Harkness Project Title: Patients' Roles in Patient Safety Initiatives: An Analysis of Current Practice
Mentor: Troyen Brennan, M.D., J.D., Ph.D.
Placement: Harvard Medical School
Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Vikki Entwistle, a 2003-04 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, is reader and programme director for delivery of care research at the Health Services Research Unit (HSRU), University of Aberdeen. Her research and policy interests relate broadly to patients’ perspectives on and contributions to the quality of health care. Recent projects have examined the provision of information to patients, patients’ experiences of treatment decision-making, methods for assessing patients’ roles in treatment decision-making, public perceptions of different methods of feeding back their views to health services and research funding organizations’ efforts to secure consumer involvement in health services research. Entwistle has served on a number of NHS advisory committees and is deputy editor for Health Expectations: An International Journal of Participation in Health Care.
Project: The objectives of Entwistle’s project were to identify and critically analyze the range of ways in which patients, their families, patient organizations, and the public are encouraged to contribute to efforts to improve patient safety. In particular, she identified ways in which patients are enabled to contribute to the safety of their own care, and safety in health care more generally. She conducted a literature review and key informant interviews with staff at federal agencies, quality improvement organizations, innovative providers, and consumer advocates.
Career Activity Since Fellowship
- Professor of Values in Health Care, University of Dundee, 2007
- Editor, Health Expectations, 2007
- Professor and Associate Director, Social Dimensions of Health Care, Universities of Dundee and St Andrews, 2007
- International Visiting Research Fellow, University of Sydney, 2007
- Reader and Deputy Director, Social Dimensions of Health Institute, Universities of Dundee and St. Andrews, 2005
Current Positions:
- Professor of Values in Health Care, University of Dundee.
- Editor, Health Expectations.
(Updated August 2010)
E-Mail:
v.a.entwistle@dundee.ac.uk
Harkness-Related Publications
Peat M, Entwistle VA, Hall J, Birks Y, Golder S on behalf of the PIPS Group. “A scoping review and approach to appraisal of interventions intended to involve patients in patient safety.” Journal of Health Services Research and Policy
Entwistle VA. “Hurtful comments are harmful comments: respectful communication is not just an optional extra in health care.” (Editorial) Health Expectations, 2008; 11: 319-320.
Entwistle VA. “Differing Perspectives on Patient Involvement in Patient Safety” (Invited commentary), Quality and Safety in Health Care 2007; 16:140-142.
Entwistle VA, Quick O. “Trust in the context of patient safety problems”. Journal of Health Organisation and Management, 2006; 20: 397-416.
Entwistle V, Hanley B. “Involving the Public,” In: Oxford Handbook of Public Health (2nd Edition); eds: Pencheon D, Gray JAM, Guest C, Melzer D. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Entwistle VA, Mello MM, Brennan TA. “Advising Patients about Patient Safety: Current Initiatives Risk Shifting Responsibility,” Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety 2005; 31: 483-494.
Entwistle VA. “Nursing Shortages and Patient Safety Problems in Hospital Care: Is Clinical Monitoring by Families Part of the Solution?” (Editorial), Health Expectations 2004; 7:1-5.
Skea Z, Harry V, Bhattacharya S, Entwistle V, Williams B, Maclennan G, Templeton A. “Women’s Perceptions of Decision Making about Hysterectomy,” British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2004; 111: 133-142.
Entwistle VA, Watt IS, Gilhooly K, Bugge C, Haites N, Walker A. “Assessing Patients’ Participation and Quality of Decision Making: Insights from a Study of Routine Practice in Diverse Settings,” Patient Education and Counselling 2004; 55:105-113.
Entwistle V. “Trust and Shared Decision Making: An Emerging Research Agenda” (Editorial), Health Expectations 2004; 7: 271-273.
Entwistle V. “Patients’ Information Environments: Deserts, Jungles and Less Hostile Alternatives” (Editorial), Health Expectations 2003; 6: 93-96.
Entwistle VA, Andrew JE, Emslie MJ, Walker KA, Dorrian C, Angus VC, Conniff AO. “Public Opinions about Systems for ‘Feeding Back’ Views to the National Health Service,” Quality and Safety in Health Care 2003; 12: 435-442.