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Final Version (final + version)
Selected AbstractsDevelopment of the International Classification of Mental Health Care (ICMHC)ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2000A. De Jong Objective: Evaluations of the process of providing mental health care have been hampered because a tool to systematically describe the interventions actually provided by the services was lacking. In this paper the development of such a tool (the International Classification of Mental Health Care; ICMHC) is described. Method: Subsequent versions of the ICMHC were developed, using comments from experts in 24 WHO field centres and results from a number of field trials. In the final version 10 Modalities of Care can be used to describe Modules of Care, using the Level of Specialization scale. The inter-rater reliability of this version was evaluated by the Italian research team, using data from 43 services. Results: Reliability ranged from excellent for nine modalities to reasonably good for the remaining modality. Conclusion: In the context of evaluation studies, the ICMHC can be used to describe systematically mental health care interventions. [source] Practice Guidelines for Evaluation of Fever in Returning Travelers and MigrantsJOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 2003Valérie D'Acremont Background Fever upon return from tropical or subtropical regions can be caused by diseases that are rapidly fatal if left untreated. The differential diagnosis is wide. Physicians often lack the necessary knowledge to appropriately take care of such patients. Objective To develop practice guidelines for the initial evaluation of patients presenting with fever upon return from a tropical or subtropical country in order to reduce delays and potential fatal outcomes and to improve knowledge of physicians. Target audience Medical personnel, usually physicians, who see the returning patients, primarily in an ambulatory setting or in an emergency department of a hospital and specialists in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and travel medicine. Method A systematic review of the literature,mainly extracted from the National Library of Medicine database,was performed between May 2000 and April 2001, using the keywords fever and/or travel and/or migrant and/or guidelines. Eventually, 250 articles were reviewed. The relevant elements of evidence were used in combination with expert knowledge to construct an algorithm with arborescence flagging the level of specialization required to deal with each situation. The proposed diagnoses and treatment plans are restricted to tropical or subtropical diseases (nonautochthonous diseases). The decision chart is accompanied with a detailed document that provides for each level of the tree the degree of evidence and the grade of recommendation as well as the key points of debate. Participants and consensus process Besides the 4 authors (2 specialists in travel/tropical medicine, 1 clinical epidemiologist, and 1 resident physician), a panel of 11 European physicians with different levels of expertise on travel medicine reviewed the guidelines. Thereafter, each point of the proposed recommendations was discussed with 15 experts in travel/tropical medicine from various continents. A final version was produced and submitted for evaluation to all participants. Conclusion Although the quality of evidence was limited by the paucity of clinical studies, these guidelines established with the support of a large and highly experienced panel should help physicians to deal with patients coming back from the Tropics with fever. [source] Dermatomycological guidelines: 10 years of experience in GermanyMYCOSES, Issue 5 2007C. Seebacher Summary Since the mid-1990s of the last century, dermatomycological guidelines have been prepared and published in Germany. This has been achieved by a group of experts encompassing leading representatives of Deutschsprachige Mykologische Gesellschaft, Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft as well as Berufsverband Deutscher Dermatologen. Preparation of guidelines is based on a defined procedure. The first draft is prepared by one to three experts and then forwarded to all members of the working group for further discussion and improvement. This can be by way of either conventional mail or electronic mail. All aspects turning up in the process are reflected by the head of the working group and these aspects are used to prepare another version, which is again distributed to all members of the working group. Following up to three or four pertinent rounds of optimisation, a final version based on general consensus will be available at the end. All guidelines are subject to adaptation in a period of 3,5 years at the latest or if needed even earlier. [source] The Reclassification of Extreme Pornographic ImagesTHE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Andrew D. Murray Legal controls over the importation and supply of pornographic imagery promulgated nearly half a century ago in the Obscene Publications Acts have proven to be inadequate to deal with the challenge of the internet age. With pornographic imagery more readily accessible in the UK than at any time in our history, legislators have been faced with the challenge of stemming the tide. One particular problem has been the ready accessibility of extreme images which mix sex and violence or which portray necrophilia or bestiality. This article examines the Government's attempt to control the availability of such material through s.63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which criminalises possession of such images. It begins by examining the consultation process and concludes that an underlying public policy objective was the root of the new offence despite the lack of a clear mandate for such a policy. The article then examines whether this weakness in the foundations for the proposed new offence caused the proposal to be substantially amended during the Committee Stage of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill: to the extent that the final version of s.63 substantially fails to meet the original public policy objective. The article concludes by asking whether s.63 may have unintended consequences in that it fails to criminalise some of the more extreme examples of violent pornography while criminalising consensual BDSM images, and questions whether s.63 will be enforceable in any meaningful way. [source] | ||||||||||