The impact of medical home on selected children's health outcome

Medical Home practice has been shown to deliver effective health care to children. This practice model calls for providing patient-centered care that is compassionate, culturally effective, coordinated, integrated, safe, of high quality, and accessible. This study shows that children in the states with a higher amount of Medical Home received childhood vaccinations at a higher rate than others. However, Medical Home had a limited effect on the rate of children receiving dental/medical services, mental health services, or number of overweight children.     

Utilization of Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Screener? by O‘ahu's Pediatricians

O‘ahu''s primary care physicians are in the process of implementing the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model. The Medical Home Task Force recommends the implementation of the Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Screener© as one of the two quality improvement programs that must be completed by each participating physician. This study sought to find how many pediatricians practice population health management and to determine barriers for incorporating population health management and care registries into practices.An online survey of 55 pediatricians in Hawai‘i was conducted between January 10, 2012 and March 10, 2012. The survey contained questions regarding knowledge and use of population health management and investigated the utilization rate of the Screener©. This survey provides baseline data on the implementation of this recommended screener, and informs the process that will be necessary to ensure maximal adoption of recommendations.Sixty percent of the survey participants have not incorporated population health management into their routine practice. Twenty three percent did not have knowledge of population health management and 85% did not use a chronic disease registry. As of August 2011, 95% had not screened their patients with the Screener©. Reasons included not having heard of the Screener© and never having considered using a systematic process to ask patients to assess their health.Based on results, there are important educational goals that need to be accomplished in order for Hawai‘i''s physicians to transform their practices into effective PCMHs. Physicians will likely need instructional and monetary support to effectively change their practices into PCMHs.     

Perceived Access to Pediatric Primary Care by Insurance Status and Race

The Nemours system of children's clinics in Delaware was designed to offer comprehensive primary care (medical homes), to children regardless of families' abilities to pay for services. Racial and insurance status differences in perceptions of access to the provisions of medical home and differences by the Short Medical Home Index are assessed. A probabilities proportionate to size sampling method was used to randomly select families in nine clinics. A total of 323 caregivers of children ages 6 to 48 months were surveyed. Results suggest that there are minimal differences in perceptions of access to provisions of the medical home concept by insurance status and race in the clinics studied. However, when using a composite measure of medical home, differences in perceptions were found. The results suggest that insurance status and racial differences in perceptions of access remain even when the system is specifically designed to provide medical homes without regard to demographic factors. Future studies should focus on improving patient interactions with clinic personnel to ensure that access to provisions of care are understood by all consumers.     

Effects of a Medical Home Program for Children with Special Health Care Needs on Parental Perceptions of Care in an Ethnically Diverse Patient Population

The Pediatric Medical Home Program at UCLA enrolled 41 patients in a primary care model focused on providing intensive care coordination for medically complex, ethnically diverse children with special health care needs (CSHCN) in our Pediatric Resident Continuity clinic. We sought to determine the effect of our program on parental satisfaction, and to compare differences in parental satisfaction between English and Spanish speaking patients. The Medical Home Family Index, developed by the Center for Medical Home Improvement, was administered to a total of 22 participating parents, in the family’s primary language by a native speaker, at various times after enrollment in the program. Survey data and language effects were analyzed. The 36 standardized mean scores for the 15 Spanish speaking families were significantly higher (8.5 points higher) than the mean scores from the seven English speaking families (p = 0.003). Although no statistically significant differences were noted in individual questions between Spanish and English speakers, a trend towards more positive responses by Spanish speakers was noted in questions regarding physician-patient communication (p = 0.054) and family-centeredness (p = 0.053). Our results suggest that a primary care model focused on providing intensive care coordination produces positive parental perceptions of the organization and delivery of primary care services in a medically complex population of CSHCN. The main finding of the study is that utilizing the AAP’s approach to the medical home model, emphasizing family-centered and culturally competent care, can produce higher satisfaction scores in Spanish speaking parents when compared to English speaking parents.     

山东省儿童保健服务利用及影响因素分析

目的 调查儿童保健服务利用情况,并对其影响因素进行分析.方法 采取分层随机抽样的方法进行调查,运用x2检验、多元Logistic回归等统计方法进行影响因素分析.结果 儿童健康体检和“五苗”接种率利用率较高,新生儿疾病筛查、新生儿访视和儿童保健指导利用率较低;居住地、家庭收入、母亲文化程度和儿童出生方式等是影响儿童保健服务利用的重要因素.结论 提高对儿童保健服务的关注程度,通过健康教育等措施不断提升儿童保健服务利用率.     

Home Health Care With Telemonitoring Improves Health Status for Older Adults With Heart Failure

Home telemonitoring can augment home health care services during a patient's transition from hospital to home. Home health care agencies commonly use telemonitors for patients with heart failure although studies have shown mixed results in the use of telemonitors to reduce rehospitalizations. This randomized trial investigated if older patients with heart failure admitted to home health care following a hospitalization would have a reduction in rehospitalizations and improved health status if they received telemonitoring. Patients were followed up to 180 days post-discharge from home health care services. Results showed no difference in the time to rehospitalization or emergency visit between those who received telemonitoring versus usual care. Older heart failure patients who received telemonitoring had better health status by home health care discharge than those who received usual care. Therefore, for older adults with heart failure, telemonitoring may be an important adjunct to home health care services to improve health status.     

A Comparison of Diabetes Care in Rural and Urban Medical Clinics in Alabama

This study sought to determine the differences in the level of diabetes care of patients in a rural family practice clinic and an urban internal medicine clinic in Alabama. Medical records of patients with diabetes were reviewed and management practices were compared to current American Diabetes Association (ADA) standards of care. The rural practice had fewer patients at goal A1c, goal LDL, and goal blood pressure. Rural patients were also less likely to receive screening and preventative services such as lipid profiles, eye examinations, microalbumin screening, aspirin therapy, and vaccinations than urban patients. Although, adherence to the ADA standards of care was lower with rural patients, the results suggest that there exists significant opportunity to improve the delivery of diabetes care services to both patient populations.     

Children’s Receipt of Health Care Services and Family Health Insurance Patterns

PURPOSE Insured children in the United States have better access to health care services; less is known about how parental coverage affects children’s access to care. We examined the association between parent-child health insurance coverage patterns and children’s access to health care and preventive counseling services.METHODS We conducted secondary analyses of nationally representative, cross-sectional, pooled 2002–2006 data from children (n = 43,509), aged 2 to 17 years, in households responding to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). We assessed 9 outcome measures pertaining to children’s unmet health care and preventive counseling needs.RESULTS Cross-sectionally, among US children (aged 2 to 17 years) living with at least 1 parent, 73.6% were insured with insured parents, 8.0% were uninsured with uninsured parents, and the remaining 18.4% had discordant family insurance coverage patterns. In multivariable analyses, insured children with uninsured parents had higher odds of an insurance coverage gap (odds ratio [OR] = 2.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.02–2.97), no usual source of care (OR = 1.31; 95% CI, 1.10–1.56), unmet health care needs (OR = 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01–1.22), and having never received at least 1 preventive counseling service (OR = 1.20; 95% CI, 1.04–1.39) when compared with insured children with insured parents. Insured children with mixed parental insurance coverage had similar vulnerabilities.CONCLUSIONS Uninsured children had the highest rates of unmet needs overall, with fewer differences based on parental insurance status. For insured children, having uninsured parents was associated with higher odds of going without necessary services when compared with having insured parents.     

Maternal and neonatal service delivery by traditional birth attendants in rural Benin: A case for integration?

ABSTRACT

The Republic of Benin faces high maternal, newborn and child (MNCH) morbidity and mortality. Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) continue to operate on the margins of the health system yet provide critical services to women and children. This study aims to further the understanding of TBA’s scope of practice for developing appropriate strategies to strengthen MNCH services at the community-level. TBAs were identified and surveyed on education, training, system support and scope of practice including management of obstetric and newborn emergencies. TBAs were found to perform diverse preventive and health promotion activities, including antenatal and newborn care counselling, promotion of family planning and immunizations. Among 109 TBAs, 11,102 births were documented in the prior year with a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 790/100,000 and neonatal mortality rate (NMR) 12.2/1000. The scope of TBA practices is broad and rural communities rely on this cadre for services. However, TBAs report higher rates of adverse maternal events compared to national statistics. Better understanding is needed on community preferences, training and methods of participation of TBAs within the health system. This could improve identification and referral for emergencies, reinforce safer practices and increase preventive and promotive health activities at the community level.     

儿童卫生保健服务中的性别差异研究

【目的】 了解深圳市龙岗区不同性别儿童卫生保健服务利用情况,为完善社区妇幼保健服务体系和改善妇女儿童生殖健康状况提供科学依据。【方法】 采用分层随机抽样方法,抽取深圳市龙岗区180名0~2岁儿童作为调查对象,利用自行设计的调查表进行调查,了解不同性别儿童接受保健服务情况。【结果】 94.08%的儿童有过母乳喂养,不同性别儿童母乳喂养率和开奶时间差异无统计学意义。86.67%的儿童定期进行健康体检,男童定期健康体检率高于女童,差异有统计学意义(χ²=5.588,P=0.018),93.94%的儿童定期进行预防接种,不同性别儿童实施计划免疫率差异无统计学意义。【结论】 性别问题影响儿童保健服务,要将性别平等意识引入社区妇幼保健服务体系,以改善妇幼生殖健康状况。     

A value-critical policy analysis of the nursing home reform act: a focus on care of African American and Latino residents

Improving nursing home care has been a central legislative focus since the 1980s; The major response effort to address these reports of poor-quality care was first met with a federal rule in 1987, the Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA). Since enactment of the NHRA in 1987, and despite an increasing utilization of nursing home care by aging minorities, the standardization of care practice, or quality indicators (e.g., structural, process, and outcome measures), within long-term nursing home care have remained relatively unchanged. This paper reports a value-critical policy analysis of the most recent final action rule, effective on November 28 of 2016 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with a particular focus on its impact on African-American and Latino older adults. This paper presents results of two policy analyses. Taken together, this merged analysis focuses on an overview of the problem, the groups most affected by the problem, current program goals and objectives, forms of benefits and services, and a current state of the social problem. Following the analysis, we present changes and improvements to be made, as well as proposals for reform and recommendations for policy changes.     

A Multi-Method Assessment of Satisfaction with Services in the Medical Home by Parents of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN)

OBJECTIVE: To assess satisfaction of parents of children with special health care needs with treatment by office staff, communication with the pediatrician, involvement in decision-making and coordination of services outside the practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We used a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) approach to collect parental perceptions of the Medical Home services provided by their pediatricians. Six practices were selected to participate in the study based on geographic and patient demographic characteristics. In total, 262 (75% response rate) families completed surveys, and 28 families of these participated in focus groups. The Family Survey collected information (corroborated and enriched with focus group interviews) on parent and child demographics, severity of the child's condition and the burden on parents. We assessed parental satisfaction with treatment by office staff, communication with the pediatrician, involvement in decision-making, and connection to services outside the practice. Survey responses were analyzed using SAS with all associations considered significant at the P < 0.05 level. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed into EZ-Text and analyzed by a team of three researchers to identify patterns and themes inherent in the data. RESULTS: Families reported in focus group interviews that they experienced significant stress due to the demands of caring for a child with special health care needs. Overall, only a small percentage of families reported being dissatisfied with their treatment by office staff (13-14%), communication with the pediatrician (10%), and involvement in decision-making (15-16%). However, a majority of families (approximately 58%) were dissatisfied with the ability of the pediatrician and his/her office to connect the families with resources outside the pediatric office. Families whose children had more severe conditions, or whose conditions had more of an impact on the families, reported being less satisfied with all aspects of communication and care coordination Families of youth with special health care needs (>12 years of age) were less satisfied than families of younger children with the practice's ability to connect them to resources outside the practice. CONCLUSIONS: Both the focus groups and surveys demonstrated that families of children with special needs are under very significant stress. Pediatricians must become better equipped to identify and communicate more proactively with families of CYSHCN that are experiencing significant parent burden. Pediatricians and their staff also need to improve their knowledge of community resources and proactively make referrals to community services needed by families of CYSHCN.     

Applying the International Classification of Functioning,Disability and Health to guide home health care services planning and delivery in Thailand

ABSTRACT

Home health care is an essential service for home-bound patients in Thailand. In this action research study, we used the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework to modify home health care services provided by a university hospital. Staff responsible for delivering the services (physical therapist, nurses, and Thai traditional medicine practitioners) participated in the development of an ICF-based assessment tool and home health care service procedure. After an 8-month trial of implementing these changes, professional satisfaction and empowerment were high among the home health care team members. Patients and their caregivers were also satisfied with the services. In conclusion, the ICF is an effective means of guiding home health care.     

Transforming Primary Care Practices in a Hawai‘i Island Clinic: Obtaining Patient Perceptions on Patient Centered Medical Home

Health care access is a significant problem for residents of Hawai‘i Island who are experiencing a healthcare provider shortage crisis. Many residents must travel far for routine medical care, and in some cases to other islands. Hamakua Health Center, Inc., which operates from two clinical sites (Honokaa and Kapaau), is transitioning towards a Patient-Centered Medical Home care model. Through focus groups, a qualitative study was completed to obtain patient perceptions on Patient-Centered Medical Home. The Hamakua and Kohala Family Health Center staff were asked to recommend a list of patients from their respective health centers for focus group participation. In this sample (N=18), 67% of participants were female of various ethnicities. The participants'' mean age was 62.2 (SD =14.3) years. Questions asked by the moderator were based on the American College of Providers'' Patient-Centered Medical Home Assessment Tool.The three universal themes generated by the focus groups included quality care, provider and health services accessibility, and communication and coordination. Health information technology was a topic that was explored in the focus groups, and encompasses all three themes. Communication is regarded as a key to receiving quality care. Participants suggested having a rotation of specialists flown-in regularly from O‘ahu to improve care quality. Technology is appreciated as it can streamline the information exchange process, and increase the patient''s access to health services. There is unanimous concern regarding confidentiality and privacy. It is imperative that the health centers keep patients informed as they make their transition.     

Diversification and strengthening of services for older people in Spain and Sweden

Information on public services for older people is often limited to institutional care and Home Help/Home Care, be it for individuals in surveys, statistics for a specific country or for international comparisons. Yet, these two major services are in many countries supplemented - or substituted - by other, minor services. The latter include services such as transportation services, meals-on-wheels, alarm systems and day care. This diversification is the outcome of a rationing of services to achieve a more rational allocation of resources and attempts to keep down costs. In this presentation we use various data sources to provide information on all these types of support for Spain and Sweden. When all of them are considered, service coverage is much higher than by basic services alone, indicating further consolidation of services. Data suggests a high targeting in Sweden, but fragmented delivery in Spain, where - we suspect-users get what is available, with little differentiation between needs. With higher service rates, as in Sweden, there is greater overlap between family care and public services; with lower coverage rates, as in Spain, family care and public services are more often substituted for each other. It is suggested that a range of services, major and minor, may suit the varying needs of older people better - and more efficiently-than the choice between nothing, Home Help or institutional care, but that minor services may also be used as an inexpensive - and sometimes inferior-substitute for full support.     

Insights in Public Health: The Hawai‘i Home Visiting Network: Evidence-Based Home Visiting Services in Hawai‘i

Home visiting services are cost-effective and improve the health of children and families among those at increased risk. From 1985–2008, home visiting services in Hawai‘i were provided primarily through state funding of the Hawai‘i Healthy Start Program, but the program was severely reduced due to the economy and state budget changes over the past decade. The Maternal and Child Health Branch (MCHB) in the Family Health Services Division responded to these changes by seeking out competitive grant opportunities and collaborations in order to continue to promote home visiting services to those children and families in need. In 2010, the MCHB was awarded a federally funded Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) grant for home visiting services to promote maternal, infant, and early childhood health, safety and development, strong parent-child relationships, and responsible parenting. In 2011, the MCHB was also awarded a competitive MIECHV development grant that funded the re-establishment of the hospital Early Identification program. Families in need of additional support identified through this program are referred for family strengthening services to a network of existing home visiting programs called the Hawai‘i Home Visiting Network (HHVN). The HHVN is supported by MIECHV and a small amount of state funds to assist programs with capacity building, training, professional development, quality assurance, and accreditation/certification support. The MIECHV grant requires that programs are evidence-based and address specific outcome measures and benchmarks. The HHVN provides home visiting services to families prenatally through 5 years of age that reside in specific at-risk communities, and is aimed at fostering positive parenting and reducing child maltreatment using a strength-based approach by targeting six protective factors: (1) social connections, (2) nurturing and attachment, (3) knowledge of parenting and child development, (4) parental resilience, (5) social and emotional competence of children, and (6) concrete supports for parents. This article provides an introduction to the HHVN as a diverse network of evidence-based home visiting programs with services currently available on all islands, and highlights aspects of home visiting programs that support the Family-Centered Medical Home (FCMH) model. The HHVN provides important services to families at risk and uses evidence-based practices to yield positive results. Health care professionals can support this network to promote the health of children and families by being aware that these home visiting services exist and encouraging families at-risk to participate. Continued collaboration and expanded partnerships with health providers can help strengthen the home visiting network and improve outcomes for children and families in Hawai‘i.     

Prevention and Primary Care Research for Children: The Need for Evidence to Precede “Evidence-Based”

Medical care in the United States continues to face tremendous financial pressures. Public and private health policy claim to encourage primary care and preventive services, but also discourage services that have not been demonstrated to be effective and/or cost-effective. This article suggests a model to illustrate the conceptual relationship between traditional American medical care and “evidenced-based” medicine. It further examines how the lack of an adequate research base makes a move to purely evidence-based care premature for primary care and prevention services. The paper defines a new conceptual statistic, the uncertainty index, as the proportion of non-refuted current practice that is also not corroborated by research evidence. The greater the uncertainty index, the less appropriate is a clinical model restricted to evidence-based care.Specific theoretical barriers to outcomes research in prevention are discussed and simple criteria to determine the desirable components of care are suggested. The need for theoretical and empirical research into primary care and prevention, especially for children, is emphasized. Care that is of low risk, not of extremely high cost, and that is generally believed useful by the community of practitioners is particularly desirable in the absence of data refuting its value.     

Availability and Primary Health Care Orientation of Dementia-Related Services in Rural Saskatchewan,Canada

Community-based services are important for improving outcomes for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. This study examined: (a) availability of rural dementia-related services in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, and (b) orientation of services toward six key attributes of primary health care (i.e., information/education, accessibility, population orientation, coordinated care, comprehensiveness, quality of care). Data were collected from 71 rural Home Care Assessors via cross-sectional survey. Basic health services were available in most communities (e.g., pharmacists, family physicians, palliative care, adult day programs, home care, long-term care facilities). Dementia-specific services typically were unavailable (e.g., health promotion, counseling, caregiver support groups, transportation, week-end/night respite). Mean scores on the primary health care orientation scales were low (range 12.4 to 17.5/25). Specific services to address needs of rural individuals with dementia and their caregivers are limited in availability and fit with primary health care attributes.     

老年居家卫生服务模型研究

目的：改善老年人的健康状况、提高其卫生服务可及性。方法：采用了专家研讨会和概念建模的方法。结果：老年卫生服务的目标是实现其健康老龄化和积极老龄化，途径是为他们提供连续的、全方位的、没有灰色带的、能够提高他们独立生活能力的综合性服务。老年居家卫生服务模型主要包括4个微观系统领域：自我管理支持、决策支持、递送系统设计和临床信息系统；服务内容包括初级卫生保健服务和社会服务两部分。结论：居家卫生服务对于提高老年人卫生服务可及性、提高其独立生活能力、改善其健康状况具有很强针对性。