care between caregivers and professionals can be improved. This study therefore examines to what degree and why caregivers’ judgements on sharing care with home care professionals vary. To improve our understanding of social inequities in caregiving experiences, the study adopts an intersectional perspective. We investigate how personal and situational characteristics attached to care judgements are interwoven. Using data of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research, we conducted bivariate and multivariate linear regression analysis (N = 292). We combined four survey questions into a 1–4 scale on ‘caregiver judgement’ (α = 0.69) and used caregivers’ personal (such as gender and health status) and situational characteristics (such as the care recipient's impairment and type of care) as determinants to discern whether these are related to the caregivers’ judgement. Using a multiplicative approach, we also examined the relationship between mutually constituting factors of the caregivers’ judgement. Adjusted for all characteristics, caregivers who provide care to a parent or child with a mental impairment and those aged between 45 and 64 years or with a paid job providing care to someone with a mental impairment are likely to judge sharing care more negatively. Also, men providing care with help from other caregivers and caregivers providing care because they like to do so who provide domestic help seem more likely to be less satisfied about sharing care. This knowledge is vital for professionals providing home care, because it clarifies differences in caregivers’ experiences and hence induce knowledge how to pay special attention to those who may experience less satisfaction while sharing care.     

COVID-19 convalescent plasma: current status,lessons from the past and future perspectives

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, blood transfusion services worldwide started collection of convalescent plasma as early as possible, as exemplified by the response in Norway. There were challenges related to donor selection, donor safety, testing for relevant antibodies and indications for and dosing of the convalescent plasma. As more knowledge became available, the product quality was more standardised. Multiple case reports, observational studies and some randomized studies were published during the pandemic, as well as laboratory studies reporting different approaches to antibody testing. The results were conflicting and the importance of convalescent plasma was disputed.Even though there has been strong international collaboration with involvement of many key organisations, we may better prepare for the next pandemic. An even stronger, more formalised collaboration between these organisations could provide more clear evidence of the importance of convalescent plasma, based on the principles of passive immunisation.