Awareness of infection care terms among outpatients and carers in a public health facility: a cross-sectional survey.

Carer Inclusive Infection care Patient Patient engagement

Journal

Wellcome open research
ISSN: 2398-502X
Titre abrégé: Wellcome Open Res
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101696457

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
2023
Historique:
accepted: 02 10 2024
medline: 31 10 2024
pubmed: 31 10 2024
entrez: 31 10 2024
Statut: epublish

Résumé

As healthcare recipients and individuals affected by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), patients and their carers can be engaged in infection prevention and control (IPC) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) initiatives to manage AMR. To effectively participate in these initiatives, patients and carers need to understand general terms used in infection care. We explored awareness of commonly used infection-related terms among patients and carers in the surgical out-patient of a tertiary academic hospital. Self-administered paper survey distributed among out-patients from August to September 2022. Categorical variables were analysed using Chi squared test. Significance was set as p-value of < 0.05. Content analysis identified terms commonly used by patients when talking about infections. Overall, 896 out of 1,269 respondents (response rate 70.6%), with a 1:3 male to female ratio were included. Most respondents were patients (75%), with a minimum of high school education (91.2%) and a surgical history (60.3%). Findings show dissonance between patients' awareness of and healthcare workers' use of infection-care terms, highlighting the need for relatable and accessible terms in infection-care engagement initiatives. More than half of respondents acknowledged that patient engagement responsibility is everyone's, underscoring the need for contextually fit and relevant communication strategies to advance patient engagement and infection awareness.

Sections du résumé

Background UNASSIGNED
As healthcare recipients and individuals affected by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), patients and their carers can be engaged in infection prevention and control (IPC) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) initiatives to manage AMR. To effectively participate in these initiatives, patients and carers need to understand general terms used in infection care. We explored awareness of commonly used infection-related terms among patients and carers in the surgical out-patient of a tertiary academic hospital.
Methods UNASSIGNED
Self-administered paper survey distributed among out-patients from August to September 2022. Categorical variables were analysed using Chi squared test. Significance was set as p-value of < 0.05. Content analysis identified terms commonly used by patients when talking about infections.
Results UNASSIGNED
Overall, 896 out of 1,269 respondents (response rate 70.6%), with a 1:3 male to female ratio were included. Most respondents were patients (75%), with a minimum of high school education (91.2%) and a surgical history (60.3%).
Conclusions UNASSIGNED
Findings show dissonance between patients' awareness of and healthcare workers' use of infection-care terms, highlighting the need for relatable and accessible terms in infection-care engagement initiatives. More than half of respondents acknowledged that patient engagement responsibility is everyone's, underscoring the need for contextually fit and relevant communication strategies to advance patient engagement and infection awareness.

Identifiants

DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.20162.2 PMID: 39478989 PMC: PMC11523555
pubmed: 39478989
doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.20162.2
pmc: PMC11523555
doi:

Banques de données

figshare
['10.6084/m9.figshare.24216777']

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Pagination

574

Informations de copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Useh ER et al.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

No competing interests were disclosed.

Auteurs

Ebruphiyo Ruth Useh (ER)

School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.
ORCID: 0000-0001-7956-2898

Bongeka Mfeketo (B)

Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.
ORCID: 0009-0008-5828-1120

Okuhle Mbengo (O)

AFDA Film School, Cape Town, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.

Innocent Karangwa (I)

Statistical Consulting Unit, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7700, South Africa.

Timothy Pennel (T)

Chris Barnard Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.

Adam Boutall (A)

Colorectal Unit, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.

Salome Maswime (S)

Global Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.

Linda Pohl (L)

Acute Care Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.

Esmita Charani (E)

Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England, L3 5TR, UK.
ORCID: 0000-0002-5938-1202

Marc Mendelson (M)

Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.
ORCID: 0000-0001-6668-3893

Oluchi Mbamalu (O)

Division of Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7925, South Africa.

Classifications MeSH