The influence of insurance carriers in determining professional practice.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
This study assessed reported changes in clinical breastfeeding support practices following a three-day (approximately 24 hour) course. The course, presented at the Catholic University in Santiago, Chile, included the physiology of lactation and lactational infertility, related policy, clinical skills, the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM), and program-related findings. A questionnaire was sent to all participants and an additional systematic sample was telephoned to assure a statistically valid sample. Sixty-nine percent of respondents reported changes in clinical practices resulting from attendance at the course. The results support the concept, now being advanced by the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, that an 18-24 hour course can change clinical practices.
This article describes a caring interaction between a nurse and a client in emotional distress in the emergency department. The author demonstrates the use of holistic concepts such as self-care, self-awareness, intention, presence, imagery, and rituals in her relationship with the client.
OBJECTIVES: Cluster randomised trials, in which groups of individuals are randomised, are increasingly being used in the health field. Adopting a clustered approach has implications for the design of such trials, and sample size calculations need to be inflated to accommodate for the clustering effect. Reliable estimates of intracluster correlation coefficients (ICCs) are required for robust sample size calculations to be made; however, little empirical evidence is available on their likely size, and on factors which influence their magnitude. The aim of this study was to generate empirical estimates of ICCs and to explore factors which may affect their magnitude. METHODS: Empirical estimates of ICCs were calculated for both process variables and patient outcomes from a number of datasets of primary and secondary care implementation studies. RESULTS: Estimates of ICCs varied according to setting and type of outcome. Estimates of ICCs for process variables were higher than those for patient outcomes, and estimates derived from secondary care were higher than those from primary care. ICCs for process variables in primary care were of the order of 0.05-0.15, whilst those in secondary care were of the order of 0.3. Estimates for patient outcomes in primary care were generally lower than 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: Adopting cluster randomisation has implications for the design, size and analysis of clinical trials. This study gives an insight into the potential size of ICCs in primary and secondary care, and provides a practical guide to researchers to aid the planning of future studies in this area.
BACKGROUND: For people with dementia, care should include an explanation of the diagnosis to individuals and their carers, and information about the likely prognosis and possible packages of care. However, this is neither routine nor inevitable, and there is wide variation in the practice of disclosure. The aim of this study is to develop a tailored theory-based intervention to promote appropriate disclosure of diagnosis of dementia. METHODS: There are three objectives. Objective 1 is to define and develop an appropriate model of disclosure; this will be addressed using a multidisciplinary consensus development process. Objective 2 is to identify factors that influence disclosure of diagnosis; a questionnaire based upon theoretical constructs from a range of behavioural theories will be developed and members of old age mental health teams will be surveyed. The analysis will identify those factors that best predict intention to disclose a diagnosis to a person with dementia. Objective 3 is to develop and pilot test a theory-based intervention to promote disclosure of diagnosis that targets attitudes, beliefs and actions most amenable to change. Objective 3 will use the results of Objectives 1&2 to design and pilot test an intervention to improve the process of and increase the proportion of individuals receiving a diagnosis of dementia, for members of old age mental health teams. This work will lead to a proposal for a randomised controlled trial of the intervention.
Efforts to decrease errors in health care are directed at prevention rather than at managing a situation when a mistake has occurred. Consequently, nurses and other health care providers may not know how to respond properly and may lack sufficient support to make a healthy recovery from the mental anguish and emotional suffering that often accompany making mistakes. This article explores the conceptualization of mistakes and the ethical response to making a mistake. There are three parts to an ethical response to error: disclosure, apology and amends. Honesty and humility are discussed as important virtues that facilitate coping and personal growth for the health care provider who is involved in mistakes. In conclusion, a healthy view of nursing practice and mistake making is one that prevents error but, when prevention is not possible, accepts fallibility as part of the human condition and achieves the best possible outcome for all.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Nursing staff in Scotland have access to five local multidisciplinary health services research Networks. These offer nurses guidance, advice and support on relevant but unanswered questions relating to their clinical practice, thus helping them to take forward their enquiry. This article explores the origin, usefulness and developing role of these Networks with particular reference to the North of Scotland Network. Networking is recommended as an effective intervention to facilitate the development of research, to promote the quality, quantity and usefulness of research, and to place research into patient care at the heart of nursing practice.
The authors conclude that GPPS presents the possibility of enhanced learning from limited opportunities, but only if all parties are fully able to embrace the educational aims of GPPS and follow through its structured and coherent design for learning.
BACKGROUND: Interventions designed to narrow the gap between research findings and clinical practice may be effective, but also costly. Economic evaluations are necessary to judge whether such interventions are worth the effort. We have evaluated the economic effects of a tailored intervention to support the implementation of guidelines for the use of antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering drugs. The tailored intervention was evaluated in a randomized trial, and was shown to significantly increase the use of thiazides for patients started on antihypertensive medication, but had little or no impact on other outcomes. The increased use of thiazides was not expected to have an impact on health outcomes. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed cost-minimization and cost-effectiveness analyses on data from a randomized trial involving 146 general practices from two geographical areas in Norway. Each practice was randomized to either the tailored intervention (70 practices; 257 physicians) or control group (69 practices; 244 physicians). Only patients that were being started on antihypertensive medication were included in the analyses. A multifaceted intervention was tailored to address identified barriers to change. Key components were an educational outreach visit with audit and feedback, and computerized reminders. Pharmacists conducted the visits. A cost-minimization framework was adopted, where the costs of intervention were set against the reduced treatment costs (principally due to increased use of thiazides rather than more expensive medication). The cost-effectiveness of the intervention was estimated as the cost per additional patient being started on thiazides. The net annual cost (cost minimization) in our study population was 53,395 US dollars, corresponding to 763 US dollars per practice. The cost per additional patient started on thiazides (cost-effectiveness) was 454 US dollars. The net annual savings in a national program was modeled to be 761,998 US dollars, or 540 US dollars per practice after 2 y. In this scenario the savings exceeded the costs in all but two of the sensitivity analyses we conducted, and the cost-effectiveness was estimated to be 183 US dollars. CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant shift in prescribing of antihypertensive drugs towards the use of thiazides in our trial. A major reason to promote the use of thiazides is their lower price compared to other drugs. The cost of the intervention was more than twice the savings within the time frame of our study. However, we predict modest savings over a 2-y period.