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Objective Results (objective + result)
Selected AbstractsCan paying for results help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals?JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE, Issue 2 2009Overview of the effectiveness of results-based financing Abstract Objective Results-based financing and pay-for-performance refer to the transfer of money or material goods conditional on taking a measurable action or achieving a predetermined performance target. Results-based financing is widely advocated for achieving health goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. Methods We undertook an overview of systematic reviews of the effectiveness of RBF. We searched the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and MEDLINE (up to August 2007). We also searched for related articles in PubMed, checked the reference lists of retrieved articles, and contacted key informants. We included reviews with a methods section that addressed the effects of any results-based financing in the health sector targeted at patients, providers, organizations, or governments. We summarized the characteristics and findings of each review using a structured format. Results We found 12 systematic reviews that met our inclusion criteria. Based on the findings of these reviews, financial incentives targeting recipients of health care and individual healthcare professionals are effective in the short run for simple and distinct, well-defined behavioral goals. There is less evidence that financial incentives can sustain long-term changes. Conditional cash transfers to poor and disadvantaged groups in Latin America are effective at increasing the uptake of some preventive services. There is otherwise very limited evidence of the effects of results-based financing in low- or middle-income countries. Results-based financing can have undesirable effects, including motivating unintended behaviors, distortions (ignoring important tasks that are not rewarded with incentives), gaming (improving or cheating on reporting rather than improving performance), widening the resource gap between rich and poor, and dependency on financial incentives. Conclusion There is limited evidence of the effectiveness of results-based financing and almost no evidence of the cost-effectiveness of results-based financing. Based on the available evidence and likely mechanisms through which financial incentives work, they are more likely to influence discrete individual behaviors in the short run and less likely to create sustained changes. [source] Preventive interventions among children exposed to trauma of armed conflict: a literature reviewAGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 2 2010Kirsi Peltonen Abstract Increasing research is available on the preconditions for child mental health and optimal development in traumatic conditions, whereas less is known how to translate the findings into effective interventions to help traumatized children. This literature review analyses the effectiveness of psychosocial preventive interventions and treatments and their theoretical bases among children traumatized in the context of armed conflicts (war, military violence, terrorism and refugee). The first aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive interventions in preventing emotional distress and impairment and promoting optimal emotional-cognitive and social development. The second task is to analyze the nature of the underlying mechanisms for the success of preventive interventions, and the theoretical premises of the choice of intervention techniques, procedures and tools. We found 16 relevant published studies, but an examination of them revealed that only four of them had experimental designs strong enough that they could be included in the meta-analysis. While the subjective reports of the researchers suggested that systematic preventive interventions were effective in decreasing PTSD and depressive symptoms among children traumatized due to armed conflict, the more objective results of the meta-analysis and the weaknesses in designs uncovered during the meta-analysis undermine such a conclusion. Additionally, a majority of the reported preventive interventions focused only on children's biased cognitive processes and negative emotions, while only a few aimed at influencing multiple domains of child development and improving developmental functioning on emotional, social and psychophysiological levels. It is concluded that substantial additional work needs to be done in developing effective preventive interventions and treatments for children traumatized by exposure to war and violence. Aggr. Behav. 36:95,116, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Subjective and objective perception of upper incisorsJOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 7 2006S. WOLFART summary, The purpose of this study was to evaluate the subjective judgment (SJ) of patients on their own dental appearance and to correlate the results with objective measurements (OM) of their dentition concerning the appearance of the upper incisors. Seventy-five participants (30 men and 45 women) with normal well-being were included in the study. In a questionnaire they judged the appearance of their upper incisors. Furthermore, OM were evaluated by the investigator with regard to the following points: (i) absolute length of the upper central incisors, (ii) their length exposed during laughing, (iii) width-to-length ratio of central incisors and (iv) the proportion between the width of the lateral and central incisors. The subjective results were registered on visual-analogue scales. For the objective results standardized photographs were taken. No gender dependent differences could be found for the objectively measured parameters (median): OM1, 10·7 mm; OM2, 8·1 mm; OM3, 0·81; OM4, 0·79. However, significant correlations between subjective and objective results (SJ1/OM1, SJ2/OM2, SJ3/OM3) could be shown for men, but not for women. The maximum of the calculated regression-curves for men reflect ,golden standard values' well known from the literature. The degree of satisfaction concerning appearance of anterior incisors in accordance with golden standard values is higher for men than for women. [source] Modeling and analysis of multiobjective lot splitting for N -product M -machine flowshop linesNAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2010Yossi Bukchin Abstract Lot splitting is a new approach for improving productivity by dividing production lots into sublots. This approach enables accelerating production flow, reducing lead-time and increasing the utilization of organization resources. Most of the lot splitting models in the literature have addressed a single objective problem, usually the makespan or flowtime objectives. Simultaneous minimization of these two objectives has rarely been addressed in the literature despite of its high relevancy to most industrial environments. This work aims at solving a multiobjective lot splitting problem for multiple products in a flowshop environment. Tight mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulations for minimizing the makespan and flowtime are presented. Then, the MinMax solution, which takes both objectives into consideration, is defined and suggested as an alternative objective. By solving the MILP model, it was found that minimizing one objective results in an average loss of about 15% in the other objective. The MinMax solution, on the other hand, results in an average loss of 4.6% from the furthest objective and 2.5% from the closest objective. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010 [source] Single-bundle posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with remnant preservation: lateral versus medial-sided augmentation techniqueORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY, Issue 1 2009Jin-zhong Zhao MD Objective:, To compare the results of lateral versus medial-sided augmentation techniques in single-bundle posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction with remnant preservation. Methods:, Forty-two cases of isolated chronic PCL ruptures were reconstructed in a single-bundle manner with remnant preservation. The patients were randomly separated into two groups: in the medial-sided augmentation (MSA) group the graft passed through the medial side of the remnant and in the lateral-sided augmentation (LSA) group it passed through the lateral side. Results:, Nineteen patients in the MSA group and 17 in the LSA group were followed up for a minimum of 2 years. At the final follow-up, the average side-to-side differences in posterior laxity were 1.6 ± 1.2 mm and 1.5 ± 1.3 mm respectively in the MSA and LSA groups. According to the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scale, patient numbers graded as normal, nearly normal and abnormal were 14 (73.7%), 4 (21.1%), and 1 (5.3%) in the MSA group, and 13 (76.5%), 3 (17.6%), and 1 (5.9%) in the LSA group. The IKDC subjective scores were 93.1 ± 3.8 and 92.6 ± 4.1, the Lysholm scores were 95.0 ± 4.6 and 93.7 ± 4.2, and the Tegner scores were 5.4 ± 0.9 and 5.6 ± 0.7 respectively in the MSA and LSA groups. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between the MSA and the LSA group regarding all subjective and objective results. Conclusion:, In single-bundle PCL reconstruction with remnant preservation, similar subjective and objective results can be obtained with MSA and LSA techniques. [source] Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty versus laser assisted uvulopalatoplasty for the treatment of snoring: an objective randomised clinical trialCLINICAL OTOLARYNGOLOGY, Issue 4 2000E.Z. Osman This study was designed to evaluate objectively the clinical effectiveness of surgery for snoring and to compare the results of conventional uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) and laser assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) in the treatment of snoring. Patients who had been referred for investigation and treatment of their snoring were randomly allocated to receive either UPPP or LAUP. Forty-seven patients with confirmed palatal flutter had surgery and all of them had a preoperative and postoperative objective assessment of their snoring loudness and duration in the home. The recording device (Snore Box) is simple for the patient to operate, portable with a built in microphone, and able to produce objective results, which can be automatically analysed. Of the 38 patients, who had technically valid recordings, 22 underwent LAUP and 16 UPPP. Overall the mean postoperative Snore Index (SI) was less than the preoperative SI (P < 0.0001), the average difference being 78.2 snores/h. There was no significant difference between the LAUP and UPPP regarding the fall in the SI. This study is the first objective comparative study to demonstrate the effectiveness of snoring surgery. [source] | ||||||||||