Income or living standard and health in Germany: different ways of measurement of relative poverty with regard to self-rated health

Objectives  

Current study introduces the living standard concept as an alternative approach of measuring poverty and compares its explanatory power to an income-based poverty measure with regard to subjective health status of the German population.     

Exploring health stakeholders' perceptions on moving towards comprehensive primary health care to address childhood malnutrition in Iran: a qualitative study

Background  

Due to the multifaceted aspect of child malnutrition, a comprehensive approach, taking social factors into account, has been frequently recommended in health literature. The Alma-Ata declaration explicitly outlined comprehensive primary health care as an approach that addresses the social, economic and political causes of poor health and nutrition.     

Evaluation of hospital inpatient complications: a planning approach

Background  

Hospital inpatient complications are one of a number of adverse health care outcomes. Reducing complications has been identified as an approach to improving care and saving resources as part of the health care reform efforts in the United States.     

Absolute risk representation in cardiovascular disease prevention: comprehension and preferences of health care consumers and general practitioners involved in a focus group study

Background  

Communicating risk is part of primary prevention of coronary heart disease and stroke, collectively referred to as cardiovascular disease (CVD). In Australia, health organisations have promoted an absolute risk approach, thereby raising the question of suitable standardised formats for risk communication.     

Mapping service activity: the example of childhood obesity schemes in England

Background  

Childhood obesity is high on the policy agenda of wealthier nations, and many interventions have been developed to address it. This work describes an overview of schemes for obese and overweight children and young people in England, and the 'mapping' approach we used.     

Using quantitative and qualitative data in health services research – what happens when mixed method findings conflict? [ISRCTN61522618]

Background  

In this methodological paper we document the interpretation of a mixed methods study and outline an approach to dealing with apparent discrepancies between qualitative and quantitative research data in a pilot study evaluating whether welfare rights advice has an impact on health and social outcomes among a population aged 60 and over.     

Measuring human rights violations in a conflict-affected country: results from a nationwide cluster survey in Central African Republic

Background  

Measuring human rights violations is particularly challenging during or after armed conflict. A recent nationwide survey in the Central African Republic produced estimates of rates of grave violations against children and adults affected by armed conflict, using an approach known as the "Neighborhood Method".     

A model linking clinical workforce skill mix planning to health and health care dynamics

Background  

In an attempt to devise a simpler computable tool to assist workforce planners in determining what might be an appropriate mix of health service skills, our discussion led us to consider the implications of skill mixing and workforce composition beyond the 'stock and flow' approach of much workforce planning activity.     

No difference in self‐reported frequency of choking between infants introduced to solid foods using a baby‐led weaning or traditional spoon‐feeding approach

Background

Baby‐led weaning (BLW) where infants self‐feed family foods during the period that they are introduced to solid foods is growing in popularity. The method may promote healthier eating patterns, although concerns have been raised regarding its safety. The present study therefore explored choking frequency amongst babies who were being introduced to solid foods using a baby‐led or traditional spoon‐fed approach.

Methods

In total, 1151 mothers with an infant aged 4–12 months reported how they introduced solid foods to their infant (following a strict BLW, loose BLW or traditional weaning style) and frequency of spoon‐feeding and puree use (percentage of mealtimes). Mothers recalled if their infant had ever choked and, if so, how many times and on what type of food (smooth puree, lumpy puree, finger food and specific food examples).

Results

In total, 13.6% of infants (n = 155) had ever choked. No significant association was found between weaning style and ever choking, or the frequency of spoon or puree use and ever choking. For infants who had ever choked, infants following a traditional weaning approach experience significantly more choking episodes for finger foods (F_2,147 = 4.417, P = 0.014) and lumpy purees (F_2,131 = 6.46, P = 0.002) than infants following a strict or loose baby‐led approach.

Conclusions

Baby‐led weaning was not associated with increased risk of choking and the highest frequency of choking on finger foods occurred in those who were given finger foods the least often. However, the limitations of noncausal results, a self‐selecting sample and reliability of recall must be emphasised.     

How to manage recurrent falls in clinical practice: Guidelines of the French society of geriatrics and gerontology

Background  

Health care professionals need a simple and pragmatic clinical approach for the management of recurrent fallers in clinical routine.     

Prevalence of heroin and methamphetamine male users in the northern Taiwan, 1999–2002: capture-recapture estimates

Background  

Illegal drug use and related problems have been emerging as an important public health issue in Taiwan. Via the capture-recapture approach, the present study aimed to offer insights into the size of heroin and methamphetamine male user population in the northern Taiwan during the period from 1999 to 2002.     

Sustainable scaling up of good quality health worker education for tuberculosis control in Indonesia: a case study

Background  

In 2000, an external review mission of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme of Indonesia identified suboptimal results of TB control activities. This led to a prioritization on human resource capacity building representing a major shift in the approach following the recommendations of the external review team.     

Stress prevention in adolescence: evaluation of a multimodal training approach

Subject and aims  

This paper reports on the development and evaluation of a stress prevention program for adolescents of grades 8 and 9. The program is based on the problem-solving approach and was developed on the basis of several evaluation studies. It consists of eight weekly training sessions with durations of 90 min each and is accompanied by an e-learning platform.     

Towards an integral conceptual model of frailty

Objectives  

Most conceptual and operational definitions of frailty place heavy emphasis on the physical problems encountered by older people. The accompanying models are based largely on a medical model. An integral approach is almost never adopted. This study aims to develop both an integral operational definition of frailty and an integral conceptual model of frailty.     

Information and shared decision-making are top patients' priorities

Background  

The profound changes in medical care and the recent stress on a patient-centered approach mandate evaluation of current patient priorities.     

Source reduction for prevention of methylene chloride hazards: cases from four industrial sectors

Background  

Source reduction, defined as chemical, equipment and process changes that intervene in an industrial process to eliminate or reduce hazards, has not figured as a front-line strategy for the protection of workers' health. Such initiatives are popular for environmental protection, but their feasibility and effectiveness as an industrial hygiene approach have not been well described.     

The effect of comorbidity on health-related quality of life for injury patients in the first year following injury: comparison of three comorbidity adjustment approaches

Background  

Three approaches exist to deal with the impact of comorbidity in burden of disease studies - the maximum limit approach, the additive approach, and the multiplicative approach. The aim of this study was to compare the three comorbidity approaches in patients with temporary injury consequences as well as comorbid chronic conditions with nontrivial health impacts.     

How to develop a theory-driven evaluation design? Lessons learned from an adolescent sexual and reproductive health programme in West Africa

Background  

This paper presents the development of a study design built on the principles of theory-driven evaluation. The theory-driven evaluation approach was used to evaluate an adolescent sexual and reproductive health intervention in Mali, Burkina Faso and Cameroon to improve continuity of care through the creation of networks of social and health care providers.     

Biological monitoring of tungsten (and cobalt) in workers of a hard metal alloy industry

Objectives  

To evaluate a combined biomonitoring approach based on both cobalt and tungsten determination in workers of the hard metal alloy sector.     

Using Rasch analysis to form plausible health states amenable to valuation: the development of CORE-6D from a measure of common mental health problems (CORE-OM)

Purpose  

To describe a new approach for deriving a preference-based index from a condition specific measure that uses Rasch analysis to develop health states.