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Pilot Program (pilot + program)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	58%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	25%

Selected Abstracts

Meeting the Preteen Vaccine Law: A Pilot Program in Urban Middle Schools

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 2 2000
Lynda Boyer-Chuanroong
ABSTRACT: California, the most populous state in the nation, is one of many states that implemented vaccination requirements for preteens. While kindergarten requirements are well-established and accepted by parents, implementation of preteen vaccination requirements requires inter- and intra-institutional adjustments, educational and public relations efforts, and an augmentation of vaccination delivery systems. This article describes a pilot program in two middle schools in an urban school district and offers planning strategies and practical tools to assist school nurses and health providers to implement preteen requirements. [source]

The King County (Washington) Systems Integration Initiative: A First Look at the Kent District Dual System Youth Pilot Program

JUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009
Gene Siegel
ABSTRACT King County is one of five counties in Washington State participating in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Models for Change juvenile justice reform initiative. One key aspect of King County's Models for Change participation involves ongoing "systems integration" work intended to improve how youth who have cross-over involvement in multiple systems,e.g., juvenile justice, child welfare, education, mental health, and/or others,are handled. These cross-over cases often present a range of challenges to juvenile courts including substantial risk factors that increase their likelihood of continuing system involvement. This article provides a first look at an emerging pilot project in King County that is intended to improve how cross-over cases are handled by child welfare and juvenile probation with the longer term goal of improving outcomes for these difficult cases. [source]

Federal Highway Assistance Funds in the State Infrastructure Bank Programs: Mechanisms, Merits, and Modifications

PUBLIC BUDGETING AND FINANCE, Issue 4 2007
JAY EUNGHA RYU
In response to the declining financial resources for state transportation infrastructures, the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 (P. L. 104,159) authorized the establishment of the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) Pilot Programs. This paper shows how the federal assistance funds deposited into the SIB equity fund can maximize state highway resources through a simulation. From 1998 to 2003, one dollar of the federal funds augmented state highway expenditures by 5.24 dollars in a specific year in contrast to the original intention of perpetuating state highway spending. This study further suggests ways to modify and improve the current SIB mechanism. [source]

Infrastructure Investment and Rural Economic Development: An Evaluation of USDA's Broadband Loan Program

GROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 2 2010
IVAN T. KANDILOV
ABSTRACT We empirically evaluate whether participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Broadband Loan Program, which began making loans in 2002, has had measurable positive impacts on zip code-level economic outcomes. Using difference in differences and propensity score matching program evaluation techniques, we find that loans made in 2002 and 2003 under the Pilot Broadband Loan Program have had a substantial positive impact on employment, annual payroll, and the number of business establishments in recipient communities. However, a more spatially disaggregated analysis reveals that the positive economic impacts of the pilot program are driven primarily by the outcomes in communities located closest to urban areas. Finally, we find no evidence that loans received as part of the current Broadband Loan Program have had a measurable positive impact on recipient communities, possibly because not enough time has elapsed for the impacts of the current Broadband Loan Program to have emerged. [source]

Cooperative Dementia Care Clinics: A New Model for Managing Cognitively Impaired Patients

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 12 2006
Mary Lessig BS
Cooperative health care clinics (CHCCs), or shared medical appointments, are a healthcare innovation that can improve access and expand physicians' capacity to manage common geriatric conditions. This report describes a pilot program and working model for extending CHCCs to patients with dementia. Three cooperative dementia care clinics (CDCCs) met monthly for up to 1 year, drawing participants from a dementia clinic roster of patients and caregivers who had required continued specialty care for at least 3 months. Twenty-six of 33 eligible patient,caregiver dyads expressed interest, and 21 enrolled; five whose clinical status changed during the year withdrew and were replaced with new members. Brief introductory socialization, individualized clinical management, and an educational focus selected from problems of patients and caregivers were common to all sessions. Most participants required several types of clinical intervention and educational support. One group ended after reaching a natural termination point, and two others are ongoing at the request of participants. CDCCs can be a viable approach to increasing dementia care capacity in health systems. Formal service intervention trials to evaluate the generalizability and comparative effectiveness and economic viability of this model versus usual care are an appropriate next step. [source]

Linking Tax Refunds and Low-Cost Bank Accounts: Early Lessons for Program Design and Evaluation

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2004
SONDRA G. BEVERLY
This article describes a pilot program encouraging low-income workers to have their tax refunds directly deposited into low-cost bank accounts. Although the program did not lead to substantial saving in the short-term, it did seem to facilitate account ownership among the unbanked and to serve as a bridge to other financial services and products. Early lessons for the design and evaluation of related programs are discussed. [source]

Newborn screening in Fragile X syndrome

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 10 2008
F. Tassone
Background: Screening for the FMR1 mutations has been a topic of considerable discussion since the FMR1 gene was identified. However, Fragile X has not been recommended for newborn screening mainly because of the lack of an accurate screening test and of data on potential benefits. We have recently developed an improved Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method for the identification of premutation and full mutation alleles for the FMR1 gene. Method: The method is inexpensive, accurate and quick and can be performed on a number of sample templates including, importantly, blood spots. We have applied this method for international screening. Specifically, we have screened 5267 anonymous blood spot samples from newborn males from the centre-northwest region of Spain. We have also used this technology to a pilot ,high risk' screening program of individuals with autism and/or intellectual disabilities and family members of a proband with fragile X initiated in Guatemala. This project is a prototype for future screening endeavours. Results: One important outcome from this study is that the frequency of premutation alleles (1 per 250) appears to be higher than previously reported. This is of importance, especially in view of the different phenotypic involvement observed in carriers of premutation alleles, including neurological problems such as FXTAS. Here, we present data on the frequency of premutation/full alleles found in this population and their size distribution. Conclusion: This project is a prototype for future screening endeavours. Results from our pilot program in both Spain and Guatemala will lend strong support for implementing this technology for rapid screening to a much larger scale population screening. [source]

Meeting the Preteen Vaccine Law: A Pilot Program in Urban Middle Schools

Implementing a Smoking Cessation Program for Pregnant Women Based on Current Clinical Practice Guidelines

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS, Issue 6 2002
Lynne Buchanan APRN, PhDArticle first published online: 24 MAY 200
Purpose To describe the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services clinical practice guideline for treating tobacco use and dependence and demonstrate how the guideline was utilized in a pilot program for a small sample of pregnant women (n=20) to help them decrease smoking. Data Sources A convenience sample of 20 pregnant women was recruited from a health maintenance organization at their initial prenatal contact either by telephone or in person. A comparison group of pregnant women (n=28) was used for analysis of outcomes. Conclusions Clinical results showed better outcomes for women in the pilot program when compared to a similar group who did not participate in the program. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in average number of cigarettes smoked per day at delivery and two weeks after delivery with pilot program participants reporting less smoking (p<.05). Women in both groups showed a pattern of returning to smoking after delivery of the baby. Implications for Practice Although a few tobacco users achieve permanent abstinence in first or second attempts, the majority continue to use tobacco for many years and typically cycle through many lapse and relapses before permanent abstinence. Ambulatory care systems need to be developed and funded to treat tobacco use and dependence over the life span. Recognition of the chronic nature of the problem and development of long term care delivery systems are needed to assist clients to achieve goals of permanent abstinence and better personal and family health. This cycle of lapse and relapse before permanent abstinence is typical and demonstrates the chronic nature of tobacco use and dependence and the need for long term follow-up. [source]

Guiding Mothers' Management of Health Problems of Very Low Birth-Weight Infants

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 3 2006
F.A.A.N., Karen A. Pridham Ph.D.
ABSTRACT Objective: Explore the feasibility, usefulness, and outcomes of a pilot program to support mothers in developing competencies for managing health problems of their very low birth-weight (VLBW) infants in partnership with the primary care clinician (PCC). Design: In a randomized study, mothers who received guided participation (GP) and printed guidelines for managing VLBW infant health problems were compared with mothers who received only the guidelines and standard care (GL group). Sample: All mothers (GP=20; GL=11) were at least 18 years old and English speaking. Infants were all VLBW (,1,500 g). Intervention: GP began during the infant's neonatal intensive care unit stay and continued with public health nurses (PHNs) and a family service clinician through the infant's first 4 postterm months. Measurements: Intervention feasibility and usefulness were assessed with maternal and clinician feedback. Outcomes included maternal and clinician appraisal of mothers' use of clinical resources and mothers' perceptions of primary-care quality and the family-PCC relationship. Results: Intervention feasibility and usefulness were supported. GP and GL groups did not differ significantly on outcomes. Conclusions: Findings indicate a longer intervention period, GP organized by infant problem episodes, and enhancement of the PHN role in the context of interdisciplinary and interagency collaboration. [source]

Physician assistants: trialling a new surgical health professional in Australia

ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 6 2010
Phyllis Ho
Abstract Background:, The Australia health workforce productivity Commission Research Report in 2005 identified workforce shortages. One of the recommendations is that new models of health care be established. As a result South Australia is trialling United States trained physician assistants in a pilot program. This paper summaries the review of literature of the physician assistant role and safety in the surgical setting. Methods:, A literature search using Medline and Pubmed from 1966 until 2009 with key words: physician assistants, midlevel providers, surgery. The references of the results were also searched for suitable articles. The Google search engine was also used with the above keywords to search for latest developments from nontraditional sources. Results:, There were over 200 suitable articles relating to the quality and safety of physician assistants. The overwhelming majority of the articles originate from the United States and these vary in quality. There were 13 published studies identified that documented physician assistants in the surgical setting. Conclusion:, From the published data physician assistants have been shown to provide safe and provide high quality care in surgical units. It is important that prior to their commencement their role is defined to alleviate conflict and confusion in the team. Continued auditing should be conducted to monitor progress and impact. [source]

Faster, cheaper, and unused: The paradox of grievance mediation in unionized environments

CONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2008
Camille Monahan
This article investigates the paradox that grievance mediation pilot programs, despite their overwhelming successes, have failed to be adopted on a widespread basis in unionized settings. By focusing largely on the labor union perspective, this article suggests that some elements of union organizational identity act as barriers to the mediation of contract-based labor disputes. Also, a model and a case study are presented to shed light on the factors that create contract-based, unmediated grievances. [source]