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Best Practice: Proposals for Preparing Pandemics Governance

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A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Coronaviruses (CoV) and COVID-19 Pandemic".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 8989

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Vittoradolfo Tambone

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Guest Editor

Research Unit of Bioethics and Humanities, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Interests: clinical bioethics; applied ethics and new technologies; politics and public health

Dr. Laura Campanozzi

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Guest Editor

Research Unit of Bioethics and Humanities, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Interests: clinical bioethics; ethics applied to medicine; trust in human and new technologies; medical humanities; clinical reasoning; clinical intuition

Dr. Francesco De Micco

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Guest Editor

Research Unit of Bioethics and Humanities, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Interests: clinical risk management; patient safety; medical liability; personal injury evaluations; ethic and law; forensic science; forensic anthropology; age estimation; forensic radiology; forensic toxicology; forensic pathology

Dr. Anna De Benedictis

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Guest Editor

Clinical Direction, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Interests: healthcare management; clinical bioethics; quality management; digital innovation

Dr. Jane Wathuta

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Guest Editor

Strathmore Law School, Strathmore University, P.O. Box 59857-00200 Nairobi, Kenya
Interests: family studies; women and law; gender studies; bioethics and research ethics

Dr. Davide Piaggio

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Guest Editor

Applied Biomedical Signal Processing Intelligent eHealth Lab, Schoool of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Interests: frugal regulations; emergency preparedness and governance; technology and public health; infodemic; bioethics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The recent experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has been different from the public health experiences we have previously managed, with statistically significant indicators. The difference was more than simply microbiological, clinical, and pharmacological. We have never before seen the systemic dimension of a pandemic's effectiveness in governing. The globalisation of relations beyond national borders makes protection by isolation unfeasible: mutations occurring elsewhere in the world spread rapidly; the effectiveness of political decisions relies on scientific data control; the reliability of the information sources and the co-operation of the media are decisive in affecting social adherence to public health regulations; and so on. However, there is one point that unifies all the aforementioned professional dimensions (medicine, biology, politics, communication, etc.). As each professional carries out a true best practice, this is likely to be aligned with the other professionals' actions. This will contribute to advances in emergency management while promoting trust and increasing social compliance. Unfortunately, during the initial waves of this pandemic, scientific research, political transparency, distributive justice, and the example set by politicians were often not up to standard. For these reasons, we are pleased to invite you to submit concrete proposals to improve our professional practice in order to be prepared for any further pandemic situations in the future.

According to the logic of the 'Ethics of Work Well Done', it is our first duty to work with excellence. Therefore, this Special Issue of Healthcare (MDPI) aims to gather suggestions that capitalize on the long-term impact of the current pandemic, which could lead to new practices of excellent professional focus on common and shared objectives.

Original research articles, reviews, and short communications are welcome. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Sincerely,
Prof. Dr. Vittoradolfo Tambone
Dr. Laura Campanozzi
Dr. Francesco De Micco
Dr. Anna De Benedictis
Dr. Jane Wathuta
Dr. Davide Piaggio
Guest Editors

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. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

best practice
emergency preparedness
disaster risk management
pandemic governance
trust in stakeholders
ethical decision-making
ethical training
social compliance
technology and public health
law and healthcare
politics and healthcare

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 279 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nurse–Patient Communication and Relationship When Wearing Personal Protective Equipment: Nurses’ Experience in a COVID-19 Ward

by Raffaella Gualandi, Dhurata Ivziku, Rosario Caruso, Chiara Di Giacinto, Marzia Lommi, Daniela Tartaglini and Anna De Benedictis

Healthcare 2023, 11(13), 1960; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11131960 - 07 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2302

Abstract

Little is known about which communication strategies nurses carried out and whether the nurse–patient relationship has been altered due to the mandated use of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study describes how nurse–patient communication and relationships took place from the point of view of nurses engaged in caring for patients with COVID-19. A qualitative descriptive study design following COREQ guidelines was conducted. Semi-structured telephone interviews with nurses working in the COVID ward of an Italian university hospital were performed between September 2020 and June 2021. Ten nurses were recruited using convenience sampling. One overarching theme, three main themes, and nine sub-themes were identified. The overarching theme ‘The in-out relationship: ‘in here and out there’ and ‘inside me and out of me’ included the main themes ‘A closed system different from normal’, ‘Uncovering meaningful human gestures’, and ‘A deep experience to live’’. The relational nature of nursing—where ‘me and you’ and the context are the main elements—leads nurses to find new ways of interacting and communicating with patients, even in a new situation that has never been experienced. Enhancing human gestures, thinking about new contexts of care, and educating new generations to maintain human-to-human interaction, regardless of the context of care, are the directives to be explored for creating the future of nursing care. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Best Practice: Proposals for Preparing Pandemics Governance)

23 pages, 3077 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating Efficacy of a COVID-19 Alternative Care Site Preparedness Assessment Tool for Catastrophic Healthcare Surge Capacity during Pandemic Response

by Molly Scanlon, Ellen Taylor and Kirsten Waltz

Healthcare 2023, 11(3), 324; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11030324 - 21 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1831

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing catastrophic healthcare surge capacity required a network of facility infrastructure beyond the immediate hospital to triage the rapidly growing numbers of infected individuals and treat emerging disease cases. Providing regional continuity-of-care requires an assessment of buildings for alternative care sites (ACS) to extend healthcare operations into non-healthcare settings. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) appointed a COVID-19 ACS Task Force involving architects, engineers, public health, and healthcare professionals to conduct a charrette (i.e., intensive workshop) to establish guidance during the alert phase of the pandemic. The task force developed an ACS Preparedness Assessment Tool (PAT) for healthcare teams to assist with their rapid evaluation of building sites for establishing healthcare operations in non-healthcare settings. The tool was quickly updated (V2.0) and then translated into multiple languages. Subsequently, the authors of this manuscript reviewed the efficacy of the PAT V2.0 in the context of reported case studies from healthcare teams who developed a COVID-19 ACS in community settings. In summary, policy makers should re-examine the role of the built environment during emergency pandemic response and its impact on patients and health professionals. An updated ACS PAT tool should be established as part of the public health preparedness for implementing catastrophic healthcare surge capacity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Best Practice: Proposals for Preparing Pandemics Governance)

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9 pages, 271 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Can We Help Healthcare Workers during a Catastrophic Event Such as the COVID-19 Pandemic?

by Hannah Wozniak, Lamyae Benzakour, Christophe Larpin, Sebastian Sgardello, Grégory Moullec, Sandrine Corbaz, Pauline Roos, Laure Vieux, Typhaine M. Juvet, Jean-Claude Suard, Rafaël Weissbrodt, Jérôme Pugin, Jacques A. Pralong and Sara Cereghetti

Healthcare 2022, 10(6), 1113; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10061113 - 15 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1562

Abstract

Healthcare workers (HCWs) have significantly suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting a high prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We investigated with this survey whether HCWs benefitted from supportive measures put in place by hospitals and how these measures were perceived. This cross-sectional survey, which was conducted during the first wave of COVID-19 at the Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland, between May and July 2021, collected information on the use and perception of practical and mental health support measures provided by the hospital. In total, 3461 HCWs participated in the study. Regarding the practical support measures, 2896 (84%) participants found them useful, and 2650 (76%) used them. Regarding the mental health support measures, 3149 (90%) participants found useful to have the possibility of attending hypnosis sessions, 3163 (91%) to have a psychologist within hospital units, 3202 (93%) to have a medical nursing psychiatric permanence available seven days a week, and 3171 (92%) to have a hotline available seven days a week. In total, 436 (13%) HCWs used at least one of the available mental health support measures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the support measures were valued by HCWs. Given the high prevalence of psychiatric issues among HCWs, these measures seem necessary and are likely to have alleviated the suffering of HCWs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Best Practice: Proposals for Preparing Pandemics Governance)

10 pages, 275 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experience of Primary Care Physicians in the Aube Department, France, Regarding the COVID-19 Crisis

by Nicolas Braun, Clément Cormi, Michel Van Rechem, Jan Chrusciel and Stéphane Sanchez

Healthcare 2022, 10(5), 852; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10050852 - 05 May 2022

Viewed by 1036

Abstract

Background: General practitioners (GPs) played a decisive role during the COVID-19 epidemic, particularly in the identification and care of patients at home. This study aimed to describe the primary care physicians’ perceptions of the COVID-19 crisis and to guide future decisions regarding measures to prolong, abrogate, or improve upon methods for crisis management. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study based on a 30-item questionnaire aiming to investigate how primary care physicians (GPs) working in the rural Aube Department experienced the COVID-19 crisis. Results: Among the 152 respondents, 60.5% were not satisfied with the level of information from authorities during the crisis. By multivariate analysis, a feeling of having been adequately informed (OR 21.87, 95%CI 4.14–115.53) and a feeling that non-COVID-19-related diseases were adequately managed (OR 6.42, 95%CI 1.07–38.51) were both significantly associated with an overall satisfaction with the management of the crisis. Conclusion: This study about rural primary care physicians in Eastern France highlights some of the weaknesses of the French healthcare system in terms of the provision of primary care during the epidemic. A leading cause of dissatisfaction was that the information relayed by the health authorities about the disease and its management largely overlooked the primary care providers, many of whom had to rely on traditional media to obtain information. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Best Practice: Proposals for Preparing Pandemics Governance)

Review

Jump to: Research

20 pages, 713 KiB

Open AccessReview

Pandemic Preparedness: A Scoping Review of Best and Worst Practices from COVID-19

by Alessia Maccaro, Camilla Audia, Katy Stokes, Haleema Masud, Sharifah Sekalala, Leandro Pecchia and Davide Piaggio

Healthcare 2023, 11(18), 2572; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11182572 - 18 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1416

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the scale of global unpreparedness to deal with the fast-arising needs of global health threats. This problem was coupled with a crisis of governance and presented in the context of globally hitting climate crisis and disasters. Although such a pandemic was predictable due to the known effects of human intervention on the surrounding environment and its devastating secondary effects, such as climate change and increased zoonoses, most countries were unprepared to deal with the scale and scope of the pandemic. In this context, such as that of the climate crisis, the Global North and Global South faced several common challenges, including, first and foremost, the scarcity of resources required for health, policy, wellbeing and socioeconomic wellness. In this paper, we review the most recent evidence available in the literature related to pandemic preparedness and governance, focusing on principles and practices used during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we place it in the context of a European Parliament Interest Group meeting (this event took place on 21 March 2023 during the “European Health Tech Summit”) to ground it within ongoing discussions and narratives of policy and praxis. The review identified key practices and principles required to better face future health threats and emergencies. Beyond health practices relying on technology and innovation, it is useful to mention the importance of contextualising responses and linking them to clear goals, improving the agreement between science and policymaking, thus building trust and enabling transparent communication with the general public based on clear ethical frameworks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Best Practice: Proposals for Preparing Pandemics Governance)

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