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Experts recommend exclusive breastmilk for the first year of life or more. A search of the literature was conducted to review data regarding use of the internet and social media to obtain lactation information or breastfeeding support. Key words: prenatal education, pregnancy, social media, mobile applications, internet, breastfeeding, 'Breast is best.' What does that really mean? Human breastmilk is the best food for infants, demonstrated by the recommendation to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of life [...]

Importance. Patient safety experts believe that patients/family members should be involved in adverse event review. However, it is unclear how aware patients/family members are about the causes of adverse events they experienced. Objective. To determine whether patients/family members interviewed could identify at least one contributing factor for the event they experienced. Secondary objectives included understanding the way patients/family members became aware of adverse events, the types of contributing factors patients/family members identified for different types of adverse events, and recommendations provided by patients/family members to address the contributing factors. Design. We interviewed patients/family members using semistructured interviews to understand their perceptions about why these adverse events occurred. The adverse events occurred between 1991 and 2014. Setting. Participants described adverse events that occurred in various types of health care organizations (i.e., hospitals, ambulatory facilities/clinics, and dental clinics). Participants. We interviewed 72 patients and family members who each described a unique adverse event. Eligibility requirements were that patients/family members spoke English or Spanish and were aware of an adverse event that happened to them or a loved one. Intervention(s) for Clinical Trials or Exposure(s) for Observational Studies. N/A. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s). The main outcome was determining whether patients/family members could identify at least one contributing factor they perceived as related to the adverse event they described. Results. Each participant identified at least one contributing factor and on average identified 3.67 contributing factors for their event. The most frequently mentioned contributing factors were Staff Qualifications/Knowledge (79 percent), Safety Policies/Procedures (74 percent), and Communication (64 percent). Participants knew about the contributing factors from personal observation only (32 percent), personal reasoning (11 percent), personal research (7 percent), record review (either their own medical records or reports they received in their own investigation; 6 percent), and being told by a physician (5 percent). Finally, patients/family members were able to provide recommendations that address each of the nine contributing factors we examined. Conclusions and Relevance. Patients/family members identified contributing factors related to their adverse event. Given that these contributing factors might not be known to health care organizations because most participants stated that they were not involved in the analysis process, opportunities for organizational learning from patients are potentially being missed. Health care organizations should interview patients/family about the event that harmed them to help ensure a full understanding of the causes of the event. Key Words. Learning, contributing factors, patients, family, events, Health care organizations are beginning to recognize that information learned from the patient and family during the error disclosure process may be invaluable for event analysis and prevention of recurrences [...]

Objective. The response to adverse events can lack patient-centeredness, perhaps because the involved institutions and other stakeholders misunderstand what patients and families go through after care breakdowns. Study Setting. Washington and Texas. Study Design. The HealthPact Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) created and led a five-stage simulation exercise to help stakeholders understand what patients experience following an adverse event. The half-day exercise was presented twice. Data Collection and Analysis. Lessons learned related to the development and conduct of the exercise were synthesized from planning notes, attendee evaluations, and exercise discussion notes. Principal Findings. One hundred ninety-four individuals attended (86 Washington and 108 Texas). Take-homes from these exercises included the fact that the response to adverse events can be complex, siloed, and uncoordinated. Participating in this simulation exercise led stakeholders and patient advocates to express interest in continued collaboration. Conclusions. A PFAC-designed simulation can help stakeholders understand patient and family experiences following adverse events and potentially improve their response to these events. Key Words. Medical errors, truth disclosure, patient rights, professional-patient relations, professional liability, Patient and family centeredness is a health care mantra (Mazor et al. 2016). However, this focus has been slow to reach the area where it is needed most, namely the [...]