A key part of the patient safety system is how it responds to and learns from safety incidents. To date, there is limited research on understanding system-based approaches to investigating incidents that occur within this complex interacting system.
The aims of this study were to qualitatively explore mental health professionals’ perceptions of patient safety incident investigations; to understand the impact of the transition to systems-based approaches and to explore the influence of different elements of the system on the goals of patient safety.
The qualitative study involved 19 semi-structured interviews with professionals working within the patient safety system across two mental health National Health Service trusts. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Those interviewed identified that a change in approach to incident investigation, from root cause analysis to systems-based, would lead to rigorous investigations that are effectively linked to learning. Over time, this was described as a contributory factor to reducing feelings of blame and positively influencing safety culture. There were considerations of potential negative effects from a systems-based approach, such as the shifting rather than elimination of blame, and the possibility of missing individual poor practice. The findings identify the presence of several interdependencies across the system that could have a positive or negative influence on the outcomes of incident responses.
This study demonstrates that the interdependencies within the system and our limited understanding of safety in mental healthcare introduces complexity and uncertainty to incident investigation outcomes. This is likely to impact on safety incident responses and learning, where acknowledging and evaluating this complexity is likely to reduce any potential negative outcomes that exist.
Adolescent pregnancy is a global issue. Early childbearing is strongly linked to poverty and negative health outcomes, including increased neonatal death risk. This study explores spatial patterns of adolescent pregnancies and neonatal deaths and their association with socioeconomic characteristics.
This population-based study used spatial analysis techniques to investigate the geographical distribution of adolescent pregnancies, socioeconomic characteristics and neonatal mortality rate (NMR).
The 645 municipalities of State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
All live births to mothers residing in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, between 2004 and 2020.
The socioeconomic indicators used were: municipal human development index and per capita income (PCI). Spatial patterns were assessed for spatial autocorrelation (Moran’s I, LISA), and smoothed using local Bayesian estimation. Spearman’s correlation was used to ascertain the relationship between the percentage of live births to adolescent mothers and socioeconomic indexes. This calculation was also undertaken between different maternal age groups of NMR.
The study analysed over 10 million live births, with 14.3% attributed to adolescent mothers. Spatial analysis revealed significant clustering of adolescent pregnancies, strongly associated with lower socioeconomic indicators. NMR also exhibited spatial clustering, particularly after smoothing. Statistically significant differences were observed in PCI medians between high–high and low–low clusters for adolescent births. High and low incidence areas of NMR, both in all maternal ages and stratified by adolescent and non-adolescent mothers, demonstrated considerable overlap.
The results indicated the existence of clustering areas of adolescent pregnancy and neonatal deaths and suggested that the prevalence of births to adolescent mothers is not distributed equally and is higher in lower socioeconomic developed areas.
by Catarina Simões, Diana S. Vasconcelos, Raquel Xavier, Xavier Santos, Catarina Rato, D. James Harris
Fire has long been recognized as an important ecological and evolutionary force in plant communities, but its influence on vertebrate community ecology, particularly regarding predator-prey interactions, remains understudied. This study reveals the impact of wildfires on the diet of Podarcis lusitanicus, a lizard species inhabiting a fire-prone region in the Iberian Peninsula. In order to explore diet variability associated with different local burn histories, we evaluated P. lusitanicus diet across three types of sites in Northern Portugal: those had not burned since 2016, those burned in 2016, and those more recently burned in 2022. Podarcis lusitanicus is a generalist arthropod predator with dietary flexibility. Given the turnover of arthropod species after fire, it is expected to find variations in diet caused by different fire histories, especially between unburned and recently burned sites. From DNA metabarcoding of faecal samples, our study revealed that while prey richness remained unaffected by wildfire regime, significant shifts occurred in diet composition between more recently burned and unburned areas. Specifically, we found that differences in diet composition between these two fire regimes were due to the presence of Tapinoma ants and jumping spiders (Salticus scenicus). These prey were present in the diets of lizards occupying unburned areas, while these were absent in areas burned in 2022. Interestingly, diets in unburned areas and areas burned in 2016 showed no significant differences, highlighting the lizards’ ecological flexibility and the habitat’s resilience over time. The ant species T. topitotum was found in dominance in both burned areas, suggesting that this species may be fire tolerant. In addition, families such as Cicadellidae and Noctuidae were found to be more associated with more recently burned areas. The use of DNA metabarcoding in this study was essential to provide a more detailed and accurate view of predator-prey interactions in ecosystems susceptible to fire, and therefore a better understanding of changes in prey consumption in this fire-adapted ecosystem.Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are essential for evidence-based nursing care. However, the quality of reporting and adherence to methodological standards in Latin American nursing journals remains unclear. This study evaluates the characteristics, reporting quality, and potential risk of bias of RCTs published in Latin American nursing journals.
To assess the reporting compliance and risk of bias of RCTs published in Latin American nursing journals.
Meta-research study.
A comprehensive handsearch of 29 Latin American nursing journals was performed covering publications from 2000 to 2024. Identified RCTs were assessed for adherence to CONSORT reporting guidelines and evaluated for risk of bias. Outcomes were classified using the COMET taxonomy. A descriptive analysis was performed.
A total of 6377 references were screened, identifying 34 eligible RCTs, most published after 2018. The median CONSORT compliance was 19 reported items (IQR 16–22). High compliance (> 90%) was observed in abstract reporting items, study objectives, and participant selection criteria. However, critical methodological features such as randomization procedures, blinding, and protocol registration showed low adherence (< 40%). Risk of bias was mostly rated as having “some concerns”, largely due to insufficient reporting. According to the COMET taxonomy, the most frequently reported outcome domains were “Delivery of care” and “Physical functioning”.
Reporting compliance and risk of bias of RCTs published in Latin American nursing journals presents significant gaps, particularly in key methodological domains. These shortcomings hinder transparency, reproducibility, and integration into evidence synthesis. Strengthening editorial policies and enforcing reporting standards could enhance the quality and reliability of published research in Latin American nursing journals.
Objetivo: Analizar las notificaciones de lesiones de piel en un hospital universitario. Método: Estudio descriptivo, realizado en un hospital universitario, localizado en Salvador, Bahia, Brasil, con datos secundarios de notificaciones de incidentes. Fueron investigadas características sociodemográficas de los pacientes con lesiones de piel y características de las lesiones notificas en los años 2016 y 2017. Los datos fueron recolectados entre los meses de septiembre 2018 y mayo 2019 y el estudio respetó los principios éticos de investigación. Resultados: Fueron notificados 96 casos de lesión de piel. La mayoría fue adquirida en la hospitalización (89,58%), siendo frecuente la lesión por presión (77,08%), en la región sacra o glútea (61,46%), con pérdida de piel (54,17%), en grado leve (89,58%) y que prolongaron la hospitalización (7,29%). Conclusión: A pesar de ser realizada evaluación del riesgo para lesión, en más de la mitad de las notificaciones se observa que el tipo más prevalente fue la lesión por presión.
Objetivo principal: Identificar la prevalencia de los agravios por causas externas en Servicio de Atención Móvil de Urgencia y factores asociados. Metodología: Estudio de datos secundarios, desarrollado a partir de recolección de datos en 2845 boletines de atención. Se utilizó un análisis de modelo de regresión de Poisson. Resultados principales: Los individuos con edad entre 21 y 40 años presentan aumento de 75% en la probabili-dad de sufrieren agravios por causas externas, 54% mayor probabilidad de presentaren una respiración alterada en el examen clínico, 105% mayor riesgo de rechazo de atención y 233% mayor riesgo de no estar en el local. Conclusión principal: Accidentes de transporte y caídas fueron los agravios por causas externas más prevalentes. Los factores asociados fueron: edad entre 21 y 40 años y presentar respiración alterada. Otros factores, también, se mantuvieron asociados por el rechazo en la atención y no estar presente para recibir la atención.
Objetivo: Identificar en la producción científica los tipos de riesgos para enfermidades y agravos para acidentes em trabajadores de la pesca artesanal. Metodología: Revisión integrativa, realizada entre enero y marzo de 2018, por medio de la combinación de los descriptores "Occupational Health" y "Fisheries", en las bases de datos, Medline, LILACS, Scopus, SciELO e internet. Se encontraron 123 artículos. Después de la lectura y evaluación de los mismos, se obtuvo un resultado final para el análisis de 16 artículos. Resultados principales: La mayoría de los estudios se indexaron en la base de datos Medline (56,3%), en el idioma inglés (43,8), con un nivel de evidencia VI (100%). Se constató que los trabajadores de la pesca artesanal están expuestos a riesgos ergonómicos, químicos, físicos y de accidentes. Conclusión: Se constató carencia de publicaciones en el área de la pesca artesanal, inexistencia de publicaciones científicas realizadas por la enfermería y brechas en el conocimiento.
Rev Enferm;41(2): 141-146, feb. 2018. ilus. [Artículo]