Improving participation and engagement with a COVID-19 surveillance programme in an outpatient setting

BMJ Open Quality

article

Callum Wemyss¹  Simon Hobson²  Jill Sweeney³  Pei Rong Chua²  Siti Aishah Binti Mohd Khairi²  Maura Edwards⁴  Jacqueline Burns⁵  Niall McGoldrick⁴  Raymond Braid⁶  Megan Gorman⁶  Suzanne Redmond⁶  Claire Clark⁶  Clare Brown²  Chris Watling⁶  David I Conway²  Shauna Culshaw² 

[1] Department of Oral Surgery , Glasgow Dental Hospital and School;Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow;Department of Paediatric Dentistry , Glasgow Dental Hospital and School;Department of Public Health;Public Health;Public Health Scotland

关键词: Quality improvement;    COVID-19;    Surveys;    Healthcare quality improvement;   

DOI  :  10.1136/bmjoq-2021-001700

学科分类：药学

来源: BMJ Publishing Group

【 摘 要 】

Background On 3 August 2020, Public Health Scotland commenced a prospective surveillance study to monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 among asymptomatic outpatients attending dental clinics across 14 health boards in Scotland.Objectives The primary aim of this quality improvement project was to increase the number of COVID-19 tests carried out in one of the participating sites, Glasgow Dental Hospital and School. The secondary aim was to identify barriers to patient participation and staff engagement when implementing a public health initiative in an outpatient setting.Method A quality improvement working group met weekly to discuss hospital findings, identify drivers and change ideas. Details on reasons for patient non-participation were recorded and questionnaires on project barriers were distributed to staff. In response to findings, rapid interventions were implemented to fast-track increases in the numbers of tests being carried out.Results Over 16 weeks, 972 tests were carried out by Glasgow Dental Hospital and School Secondary Care Services. The number of tests per week increased from 19 (week 1) to 129 (week 16). This compares to a similar ‘control’ site, where the number of tests carried out remained unchanged; 38 (week 1) to 36 (week 16). The most frequent reason given for non-participation was fear that the swab would hurt. For staff, lack of time and forgetting to ask patients were identified as the most significant barriers.Conclusion Public health surveillance programmes can be integrated rapidly into outpatient settings. This project has shown that a quality improvement approach can be successful in integrating such programmes. The key interventions used were staff engagement initiatives and front-line data collection. Implementation barriers were also identified using staff questionnaires.

【 授权许可】

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