Articles: community-health-services.
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Limited data are available on the prevalence of inappropriate prescribing of renally cleared drugs in elderly patients in Australia. ⋯ Inappropriate prescribing of renally cleared drugs is common in older Australians. Intervention studies to improve prescribing of renally cleared drugs in the elderly appear to be warranted.
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Healthcare utilization peaks at the end of life (EOL) in patients with heart failure. However, it is unclear what factors affect end of life utilization in patients with heart failure and if utilization has changed over time. ⋯ Although patient factors remain associated with differential healthcare utilization at the end of life, utilization declined over time and use of palliative care services increased. These results are encouraging given the high resource use in patients with heart failure.
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Indian heart journal · May 2015
LetterMaking sense of health care delivery Where does the close to community health care worker fit in? - The case for congestive heart failure.
Close to community health care workers (CTC-HCW) is an increasingly used term to describe the emergence of a new partner in health services delivery. In strengthening arguments for this part of the health workforce the authorities, health staffers, supporters, sceptics and perhaps clients will look to the academicians and the evidence base to determine the fate of this group. There is no doubt, CTC-HCW are a vital resource, whose importance is tied to socio-demo-geographic variables. ⋯ An important example is heart failure where the majority have an associated comorbidity and one in four would also suffer with cognitive or mood disturbances. It is unclear how the CTC-HCW would fare for this devastating syndrome. In moving forward it is important we understand there are: strengths and limitations in the evidence gathering processes; indecision as to the questions; uncertainty of the starting points to gather evidence; and sociodemogeographic biases, which have to be factored before determining the fate of this much needed health care resource.
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Herniorrhaphy is one of the most frequently performed general surgical operations worldwide; however, most low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) are unable to provide this essential surgery resulting in substantial morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of, barriers to care for, and disability from untreated hernias in Nepal. ⋯ Surgeons OverSeas, Association for Academic Surgery, and the Fogarty International Center.
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To explore the views of eye health professionals and service users on shared community and hospital care for wet or neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). ⋯ While shared care is perceived to represent a promising model of nAMD care, voiced concerns suggest that there would need to be greater collaboration between ophthalmology and optometry, in terms of interprofessional trust and communication.