The increase in the elderly population is causing changes and challenges that demand a comprehensive public health response. A specific characteristic of the elderly is their frailty. Today's ...problems with identifying levels of frailty are being resolved by numerous tools in the form of frailty assessment scales. This systematic review establishes which frailty assessment scales for the elderly are being used and what their applicability in primary care is like in Slovenia and around the world.
Documents published after 2010 were searched for in the PubMed database using keywords and other specific criteria.
A total of 177 search hits were obtained based on various search strings. The final analysis included 28 articles, of which three were systematic literature reviews. These three covered quantitative studies, mainly consisting of observational cross-sectional surveys or cohort studies. Three other studies featured non-systematic literature reviews. Quantitative studies (mainly cross-sectional surveys or cohort studies) prevailed among the remaining 22 articles. One study had a qualitative design (Delphi method). The main outcome measures observed by all studies were frailty assessment scales for the elderly, the majority of which were evaluated on a sample of the elderly.
None of the assessment scales examined are used as the gold standard for primary care. A variety of tools are being used in clinical practice to assess frailty in elderly patients, highlighting the need for standardization and guidelines. This requires evaluating the current assessment scales in terms of validity and reliability, and suitably improving them.
Primary care (PC) is the provision of universally accessible, integrated, person-centred, comprehensive health and community services. Professionals active in primary care teams include family ...physicians and general practitioners (FP/GPs). There is concern in Slovenia that the current economic crisis might change the nature of PC services. Access, one of the most basic requirements of general practice, is universal in Slovenia, which is one of the smallest European countries; under national law, compulsory health insurance is mandatory for its citizens. Our study examined access to PC in Slovenia during a time of economic crisis as experienced and perceived by patients between 2011 and 2012, and investigated socio-demographic factors affecting access to PC in Slovenia.
Data were collected as a part of a larger international study entitled Quality and Costs of Primary Care in Europe (QUALICOPC) that took place during a period of eight months in 2011 and 2012. 219 general practices were included; in each, the aim was to evaluate 10 patients. Dependent variables covered five aspects of access to PC: communicational, cultural, financial, geographical and organizational. 15 socio-demographic factors were investigated as independent variables. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and multilevel analysis were applied.
There were 1,962 patients in the final sample, with a response rate of 89.6%. The factors with the most positive effect on access to PC were financial and cultural; the most negative effects were caused by organizational problems. Financial difficulties were not a significant socio-demographic factor. Greater frequency of visits improves patients' perception of communicational and cultural access. Deteriorating health conditions are expected to lower perceived geographical access. Patients born outside Slovenia perceived better organizational access than patients born in Slovenia.
Universal medical insurance in Slovenia protects most patients from PC inaccessibility. However, problems perceived by patients may indicate the need for changes in the organization of PC.
Rare diseases in Europe are defined as diseases with a prevalence of less than 5 per 10,000 people. Despite their individual rarity, the total number of rare diseases is considerable. Rare diseases ...are often chronic and complex, affecting physical, mental, and neurological health. People with rare diseases face challenges such as delayed diagnosis, limited medical support, and financial burden. Caregivers, usually family members, bear significant physical and emotional burdens. Understanding the experiences of patients with rare disease and their caregivers is critical to effective care, but this is still underresearched. Better support and understanding of the challenges faced by both patients and caregivers is clearly needed. Our study will explore the experiences and needs of people with rare diseases and caregivers of people with rare diseases in relation to accessing health services.
This study aims to explore the experiences of patients with rare disease and their caregivers with Slovenian health care providers and to create a theoretical model of needs and experiences.
This is a qualitative thematic analysis study, using the codebook approach. The study will conduct semi-open-ended interviews to understand the experiences and needs of people with rare diseases and caregivers of people with rare diseases in relation to accessing health services. The interview questions will be based on an extensive literature review. Data from the interviews will be analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns and build a thematic map. Data will be analyzed by at least 2 coders. To ensure reliability, respondent validation will be conducted and negative cases investigated. Any discrepancies will be resolved by consulting the entire research team until a consensus is reached.
This study was not specifically funded. However, author TČ is supported by grant number P3-0339 from the Slovenian Agency for Research and Innovation. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Republic of Slovenia (0120-47/2022/3), and recruitment is expected to begin in May 2024, with data analysis results anticipated by the end of 2025.
This study will fill an important research gap in Slovenia by exploring the needs and experiences of people living with rare diseases and their caregivers. The results will contribute to the broader field of rare diseases and add knowledge that can inform future research processes and intervention strategies. It also aims to identify neglected areas that have a significant impact on the lives of people with rare diseases. This study is important not only because it addresses the immediate needs of the Slovenian rare disease community, but also because it contributes to a discussion on patient-centered care, health policy design, and the inclusion of psychosocial components in health care.
PRR1-10.2196/53362.
Objective. To review the changes in communication in long-term care facilities (LTCF) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods. A systematic literature review was conducted through a keyword search of ...the PubMed and Ovid Embase databases. In accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 11 articles were selected and analysed qualitatively.Results. The use of information communication technology was heterogeneous, and it was used to bring together several different groups of users: LCTF residents’ families, hospitals, specialists, and general practitioners. The modes of communication and preferred ways to reduce the social isolation of LTCF residents from their family members were described. Various smartphone applications have been designed for both socializing and the use of telemedical solutions. Opportunities for peer-to-peer social interaction between the elderly through information communication technologies have been neglected.Conclusion. Video calls may bring greater satisfaction to residents and their families. Telemedicine and interdisciplinary cooperation between healthcare professionals have increased the quality of medical care in long-term care institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Venous leg ulcers (VLUs), the most common type of leg ulcerations, have long healing times and high recurrence rates; reimbursement rules and a general shortage of nursing staff have put ...self-treatment into focus. The study aimed to investigate why and how patients with VLUs self-treat their ulcers.
Patients with VLUs (
= 32) were selected by criterion sampling for a multicentric qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed via inductive qualitative content analysis.
More than two-thirds of participants sometimes self-treated VLU and one quarter changed their prescribed treatment. Experiences were expressed through four themes as follows: (a) current local VLU therapy; (b) VLU self-treatment; (c) patient education; and (d) psychosocial issues. The main reasons for self-treatment were a lack of healthcare resources, reimbursement restrictions, and dissatisfaction with conventional treatment together with insufficient knowledge about the wound-healing process and possible side effects. No educational materials were provided for patients or caregivers. Many patients adopted homemade remedies.
Patients with VLUs practice self-care due to limited healthcare availability, a low awareness of the causes of their condition, and the effects of therapy on VLU healing. Future educational intervention is needed to enhance self-treatment.
Background: Family practice in Slovenia is provided by state-employed family physicians as well as concessionaires. However, both work under a contract withthe National Health Insurance Institute. ...This study focuses on comparing patients’ experiences with Slovenian concessionaires and state- employed physicians. Methods: We performed analyses using survey data from a cross-sectional study on patient experiences, which took place from September 2011 to April 2012 as a part of the international QUALICOPC study. The Slovenian branch of this study included 1,962 patients visiting family practices. Patients were classified into two groups regarding the registered status of their family physician. They completed the questionnaires immediately after visiting their family physicians. Data used in the analyses included 76variables:18socio-economic and 58variableslinked to the patient's experience. Results:The analyses showed few differences between concessionaires and state-employed family physicians. In comparison to patients of state-employed family physicians, patients of concessionaires were less likely to make an appointment for a visit (19.8% vs. 29.2%), were generally more frequent visitors (43.7% vs. 50.7%), and more often felt that opening hours are too restricted (25.7 % vs. 31.9%). Patients of concessionaires believed more often that in general, doctors can be trusted (40.1% vs.47.1 %). A smaller percentage of patients of concessionaires felt that their physician had the capacity to deal with personal problems as well as provide medical care (61.9% vs. 54.7%). Conclusions: There are few differences in patients’ experiences of state-employed family physicians and concessionaires. Slovenian patients have a generally positive experience with family practice services regardless of the family physicians’ status. Plans for organizational change of the health sector should include patients’ perceptions of services.
Research has repeatedly shown that family physicians fail to diagnose up to 70% of patients with common mental disorders. Objective of the study is to investigate associations between persons' ...gender, age and educational level and detection of depression and anxiety by their family physicians.
We compared the results of two independent observational studies that were performed at the same time on a representative sample of family medicine practice attendees in Slovenia. 10710 patients participated in Slovenian Cross-sectional survey and 1118 patients participated in a first round of a cohort study (PREDICT-D study). Logistic regression was used to examine the effects of age, gender and educational level on detection of depression and anxiety.
The prevalence of major depression and Other Anxiety Syndrome (OAS) amongst family practice attendees was low. The prevalence of Panic Syndrome (PS) was comparable to rates reported in the literature. A statistical model with merged data from both studies showed that it was over 15 times more likely for patients with ICD-10 criteria depression to be detected in PREDICT-D study as in SCS survey. In PREDICT-D study it was more likely for people with higher education to be diagnosed with ICD-10 criteria depression than in SCS survey.
People with higher levels of education should probably be interviewed in a more standardized way to be recognised as having depression by Slovenian family physicians. This finding requires further validation.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To help general practitioners (GPs) in early identification of patients with palliative care (PC) needs, this pilot study aimed to determine the potential of the combined original surprise question ...(SQ1) ('Would I be surprised if this patient died within the next 12 months?') and the second surprise question (SQ2) ('Would I be surprised if this patient was still alive after 12 months?'). We hypothesized that answering these SQs would trigger them to make a multidimensional care plan.
26 Slovenian GPs, randomized into 4 groups, were invited to write a care plan for each of the four patients described in case vignettes (2 oncologic, 1 organ failure and 1 frailty case). GPs in group 1 were only asked to write a care plan for each patient. GPs in group 2 answered SQ1 and GPs in groups 3 and 4 answered SQ1 and SQ2 before writing the care plan. The type and number of PC aspects mentioned in the respective care plans were quantified into a numeric RADboud ANTicipatory (RADIANT) score.
Mean RADIANT scores in groups 1-4 were 2.2, 3.6, 2.5 and 3.1, respectively. When comparing the different vignettes, vignette B (terminal oncologic patient) scored best (3.6). Mean RADIANT scores in groups 3 and 4 were slightly higher for GPs who would be surprised compared to GPs who would not be surprised if the patient was still alive in 12 months.
The combined SQs were considered helpful in the early identification of patients in need of PC in Slovenian general practice.
The current political crisis, conflicts and riots in many Middle Eastern and African countries have led to massive migration waves towards Europe. European countries, receiving these migratory waves ...as first port of entry (POE) over the past few years, were confronted with several challenges as a result of the sheer volume of newly arriving refugees. This humanitarian refugee crisis represents the biggest displacement crisis of a generation. Although the refugee crisis created significant challenges for all national healthcare systems across Europe, limited attention has been given to the role of primary health care (PHC) to facilitate an integrated delivery of care by enhancing care provision to refugees upon arrival, on transit or even for longer periods. Evidence-based interventions, encompassing elements of patient-centredness, shared decision-making and compassionate care, could contribute to the assessment of refugee healthcare needs and to the development and the implementation of training programmes for rapid capacity-building for the needs of these vulnerable groups and in the context of integrated PHC care. This article reports on methods used for enhancing PHC for refugees through rapid capacity-building actions in the context of a structured European project under the auspices of the European Commission and funded under the 3rd Health Programme by the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA). The methods include the assessment of the health needs of all the people reaching Europe during the study period, and the identification, development, and testing of educational tools. The developed tools were evaluated following implementation in selected European primary care settings.
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