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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Communication and Informatics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 February 2021) | Viewed by 33452

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Dr. Alessandra Solari

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Unit of Neuroepidemiology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: patient-reported outcome measures; shared decision making; complex interventions
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will publish a thematic series of high-quality articles on key topics in health communication. Effective communication is essential to successful practice at every level of the health system. All stakeholders are involved: public and private institutions, healthcare professionals, industries, associations, and, above all, citizens. The spread of new information technologies, the adoption of health quality measurements and value-based rewards, as well as the requests of the patient community to promote shared decision-making offer new opportunities. If your paper is well prepared and approved for further publication by the academic editors, you will benefit from a publication discount.

Dr. Alessandra Solari
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Mass media
Interpersonal communication
Campaigns
Social media
Mobile Health
Social and behavior change communication
Social marketing
Health literacy
Risk communication
Shared decision-making

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 733 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Knowledge and Practices of Community Pharmacists in Topical Dermatological Treatments

by Ana Teixeira, Maribel Teixeira, Maria Teresa Herdeiro, Viviana Vasconcelos, Rita Correia, Maria Fernanda Bahia, Isabel F. Almeida, Diogo Guedes Vidal, Hélder Fernando Pedrosa e Sousa, Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis and Vera Almeida

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(6), 2928; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062928 - 12 Mar 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3458

Abstract

The connection between pharmacists’ knowledge and practice on the provided information to patients about dermatoses and their treatment is insufficiently characterized. Furthermore, pharmacists’ contributions in counselling and in promoting adherence to topical treatment is not fully understood. This study has three main objectives. It aims to identify the knowledge and practices of pharmacists about dermatoses and their treatment, and to compare the perspective of pharmacists with that of patients regarding treatment information, with the future goal of establishing guidelines on the communication of dosage regimen instructions to dermatological patients and promotion of adherence to treatment, filling a gap. A cross-sectional, exploratory, and descriptive study was carried out. Based on experts’ prior knowledge and extensive collected literature information, two questionnaire protocols, one for pharmacists and another one for patients, were designed. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were carried out in relation to the pharmacists’ questionnaire for instrument validation. The results indicate that knowledge of pharmacists regarding dermatoses and their treatment is considered acceptable. Most of the pharmacists were reported to provide information to patients. Oppositely, patients reported not to have receive it. This is an important issue because pharmacists play a primary role in the management of several diseases. As non-adherence can be triggered by poor understanding of the dosing instructions, pharmacists’ communication practices play an important role in improving this hinderance. Results from this study identified pharmacist–patient communication gaps, so the development of guidelines to improve the transmission of clear dosage regimen instructions and knowledge about patient’s disease are of paramount importance. Training programs for continuous education of pharmacist should be implemented to solve the identified communication problems found in this study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Health Communication)

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17 pages, 322 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Is Organizational Communication Climate a Precondition for Patient-Centered Care? Insights from a Key Informant Survey of Various Health and Social Care Organizations

by Kira Isabel Hower, Vera Vennedey, Hendrik Ansgar Hillen, Stephanie Stock, Ludwig Kuntz, Holger Pfaff, Timo-Kolja Pförtner, Isabelle Scholl and Lena Ansmann

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(21), 8074; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218074 - 2 Nov 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4172

Abstract

Health and social care organizations are under pressure of organizing care around patients’ needs and preferences while complying with regulatory frameworks and constraint resources. To implement patient-centered care in health and social care organizations successfully, particular organizational preconditions need to be considered. Findings on the implementation of patient-centered care and its preconditions are rare and insufficiently account for the organizational context to explain differences. This study examines the implementation status of patient-centered care in diverse health and social care organizations and analyzes the communication climate as a precondition of successful implementation. In a cross-sectional postal key informant survey, decision makers in the highest leading positions from six different types of health and social care organizations in Cologne, Germany, were surveyed using a paper–pencil questionnaire. Patient-centered care implementation was operationalized by three categories (principles, activities, and enablers) including 15 dimensions. Organizational communication climate was operationalized by aspects of open and constructive communication, cooperation, and inclusion. Out of 1790 contacted organizations, 237 participated. In the analyses, 215 complete datasets were included. Descriptive analyses, Kruskal–Wallis test, post hoc pair-wise test, and linear regression modeling were performed. Results show that the implementation status of patient-centered care was perceived as high but differed between the various types of organizations and in terms of patient-centered care categories. Organizational communication climate was significantly associated with the implementation of patient-centered care. Especially in organizations with a higher number of employees, strategies to create a positive communication climate are needed to create a precondition for patient-centered care. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Health Communication)

16 pages, 649 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Greater Engagement with Health Information Is Associated with Adoption and Maintenance of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours in People with MS

by Xin Lin, Maggie Yu, George A. Jelinek, Steve Simpson-Yap, Sandra Neate and Nupur Nag

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(16), 5935; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165935 - 15 Aug 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4880

Abstract

Health communication offers an important means for patients to make informed decisions for illness self-management. We assessed how the level of engagement with selected health information at baseline is associated with the adoption and maintenance of lifestyle behaviours at a 5-year follow-up in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Non-engagers were compared to engagers of information delivered online and print (medium), and with engagers who additionally attended a live-in workshop (high). Engagement was assessed against lifestyle behaviours by log-binomial regression. Information engagers had higher education, and were less likely to have severe disability, clinically significant fatigue, or obesity. Medium and high baseline engagement was associated with adopting healthy behaviours for omega 3 supplementation (RR = 1.70; 95%CI: 1.02–2.84), physical activity (RR = 2.16; 95%CI: 1.03–4.55), and dairy non-consumption (RR = 3.98; 95%CI: 1.85–8.56) at 5 years; associations were stronger among high engagers. Only high baseline engagement was associated with maintaining behaviours from baseline to 5 years, specifically for omega-3 (RR = 1.26; 95%CI: 1.06–1.49) and vitamin D supplementation (RR = 1.26; 95%CI: 1.04–1.54) and dairy non-consumption (RR = 1.47; 95%CI: 1.03–2.10). Health communication that includes face-to-face information delivery and practical tools for implementation in daily living may be optimal for adopting and maintaining lifestyle behaviours in people with MS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Health Communication)

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27 pages, 2641 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effectiveness and Efficiency of Persuasive Space Graphics (PSG) in Motivating UK Primary School Children’s Hand Hygiene

by Sophie Rutter, Catherine Stones, Jane Wood, Colin Macduff and Margarita Gomez-Escalada

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(7), 2351; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072351 - 31 Mar 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4587

Abstract

Good hand hygiene is necessary to control and prevent infections, but many children do not adequately wash their hands. While there are classroom communications targeted at children, the toilet space, the location of many hand hygiene activities, is neglected. This paper describes an initial evaluation of “123” persuasive space graphics (images and messages integrated within an architectural environment that encourage specific actions). The effectiveness (whether hand hygiene improves) and efficiency (the ease with which a setting can adopt and implement an intervention) is evaluated in three UK schools and one museum. Five evaluations (participant demographic, handwashing frequency, handwashing quality, design persuasiveness, stakeholder views) were conducted. In the school settings, persuasive space graphics increased the quality and frequency of handwashing. In the museum setting, frequency of handwashing slightly increased. In all settings children found the graphics persuasive, and stakeholders also believed them to be effective. Stakeholders considered persuasive space graphics a low-cost and time-efficient way to communicate. It can be concluded that persuasive space graphics are effective in increasing hand hygiene, particularly in school settings where children have a longer exposure to the graphics. Persuasive space graphics are also an efficient low-cost means of communicating hand hygiene. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Health Communication)

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13 pages, 849 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Mediating Role of the Patient Health Engagement Model on the Relationship Between Patient Perceived Autonomy Supportive Healthcare Climate and Health Literacy Skills

by Serena Barello, Lorenzo Palamenghi and Guendalina Graffigna

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(5), 1741; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051741 - 7 Mar 2020

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 7185

Abstract

Individuals with low health literacy (HL) are known to have poorer health outcomes and to have higher mortality rates compared to individuals with higher HL; hence, the improvement of HL is a key outcome in modern healthcare systems. Healthcare providers are therefore asked to support patients in becoming more and more engaged in their healthcare, thus augmenting their literacy skills. Our main hypothesis is that the well-known relationship between patients’ perceived autonomy supportive healthcare climate and HL skills is mediated by the Patient Health Engagement Model (PHE-model) which describes the patients’ progressive maturation of a psychological readiness to become active players in their healthcare. The purpose of this study was to formulate a hypothetical structural equation model (SEM) linking an autonomy-supportive healthcare climate to PHE-model and HL. A cross-sectional survey design was employed involving 1007 Italian chronic patients. The hypothetical model was tested using SEM to verify the hypothesized mediation of the PHE-model between autonomy-supportive healthcare climate and HL. Results show that the theoretical model has a good fit indexes and that PHE-model fully mediates the relationship between autonomy-supportive healthcare climate and HL. This finding suggests healthcare systems to implement a new paradigm where patients are supported to play an autonomous role in their own healthcare. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Health Communication)

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11 pages, 320 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Descriptive Epidemiology of Safety Events at an Academic Medical Center

by Alexandre R. Marra, Abdullah Algwizani, Mohammed Alzunitan, Theresa M. H. Brennan and Michael B. Edmond

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(1), 353; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010353 - 4 Jan 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4368

Abstract

Background: Adverse safety events in healthcare are of great concern, and despite an increasing focus on the prevention of error and harm mitigation, the epidemiology of safety events remains incomplete. Methods: We performed an analysis of all reported safety events in an academic medical center using a voluntary incident reporting surveillance system for patient safety. Safety events were classified as: serious (reached the patient and resulted in moderate to severe harm or death); precursor (reached the patient and resulted in minimal or no detectable harm); and near miss (did not reach the patient). Results: During a three-year period, there were 31,817 events reported. Most of the safety events were precursor safety events (reached the patient and resulted in minimal harm or no detectable harm), corresponding to 77.3%. Near misses accounted for 10.8%, and unsafe conditions for 11.8%. The number of reported serious safety events was low, accounting for only 0.1% of all safety events. Conclusions: The reports analysis of these events should lead to a better understanding of risks in patient care and ways to mitigate it. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Health Communication)

15 pages, 373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Psychometric Evaluation of the ‘Clinical Communication Self-Efficacy Toolkit’

by José Manuel Hernández-Padilla, Alda Elena Cortés-Rodríguez, José Granero-Molina, Cayetano Fernández-Sola, Matías Correa-Casado, Isabel María Fernández-Medina and María Mar López-Rodríguez

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(22), 4534; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224534 - 16 Nov 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3928

Abstract

Nursing students experience difficulties when communicating in clinical practice. Their self-efficacy in clinical communication should be explored as part of their competence assessment before they are exposed to real human interactions in the clinical setting. The aim of this study was to design and psychometrically evaluate a toolkit to comprehensively assess nursing students’ self-efficacy in clinical communication. The study followed an observational cross-sectional design. A sample of 365 nursing students participated in the study. The ‘Clinical Communication Self-Efficacy Toolkit’ (CC-SET) was comprised of three tools: the ‘Patient-Centered Communication Self-efficacy Scale’ (PCC-SES), the ‘Patient clinical Information Exchange and interprofessional communication Self-Efficacy Scale’ (PIE-SES), and the ‘Intrapersonal communication and Self-Reflection Self-Efficacy Scale’ (ISR-SES). The tools’ reliability, validity (content, criterion, and construct) and usability were rigorously tested. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the three tools comprising the CC-SET was very high and demonstrated their excellent reliability (PCC-SES = 0.93; PIE-SES = 0.87; ISR-SES = 0.86). The three tools evidenced to have excellent content validity (scales’ content validity index > 0.95) and very good criterion validity. Construct validity analysis demonstrated that the PCC-SES, PIE-SES, and ISR-SES have a clear and theoretically-congruent structure. The CC-SET is a comprehensive toolkit that allows the assessment of nursing students’ self-efficacy in interpersonal, interprofessional, and intrapersonal communication. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Health Communication)

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