Academic literature on the topic 'Medical care Australia Evaluation'
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Journal articles on the topic "Medical care Australia Evaluation"
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Kurti, Linda, Susan Rudland, Rebecca Wilkinson, Dawn DeWitt, and Catherine Zhang. "Physician's assistants: a workforce solution for Australia?" Australian Journal of Primary Health 17, no. 1 (2011): 23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/py10055.
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Significant medical workforce shortages, particularly in rural and remote locations, have prompted a range of responses in Australia at both state and Commonwealth levels. One such response was a pilot project to test the suitability of the Physician Assistant (PA) role in the Australian context. Five US-trained and accredited PAs were employed by Queensland Health and deployed in urban, rural and remote settings across Queensland. A concurrent mixed-method evaluation was conducted by Urbis, an independent research firm. The evaluation found that the PAs provided quality, safe clinical care under the supervision of local medical officers. The majority of nurses and doctors who worked with the PAs believed that the PAs made a positive contribution to the health care team by increasing capacity to meet patient needs; reducing on-call requirements for doctors; liaising with other clinical team members; streamlining procedures for efficient patient throughput; and providing continuity during periods of doctor changeover. The Pilot demonstrated that a delegated PA role can provide safe, quality health care by augmenting an established healthcare team. The PA role has the potential to benefit the community by increasing the capacity of the health care system, and to improve recruitment and retention by providing an additional professional pathway. The small size of the Pilot limits the ability to generalise regarding the future efficacy of the PA role in Australia. Further research is required to test training and deployment of PAs in a wider range of Australian clinical settings, including general practice and rural health clinics.
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Richardson, Jeffrey. "Medical Technology and its Diffusion in Australia." International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care 4, no. 3 (July 1988): 407–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266462300000362.
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AbstractThe author examines the Australian health care system by surveying the financing techniques, physical organization, and government activity. He explains the impact of the public and private sectors and comments on the effectiveness of current evaluation procedures. While the author believes that the system is relatively healthy and cost effective, he recognizes a need for more comprehensive and scientific oversight. Using regression analysis and focusing on the installation of medical technology in hospitals, the author attempts to determine the specific factors that influence technology diffusion. He concludes by stressing that further studies analyzing the actual use of specific technologies are vital.
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Schofield, Deborah, Michelle M. Cunich, and Lucio Naccarella. "An evaluation of the quality of evidence underpinning diabetes management models: a review of the literature." Australian Health Review 38, no. 5 (2014): 495. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah14018.
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Objective There is a paucity of research on the quality of evidence relating to primary care workforce models. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the quality of evidence on diabetes primary care workforce models in Australia. Methods The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia’s (National Health and Medical Reseach Council; 2000, 2001) frameworks for evaluating scientific evidence and economic evaluations were used to assess the quality of studies involving primary care workforce models for diabetes care involving Australian adults. A search of medical databases (MEDLINE, AMED, RURAL, Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet and The Cochrane Institute), journals for diabetes care (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, Diabetes Care, Diabetic Medicine, Population Health Management, Rural and Remote Health, Australian Journal of Primary Health, PLoS Medicine, Medical Journal of Australia, BMC Health Services Research, BMC Public Health, BMC Family Practice) and Commonwealth and state government health websites was undertaken to acquire Australian studies of diabetes workforce models published 2005–13. Various diabetes workforce models were examined, including ‘one-stop shops’, pharmacy care, Aboriginal services and telephone-delivered interventions. The quality of evidence was evaluated against several criteria, including relevance and replication, strength of evidence, effect size, transferability and representativeness, and value for money. Results Of the14 studies found, four were randomised controlled trials and one was a systematic review (i.e. Level II and I (best) evidence). Only three provided a replicable protocol or detailed intervention delivery. Eleven lacked a theoretical framework. Twelve reported significant improvements in clinical (patient) outcomes, commonly HbA1c, cholesterol and blood pressure; only four reported changes in short- and long-term outcomes (e.g. quality of life). Most studies used a small or targeted population. Only two studies assessed both benefits and costs of their intervention compared with usual care and cost effectiveness. Conclusions More rigorous studies of diabetes workforce models are needed to determine whether these interventions improve patient outcomes and, if they do, represent value for money. What is known about the topic? Although health systems with strong primary care orientations have been associated with enhanced access, equity and population health, the primary care workforce is facing several challenges. These include a mal-distribution of resources (supply side) and health outcomes (demand side), inconsistent support for teamwork care models, and a lack of enhanced clinical inter-professional education and/or training opportunities. These challenges are exacerbated by an ageing health workforce and general population, as well as a population that has increased prevalence of chronic conditions and multi-morbidity. Although several policy directions have been advocated to address these challenges, there is a lack of high-quality evidence about which primary care workforce models are best (and which models represent better value for money than current practice) and what the health effects are for patients. What does this paper add? This study demonstrated several strengths and weaknesses of Australian diabetes models of care studies. In particular, only five of the 14 studies assessed were designed in a way that enabled them to achieve a Level II or I rating (and hence the ‘best’ level of evidence), based on the NHMRC’s (2000, 2001) frameworks for assessing scientific evidence. The majority of studies risked the introduction of bias and thus may have incorrect conclusions. Only a few studies described clearly what the intervention and the comparator were and thus could be easily replicated. Only two studies included cost-effectiveness studies of their interventions compared with usual care. What are the implications for practitioners? Although there has been an increase in the number of primary care workforce models implemented in Australia, there is a need for more rigorous research to assess whether these interventions are effective in producing improved health outcomes and represent better value for money than current practice. Researchers and policymakers need to make decisions based on high-quality evidence; it is not obvious what effect the evidence is having on primary care workforce reform.
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Dineen-Griffin, Sarah, Victoria Garcia-Cardenas, Kris Rogers, Kylie Williams, and Shalom Isaac Benrimoj. "Evaluation of a Collaborative Protocolized Approach by Community Pharmacists and General Medical Practitioners for an Australian Minor Ailments Scheme: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial." JMIR Research Protocols 8, no. 8 (August 9, 2019): e13973. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/13973.
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Background Internationally, governments have been investing in supporting pharmacists to take on an expanded role to support self-care for health system efficiency. There is consistent evidence that minor ailment schemes (MASs) promote efficiencies within the health care system. The cost savings and health outcomes demonstrated in the United Kingdom and Canada open up new opportunities for pharmacists to effect sustainable changes through MAS delivery in Australia. Objective This trial aims to evaluate the clinical, economic, and humanistic impact of an Australian Minor Ailments Service (AMAS) compared with usual pharmacy care in a cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) in Western Sydney, Australia. Methods The cRCT design has an intervention group and a control group, comparing individuals receiving a structured intervention (AMAS) with those receiving usual care for specific health ailments. Participants will be community pharmacies, general practices, and patients located in Western Sydney Primary Health Network (WSPHN) region. A total of 30 community pharmacies will be randomly assigned to either intervention or control group. Each will recruit 24 patients, aged 18 years or older, presenting to the pharmacy in person with a symptom-based or product-based request for one of the following ailments: reflux, cough, common cold, headache (tension or migraine), primary dysmenorrhea, or low back pain. Intervention pharmacists will deliver protocolized care to patients using clinical treatment pathways with agreed referral points and collaborative systems boosting clinician-pharmacist communication. Patients recruited in control pharmacies will receive usual care. The coprimary outcomes are rates of appropriate recommendation of nonprescription medicines and rates of appropriate medical referral. Secondary outcomes include self-reported symptom resolution, health services resource utilization, and EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale. Differences in primary outcomes between groups will be analyzed at the individual patient level accounting for correlation within clusters with generalized estimating equations. The economic impact of the model will be evaluated by cost-utility and cost-effectiveness analysis compared with usual care. Results The study began in July 2018. Thirty community pharmacies were recruited. Pharmacists from the 15 intervention pharmacies were trained. A total of 27 general practices consented. Pharmacy patient recruitment began in August 2018 and was completed on March 31, 2019. Conclusions This study may demonstrate the efficacy of a protocolized intervention to manage minor ailments in the community and will assess the clinical, economic, and humanistic impact of this intervention in Australian pharmacy practice. Pharmacists supporting patient self-care and appropriate self-medication may contribute to greater efficiency of health care resources and integration of self-care in the health system. The proposed model and developed educational content may form the basis of a national MAS service in Australia, using a robust framework for management and referral for common ailments. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12618000286246; http://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12618000286246.aspx International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/13973
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Comino, Elizabeth J., Nicholas A. Zwar, and Oshana Hermiz. "The Macarthur GP After-hours Service: a model of after-hours care for Australia." Australian Health Review 31, no. 2 (2007): 223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ah070223.
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Introduction: The Macarthur GP After-hours Service (MGPAS) was established to streamline the provision of after-hours medical care in an outer-urban community. This paper reports on a process evaluation of the MGPAS. Methods: A mixed methods approach involving surveys, stakeholder interviews and analysis of administrative data was used. Results and discussion: This model of care was well accepted and regarded by general practitioners, Macarthur Health Service staff and the community. The MGPAS was found to be an acceptable and efficient model of after-hours medical care. Areas that required further review included the need for telephone triage, home visiting and improved communication and referral to the health service. The financial viability of the MGPAS depends on supplementary funding due to the constraints of the Medicare rebate, and limited opportunities to reduce costs or increase revenue. Further research, including an economic evaluation to identify opportunity costs of the service, is needed.
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Horrocks, Peter, Vivienne Tippett, and Peter Aitken. "An Evaluation of the Self-Reported Knowledge Base of Disaster Management Core Competencies of Australian Paramedics." Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 34, s1 (May 2019): s129—s130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1049023x19002814.
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Introduction:Evidence-based training and curriculum are seen as vital in order to be successful in preparing paramedics for an effective disaster response. The creation of broadly recognized standard core competencies to support the development of disaster response education and training courses for general health care providers and specific health care professionals will help to ensure that medical personnel are truly prepared to care for victims of mass casualty events.Aim:To identify current Australian operational paramedic’s specific disaster management education and knowledge as it relates to disaster management core competencies identified throughout the literature and the frequency of measures/techniques which these paramedics use to maintain competency and currency.Methods:Paramedics from all states of Australia were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. Two professional bodies distributed the survey via social media and a major ambulance service was surveyed via email.Results:The study population includes 130 respondents who self-identified as a currently practicing Australian paramedic. Paramedics from all states except South Australia responded, with the majority coming from Queensland Ambulance Service (N= 81%). In terms of experience, 81.54% of respondents report being qualified for greater than 5 years. Initial analysis shows that despite the extensive experience of the practitioners surveyed when asked to rate from high to low their level of knowledge of specific disaster management core competencies a number of gaps exist.Discussion:Core competencies are a defined level of expertise that is essential or fundamental to a particular job, and serve to form the foundation of education, training, and practice for operational service delivery. While more research is needed, these results may help inform industry, government, and education providers to better understand and to more efficiently provide education and ongoing training to paramedics who are responsible for the management of disaster within the Australian community.
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Hardie, Rae-Anne, Donna Moore, Derek Holzhauser, Michael Legg, Andrew Georgiou, and Tony Badrick. "Informatics External Quality Assurance (IEQA) Down Under: evaluation of a pilot implementation." LaboratoriumsMedizin 42, no. 6 (December 19, 2018): 297–304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/labmed-2018-0050.
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AbstractExternal quality assurance (EQA) provides ongoing evaluation to verify that laboratory medicine results conform to quality standards expected for patient care. While attention has focused predominantly on test accuracy, the diagnostic phases, consisting of pre- and post-laboratory phases of testing, have thus far lagged in the development of an appropriate diagnostic-phase EQA program. One of the challenges faced by Australian EQA has been a lack of standardisation or “harmonisation” resulting from variations in reporting between different laboratory medicine providers. This may introduce interpretation errors and misunderstanding of results by clinicians, resulting in a threat to patient safety. While initiatives such as the Australian Pathology Information, Terminology and Units Standardisation (PITUS) program have produced Standards for Pathology Informatics in Australia (SPIA), conformity to these requires regular monitoring to maintain integrity of data between sending (laboratory medicine providers) and receiving (physicians, MyHealth Record, registries) organisations’ systems. The PITUS 16 Informatics EQA (IEQA) Project together with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs (RCPAQAP) has created a system to perform quality assurance on the electronic laboratory message when the laboratory sends a result back to the EQA provider. The purpose of this study was to perform a small scale pilot implementation of an IEQA protocol, which was performed to test the suitability of the system to check compliance of existing Health Level-7 (HL7 v2.4) reporting standards localised and constrained by the RCPA SPIA. Here, we present key milestones from the implementation, including: (1) software development, (2) installation, and verification of the system and communication services, (3) implementation of the IEQA program and compliance testing of the received HL7 v2.4 report messages, (4) compilation of a draft Informatics Program Survey Report for each laboratory and (5) review consisting of presentation of a report showing the compliance checking tool to each participating laboratory.
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Sidhu, Navdeep S., Alwin Chuan, and Christopher H. Mitchell. "Recommendations and resources for regional anaesthesia Fellowships in Australia and New Zealand." Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 47, no. 5 (August 22, 2019): 452–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0310057x19861113.
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Regional anaesthesia is a fundamental aspect of anaesthesia practice. Structured Fellowships in regional anaesthesia facilitate the development of expert clinicians, scholars and future leaders. The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists accredits training sites for the final year of Fellowship training but does not outline specific guidance for subspecialty training. Based on evidence from a systematic literature review and best-practice medical education principles, the ideal structure for a regional anaesthesia Fellowship programme in Australia and New Zealand is outlined in four categories: (a) structure and duration of training; (b) educational aspects; (c) institutional organization; (d) evaluation and improvement. Departments may use this resource to help design, implement and improve their Fellowship programmes while trainees may employ it as a reference to achieve their learning goals at any training stage. Continuing professional education plays a central role in achieving and maintaining mastery of regional anaesthesia competencies.
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Hui, Daphne, Bert Dolcine, and Hannah Loshak. "Approaches to Evaluations of Virtual Care in Primary Care." Canadian Journal of Health Technologies 2, no. 1 (January 12, 2022): es0358. http://dx.doi.org/10.51731/cjht.2022.238.
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A literature search informed this Environmental Scan and identified 11 evaluations of virtual care in primary care health settings and 7 publications alluding to methods, standards, and guidelines (referred to as evaluation guidance documents in this report) being used in various countries to evaluate virtual care in primary care health settings. The majority of included literature was from Australia, the US, and the UK, with 2 evaluation guidance documents published by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Evaluation guidance documents recommended using measurements that assess the effectiveness and quality of clinical care including safety outcomes, time and travel, financial and operational impact, participation, health care utilization, technology experience including feasibility, user satisfaction, and barriers and facilitators or measures of health equity.
Evaluation guidance documents specified that the following key decisions and considerations should be integrated into the planning of a virtual care evaluation: refining the scope of virtual care services; selecting an appropriate meaningful comparator; and identifying opportune timing and duration for the evaluation to ensure the evaluation is reflective of real-world practice, allows for adequate measurement of outcomes, and is comprehensive, timely, feasible, non-complex, and non–resource-intensive.
Evaluation guidance documents highlighted that evaluations should be systematic, performed regularly, and reflect the stage of virtual care implementation to encompass the specific considerations associated with each stage. Additionally, evaluations should assess individual virtual care sessions and the virtual care program as a whole.
Regarding economic components of virtual care evaluations, the evaluation guidance documents noted that costs or savings are not limited to monetary or financial measures but can also be represented with time. Cost analyses such as cost-benefit and cost-utility estimates should be performed with a specific emphasis on selecting an appropriate perspective (e.g., patient or provider), as that influences the benefits, effects, and how the outcome is interpreted.
Two identified evaluations assessed economic outcomes through cost analyses in the perspective of the patient and provider. Evidence suggests that, in some circumstances, virtual care may be more cost-effective and reduces the cost per episode and patient expenses (e.g., travel and parking costs) compared to in-person care. However, virtual care may increase the number of individuals treated, which would increase overall health care spending.
Four identified evaluations assessed health care utilization. The evidence suggests that virtual care reduces the duration of appointments and may be more time-efficient compared to in-person care. However, it is unclear if virtual care reduces the use of medical resources and the need for follow-up appointments, hospital admissions, and emergency department visits compared to in-person care.
Five identified evaluations assessed participation outcomes. Evidence was variable, with some evidence reporting that virtual care reduced attendance (e.g., reduced attendance rates) and other evidence noting improved attendance (e.g., increased completion rate and decreased cancellations and no-show rates) compared to in-person care.
Three identified evaluations assessed clinical outcomes in various health contexts. Some evidence suggested that virtual care improves clinical outcomes (e.g., in primary care with integrated mental health services, symptom severity decreased) or has a similar effect on clinical outcomes compared to in-person care (e.g., use of virtual care in depression elicited similar results with in-person care).
Three identified evaluations assessed the appropriateness of prescribing. Some studies suggested that virtual care improves appropriateness by increasing guideline-based or guideline-concordant antibiotic management, or elicits no difference with in-person care.
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Omelyanovskiy, V. V., E. S. Saybel, T. P. Bezdenezhnykh, and G. R. Khachatryan. "The health technology assessment system in Australia." FARMAKOEKONOMIKA. Modern Pharmacoeconomic and Pharmacoepidemiology 12, no. 4 (February 18, 2020): 333–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.17749/2070-4909.2019.12.4.333-341.
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In Australia, the federal government is in charge of providing the health care to patients. The government agencies determine the list of reimbursable pharmaceuticals and medical services and also define the preferential categories of the population. The states and territories may have their own health care programs in addition to the federal ones. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) is responsible for the health technology assessment (HTA) and decides which technology is eligible for reimbursement by the federal budget. The drug evaluation process includes five stages: a review of general information about the product, assessment of its clinical efficacy, cost-effectiveness analysis, assessment of financial implications of including the drug in the reimbursement list, and consideration of any other factors that may influence the committee decision. In addition to the full reimbursement of pharmaceuticals, the committee may decide to provide funding based on a managed entry agreement.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Medical care Australia Evaluation"
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McGuiness, Clare Frances. "Client perceptions : a useful measure of coordination of health care." View thesis entry in Australian Digital Theses Program, 2001. http://thesis.anu.edu.au/public/adt-ANU20020124.141250/index.html.
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McCreanor, Victoria Helen Rarity. "Identifying high-value care for coronary artery disease in Australia." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2019. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/130756/1/Victoria_McCreanor_Thesis.pdf.
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This project compared the cost-effectiveness of drug therapy, stents and surgery for Australian patients with heart disease, modelling their long-term treatment trajectories, costs and health outcomes. It showed that drug therapy is high-value and that the health system, and Australians, would benefit from targeted rather than routine use of stents. This research provides policy recommendations to reduce the use of low-value care and increase the use of high-value care for Australian patients with heart disease.
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Carter, Robert C. (Robert Charles) 1950. "The macro economic evaluation model (MEEM) : an approach to priority setting in the health sector." Monash University, Dept. of Management, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8672.
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Forsyth, Rowena Public Health & Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine UNSW. "Tricky technology, troubled tribes: a video ethnographic study of the impact of information technology on health care professionals??? practices and relationships." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Public Health and Community Medicine, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/30175.
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Whilst technology use has always been a part of the practice of health care delivery, more recently, information technology has been applied to aspects of clinical work concerned with documentation. This thesis presents an analysis of the ways that two professional groups, one clinical and one ancillary, at a single hospital cooperatively engage in a work practice that has recently been computerised. It investigates the way that a clinical group???s approach to and actual use of the system creates problems for the ancillary group. It understands these problems to arise from the contrasting ways that the groups position their use of documentation technology in their local definitions of professional status. The data on which analysis of these practices is based includes 16 hours of video recordings of the work practices of the two groups as they engage with the technology in their local work settings as well as video recordings of a reflexive viewing session conducted with participants from the ancillary group. Also included in the analysis are observational field notes, interviews and documentary analysis. The analysis aimed to produce a set of themes grounded in the specifics of the data, and drew on TLSTranscription?? software for the management and classification of video data. This thesis seeks to contribute to three research fields: health informatics, sociology of professions and social science research methodology. In terms of health informatics, this thesis argues for the necessity for health care information technology design to understand and incorporate the work practices of all professional groups who will be involved in using the technology system or whose work will be affected by its introduction. In terms of the sociology of professions, this thesis finds doctors and scientists to belong to two distinct occupational communities that each utilise documentation technology to different extents in their displays of professional competence. Thirdly, in terms of social science research methodology, this thesis speculates about the possibility for viewing the engagement of the groups with the research process as indicative of their reactions to future sources of outside perturbance to their work.
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Brereton, John. "An evaluation of introducing advanced airway skills in the Western Australian Ambulance Service." University of Western Australia. Emergency Medicine Discipline Group, 2004. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2005.0065.
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[Truncated abstract] Objective: To investigate the demographics, success rate of application, nature and frequency of complication and the survival outcome of patients receiving advanced airway management in the pre-hospital setting. Design: Prospective observational cohort study. Participants: Patients who were attended to by St. John Ambulance Paramedics in the Perth Metropolitan area and selected regional areas within Western Australia. The patients were unconscious, unresponsive with no gag reflex and where application of an advanced airway would improve ventilation. Methods: Ambulance Paramedics received mannequin training within the classroom environment on the techniques for the application of the Endo-Tracheal Tube and the Laryngeal Mask Airway. The indication for the application of an advanced airway was any patient whose ventilation may be improved by intubation. These patients would be either deeply unconscious and areflexic, long term transport, severely injured (especially head injured) or cardiac arrest patients. Results: ... Paramedic assessment demonstrated that 14 (7.4%) 3 patients had an improvement in outcome. Of the 14 patients, 5 (2.7%) cardiac arrest patients survived to discharge from hospital compared to a 2.1 % survival rate for all cardiac arrest cases attended by the WAAS in 2002. Conclusion: Ambulance Paramedics can successfully apply an advanced airway apparatus in the pre-hospital environment. There was no statistical significance to demonstrate whether the introduction of advanced airway skills was beneficial or detrimental to patient survival outcome.
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Bennett, Paul J. "An investigation into the health related outcomes of surgery performed by Fellows of the Australian College of Podiatric Surgeons." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1999. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/36746/1/36746_Digitised%20Thesis.pdf.
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Health care providers in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia debate the need for expanding the role of podiatrists' to include the surgical care of foot problems. Paradoxically, during a twelve month period from July 1995 to June 1996, Fellows of the Australian College of Podiatric Surgeons (FACPS) performed over 1,500 individual surgical operations on approximately 785 Australians.
Few prospective investigations of podiatric surgeon outcomes have been conducted, none of which have taken place in Australia. More particularly, no studies have used valid psychometric instruments to measure the effects of care provided on patients' "health related quality of life". The research contained in this thesis deals with the conceptualisation, development and validation of a new health status instrument: the Foot Health Status Questionnaire. This instrument has been developed with the specific intent of investigating the impact of FACPS on patients' health related quality of life.
One hundred and forty-two subjects treated by eleven Fellows for orthopaedic, neurological or integumentary systems diseases of the foot were recruited into a six month long quasi-experimental repeated measures (time series) study. The study identified that the vast majority of subjects (more than 92%) who underwent foot surgery experienced significant improvements' in a range of health related quality of life dimensions and indicated that they would undergo their procedure again. In particular, a MANCOVA analysis demonstrated that subjects' reported reduced levels of foot pain, increased levels of physical function, improved general foot health perception and footwear related quality of life, up to six months after their respective operations.
Adverse effects of surgery identified in this study include a significant short-term functional disability for subjects' undergoing orthopaedic correction of foot problems and, in the immediate post operative phase, a significant reduction in social function for all three groups of subjects'. Generic measures of General Health and Vitality, as captured by the Short Form 36 health status instrument, were unaffected by Fellows treatment. This study did not identify any significant short to medium term morbid outcomes.
Assessment of patients' satisfaction with surgery one, three and six months postoperatively reflected a general under-reporting of the beneficial effects of foot surgery. These findings support the premise that; specific health related quality of life measures provide significant explanatory power about the outcomes of care compared with the more traditional approach of evaluating patient satisfaction with surgery.
In summary, it has been recommended that podiatrists, like other health care professionals, use recognised methods to determine whether their care meets professional standards and to generate evidence to prove that it does. This research contributes to meeting this important public health need.
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Kelman, Christopher William, and christopher kelman@cmis csiro au. "Monitoring Health Care Using National Administrative Data Collections." The Australian National University. National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, 2001. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20020620.151547.
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With the inevitable adoption of information technology into all areas of human pursuit, the potential benefits for health care should not be overlooked. In Australia, details of most health care encounters are currently recorded for administrative purposes. This results in an impressive electronic data-bank that could provide a national resource for health service evaluation.
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Evaluation of health services has become increasingly important to provide indicators of the benefits, risks and cost-effectiveness of treatments. However, if administrative data are to be used for this purpose, several questions must first be addressed: Are the current data collections accessible? What outcome measures can be derived from these data? Can privacy issues be managed? Could the quality of the data be improved? Is the existing infrastructure adequate to supply data for evaluation purposes? Could the existing system provide a basis for the development of an integrated health information system?
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The aims of the project were:
· To examine the potential for using administrative data to generate outcome measures and surveillance indicators.
· To investigate the logistics of gaining access to these data for the purpose of research. This to be achieved within the current ethical, political and financial framework.
· To compare the Australian health-service data system with the current international state-of-the-art.
· To develop suggestions for expansion of the present system as part of an integrated health record and information system. This system to manage patient records and provide data for quality management, treatment surveillance and cost-effectiveness evaluation as a routine activity.
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The thesis is presented in two parts. In the first part, a historical cohort study is described that involved patients with implantable medical devices. The potential to evaluate outcomes was investigated using all national health-service information currently available in electronic form. Record linkage techniques were used to combine and augment the existing data collections. Australias national health databases are to varying degrees, amenable to such linkage and cover doctor visits, pharmaceuticals, hospital admissions and deaths. The study focused on medical devices as an illustrative case but the results are applicable to the routine assessment of all medical and surgical interventions.
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For the Australian Medical Devices study, the records of 5,316 patients who had medical device implants in 1993-94 were selected from the archives of a major private health insurer. Five groups of medical implants were studied: heart valves, pacemakers, hips, vascular grafts and intra-optic lenses. Outcomes for these patients, including death, re-operation and health service utilisation, were compared and analysed.
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A comparison study was performed using data from the Manitoba Health database in Winnipeg, Canada. Manitoba provides a very similar demographic group to that found in Australia and is an example of a prototype integrated-health-information system. One of the principal advantages for research is that personally identified data about medical and hospital services are collected for all patients. Selection bias is eliminated because individual consent is not required for this type of research and all selected patients could be included in the study.
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The two studies revealed many barriers to the use of administrative data for health outcomes research. Service event data for the Australian cohort could be collected but only after long delays and hospital morbidity data were not available for the entire cohort. In contrast to the situation in Australia, the Manitoba data were both accessible and complete, but were lacking in detail in some areas.
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Analysis of the collected data demonstrated that without the addition of clinical data only general indications of trends could be deduced. However, with minimal supplementary clinical data, it was possible to examine differences in performance between brands of medical devices thus indicating one of the uses for this type of data collection.
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In the second part of the thesis, conclusions are presented about the potential uses and limitations of the existing system and its use as a basis for the development of a national Integrated Health Record and Information System (IHRIS). The need for the establishment of a systemic quality management system for health care is discussed.
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The study shows that linked administrative data can provide information about health outcomes which is not readily available from other sources. If expanded and integrated, the system that is currently used to collect and manage administrative data, could provide the basis for a national health information system. This system would provide many benefits for health care. Benefits would include the monitoring, surveillance and cost-effectiveness analysis of new and existing treatments involving medical devices, drugs and surgical procedures. An integrated health information system could thus provide for both clinical and administrative needs, while in addition providing data for research.
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Unfortunately, in Australia, the use of administrative data for this purpose is not currently feasible. The principal barrier is the existence of a culture within the Australian health care system which is not supportive of research and is deficient in quality and safety measures.
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Recent initiatives by both the Commonwealth and state governments have supported the introduction of measures to improve quality and safety in health care. It is argued here that an Integrated Health Record and Information System (IHRIS) would provide an essential component of any such scheme. The results of this study have important policy implications for health care management in both the administrative and clinical domains.
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Ho, Kwok Ming. "Use of prognostic scoring systems to predict outcomes of critically ill patients." University of Western Australia. School of Medicine and Pharmacology, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0101.
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[Tuncated abstract] This research thesis consists of five sections. Section one provides the background information (chapter 1) and a description of characteristics of the cohort and the methods of analysis (chapter 2). The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scoring system is one of commonly used severity of illness scoring systems in many intensive care units (ICUs). Section two of this thesis includes an assessment of the performance of the APACHE II scoring system in an Australian context. First, the performance of the APACHE II scoring system in predicting hospital mortality of critically ill patients in an ICU of a tertiary university teaching hospital in Western Australia was assessed (Chapter 3). Second, a simple modification of the traditional APACHE II scoring system, the 'admission APACHE II scoring system', generated by replacing the worst first 24-hour data by the ICU admission physiological and laboratory data was assessed (Chapter 3). Indigenous and Aboriginal Australians constitute a significant proportion of the population in Western Australia (3.2%) and have marked social disadvantage when compared to other Australians. The difference in the pattern of critical illness between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and also whether the performance of the APACHE II scoring system was comparable between these two groups of critically ill patients in Western Australia was assessed (Chapter 4). Both discrimination and calibration are important indicators of the performance of a prognostic scoring system. ... The use of the APACHE II scoring system in patients readmitted to ICU during the same hospitalisation was evaluated and also whether incorporating events prior to the ICU readmission to the APACHE II scoring system would improve its ability to predict hospital mortality of ICU readmission was assessed in chapter 10. Whilst there have been a number of studies investigating predictors of post-ICU in-hospital mortality none have investigated whether unresolved or latent inflammation and sepsis may be an important predictor. Section four examines the role of inflammatory markers measured at ICU discharge on predicting ICU re- 4 admission (Chapter 11) and in-hospital mortality during the same hospitalisation (Chapter 12) and whether some of these inflammatory markers were more important than organ failure score and the APACHE II scoring system in predicting these outcomes. Section five describes the development of a new prognostic scoring system that can estimate median survival time and long term survival probabilities for critically ill patients (Chapter 13). An assessment of the effects of other factors such as socioeconomic status and Aboriginality on the long term survival of critically ill patients in an Australian ICU was assessed (Chapter 14). Section six provides the conclusions. Chapter 15 includes a summary and discussion of the findings of this thesis and outlines possible future directions for further research in this important aspect of intensive care medicine.
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Patterson, Jan. "Consumers and complaints systems in health care /." Title page, contents and summary only, 1996. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09php3174.pdf.
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Sinclair, Andrew James, and n/a. "The primary health care experiences of gay men in Australia." Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au./public/adt-VSWT20060713.084655.
Full textAbstract:
The present research, consisting of two studies, was designed to examine the
primary health care experiences of gay men in Australia and assess doctors? attitudes and
training with regard to gay men and their health care. In the first study, 195 gay men were
surveyed regarding their health issues and their primary health care experiences. The
most important health concerns of gay men were stress and depression followed by
HIV/AIDS, body image disorder and other sexually transmissible infections. Including
those participants who were unsure, approximately one-half reported experiencing
homophobia and almost one?quarter reported experiencing discrimination in the
provision of health care. Despite this, respondents were generally satisfied with their
primary health care, although respondents felt that all GPs should receive additional
undergraduate medical education regarding gay men?s health. In the second study, 25
doctors (13 gay specialists and 12 non-gay specialists) were surveyed regarding their
knowledge of gay men?s health and their comfort working with gay men. Non-gay
specialist GPs were less comfortable treating gay men, reported poorer communication
and were more homophobic than their gay specialist counterparts. Further, doctors
perceived their medical education regarding gay men?s health has been inadequate.
Together, the results of the two current studies suggest that disclosure of sexuality is an
important issue for both gay men and doctors, and has the potential to impact on the
quality of health care that gay men receive. In order to improve the level of disclosure,
the pervasiveness of homophobia and discrimination in primary health care must be
reduced. Finally, the results indicate that medical education must be updated to reflect
current knowledge regarding the health issues of gay men. Failure to address these issues
will condemn gay men to continued health inequality.
Books on the topic "Medical care Australia Evaluation"
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Britt, Helena. BEACH: Bettering the evaluation and care of health : changes in pathology ordering by general practitioners in Australia,1998-2001. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2003.
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Britt, Helena. Imaging orders by general practitioners in Australia 1999-00 / $c BEACH, Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health ; Helena Britt, Graeme C. Miller, Stephanie Knox. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2001.
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Wisconsin. Legislature. Legislative Audit Bureau. Medical Assistance Program: An evaluation. Madison, Wisconsin: Legislative Audit Bureau, 2011.
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Gérard, Gäfgen, and Oberender Peter, eds. Evaluation gesundheitspolitischer Massnahmen. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1991.
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Duckett, S. J. Health care in the U.S.: What lessons for Australia? [Sydney]: Australian Centre for American Studies, 1997.
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Australian Centre For Health Research. Health care in Australia: Prescriptions for improvement. South Melbourne, Vic: Australian Centre for Health Research, 2011.
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Looper, Michael De. International health: How Australia compares. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1998.
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Vittorio, Demicheli, and Mugford Miranda, eds. Elementary economic evaluation in health care. London: BMJ Pub. Group, 1996.
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Iredale, Robyn R. Health professionals in multicultural Australia. Wollongong NSW, Australia: Centre for Multicultural Studies, University of Wollongong, 1992.
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Gardner, Heather. Health policy in Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Medical care Australia Evaluation"
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McKenzie, Katherine C. "Medical Evaluation of Asylum Seekers." In Refugee Health Care, 235–41. New York, NY: Springer New York, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0271-2_17.
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McKenzie, Katherine C. "Medical Evaluation of Asylum Seekers." In Refugee Health Care, 303–10. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47668-7_19.
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Yusuf, Farhat, and Stephen R. Leeder. "Household Expenditure on Medical Care and Health in Australia." In Emerging Techniques in Applied Demography, 189–210. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8990-5_13.
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Jorgensen, Torben. "Criteria for Evaluation of Information Technology in Health Care." In Medical Informatics Europe ’90, 702–6. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1990. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-51659-7_132.
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Kostkova, Patty, and Gemma Madle. "User-Centered Evaluation Model for Medical Digital Libraries." In Knowledge Management for Health Care Procedures, 92–103. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03262-2_8.
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Ament, André, and Mariëlle L’Ortye. "Economic evaluation of electronic communication in health care (3I-project)." In Medical Informatics Europe ’90, 130–34. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1990. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-51659-7_27.
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Coilly, Audrey, and Didier Samuel. "Selection and Evaluation of the Recipient (Including Retransplantation)." In Medical Care of the Liver Transplant Patient, 1–12. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444398441.ch1.
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Hall, Bonnie Huang. "Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain." In Evaluation and Management of Chronic Pain for Primary Care, 197–209. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47117-0_14.
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Blogg, Suzanne, and Leanne Atkins. "Evaluation of Multifaceted Programs." In Improving Use of Medicines and Medical Tests in Primary Care, 297–314. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2333-5_13.
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Beresford, Thomas P. "Psychiatric and Substance abuse Evaluation of the Potential Liver Transplant Recipient." In Medical Care of the Liver Transplant Patient, 62–74. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444398441.ch6.
Full textConference papers on the topic "Medical care Australia Evaluation"
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Scherer, Laura, Victoria Shaffer, Jeffrey DeWitt, Tanner Caverly, and Brian Zikmund-Fisher. "77 Medical maximizing-minimizing and patient preferences for high and low-benefit care, perceived acceptability of recommendations against low-benefit care, and patient satisfaction." In Preventing Overdiagnosis Abstracts, December 2019, Sydney, Australia. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjebm-2019-pod.89.
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Grzegorz Broda, Lukasz, Taiwo Oseni, Andrew Stranieri, Rodrigo Marino, Jodie Robinson, and Mark Yates. "The Design of a Smartbrush Oral Health Installation for Aged Care Centres in Australia." In ICMHI 2021: 2021 5th International Conference on Medical and Health Informatics. New York, NY, USA: ACM, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3472813.3473186.
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Söderberg, Marcus, and Sonny La. "Evaluation of adaptation strengths of CARE Dose 4D in pediatric CT." In SPIE Medical Imaging, edited by Robert M. Nishikawa and Bruce R. Whiting. SPIE, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2001694.
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Kundel, Harold L., Sridhar B. Seshadri, Peter E. Shile, Marcia Polansky, Curtis P. Langlotz, Paul N. Lanken, Steven C. Horii, et al. "Evaluation of PACS in a medical intensive care unit: the effect of computed radiography." In Medical Imaging 1994, edited by R. Gilbert Jost. SPIE, 1994. http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.174335.
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Delorenzo, A., St T. Clair, E. Andrew, S. Bernard, and K. Smith. "33 Characteristics of patients undergoing pre-hospital rapid sequence intubation by intensive care flight paramedics in victoria, australia." In Meeting abstracts from the second European Emergency Medical Services Congress (EMS2017). British Medical Journal Publishing Group, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-emsabstracts.33.
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Bryan, Stirling, Gwyneth C. Weatherburn, Joanne Taylor, and Martin J. Buxton. "Evaluation of PACS at Hammersmith Hospital: assessment of radiology department performance in the intensive care unit." In Medical Imaging 1993, edited by R. Gilbert Jost. SPIE, 1993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.152912.
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Inscoe, Christina R., Alex J. Billingsley, Connor Puett, Daniel Nissman, Jianping Lu, Yueh Lee, and Otto Zhou. "Preliminary imaging evaluation of a compact tomosynthesis system for potential point-of-care extremity imaging." In Physics of Medical Imaging, edited by Hilde Bosmans and Guang-Hong Chen. SPIE, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2549329.
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Fukuoka, Kenji, Shingo Aoki, and Yukie Majima. "Medical care system evaluation based on DEA of prefectures in Japan." In 2011 IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems (FUZZ-IEEE). IEEE, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/fuzzy.2011.6007539.
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Willoughby, J., P. Duncan, and A. Trivedi. "Evaluation of a Formal Medical Intensive Care Unit Curriculum for Housestaff." In American Thoracic Society 2019 International Conference, May 17-22, 2019 - Dallas, TX. American Thoracic Society, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2019.199.1_meetingabstracts.a4788.
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Souza, M. C. D., M. V. Nobrega, and M. Silveira. "Proposition of an operational flow for medical electrical equipment evaluation for SUS Bahia." In 2011 Pan American Health Care Exchanges (PAHCE 2011). IEEE, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/pahce.2011.5871835.
Full textReports on the topic "Medical care Australia Evaluation"
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Little, Bonnie. Outcome evaluation of medical care utilizing Goal attainment scaling. Portland State University Library, January 2000. http://dx.doi.org/10.15760/etd.2801.
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Olson, Carl T., Frances M. Reid, Nancy A. Niemuth, Mark R. Perry, and James E. Estep. A Medical Research and Evaluation Facility (MREF) and Studies Supporting the Medical Chemical Defense Program. Respiratory Casualty Care Management in the Field Medical Environment. Fort Belvoir, VA: Defense Technical Information Center, July 2000. http://dx.doi.org/10.21236/ada382527.
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Rankin, Nicole, Deborah McGregor, Candice Donnelly, Bethany Van Dort, Richard De Abreu Lourenco, Anne Cust, and Emily Stone. Lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography for high risk populations: Investigating effectiveness and screening program implementation considerations: An Evidence Check rapid review brokered by the Sax Institute (www.saxinstitute.org.au) for the Cancer Institute NSW. The Sax Institute, October 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.57022/clzt5093.
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Background Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death worldwide.(1) It is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia (12,741 cases diagnosed in 2018) and the leading cause of cancer death.(2) The number of years of potential life lost to lung cancer in Australia is estimated to be 58,450, similar to that of colorectal and breast cancer combined.(3) While tobacco control strategies are most effective for disease prevention in the general population, early detection via low dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening in high-risk populations is a viable option for detecting asymptomatic disease in current (13%) and former (24%) Australian smokers.(4) The purpose of this Evidence Check review is to identify and analyse existing and emerging evidence for LDCT lung cancer screening in high-risk individuals to guide future program and policy planning. Evidence Check questions This review aimed to address the following questions: 1. What is the evidence for the effectiveness of lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? 2. What is the evidence of potential harms from lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? 3. What are the main components of recent major lung cancer screening programs or trials? 4. What is the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening programs (include studies of cost–utility)? Summary of methods The authors searched the peer-reviewed literature across three databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase) for existing systematic reviews and original studies published between 1 January 2009 and 8 August 2019. Fifteen systematic reviews (of which 8 were contemporary) and 64 original publications met the inclusion criteria set across the four questions. Key findings Question 1: What is the evidence for the effectiveness of lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? There is sufficient evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of combined (pooled) data from screening trials (of high-risk individuals) to indicate that LDCT examination is clinically effective in reducing lung cancer mortality. In 2011, the landmark National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST, a large-scale randomised controlled trial [RCT] conducted in the US) reported a 20% (95% CI 6.8% – 26.7%; P=0.004) relative reduction in mortality among long-term heavy smokers over three rounds of annual screening. High-risk eligibility criteria was defined as people aged 55–74 years with a smoking history of ≥30 pack-years (years in which a smoker has consumed 20-plus cigarettes each day) and, for former smokers, ≥30 pack-years and have quit within the past 15 years.(5) All-cause mortality was reduced by 6.7% (95% CI, 1.2% – 13.6%; P=0.02). Initial data from the second landmark RCT, the NEderlands-Leuvens Longkanker Screenings ONderzoek (known as the NELSON trial), have found an even greater reduction of 26% (95% CI, 9% – 41%) in lung cancer mortality, with full trial results yet to be published.(6, 7) Pooled analyses, including several smaller-scale European LDCT screening trials insufficiently powered in their own right, collectively demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in lung cancer mortality (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.73–0.91).(8) Despite the reduction in all-cause mortality found in the NLST, pooled analyses of seven trials found no statistically significant difference in all-cause mortality (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.90–1.00).(8) However, cancer-specific mortality is currently the most relevant outcome in cancer screening trials. These seven trials demonstrated a significantly greater proportion of early stage cancers in LDCT groups compared with controls (RR 2.08, 95% CI 1.43–3.03). Thus, when considering results across mortality outcomes and early stage cancers diagnosed, LDCT screening is considered to be clinically effective. Question 2: What is the evidence of potential harms from lung cancer screening for higher-risk individuals? The harms of LDCT lung cancer screening include false positive tests and the consequences of unnecessary invasive follow-up procedures for conditions that are eventually diagnosed as benign. While LDCT screening leads to an increased frequency of invasive procedures, it does not result in greater mortality soon after an invasive procedure (in trial settings when compared with the control arm).(8) Overdiagnosis, exposure to radiation, psychological distress and an impact on quality of life are other known harms. Systematic review evidence indicates the benefits of LDCT screening are likely to outweigh the harms. The potential harms are likely to be reduced as refinements are made to LDCT screening protocols through: i) the application of risk predication models (e.g. the PLCOm2012), which enable a more accurate selection of the high-risk population through the use of specific criteria (beyond age and smoking history); ii) the use of nodule management algorithms (e.g. Lung-RADS, PanCan), which assist in the diagnostic evaluation of screen-detected nodules and cancers (e.g. more precise volumetric assessment of nodules); and, iii) more judicious selection of patients for invasive procedures. Recent evidence suggests a positive LDCT result may transiently increase psychological distress but does not have long-term adverse effects on psychological distress or health-related quality of life (HRQoL). With regards to smoking cessation, there is no evidence to suggest screening participation invokes a false sense of assurance in smokers, nor a reduction in motivation to quit. The NELSON and Danish trials found no difference in smoking cessation rates between LDCT screening and control groups. Higher net cessation rates, compared with general population, suggest those who participate in screening trials may already be motivated to quit. Question 3: What are the main components of recent major lung cancer screening programs or trials? There are no systematic reviews that capture the main components of recent major lung cancer screening trials and programs. We extracted evidence from original studies and clinical guidance documents and organised this into key groups to form a concise set of components for potential implementation of a national lung cancer screening program in Australia: 1. Identifying the high-risk population: recruitment, eligibility, selection and referral 2. Educating the public, people at high risk and healthcare providers; this includes creating awareness of lung cancer, the benefits and harms of LDCT screening, and shared decision-making 3. Components necessary for health services to deliver a screening program: a. Planning phase: e.g. human resources to coordinate the program, electronic data systems that integrate medical records information and link to an established national registry b. Implementation phase: e.g. human and technological resources required to conduct LDCT examinations, interpretation of reports and communication of results to participants c. Monitoring and evaluation phase: e.g. monitoring outcomes across patients, radiological reporting, compliance with established standards and a quality assurance program 4. Data reporting and research, e.g. audit and feedback to multidisciplinary teams, reporting outcomes to enhance international research into LDCT screening 5. Incorporation of smoking cessation interventions, e.g. specific programs designed for LDCT screening or referral to existing community or hospital-based services that deliver cessation interventions. Most original studies are single-institution evaluations that contain descriptive data about the processes required to establish and implement a high-risk population-based screening program. Across all studies there is a consistent message as to the challenges and complexities of establishing LDCT screening programs to attract people at high risk who will receive the greatest benefits from participation. With regards to smoking cessation, evidence from one systematic review indicates the optimal strategy for incorporating smoking cessation interventions into a LDCT screening program is unclear. There is widespread agreement that LDCT screening attendance presents a ‘teachable moment’ for cessation advice, especially among those people who receive a positive scan result. Smoking cessation is an area of significant research investment; for instance, eight US-based clinical trials are now underway that aim to address how best to design and deliver cessation programs within large-scale LDCT screening programs.(9) Question 4: What is the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening programs (include studies of cost–utility)? Assessing the value or cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening involves a complex interplay of factors including data on effectiveness and costs, and institutional context. A key input is data about the effectiveness of potential and current screening programs with respect to case detection, and the likely outcomes of treating those cases sooner (in the presence of LDCT screening) as opposed to later (in the absence of LDCT screening). Evidence about the cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening programs has been summarised in two systematic reviews. We identified a further 13 studies—five modelling studies, one discrete choice experiment and seven articles—that used a variety of methods to assess cost-effectiveness. Three modelling studies indicated LDCT screening was cost-effective in the settings of the US and Europe. Two studies—one from Australia and one from New Zealand—reported LDCT screening would not be cost-effective using NLST-like protocols. We anticipate that, following the full publication of the NELSON trial, cost-effectiveness studies will likely be updated with new data that reduce uncertainty about factors that influence modelling outcomes, including the findings of indeterminate nodules. Gaps in the evidence There is a large and accessible body of evidence as to the effectiveness (Q1) and harms (Q2) of LDCT screening for lung cancer. Nevertheless, there are significant gaps in the evidence about the program components that are required to implement an effective LDCT screening program (Q3). Questions about LDCT screening acceptability and feasibility were not explicitly included in the scope. However, as the evidence is based primarily on US programs and UK pilot studies, the relevance to the local setting requires careful consideration. The Queensland Lung Cancer Screening Study provides feasibility data about clinical aspects of LDCT screening but little about program design. The International Lung Screening Trial is still in the recruitment phase and findings are not yet available for inclusion in this Evidence Check. The Australian Population Based Screening Framework was developed to “inform decision-makers on the key issues to be considered when assessing potential screening programs in Australia”.(10) As the Framework is specific to population-based, rather than high-risk, screening programs, there is a lack of clarity about transferability of criteria. However, the Framework criteria do stipulate that a screening program must be acceptable to “important subgroups such as target participants who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from disadvantaged groups and people with a disability”.(10) An extensive search of the literature highlighted that there is very little information about the acceptability of LDCT screening to these population groups in Australia. Yet they are part of the high-risk population.(10) There are also considerable gaps in the evidence about the cost-effectiveness of LDCT screening in different settings, including Australia. The evidence base in this area is rapidly evolving and is likely to include new data from the NELSON trial and incorporate data about the costs of targeted- and immuno-therapies as these treatments become more widely available in Australia.
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Smit, Amelia, Kate Dunlop, Nehal Singh, Diona Damian, Kylie Vuong, and Anne Cust. Primary prevention of skin cancer in primary care settings. The Sax Institute, August 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.57022/qpsm1481.
Full textAbstract:
Overview Skin cancer prevention is a component of the new Cancer Plan 2022–27, which guides the work of the Cancer Institute NSW. To lessen the impact of skin cancer on the community, the Cancer Institute NSW works closely with the NSW Skin Cancer Prevention Advisory Committee, comprising governmental and non-governmental organisation representatives, to develop and implement the NSW Skin Cancer Prevention Strategy. Primary Health Networks and primary care providers are seen as important stakeholders in this work. To guide improvements in skin cancer prevention and inform the development of the next NSW Skin Cancer Prevention Strategy, an up-to-date review of the evidence on the effectiveness and feasibility of skin cancer prevention activities in primary care is required. A research team led by the Daffodil Centre, a joint venture between the University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW, was contracted to undertake an Evidence Check review to address the questions below. Evidence Check questions This Evidence Check aimed to address the following questions: Question 1: What skin cancer primary prevention activities can be effectively administered in primary care settings? As part of this, identify the key components of such messages, strategies, programs or initiatives that have been effectively implemented and their feasibility in the NSW/Australian context. Question 2: What are the main barriers and enablers for primary care providers in delivering skin cancer primary prevention activities within their setting? Summary of methods The research team conducted a detailed analysis of the published and grey literature, based on a comprehensive search. We developed the search strategy in consultation with a medical librarian at the University of Sydney and the Cancer Institute NSW team, and implemented it across the databases Embase, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Scopus, Cochrane Central and CINAHL. Results were exported and uploaded to Covidence for screening and further selection. The search strategy was designed according to the SPIDER tool for Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Evidence Synthesis, which is a systematic strategy for searching qualitative and mixed-methods research studies. The SPIDER tool facilitates rigour in research by defining key elements of non-quantitative research questions. We included peer-reviewed and grey literature that included skin cancer primary prevention strategies/ interventions/ techniques/ programs within primary care settings, e.g. involving general practitioners and primary care nurses. The literature was limited to publications since 2014, and for studies or programs conducted in Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Western Europe and Scandinavia. We also included relevant systematic reviews and evidence syntheses based on a range of international evidence where also relevant to the Australian context. To address Question 1, about the effectiveness of skin cancer prevention activities in primary care settings, we summarised findings from the Evidence Check according to different skin cancer prevention activities. To address Question 2, about the barriers and enablers of skin cancer prevention activities in primary care settings, we summarised findings according to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). The CFIR is a framework for identifying important implementation considerations for novel interventions in healthcare settings and provides a practical guide for systematically assessing potential barriers and facilitators in preparation for implementing a new activity or program. We assessed study quality using the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) levels of evidence. Key findings We identified 25 peer-reviewed journal articles that met the eligibility criteria and we included these in the Evidence Check. Eight of the studies were conducted in Australia, six in the UK, and the others elsewhere (mainly other European countries). In addition, the grey literature search identified four relevant guidelines, 12 education/training resources, two Cancer Care pathways, two position statements, three reports and five other resources that we included in the Evidence Check. Question 1 (related to effectiveness) We categorised the studies into different types of skin cancer prevention activities: behavioural counselling (n=3); risk assessment and delivering risk-tailored information (n=10); new technologies for early detection and accompanying prevention advice (n=4); and education and training programs for general practitioners (GPs) and primary care nurses regarding skin cancer prevention (n=3). There was good evidence that behavioural counselling interventions can result in a small improvement in sun protection behaviours among adults with fair skin types (defined as ivory or pale skin, light hair and eye colour, freckles, or those who sunburn easily), which would include the majority of Australians. It was found that clinicians play an important role in counselling patients about sun-protective behaviours, and recommended tailoring messages to the age and demographics of target groups (e.g. high-risk groups) to have maximal influence on behaviours. Several web-based melanoma risk prediction tools are now available in Australia, mainly designed for health professionals to identify patients’ risk of a new or subsequent primary melanoma and guide discussions with patients about primary prevention and early detection. Intervention studies have demonstrated that use of these melanoma risk prediction tools is feasible and acceptable to participants in primary care settings, and there is some evidence, including from Australian studies, that using these risk prediction tools to tailor primary prevention and early detection messages can improve sun-related behaviours. Some studies examined novel technologies, such as apps, to support early detection through skin examinations, including a very limited focus on the provision of preventive advice. These novel technologies are still largely in the research domain rather than recommended for routine use but provide a potential future opportunity to incorporate more primary prevention tailored advice. There are a number of online short courses available for primary healthcare professionals specifically focusing on skin cancer prevention. Most education and training programs for GPs and primary care nurses in the field of skin cancer focus on treatment and early detection, though some programs have specifically incorporated primary prevention education and training. A notable example is the Dermoscopy for Victorian General Practice Program, in which 93% of participating GPs reported that they had increased preventive information provided to high-risk patients and during skin examinations. Question 2 (related to barriers and enablers) Key enablers of performing skin cancer prevention activities in primary care settings included: • Easy access and availability of guidelines and point-of-care tools and resources • A fit with existing workflows and systems, so there is minimal disruption to flow of care • Easy-to-understand patient information • Using the waiting room for collection of risk assessment information on an electronic device such as an iPad/tablet where possible • Pairing with early detection activities • Sharing of successful programs across jurisdictions. Key barriers to performing skin cancer prevention activities in primary care settings included: • Unclear requirements and lack of confidence (self-efficacy) about prevention counselling • Limited availability of GP services especially in regional and remote areas • Competing demands, low priority, lack of time • Lack of incentives.
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James-Scott, Alisha, Rachel Savoy, Donna Lynch-Smith, and tracy McClinton. Impact of Central Line Bundle Care on Reduction of Central Line Associated-Infections: A Scoping Review. University of Tennessee Health Science Center, November 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.21007/con.dnp.2021.0014.
Full textAbstract:
Purpose/Background Central venous catheters (CVC) are typical for critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Due to the invasiveness of this procedure, there is a high risk for central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI). These infections have been known to increase mortality and morbidity, medical costs, and reduce hospital reimbursements. Evidenced-based interventions were grouped to assemble a central line bundle to decrease the number of CLABSIs and improve patient outcomes. This scoping review will evaluate the literature and examine the association between reduced CLABSI rates and central line bundle care implementation or current use. Methods A literature review was completed of nine critically appraised articles from the years 2010-2021. The association of the use of central line bundles and CLABSI rates was examined. These relationships were investigated to determine if the adherence to a central line bundle directly reduced the number of CLABSI rates in critically ill adult patients. A summary evaluation table was composed to determine the associations related to the implementation or current central line bundle care use. Results Of the study sample (N=9), all but one demonstrated a significant decrease in CLABSI rates when a central line bundle was in place. A trend towards reducing CLABSI was noted in the remaining article, a randomized controlled study, but the results were not significantly different. In all the other studies, a meta-analysis, randomized controlled trial, control trial, cohort or case-control studies, and quality improvement project, there was a significant improvement in CLABSI rates when utilizing a central line bundle. The extensive use of different levels of evidence provided an excellent synopsis that implementing a central line bundle care would directly affect decreasing CLABSI rates. Implications for Nursing Practice Results provided in this scoping review afforded the authors a diverse level of evidence that using a central line bundle has a direct outcome on reducing CLABSI rates. This practice can be implemented within the hospital setting as suggested by the literature review to prevent or reduce CLABSI rates. Implementing a standard central line bundle care hospital-wide helps avoid this hospital-acquired infection.
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Gindi, Renee. Health, United States, 2019. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.), 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:100685.
Full textAbstract:
Health, United States, 2019 is the 43rd report on the health status of the nation and is submitted by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to the President and the Congress of the United States in compliance with Section 308 of the Public Health Service Act. This report was compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Health, United States series presents an annual overview of national trends in key health indicators. The 2019 report presents trends and current information on selected measures of morbidity, mortality, health care utilization and access, health risk factors, prevention, health insurance, and personal health care expenditures in a 20-figure chartbook. The Health, United States, 2019 Chartbook is supplemented by several other products including Trend Tables, an At-a-Glance table, and Appendixes available for download on the Health, United States website at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/ index.htm. The Health, United States, 2019 Chartbook contains 20 figures and 20 tables on health and health care in the United States. Examining trends in health informs the development, implementation, and evaluation of health policies and programs. The first section (Figures 1–13) focuses on health status and determinants: life expectancy, infant mortality, selected causes of death, overdose deaths, suicide, maternal mortality, teen births, preterm births, use of tobacco products, asthma, hypertension, heart disease and cancer, and functional limitations. The second section (Figures 14–15) presents trends in health care utilization: use of mammography and colorectal tests and unmet medical needs. The third section (Figures 16–17) focuses on health care resources: availability of physicians and dentists. The fourth section (Figures 18–20) describes trends in personal health care expenditures, health insurance coverage, and supplemental insurance coverage among Medicare beneficiaries. The Highlights section summarizes major findings from the Chartbook. Suggested citation: National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2019. Hyattsville, MD. 2021.
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Foreit, James R. Postabortion family planning benefits clients and providers. Population Council, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.31899/rh16.1006.
Full textAbstract:
A woman’s fertility can return quickly following an abortion or miscarriage, yet recent data show high levels of unmet need for family planning (FP) among women who have been treated for incomplete abortion. This leaves many women at risk of another unintended pregnancy and in some cases subsequent repeated abortions and abortion-related complications. It is thus vital for programs to provide a comprehensive package of postabortion care (PAC) services that includes medical treatment, FP counseling and services, and other reproductive health services such as evaluation and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV counseling and/or testing, and community support and mobilization. Providing FP services within PAC benefits clients and programs. Facilities that can effectively treat women with incomplete abortions can also provide contraceptive services, including counseling and appropriate methods. As stated in this brief, any provider who can treat incomplete abortion can also provide selected FP methods. Clients, providers, and programs benefit when FP methods are provided to postabortion clients at the time of treatment.