Journal of public health management and practice : JPHMP
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J Public Health Manag Pract · Jan 2022
ReviewHospital Policies During COVID-19: An Analysis of Visitor Restrictions.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have developed visitor restriction policies in order to mitigate spread of infection. We reviewed hospital visitor restriction policies for consistency and to develop recommendations to highlight fair and transparent restrictions, exceptions, and appeals in policy development and implementation. ⋯ Visitor restriction policies varied significantly among hospitals in this review. These variances create challenges in that their fair application may be problematic and ethical issues related to allocation may arise. Five recommendations are offered for hospitals revising or creating such policies, including that offering transparent, accessible, public-facing policies can minimize ethical dilemmas. In addition, hospitals would benefit from communicating with each other in the development of visitor policies to ensure uniformity and support patients and family members as they navigate hospital visitation.
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J Public Health Manag Pract · Sep 2018
ReviewImplementing Statewide Severe Maternal Morbidity Review: The Illinois Experience.
Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) rates in the United States more than doubled between 1998 and 2010. Advanced maternal age and chronic comorbidities do not completely explain the increase in SMM or how to effectively address it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have called for facility-level multidisciplinary review of SMM for potential preventability and have issued implementation guidelines. ⋯ Facility-level SMM review was feasible and acceptable in statewide implementation. States that are planning SMM reviews across obstetric facilities should permit ample time for translation of recommendations to practice. Although continued maternal mortality reviews are valuable, they are not sufficient to address the increasing rates of SMM and maternal death. In-depth multidisciplinary review offers the potential to identify factors associated with SMM and interventions to prevent women from moving along the continuum of severity.
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The human papillomavirus (HPV) is clearly established as the cause of cervical cancer, and vaccines targeting oncogenic forms of the virus are important as a primary method of prevention. However, barriers to cervical screening and vaccination such as a lack of knowledge of HPV, access to healthcare, and poor follow-up prevent the acceptance and utilization of HPV vaccines. ⋯ This review assesses the potential impact of vaccination for cervical cancer, barriers to vaccination, and the methods used to increase coverage. With the advent of prophylactic vaccines, HPV, a common infection in the United States, can be prevented in most women.
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J Public Health Manag Pract · Nov 2008
ReviewEffective environmental public health surveillance programs: a framework for identifying and evaluating data resources and indicators.
The complexity and multidisciplinary nature of environmental public health (EPH) surveillance call for a systematic framework and a concrete set of criteria to guide development, selection, and evaluation of environmental public health indicators. Environmental public health indicators are the foundation of a comprehensive EPH surveillance system, providing quantitative summary measures and descriptive information about spatial and temporal trends of hazard, exposure, and health effects over person, place, and time. ⋯ By outlining a process and identifying important constructs and criteria, the framework provides practitioners with an effective and systematic tool for making scientifically valid programmatic decisions about EPH content development. Improved decision making ensures more effective EPH surveillance systems and enhanced opportunities to understand and protect the public health from environmental threats.