Frontiers in health services最新文献

{"title":"Editorial: Beyond the hype: a global perspective on the real-world utility of AI in healthcare research and service delivery.","authors":"Tonio Schoenfelder, Tom Karl Schaal, Sven Hellbach","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1957500","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1957500","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1957500"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13550217/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148914664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reported prevalence of interprofessional conflict in Indian health care, training adequacy and patient safety consequences: a multi-state cross-sectional study.","authors":"Amrita Sarkar, Sonal Dayama, Meet Chauhan, Medha Mathur, Mamta Gehlawat, Debjit Roy","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1852139","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1852139","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Interprofessional conflict can compromise, teamwork, workforce stability, and patient safety particularly in overstretched public health systems in India. Although international literature highlights this issue, multi-state evidence from India involving different healthcare cadres remains limited.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare professionals from Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Telangana Data were collected using a validated 12-item questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale. The survey assessed the prevalence of interprofessional conflict, its perceived impact on patient care and teamwork, and the gap between the adequacy and importance of conflict-management training. Role-based differences were examined using ANOVA, and associations were explored with Spearman's correlation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mean age of 566 health care professionals (doctors (52.7%), nurses (35.7%), and interns (11.6%)) surveyed was 29.8 years. Interprofessional conflict was commonly reported (mean 3.70; 65% agreement). Participants indicated that conflict affected care quality (mean=3.60, SD = 1.23), increased workplace stress (mean=3.51,SD = 1.15), and hindered collaboration (mea<i>n</i> = 3.32, SD = 1.12). A notable training gap emerged between perceived adequacy (2.95) and importance (3.88), with a difference of 0.93 (Cohen's d = 0.78, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Nurses reported higher stress levels (F = 6.84, <i>p</i> = 0.001), while interns perceived lower training adequacy (F = 9.97, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Conflict scores showed moderate correlations with reported delays or errors in care (<i>ρ</i> = 0.43-0.69).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Interprofessional conflict is common and serious in India's healthcare settings; nearly two-thirds of participants report that it occurs. The findings show this conflict is a systemic issue that compromises care quality, increases workplace stress, and weakens team collaboration. Moderate correlations between conflict and care delays or errors highlight its risks to patient safety. The study urges making structured, cadre-sensitive interprofessional conflict-management training a top systems-level priority to strengthen teamwork, workforce well-being, and patient outcomes in India's public health system.</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1852139"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13550112/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148914687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Operationalizing patient flow in high-complexity service lines: a health system perspective using oncology care.","authors":"Robert Figlin, Kate O'Shaughnessy, Setu Shah, Chad Giese, Jamie Bachman, Matthew Bednar, Jennifer Scalise, Aleksandar Zafirovski","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1859412","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1859412","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Health systems face increasing oncology demand amid workforce constraints and rising care complexity. Outpatient cancer volumes in the United States are projected to grow nearly 18% over the next decade, driven by earlier diagnoses, evolving screening guidelines, and continued site-of-care shifts - while inpatient volumes remain essentially flat but grow in case mix complexity. Many organizations attempt to improve access through isolated interventions - navigation programs, clinic expansion, or scheduling redesign - yet delays in treatment initiation and operational inefficiencies persist.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This article presents a system-level operational framework for managing oncology access as a continuous patient flow problem rather than a series of disconnected scheduling events.</p><p><strong>Approach: </strong>This perspective is informed by iterative operational experience within a large academic oncology program and synthesizes challenges observed across referral intake, diagnostics, clinic scheduling, and treatment delivery. The framework integrates existing literature on patient flow, care coordination, and access management to organize access into three interdependent domains: entry, throughput, and transition.</p><p><strong>Key findings: </strong>Applying this framework highlights fragmentation across traditional organizational boundaries and supports the establishment of unified operational ownership for access. Aligning performance measurement with patient progression - rather than isolated scheduling metrics - enables more consistent identification of bottlenecks and improved coordination across multidisciplinary teams.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Managing oncology access as an integrated patient flow system provides a scalable and practical approach for improving timeliness and operational efficiency. The framework does not require capital expenditure as a prerequisite; however, operational investment in Electronic Health Record (EHR) configuration, data infrastructure, and dedicated coordination staffing is typically required and should be planned accordingly. The framework is designed to optimize existing resources first and to inform capital decisions with operational evidence.</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1859412"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13547473/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148907237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A qualitative study of facilitators and barriers to intraoperative acquired pressure injury prevention implementation in operating room nurses based on the CFIR framework.","authors":"Yuan Gao, Juan Chen, Wenhui Guang, Wenli Xu, Zhibin Wei, Hongying Yang","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1877556","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1877556","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Intraoperative acquired pressure injury (IAPI) is a common perioperative complication in surgical patients, and operating room nurses are the primary implementers of evidence-based IAPI prevention strategies. Although standardized evidence-based guidelines for IAPI prevention exist, their translation into clinical practice remains suboptimal. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), this study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing these prevention measures, to provide an empirical basis for the clinical translation of evidence-based IAPI prevention interventions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A descriptive qualitative research design was adopted. A semi-structured interview guide was developed in strict alignment with the CFIR 2.0 framework. Twelve operating room nurses from a tertiary general hospital in Qinghai Province were recruited via purposive sampling, and face-to-face individual interviews were conducted for data collection. Qualitative content analysis was used to code the data, and core themes were extracted from the full dataset.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>With reference to the five core domains of the CFIR framework, 14 key factors influencing the implementation of evidence-based IAPI prevention measures were identified, categorized into 6 barriers and 8 facilitators. The barriers included: mismatch between evidence-based guidelines and operating room clinical realities; insufficient protective supplies; lack of targeted positive incentives; poor interdepartmental communication; uneven prevention competencies among nurses; and experience-dependent practice with lax adherence among some nurses. The facilitators included: multi-channel access to evidence-based information; industry policy support; aligned prevention goals among nurses; accessible professional training and guidance; emphasis and support from department managers; clinical adaptation needs; flexible implementation strategies; and nurses' awareness of self-reflection and improvement.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The clinical implementation of evidence-based IAPI prevention measures in operating rooms is influenced by multilevel factors. The core challenges lie in the mismatch between general evidence-based guidelines and the specialized operating room setting, as well as the absence of positive incentive mechanisms. This study fills a research gap in this field and provides practical evidence for establishing a specialized evidence-based practice system for IAPI prevention.</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1877556"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13547284/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148908288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association between wealth status and health insurance enrollment among women aged 15-49 years in Tanzania: a secondary analysis of the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey.","authors":"Alphoncina Kagaigai, Malale Tungu, Novatus Julius Bihemo, Jovinary Adam, Amani Anaeli, Pankras Luoga","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1896869","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1896869","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A relationship between wealth status and health insurance enrollment among women in Tanzania is not well established. This study aimed to fill that gap by determining the association between wealth status and health insurance enrollment among women aged 15-49 years in Tanzania.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study used secondary data from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS). The binary dependent variable was health insurance enrollment. Independent variables included women's sociodemographic characteristics. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. The level of association was measured using Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) at a 95% confidence interval (CI). A threshold of <i>p</i> < 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, 5.8% (95% CI: 5.1%-6.6%) of women aged 15-49 years in Tanzania were enrolled in health insurance. Logistic regression results indicated that women who belonged to rich households (AOR=2.59; 95% CI: 1.91, 3.53), women aged 35-49 years (AOR=3.86; 95% CI: 2.90, 5.13), women with secondary or higher education (AOR=6.47; 95% CI: 4.17, 10.05), women residing in the Central zone (AOR=1.60; 95% CI: 1.12, 2.28), and women who visited a health facility in the past 12 months (AOR=1.37; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.63) had significantly higher odds of being enrolled. Women who perceived distance to a health facility as not a big problem (AOR=1.70; 95% CI: 1.27, 2.28) and women from female-headed households (AOR=1.29; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.62) also had higher odds of enrollment. Conversely, women who were divorced or separated (AOR=0.50; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.72), women residing in rural areas (AOR=0.68; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.86), and women in the Coastal zone (AOR=0.61; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.86) had significantly lower odds of enrollment.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Health insurance enrollment among women of reproductive age in Tanzania is low. There was a positive association between wealth status and health insurance enrollment. The government and other stakeholders should design targeted interventions, including linking households to social protection programs such as the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF), to improve household wealth and thereby increase health insurance enrollment as the country works toward achieving universal health coverage.</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1896869"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13547476/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148908310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating risk factors affecting chronic wound healing: a comprehensive analysis using logistic regression and neural network models.","authors":"FengMei Zhang, Jie Cui, Hui Li, Yuping Ran, Meifeng Xu","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1889745","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1889745","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Chronic wounds impose immense burdens and suffering on patients, with healing governed by a complex blend of physiological, social, and psychological components. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate risk factors affecting chronic wound healing by integrating traditional statistical methods with machine learning techniques.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively collected demographic and clinical data from 232 chronic wound patients treated at our hospital. The Mann-Whitney U test was employed for univariate comparisons of continuous variables, while categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square or Fisher's exact test, and ordinal variables were assessed with the Cochran-Armitage trend test. Statistically significant parameters were subsequently incorporated into binary logistic regression and multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP) models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Univariate analysis identified seven factors significantly associated with wound prognosis: number of concurrent wounds (<i>P</i> = 0.020), wound size (<i>P</i> = 0.043), pain score (<i>P</i> = 0.005), intervention modalities (<i>P</i> for trend = 0.005), NSAIDs use (<i>P</i> = 0.010), hemoglobin (<i>P</i> = 0.005), and albumin (<i>P</i> = 0.001). In the multivariable logistic regression model (event = good prognosis), albumin (adjusted OR=1.101, 95% CI: 1.024 -1.183, <i>P</i> = 0.010) and intervention with two modalities (OR=4.775, 95% CI: 1.215 -18.762, <i>P</i> = 0.025) or three modalities (OR=6.360, 95% CI: 1.404 -28.797, <i>P</i> = 0.016) were independently associated with good prognosis. The MLP model's AUC was recorded at 0.771 (95% CI: 0.710 -0.832), with wound size (100%) and albumin (69.3%) showing the highest normalized importance. The DeLong test showed no significant difference between the logistic regression and MLP models (<i>P</i> = 0.907).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Albumin levels and multimodal interventions were independently associated with favorable chronic wound prognosis, while wound size and albumin emerged as the most influential predictors in the neural network model. These findings underscore the importance of nutritional status and comprehensive wound management, although causal inference is limited by the retrospective design.</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1889745"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13541927/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148898479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Patient and family-centered care practices during inter-facility transfer of critically ill children: an exploratory mixed methods study.","authors":"Claire Stucky, Aaron M Scherer, Irene Pantekidis, Caroline Elser, Aditya Badheka, Shilpa C Balikai, Madhuradhar Chegondi, Mitchell A Luangrath, Nehal R Parikh, Priyadarshini R Pennathur, Heather Schacht Reisinger, Christina L Cifra","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1835422","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1835422","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The inter-facility transfer of a critically ill child to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is a highly stressful time for families. This exploratory study aimed to identify care practices important to patients/families during urgent transfers of children from frontline settings to a higher level of care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a mixed methods study using surveys and interviews of parents/guardians of children transferred to a single PICU from external institutions. Participants were surveyed about their perceived importance of transfer-related care practices, specifically those addressing families' understanding of transfer, communication, family presence, and patient/family needs. A subset of parents were interviewed to characterize their transfer experience and identify improvement opportunities.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 23 patient-parent dyads who consented, 13 parents completed the initial survey, 11 completed the follow-up survey, and four participated in interviews. From the surveys, three care practices were identified as most important to responding families: 1) providing parents/guardians with verbal information about their child's condition, 2) providing patients the ability to request their parents/guardians during transfer, and 3) immediately contacting families with significant patient status changes. Interviews revealed that communication with healthcare teams is a substantial factor affecting families' experience of a smooth vs. stressful inter-facility transfer.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this exploratory study, care practices ensuring that timely information about a child's clinical condition is relayed to their parents/guardians were most important to families of critically ill children undergoing inter-facility transfer to the PICU. Communication between families and healthcare teams plays a significant role in families' experiences of transfer.</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1835422"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13538116/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148889513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supporting continuous glucose monitoring for people with serious mental illness and type 2 diabetes: a co-design study for a structured intervention.","authors":"Jennifer V E Brown, Olivia Matthias, Jessica Hendon, Ramzi A Ajjan, Najma Siddiqi, Ian Kellar, Peter A Coventry","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1807689","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1807689","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, are at a two- to threefold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and face significant health inequalities, including reduced life expectancy. Diabetes self-management in this population is challenging, and existing interventions are poorly suited to their needs. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) offers potential benefits but remains underused. This study aimed to co-design a logic model and programme theory for a structured CGM intervention tailored to adults with SMI and type 2 diabetes, as a resource to support the planned future co-production of the content and the implementation of the full intervention.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using experience-based co-design, this study engaged service users, carers, and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in workshops and discussions to identify challenges and facilitators for CGM use. Participants co-developed an outline of candidate intervention components, which were summarised in a logic model and programme theory. The process included synthesising existing evidence, exploring personas, and mapping CGM user journeys. The draft intervention outline was iteratively refined across multiple sessions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ten participants (four HCPs, four service users, and two carers) contributed to the co-design process. Barriers identified included limited technical support, accessibility challenges, and a lack of integrated physical and mental healthcare. Key components for a structured CGM intervention include personalised CGM training, flexible delivery methods, ongoing support, and peer networks. The proposed intervention was conceptualised in three phases: set-up, early days, and living with CGM. Participants prioritised flexibility and tailored intervention adjustments, emphasising the importance of addressing both physical and mental health needs concurrently.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>This study demonstrates the feasibility of co-designing interventions with individuals often considered \"hard to reach.\" Our study highlights that people with SMI can take an interest in their physical health and see the potential for CGM to improve diabetes management, provided they receive appropriate and flexible support. Future work will develop and refine the intervention and evaluate its clinical and cost-effectiveness in diverse populations, aiming to address significant unmet needs in diabetes care for this vulnerable group.</p><p><strong>Study registration: </strong>https://osf.io/4ae3g/ (2 February 2024).</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1807689"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13538416/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148889638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Learning from the world's oldest continuous culture - the circle of leadership: a new way to support the healthcare workforce.","authors":"Leila Karimi, Dein Vindigni, Karen Hallam, Doa El-Ansary, James Collett, Sophia Xenos, Paul Callaghan","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1888055","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1888055","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Healthcare systems globally face workforce shortages, burnout, and attrition, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of experienced clinicians across disciplines. These pressures are particularly acute within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce, where culturally unsafe workplaces, limited support structures, and high workloads continue to affect recruitment and retention. This Perspective proposes an Aboriginal-inspired Circular Leadership Model as a culturally grounded and relational approach to strengthening workforce wellbeing, retention, and leadership capacity within healthcare settings. Drawing on Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing, the model integrates principles of kinship, connection, collective responsibility, storytelling, reflection, and shared decision-making. In contrast to traditional hierarchical leadership paradigms, circular leadership positions collective wellbeing at the center of leadership practice and emphasizes peer support, multi-generational learning, culturally safe mentorship, and community connection. This is a conceptual Perspective rather than a systematic review: the paper draws on Indigenous leadership scholarship, collective leadership research, and the healthcare workforce literature to discuss how Aboriginal leadership principles can complement existing approaches. Practical applications, including structured mentorship circles, collective wellbeing practices, and circular decision-making protocols, are presented alongside implementation considerations. The anticipated benefits of the model for wellbeing, retention, and leadership capacity are presented as hypotheses to be tested through the pilot evaluation proposed here, rather than as demonstrated outcomes. The model is offered primarily as a strategy to support and retain the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce; its potential relevance to the broader healthcare workforce is discussed as a secondary and as yet untested possibility.</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1888055"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13533904/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148882640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cultural and religious influences on Arab American healthcare experiences: a qualitative study.","authors":"Mariam Aly, Julie C Dunsmore","doi":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1892061","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frhs.2026.1892061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Immigrants negotiate aspects of their heritage and host cultures to adapt to their new social environment through the acculturation process. This process influences health and well-being in immigrant communities. Arab American immigrants in the United States face unique cultural dynamics that shape their experiences, including healthcare experiences. This study addresses a gap in knowledge about culture as a social determinant of health awareness, healthcare access, and healthcare quality among Arab Americans. Guided by acculturation theory, we conducted thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 20 Arab Americans. Themes emerged revealing that culture, religion, and family function as both facilitators and barriers to healthcare. Cultural norms often promote self-care and healthy behaviors, but may discourage seeking medical treatment, particularly for mental health concerns. Religion was described as a flexible influence on healthcare decisions. Participants preferred providers of similar ethnic backgrounds due to perceived cultural understanding, and participant recommendations for providers highlighted the need for improved cultural competency training among healthcare professionals. Research on culturally responsive healthcare and training and policy solutions that enhance providers' cultural responsiveness are needed to improve healthcare experiences for Arab American patients and other immigrant populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":73088,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in health services","volume":"6 ","pages":"1892061"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13533886/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148882411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}