Browsing by Author "Agulnik, Asya"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Assessment of Barriers and Enablers to Implementation of a Pediatric Early Warning System in Resource-Limited Settings
    (2022) Agulnik, Asya; Ferrara, Gia; Puerto-Torres, Maria; Gillipelli, Srinithya R; Elish, Paul; Muniz-Talavera, Hilmarie; Gonzalez-Ruiz, Alejandra; Armenta, Miriam; Barra, Camila; Diaz, Rosdali; Hernandez, Cinthia; Juárez Tobias, Susana; de Jesus Loeza, Jose; Mendez, Alejandra; Montalvo, Erika; Penafiel, Eulalia; Pineda, Estuardo; Graetz, Dylan E
    Importance: Pediatric early warning systems (PEWS) aid with early identification of clinical deterioration and improve outcomes in children with cancer hospitalized in resource-limited settings; however, there may be barriers to implementation. Objective: To evaluate stakeholder-reported barriers and enablers to PEWS implementation in resource-limited hospitals. Design, setting, and participants: In this qualitative study, semistructured stakeholder interviews were conducted at 5 resource-limited pediatric oncology centers in 4 countries in Latin America. Hospitals participating in a multicenter collaborative to implement PEWS were purposefully sampled based on time required for implementation (fast vs slow), and stakeholders interviewed included physicians, nurses, and administrators, involved in PEWS implementation. An interview guide was developed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Interviews were conducted virtually in Spanish, audiorecorded, and professionally transcribed and translated into English. A codebook was developed a priori using the CFIR and supplemented with codes inductively derived from transcript review. Two coders independently analyzed all transcripts, achieving a κ of 0.8 to 0.9. The study was conducted from June 1 to August 31, 2020. Main outcomes and measures: Thematic analysis was conducted based on CFIR domains (inner setting, characteristics of individuals, outer setting, intervention characteristics, and implementation process) to identify barriers and enablers to PEWS implementation. Results: Seventy-one staff involved in PEWS implementation were interviewed, including 32 physicians (45%), 32 nurses (45%), and 7 administrators (10%). Of these, 50 were women (70%). Components of the 5 CFIR domains were mentioned by participants as barriers and enablers to PEWS implementation at both fast- and slow-implementing centers. Participants emphasized barriers at the level of the clinical staff, hospital, external factors, and PEWS intervention. These barriers included staff resistance to change, inadequate resources, components of health systems, and the perceived origin and complexity of PEWS. At all centers, most barriers were successfully converted to enablers during the implementation process through targeted strategies, such as early stakeholder engagement and adaptation, including adapting PEWS to better fit the local context and changing the hospital setting to support ongoing use of PEWS. Conclusions and relevance: To date, this is the first multicenter, multinational study describing barriers and enablers to PEWS implementation in resource-limited settings. Findings suggest that many barriers are not immutable and can be converted to enablers during the implementation process. This work can serve as a guide for clinicians looking to implement evidence-based interventions to reduce global disparities in patient outcomes.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Clinical and organizational risk factors for mortality during deterioration events among pediatric oncology patients in Latin America: A multicenter prospective cohort
    (2021) Agulnik, Asya; Cárdenas, Adolfo; Carrillo, Angela K; Bulsara, Purva; Garza, Marcela; Alfonso Carreras, Yvania; Alvarado, Manuel; Calderón, Patricia; Díaz, Rosdali; de León, Claudia; Del Real, Claudia; Huitz, Tania; Martínez, Angélica; Miralda, Scheybi; Montalvo, Erika; Negrín, Octavia; Osuna, Alejandra; Perez Fermin, Clara Krystal; Pineda, Estuardo; Soberanis, Dora; Juárez Tobias, Maria Susana; Lu, Zhaohua; Rodriguez-Galindo, Carlos; EVAT Study Group
    Background Hospitalized pediatric hematology‐oncology (PHO) patients have frequent clinical deterioration events (CDE) requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission, particularly in resource‐limited settings. The objective of this study was to describe CDEs in hospitalized PHO patients in Latin America and to identify event‐level and center‐level risk factors for mortality. Methods In 2017, the authors implemented a prospective registry of CDEs, defined as unplanned transfers to a higher level of care, use of ICU‐level interventions on the floor, or nonpalliative floor deaths, in 16 PHO centers in 10 countries. PHO hospital admissions and hospital inpatient days were also reported. This study analyzes the first year of registry data (June 2017 to May 2018). Results Among 16 centers, 553 CDEs were reported in PHO patients during 11,536 admissions and 119,414 inpatient days (4.63 per 1000 inpatient days). Event mortality was 29% (1.33 per 1000 inpatient days) but ranged widely across centers (11%‐79% or 0.36‐5.80 per 1000 inpatient days). Significant risk factors for event mortality included requiring any ICU‐level intervention on the floor and not being transferred to a higher level of care. Events with organ dysfunction, a higher severity of illness, and a requirement for ICU intervention had higher mortality. In center‐level analysis, hospitals with a higher volume of PHO patients, less floor use of ICU intervention, lower severity of illness on transfer, and lower rates of floor cardiopulmonary arrest had lower event mortality. Conclusions Hospitalized PHO patients who experience CDEs in resource‐limited settings frequently require floor‐based ICU interventions and have high mortality. Modifiable hospital practices around the escalation of care for these high‐risk patients may contribute to poor outcomes. Earlier recognition of critical illness and timely ICU transfer may improve survival in hospitalized children with cancer. Keywords: clinical deterioration, intensive care, Latin America, pediatric oncology, Pediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWS), resource‐limited settings
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Desarrollo y creación de infografía y tríptico para comunicar EVAT a los familiares de pacientes pediátricos oncológicos
    (2024) Conde Morelos Zaragoza, Tania María; Aguilar Luna, Karla Virginia; Nuñez Martínez, Matilde; Quelal González, Janeth Melba; López Facundo, Norma Araceli; Cárdenas Aguirre, Adolfo; Graetz, Dylan; Agulnik, Asya
    La Escala de Valoración de Alerta Temprana (EVAT) permite predecir el riesgo y detectar de manera oportuna el deterioro en los pacientes oncológicos hospitalizados. En 2017 se creó la colaboración del proyecto EVAT multicéntrico, como herramienta para la mejora de la calidad del cuidado para niños con cáncer, en centros de altos y bajos recursos. Hasta 2024, se han concentrado 98 hospitales dentro de la región latinoamericana y europea para capacitar al área médica y de enfermería cuya meta es lograr una implementación exitosa del proyecto. A través del periodo transcurrido, los centros capacitados han realizado interrogantes que no se habían planteado con anterioridad, sobre todo en lo que respecta al transmitir EVAT a los cuidadores. Por tanto, el objetivo de este artículo es explicar el desarrollo y creación de una infografía y un tríptico que apoyen a los líderes EVAT de los hospitales y orienten a los familiares, ya que la preocupación del cuidador representa un punto dentro de la escala de EVAT. El método para recopilar la información de las herramientas fue a través de un grupo especializado, principalmente conformado de enfermeras que pertenecen a centros con EVAT. Para obtener los resultados finales fue necesaria la creación de cinco versiones que representaran de manera creativa y concisa la información deseada a transmitir a los cuidadores de los pacientes oncológicos. Se espera que con los materiales realizados se conduzca a mejorar la comunicación entre los familiares y el personal médico.Palabras clave:EVAT, familiares/cuidadores, comunicación, infografía, tríptico.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Multilevel impacts of a pediatric early warning system in resource-limited pediatric oncology hospitals
    (2022) Mirochnick, Emily; Graetz, Dylan E; Ferrara, Gia; Puerto-Torres, Maria; Gillipelli, Srinithya R; Elish, Paul; Muniz-Talavera, Hilmarie; Gonzalez-Ruiz, Alejandra; Armenta, Miriam; Barra, Camila; Diaz-Coronado, Rosdali; Hernandez, Cinthia; Juarez, Susana; Loeza, Jose de Jesus; Mendez, Alejandra; Montalvo, Erika; Penafiel, Eulalia; Pineda, Estuardo; Agulnik, Asya
    Background: Pediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWS) reduce clinical deterioration, improve interdisciplinary communication, and provide cost savings; however, little is known about how these impacts are achieved or related. This study evaluates the multi-level impacts of PEWS in resource-limited pediatric oncology centers. Methods: We conducted 71 semi-structured interviews including physicians (45%), nurses (45%), and administrators (10%) from 5 resource-limited pediatric oncology centers in 4 Latin American countries. Interviews were conducted in Spanish, transcribed, and translated into English. A code book was developed using a priori and inductively derived codes. Transcripts were independently coded by 2 coders, achieving a kappa of 0.8-0.9. Thematic content analysis explored perceived impacts of PEWS at the level of the patient, clinician, healthcare team, and institution. Results: PEWS improved the quality of attention for patients, reducing morbidity and mortality. Clinicians felt more knowledgeable, confident, and empowered providing patient care, resulting in greater job satisfaction. PEWS affected team dynamics by improving interdisciplinary (ward and intensive care unit) and interprofessional (physicians and nurses) relationships and communication. This ultimately led to institutional culture change with emphasis on patient safety, collaboration with other centers, and receipt of institutional awards. Together, these impacts led to hospital-wide support of ongoing PEWS use. Conclusions: In resource-limited hospitals, PEWS use results in multi-level positive impacts on patients, clinicians, teams, and institutions, creating a feedback loop that further supports ongoing PEWS use. These findings can guide advocacy for PEWS to various stakeholders, improve PEWS effectiveness, and inform assessment of other interventions to improve childhood cancer outcomes. Keywords: Latin America; Pediatric Early Warning System (PEWS); global health; pediatric critical care; pediatric oncology; quality improvement; resource-limited. Copyright © 2022 Mirochnick, Graetz, Ferrara, Puerto-Torres, Gillipelli, Elish, Muniz-Talavera, Gonzalez-Ruiz, Armenta, Barra, Diaz-Coronado, Hernandez, Juarez, Loeza, Mendez, Montalvo, Penafiel, Pineda and Agulnik.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Quality and capacity indicators for hospitalized pediatric oncology patients with critical illness: A modified delphi consensus
    (2020) Arias, Anita V; Garza, Marcela; Murthy, Srinivas; Cardenas, Adolfo; Diaz, Franco; Montalvo, Erika; Nielsen, Katie R; Kortz, Teresa; Sharara-Chami, Rana; Friedrich, Paola; McArthur, Jennifer; Agulnik, Asya
    Background Hospitalized pediatric hematology‐oncology (PHO) patients are at high risk for critical illness, especially in resource‐limited settings. Unfortunately, there are no established quality indicators to guide institutional improvement for these patients. The objective of this study was to identify quality indicators to include in PROACTIVE (PediatRic Oncology cApaCity assessment Tool for IntensiVe carE), an assessment tool to evaluate the capacity and quality of pediatric critical care services offered to PHO patients. Methods A comprehensive literature review identified relevant indicators in the areas of structure, performance, and outcomes. An international focus group sorted potential indicators using the framework of domains and subdomains. A modified, three‐round Delphi was conducted among 36 international experts with diverse experience in PHO and critical care in high‐resource and resource‐limited settings. Quality indicators were ranked on relevance and actionability via electronically distributed surveys. Results PROACTIVE contains 119 indicators among eight domains and 22 subdomains, with high‐median importance (≥7) in both relevance and actionability, and ≥80% evaluator agreement. The top five indicators were: (a) A designated PICU area; (b) Availability of a pediatric intensivist; (c) A PHO physician as part of the primary team caring for critically ill PHO patients; (d) Trained nursing staff in pediatric critical care; and (e) Timely PICU transfer of hospitalized PHO patients requiring escalation of care. Conclusions PROACTIVE is a consensus‐derived tool to assess the capacity and quality of pediatric onco‐critical care in resource‐limited settings. Future endeavors include validation of PROACTIVE by correlating the proposed indicators to clinical outcomes and its implementation to identify service delivery gaps amenable to improvement. Keywords: clinical cancer research, pediatric cancer, translational research
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Reliability and validity of a Spanish-language measure assessing clinical capacity to sustain Paediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWS) in resource-limited hospitals
    (2021) Agulnik, Asya; Malone, Sara; Puerto-Torres, Maria; Gonzalez-Ruiz, Alejandra; Vedaraju, Yuvanesh; Wang, Huiqi; Graetz, Dylan; Prewitt, Kim; Villegas, Cesar; Cardenas-Aguierre, Adolfo; Acuna, Carlos; Arana, Ana Edith; Díaz, Rosdali; Espinoza, Silvana; Guerrero, Karla; Martínez, Angélica; Mendez, Alejandra; Montalvo, Erika; Soberanis, Dora; Torelli, Antonella; Quelal, Janeth; Villanueva, Erika; Devidas, Meenakshi; Luke, Douglas; McKay, Virginia; EVAT Study Group
    Background: Paediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWSs) improve identification of deterioration, however, their sustainability has not been studied. Sustainability is critical to maximise impact of interventions like PEWS, particularly in low-resource settings. This study establishes the reliability and validity of a Spanish-language Clinical Sustainability Assessment Tool (CSAT) to assess clinical capacity to sustain interventions in resource-limited hospitals. Methods: Participants included PEWS implementation leadership teams of 29 paediatric cancer centres in Latin America involved in a collaborative to implement PEWS. The CSAT, a sustainability assessment tool validated in high-resource settings, was translated into Spanish and distributed to participants as an anonymous electronic survey. Psychometric, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multivariate analyses were preformed to assess reliability, structure and initial validity. Focus groups were conducted after participants reviewed CSAT reports to assess their interpretation and utility. Results: The CSAT survey achieved an 80% response rate (n=169) with a mean score of 4.4 (of 5; 3.8-4.8 among centres). The CSAT had good reliability with an average internal consistency of 0.77 (95% CI 0.71 to 0.81); and CFAs supported the seven-domain structure. CSAT results were associated with respondents' perceptions of the evidence for PEWS, its implementation and use in their centre, and their assessment of the hospital culture and implementation climate. The mean CSAT score was higher among respondents at centres with longer time using PEWS (p<0.001). Focus group participants noted the CSAT report helped assess their centre's clinical capacity to sustain PEWS and provided constructive feedback for improvement. Conclusions: We present information supporting the reliability and validity of the CSAT tool, the first Spanish-language instrument to assess clinical capacity to sustain evidence-based interventions in hospitals of variable resource levels. This assessment demonstrates a high capacity to sustain PEWS in these resource-limited centres with improvement over time from PEWS implementation. Keywords: paediatric intensive & critical care; paediatric oncology; paediatrics; quality in health care; statistics & research methods.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Stages of change: Strategies to promote use of a Pediatric Early Warning System in resource‐limited pediatric oncology centers
    (2023) Woo, Marisa Cristin; Ferrara, Gia; Puerto-Torres, Maria; Gillipelli, Srinithya R; Elish, Paul; Muniz-Talavera, Hilmarie; Gonzalez-Ruiz, Alejandra; Armenta, Miriam; Barra, Camila; Diaz-Coronado, Rosdali; Hernandez, Cinthia; Juarez, Susana; Loeza, José; Mendez, Alejandra; Montalvo, Erika; Peñafiel, Eulalia; Pineda, Estuardo; Graetz, Dylan E; Kortz, Teresa; Agulnik, Asya
    Background Pediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWS) assist early detection of clinical deterioration in hospitalized children with cancer. Relevant to successful PEWS implementation, the “stages of change” model characterizes stakeholder support for PEWS based on willingness and effort to adopt the new practice. Methods At five resource‐limited pediatric oncology centers in Latin America, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 71 hospital staff involved in PEWS implementation. Purposive sampling was used to select centers requiring variable time to complete PEWS implementation, with low‐barrier centers (3–4 months) and high‐barrier centers (10–11 months). Interviews were conducted in Spanish, professionally transcribed, and translated into English. Thematic content analysis explored “stage of change” with constant comparative analysis across stakeholder types and study sites. Results Participants identified six interventions (training, incentives, participation, evidence, persuasion, and modeling) and two policies (environmental planning and mandates) as effective strategies used by implementation leaders to promote stakeholder progression through stages of change. Key approaches involved presentation of evidence demonstrating PEWS effectiveness, persuasion and incentives addressing specific stakeholder interests, enthusiastic individuals serving as models for others, and policies enforced by hospital directors facilitating habitual PEWS use. Effective engagement targeted hospital directors during early implementation phases to provide programmatic legitimacy for clinical staff. Conclusion This study identifies strategies to promote adoption and maintained use of PEWS, highlighting the importance of tailoring implementation strategies to the motivations of each stakeholder type. These findings can guide efforts to implement PEWS and other evidence‐based practices that improve childhood cancer outcomes in resource‐limited hospitals. Keywords: behavioral science, clinical cancer research, clinical management, implementation science, pediatric cancer, Pediatric Early Warning Systems, resource‐limited, stages of change, transtheoretical model
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    The COVID‐19 Pandemic's impact on sustainability and expansion of a Pediatric Early Warning System in resource‐limited hospitals
    (2023) Wiphatphumiprates, Parima P; Graetz, Dylan E; Ferrara, Gia; Puerto-Torres, Maria; Gillipelli, Srinithya R; Elish, Paul; Muniz-Talavera, Hilmarie; Gonzalez-Ruiz, Alejandra; Armenta, Miriam; Barra, Camila; Carpio, Zulma; Hernandez, Cinthia; Juarez, Susana; de Jesus Loeza, Jose; Mendez, Alejandra; Montalvo, Erika; Penafiel, Eulalia; Pineda, Estuardo; McKay, Virginia; Agulnik, Asya
    Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted healthcare delivery worldwide, including pediatric cancer care, with a disproportionate effect in resource-limited settings. This study evaluates its impact on existing quality improvement (QI) programs. Methods: We conducted 71 semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders at five resource-limited pediatric oncology centers participating in a collaborative to implement Pediatric Early Warning System (PEWS). Interviews were conducted virtually using a structured interview guide, recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Two coders developed a codebook of a priori and inductive codes and independently coded all transcripts, achieving a kappa of 0.8-0.9. Thematic analysis explored the impact of the pandemic on PEWS. Results: All hospitals reported limitations in material resources, reduction in staffing, and impacts on patient care due to the pandemic. However, the impact on PEWS varied across centers. Identified factors that promoted or limited ongoing PEWS use included the availability of material resources needed for PEWS, staff turnover, PEWS training for staff, and the willingness of staff and hospital leaders to prioritize PEWS. Consequently, some hospitals were able to sustain PEWS; others halted or reduced PEWS use to prioritize other work. Similarly, the pandemic delayed plans at all hospitals to expand PEWS to other units. Several participants were hopeful for future expansion of PEWS post-pandemic. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic created challenges for sustainability and scale of PEWS, an ongoing QI program, in these resource-limited pediatric oncology centers. Several factors mitigated these challenges and promoted ongoing PEWS use. These results can guide strategies to sustain effective QI interventions during future health crises. Keywords: COVID-19; Latin America; PEWS; implementation science; pediatric early warning system; pediatric oncology; quality improvement collaborative; resource-limited.