TITLE:
A Qualitative Assessment of People-Centeredness of Inpatient Tuberculosis Treatment Services in Armenia
AUTHORS:
Zaruhi Grigoryan, Nune Truzyan, Lusine Musheghyan, Varduhi Petrosyan
KEYWORDS:
Patient Education, Patient Rights, Quality Assessment
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Tuberculosis Research,
Vol.9 No.3,
August
16,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: People-centered tuberculosis (TB) care promotes treatment adherence and
outcomes. TB patients’ and families’ health education and protection of their
rights are among the core components of people-centered care. We aimed to
assess the level of people-centeredness of TB care as a proxy to quality in the
largest inpatient unit of the National Pulmonology Center (NPC) in Armenia. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study by interviewing clinical and
administrative staff, TB patients, and family members to learn their
experiences about patient and family education and rights (PFE&R)
protection practices focusing on two Joint Commission International (JCI)
Standards for Hospital Accreditation. Mixed-conventional
inductive and directed deductive content approach guided the analysis of data. Results: The study revealed various gaps in the
provided services. According to the TB physicians and nurses, they routinely
educated patients and families and took actions to protect their rights.
However, practices reported by TB providers varied across clinical departments
and professionals and did not meet the recommendations of the JCI standards.
The document review revealed that no written policies or procedures existed in
the NPC inpatient unit to guide the implementation of PFE&R. Lastly,
patients’ inconsistent experiences were also indicative of the lack of
standardization and issues with PFE&R implementation. Conclusion: Bridging the gap between existing and recommended practices by establishing
and enforcing new people-centered policies and procedures is a pledge for
improving operations and patients’ experiences with a potential nationwide
impact in Armenia.