Team work in a family health care program: the team process concept and operational teams

This work is a theoretical revision of team work in a family Health Care Program. We define team work in the health care field as a relationship network among people, power, knowledge, affection, and wishes, when there is a possibility of identifying group processes. We deal with concepts of Operational Group from the Argentinean School, which might help health professionals to get training in team work. We have visible (spoken) and invisible (unspoken) tasks within teams, which are modified and need to be combined and known. Communication, learning, the feeling of belonging, the atmosphere, the actions' pertinence for the team's purpose and power relations may help the team to get to know and analyze each other and to build a team. External supervision may help the team to turn itself into an operational team, working towards a life care project.     

Improving the quality of work life in hospitals: a case study

Quality of work life (QWL) programs can improve employee morale and organizational effectiveness. But implementing a successful QWL effort in a healthcare setting is not easy because of the unique administrative structure and inherent complexities of modern hospitals. This article describes a joint union-management quality of work life program that was carried out in a large urban medical center. Despite employee enthusiasm for the program and a major commitment of financial and human resources over its three-and-a-half-year course, the program failed to achieve long-term changes in the hospital. The shortcomings of the QWL program are analyzed and recommendations for future practice are described.     

Measuring the effects of work loss on productivity with team production

Using data from a survey of 800 managers in 12 industries, we find empirical support for the hypothesis that the cost associated with missed work varies across jobs according to the ease with which a manager can find a perfect replacement for the absent worker, the extent to which the worker functions as part of a team, and the time sensitivity of the worker's output. We then estimate wage 'multipliers' for 35 different jobs, where the multiplier is defined as the cost to the firm of an absence as a proportion (often greater than one) of the absent worker's daily wage. The median multiplier is 1.28, which supports the view that the cost to the firm of missed work is often greater than the wage.     

The 3M alcohol and other drug prevention program: Description and evaluation

In 1989, 3M developed a comprehensive alcohol and other drug prevention program using multiple and interactive strategies aimed at altering workplace culture and promoting employee “ownership” of the program. The three core components of the program included a ten-hour supervisory training program; a 2–1/2 hour all-employee program designed to discuss 3M policies, clarify personal alcohol-use guidelines, and promote dialogue about appropriate responses to and responsibility for a range of alcohol and other drug issues both inside and outside the work environment; and a peer helper program. The program was piloted in 1990 and 1991 in a manufacturing plant in a small midwestern community. An evaluation study comparing change in experimental and control sites demonstrated reduced alcohol consumption, improvement in employee and supervisor prevention skills, and a decrease in incidents in which substance use negatively affected work performance. Plans are in process to refine and then replicate the program in 70 manufacturing sites over a three-year period.     

加强新闻宣传,促进卫生工作发展

卫生新闻宣传是党和政府新闻宣传工作的重要内容,加强卫生新闻宣传工作,能够促进卫生改革与发展.因此要加强领导、规则和策划,加强队伍建设,要严肃纪律,发挥待业报刊的舆论阵地作用.     

Leadership and team effectiveness in community coalitions for the prevention of alcohol and other drug abuse

Comprehensive community coalitions or partnerships are increasinglybeing developed in this country to coordinate and expand alcoholand other drug (AOD) abuse prevention services. While case studyevidence suggests that some coalitions are effective, thereis very little theory development or empirical research on factorscontributing to successful coalitions. This paper presents atheoretical model of coalition team effectiveness hypothesizingthat an empowering style of leadership increases member satisfactionand perceptions of team efficacy which ultimately increasesteam effectiveness. This theoretical model was pilot testedin an exploratory study using preliminary, small sample data(N = 65) from the first year evaluation of an AOD preventioncoalition. The exploratory research strategy employed factoranalysis and multiple regression analysis to test the relationshipof coalition members' process data (i.e. perceptions of teamleader's style, team efficacy and member satisfaction) to outcomedata (i.e. team members' AOD knowledge and use and team effectivenessin developing fundable plans). The results supported the proposedmodel and suggest that further model testing employing largersamples, more diverse community teams, and more sophisticateddata analyses (structural equation modeling or path analysis)could lead to information useful in training team leaders anddeveloping more effective coalitions.     

A case study of Jerry: emphasizing team communication through use of the Discipline

After the chaplain is well acquainted with The Discipline and has begun to implement it in daily pastoral practice, half of the work is done. The further work concerns how and what to communicate to the care team regarding the chaplain's observations. This article begins by offering a pastoral reflection on the chaplain's identity and pastoral practice within a multi-disciplinary care team. The pastoral reflection highlights key theological assertions used by The Discipline. The author then identifies the particular problems facing care teams and their communication that the chaplain can anticipate when using The Discipline. Thirdly, the author suggests workable, theologically based tools for the resolution of these problems. Lastly, through the case study of "Jerry," the author illustrates both the "how" and "what" components of care team communication using the working elements of The Discipline. The "how" component describes the informal and formal relational processes that have contributed to a working partnership. The case study also illustrates the "what" part of care team communication--the structure and delivery of observable and discernible content to physicians and nurses. These materials can ease the transition towards effective pastoral presence on the interdisciplinary care team regarding patient and family/support partner care.     

Improving family planning program performance through management training: the 3Cs paradigm

Action research was conducted in Bangladesh to determine whether a high level of fertility control behavior can be attained in a country of very low socioeconomic status, including very low levels of literacy and women's status, and if management training help can improve the performance of service delivery systems. 20 family planning officials participated in a 14-week, non-degree, management training program conducted in Dhaka. The research found that competently executed determined effort is a far faster and more effective alternative to socioeconomic development-led contraception in a developing population. A carefully designed and executed intervention can achieve a high level of contraceptive use, and thereby control fertility, without waiting for significant improvement in a country's socioeconomic indicators. For example, in the 19 experimental thanas, the contraceptive prevalence rate increased by an average of approximately 10 percentage points within 12 months of training. These findings demonstrate how a task-focused, well-designed, and properly conducted management training, backed by well organized and managed follow-up, can effect major improvement in a system's effectiveness and productivity, even if that system is staffed by a demoralized and apathetic work force.     

Developing students' practice through partnership: Improving the quality of field experiences

The relationship between theory and practice, and in particular the role of field experiences in programmes of teacher preparation, is the focus of renewed interest in the light of growing enthusiasm for school based training. This paper explores concepts of partnership between schools and training institutions towards an improvement in the quality of professional support available to student teachers.     

Disparities in access to healthcare: the case of a drug and alcohol abuse detoxification treatment program among minority groups in a Texas hospital

The authors analyzed ethnic/racial disparities in healthcare access and length of stay from a defined population of individuals seeking medical detoxification services at a hospital in Texas. Results indicated Blacks were more likely to be insured compared with Whites, mostly by public insurance, but this did not hold for Hispanics, who were about three times more likely to be uninsured compared with Blacks. In addition, the authors observed lower median of length of stay in the Medicaid category among Hispanics. These results can be explained by aggressive case management, sociocultural barriers, or discriminatory practices, both intentional and unintentional.