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Biomedical subjects

H Vuori

Publications and source records attributed to H Vuori.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

[WHO in former Yugoslavia].

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been at work in the former Yugoslavia since the summer of 1992. The Scandinavian countries have been very active in the project, and many Scandinavian citizens have been involved. Considerable contributions will be required for a long time to come. The article provides an account of the background to the WHO project and of its organisation, working methods and results.

International Cooperation↗
PubMed1992

Epidemiology and Health for All. The role of epidemiology in a health policy.

World Health Organization's goal Health for All is the starting point for a most ambitious health policy ever. The paper analyzes the role of epidemiology in the Organization's work, particularly in the Health for All development. During WHO's early years, epidemiology helped to design and carry out major public health campaigns against such scourges of the humanity as yaws, tuberculosis, malaria and small pox. When the Organization during the 1960s began to emphasize the need to develop the infrastructure of health care, health services research partly replaced epidemiology as WHO's main scientific allay. After the Health for All policy was launched in 1987, epidemiology has again played a major role in establishing the scientific background of the policy. The European experiences show how the epidemiologists can help WHO to identify the most important health problems and set achievable and measurable targets for them. The paper concludes that epidemiology serves to identify problems, show ways to solve them, monitor the changes in the situation and evaluate the achievements.

Epidemiology↗
PubMed1992

Health for all through research on primary care.

This paper first explores what Health for All (HFA) means as a policy goal. It calls for major changes in health care. In the European Region of WHO, 38 targets show how approaches to health problems, lifestyles, environment, health care and support measures (e.g., planning, management and training) should be changed to reach the goal. These changes must be based on sound scientific knowledge. HFA therefore also calls for a health research policy. The second part looks at the research implications of HFA. WHO analyzed the 38 targets to see what kind of research would help to achieve them. This analysis resulted in two health research policy documents jointly called Research for health for all (RHFA). The first one explains why a country needs a health research policy. The second volume identifies the research necessary to reach the targets. The third part describes the research priorities identified in RHFA and shows their relevance for the primary health care research community. It ends with the prerequisites needed to make research for HFA possible. They include changes in the incentives for and financing of research, personnel development, research organization and communication between the researchers and decision-makers.

Europe↗
PubMed1991

Patient satisfaction--does it matter?

The paper aims at answering the question: Has the measurement of patient satisfaction improved the quality of care? After concluding that there is no evidence in the literature, the paper proceeds to look at why the evidence is lacking. Four factors seem to explain it: the objectives, the focus and the originator of the patients satisfaction studies and measurements and difficulties related to the interpretation of the findings. The last part of the paper analyses why patient satisfaction should be taken seriously although we do not know whether its measurement improves the quality of care. They include the fact that the patients are partners in health care; they literally feel in their skin whether care is good or bad. They are also the best judges of certain aspects of care, such as amenities and interpersonal relations. The second reason is the transformation of health care from a sellers' market to a consumers' market where the satisfaction of the patients' needs is part of the definition of quality. Finally, there is the ideological reason that, in a democratic society, the patients should have the right to influence decisions and activities influencing them. Measurement of patient satisfaction realizes the principle of community participation in health care.

Health Services Research↗
PubMed1991

Health for all through research.

John F. Kennedy's vision of man on the moon by the year 1970 set a goal for technological research and development. The World Health Organization's vision of health for all by the year 2000 set a similar goal not only for health policy but also for health research. Drawing on the analogy between these goals, this paper first explores what health for all means as a policy goal. It calls for changes in most aspects of the health care system. In the European Region of the World Health Organization, 38 specific targets show how approaches to health problems, lifestyles, environment, health care and various support measures (e.g., planning, management and training) should be changed to reach the over-all goal. These changes should be based on sound scientific knowledge. Health for all therefore also calls for a health research policy and reorientation of research. The second part of the paper looks at the research implications of health for all. Assisted by the Regional Office of the World Health Organization, the European Advisory Committee for Health Research analysed the 38 targets to see what kind of research would help to achieve them. The result of this analysis were two publications: "Research Policies for Health for All" and "Priority Research for Health for All". The first volume explains why a country needs a health research policy. The second one identifies, target by target, research necessary to reach them. Translated into several languages, they have begun to influence national research policies. The third section of the paper describes the research priorities identified in the two research for health for all volumes. It also aims at showing their relevance for the European health research community. It finally discusses the prerequisites that the countries have to set up to make research for health for all possible. They include changes in the incentives for and financing of research, personnel development, research organization and communication between the researchers and decision-makers.

Global Health↗
PubMed1989

Issues in quality assurance--the European scene.

Originally written as a background document for the technical discussion on quality assurance of health services in connection with the 38th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, the paper discusses issues and current trends in quality assurance primarily from the point of view of a health authority. The paper begins with an analysis of factors such as the discovery of an unexpectedly large variation in the quality of care, the increasing complexity of care, augmenting costs and changes in the medical labour market that have increased the interest of health authorities in quality assurance. The next section describes the concepts of quality and quality assurance, and highlights such current trends as broadening of the scope of quality assurance to include outcomes, patient satisfaction and services provided for by other personnel than physicians, and increasing emphasis on the outcome of care. After a discussion of methods used in quality assurance, the paper turns to measures that can be introduced, on the one hand, at the provider and patient levels and, on the other hand, at the institutional level to improve the quality of care. By posing questions to the health authorities on the concept of quality, methods of quality assurance and division of labour in introducing quality assurance, the last section asks, "What does quality assurance mean in Europe?".

Consumer Behavior↗
PubMed1989

Research needs in quality assurance.

Originally written as a background paper for the discussion on the research needs in quality assurance by the WHO's global Advisory Committee on Health Research, this paper has two sections. The main section introduces key political, organizational and methodological issues. Special attention is being paid to unsolved problems and controversies to whose resolution research could contribute. The main issues and research needs relate to the concept of quality; conflicting expectations and objectives of the concerned parties; the need to broaden the scope of quality assurance from the science of medicine to art of medicine, from the process of care to the outcome of care, and from exclusively professional concerns to patient satisfaction; relationship between quality assurance and such related concepts as technology assessment and risk management; development of measurement methods; choice of proper subject of quality assurance; and setting criteria and standards of good quality. In addition, research into the epidemiology of quality, introduction and organization of quality assurance and correction of observed defects is needed. Quality assurance itself also needs to be evaluated.

Europe↗
PubMed1988

Model health care programmes--a possible means to increase the efficiency of health care.

This paper focuses on a specific microlevel mechanism - model health care programmes - to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of health care. To set the scene for such programmes, the paper opens by first making two important points at the macrolevel. First, health improvement competes with other worthy social goals for resources. As deployment of scarce resources is the key political issue, priority setting at the macrolevel is a political process. Second, the choice of specific service is only the last step in a long chain of choices between alternatives. Based on the conviction that a model for providing health services can improve the quality, effectiveness and cost-efficiency of care, the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization has launched a programme entitled model health care programmes and quality assurance of health care. Model health care programmes, first developed on a large scale in Sweden and Finland, can be defined as documented sets of guidelines for the management of a patient with a given problem. The paper reviews the rationale, objectives and contents of such programmes paying special attention to the available evidence on their usefulness. Attention is also drawn to WHO's efforts to develop care programmes for cancer control.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1987

Patient satisfaction--an attribute or indicator of the quality of care?

Systematic measurement of patient satisfaction is seldom included in routine quality assurance (QA) programs. Practical reasons have been given to explain this omission: the mental and physical state of patients, their lack of the necessary scientific and technical knowledge, the rapid pace of events of care, and methodological problems related to measuring patient satisfaction. However, a strong case can be made to include patient satisfaction in QA, including ethical considerations, philosophical changes occurring in the health care field, and a clear definition of the impact of patient satisfaction on quality care. This article concludes that patient satisfaction is part and parcel of quality health care; that patients are capable of assessing the quality of care; and that patient satisfaction can be measured.

Consumer Behavior↗