Facilitators and barriers to implementing successful exclusion among children with shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli: a qualitative analysis of public health case management records.
Adherence
Childcare setting
Exclusion policies
Qualitative analysis
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli
Journal
BMC public health
ISSN: 1471-2458
Titre abrégé: BMC Public Health
Pays: England
ID NLM: 100968562
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
21 Aug 2024
21 Aug 2024
Historique:
received:
30
10
2023
accepted:
24
07
2024
medline:
22
8
2024
pubmed:
22
8
2024
entrez:
21
8
2024
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections are a significant public health concern as they can cause serious illness and outbreaks. In England, STEC incidence is highest among children and guidance recommends that children under six diagnosed with STEC are excluded from childcare until two consecutive stool cultures are negative. We aimed to describe the barriers and facilitators to implementing exclusion and the impact of exclusion policies on young children and their families. Individual level data was obtained from a wider study focusing on shedding duration among STEC cases aged < 6 years between March 2018 - March 2022. Data was extracted from England's public health case management system. The case management system includes notes on telephone conversations, email correspondence and meeting minutes relating to the case. Collected data consisted of free text in three forms: (1) quotes from parents, either direct or indirect, (2) direct quotes from the case record by health protection practitioners or environmental health officers, and (3) summaries by the data collector after reviewing the entire case record. We analysed free text comments linked to 136 cases using thematic analysis with a framework approach. The median age of included cases was 3 years (IQR 1.5-5), with males accounting for 49%. Nine key themes were identified. Five themes focused on barriers to managing exclusion, including (i) financial losses, (ii) challenges with communication, engagement and collaboration, (iii) issues with sampling, processing, and results, (iv) adverse impact on children and their families and (v) conflicting exclusion advice. Four themes related to facilitators to exclusion, including (i) good communication with parents and childcare settings, (ii) support with childcare, (iii) improvements to sampling, testing, and reporting of results, and (iv) provision of supervised control measures. Qualitative analysis of public health case records can provide evidence-based insights around complex health protection issues to inform public health guidelines. Our analysis highlights the importance of considering wider social and economic consequences of exclusion when developing policies and practices for the management of STEC in children.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections are a significant public health concern as they can cause serious illness and outbreaks. In England, STEC incidence is highest among children and guidance recommends that children under six diagnosed with STEC are excluded from childcare until two consecutive stool cultures are negative. We aimed to describe the barriers and facilitators to implementing exclusion and the impact of exclusion policies on young children and their families.
METHODS
METHODS
Individual level data was obtained from a wider study focusing on shedding duration among STEC cases aged < 6 years between March 2018 - March 2022. Data was extracted from England's public health case management system. The case management system includes notes on telephone conversations, email correspondence and meeting minutes relating to the case. Collected data consisted of free text in three forms: (1) quotes from parents, either direct or indirect, (2) direct quotes from the case record by health protection practitioners or environmental health officers, and (3) summaries by the data collector after reviewing the entire case record. We analysed free text comments linked to 136 cases using thematic analysis with a framework approach.
RESULTS
RESULTS
The median age of included cases was 3 years (IQR 1.5-5), with males accounting for 49%. Nine key themes were identified. Five themes focused on barriers to managing exclusion, including (i) financial losses, (ii) challenges with communication, engagement and collaboration, (iii) issues with sampling, processing, and results, (iv) adverse impact on children and their families and (v) conflicting exclusion advice. Four themes related to facilitators to exclusion, including (i) good communication with parents and childcare settings, (ii) support with childcare, (iii) improvements to sampling, testing, and reporting of results, and (iv) provision of supervised control measures.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
Qualitative analysis of public health case records can provide evidence-based insights around complex health protection issues to inform public health guidelines. Our analysis highlights the importance of considering wider social and economic consequences of exclusion when developing policies and practices for the management of STEC in children.
Identifiants
pubmed: 39169284
doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19580-w
pii: 10.1186/s12889-024-19580-w
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
2272Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Author(s).
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