Patient safety issues and concerns in Bhutan’s healthcare system: a qualitative study.

This study identified medication errors, healthcare associated infections, diagnostic errors, surgical errors, laboratory errors and a lack of infrastructure to progress patient safety in hospital contexts as major concerns in the resource poor nation of Bhutan. A culturally adaptive Bhutanised approach to redress these concerns and improve patient safety is proposed.

A public health intervention to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviour regarding alcohol consumption in pregnancy

Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of a public health intervention aimed at changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Methods. A non-blinded parallel group randomised controlled trial of pregnant women over 18 years of age. Women were recruited in the second trimester and assigned to one of two treatment groups. Both groups completed an initial questionnaire assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices relating to alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The intervention group then received a mocktail recipe booklet and participants were asked to share the information with their partner. The control group received standard antenatal care. A follow-up questionnaire was conducted four weeks post birth. Primary outcome measures were a knowledge score of the health risks associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy and an attitude score toward drinking during pregnancy. Secondary outcome measures included whether or not the woman and her partner abstained from drinking. Ethical approval was granted by the Women’s and Children’s Health Network and the University of South Australia. Results. A total of 161 participants were recruited at baseline (intervention = 82, control = 79) and 96 participants completed the trial (intervention = 49, control = 47). The findings suggest that the mocktail booklet was effective at improving knowledge (p<0.001; effect size 0.80) and improving attitudes towards drinking during pregnancy (p=0.017; effect size 0.43) in the intervention group compared to the control group. Although women in the intervention group were 30% more likely to abstain from drinking than in the control group (RR=1.3, 95% CI 0.97 – 1.75), this result was not statistically significant (p=0.077). Conclusions. Knowledge regarding the effects of alcohol consumption as well as attitudes towards drinking significantly improved as a result of a mocktail recipe booklet. Improving knowledge and changing attitudes has the potential to change health behaviour. Therefore, this intervention may reduce the percentage of women who continue to drink alcohol while they are pregnant and improve outcomes for infants and children.

'How can we go on caring when nobody here cares about us?' Australian public maternity units as contested care sites

BACKGROUND: Provision of personalised, continuous care focused on 'well women' is now central to midwifery identity and work ideals, but it remains difficult in hospital contexts shaped by increased demand and by neoliberal policies. Previous accounts of occupational and work-family conflicts in midwifery and nursing have pointed to the 'moral distress' associated with managing conflicting expectations in health workplaces. QUESTION: This paper examines these issues in the Australian context and considers further the ethical implications of midwives not feeling 'cared for' themselves in health care organisations. METHODS: Qualitative research in several Victorian maternity units included use of interviews and observational methods to explore staff experiences of organisational and professional change. Data were coded and analysed using NVivo. FINDINGS: Midwives reported frequent contestation as they sought to practice their ideal of themselves as caregivers in what they reported as often 'uncaring' workplaces. To interpret this data, we argue for seeing midwifery caring as embodied social practice taking place within 'organisation carescapes'. CONCLUSION: Theoretical analysis of the moral and ethical dimensions of the contemporary organisational structure of maternity care suggests that a practice-based and dialogical ethic should form the core principle of care both for women in childbirth and for their carers.

Does the poor quality of Australian health education documentation undermine the message? A review of documents informing pregnant women about alcohol

Background. The advice given to pregnant women about alcohol consumption during pregnancy is variable across countries and within countries.Aim. The aim of this study was to review the content and design of existing Australian health education documentation regarding alcohol consumption in pregnancy that is available to pregnant women. Methods. A documentary analysis was conducted. This involved the identification and collection of a range of health education documents, which were then systematically analysed. The thematic and symbolic elements of each document were compared and contrasted using a modified version of the DISCERN instrument. Findings. A total of 32 documents were retrieved via general and targeted internet searching. Documents varied considerably in their purpose, language levels, accessibility, and quality. The majority of documents scored as low to moderate quality. Implications. Although there are many and varied existing documents relating to alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Australia, these are not of high quality and could be substantially improved by including publication dates, using simple language, and providing sources of information. This may result in a more effective public health message and so help to reduce the number of pregnant women who continue to drink during pregnancy.

Perinatal mental health education for midwives in Victoria

Perinatal mental health issues affect women and their families world-wide. Midwives can make a difference to women and families lives with early and prompt detection of perinatal mental health issues.

A Experiência de dor no doente oncológico com doença avançada

Introdução: O pós-parto abrange o processo de transição para a parentalidade, considerado um dos principais momentos de transição ao longo da vida, responsável por mudanças a vários níveis, nomeadamente individual, conjugal, familiar e social, implicando gestão de novos sentimentos, comportamentos e preocupações com o(a) próprio(a) e com o(s), filho(s) (Kaitz, 2007; Mendes, 2009). Esta revisão integrativa da literatura foca-se nas preocupações da figura materna da díade parental no período pós-parto. Objetivos: Analisar os estudos de investigação acerca da temática das preocupações maternas no pós-parto nas sociedades contemporâneas. Metodologia: Revisão integrativa da literatura centrada na temática “preocupações maternas no pós-parto”. Utilizouse o motor de busca EBSCOhost, com acesso às bases de dados científicos: CINAHL® Complete; MEDLINE Complete; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Cochrane Methodology Register; e ainda a base de dados SCIELO ”. Obtiveramse 17 publicações científicas com a utilização do Boolean search operators “AND”, para os descritores MeSH pósparto/“ postpartum” e nascimento/“childbirth” e como tema principal “preocupações maternas”/“maternal concerns”, com disponibilidade para aceder ao texto completo, com data de publicação entre o período de Janeiro 2000 e Dezembro 2015. Resultados: Os resultados da revisão integrativa da literatura acerca da temática das preocupações maternas que pretendeu responder à questão - Quais as preocupações maternas durante o pós-parto nas sociedades contemporâneas? - agruparam-se em 5 áreas: preocupações maternas e o cuidar do recém-nascido; preocupações maternas e recuperação funcional; preocupações maternas e transição para a parentalidade; preocupações maternas e relacionamento conjugal; e preocupações maternas intergeracionais. Conclusões: Da revisão dos artigos selecionados verificou-se que as preocupações maternas refletem as necessidades das mães, no período de transição de pós-parto, assim como, as assinaladas alterações no assumir de novos papéis e da redefinição/reorganização nas responsabilidades, no seio da díade parental/família e deste modo, espelham uma área de interesse no âmbito dos cuidados à mulher/casal e família após o nascimento de um filho, de onde as intervenções de enfermagem especializada em saúde materna e obstetrícia são relevantes na avaliação da transição saudável no contexto do pós-parto, quer na vertente materna, quer na díade parental e no cuidar do recém-nascido. Palavras-chave: pós-parto; preocupações maternas; recém-nascido; nascimento Referências bibliográficas: Kaitz, M. (2007). Maternal concerns during early parenthood. Child: Care, Health and Development, 33(6), 720-727. Lugina, H., Christensson, K., Massawe, S., Nystrom, L., & Lindmark, G. (2001). Change in maternal concerns during the 6 weeks postpartum period: A study of primiparous mothers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 46(4), 248-257. doi: 10.1016/S1526-9523(01)00133-7 Lugina, H., Nyström, L., Christensson, K., & Lindmark, G. (2004). Assessing mothers’ concerns in the postpartum period: Methodological issues. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 48(3), 279-290. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03197.x Mendes, I. M. (2009). Ajustamento materno e paterno: Experiências vivenciadas pelos pais no pós-parto. Coimbra, Portugal: Mar da Palavra. * Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra, Unidade Científico-Pedagógica de Enfermagem de Saúde Materna e Obstetrícia [ana@esenfc.pt] ** Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra, Enfermagem de Saúde Materna, Obstetrícia e Ginecologia, Professora C