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eParticipation: The general public’s perception of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Antibiotic Stewardship Programs.

Jong, Nienke de (2012) eParticipation: The general public’s perception of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Antibiotic Stewardship Programs.

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Abstract:Purpose. MRSA prevalence in the Netherlands is lower than it is in adjacent countries. The Dutch healthcare system is increasingly confronted with patients seeking care abroad, which increases the risk of MRSA-colonization. Patients (and the general public) are a major factor in the transmission of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs). Their cooperation is necessary for effective infection prevention and –control in a cross-border healthcare setting. Effective participation is only possible when patients are well informed and are willing and able to take up an active role in both treatment and prevention. Purpose of this study is to determine what knowledge and skills the general public needs to enable such participation via an ePanel, by including opinions of different stakeholders. Participation via an ePanel is illustrated through the European Patients Empowerment for Customized Solutions ePanel. Methods. A list of items was developed based on existing literature on perception and knowledge of the general public about MRSA and antibiotic resistance. The items were used as input for a Delphi study with clinical microbiologists, infection control professionals, health service organization employees and (former) MRSA-patients. An item was included in the final item list when all but one respondent rated it as being important knowledge for the general public. Remaining items were fed back to the respondents accompanied by the other respondents’ opinions and re-rated. Additionally respondents were asked to suggest additional items and sources of information the general public could use to gather reliable information on MRSA and antibiotics use. Overarching categories of knowledge were suggested and evaluated in the final round. A total of three Delphi-rounds were performed. Results. A total of four clinical microbiologists, five infection control professionals, six health care organization employees and five (former) MRSA-patients participated in the Delphi procedure. After the first round four of 45 items were directly selected for the final item list. In the second round, 102 items on knowledge and information sources were presented to the respondents, of which eight were directly selected. In the third round 84 items were presented to the respondents and 10 were selected for the final item list. A total of four of the 16 overarching categories were selected. Ultimately, a total of 26 items were included in the final item list. Conclusion. It was difficult for the stakeholder groups to reach consensus on what knowledge is important for the general public and where they can find this information. Consensus within each stakeholder group was much higher, which may imply that differences are due to profession or personal experiences of the stakeholder groups. Patients and clinical microbiologists reached within group consensus most often and health service organization employees least often. Gaps between the Delphi study and existing national MRSA- and ASP-guidelines are found, especially for socio-emotional and patient participation items, which were not included in the guidelines. Similarities between the Delphi study and www.mrsa-net.nl were much higher, possibly due to the fact that they are both aimed at informing members of the general public. The stakeholders reached consensus on relatively few information sources. All those information sources require that the general public actively seeks for the information. However, since awareness is limited, an interactive information application should be developed and can be applied via an ePanel. The EPECS ePanel in its current form suffers from generalizability issues and needs further development before it could be used for such purposes.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology MSc (66604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/61623
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