Journal of

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Background: Brand loyalty is one of the most important factors in maintaining and success of huge organizations such as hospitals. This study aimed to survey the factors that affect the patients’ loyalty to hospital brands in teaching hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS).
 
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study conducted in 2017. The study population consisted of 385 clearance patients who were admitted to educational hospitals in Shiraz using stratified sampling method in February 2017 to March 2018. Information was collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and data analyzed by descriptive statistics, T-test, ANOVA, and multiple regressions using SPSS version 23 at a significant level of α = 5%.
 
Results: Patients’ satisfaction (β=0.333, P<0.001), trust in brand (β=0.265, P=0.007), and commitment (β=0.181, P=0.011) had a direct and positive effect on the patients’ loyalty to the hospital brand.
 
Conclusion: According to this study results, hospital managers should pay an attempt to inform the patients about their treatment procedure, follow up the patients’ health after discharge, and increase the communication between personnel and patients. These could contribute to better image and experience for patients resulting in loyalty to the hospital brand.
 

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Background: The present research aimed to assess the readiness of selected hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences to implement quality improvement programs and clinical audits from the viewpoint of managers.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive-analytic study was conducted in May 2017 in four selected hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The study population of this study was 20 managers of selected hospitals who were selected by census sampling method and entered the study. The data gathering tool was a two-part questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed. In this study, we used SPSS software version 23 and statistical tests to analyze the data.
Results: The effectiveness and readiness of hospitals to implement a clinical audit program was equal to 60% in the field of data and information, cardiology and feedback; 55% in resources, design and implementation, clinical audit management, and evidence and standards; 50% in illness and education; and 45% in manpower. Also, with increasing frequency of clinical audits, hospital readiness for quality improvement processes increases.
Conclusion: Due to the effectiveness and low readiness of hospitals in implementing a clinical audit program, especially in the field of human resources (45%), it is necessary that managers and planners of clinical audit programs in hospitals have a precise knowledge of these factors in order to control the organizational environment and help improve the effectiveness of audit programs.
 

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Background: Nosocomial Infections (Nis) Are Regarded As The Most Common Complications Of Health Cares. These Infections Affect Patient’s Safety in Developing and Developed Countries. The Aim Of This Study Was To Epidemiology and Determine the Causes of Nosocomial Infectioin Teaching Hospital of Tehran In A Teaching Hospital In Tehran.
Materials and Methods: This Cross-Sectional, Descriptive And Analytical Study Was Designed In 2019 At A Teaching Hospital Affiliated With Iran University Of Medical Sciences. The Nosocomial Infection Registry Data between 2017 and 2018 Was Used. The SPSS24.0 Software Package Was Used To Analyze Data Into Descriptive (Frequency, Percentage, Mean and Standard Deviation( And Analytical) ANOVA) Statistics.
Result: The Most Frequent Type of Infections Were Urinary Tract (39.76%), Ventilator Associated Events (20.92%), Bloodstream (20.71%), Respectively. Skin and Soft Tissue Infections (0.7%) Had The Lowest Prevalence. The Highest Incidence Of Nosocomial Infection Was In The ICU With 200 Patients And The Lowest Incidence Was In The ENT With 23.1 Patients And The Overall Incidence Of Nosocomial Infections Was 84.9 Patients Per 10,000 Patient-Days.

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Background: Medical errors represent a serious problem for intensive care and increase the length of stay and mortality. Tracking of medical errors in hospital have focused on voluntary reporting of errors, but 10 to 20 % of errors are ever reported and, of those, 90-95 percent cause no harm to patients. This study was conducted to recognition and analysis medical errors in Intensive Care Unit by GTT in 2019.   
Materials & Methods: This study was a retrospective descriptive-experimental and was conducted in the Intensive Care Unit of a public hospital in Tehran. In 2019 for 13 weeks,127 records were separately reviewed by two nurses by using the IHI checklist and final confirmation was performed by the physician. The data were analyzed by SPSS 22 software.
 Results. 622 triggers, 277 adverse events related to triggers, 121 adverse events without trigger and totally 398 adverse events were identified in ICU. 93 records from 127 records had adverse events. The incidence rate of adverse events was 73/2%, 3/13 adverse events per pa­tient and the incidence rate was 24/8 adverse events per 100 patients-day. The most frequency of events and harms were respectively related to care, intensive care, surgery and medication modules.
Conclusion. According to the result of patient records reviewing and the high rate of AEs that required intervention and also the result of similar study, we can state this tool is more reliable than other methods to detect AEs, such as voluntary reporting of error.
 

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Background and purpose: Electrocautery is a very important tool in surgery. Electrocautery burn is a common side effect of operation surgeries. Quality management is a useful strategy for improving the quality and safety of hospital services. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of quality management on reducing electrocautery burns.
 
Materials and methods: A participatory action research was conducted in the operating theatre of a hospital in Tehran, Iran, in 2013 and 2014. A quality improvement team was established in the hospital operating theatre. The quality improvement team using an 8-step quality management model, standardized working processes, identified quality goals for the processes and improved them until achieved the quality goals. Data on electrocautery burns was collected before and after the intervention and compared.
 
Results: Electrocautery burn rate was 0.40% in 2012. A wet patient due to sweating or washing during the surgery, in-appropriate patient position, faulty earth well, faulty anti-static mattress and long usage of electrocautery devices were the main reasons of electrocautery burn injuries. Accordingly an action plan was developed and implemented for preventing and reducing electrocautery burns. Consequently, electrocautery burn rate was reduced to 0.21% and 0.02% in 2013 and 2014. Electrocautery burn was significantly reduced by 95% in two years.
 
Conclusion: Electrocautery burns can be easily prevented using the quality management strategy. Implementing an appropriate quality management model appropriately in a supportive environment enhances the safety of hospital services.

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Introduction: The operating room is one of the most sophisticated workplaces, consisting of a vast array of electrical, gas and radiation equipment that are more susceptible to accident than other hospital departments. Therefore it is important to observe safety tips in this section. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the standard of safety in operating rooms of hospitals affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2019.
Method: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The statistical population consisted of all operating rooms of hospitals affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. The tool used was a checklist that was completed by researchers by observation and interviewing on-site. Safety standards have been evaluated in terms of the physical space of the operating room, fire safety, personnel safety, patient safety, infection control. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21.
Results: The operating rooms of university-affiliated hospitals were 80.10% secure in overall safety. The patient's safety area, with 83.34%, had the shortest distance from the standards and the infection control safety area, with 74.24%, had the highest distance from the standards. The highest and lowest scores were related to the safety standard related to the operating room of hospitals (2) and (1).
Conclusion: According to the findings, the operating rooms of the studied hospitals are generally in desirable compliance with safety standards. However, it is essential to pay attention to problem areas to increase the safety factor for staff and patients in the operating room, so appropriate remedial measures should be taken to ensure complete safety of the operating room for all components.

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Introduction : A large number of hospitals and medical healthcare centers catch fire every year. Nowadays, one of the most significant challenges that hospital designers and health providers faced with is fire safety. This study conducted to determine a comprehensive model for fire safety in hospitals by reviewing related studies.
 
Method: This study was conducted using a comprehensive review to find a research paper published on fire in hospitals. Electronic databases such as PubMed Scopus google were searched using the proper search strategy. 
 
Results: Overall, 14 studies were obtained. The findings were analyzed qualitatively through thematic synthesis and divided into some main themes: essential sections and divisions of hospitals in the field of fire, emergency exit patterns, materials and construction status, Flammable consumables materials in hospitals, and appropriate firefighting equipment.
 
Conclusion: The dangers of medical equipment and flammable material, the types of firefighting equipment in the hospital building, architectural safety issues regarding the degree of fire resistance of structures, roofs, doors, walls, and emergency exit stairs are crucial points To protect staff and patients in hospitals that should consider simultaneously.

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Background and Purpose: The importance of hospital quality services in order to best utiliz available resources are not unknown to managers. This is especially important in the maternity sector due to the high density of referrals. Implementation of LDR (Labor, Delivery, Recovery) is one of the new approaches to improve delivery services in the country. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of LDR system on quality of delivery services in two selected hospitals of Qom.
Methods and Materials: This is a descriptive-survey study. Data were collected with a cross-sectional approach to compare the quality of service indicators of a hospital with LDR system as a case and a hospital without LDR system as a control group. Data were collected using a standard questionnaire by Poisson sampling and analyzed by SPSS software.
Results: There was no significant difference between the two hospitals except for LDR implementation. There was no significant association between LDR implementation in delivery sector with overall quality of service indicators (3 vs. 2.5) , input, process and output quality indices. However, LDR implementation had a significant effect on some items of these indices (level of significance = 0.05).
Conclusion: According to the research findings, implementation of LDR did not have a significant effect on overall quality of services, but it did affect the subscales of these indices. Therefore, it seems clear that there is a need for proper management policy to control the costs involved in implementing this system.

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Introduction: Identifying the challenges of Quality Improvement Offices (QIOs) not only helps in planning the quality of hospital services and in trying to provide a suitable solution to solve the problems of these offices but also plays an important role in strengthening the offices and increasing the quality of clinical and non-clinical services of hospitals. This study aimed to investigate the challenges of quality improvement offices in hospitals and provide appropriate solutions.
Methods: The present qualitative research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 40 managers and hospital boards, matrons, quality improvement experts of hospitals and accreditation offices experts of medical universities in Tehran. Content analysis method was used to analyze the data obtained from the interviews. Then, the collected data were analyzed and classified by MAXQDA10 software.
Results: By analyzing the interviews in the field of challenges and solutions, the extracted codes were classified into four areas of management, standards, evaluation and staff. The most codes were related to management with 5 themes and 21 sub-themes. In addition, most of the solutions were related to the field of management.
Conclusion: The findings of the study showed that most of the challenges and solutions were in the field of management. Focusing on this field could be helpful in improving the quality of offices performance.

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Background and Aim: Clinical governance is one of the important frameworks for continuous quality improvement and safety in health care systems. Identifying the axes of this approach according to local conditions is one of the important priorities of the health system. The aim of this study was to identify the views of stakeholders on the axes of clinical governance in primary health care based on family physicians in Mazandaran province.
Methods: The present qualitative study was conducted using the conceptual framework analysis method in 2018-2019. The study population were key policy makers of Ministry of Health, Health deputy of the University, the county health network, family physicians association, family physicians, and the parliament research center. Participants were selected using purposeful and snowball sampling methods. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed and coded using MAXQDA 11 software.
Findings: According to the interviewees' views, the research findings were classified into 4 main dimensions: dimensions of clinical governance, requirements and structures, decision-makers and dimensions of quality and safety assessment. 17 sub-themes including community participation, clinical audit, clinical effectiveness, personnel management, training, information use, risk management, guidelines and procedures, promotion of health indicators, equipment and facilities, referral system, financing, policy makers, effectiveness, efficiency, human aspects of services and justice were identified and extracted.
Conclusion: According to the research findings, to facilitate the implementation of clinical governance, solutions such as the existence of appropriate infrastructure, commitment of managers, supportive culture, sufficient knowledge, monitoring and evaluation, appropriate culture building, facilities and equipment and sufficient financial resources are suggested.

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Background: In Iran, the accreditation system is mainly focused on hospitals and has not yet succeeded in providing standards for independent medical centers such as independent clinics. The present study reports the development of an accreditation framework for independent clinics affiliated with the country's armed forces.
Materials & Methods: This is a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) study. Experts' agreement (30 people) on the results of a systematic review (201 items) was obtained using a questionnaire and through holding three expert panels. The necessity of each item was calculated using the method of content validity ratio and the weight of standards and headings based on the average.
Results: The existing 201 items were converted into 75 standards in 13 headings as final standards with the weight of each item.
Conclusion: This framework can be used as a comparison tool between independent medical centers and it is necessary to train evaluators, and prepare legal and organizational requirements in order to implement it.

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Background: The waiting list is a list of selected patients in the surgical queue. If demand exceeds capacity, the waiting list grows rapidly, which may lead to unacceptable waiting for patients, especially those in need of acute medical care. Patients waiting for heart surgery are placed on the waiting list for surgery, and sometimes the waiting time is longer than patients expect. Reducing the waiting time for medical services, including heart surgery, is one of the challenges of the health system. In this regard, the present study was performed by identifying an effective solution to reduce the queue length of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
 
Materials and Methods: In this article, the process of scheduling open heart surgery at Shahid Rajaei Hospital was reviewed and improved with a discrete event simulation approach in Arena simulation software. After designing the process, the existing bottlenecks leading to the long waiting time of the patients were identified. The waiting time and the number of patients visited were determined as the objective function and the patient flow was improved by presenting improvement scenarios and selecting the best scenario.
 
Results: Simulation results on 66 selected patients in 7 months from October 2020 to May 27, 2021 show that Scenario number 10 has the most improvement in performance criteria but is not applicable in practice. Therefore, due to system limitations, Scenario 2 was selected as the best scenario. Implementing Scenario 2 could reduce the waiting time by 40 percent and increase the number of patients visited by 21 percent.
 
Conclusion: Patient prioritization methods allow patients with higher needs to receive more services than those with lower urgent needs, although they also have longer waiting times for patients with lower urgent needs.

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Introduction: Root cause analysis is one of the most important tools in disaster management that aims to identify the real causes of an issue and find ways to eliminate them. Surgery is one of the areas in which the possibility of clinical error is significant. Therefore, the study aims to explain the weaknesses and challenges of root cause analysis in surgical events and identify the experience of staff around the technology.
Materials and methods: This qualitative study was conducted through interviews in 2021. Twenty members of the root cause analysis team working in teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences were interviewed. After conducting the interviews, MAXQDA software version 10 was used to analyze the thematic content and extract concepts related to the research objectives.
Results: The majority of participants were female, head nurse, aged 30 to 40, work experience of 11 to 15, and employed in Hasheminejad Hospital. The most important weaknesses identified for root cause analysis included the lack of proper implementation of the root cause analysis process and the lack of participation of individuals, hospitals and universities in this process.
Conclusion: Health managers and policymakers should address the weaknesses of root cause analysis by explaining the necessity of the process, root cause analysis immediately after each clinical event, evaluating the effectiveness of root cause analysis, and providing adequate feedback from the authorities. Upstream therapy, creating a culture of root cause analysis, providing the necessary facilities to perform these analyzes, providing clear instructions to encourage and punish employees.

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Background: thousands of people die or suffer from irreversible damage due to lack of timely and adequate services in medical centers. This research seeks to identify and prioritize factors affecting the demand for patient transfer and provide the most effective measures to facilitate this process.
Materials and Methods: This research is combined in terms of method and inductive research in terms of type of research. The population of study is the senior and middle managers of Guilan University of Medical Sciences who were selected as a sample member using purposive sampling method. The factors affecting patient transfer demand were identified using qualitative data obtained from exploratory studies, then these factors were prioritized using fuzzy Delphi method.
Results: In the first part, a set of factors affecting the demand for patient transfer were identified, and in the second part, the importance and priority of these factors were determined. The results of the research showed fourteen main factors, including disproportionate distribution of specialized human resources, ineffective planning, inefficient management, and inefficiency of human resources.
Conclusion: Inefficient organizational processes and organizational structures along with real needs have been identified as reasons for patient transfer demand,which requires special attention of supervisors and management of organizational development and administrative transformation of universities. It seems that the formation of a special monitoring and planning working group to remove obstacles in a centralized manner at the highest organizational level and a special look at the reports of the care monitoring center as the most effective measure can be used to manage the dispatch process, planning, Monitor and remove obstacles.

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Background: The occurrence of all kinds of errors and mistakes imposes many costs on the hospital and society. Whistleblowing and error reporting plays an essential role in preventing and reducing errors, but the rate of error reporting in hospitals is low. This research was conducted in order to investigate the effect of selected individual factors on whistleblowing of hospital employees.

Materials: The research was conducted as a descriptive correlational study. 229 nursing and para clinic staff of a hospital in Tehran were selected by random sampling. A standard questionnaire with 69 items from valid questionnaires of selected factors, including organizational commitment, source of control, moral judgment, altruism, individual's attitude towards whistleblowing and intention to whistleblowing was collected and its validity and reliability were confirmed. The method of data analysis was confirmatory factor analysis and SPSS and Amos software were used as well.

Results: The variables of organizational commitment, altruism and individual's attitude towards whistleblowing have an effect on the intention of whistleblowing, and moral judgment and source of control have no effect on the intention of whistleblowing. Also, individual variables such as age, gender, and work experience did not have a significant effect on the intention to blow the whistle.

Conclusion: Strengthening organizational commitment, altruism of employees and the positive attitude of the individual toward whistle-blowing play an important role in improving error reporting. Hospital management methods can strengthen or weaken these factors. Participatory management style, job empowerment, supporting and creating a safe environment for reporting, promoting employees' ethical and professional principles,  and learning and sharing medical errors are effective measures in promoting whistle-blowing.

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Background and purpose: The emergency department of a hospital is akin to its heart, where smooth operations can save many lives. This research aims to reduce patient waiting time in the emergency department using simulation techniques.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted cross-sectionally in 2019 at the Qaim Hospital in Mashhad. The study focused on accurately modeling the patient flow process in the emergency department using simulation techniques and Arena software. Key performance indicators such as patient waiting time, number of discharged patients (system output), length of stay, resource efficiency, and improvements in the emergency department were evaluated.
Results: The simulation model's results indicated that the laboratory, specialist doctor examination, and pharmacy departments had the longest waiting times in this department, respectively.
Conclusion: To reduce patient waiting times and improve conditions, the most effective and cost-efficient solution is to add a laboratory technician to the laboratory department during the [15-23] shift at Qaim Hospital in Mashhad, which is projected to decrease patient waiting times by 66 minutes.

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Background and Purpose: Discharge planning, as a process for the safe transfer of patients, has always been challenged by the interventions of medical social workers. Identifying these challenges prevents disruptions in effective planning. This research aims to explore the challenges faced by medical social workers in discharge planning.
Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative study conducted in Iran in 2023. Data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews with 16 social workers working in hospitals and were manually analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results: The findings of this study revealed that hospital social workers encounter structural and professional challenges during discharge planning. As a result, themes such as professional isolation, erosive environment, back-breaking costs, inefficient structures, and professional pressures were identified, with the main theme being unattended discharge.
Conclusion: The results indicate that social workers in hospitals are faced with poor cooperation and participation, a lack of facilities and equipment, and socio-economic barriers at the community level. They encounter professional challenges in adhering to professional principles and values and in maintaining the quality of social work services in discharge planning. Given the importance of post-discharge interventions, organizational, structural, and professional reforms at both the micro and macro levels are recommended.