			Home About us Contact

Health Improvements (health + improvement)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	53%

Selected Abstracts

HEALTH IMPROVEMENTS AND THE TRANSITION OUT OF MALTHUSIAN STAGNATION

BULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009
Luis Currais
I10; I20; O10 ABSTRACT The central component of most economic models that analyse the transition from the Malthusian regime to self-sustaining developed economies is education. Improved health is normally envisaged as simply a by-product of economic growth. Whereas growth does, indeed, tend to improve health status, the reverse is also true, namely that health improvements are a dynamic force capable of driving economic expansion. This paper underlines the importance of health improvements in escaping from Malthusian stagnation. Further, and in contrast to existing literature, which emphasizes the effects of changes in mortality rates, this paper focuses on the relationship between health status and the efficiency of human capital technology. Through this channel, health improvements stimulate investments in child quality in terms of both nourishing and schooling and drive the economy towards the Modern Growth regime. [source]

Valuing ,voices from below'

JOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2002
DipPsych, HON MFPHM, Jean Faugier RMN
The publication of Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) reports in recent years have revealed that employees attempted to blow the whistle on abuse, corruption or malpractice but were largely ignored by senior members of staff. The CHI report into the North Lakeland National Health Service (NHS) Trust (November 2000), for instance, states that an initial failure among management to listen to the concerns of student nurses led to the sustained abuse of patients. To protect patients from incompetent and unethical practitioners and improve standards of care, an environment needs to be created where health care professionals feel able to express legitimate concerns openly and honestly to senior staff, safe in the knowledge that senior managers will take their concerns seriously and act accordingly. The government has pledged to create an ,open culture' in the NHS to encourage staff with genuine concerns to speak out. This can only be achieved if the current leadership culture characterized by conflict avoidance, blame and hierarchical control is replaced with openness and accountability. To produce the desired changes in culture and attitudes, the NHS needs strong leaders capable of challenging the existing social equilibrium. [source]

Chronic Pain and Violent Ideation: Testing a Model of Patient Violence

PAIN MEDICINE, Issue 3 2007
Daniel Bruns PsyD
ABSTRACT Objective., Physicians are at risk of patient-perpetrated violence. The objective of this study was to test a clinical model of patient violence, which had been developed previously by Fishbain and colleagues. The developers of this model believed that it would be associated with increased risk of violence in pain patients. Design., Hypotheses generated by the model were tested using manova and chi-square procedures. Setting., A total of 527 subjects for this study were patients obtained from 90 medical facilities in 30 U.S. states. Patients., All subjects were patients being treated for injury and nonmalignant pain. All of the subjects were adults, ranging in age from 18 to 65 years, and were able to read at the sixth-grade level. The demographics of the sample approximated U.S. Census data for race, education, age, and gender. Results., The results included findings that violent ideation was associated with higher levels of physical difficulties, including pain (P = 0.01), problems with functioning (P = 0.0003), and somatic complaints (P = 0.0001). Significant psychosocial variables included hostility (P < 0.0001), dependency (P < 0.0001), substance abuse (P < 0.0001), litigation (P < 0.001), and a lack of trust in the physician (P < 0.001). Conclusions., Using the Battery for Health Improvement 2 as a measure, the findings of this study consistently supported the Fishbain Model of violence risk, and also reinforced the need for psychological assessment and management when working with chronic pain patients. Suggestions for intervention were also offered, but further research will be necessary to see whether these interventions are effective in decreasing patient violence. [source]

Population Health Improvement and Rural Hospital Balanced Scorecards

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2006
Tim Size MBA
First page of article [source]

QALY maximisation and people's preferences: a methodological review of the literature

HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2005
Paul Dolan
Abstract In cost-utility analysis, the numbers of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained are aggregated according to the sum-ranking (or QALY maximisation) rule. This requires that the social value from health improvements is a simple product of gains in quality of life, length of life and the number of persons treated. The results from a systematic review of the literature suggest that QALY maximisation is descriptively flawed. Rather than being linear in quality and length of life, it would seem that social value diminishes in marginal increments of both. And rather than being neutral to the characteristics of people other than their propensity to generate QALYs, the social value of a health improvement seems to be higher if the person has worse lifetime health prospects and higher if that person has dependents. In addition, there is a desire to reduce inequalities in health. However, there are some uncertainties surrounding the results, particularly in relation to what might be affecting the responses, and there is the need for more studies of the general public that attempt to highlight the relative importance of various key factors. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Dose effects of the food spice cardamom on aspects of hamster gut physiology

MOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCH (FORMERLY NAHRUNG/FOOD), Issue 5 2007
Ya-Ling Huang
Abstract The dose effects of pectic polysaccharide-rich extract from the food spice cardamom (Amomum villosum Lour.) on intestinal environment were investigated. The results showed that pectic polysaccharides and hemicellulose were the major polysaccharides in the cardamom extract. The administration of cardamom extract (0.5 and 1.5 g/100 g diet) effectively (p < 0.05) shortened hamster gastrointestinal transit time by , 58%, increased fecal moisture contents (148,174%), increased SCFA concentrations in hindgut (4.0- to 7.8-fold), decreased the activities of ,- D -glucuronidase (by 71.4,85.7%), ,- D -glucosidase (by 24.3,51.5%), mucinase (by 63.6,72.7%), and urease (by 88.8,90.4%) in feces, and reduced the production of toxic ammonia (by 16.1,64.5%). These findings suggested that the consumption of cardamom extract (at least 0.5 g/100 g diet or 40 mg/day) might exert a favorable effect on improving the gastrointestinal milieu, and also provide a clue to substantiate its traditional therapeutic uses and dosage for intestinal health improvement. [source]

The health of Australian baby boomers

AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 1 2010
Nancy Humpel
The large baby boomer cohort is beginning to reach retirement age. This paper reviews recent Australian literature on baby boomers' health and health behaviours. Databases were searched for peer-reviewed literature and the Internet for online studies and reports. The boomers can expect an increased life span compared to those in later life now. Boomers' health behavioural risks include physical inactivity, low vegetable consumption, obesity and rising medical risk due to increasing prevalence of diabetes. Their health will impact on workforce participation and retirement timing. There is substantial scope for health improvement and consequent quality of life as boomers age. However, little is known about health decision-making, inequalities between social groups and health information sources. Future research can yield a better understanding of the health trajectories of baby boomers in order to plan for health and service needs for an ageing Australia. [source]

Mental health improvements of substance-dependent clients after 4 months in a Therapeutic Community

DRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 5 2010
ANNE-MAREE POLIMENI
Abstract Introduction and Aims. Odyssey House Victoria's Therapeutic Community (TC) accepts substance-dependent clients, including those with co-occurring mental health issues. American data suggest that TCs are effective in rehabilitating such clients; however, Australian research is limited. The aim of the study was to examine Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) profiles of Odyssey House TC residents early in their residency and again after 4 months, to chart changes in MMPI-2 profiles and compare them with norms for psychological health. Design and Methods. The sample comprised 351 clients who were part of the residential program between 1997 and 2007, and who remained in treatment at the TC for at least 4 months. They were administered the MMPI-2 after 5 weeks in treatment and again after 4 months. Results. At the first assessment, the validity scales of the MMPI-2 plus the clinical scales Depression, Psychopathic Deviate, Paranoia, Psychasthenia and Schizophrenia were in the clinical range. At the second assessment, mean scores on all clinical scales except Mania were significantly or near significantly lower and, except for Psychopathic Deviate, within the normal range. The validity scales also demonstrated improvement, although two of the three remained in the clinical range. Discussion and Conclusions. Results indicated that treatment within the TC over this time span was associated with improved mental health. The present study suggests that residential rehabilitation's holistic approach provides a suitable treatment model for clients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.[Polimeni A-M, Moore SM, Gruenert S. Mental health improvements of substance-dependent clients after 4 months in a Therapeutic Community. Drug Alcohol Rev 2010] [source]

QALY maximisation and people's preferences: a methodological review of the literature

Dental health of 5-year-olds following community-based oral health promotion in Glasgow, UK

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 6 2006
Y. BLAIR
Summary., Aim., A community development oral health promotion programme based on the principles of the Ottawa Charter was conducted in an attempt to improve the dental health of children under 5 years of age in two severely socioeconomically challenged pilot districts in Glasgow, UK. Later phased extension involved all of the area's most deprived communities. The aim of the present study was to assess dental health outcomes by secondary analysis of routine caries datasets for Glasgow 5-year-olds over the interval from 1997,1998 to 2003,2004. Design., Wilcoxon tests assessed change in d3mft scores and logistic regression was used to analyse binomial scores (e.g. % d3mft = 0). Results., After adjusting for age and deprivation (DepCat) in pilot districts 1 and 2, significant redistributions of the relative frequency of d3mft scores were observed (P = 0·012 and P < 0·001, respectively), mean d3mft decreased from 5·5 to 3·6 and from 6·0 to 3·6, respectively, and the proportions with d3mft = 0 increased from 11% to 29% and from 10% to 32%, respectively [P = 0·010, odds ratio (OR) = 0·25, and P = 0·006, OR = 0·30, respectively, for d3mft > 0]. Following extension of the programme into all of Glasgow's socioeconomically challenged areas, the mean d3mft values of 5-year-olds reduced in all DepCat 7 communities, and across Glasgow as a whole from 4·9 to 4·1 and from 3·5 to 3·1, respectively, while the proportion with d3mft = 0 increased from 20% to 32% (P < 0·001) and from 34% to 42% (P < 0·001), respectively. Conclusion., Dental health improvements were observed in pilot districts and across all DepCat 7 communities following the roll-out of the programme. This change was of sufficient magnitude to impact upon area-wide statistics for Glasgow. [source]

Altruism and Self Interest in Medical Decision Making

THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 3 2009
Paul H. Rubin
We seem to prefer that medicine and medical care be provided through altruistic motives. Even the pharmaceutical industry justifies its behavior in terms of altruistic purposes. But economists have known since Adam Smith that self-interested behavior can create large and growing social benefits. This is true for medical care as well as for other goods. First, I consider specifically the case of pharmaceutical promotion, both to physicians and to consumers. I argue that such promotion is highly beneficial to patients and leads to health improvements. I consider some criticisms of promotion, and show that they are misguided. I then provide some evolutionary explanations for our erroneous beliefs about medical care. [source]