Articles: outcome-assessment-health-care.
-
Outcome study to determine response distribution, internal consistency, reproducibility, and concurrent validity of the Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) questionnaire. ⋯ The SRS-22 HRQL questionnaire is reliable with internal consistency and reproducibility comparable to SF-36. In addition, it demonstrated concurrent validity when compared to SF-36. It is shorter and more focused on the health issues related to idiopathic scoliosis than SF-36.
-
Determine the unique effects of age across a variety of outcome domains following spinal cord injury (SCI). ⋯ There is a small but consistent decline with age in several outcome domains following SCI. Follow-up longitudinal studies should help tease a part possible cohort effects from the effects of age.
-
This paper presents findings from a study that investigated performance measurement for primary health care services delivered by the community health sector, and assessed the effectiveness and value of a performance measurement approach in the evaluation of these services. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in South Australia. The findings indicate that three major steps are needed to move forward in the use of performance measurement in the community health sector. These steps are i) development of a policy and strategy statement for community health, ii) identification of performance domains and indicators, and iii) development of appropriate data systems.
-
Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2003
Local intra-arterial fibrinolysis in acute hemispheric stroke: effect of occlusion type and fibrinolytic agent on recanalization success and neurological outcome.
To evaluate the effect of occlusion type and fibrinolytic agent on recanalization success and clinical outcome in patients undergoing local intra-arterial fibrinolysis (LIF) in acute hemispheric stroke. ⋯ The type of occlusion is of high prognostic value for successful fibrinolysis in the anterior circulation. However, recanalization is a time-consuming process even with an intra-arterial approach. Recanalization did not differ between type or dosage of plasminogen activators. Further innovative attempts are warranted towards hastening recanalization time in endovascular acute stroke treatment.
-
Outcomes management · Jan 2003
Resource utilization in home health chronic obstructive pulmonary disease management.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in this country, with a total annual cost of approximately $23 billion. This study examined the impact on total resource utilization when a pulmonary specialty team manages the in-home healthcare of the patient suffering from advanced COPD. Following implementation of the pulmonary specialty team, the use of hospital, emergency department, and skilled nursing facility resources decreased while home healthcare resource use increased. The overall costs were reduced on average by more than $13,000 per patient.