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100	1	0	_aMkumbo, Elibariki _eauthor _93152
700	1	0	_aWillows, Tamara Mulenga _eauthor _93153
700	1	0	_aOnyango, Onesmus _eauthor _93154
700	1	0	_aKhalid, Karima _eauthor _93155
700	1	0	_aMaiba, John _eauthor _93156
700	1	0	_aSchell, Carl Otto _eauthor _93157
700	1	0	_aOliwa, Jacquie _eauthor _93158
700	1	0	_aMcKnight, Jacob _eauthor _93159
700	1	0	_aBaker, Tim _eauthor _93160
245	0	0	_aSame label, different patients: Health-workers' understanding of the label 'critical illness'
260			_bFrontiers Media S.A., _c2023-02-07.
500			_a/pmc/articles/PMC7614203/
500			_a/pubmed/36811083
520			_aBACKGROUND: During the course of patients' sickness, some become critically ill, and identifying them is the first important step to be able to manage the illness. During the course of care provision, health workers sometimes use the term 'critical illness' as a label when referring to their patient's condition, and the label is then used as a basis for communication and care provision. Their understanding of this label will therefore have a profound impact on the identification and management of patients. This study aimed to determine how Kenyan and Tanzanian health workers understand the label 'critical illness'. METHODS: A total of 10 hospitals-five in Kenya and five in Tanzania-were visited. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 nurses and physicians from different departments in the hospitals who had experience in providing care for sick patients. We conducted a thematic analysis of the translated and transcribed interviews, synthesized findings and developed an overarching set of themes which captured healthcare workers' understandings of the label 'critical illness'. RESULTS: Overall, there does not appear to be a unified understanding of the label 'critical illness' among health workers. Health workers understand the label to refer to patients in four thematic ways: (1) those in a life-threatening state; (2) those with certain diagnoses; (3) those receiving care in certain locations; and (4) those in need of a certain level of care. CONCLUSION: There is a lack of a unified understanding about the label 'critical illness' among health workers in Tanzania and Kenya. This potentially hampers communication and the selection of patients for urgent life-saving care. A recently proposed definition, "a state of ill health with vital organ dysfunction, a high risk of imminent death if care is not provided and the potential for reversibility", could be useful for improving communication and care.
540			_a© 2023 Mkumbo, Willows, Onyango, Khalid, Maiba, Schell, Oliwa, Mcknight and Baker.
540			_ahttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
546			_aen
690			_aHealth Services _93161
655	7		_aText _2local
786	0		_nFront Health Serv
856	4	1	_uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2023.1105078 _zConnect to this object online.
999			_c1011 _d1011