Background: Current clinical practice is based on the principles of effi cacy, appropriateness, effi ciency, quality and safety. Compliance with these tenets requires experienced medical and nurse staff, and active participation of patients and their families to the planned therapeutic program. In order to match patients’ expectations on quality and safety of care and spur active participation to the transplant care process, we set up an integrated, multiphase, multidisciplinary care program compliant with the HPH initiative and devoted to liver transplant (LT) candidates, engrafted patients, and their families: the “Non Sei Solo” care program (You Are Not Alone). Materials and methods: The basic principle of the care program was that, in order to provide effi cient and effective education to their patients, health care professionals need to learn how to teach and what to teach, acquire successful communication skills and monitor the process of education. Results: The methodology encompassed fi ve distinct phases: phase 1 consisted of exploration of patients’ needs, by means of a questionnaire devoted to waitlisted and engrafted patients and their care givers, phase 2 consisted of creation of 16 patient-oriented educational brochures directed to patients and their families. Once created, the educational brochures were presented, discussed and amended during a consensus meeting involving all transplant nurses and physicians (phase 3). In order to acquire the necessary skills and ease communication with patients, the transplant nurses, physicians, surgeons and anesthesiologists attended a six-month counseling course under the tutorship of an expert counselor phase 4. Finally, in June 2007 the program started offi cially with monthly meetings with patients and their families, guided hospital tours on patients’ request, and activation of a toll-free phone number to provide support to patients and answer their questions (Phase 5). Conclusions: Given the complexity of the LT care process, patients are often in demand of thorough medical information, as well as psychological support, in order to be prepared to tackle the criticalities related to the transplant procedure. There is public awareness that such an approach proves useful in meeting patients demands on quality and safety of care and might also improve adherence to the therapeutic plan, with a favorable impact on both patients’ and graft outcome.
You Are Not Alone: the Health Promoting Hospital care program for liver transplantation
De Simone P;Filipponi F
2008-01-01
Abstract
Background: Current clinical practice is based on the principles of effi cacy, appropriateness, effi ciency, quality and safety. Compliance with these tenets requires experienced medical and nurse staff, and active participation of patients and their families to the planned therapeutic program. In order to match patients’ expectations on quality and safety of care and spur active participation to the transplant care process, we set up an integrated, multiphase, multidisciplinary care program compliant with the HPH initiative and devoted to liver transplant (LT) candidates, engrafted patients, and their families: the “Non Sei Solo” care program (You Are Not Alone). Materials and methods: The basic principle of the care program was that, in order to provide effi cient and effective education to their patients, health care professionals need to learn how to teach and what to teach, acquire successful communication skills and monitor the process of education. Results: The methodology encompassed fi ve distinct phases: phase 1 consisted of exploration of patients’ needs, by means of a questionnaire devoted to waitlisted and engrafted patients and their care givers, phase 2 consisted of creation of 16 patient-oriented educational brochures directed to patients and their families. Once created, the educational brochures were presented, discussed and amended during a consensus meeting involving all transplant nurses and physicians (phase 3). In order to acquire the necessary skills and ease communication with patients, the transplant nurses, physicians, surgeons and anesthesiologists attended a six-month counseling course under the tutorship of an expert counselor phase 4. Finally, in June 2007 the program started offi cially with monthly meetings with patients and their families, guided hospital tours on patients’ request, and activation of a toll-free phone number to provide support to patients and answer their questions (Phase 5). Conclusions: Given the complexity of the LT care process, patients are often in demand of thorough medical information, as well as psychological support, in order to be prepared to tackle the criticalities related to the transplant procedure. There is public awareness that such an approach proves useful in meeting patients demands on quality and safety of care and might also improve adherence to the therapeutic plan, with a favorable impact on both patients’ and graft outcome.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
