This is the author's final version of the contribution published as:Argiento, R.; Guglielmi, A.; Lanzarone, E.; Nawajah, I. planning decisions related to service delivery in the territory must be taken. With the goal of helping home care management to take robust decisions, in this paper we propose a Bayesian model for estimating and predicting both the demand for care and the history of health conditions for patients in the charge of a home care service. In particular, we jointly model the temporal evolution of patients' care profile and the weekly number of visits required to nurses, and use a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to compute posterior inference and prediction. The model is applied to data of one of the largest Italian home care providers, obtaining small prediction errors.
Estimation of uncertain future patients' demands is a key factor for appropriately planning human and material resources in health care facilities, where unplanned demand variations may deteriorate the quality of schedules and, consequently, of the provided service. This issue is even more important for health services provided outside hospitals, e.g., for home care services, where patients are assisted for a longer period and additional planning decisions related to service delivery in the territory must be taken. With the goal of helping home care management to take robust decisions, in this paper we propose a Bayesian model for estimating and predicting both the demand for care and the history of health conditions for patients in the charge of a home care service. In particular, we jointly model the temporal evolution of patients' care profile and the weekly number of visits required to nurses, and use a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to compute posterior inference and prediction. The model is applied to data of one of the largest Italian home care providers, obtaining small prediction errors.
BackgroundThis study aimed at assessing patient experiences with hospital services and key factors associated with better experiences.MethodsThe study design is cross-sectional supported by qualitative interviews. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) was used as data collection instrument. A convenience sample of 391 volunteers aged ≥18 years participated in this study. Qualitative interviews were conducted with patients and healthcare providers to further enrich and explain the quantitative results.ResultsThe average age of the sample was 41.34, SD (16.4), range (18–87). Females represented 61.9% of the whole sample. Almost 75% were from the West Bank and 25% from the Gaza Strip. The majority of respondents reported that doctors and nurses were respectful, listened to them and explained clearly to them always or most of the time. Only 29.4% of respondents were given written information about the symptoms they may have after discharge from the hospital. Factors that were independently associated with higher scores on the HCAHPS scale were; being females (coef: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.157 to 1.587, p=0.017), being healthy (coef: −1.58, 95% CI: −2.458 to −0.706, p=0.000), being with high financial status (coef: 1.51, 95% CI: 0.437 to 2.582, p=0.006), being from Gaza (coef: 1.45, 95% CI: 0.484 to 2.408, p=0.003) and who visited hospitals outside of Palestine (coef: 3.37, 95% CI: 1.812 to 4.934, p=0.000). Overcrowding, weak organisational and management processes, and inadequate supply of goods, medicines, and equipment were reported factors impeding quality services via in-depth interviews.ConclusionsThe overall hospital experiences of Palestinian patients were moderate but varied significantly based on patients’ factors such as sex, health status, financial status and residency as well as by hospital type. Hospitals in Palestine should invest more in improving their services including communications with patients, the hospital environment and communication with patients.
Background: Cancer is a leading cause of mortality in Palestine. The number of cancer cases is increasing, whereas the late stage of diagnosis is common for the majority of cases. Modern diagnostics and medicine are contributing to more positive outcomes for patients when diagnosed early; however, the holistic approach to patient care, patient satisfaction, quality of life (QOL), and survivorship are often overlooked. Patients with cancer are usually treated by physicians and other health professionals employing the “medical model” without considering other factors that might positively affect their treatment. For this pioneering survey, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-General (FACT-G) tool was used. This study aimed to measure the satisfaction of patients with cancer undergoing outpatient treatments and assess their QOL. Materials and Methods: The FACT-G scale in Arabic has four sections, measuring physical, emotional, social, and functional well-being, was used in a survey of 203 patients with cancer currently undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapies. Patients were surveyed in the summer of 2019, within 1 year of diagnosis when they were outpatients, all of whom were attending a major cancer center in a Palestinian hospital. Results: Emotional well-being scored the lowest (from a total of 24; mean 11.31 (standard deviation (SD) 5.45)) whereas social/family well-being scored the highest (from a total of 28), mean 22, (SD ± 5.78). The overall mean for the four sections was 63.57 (SD 12.44). Conclusion: To ensure better management of symptoms and treatments, important indicators are now available for health professionals and researchers to learn more about the QOL of patients. Evaluating the physical, social, emotional, and functional states of patients with cancer undergoing outpatient treatments enabled us to learn more about the struggles they face while understanding how they were coping during their cancer journey.
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