Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of Kenyan healthcare workers regarding pediatric discharge from hospital.
PLoS One
; 16(4): e0249569, 2021.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33891601
OBJECTIVE: To assess attitudes, perceptions, and practices of healthcare workers regarding hospital discharge and follow-up care for children under age five in Migori and Homa Bay, Kenya. METHODS: This mixed-methods study included surveys and semi-structured telephone interviews with healthcare workers delivering inpatient pediatric care at eight hospitals between November 2017 and December 2018. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 111 (85%) eligible HCWs. Ninety-seven of the surveyed HCWs were invited for interviews and 39 (40%) participated. Discharge tasks were reported to be "very important" to patient outcomes by over 80% of respondents, but only 37 (33%) perceived their hospital to deliver this care "very well" and 23 (21%) believed their facility provides sufficient resources for its provision. The vast majority (97%) of participants underestimated the risk of pediatric post-discharge mortality. Inadequate training, understaffing, stock-outs of take-home therapeutics, and user fees were commonly reported health systems barriers to adequate discharge care while poverty was seen as limiting caregiver adherence to discharge and follow-up care. Respondents endorsed the importance of follow-up care, but reported supportive mechanisms to be lacking. They requested enhanced guidelines on discharge and follow-up care. CONCLUSION: Kenyan healthcare workers substantially underestimated the risk of pediatric post-discharge mortality. Pre- and in-service training should incorporate instruction on discharge and follow-up care. Improved post-discharge deaths tracking-e.g., through vital registry systems, child mortality surveillance studies, and community health worker feedback loops-is needed, alongside dissemination which could leverage platforms such as routine hospital-based mortality reports. Finally, further interventional trials are needed to assess the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of novel packages to improve discharge and follow-up care.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Alta del Paciente
/
Agentes Comunitarios de Salud
Tipo de estudio:
Guideline
/
Qualitative_research
Límite:
Adult
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
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Humans
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Infant
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Male
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Newborn
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
PLoS One
Asunto de la revista:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos