473
Views
6
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Notification card to alert for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is stigmatizing from the patient's point of view

, , , , , & show all
Pages 440-446 | Received 22 Aug 2013, Accepted 22 Jan 2014, Published online: 26 Mar 2014
 

Abstract

Background: The importance of alerting health care systems of patients carrying multidrug-resistant bacteria (MRB) is highlighted in numerous guidelines. In the absence of electronic alert systems, notification cards are often recommended, but have rarely been evaluated. We evaluated patient experiences of receiving and using a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) notification card. Methods: Two cohorts of patients given a card when identified for the first time as a carrier in 1999–2003 and 2008–2010, responded to questionnaires distributed in 2004 and 2011, respectively. The response rate in 2004 was 92 (38 females)/129 and in 2011 was 110 (55 females)/209. In addition, 63% and 49%, respectively, followed the encouragement to provide written comments to the questions. These were analysed using a qualitative method. Results: The patients took responsibility not to infect others, reported high usage, and acknowledged the importance of the card to inform health care institutions about their carrier status, despite experiencing fear, disrespect, lack of knowledge, and unprofessional behaviour when presenting it to personnel. Alarmingly these stigmatizing experiences were more frequent in 2011. Professional behaviour was reported from the infectious disease clinic. A majority of the patients were unaware of how they had acquired MRSA. Conclusions: The MRSA notification card was felt to stigmatize the patient, which makes its use questionable. Other alert methods need to be developed. Most importantly, the study demonstrates the importance for these patients to meet staff educated about MRB. Thus, there is an urgent need to educate health care professionals at all levels.

Acknowledgements

We thank Margareta Högberg for assistance in preparing the manuscript.

Declaration of interest: This study was supported by grants from the Health and Medical Care Executive Board of the Region Västra Götaland, Sweden. There are no conflicts of interest.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 174.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.