Attitudes of patients towards the use of chaperones in primary care.
(1/5)
There exists wide variation in practice regarding the use of chaperones for physical examination of the patient in primary care. Guidelines agree that a chaperone should be offered or used whenever a patient is undergoing an intimate examination. This paper aims to gauge patient views on the use of chaperones in primary care. Focus groups were used to identify themes surrounding the use of chaperones in primary care. Questionnaires were then mailed to 404 women and 400 men aged 16 years to 65 years identified from the lists of three research practices in the Northern and Yorkshire Region. The most important factor for the patient in an intimate examination is the attitude of the doctor; the patient views the offer of a chaperone as a sign of respect by the doctor. The development of shared decision-making within a consultation involving an intimate examination should be seen as more important than a rigid approach towards using a chaperone. (+info)
Quality care means valuing care assistants, porters, and cleaners too.
(2/5)
All too often, the focus of the very clever strategy papers produced in the upper reaches of the health department is on the next grand plan. Some of these reforms have been catastrophic for the quality of service that patients experience at ward level. Of these, the contracting out culture introduced in the 1980s and the 1990s has been the worst. Researching my book, Hard work-life in low pay Britain, I took six jobs at around the minimum wage, including work as a hospital porter, as a hospital cleaner, and as a care assistant. These are jobs at the sharp end, up close and very personal to the patients, strongly influencing their experiences of the services they were using. Yet they are low paid, undervalued jobs that fall below the radar of the policy makers. In hospitals they need to be brought back in-house and integrated into a team ethos. Paying these people more would cost more, but it would also harvest great rewards by using their untapped commitment. (+info)
Use of chaperones in the urology outpatient setting: a patient's choice in a "patient-centred" service.
(3/5)
BACKGROUND: The use of a chaperone in the clinical setting is a much debated subject. There have been many guidelines and papers written on this topic, but always from the medical profession's point of view. For the first time, this survey focuses on the opinion of the patient. METHODS: 800 consecutive patients attending the urology outpatient clinic were asked to complete a questionnaire on basic patient demographics and their opinions on chaperones. RESULTS: Of 709 patients who completed the questionnaires, 553 (78%) were male. Overall, 535 (75.5%) patients did not want a chaperone present. Only 66 (42%) females stated a preference for the presence of a chaperone. Of the 174 patients requesting a chaperone, 102 (59%) patients wished the role to be taken by a friend or family member. 90% of these patients attended with the appropriate person. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients do not want a chaperone present for intimate examinations. Most women do not wish to have a chaperone present. Of those who do wish to have a chaperone present, more than half want a family member or friend to fill the role. This would be against current guidelines. However, in a "patient-centred" service, these results should be taken into consideration. (+info)
Health education: a strategy of care for the lay caregiver.
(4/5)
This article aimed to reflect about the importance of the role nurses perform in strategies of health education to lay caregivers, who are important actors in the health/disease process. It is a thematic reflection, built through bibliographic review, which discusses the role of lay caregivers in different stages of the life cycle. Considering the participation of lay caregivers in the Brazilian reality, strategies have been sought to include them in the health care, given the little attention Public Policies have given to them. Therefore, the nurses as health educators, must offer support to the lay caregivers helping them to choose among available alternatives, while delivering care, to not harm their own health. Concluding, health education can be an alternative to offer attention to the lay caregivers, while the nurse has important role in the development of alternatives. (+info)
Patients' attitude towards the use of a chaperone in breast examination.
(5/5)