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School staff members' and occupational health nurses' evaluation of the promotion of occupational well-being - with good planning to better practice.

This paper describes occupational health nurses' and school staff members' experiences of work ability maintenance carried out at schools and the development of ideas to promote the collaboration between occupational health care and school community and to enhance work ability maintenance. The data were collected in a baseline situation of an action research project to further plan and develop activities. The data were analysed by inductive content analysis. According to the results, school community staff members' work ability maintenance focused on the employee, the school community, school work and the working conditions as well as professional competence. The practical actions involved some individual and school-specific variation, focusing on actions to maintain individual and physical work ability. It seems that the collaboration between the school community and occupational health service for work ability maintenance took place at the individual level, but an obvious need for more structural collaboration emerged by several suggestions made by the participants (e.g. better information exchange between the school and occupational health care, improved collaboration between the school staff and the co-operative partners). The progress in collaboration may lead towards spontaneous collaboration, in which case both actors have the same target and work in a planned, continuous and natural way to ensure work ability maintenance in the school community.

Cooperative Behavior↗

The rural physician associate program: new directions in education for competency.

The Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) has 34 years experience in training 1097 medical students as independent distance learners in a 36-week, community-based continuity primary care experience. This program has been successful in preparing competitive students who select primary care residencies and return to rural practice. The RPAP program has been based on traditional apprentice-style clinical teaching with the support of computer-based resources to enhance distance learning. However while the clinical exposure and development of medical skills was strong, there were weaknesses in evidence-based medicine and managing healthcare, and inconsistencies in community or population health learning. New directions in the educational program for RPAP are described that have been or are being developed to address the competencies as outlined by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. They include online and other resources, preceptor education and support, interactive journaling and cases, electronic portfolios, community projects, observed structured clinical exams and examinations. Ongoing challenges to competency-based education include developing meaningful measures and tools to assess competence for areas such as professionalism or systems-based practice; providing faculty development toward being able to practice, teach and evaluate students with an understanding of the competencies; and to build in ways of practicing, learning and improving care that involve effective teams of health-care professionals.

Competency-Based Education↗

Interrater reliability of the Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Schedule.

OBJECTIVE: Australian mental health policy aims to introduce evidence-based practice within a community care approach. This aim requires reliable measures that can be used by a wide variety of professionals. The interrater reliability of the Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Schedule (CANSAS) was assessed under routine conditions. METHOD: Three interviewer-observer dyads assessed the needs of 14 inpatients and 18 day patients of a psychiatric rehabilitation unit in New South Wales, Australia. RESULTS: Agreement on the identification of an area of need was high. However, agreement was higher on patient ratings than on staff ratings. Correlations on staff ratings of met needs were also moderate (r = 0.53), suggesting discrepancies in rating the level of need. CONCLUSION: Differences in staff ratings may be attributed to ambiguity in the definition of need and levels of need and/or the sources of information used by the rater making the assessment. An approach to establishing an operational definition of need is suggested, and an increase in the number of levels of need is recommended. Implications for Australian mental health policy are noted.

Adult↗

The need for economic evaluation of telemedicine to evolve: the experience in Alberta, Canada.

Economic evaluation of telemedicine applications is required to provide decision makers in health care with appropriate information on costs and benefits of this information and communications technology. The level of economic evaluation should evolve as telemedicine applications mature. At the basic level, economic evaluation may include basic cost analysis and primarily observational data on nonmonetary benefits. The focus will change as telemedicine programs develop. At this intermediate level, practice patterns and workforce issues are addressed as they affect utilization and costs of telemedicine services. Longer-term economic evaluation, thus far not achieved in telemedicine assessment, should focus on assessment of health outcomes and economic impact. Alberta, Canada has made progress assessing telemedicine applications in psychiatry, radiology, rheumatology, and rehabilitation. Data availability and analytic resources continue to present challenges to economic assessment of telemedicine.

Alberta↗

Imbalances in the health labour force: an assessment using data from three national health facility surveys.

Accurate knowledge of the characteristics of the health labour force that can affect health care production is of critical importance to health planners and policymakers. This study uses health facility survey data to examine characteristics of the primary health care labour force in Nicaragua, Tanzania and Bangladesh. The characteristics examined are those that are likely to affect service provision, including urban/rural distribution, demographic characteristics, and experience and in-service training, for three types of providers (physicians, nurses and auxiliary nurses). The profiles suggest a pattern of urban/rural imbalances in Nicaragua and Tanzania. The Bangladesh facility survey did not include hospitals, thereby making concrete conclusions on the supply and distribution of providers difficult to make. Multivariate logistic regressions are used to assess the relationship between the urban/rural placement of providers by health need, population demand and facility characteristics. Health need, as measured by child mortality rates, does not have a significant association with the placement of providers in either country, unlike population size and annual growth rates. The mean number of years providers have worked at a facility is significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of rural placement for the three types of providers in Nicaragua. The mean age and percentage of female providers at each facility has a negative association with the placement of rural providers in Tanzania. The use of health facility data to profile the health care labour force is also discussed.

Adult↗

Influence of the quality of nursing on the duration of weaning from mechanical ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of nursing on the duration of weaning from mechanical ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. DESIGN: Data were collected prospectively over a 1-yr period (study year) and compared with previously collected prospective data recorded in our chronic obstructive pulmonary disease database during a 5-yr period. SETTING: The medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital. PATIENTS: Eighty-seven patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Fifteen patients had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that required mechanical ventilation for acute exacerbation of their disease (study year), and 72 were patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from the previously collected data. INTERVENTIONS: The ICU course (duration of mechanical ventilation, mortality) was recorded, as well as several respiratory parameters (pulmonary function tests and arterial blood gases in stable conditions, and nutritional status), and they were compared with an "index of nursing." MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We developed an "index of nursing", comparing the effective workforce of the nurses (number and qualifications) with the ideal workforce required by the number of patients and the severity of their diseases. A value of 1.0 represented a perfect match between the needed and the effectively present nurses, whereas a lesser value signified a diminished available workforce. This index was compared with the complications and duration of weaning from mechanical ventilation. During the first 5 yrs, the duration of mechanical ventilation increased progressively from 7.3 +/- 8.0 to 38.2 +/- 25.8 days (p = .006). A significant inverse correlation between the duration of mechanical ventilation and the nursing index (p = .025) was found. In the sixth comparative year, the number of nurses increased (nursing index = 1.05) and the duration of mechanical ventilation decreased to 9.9 +/- 13 days (p < .001, yr 5 vs. yr 6). CONCLUSIONS: The quality of nursing appears to be a measurable and critical factor in the weaning from mechanical ventilation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Below a threshold in the available workforce of ICU nurses, the weaning duration of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increases dramatically. Therefore, very close attention should be given to the education and number of ICU nurses.

Aged↗

African American community health advisors trained as research partners: recruitment and training.

The African American community has played an influential role in generating change. Grass-roots organizations and concerned individuals can be included in programs designed to increase cancer awareness and cancer early detection practices to ultimately eliminate cancer disparities. The utilization of a formalized Community Health Advisors program can be an infrastructure by which effective cancer prevention and control programs can be conducted in underserved African American communities. The purpose of this article is to outline the steps necessary to develop an infrastructure for recruitment and training of grass-root African Americans to serve as Community Health Advisors trained as Research Partners.

Black or African American↗

Radiation safety as part of a comprehensive university occupational health and safety program.

Rutgers University has developed an integrated occupational health and safety program incorporating the disciplines of radiation protection, chemical hygiene, industrial hygiene, occupational safety, hazardous substance disposal, and environmental control. The program was implemented by the Department of Radiation and Environmental Health and Safety which was organized in a nontraditional way to provide an interdisciplinary resource and service to a large state university community. In the relatively short period of time that the new organization functioned at full capacity, the strengths of the new organization as well as a few weaknesses have become apparent. We present here a short discussion of the reorganization activities and the lessons learned.

Environmental Health↗

A nurse transition program for orthopaedics: creating a new culture for nurturing graduate nurses.

Successful training and initiation of new graduate nurses is a critical concern for the entire healthcare industry. Current literature reports that as many as 80-90% of new graduate nurses will leave their job within the first year of employment (Bradley, 2001). In summer 2001, the inpatient orthopaedic department of a large community hospital in the southeastern United States was faced with significant recruitment and retention issues. In response, a new nurse graduate transition program was developed for the orthopaedic specialty. This program uses an adult learning model and a single dedicated preceptor. In addition to clinical experience, the program provides special attention to the development of professional behavior, relationship building, and critical-thinking skills. During the next 2 years, the program produced eight new orthopaedic nurses with a first-year turnover rate of 0%. In addition, this program has positively influenced other areas of importance for RN recruitment and retention, including quality of care, patient satisfaction, and staff satisfaction.

Curriculum↗

Building a research conscious workforce.

With the aim of building a research conscious workforce, the former Northern and Yorkshire Research and Development office explored the nature and purpose of research and development (R&D) support for NHS staff. Part of the study used a questionnaire to seek healthcare professionals' R&D education and training needs. Some findings were unexpected, such as the significant differences between professional groups' needs and preferences. Recommendations, therefore, include local, flexible R&D education and training programmes.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Job rotation in nursing: a study of job rotation among nursing personnel from the literature and via a questionnaire.

AIMS: To obtain information on job rotation among nursing personnel from the literature and via a questionnaire. BACKGROUND: A nursing career no longer means a series of steps leading up a hierarchy. It has become more like a process of individual growth, involving improvement of employee expertise and skills. Job rotation in connection with career development in a Finnish hospital is considered essential, and participating in job rotation is one requirement for newly vacant nursing posts. METHODS: Describing job rotation by means of reference to literature, and studying a survey on attitudes of ophthalmic nurses (n = 84) to job rotation. RESULTS: There has been little theoretical or empirical research on job rotation. In this study, one in three had participated in job rotation that was most often considered a positive experience. Self-development was rated substantially useful, but fewer were interested in participating in various kinds of developmental activities. CONCLUSION: Employee's motivation is the foundation of successful development activity, e.g. job rotation.

Adult↗

Eliminating disparities in cardiovascular health: six strategic imperatives and a framework for action.

Disparities in cardiovascular health are among the most serious public health problems in the United States today. Despite the remarkable declines in cardiovascular mortality observed nationally over the last 3 decades, many population subgroups defined by race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, educational level, or geography show striking, and often widening, disparities in cardiovascular health. The pervasive nature of these disparities and compelling evidence of the adverse impact they have on clinical outcomes and quality of life have been well documented. The elimination of these disparities is 1 of the 2 overarching goals of the Healthy People 2010 national public health agenda; however, few publications provide guidance on what actions to take. In this review, 6 strategic imperatives within a framework for action are presented. Other key elements of the framework include 10 focal areas and 6 major settings within which the framework calls for accelerated interventions to eliminate disparities in cardiovascular health. Success in this endeavor will require innovative and comprehensive interventions built on a foundation of sound clinical and public health science. Strategic partnerships with communities, community-based organizations, state and local governments, and public and private partners from both health and nonhealth sectors are essential. Additionally, investment in local-level disparities surveillance, community-based participatory research, and development of a diverse clinical and public health workforce will be invaluable.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Staff rotation: implications for occupational therapy.

Occupational therapy departments of tertiary care hospitals can provide staff with opportunities to gain diverse clinical experience if they rotate through the various services such as surgery, medicine, geriatrics, plastic surgery and orthopaedics. The system of rotation offers both advantages and disadvantages for the staff and the institution. The Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, a large university teaching hospital, had traditionally offered staff the opportunity to rotate. Changes in staffing and their needs however, resulted in rotation becoming an important issue within the department. This article presents the pros and the cons of rotation and non-rotation systems as identified by therapists and administrators across Canada. Staff rotation was found to have an effect on job satisfaction and a therapist's career orientation. Given these findings, administrators may want to reconsider the role of the generalist and specialist in their facilities.

Canada↗

Australian public health policy in 2003 - 2004.

In Australia, compared with other developed countries the many and varied programs which comprise public health have continued to be funded poorly and unsystematically, particularly given the amount of publicly voiced political support.In 2003, the major public health policy developments in communicable disease control were in the fields of SARS, and vaccine funding, whilst the TGA was focused on the Pan Pharmaceutical crisis. Programs directed to health maintenance and healthy ageing were approved. The tertiary education sector was involved in the development of programs for training the public health workforce and new professional qualifications and competencies. The Abelson Report received support from overseas experts, providing a potential platform for calls to improve national funding for future Australian preventive programs; however, inconsistencies continued across all jurisdictions in their approaches to tackling national health priorities. Despite 2004 being an election year, public health policy was not visible, with the bulk of the public health funding available in the 2004/05 federal budget allocated to managing such emerging risks as avian flu. We conclude by suggesting several implications for the future.

Editorial↗