Articles: mortality.
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Jan 2010
Compiling mortality statistics from civil registration systems in Viet Nam: the long road ahead.
Accurate mortality statistics, needed for population health assessment, health policy and research, are best derived from data in vital registration systems. However, mortality statistics from vital registration systems are not available for several countries including Viet Nam. We used a mixed methods case study approach to assess vital registration operations in 2006 in three provinces in Viet Nam (Hòa Bình, Thùa Thiên-Hué and Bình Duong), and provide recommendations to strengthen vital registration systems in the country. ⋯ The system does not conform to international standards for reporting cause of death or for recording detailed statistics by age, sex and cause of death. Capacity-building along with an intersectoral coordination committee involving the Ministries of Justice and Health and the General Statistics Office would improve the vital registration system, especially with regard to procedures for death registration. There appears to be strong political support for sentinel surveillance systems to generate reliable mortality statistics in Viet Nam.
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Int J Psychiatry Med · Jan 2010
A 7-year prospective study of sense of humor and mortality in an adult county population: the HUNT-2 study.
To prospectively explore the significance of sense of humor for survival over 7 years in an adult county population. ⋯ Sense of humor appeared to increase the probability of survival into retirement, and this effect appeared independent of subjective health. Age under 65 mediated this effect, whereas it disappeared beyond this age.
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Social science & medicine · Jan 2010
Spatial analysis of heat-related mortality among the elderly between 1993 and 2004 in Sydney, Australia.
This study analyzed the geographical patterns of heat-related mortality among the population aged 65 and over within the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia between 1993 and 2004, and evaluated the role of some physical and socio-demographic risk factors associated with it. The effect of temperature on all-cause mortality during unusually hot days was investigated using spatial analytic techniques, such as cluster analysis and spatial regression analysis. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were used to investigate the role of daily average temperature, ozone (O(3)) and particulate matter of diameter less than 10 microm (PM(10)) at the regions that showed a significant increase in mortality on unusually hot days. ⋯ A combination of social and environmental factors may be at play. Our results suggest an effect of temperature on mortality of the elderly population in Sydney Statistical Division at the SLA level. More spatially-based research would be beneficial once climate datasets with improved spatial coverage become available.
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Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf · Jan 2010
Using patient safety morbidity and mortality conferences to promote transparency and a culture of safety.
Although creating a culture of safety to support clinicians and improve the quality of patient care is a common goal among health care organizations, it can be difficult to envision specific efforts to directly influence organizational culture. To promote transparency and reinforce a nonpunitive attitude throughout the organization, a forum for the open, interdisciplinary discussion of patient safety problems--the Patient Safety Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) Conference--was created at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago). The intent of the M&M conference was to inform frontline providers about adverse events that occur at the hospital and to engage their input in root cause analysis, thereby encouraging reporting and promoting systems-based thinking among clinicians. ⋯ Ensuring the patient safety M&M conference program's sustained success requires an ongoing commitment to identifying events of clinical importance and to pursuing the productive discussion of these events in an open and safe forum. Patient safety M&M conferences are a valued opportunity to engage staff in exploring adverse events and to promote transparency and a nonpunitive culture.
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Historical Article
Health issues and medical care in the Ohio penitentiary, 1833–1907.