Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Patient And Patient Relative Complaints From The Perspective Of Patient Rights, Hilal Kamer, Öznur Karaoğlu, Oya Sancar

Patient Experience Journal

This study seeks to analyze patient and patient-relative grievances from a patient rights standpoint and to pinpoint significant issues in healthcare service provision. A qualitative research design was utilized, and data were gathered via an online grievance forum. The analysis encompassed 1,731 complaints from patients and their relatives. Concurrent thematic and content analysis methodologies were employed, resulting in the development of themes and subthemes derived from the Turkish Patient Rights Regulation. All analyses were performed utilizing NVivo software. The results reveal that grievances were mostly focused on the issue of the Right to Access Health Services. Principal concerns encompassed insufficient …

Beyond Survival: A Qualitative Study Of Recovery Barriers And Facilitators Following Emergency Laparotomy, Christie L Martin, Samuel Sn Theesfeld, Genevieve B Melton, Elizabeth C Wick, Lindsay L Welton, Samuel E O'Brien, Miranda K Considine, Jenna L Marquard

Patient Experience Journal

This mixed-methods study aimed to identify multi-level barriers, facilitators, and actionable interventions for recovery following emergency laparotomy, a high-acuity event where traditional clinical metrics often fail to capture the nuances of patients' lived experience during convalescence. We conducted semi-structured interviews and surveys with 15 adults recovering from emergency laparotomy and subsequently completed human-in-the-loop AI-assisted thematic analysis. Findings reveal a ``satisfaction paradox'': despite 93.4% satisfaction with acute hospital care, patients experienced a protracted recovery marked by significant distress across 5 themes: (1) Quality and Coordination of Care; (2) Life Impact and Financial Burden; (3) Patient Education and Information Modalities; (4) Environmental …

Centering Torture Survivor Voices From Their Experiences, Linda Piwowarczyk, Nandini Agarwal, Kathryn Price, Dmitrii Krivorotko, Arslan Kasimov, Alexandra Brinker, Suzanne Wilson, Salma Amin, Tithi D. Baul

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Human rights violations persist globally, with torture routinely utilized as a mechanism to repress democratic expression and silence social movements. The Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR) is a hospital-based program providing services to refugees, survivors of torture (SOT), and asylum seekers. Emerging evidence suggests that circumstances encountered after resettlement may exert a greater traumatogenic effect than those experienced in the country of origin or along the migration journey. We performed a qualitative needs assessment interviewing 22 randomly selected patients who received BCRHHR services at least twice between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. SOT …

Exploring Lived Experiences To Gain Insight Into The Support Needs Of People Following Stoma Surgery: A Qualitative Study, Julia Kittscha, Val Wilson, Vida Bliokas, Greg Fairbrother

Patient Experience Journal

Aim To describe the supports that are important to people in the early weeks after stoma surgery and explore participants' thoughts and feelings about these supports. Design A consumer-researcher co-design approach was used to design and undertake a qualitative patient interview study among people who have had stoma surgery. People who had an existing stoma were trained as co-researchers to work alongside the clinician researcher. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with consenting participants 6-8 weeks after stoma surgery. Thematic data analysis was conducted by the research team using Braun, Clarke\citealpbib1 six step-phase reflexive thematic analysis, members of the team initially …

What Matters To Patients When Preparing For A Colonoscopy: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Needs And Worry, Louise Bang Grode, Anne Højager Nielsen, Anette Viftrup, Lene Lehmkuhl, Hejdi Gamst-Jensen, Brigitta R Villumsen, Malene Kaas Larsen, Lone Dragnes Brix

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Colonoscopy is essential for diagnosing, treating, and preventing colorectal cancer, and many patients experience considerable procedure worry. Limited evidence exists on which aspects of preparation and the procedure matter most to patients or how these relate to their Degree-of-Worry (DOW). Understanding these factors is important for improving patient readiness and care quality. This study explores what matters to patients when preparing for colonoscopy, including how they prepare, their perceived readiness, and their DOW. Method: A flash-mob study with a convergent mixed methods was conducted, collecting quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously across multiple sites. Results: Among 203 patients completing the …

What Patients Wear Matters: Evidence On Adaptive Hospital Wear, Dignity, And Care Experience, Akhilesh Kumar, Sukhvir Singh

Patient Experience Journal

Traditional hospital gowns can compromise dignity, comfort, and care efficiency by prioritizing procedural access over the lived experience of hospitalization. This narrative review synthesizes interdisciplinary literature published between 2000 and 2025 across patient experience research, nursing, medical textiles, apparel design, and disability studies, with searches conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Across settings, evidence indicates that patient-centered hospital wear—using breathable and antimicrobial textiles, ergonomic closure systems (eg, hook-and-loop, magnetic snaps, modular access flaps), and inclusive sizing—can reduce unwanted exposure, improve perceived dignity and autonomy, simplify dressing for patients and caregivers, and support clinical access when aligned with …

Unlocking Healthcare Navigation: Key Tasks, Challenges, And Facilitators – A Narrative Review, John Zaki

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Healthcare is a complex and costly system that often creates distressing experiences for individuals managing their own or their family's health. Introduced in the United States around 1990 to reduce healthcare disparities, healthcare navigation aims to support patients and caregivers in navigating healthcare systems effectively and efficiently. This review explores the scope and importance of healthcare navigation services across clinical settings. Methods: This narrative review was informed by a broader literature search conducted as part of the author's thesis work, which included database searches, grey literature exploration, and manual screening of key medical journals. However, all studies that met …

Navigating Emergency Care: Understanding Older Adults' Experiences At The Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Nilany Thanabalasinham, Susan A. Bartels, Melanie Walker

Patient Experience Journal

Objectives: Older adults (65+) in Ontario have the highest emergency department (ED) visit rates, yet often face delayed care and unmet healthcare needs. This study investigates how older adults perceive and navigate their ED care experiences at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), compared to younger adults and identifies factors driving their positive and negative care experiences. Methods: A secondary mixed-methods analysis was conducted using cross-sectional data on ED care experiences at the KHSC. Qualitative data included anonymously recorded micronarratives describing participants' ED experiences. Quantitative data included patients' numerical interpretations of their shared experiences through sensemaking triad questions. Quantitative descriptive …

Partnering With Patients: Perspectives Of Doctors, Nurses, And Managers Regarding Patient Participation And Feedback In Hospital Settings In Jamaica, Camelia Thompson, Desmalee Holder Nevins, Dawn Walters, Cameal Chin-Bailey, Elon Thompson, Minerva Thame, Kenneth James

Patient Experience Journal

This study assesses the perspective of doctors and nurses regarding participation of patients in care delivery and explores perspectives of managers on patient feedback mechanisms in two Jamaican hospitals. A mixed-methods convergent parallel design study was employed. The quantitative component involved a cross-sectional survey of 328 doctors and nurses, selected through stratified random sampling, using a self-administered questionnaire assessing patient participation. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 17 senior managers, which were analyzed thematically. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated during interpretation. The majority of respondents (90.8%) reported that they very often or always respected and encouraged patient …

Understanding Patient And Family Experience In Pediatric Hemato-Oncology: A Cross-Sectional Study From Morocco, Boujemaa El Marnissi, Sanae Bouramdane, Moussa Benboubker, Fouad Abbas, Salma Chahid, Jalal Dahmani, Khalid Moubtahij, Kenza Elmkadem, Sarra Benmiloud

Patient Experience Journal

Background. Patient- and family-reported experience is a vital indicator of healthcare quality, particularly in pediatric hematology-oncology. This study assessed patient- and family-reported experience and identified its sociodemographic, clinical, and organizational determinants in a newly established pediatric hemato-oncology department of a tertiary university hospital in Morocco. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2023 and January 2024. Experience was assessed using a validated multidimensional questionnaire covering reception and access, information and communication, human and relational aspects of care, therapeutic management and pain control, accommodation conditions, and logistical and administrative processes. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected; bivariate analyses and multivariate …

Challenges Of Family Members Of Admitted Patients In Relationship With Medical Staff In Kurdistan Region: Cross-Sectional Study, Khalid Khudhur Faris, Zuhair Rushdi Mustafa, Hadi Haji Hussain, Ibrahim Baker Khudida, Deldar Morad Abdulah

Patient Experience Journal

Families often play a significant role in advocating for and supporting their patients during illness or hospitalization. Understanding the challenges between family members of patients and medical staff is crucial for improving communication, patient care, and the overall healthcare experience. This study aimed to investigate and understand the challenges and difficulties experienced by family members when dealing with the medical staff. This cross-sectional study conducted at a local teaching hospital in Kurdistan Region. A total of 400 family members of admitted patients from various medical departments were included in this study. Companions reported generally positive interactions with healthcare providers (HCPs). …

Parallel Realities: A Narrative Review Of Differences Between Patients And Their Care Providers, Umair Majid, Hazeema Haq, Ziyad Yahmad

Patient Experience Journal

Differences in how patients and healthcare providers perceive, experience, and deliver care can undermine patient-centered care and health outcomes. Yet, few syntheses have examined these divergences as a primary focus. This narrative review aimed to identify and synthesize evidence on the differences between patients and their providers in terms of priorities, expectations, and experiences of care, and to explore how these differences can potentially influence relationships and outcomes. A database search was conducted to identify English-language studies published from January 2019 to January 2025 that included both patients and providers in the same sample and compared their perspectives. Data from …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Familial Caregivers To Individuals With Prader-Willi Syndrome: The Impact Of Caregiver Burden, Louisa Williams, Eden Morley

Patient Experience Journal

Caregiver burden (CB) is an under-researched topic among familial caregivers (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents) supporting someone with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). CB is defined as the physical and mental toll resulting from caring for someone with additional needs, which has not yet been explored in PWS familial caregivers. PWS causes hyperphagia (insatiable hunger) and violent behaviours that can be hard to manage. Research demonstrates primary caregivers have a decreased quality of life and increased mental health (MH) problems, with quantitative literature highlighting the risk of CB. This study aimed to qualitatively highlight the experiences of CB in familial caregivers …

Information Continuity And Experiences Of Mental Healthcare: A Conceptual Framework, Timothy Kariotis, Megan Prictor, Kathleen Gray, Shanton Chang

Patient Experience Journal

Objectives: Information continuity is a key element of continuity of care and service users' experience of care. However, models of continuity of care have not considered how to operationalise information continuity and balance it with service users' privacy concerns. The aim of this paper was to develop a conceptual framework of the information practices that contribute to service users' experience of information continuity in the mental healthcare system. Methods: We undertook a narrative review to identify studies on service users' experiences of mental healthcare and analysed them using a thematic synthesis method to identify the information practices of care professionals …

Health Information For Patients And Families: Sources, Data Types, And Tools For Evaluating Accessibility, Preeti Pandey, Richard I. Zraick, Vinaya Manchaiah

Patient Experience Journal

This review summarizes key sources and formats of health information for patients and families, and outlines tools used to evaluate their accessibility. Health information appears across online and offline platforms in formats such as text, images, and video. Evaluation tools assess dimensions like readability, accuracy, quality, suitability, and actionability, though they vary in validity and scope. This paper offers guidance for healthcare professionals and researchers aiming to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of patient-facing health materials.

When Decision-Making Styles Do Not Predict Communication Preferences: Rethinking Personalization In Healthcare Experience, Victoria Sze Min Ekstrom

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Healthcare systems increasingly attempt to personalize risk communication by matching messages to patients' decision-making styles. This approach is resource intensive, yet evidence that it improves patient experience or decision quality remains limited. Methods: We conducted a cross-cultural experimental study with adults from the UK (n=330, recruited via Prolific) and Singapore (n=220, recruited via professional networks). Participants viewed three healthcare scenarios with risks of 1%, 10%, and 20%, presented in either positive (``99% no complications'') or negative (``1% complications'') frames displayed side-by-side in randomized order. Decision-making styles were assessed using the Control Preferences Scale, categorizing participants as information-seeking, shared decision-making, …

Reflections On Factors That Led To A Dehydration Hospitalization: Lived Experience To Inform Systems Change For Nursing Home Residents, Lucas Kandia, Jodi Dunmeyer Stookey

Patient Experience Journal

This personal narrative describes a family's journey through a preventable dehydration crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. When a 93-year-old nursing home resident tested positive for COVID-19, her family prepared for the worst. Instead, she nearly died from severe dehydration, not the virus, and was hospitalized for hypovolemic shock, only to be discharged four and a half days later, still COVID-positive, having recovered with rehydration alone. Medical documentation reveals deterioration from inadequate oral intake (300 mL per day) to pre-shock hypotension to frank shock (72/56 mmHg at 17:20), while oxygen saturation remained normal throughout. The admission diagnosis hierarchy (Acute Kidney Injury, …

15 October 2021: Living With The Consequences Of A Cardiac Event — A Patient Perspective, Bruce H. Knox

Patient Experience Journal

This first-person narrative explores the long-term consequences of a rare but catastrophic complication during a premature ventricular contraction (PVC) ablation, resulting in left ventricular rupture, acute cardiac tamponade, and emergency open-heart surgery. While the surgical intervention was life-saving, the subsequent years were marked by profound changes in autonomic function, multisystem instability, and a sustained alteration in quality of life. The account reflects on living with cardiac autonomic vulnerability before the event, the immediate crisis, and the prolonged recovery that followed—characterized not by restoration, but by renegotiation of capacity, identity, and participation. Particular emphasis is placed on the experience of navigating …

The Phantom Fifth Chair Of Patient Experience, Kathy Saldana

Patient Experience Journal

Over the past three years, the author has openly shared her journey as a certified patient experience professional facing triple negative breast cancer. The firsthand gravity of treatment became instantly apparent to her in the chemo chair. Resisting the temptation to crumble under the fear of it, she chose to view treatment as an unwanted yet precious opportunity to study her profession of patient experience from a deeply personal space. Determined not to waste the difficult long-term experience of treatment, she was compelled to write and speak about her convictions regarding the necessity of honoring patients by soliciting, documenting, believing, …

More Than A Buzzword: Why Trauma-Informed Care Needs Widespread Practice, Christine Lee Frost

Patient Experience Journal

This narrative illustrates the personal story about the difficulty of obtaining a diagnosis for endometriosis. As someone who endured a chaotic childhood, I struggled with complex trauma and medical issues for decades without understanding the connection between the two. In this narrative, I make a case for practicing trauma-informed care across the healthcare industry, and detail the statistics that show why it's so vital. While online communities can make ``trauma-informed care'' feel like just another trendy term, it's a concept with an abundance of data to back up the necessity for it. In addition to people living with mental illness, …

Consumer, Customer, Or Patient?... It's All About Context, Sven Gierlinger

Patient Experience Journal

Today's healthcare industry is at a pivotal juncture, navigating the complex intersection of traditional care delivery with rapidly evolving consumer expectations and unprecedented transparency. This personal narrative is intended to provide a nuanced, experience-driven framework for understanding the distinct yet interconnected roles of ``consumer,'' ``customer,'' and ``patient'' - vital for healthcare organizations striving to build trust and loyalty.

Human-Centered Quality: Reframing Quality Around What Matters To People, Vita Steina, Jason Wolf

Patient Experience Journal

Each encounter one has in healthcare is an experience. It is everything someone lives through. It is what they remember and all they perceive. It is their lasting story. When we see the experience one has in healthcare from that lens, then all the components that shape that story are parts of their experience. From this perspective, for as much as the clinical framing of experience as metrics on a survey has seen experience identified as a dimension of quality, we would suggest the opposite. Quality is but one part of the experience someone has in healthcare today. It is …

Affordability: A Critical Issue At The Heart Of Human Experience, Jason A. Wolf

Patient Experience Journal

Affordability is a human experience issue. One that reaches well beyond the edges of healthcare. In our current global economy, rising costs dominate the headlines. They weigh heavily on the pocketbooks of families around the world. Affordability may be no more prevalent than in healthcare. It too is the place where it may have the most significant and lasting impact.If we are willing to think of affordability as an experience issue, we can begin to address the solution in new ways. But it will require untangling years of wiring of how healthcare has operated to rewire what it can be. …

Reply To The Letter: Comments On “Intravenous Atropine In Reducing Reperfusion Arrhythmias, Conduction Abnormalities, And Hypotension In Inferior St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention”, Mohamed Ismail Rashed, Islam Mahmoud Bastawy, Ahmed Lotfy Mohamed, Mohamed Gamaleldin Elewa

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

No abstract provided.

Comment On Intravenous Atropine In Reducing Reperfusion Arrhythmias, Conduction Abnormalities, And Hypotension In Inferior St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Azeen Qaisar

Journal of the Saudi Heart Association

No abstract provided.

Short-Term Clinical Outcomes Of Intranasal Stem Cell–Derived Extracellular Vesicles In Small Dogs With Tracheal Collapse: A Pilot Study, Won-Joung Jaung, Gyo-Bin Choo, Bum-Kyu Choi, Ji-Hee Park, Ji-Min Yu, Hyun-Keun Oh, Jae-Bong Moon, Ju-Hyun An

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Tracheal collapse is a common chronic airway disease in small-breed dogs, and conventional medical management often provides limited long-term clinical improvement. Stem cell–derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have recently emerged as a promising cell-free therapeutic approach because of their anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and preliminary clinical effects of intranasal administration of mesenchymal stem cell–derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) in dogs with naturally occurring tracheal collapse. Ten client-owned small-breed dogs diagnosed with tracheal collapse were enrolled in this pilot study. MSC-EVs were administered intranasally as a single dose. Clinical evaluations were performed at baseline and at …

Stress In Educational Context, Sarah Matthews

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

This paper examines stress within educational contexts as a complex, relational, and systemic experience rather than solely a negative condition. Drawing on research related to stress perception, coping, leadership, trauma, and resource access, the paper highlights how stress affects educators, students, and families across early childhood and special education settings. Key themes include the role of perception in shaping stress responses, the impact of resource availability and socioeconomic factors, the transfer of stress within classroom environments, and the influence of leadership and organizational stability on teacher and student well-being. Using an ecological framework, the paper emphasizes that stress operates across …

Play As Research: What Teachers Can Learn By Watching Children Investigate, Kailey Price

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

This article invites educators to view children's play through the lens of play as research. Through the story of a classroom rock investigation and other everyday examples, it highlights how children naturally ask questions, test ideas, solve problems, and build understanding through play. Rather than seeing play as a break from learning, educators can learn to recognize the inquiry already taking place in moments such as digging in dirt, collecting natural materials, building structures, or investigating puddles after rain. The article introduces three simple reflection questions teachers can use to better understand children's thinking. It also describes practical ways to …

The Effects Of Transportation Distribution On Dry Ice Insulated Containers' Thermal Performance, Edmund Tang

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

This study builds upon methodologies established in a 2024 investigation of the combined effects of physical distribution stresses and thermal environments on cold chain packaging performance. Prior results showed that moisture-resistant gel packs generally maintained a vaccine storage range of +2°C to +8°C. However, when exposed to extreme combined stresses, thermal performance degradation of up to 13.5% was observed. The present work applies a similar experimental framework to transportation systems that rely on dry ice as the primary cooling medium, addressing the distinct challenges associated with ultra-cold distribution.

Pharmaceutical products requiring dry ice are highly temperature-sensitive and vulnerable to performance …

The Buck Effect In Goats: A Review Of Neuroendocrine Mechanisms, Modulating Factors, And Applications In Reproductive Management, Nitira Anakkul, Sopita Suttikrai, Ratree Jintana, Theerawat Swangchan-Uthai

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The male effect (buck effect) is a sustainable, hormone-free biostimulation strategy in caprine reproduction, in which introducing sexually active bucks to seasonally anestrous does increases luteinizing hormone (LH) pulse frequency, thereby stimulating folliculogenesis and ovulation. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the sensory, neuroendocrine, breed-related, and management factors governing male biostimulation in goats (Capra hircus). Olfactory signals, including the identified primer pheromone 4-ethyloctanal, are perceived through the main and accessory olfactory systems and act together with visual, auditory, and tactile cues. These sensory inputs activate the hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse generator probably through the medial amygdala …