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Audit: an exploration of two models from outside the health care environment.

Whilst there has been exponential growth in auditing health care services and a proliferation of the instruments involved, there seems to have been less cross-fertilization of audit systems and instruments between health care environments and other environments. This paper identifies and explores two audit systems and instruments outside the health care environment. The objective is to seek to improve the level of common understanding, communication and collaboration amongst those who are interested or involved in audit in any sector of the economy. This exercise offers an opportunity and incentive for cross-fertilization of ideas with respect to audit concepts, systems, instruments, results and experiences. Yet there is a more fundamental question to be considered: why bother with audit? This paper identifies core reasons for performing audit which, although they have been mentioned elsewhere, are worth recalling once again. The two non-health care audit systems and instruments are then identified and explored. On the one hand it is seen that the two audit systems and instruments outside health care have common features with audits in health care. On the other hand, it is also suggested that there are some significant differences in the two audit systems and instruments when compared to health care audits. This paper identifies and discusses similarities and differences. Finally, if we fail to learn from the mixture of experiences and insights of various audit exercises, not only will be doing our professions and our customers a disservice but we will lower the chances of continuous improvement in knowledge and understanding.

Communication↗

Teaching communication in clinical clerkships: models from the macy initiative in health communications.

Medical educators have a responsibility to teach students to communicate effectively, yet ways to accomplish this are not well-defined. Sixty-five percent of medical schools teach communication skills, usually in the preclinical years; however, communication skills learned in the preclinical years may decline by graduation. To address these problems the New York University School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School collaborated to develop, establish, and evaluate a comprehensive communication skills curriculum. This work was funded by the Josiah P. Macy, Jr. Foundation and is therefore referred to as the Macy Initiative in Health Communication. The three schools use a variety of methods to teach third-year students in each school a set of effective clinical communication skills. In a controlled trial this cross-institutional curriculum project proved effective in improving communication skills of third-year students as measured by a comprehensive, multistation, objective structured clinical examination. In this paper the authors describe the development of this unique, collaborative initiative. Grounded in a three-school consensus on the core skills and critical components of a communication skills curriculum, this article illustrates how each school tailored the curriculum to its own needs. In addition, the authors discuss the lessons learned from conducting this collaborative project, which may provide guidance to others seeking to establish effective cross-disciplinary skills curricula.

Clinical Clerkship↗

Making waves: systems change on behalf of youth with HIV/AIDS.

PURPOSE: To document the effects of five Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS), funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), on HIV care, related service systems, policy, planning, and funding for youth with HIV/AIDS. METHODS: Literature on services and systems integration and technology transfer is used as a conceptual framework for the examination of HIV-informed, youth-specific changes at the local, state, and national levels. The Principal Investigators for each project and/or the Project Evaluators were interviewed several times to capture "snapshots" of evolving results from the Projects' varied activities in New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Chicago; and Miami. Some changes were consciously targeted, and others occurred serendipitously. This work covers the funding period from 1996 through 2000. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: There were many "ripple" effects that emanated from these Projects' presence and activities. Important lessons were learned about why systems change is necessary to effectively serve youth with HIV, how to make constructive changes happen, and how to sustain changes once they are achieved. Successful strategies included, but were not limited to, consensus-building among stakeholders, participatory planning and decision-making, collaborative referral and linkage agreements, staff sharing, co-locating services, providing technical assistance, consultation, cross-training, and engaging consumers as partners in communicating new technologies and in advocating for change.

Adolescent↗

A 16S rRNA-tRNA product containing a nucleotide phototrimer and specific for tRNA in the P/E hybrid state in the Escherichia coli ribosome.

Ribosome complexes containing deacyl-tRNA1(Val) or biotinylvalyl-tRNA1(Val) and an mRNA analog have been irradiated with wavelengths specific for activation of the cmo5U nucleoside at position 34 in the tRNA1(Val) anticodon loop. The major product for both types of tRNA is the cross-link between 16S rRNA (C1400) and the tRNA (cmo5U34) characterized already by Ofengand and his collaborators [Prince et al. (1982) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 79, 5450-5454]. However, in complexes containing deacyl-tRNA1(Val), an additional product is separated by denaturing PAGE and this is shown to involve C1400 and m5C967 of 16S rRNA and cmo5U34 of the tRNA. Puromycin treatment of the biotinylvalyl-tRNA1(Val) -70S complex followed by irradiation, results in the appearance of the unusual photoproduct, which indicates an immediate change in the tRNA interaction with the ribosome after peptide transfer. These results indicate an altered interaction between the tRNA anticodon and the 30S subunit for the tRNA in the P/E hybrid state compared with its interaction in the classic P/P state.

Base Sequence↗

Toward an integrated approach to molecular epidemiology.

The emergence of "molecular epidemiology" as a scientific approach within the fields of epidemiology and toxicology has led to spirited discussion within the biomedical community, particularly in the area of cancer research. At scientific meetings and in peer-reviewed journals, numerous issues have been raised not only with regard to the practice of molecular epidemiology, but also with regard to its role in traditional epidemiology, toxicology, and risk assessment. Furthermore, the utility of information gleaned from such studies and the implications for public health have been the subject of considerable debate. Conceptual differences in how one views the function of epidemiologic and laboratory research may be reflected in discussions on the merits of molecular epidemiology. This commentary reviews some of the prevailing attitudes toward molecular epidemiology, with the goal of identifying areas of concern and suggesting means of achieving harmonization. The need for cross-training of epidemiologists and laboratory scientists is discussed, and suggestions are made for building successful collaborative relations across disciplines.

Biomarkers↗

Outcomes measurement in the operating room suite.

The objectives of quality improvement in the OR include improved perioperative care of the patient and OR efficiency, decreased hospital length of stay, and decreased costs. We submit that multidisciplinary outcome measurement is a prerequisite for coordinated outcomes management to achieve quality patient care in an effective, efficient, and financially responsible way, and we provide a guide to do so. The data obtained by such cross-discipline study can identify the need for patient, family, and/or staff education, improved interaction and collaboration across disciplines, revision of clinical paths, and improved hospital systems as well as benchmarking the performance of the OR against local or national standards.

Benchmarking↗

Nuclear effects in neutrino induced coherent pion production at K2K and MiniBooNE.

The coherent pion production induced by neutrinos in nuclei is studied using a delta hole model in the local density approximation taking into account the renormalization of Delta properties in a nuclear medium. The pion absorption effects are included in an eikonal approximation. These effects give a large reduction in the total cross section. The numerical results for the total cross section are found to be consistent with recent experimental results from the K2K and MiniBooNE Collaborations and other older experiments in the intermediate energy region.

Journal Article↗

Can we subtype alcoholism? A latent class analysis of data from relatives of alcoholics in a multicenter family study of alcoholism.

We attempt to identify distinctive subtypes of alcoholics using latent class analysis with data from 2551 relatives of alcoholic probands, all participants in the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism. Latent class analysis is a multivariate technique using cross-classified data to identify unobserved ("latent") classes that explain the relationships among observed variables. Data on 37 life-time symptoms of alcohol dependence from 1360 female and 1191 male relatives were analyzed, with a 4 class solution selected as the best fitting among the 2 through 6 class solutions that were examined. We observed the following classes: class 1, nonproblem drinkers (39.6% male, 50% female); class 2, mild alcoholics (persistent desire to stop, tolerance, and blackouts) (31.8% male, 28.7% female); class 3, moderate alcoholics (social, health, and emotional problems) (18.9% male, 14.6% female); and class 4, severely affected alcoholics (withdrawal, inability to stop drinking, craving, health, and emotional problems) (9.7% male, 6.7% female). There was little evidence for the construct of alcohol abuse; endorsement probabilities for abuse symptoms (e.g., arrest and DWIs) were very low for all classes, whereas hazardous use was common among men in class 1. In addition to those in class 3 and class 4, a majority of men in class 2 qualified for DSM-III-R alcohol dependence, suggesting a biomodal distribution of drinkers and alcoholics, with little nondependent problem drinking among men in this high-risk sample. We conclude that, in this sample, alcoholism is not differentiated by symptom profiles but rather lies on a continuum of severity, with the possible exception of withdrawal, which characterized only class 4 individuals.

Adolescent↗

Development and implementation of a perinatal education consortium.

The North Puget Sound Perinatal Education Consortium provides a collaborative framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating a basic orientation program for newly hired and cross-trained perinatal nurses. The program currently provides 9 days of prenatal, labor and delivery, mother-infant couplet, and neonatal didactic orientation at no cost to registrants from participating hospitals. Consortium hospitals supply instruction time and additional services to support this high-quality, regional, perinatal orientation program.

Curriculum↗

Effects of the 2003 advertising/promotion ban in the United Kingdom on awareness of tobacco marketing: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey.

BACKGROUND: In February 2003, a comprehensive ban on tobacco promotion came into effect in the United Kingdom, which prohibited tobacco marketing through print and broadcast media, billboards, the internet, direct mail, product placement, promotions, free gifts, coupons and sponsorships. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of the UK's comprehensive ban on tobacco promotion on adult smokers' awareness of tobacco marketing in the UK relative to Canada, the United States and Australia. DESIGN: A total of 6762 adult smokers participated in two waves of a random digit dialled telephone survey across the four countries. Wave 1 was conducted before the UK ban (October-December 2002) and Wave 2 was conducted after the UK ban (May-September 2003). KEY MEASURES: Awareness of a range of forms of tobacco marketing. RESULTS: Levels of tobacco promotion awareness declined significantly among smokers in the UK after implementation of the advertising ban. Declines in awareness were greater in those channels regulated by the new law and change in awareness of tobacco promotions was much greater in the UK than the other three countries not affected by the ban. At least in the short term, there was no evidence that the law resulted in greater exposure to tobacco promotions in the few media channels not covered by the law. Notwithstanding the apparent success of the UK advertising ban and the controls in other countries, 9-22% of smokers in the four countries still reported noticing things that promoted smoking "often or very often" at Wave 2. CONCLUSIONS: The UK policy to ban tobacco advertising and promotion has significantly reduced exposure to pro-tobacco marketing influences. These findings support the effectiveness of comprehensive bans on advertising and promotion, as included in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Adult↗

A comprehensive smoking cessation program for the San Francisco Bay Area Latino community: Programa Latino Para Dejar de Fumar.

Background. Prevalence of cigarette smoking among Latinos compared to whites is higher among men (30.9% versus 27.9%), but lower among women (16.3% versus 23.5%). More acculturated Latina women, however, smoke more. Compared to other smokers, Latinos report consuming about half the average number of cigarettes per day. Up to a quarter of Latino smokers of less than 10 cigarettes per day may be underreporting consumption. The association between smoking and depression has also been found in Latinos. Program Goals. The Programa Latino Para Dejar de Fumar (Programa) goals are: 1) to evaluate attitudinal, behavioral, and cultural differences between Latino and white smokers; 2) to integrate these findings into a comprehensive, culturally-appropriate smoking cessation intervention; and 3) to implement the intervention in a defined community in order to decrease cigarette smoking prevalence, increase behaviors that may lead smokers to quit, and promote a nonsmoking environment. Program Components. Heightened concern about health effects of smoking, the importance of social smoking, and the influence of the family on behavior are integrated in the Programa components: 1) the promotion of a full-color, Spanish-language, self-help, smoking cessation guide (Guia), distributed at no charge; 2) an anti-smoking, Spanish-language, electronic media campaign; 3) community involvement; 4) quit smoking contests; 5) smoking cessation, individual, telephone consultations (consultas); and 6) collaboration with health care personnel. Results. Effectiveness of the Programa is being evaluated by annual, cross-sectional, random digit dialing telephone surveys compared to two baseline surveys. After 19 months of intervention, the proportion who had heard of the Programa increased from 18.5% to 44.0%, and over one third of less acculturated smokers had the Guia. Future directions will emphasize smoking prevention among youth, prevention of relapse among quitters, and depression prevention.

Acculturation↗

Calibration of HCV working reagents for NAT assays against the HCV international standard. The Collaborative Study Group.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Five HCV RNA reference reagents, the Paul Ehrlich Institut (PEI) reference 75, the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) reagent 96/586, the Central Laboratory of the Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (CLB) Pelispy HCV RNA run control S2001, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) reagent 0498 and the CBER panel member No. 1, were calibrated against the WHO International Standard, 96/790. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The reference materials were calibrated in a collaborative study organised by NIBSC. Nineteen laboratories, using a range of qualitative and quantitative assays returned results. RESULTS: The concentrations of the reagents were: 25,000 IU/ml for the PEI material, 710 IU/ml for the NIBSC material 96/586, 1,000 IU/ml for the CLB material, 1,700 IU/ml for the ISS material 0498 and 250 IU/ml for the CBER panel member No. 1. CONCLUSIONS: The calibration of these five reference reagents for HCV RNA nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) assays enables them to be used for standardisation and validation of assays. Such calibrants are essential for meeting the requirements of the European Medicinal Evaluation Agency (EMEA) for the testing of plasma pools and donations for HCV RNA for the release of blood products and the PEI requirements for the release testing of erythrocyte and thrombocyte concentrates.

Calibration↗

Building the Tower of Babel: cross-border urgent medical assistance in Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands.

The border area between Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands includes a substantial number of cooperative forms in the urgent medical assistance sector. Collaboration usually takes place in densely populated areas with cities or villages situated on or in proximity to the border. In some regions, definitive borders are not apparent to the extent that inhabitants often times are unaware of their existence. The border may pass directly through a built-up area with intense cross-border activity due to population residency, place of work, shopping, and recreational pursuits. To obtain a deeper insight into cross-border Urgent Medical Assistance (UMA), the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (IKR) and the Ministry for Health, Welfare, and Sports (HWS) in The Netherlands commissioned research into cross-border UMA impediments and solutions at administrative, judicial, and operational level. The following central questions were presented for research: (1) What opportunities and impediments are presented in the area of cross-border, urgent medical assistance at administrative, legal, operational, and equipment employable level?; and (2) Which solutions may be submitted to tackle existing impediments? Two techniques were employed to answer the research questions. First, relevant documents were studied from extensive file and literature searches. File and literature search findings subsequently were tested in practice through interviews with relevant experts. Dutch ambulance services provide support to both their Belgian and German counterparts and vice versa. In the instance of cross-border ambulance deployment, relevant assistance services are subject to due observance of various legislations and regulations. Such regulations may restrict effective and efficient deployment of personnel and equipment at critical moments, because regulation discrepancies may arise over ambulance personnel's authorities, ambulance content, and deployment sequence. Discrepencies also may exist in the area of financial compensation concerning ambulance deployment and hospital admission. Gaining knowledge on their disparate systems and the opportunity to utilize the medical provisions of a neighboring country potentially in closer proximity to those in the victim's own country serves the best interests of the patient. Survival chances of a traumatized patient increase with the expedited arrival of medical assistance and increased speed of transportation to an appropriate hospital.

Belgium↗

A collaborative study of infant respiratory function testing.

The aims of this study were to compare inter-observer variability within and between two specialized infant lung function testing centres and to develop a strategy for performing and analysing infant respiratory function tests to facilitate future collaborative trials. A protocol for data collection and analysis was developed using similar equipment and identical software. All raw data were exchanged on disk and analysed, blind to infant status. All data were cross-analysed by both centres to assess inter-observer variability. Outcome measures were functional residual capacity (FRCpleth), airway resistance (Raw) and maximal expiratory flow at FRC (V'max,FRC). Subjects were recruited from the multicentre UK extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) Trial and measured at around 1 yr of age. Forty-two infants attended the Institute of Child Health, London and 36 attended the Leicester Royal Infirmary. The proportion of infants treated with ECMO or conventional management at each centre was similar. There were no significant differences between any of the outcome measures for infants tested at either centre. During a cross-analysis, the agreement between the two centres, within infant, was closer for V'max,FRC and FRCpleth (within 10%) than for the more variable measurements of Raw (within 20%). A collaborative approach to trials with infant respiratory function as an outcome measure appears feasible, providing that close attention is paid to study design, and participants in such trials maintain a standard approach to data collection and analysis.

Airway Resistance↗

Somatic symptoms of distress: an international primary care study.

The objective of this study was to examine cross-national differences in somatic symptoms associated with psychological distress. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborative study of psychological problems in general health care (5438 patients at 15 sites) were used to examine somatic symptoms associated with psychological distress. At each site, a stratified random sample of consecutive primary care patients completed the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). At all sites, the number of current CIDI somatic symptoms (whether medically explained or not) was strongly associated with current psychological distress (measured by selected GHQ-28 items). Pearson correlation of somatic symptom count with psychological distress score was .42 for all sites and ranged from .20 to .58 (p < .0001 at all sites). Across all sites, anxiety and depressive symptoms showed roughly the same association with somatic symptom counts, and specific somatic symptoms or symptom clusters did not show differential association with anxiety or depression. Although somatic symptoms did cluster into meaningful groups (gastrointestinal, neurological/conversion, autonomic, and musculoskeletal), these symptom groups did not show differential association with psychological distress. Examination of individual somatic symptoms and symptom clusters across sites did not reveal clear patterns of association according to geography or level of economic development. These data show a strong association between somatic symptoms and psychological distress, which did not vary across disparate cultures and levels of economic development. Cultural factors, however, may influence the meaning attached to symptoms or the likelihood of presentation for health care.

Adolescent↗

Bridging the gap: bringing together intentional and unintentional injury prevention efforts to improve health and well being.

PROBLEM: Intentional and unintentional injury prevention efforts have traditionally been independent and non-integrated. Fostering collaboration between the sub-fields would enhance work within both sub-fields and advance injury prevention work as a whole. METHOD: A systematic assessment of similarities and differences between the sub-fields was performed, including an examination of relevant definitions and norms, research methods and findings, key risk and resiliency factors, and prevention strategies that would promote collaboration and better advance current prevention efforts. RESULTS/SUMMARY: Several areas exist in which injury prevention efforts could be coordinated or ideas and practices could be cross-applied, including training of practitioners, data collection and analysis, application of tools and methodologies, examination of risk and resiliency factors, and identification of funding sources and partners. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This paper delineates how intentional and unintentional injury prevention practitioners can more effectively collaborate to promote safer environments and further reduce incidence of injury. An integrated injury prevention approach could significantly impact the underlying contributors to both types of injury, allowing practitioners within both sub-fields to achieve greater outcomes through increased credibility, reduced duplication of efforts, more efficient use of resources, and unified injury prevention messages.

Accident Prevention↗

Sequencing of protease inhibitor therapy: insights from an analysis of HIV phenotypic resistance in patients failing protease inhibitors.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the pattern of HIV-1 susceptibility to protease inhibitors in patients failing an initial protease inhibitor-containing regimen. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of antiretroviral susceptibility. SETTING: HIV clinics in six metropolitan areas. PATIENTS: Eighty-eight HIV-infected adults with HIV RNA > 400 copies/ml after > or = 6 months of antiretroviral therapy, including the use of one protease inhibitor for > or = 3 months. MEASUREMENTS: The frequency and magnitude of decreased susceptibility, measured with a phenotypic assay using recombinant constructs, to five protease inhibitors. Decreased susceptibility was defined as > 2.5-fold increase in the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) compared with drug sensitive control virus. RESULTS: At study entry, patients were being treated with nelfinavir (63%), indinavir (25%), or another protease inhibitor (11%). HIV isolates from these patients were susceptible (fold change < 2.5) to all five protease inhibitors in 18% of patients and to none in 8%. Isolates from patients receiving nelfinavir were less likely to have reduced susceptibility to other protease inhibitors than isolates from patients treated with indinavir (P < 0.001) or one of the other three agents (P < 0.001), even after adjustment for the duration of prior protease inhibitor use. Reduced susceptibility to saquinavir and amprenavir was observed significantly less frequently than for the other protease inhibitors. CONCLUSION: The frequency of protease inhibitor cross-resistance and the magnitude of changes in susceptibility varied according to the initial protease inhibitor used in the failing treatment regimen. Significantly less protease inhibitor cross-resistance was demonstrated for isolates from patients failing a nelfinavir-containing regimen compared with those from patients receiving other protease inhibitors.

Adult↗

Polychlorinated biphenyl serum levels in pregnant subjects with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent pollutants that are ubiquitous in the food chain; detectable amounts are in the blood of nearly everyone. Their effect on humans at background levels of exposure is an area of active investigation. Increased blood levels of dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), a PCB-like compound, have recently been reported among subjects with diabetes, suggesting that PCB levels could be similarly elevated. To test this hypothesis, we examined a group of pregnant women whose serum PCB levels had been measured and whose diabetes status had been previously recorded. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using stored serum from a large birth cohort study, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 2,245 pregnant women, of whom 44 had diabetes (primarily type 1) and 2,201 were control subjects. RESULTS: The adjusted mean serum level of PCBs among the subjects with diabetes was 30% higher than in the control subjects (P = 0.0002), and the relationship of PCB level to adjusted odds of diabetes was linear. CONCLUSIONS: The possibility exists that PCBs and diabetes are causality related; alternatively, the pharmacokinetics of PCBs could be altered among patients with diabetes. At any event, if the association is replicated in other studies, increased serum levels of PCBs in subjects with diabetes or their offspring may put them at increased risk of PCB-induced changes in thyroid metabolism or neurodevelopment.

Adult↗