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[Psychiatric care research--an instrument for planning health care needs].

The planning of health care is primarily an administrative task. Service research supports the health administration in this task by supplying empirical data to objectify the need for care and ways to cater for that need. In this, service research on the one hand draws on descriptive and analytical data of epidemiological studies. On the other hand, indices of social structure provide information about factors influencing the utilisation of health services. Apart from this, different types of service utilisation data are used for the analysis of needs. None of the methods mentioned is sufficient on its own. Only the integration of the different levels of analysis allows sufficiently competent statements on health care needs.

Epidemiologic Studies↗

Elevated blood pressure and risk of end-stage renal disease in subjects without baseline kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Many cases of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are ascribed to hypertension. However, because renal disease itself can raise blood pressure, some investigators argue that ESRD seen in patients with hypertension is due to underlying primary renal disease. Previous cohort studies of the relationship between blood pressure and ESRD did not uniformly screen out baseline kidney disease. METHODS: We conducted a historical cohort study among members of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, a large integrated health care delivery system. The ESRD cases were ascertained by matching with the US Renal Data System registry. RESULTS: A total of 316 675 adult Kaiser members participated in the Multiphasic Health Checkups from 1964 to 1985. All subjects had estimated glomerular filtration rates of 60 mL /min per 1.73 m(2) or higher and negative dipstick urinalysis results for proteinuria or hematuria. During 8 210 431 person-years of follow-up, 1149 cases of ESRD occurred. Compared with subjects with a blood pressure less than 120/80 mm Hg, the adjusted relative risks for developing ESRD were 1.62 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27-2.07) for blood pressures of 120 to 129/80 to 84 mm Hg, 1.98 (95% CI, 1.55-2.52) for blood pressures of 130 to 139/85 to 89 mm Hg, 2.59 (95% CI, 2.07-3.25) for blood pressures of 140 to 159/90 to 99 mm Hg, 3.86 (95% CI, 3.00-4.96) for blood pressures of 160 to 179/100 to 109 mm Hg, 3.88 (95% CI, 2.82-5.34) for blood pressures of 180 to 209/110 to 119 mm Hg, and 4.25 (95% CI, 2.63-6.86) for blood pressures of 210/120 mm Hg or higher. Similar associations between blood pressure level and ESRD risk were seen in all subgroup analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Even relatively modest elevation in blood pressure is an independent risk factor for ESRD. The observed relationship does not appear to be due to confounding by clinically evident baseline kidney disease.

Adult↗

Digital biology: an emerging and promising discipline.

This article examines the role of computation and quantitative methods in modern biomedical research to identify emerging scientific, technical, policy and organizational trends. It identifies common concerns and practices in the emerging community of computationally-oriented bio-scientists by reviewing a national symposium, Digital Biology: the Emerging Paradigm, held at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, November 6th and 7th 2003. This meeting showed how biomedical computing promises scientific breakthroughs that will yield significant health benefits. Three key areas that define the emerging discipline of digital biology are: scientific data integration, multi-scale modeling and networked science. Each area faces unique technical challenges and information policy issues that must be addressed as the field matures. Here we summarize the emergent challenges and offer suggestions to academia, industry and government on how best to expand the role of computation in their scientific activities.

Computational Biology↗

Estimates of the lifetime direct costs of treatment for metastatic breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer remains the highest incident cancer among females in the United States and previous research suggests that a considerable portion of patients will eventually progress to the metastatic phase of the disease. This paper provides the first estimate of the lifetime direct costs of treating metastatic disease for one annual diagnostic cohort of breast cancer patients. METHODS: Incidence rates were combined with US population counts to estimate the number of breast cancer cases diagnosed in 1994. Estimates of progression to metastatic disease (from Canadian provincial cancer registry data), costs of care (derived from patients' claims histories), survival (from SEER data), and national mortality rates (from US Census Bureau) were integrated, using Statistics Canada's Population Health Model (POHEM) to calculate lifetime costs. RESULTS: This study estimates that more than 40% of the women diagnosed with breast cancer will progress to metastatic disease. On average, women with metastatic disease are expected to live 3 years and to incur direct treatment costs of approximately dollar 60,000 per case, resulting in a total lifetime cost for the cohort of almost dollar 4.2 billion. CONCLUSIONS: The high rate of recurrence of breast cancer argues for the development of interventions that can prevent or delay the onset of metastatic disease. These estimates of lifetime costs and the methodology on which they are based can be used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of such secondary prevention strategies. These estimates also can serve as a benchmark against which the lifetime costs of treating other diseases can be assessed.

Journal Article↗

Development of human protein reference database as an initial platform for approaching systems biology in humans.

Human Protein Reference Database (HPRD) is an object database that integrates a wealth of information relevant to the function of human proteins in health and disease. Data pertaining to thousands of protein-protein interactions, posttranslational modifications, enzyme/substrate relationships, disease associations, tissue expression, and subcellular localization were extracted from the literature for a nonredundant set of 2750 human proteins. Almost all the information was obtained manually by biologists who read and interpreted >300,000 published articles during the annotation process. This database, which has an intuitive query interface allowing easy access to all the features of proteins, was built by using open source technologies and will be freely available at http://www.hprd.org to the academic community. This unified bioinformatics platform will be useful in cataloging and mining the large number of proteomic interactions and alterations that will be discovered in the postgenomic era.

BRCA1 Protein↗

Adolescent and young adult suicide: a 10-year retrospective review of Kentucky Medical Examiner cases.

The compilation of all suicidal causes of death attained the third highest ranking of mortality between the ages of 15 and 24 following unintentional deaths and homicide in the United States, accounting for approximately 4000 deaths in 2002. A variety of biopsychosocial factors may contribute to adolescent suicidal behavior, including psychiatric disorders, risk-taking behaviors, and lack of a cohesive family unit. The authors conducted a 10-year (1993-2002) retrospective review of 108 Medical Examiner cases of suicide ages 11-17 and 358 cases ages 18-24 in Kentucky, which represents two thirds of the Coroner cases in the state. The majority of victims were male and Caucasian. The major causes of death were the same for the two age groups, specifically, firearm injury (72.2% and 70.7%), hanging (22.2% and 18.7%), and drug intoxication (2.8% and 5.3%). An integrated Coroner-Medical Examiner system profits in the public health arena by providing collaborative research data for policy decisions. The prevalence of youth suicide by firearm should prompt further discussion regarding ways to better identify high-risk adolescents and young adults and restrict pediatric access to unsecured household firearms.

Adolescent↗

Translating research into practice: organizational issues in implementing automated decision support for hypertension in three medical centers.

Information technology can support the implementation of clinical research findings in practice settings. Technology can address the quality gap in health care by providing automated decision support to clinicians that integrates guideline knowledge with electronic patient data to present real-time, patient-specific recommendations. However, technical success in implementing decision support systems may not translate directly into system use by clinicians. Successful technology integration into clinical work settings requires explicit attention to the organizational context. We describe the application of a "sociotechnical" approach to integration of ATHENA DSS, a decision support system for the treatment of hypertension, into geographically dispersed primary care clinics. We applied an iterative technical design in response to organizational input and obtained ongoing endorsements of the project by the organization's administrative and clinical leadership. Conscious attention to organizational context at the time of development, deployment, and maintenance of the system was associated with extensive clinician use of the system.

Academic Medical Centers↗

Applying exercise stage of change to a low-income underserved population.

OBJECTIVES: To validate the transtheoretical model for exercise behavior and the constructs of decisional balance and self-efficacy for exercise in a low-income, poorly educated primary care sample. METHODS: Patients attending public primary-care clinics from 4 separate sites in Louisiana were interviewed regarding their health behaviors. RESULTS: The data provide equivocal support for applying the transtheoretical model for exercise and integrating it with other models of behavior change within this population. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies modifying the decisional balance measures are necessary before definitive statements regarding the applicability of these models to exercise within this specialized population can be made.

Adult↗

Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI): A collaboration between research and clinical practice.

This article provides an overview of the Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI), an ambitious attempt to develop a data-driven national quality-improvement program for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) that is fully integrated within VHA's Strategic Framework for Quality Management, as discussed elsewhere in this supplement. QUERI is designed to ensure the systematic translation of findings and products (quality tools that promote use of research findings) to promote optimal patient outcomes and system-wide improvements. In developing QUERI, a framework was created to integrate structural elements (organizational characteristics) and process considerations (those actions and action sequences associated with positive change) with outcomes (both at the patient level and at the systems level). In developing this framework, a process for translation of evidence into action was born. The QUERI process depends on having or discovering accurate information about what services are needed, who needs them, how they should be provided, and relevant outcomes and costs. This article describes the 6-step QUERI process and presents an overview of relevant programmatic details, including QUERI's rigorous review process, and VHA's unique qualifications for establishing a national model for quality improvement.

Benchmarking↗

Planning for the future: the Department of Defense Laboratory Joint Working Group and Global Laboratory Information Transfer.

The Department of Defense (DoD) Laboratory Joint Working Group plans unified laboratory strategy under the auspices of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Board of Governors. One goal of the Laboratory Joint Working Group is to advocate clinical integration through automation of data transfer between medical treatment facilities using the DoD standard platform, Composite Health Care System (CHCS). A working group project team is implementing global laboratory information transfer, which enables CHCS-to-CHCS communication throughout the DoD. A prerequisite to global laboratory information transfer is the standardization of laboratory test nomenclature across all CHCS systems using LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers, Names and Codes). This makes possible easier access to information among caregivers and therapeutic and public health disease managers and enhances global surveillance of disease outbreaks and continuity of care. The end result is the first-ever electronic transfer of laboratory results between all DoD facilities.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗

The impact of emotions on cardiovascular health.

Recent research suggests that the maintenance of emotional well-being is critical to cardiovascular health. People who feel lonely, depressed, and isolated have been found to be significantly more likely to suffer illnesses and to die prematurely of cardiovascular diseases than those who have adequate social support. Consequently, the development of appropriate interventions to improve the emotional health of people with certain psychosocial risk factors has become an important research goal. It is anticipated that such interventions will increase the life expectancy of people at risk and that it may also save millions of dollars in medical care costs. First, however, researchers in this field must identify specific emotional risk factors and must agree upon a working definition of "good emotional health." Such explicit definitions, as well as additional data, are essential to educating physicians and insurers so that consideration of emotional health can be integrated into basic medical care.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

HIV-1-positive female migrants in Northrhine-Westphalia--relevant, but unfocussed problem?

Data of 204 HIV-1-positive female migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and European countries other than Germany were analysed and compared to those of 282 German female virus carriers. Because not much is known about this subpopulation, the first step was to get an overview about the existing data and to describe them statistically in order to design prospective studies. A first result was that female migrants generally are tested for HIV-1 at a younger age than the control subjects. Predominant infection mode in the migrant population was heterosexual intercourse, whereas in the controls there were significantly more i.v. drug users. Distribution to the CDC-stages, CD4+-cell count and plasma viral load did not differ in both groups except for a higher percentage of AIDS-defined individuals among the controls. Surprisingly, significantly more migrants were treated with antiretroviral drugs than in the control group. However, both groups showed the same pattern of AIDS-defining diseases, only tuberculosis occurs more often in migrants. The data show that migrants are a vulnerable subpopulation which can be once being integrated in the health system of the host country effectively treated. - Results are discussed with respect to the international literature. The urgent need for adequate preventive strategies is underlined.

Adult↗

Presentation of medical guidelines on a computer.

Free-text forms of medical guidelines that are used in medical care are often cumbersome and difficult to memorize. Therefore a system that is able to present guidelines in a user-friendly manner has been designed. Guidelines are at first formalized by means of the popular GLIF3 model. Subsequently, the GLIF3 model is coded in XML. The system uses patient data and an XML-coded GLIF3 model graph evaluating the conditions of decision steps. If some conditions cannot be evaluated, (due to the unavailability of required data items), the system stops and highlights a branch from the root of the decision tree to the final step. Then, the user can input missing data into the system so that the system can continue to provide visualization. Thus, the presentation of guidelines is data-driven, making its use easier. The visualization system and the Electronic Health Record can be integrated in a system that can, during examination of a patient, suggest subsequent medical actions according to medical guidelines. Such a system has been designed and is now under development.

Decision Support Systems, Clinical↗

[Clinical experiences with the Maudsley Addiction Profile (MAP) among heroin addicts].

There is an increasing attention to the research of the treatment efficiency of drug users and abusers. Some measure tools (Addiction Severity Index, Opiate Treatment Index) have been developed for last years. Use of these methods is limited by the relative long duration (one hour) of the interview. The Maudsley Addiction Profile (MAP) is used in more European countries because of it's easy implementation. In this study the authors have focused on the Hungarian adaptation of the MAP. 103 heroin addicts were selected on the basis of the degrees of social integration and participation in any treatment programs. The MAP offers reliable data on the substance use, health risk behaviors and personal-social functioning regarding the last 30 days before the investigation. The data of this study strengthen the reliability and applicability of the MAP. This result is in accord with a previous study of the authors and other international studies. The MAP is very sensitive for the differences of various drug using groups. Scales and problem areas of the MAP seem to be reliable and easily treatable. This interview approach has proven a very useful tool in both research and clinical practice.

Europe↗

[Criteria for chronification of diseases of the musculoskeletal system].

Musculoskeletal disorders, especially low back pain, are responsible for most of the days of work absenteeism in western industrial countries. Part of these disorders will get chronic in course of time. The question is, which criteria could be used to identify persons with chronic complaints. In the present study were selected persons with degenerative disorders and persons with idiopathic low back pain. As criterion for chronic complaints we used accumulated days of work absenteeism in two different ways. The first method identified persons with chronic complaints by percentiles of days of work absenteeism in 1990 leading to four groups (Q1-4). The second method used as the relevant criteria the number of years with days of work absenteeism for rheumatic complaints identifying three groups (Q1-3). Both suggested methods were compared for plausibility and validity with relevant parameters (progress of days of work absenteeism, sociodemographic variables, health status). Any method could identify persons with chronic disorders, so we propose to integrate subjective data to get a more valid index.

Absenteeism↗

The Virtual Hospital: an IAIMS integrating continuing education into the work flow.

Researchers at the University of Iowa are developing an integrated academic information management system (IAIMS) for use on the World Wide Web. The focus is on integrating continuing medical education (CME) into the clinicians' daily work and incorporating consumer health information into patients' life styles. Phase I of the project consists of loosely integrating patients' data, printed library information, and digital library information. Phase II consists of more tightly integrating the three types of information, and Phase III consists of awarding CME credits for reviewing educational, material at the point of patient care, when it has the most potential for improving outcomes. This IAIMS serves a statewide population. Its design and evolution have been heavily influenced by user-centered evaluation.

Attitude to Computers↗

The Kaiser Permanente IT transformation.

Kaiser Permanente's major health IT initiative, KP Health-Connect, will integrate all patient information in a single system linking medical information with billing, scheduling, and registration data throughout the organization. Healthcare financial leaders whose organizations want to undertake a similar initiative should: Ensure dedicated financial leadership on the team, Maintain a collaborative relationship with other team members, Champion the project, Plan for contingencies, Develop new processes, Provide financial oversight for every phase of the project.

Financial Management↗

Measuring outcomes in care of the elderly.

This observational study was designed to assess whether routine measurement of outcomes using standard instruments is possible as part of clinical routine in care of the elderly, and to establish if such instruments are responsive to clinical change. Indices of functional status, cognitive function and subjective health status were collected routinely on admission and discharge in 540 inpatients and 340 patients attending a day hospital. Data collection became integrated into clinical routine. Response rates were generally good and yielded acceptably complete data. For inpatients, outcome was reflected by measurement of survival, physical function (Barthel index) and social status, each of these indicators showing significant change between admission and discharge. For day hospital patients, neither these, nor the Nottingham ADL scale, nor a health status indicator proved sufficiently responsive to clinical change to merit recommendation as outcome indicators for routine use in older patients. In ambulatory care in older patients, such as those attending a day hospital, new approaches are needed to measure clinical outcomes.

Activities of Daily Living↗