Mahendra M Reddy

Perception of patient safety culture among health-care providers in a Tertiary Care Hospital, South India

Introduction: Patient safety is a global concern and is the most important domains of health-care quality. Medical error is a major patient safety concern, causing increase in health-care cost due to mortality, morbidity, or prolonged hospital stay. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the perceptions on patient safety culture among health-care providers (HCPs) at a public sector tertiary care hospital in South India. Settings and Design: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted 1 year after patient safety initiatives were implemented. Materials and Methods: Participants were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture was used to assess perception of patient safety culture. Responses were collected on a Likert scale and were categorized into four types as negative, neutral, positive response, and nonresponse. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were entered in EpiData Version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS Version 17. “Composite positive response rate” for the various dimensions was calculated. Results: The overall response rate in the study was 91.6%. Average composite positive response rate was 58%, and it varied among different cadres of HCPs ranged from 53% to 61%. The dimensions “teamwork within the unit,” “organizational learning and continuous improvement,” and “supervisor or officer-in-charge expectations” showed highest positive responses (80.1%, 77.8%, and 71.5%, respectively). Conclusions: This survey conducted after implementation of patient safety drive showed that, in many dimensions, the patient safety culture has taken roots. The dimensions such as “hand-off and transitions,” “frequency of events reporting,” and “communication openness” had scope for further improvement.

Comment on "Budding adult hypertensives with modifiable risk factors: Catch them young"

First, the authors mentioned in the abstract that they used random sampling to select 10–17 year‐old children who lived in Chennai, an urban area of Tamil Nadu. In the methods section, they stated that children from selected schools in Chennai were examined. Whether the schools were selected conveniently or randomly was not mentioned. The sampling frame from which the children were selected, i.e., the number of schools included in the study and the total number of children in the selected schools should have been mentioned. Furthermore, as the study was to find point prevalence, the time when the study was conducted (year and month) should have been reported.

Speed detection device in preventing road traffic accidents: A realistic approach in India!

Dear Editor, Globally, about 1.25 million people die because of road traffic crashes every year. Although low‐ and middle‐income countries have only half of the total vehicles, they contribute nearly 90% of all crashes in the world.[1] In India, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), there was an increase in the total number of accidents, persons injured, severity of injuries, and deaths in 2015 as compared to 2014. In 2015, there were nearly 5 lakh accidents, 5 lakh injuries, and 1.5 lakh deaths in India. In 2015, Indian cities with more than 1 million populations together accounted for 22.1% of total accidents in India. The road accident‐related deaths among the cities were reported to be 14.9/100 accidents and varied from 2.6 (Mumbai) to 66 (Amritsar).

Use of Mobile Phone in Healthcare: Readiness among Urban Population of Puducherry, India

Introduction: Use of mobile phones in planning of health care interventions is on the rise. Before planning of such interventions, it is essential to know about readiness among the target population. Objective(s): To identify the access to personal mobile phone, knowledge on usage in terms of making/receiving call/SMS and the willingness to use mobile phone as a medium for health communication among adults in an urban area of Puducherry, South India. Methodology: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in two randomly selected areas out of the four in the urban field practice area of a medical college in Puducherry during July, 2014. Systematic random sampling was done to select 126 houses. All individuals above 18 years in those households were included. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect information. Association between socio-demographic factors and willingness to receive health tip through mobile phone was found using binary logistic regression. Results: Among 299 participants interviewed, 227 (75.9%) had personal mobile phones; 229 (76.6%), 128 (42.8%) and 131 (43.8%), were able to receive and make a call, read SMS, and text SMS respectively. Nearly 50% were willing to receive health information through mobile phones. Of these, 67.5% were willing to receive through call/SMS and 35.5% only through calls. On multivariate binary logistic analysis, individuals having personal mobile and younger age were found to be willing to receive health information through mobile phones. Conclusion: Three in every five individuals having personal mobile were willing to receive health information through mobile with most of them preferring call/SMS over only call.

Attack rate and household secondary attack rate of acute conjunctivitis during an outbreak in South India: A community-based survey

Introduction: Knowledge on epidemiology of the disease in the contemporary world will help to develop appropriate strategies to curtail the transmission during an outbreak. This study was carried out during an outbreak of conjunctivitis in selected areas of Puducherry, South India, to assess the attack rate of conjunctivitis, identify factors associated with developing conjunctivitis and calculate household secondary attack rate (HSAR) of conjunctivitis and its correlates. Methodology: During December 2014, a community-based survey was conducted in a selected urban and rural area in Puducherry, South India. Simple random sampling was used to select primary sampling units and systematic sampling to select households. All individuals in the selected households were studied. A questionnaire was used to obtain data on sociodemographic characteristics, conjunctivitis during September-November, 2014, and number of household contacts who developed conjunctivitis within 7 days of index case. The attack rate and HSAR of conjunctivitis was expressed as percentage. Multivariate logistic regression was used to find factors independently associated with developing conjunctivitis and also 100% HSAR. Results: Of 3193 study participants from 772 households, 509 (15.9%, 95% confidence interval 14.7-17.2%) had an attack of conjunctivitis during the reference period. Of the 772 households, 218 (28.2%) had at least one case of conjunctivitis. Of 218 households, 33 (15.1%) households had 100% HSAR. Lower age, not being unemployed, low socioeconomic status, and residing in rural area were independently associated with developing conjunctivitis. Index case being male and living in a household with ≥5 members were independently associated with 100% HSAR. Conclusion: In the outbreak under study, more than one-fourth of households had at least one case of conjunctivitis and about one in every six individuals had an attack of conjunctivitis.

Community medicine teaching for paramedical courses in India: Does the curriculum for medical laboratory technology course need a revision?

© 2016 Education for Health | Published by Wolters Kluwer Medknow Address for correspondence: Dr. Sonali Sarkar, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, 4th Floor, Administrative Block, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Dhanvantri Nagar, Puducherry ‐ 605 006, India. E‐mail: sarkarsonaligh@gmail.com Community Medicine Teaching for Paramedical Courses in India: Does the Curriculum for Medical Laboratory Technology Course Need a Revision?