| dc.description.abstract |
Background: The structured admission form is an apparently simple measure to improve data quality.
Poor motivation, lack of supervision, lack of resources and other factors are conceivably major barriers
to their successful use in a Kenyan public hospital setting. Here we have examined the feasibility and
acceptability of a structured paediatric admission record (PAR) for district hospitals as a means of
improving documentation of illness.
Methods: The PAR was primarily based on symptoms and signs included in the Integrated Management
of Childhood Illness (IMCI) diagnostic algorithms. It was introduced with a three-hour training session,
repeated subsequently for those absent, aiming for complete coverage of admitting clinical staff. Data from
consecutive records before (n = 163) and from a 60% random sample of dates after intervention (n = 705)
were then collected to evaluate record quality. The post-intervention period was further divided into four
2-month blocks by open, feedback meetings for hospital staff on the uptake and completeness of the PAR.
Results: The frequency of use of the PAR increased from 50% in the first 2 months to 84% in the final 2
months, although there was significant variation in use among clinicians. The quality of documentation also
improved considerably over time. For example documentation of skin turgor in cases of diarrhoea
improved from 2% pre-intervention to 83% in the final 2 months of observation. Even in the area of
preventive care documentation of immunization status improved from 1% of children before intervention
to 21% in the final 2 months.
Conclusion: The PAR was well accepted by most clinicians and greatly improved documentation of
features recommended by IMCI for identifying and classifying severity of common diseases. The PAR could
provide a useful platform for implementing standard referral care treatment guidelines. |
en_US |