La seguridad del paciente es un problema grave de salud pública en todo el mundo. Se calcula que en los países desarrollados 1 de cada 10 pacientes sufre algún tipo de evento adverso durante su estancia en el hospital y este riesgo es muy superior en los países en vías de desarrollo. Por ello, la preocupación por mejorar la seguridad de los pacientes ha aumentado considerablemente en los últimos años y en la Asamblea Mundial de la Salud del año 2002, los Estados miembros de la OMS adoptaron una resolución sobre la seguridad del paciente. Las razones para mejorar la seguridad de los pacientes son poderosas. Los estudios muestran que en algunos países se han perdido entre 6.000 y 29.000 millones de dólares por año a causa de la prolongación de la estancia hospitalaria, los litigios, las infecciones nosocomiales, el lucro cesante, la discapacidad y los gastos médicos. La estrategia de actuación debe ser analizar y aprender de los eventos adversos ligados a la atención sanitaria, identificar los sucesos, reparar el daño acaecido y buscar las causas para evitar que se repitan o para reducir sus efectos, implementando prácticas seguras en todos los niveles de la prestación asistencial. El objetivo de este libro es recoger la experiencia de las Jornadas sobre la Seguridad del Paciente celebradas en el Hospital Dr. Moliner en abril de 2011, en las que distintos profesionales del centro abordaron cuestiones relacionadas con la seguridad del paciente tanto de la práctica clínica, desde una óptica multidisciplinar que abarcó la infección nosocomial, el uso seguro del medicamento, la movilización de los pacientes, los cuidados de enfermería o la implicación de los familiares en los cuidados, como de la organización en sí misma, con el fin de desarrollar una Cultura de Seguridad del Paciente en el ámbito hospitalario.

Implementing safety practices in healthcare saves lives and improves the quality of care: it is therefore vital to apply good clinical practices, such as the WHO surgical checklist, to adopt the most appropriate measures for the prevention of assistance-related risks, and to identify the potential ones using tools such as reporting & learning systems. The culture of safety in the care environment and of human factors influencing it should be developed from the beginning of medical studies and in the first years of professional practice, in order to have the maximum impact on clinicians' and nurses' behavior. Medical errors tend to vary with the level of proficiency and experience, and this must be taken into account in adverse events prevention. Human factors assume a decisive importance in resilient organizations, and an understanding of risk control and containment is fundamental for all medical and surgical specialties. This open access book offers recommendations and examples of how to improve patient safety by changing practices, introducing organizational and technological innovations, and creating effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable care systems, in order to spread the quality and patient safety culture among the new generation of healthcare professionals, and is intended for residents and young professionals in different clinical specialties.

The 'Pocket Guide to Health Promotion' is a short, punchy and practical guide aimed at students and practitioners. The book includes precise definitions and examples of key concepts and methods in health promotion practice and a chapter by chapter description of the management planning, strategy selection, implementation and evaluation of health promotion programmes. Written in an accessible and concise style, the book offers the reader a practical and flexible resource that is ideal for students and practitioners looking to plan and implement health promotion activities. A must buy for those new to health promotion or who want a pocket guide to this core health activity. "Clearly written and practical, this excellent guide will prove indispensible to practitioners of health promotion globally, and a very useful starting point for students. It will be worth buying a pocket to put it in!" David Ross, Professor of Epidemiology and International Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK "The Pocket Guide to Health Promotion is easy to navigate with complex concepts in health promotion explained in a user-friendly way. Whether you are practicing health promotion or studying the discipline, this will be a welcome addition to any book shelf." Dr James Woodall, Co-Director of the Centre for Health Promotion Research & Course Leader MSc Public Health, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK

Advanced Nursing Practice addresses the key issues in practice,education, regulation, research and role/practice development,which are central to defining the distinctive nature of advancednursing practice (ANP) and explores international developments inthe field of ANP. Advanced Nursing Practice has been developed in recognition of thekey role nurses with advanced knowledge and skills play indeveloping health care services worldwide. The book tracks theevolution of new advanced practice nursing roles and innovativepractice models, and examines the need for internationalguidelines. In exploring strategies for implementing ANP in thecontext of countries' health care needs, Advanced Nursing Practiceaddresses legal and ethical challenges and commonalities anddifferences in advanced nursing practice, while examining theimplications, obstacles, and facilitative strategies inmaintaining, implementing and supporting the development ofANP. This book provides guidance in decision-making, examines theimplications for liaising with other health care professionals andencourages nurses to shape their role to the needs of theirpatients and practice.

For every person over the age of 65 in today's European Union there are four people of working age but by 2050 there will only be two. Demand for long-term care of which home care forms a significant part will inevitably increase in the decades to come. Despite the importance of the issue however up-to-date and comparative information on home care in Europe is lacking. This book attempts to fill some of that gap by examining current European policy on home care services and strategies. Home care in Europe probes a wide range of topics including the links between social services and health-care.

This text systematically examines some of the key issues involved in the care of those with chronic diseases. It synthesises the evidence on what we know works (or does not) in different circumstances. From an international perspective, it addresses the prerequisites for effective policies and management of chronic disease.