Comparison of Turkish Disability Policy,the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,and the core concepts of U.S. disability policy

This article compares Turkey's Constitution and its Disabled Persons Act with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the core concepts of United States (U.S.) disability policy. Conclusions are that Turkey's Constitution and statutes are remarkably congruent with the UNCRPD and the core concepts. They are not, however, identical. This fact suggests that Turkey can still improve its statutes to reflect more closely the UNCRPD and core concepts. The review of these policy documents suggests that there are other steps Turkey can take to improve disability policy and its implementation. They are to amend Turkey's laws, determine the status of individuals and families affected by disability, and pursue vigorous implementation of their rights.     

The use of preventable hospitalization for monitoring the performance of local health authorities in long-term care

ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to examine whether there are differences in the performance of long-term care programs between local health authorities, using preventable hospitalization as an indicator.MethodsA retrospective cohort study compared the rate of preventable hospitalization for local health authorities in Tuscany (Italy) between January 2012 and September 2016. Several administrative datasets for the patients in long-term care programs were linked at the individual (patient) level. Elderly disabled patients 65 years of age and older in long-term care programs in Tuscany from both types of programs: nursing homes (n = 4 196) and home care (n = 15 659) were included in the study.ResultsThe rate of preventable hospitalization differed considerably between local health authorities. Three out twelve local health authorities had a significantly lower and one had a significantly higher preventable hospitalization rate than the regional average.ConclusionThere was a large variation in the rate of preventable hospitalization among the local health authorities. Applying preventable hospitalization as an indicator for quality, with implications for periodical audit can be used for monitoring the performance of a long-term care program.     

国内外心脏疾病医疗服务质量评估现状

心血管疾病作为全球主要死亡和致残原因,给医疗卫生系统带来了巨大负担.世界各国专家已对该类疾病开展了大量的研究,其中极为重要的一项是通过评价心血管病的医疗服务质量,帮助医院发现问题以及找到提高医疗服务水平的突破口.总结并讨论了国内外心脏病医疗服务质量评价的方法、目的、内容以及数据来源,为建立和完善中国的心血管疾病医疗服务质量评估体系提供借鉴.     

Explaining frailty by lifestyle

ObjectiveTo determine whether the effects of lifestyle factors on frailty can be adequately addressed by asking a single self-report question.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingA sample of Dutch citizens completed the web-based questionnaire “Seniorenbarometer”.Participants610 persons aged 50 years and older.MeasurementsSeven lifestyle factors were assessed: smoking, use of alcohol, intake of vegetables, intake of fruit, having breakfast, exercise, and teeth brushing. The single self-report question of lifestyle was: “Overall, how healthy would you say your lifestyle is?” Frailty was measured by the Tilburg Frailty Indicator.ResultsAge was positively associated with a healthy lifestyle (less smoking, more intake of vegetables, fruit and eating breakfast). The lifestyle factors did not improve the prediction of total, physical, psychological, and social frailty, after controlling for the single self-report question.ConclusionOur study suggests that one general self-report lifestyle question, rather than a list of specific lifestyle factors, suffices for predicting frailty.     

Lack of definitive presurgical pathological diagnosis is associated with inadequate surgical margins in breast-conserving surgery

PurposeTo determine the impact of definitive presurgical diagnosis on surgical margins in breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for primary carcinomas; clinicopathological features were also analyzed.MethodsThis retrospective study included women who underwent BCS for primary carcinomas in 2016 and 2017. Definitive presurgical diagnosis was defined as having a presurgical core needle biopsy (CNB) and not being upstaged between biopsy and surgery. Biopsy data and imaging findings including breast density were retrieved. Inadequate surgical margins (IM) were defined per latest ASCO and ASTRO guidelines. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed.Results360 women (median age, 66) met inclusion criteria with 1 having 2 cancers. 82.5% (298/361) were invasive cancers while 17.5% (63/361) were ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Most biopsies were US-guided (284/346, 82.0%), followed by mammographic (60/346, 17.3%), and MRI-guided (2/346, 0.6%). US and mammographic CNB yielded median samples of 2 and 4, respectively, with a 14G needle. 15 patients (4.2%) lacked presurgical CNB. The IM rate was 30.0%. In multivariable analysis, large invasive cancers (>20 mm), dense breasts, and DCIS were associated with IM (p = 0.029, p = 0.010, and p = 0.013, respectively). Most importantly, lack of definitive presurgical diagnosis was a risk factor for IM (OR, 2.35; 95% CI: 1.23–4.51, p = 0.010). In contrast, neither patient age (<50) nor aggressive features (e.g., LVI) were associated with IM.ConclusionLack of a definitive presurgical diagnosis was associated with a two-fold increase of IM in BCS; other risk factors were dense breasts, large invasive cancers, and DCIS.     

Regional prevalence of health worker absenteeism in Tanzania

Absenteeism of health workers in developing countries is common and can severely undermine the reliability of the health system. Therefore, it is important to understand where the prevalence of absenteeism is high. We develop a simple imputation method that combines a Service Delivery Indicators survey and a Service Provision Assessment survey to estimate the prevalence of absenteeism of health workers at the level of regions in Tanzania. The resulting estimates allow one to identify the regions in which the prevalence of absenteeism is significantly higher or lower than the national average and help policymakers determine priority areas for intervention.     

The effect of core stability and general exercise on abdominal muscle thickness in non-specific chronic low back pain using ultrasound imaging

Background: There is a controversy regarding whether core stability exercise (CSE) is more effective than general exercise (GE) for chronic LBP. To compare different exercises regarding their effect on improving back strength and stability, performance of abdominal muscles is a useful index. Ultrasound imaging for measuring muscle thickness could be used to assess muscle performance. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare CSE and GE in chronic LBP using ultrasound imaging for measurement of thickness of the deep stabilizing and main global trunk muscles in non-specific chronic LBP. Methods: Each program included 16 training sessions three times a week. Using ultrasound imaging, four transabdominal muscle thickness were measured before and after the intervention. Disability and pain were measured as secondary outcomes. Results: After the intervention on participants (n = 43), a significant increase in muscle thickness (hypertrophy) was seen only in right and left rectus abdominis in the GE group, but significant difference to the CSE group was only on the right side. Disability and pain reduced within the groups without a significant difference in the change between them. Conclusions: The present results provided evidence that only GE increased right and left rectus muscle thickness. The only significant difference between CSE and GE groups was the right rectus thickness. As rectus is a global muscle, the effect of GE on strength improvement (one side stronger than the other) may have a negative effect on motor control of lumbopelvic muscles and possibly increase the risk of back pain occurring or becoming worse, though this was not observed in the present study.