Protocol of a scoping review assessing injury rates and their determinants among healthcare workers in western countries

Key factors for effective implementation of healthcare worker support interventions after patient safety incidents in health organisations: a protocol for a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Health organisations should support healthcare workers who are physically and psychologically affected by patient safety incidents (second victims). There is a growing body of evidence which focuses on second victim support interventions. However, there is still limited research on the elements necessary to effectively implement and ensure the sustainability of these types of interventions. In this study, we propose to map and frame the key factors which underlie an effective implementation of healthcare worker support interventions in healthcare organisations when healthcare workers are physically and/or emotionally affected by patient safety incidents.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This scoping review will be guided by the established methodological Arksey and O'Malley framework, Levac and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) recommendations. We will follow the JBI three-step process: (1) a preliminary search conducted on two databases; (2) the definition of clear inclusion criteria and the creation of a list of search terms to be used in the subsequent running of the search on a larger number of databases; and (3) additional searches (cross-checking/cross-referencing of reference lists of eligible studies, hand-searching in target journals relevant to the topic, conference proceedings, institutional/organisational websites and networks repositories). We will undertake a comprehensive search strategy in relevant bibliographic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINHAL, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, Epistemonikos, Scielo, Cochrane Library and Open Grey). We will use the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool V.2018 for quality assessment of the eligible studies. Our scoping review will be guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This study will not require ethical approval. Results of the scoping review will be published in a peer-review journal, and findings will be presented in scientific conferences as well as in international forums and other relevant dissemination channels.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

10.17605/OSF.IO/RQAT6.Preprint from medRxiv available: doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.25.22269846.

Vocational rehabilitation for mental health service users with chronic mental illness in low-income to upper-middle-income countries: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

Work is integral to the occupations of human beings and accounts for up to a third of time spent in an average adult life. Occupational therapists play a role in vocational rehabilitation of mental health service users (MHSUs) with the aim of optimising their work participation. It is advisable that occupational therapists providing vocational rehabilitation to MHSUs with chronic mental illness in mental healthcare settings are guided by a practice framework developed for that particular context. This scoping review aims to summarise existing evidence on vocational rehabilitation for MHSUs in low-income to upper-middle-income countries. The findings will inform subsequent phases of research undertaken to formulate a vocational rehabilitation practice framework for MHSUs in Namibia.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The scoping review will employ the five stage methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley. This will be used in conjunction with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISM-ScR) and Joanna Briggs scoping review guidelines. MESH terms, Boolean operators and truncation strategies will be employed for a comprehensive article search in electronic scholarly databases. These databases will include PsycINFO, EBSCOhost, HINARI, Google scholar, Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Science Direct and Wiley Online Library. Mendeley and Rayyan, both open source platforms, will be used for title, abstract and full-text screening, as well as data extraction. Data will be sifted and sorted by key categories and themes using a data charting form.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The scoping review findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at local and international conferences. Ethical clearance for this study will not be required as secondary data will be utilised and there are no patients involved.

Health care workers' experiences of workplace incidents that posed a risk of patient and worker injury: a critical incident technique analysis

Background

Health care workers (HCWs) are at high risk of occupational injuries and approximately 10–15% of patients are affected by an adverse event during their hospital stay. There is scarce scientific literature about how HCWs manage these risks in practice and what support they need. This knowledge is needed to improve safety for patients and HCWs. This study explores HCWs’ experiences of workplace incidents that led to injury or posed a risk of patient and worker injury, with focus on HCWs’ emotions and actions.

Methods

This study employed a qualitative design using the critical incident technique. Semi-structured individual interviews were held with 34 HCWs from three regions in Sweden. Data were analysed using inductive category development.

Results

Altogether 71 workplace incidents were reported. The analysis of two dimensions – the emotions HCWs feel and the actions team members and managers take when a workplace incident occurs – yielded two categories each: Anxiety during the incident, Persistent distress after the incident, Team interplay for safety actions and Support and ratification from managers and colleagues. Health care workers risked their own safety and health to provide patient safety. Teamwork and trustful relationships were critical for patient and worker safety. Support and validation from colleagues and managers were important for closure; unsatisfactory manager response and insufficient opportunities to debrief the incident could lead to persistent negative emotions. Participants described insecurity and fear, sadness over being injured at work, and shame and self-regret when the patient or themselves were injured. When the workplace had not taken the expected action, they felt anger and resignation, often turning into long-term distress.

Conclusions

Work situations leading to injury or risk of patient and worker injury are emotionally distressing for HCWs. Team interplay may facilitate safe and dynamic practices and help HCWs overcome negative emotions. Organizational support is imperative for individual closure. For safety in health care, employers need to develop strategies for active management of risks, avoiding injuries and providing support after an injury.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-021-06517-x.

Methods for the health technology assessment of complex interventions: a protocol for a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

In healthcare policy and economic literature, research on the health technology assessment (HTA) of complex interventions (CIs) is becoming increasingly important. In many developed countries, HTA guides decision-making to help achieve greater value for money when funding health care. However, research has yet to identify the forms of evidence and evaluation criteria that should be used in the HTA of CIs. Previous research has established that the HTA of CIs requires multiple factors to be evaluated but there is no agreement on which factors ought always to be considered. There is equally little agreement on which forms of evidence ought to be collected or synthesised and how. We plan to perform a systematic scoping review in order to identify the range of evaluation criteria and types of evidence currently used in the HTA of CIs.

METHOD AND ANALYSIS

This protocol was developed to guide the methodological framework for the conduct of a scoping review on health technology assessment (HTA) of complex interventions (CIs), using the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and the six-stage framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley, in addition to more recent innovations in scoping review methodology. A grey literature search will supplement the primary searches of seven electronic databases for studies available in English between January 2000 and August 2020. Two reviewers will independently screen all search results for inclusion and data will be extracted using a customised data extraction or charting form. Any dispute will be resolved by consensus or through arbitration by a third author. The mnemonic Population, Concept and Context will be adopted to establish criteria for selecting relevant literature, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: Extension for Scoping Review will be used for reporting the results. Several explanatory-descriptive methods will be used for analysing the extracted data including frequency and trend analyses as well as reflexive thematic coding and analysis.Mapping evidence on the HTA of CIs will allow us to gain a better understanding of both established and emerging practices, including the information types, requirements, values and parameters that are incorporated in the HTA of CIs. We also expect the findings of the scoping review to help identify research gaps that will guide future studies. As healthcare becomes more complex in its delivery, it is timely to determine how these complex interventions should be assessed so that policy decisions can be made about whether implementation and public funding is warranted.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This scoping review will involve secondary analysis of already collected data, and thus, does not require ethics approval. The research findings will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals for publication and will also be disseminated at conferences and seminars.