The Quality of Hepatitis C Care - Essay Example

Critical analysis on quality of Hepatitis C Care This report analyzes the quality of Hepatitis C care, explaining the methodology used for literature review on the research topic and the results thereof from the given article. Emphasis will be on substantiating argument statements on the quality of Hepatitis C care supported by relevant examples. It will also analyze and interpret the results of the study. Other areas covered will include the strengths of Hepatitis C care and the weaknesses that call for improvement. Introduction Hepatitis C is a virus causing liver cirrhosis among humans. The research in focus has explained the causes of this viral infection. The research also tries to explain how nurses in different hospitals handle cases on Hepatitis C (Soriano et al., 2002). Additionally, it documents how people suffering from Hepatitis C handle the infection. The research focuses on how Hepatitis C care can be related to the success of the administered treatment. Statements addressing quality of Hepatitis C care Hepatitis C care is addressed from the perspective of the affected individuals who have given statements on the kind of treatment that they receive from nurses. Such statements are important in addressing the issue of Hepatitis C care. Among these statements include communication between nurses and patients, which is important in determining the perception that the clients have towards the treatment. Some of the patients responded noting that nurses talk to them and usually listen to their issues. In most of such cases where patient-nurse relationship is fostered, patients tend to respond positively to treatment. The other statement is on follow-up care which is important in supporting the administered treatment though it takes a lot of time and involves many processes. For instance, clinics keep following patients’ health after the first treatment. Other issues include the quality of facilities as well as personal competence involving confidentiality among the nurses. Patients feel stigmatized when their situation is disclosed to the public and that can affect their response to treatment. Literature review This covers the research framework and the statements that explain the quality of Hepatitis C care. The researcher used Donabedian’s structure, process, and outcome framework which targets giving the structure of the resources available for Hepatitis C care and the actual care delivered, with the outcome also addressed (Schiff & Rucker, 2001). The research involved patients affected by Hepatitis C and how they feel about the care that the nurses give them. From the study, it was observed that most patients were not satisfied with the kind of care they were given by the nurses. One study on urban areas of Canada showed that there was no patient education. This was deduced from the response from patients that they are not taught about treatment. Another study in rural areas showed that the quality of Hepatitis C care is below set standards and that patients were not receiving the required care. For example, it was noted that patients could not get any follow-up care after the first treatment. The other aspect under study covered professional competence. This is explained by the statement arguing that health care providers should be well informed on Hepatitis C virus to be in a position to handle the case. What are the statements explaining methodology? The researcher used an approach that targeted the quality of service that allows modification of concepts and their relationship with other concepts in the study. Focus group interviews explain the situation of quality emphasis. Interviews with the focus groups were conducted with emerging themes organized into codebook for the purpose of interpretation. The data retrieved was organized electronically in a code form that was then converted to textual context. The groups were reviewed after each interview. The data acquired from focus group interviews was translated through concept mapping which involves quantitative and qualitative data analysis. What were the results of the research? The results were to be used to analyze the situation of Hepatitis C care. Information from the focus group interviews were studied to bring out the results. The results showed many of the participant areas of emphasis which required more attention. One are is that of communication between the client and the nurse. Continuity of the health care also came out as an issue that required emphasis for recovery of the patients. The other themes included education of the patients and professional competence. Discussion From the research, it is evident that the issue of quality of Hepatitis C care required emphasis to improve the service. Different themes emerged which explained the situation of Hepatitis C care clearly. They all revolved around structure of the health care facilities - the process that involves how the service is being delivered to the patients. The last aspect under discussion was the outcome of the service delivered. According to Ryan and Futterman (1998), accessibility to healthcare services was very important for Hepatitis C care. Some participants argued that some of the services were too far to access while others noted that they could access them. This was important since patients should access the facilities whenever they required any attention from healthcare practitioners. Apart from accessibility of the services, the facilities available at health institutions are important in determining the quality of services offered. Some of the participants in the interview claimed that the facilities were not enough and somehow outdated, leading to low quality service. The process of offering the service is important, together with how the nurses relate with their clients. Professional competence explains the autonomy of the nurse to the client. This is in the form of not disclosing information about the client. Another aspect under observation was communication where participants claimed that nurses usually talk to them in the rightful and polite manner while others claimed that the nurses were harsh. Those handled properly responded better to treatment, meaning that communication was very important. Education of the patients was also important for the patients in the recovery process. Part of the results showed that some Hepatitis C patients were told of their condition during recovery, which was important in upholding confidence in the clients. Provision on information to patients was also highlighted in the research. Another theme emphasized in the study is continuity of health care. This was highlighted by continued health care support visits after the first treatment. Family support as well as support from other groups such as peers and friends around the patient was also emphasized. All these observations narrowed down to a focus on the outcome of treatment. This follows three different forms of recovery: physical, psychological and functional. Psychological recovery was explained through the argument of regaining self-confidence with functional explained as the condition that allows the patient to get back to work. Conclusion The research was aimed at establishing the practice with regards to Hepatitis C care among individuals, determining whether it was sufficient or the action to take if not. The researcher was able to go into details of the situation in health care facilities. Key issues when it comes to its treatment were discussed and conclusions made. The research was able to attain the aim of the research and discuss every targeted area of the study. References Ryan, C., & Futterman, D. (1998). Lesbian & gay youth: Care & counseling. Columbia University Press. Schiff, G. D., & Rucker, T. D. (2001). Beyond structure–process–outcome: Donabedians seven pillars and eleven buttresses of quality. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 27(3), 169-174. Soriano, V., Sulkowski, M., Bergin, C., Hatzakis, A., Cacoub, P., Katlama, C., ... & Rockstroh, J. (2002). Care of patients with chronic hepatitis C and HIV co-infection: recommendations from the HIV–HCV International Panel. Aids, 16(6), 813-828. Read More