老年骨髓炎患者的围术期护理

目的探讨老年骨髓炎患者围术期护理的体会及经验。方法对32例老年骨髓炎患者围术期护理经验进行分析和总结。结果全组32例患者通过手术治疗及合理护理措施均得到治愈，无褥疮、肺部及泌尿系感染等并发症发生。结论老年骨髓炎患者体质差，合并症多，护理需认真、细致，并且根据术前、术中、术后按不同病情制订个案护理计划，预防并发症，能有效地提高手术成功率。     

高血压的社区管理与医院内科门诊管理效果比较

目的 评价健康教育在社区高血压患者管理中的效果。方法 随机抽取北京复兴医院月坛社区卫生服务中心管理的高血压患者603例作为研究对象,以同期该院三里河内科门诊就诊的高血压患者617例作为对照,进行血压测量和问卷调查。结果 社区高血压患者高血压知识知晓率明显好于内科门诊高血压患者(P<0.01);其生活方式(遵医行为、体育锻炼、食盐量等)较好;血压控制情况也好于门诊患者(P<0.01)。结论 规范、定期的健康教育可以提高高血压患者对高血压知识的知晓情况,改善高血压患者的不良行为习惯;利用社区卫生服务站固定的合作关系及新型医患模式有利于健康教育、健康知识普及和取得治疗成效。     

中国已婚育龄妇女分娩保健服务的状况与变化研究

目的:分析我国已婚育龄妇女分娩保健服务状况及其变化。方法:对全国31个省(直辖市、自治区)抽取的调查前三年有生育史的1962名已婚育龄妇女进行问卷调查,结合1997年全国人口与生殖健康调查资料,对两次调查前三年有生育史妇女最近一次活产的分娩保健服务状况进行比较分析。结果:①与1997年调查前三年相比,2001年调查前三年育龄妇女的入院分娩率增加,家庭分娩的比例明显减少;②农村妇女家庭分娩比例明显降低,由1997年调查时的61·41%降为2001年调查时的40·78%,1998~2000年间,92·54%城镇妇女接受分娩保健服务,农村妇女家庭分娩比例高出城镇7·4倍,为40·78%;③分娩保健服务在各地区发展不平衡,东部和中部地区发展快,西部地区,尤其是西南地区发展相对较慢,1998~2000年间,西部地区妇女中,一半以上在家分娩,西部地区农村家庭分娩妇女一半以上由家人接生,约为东部和中部地区的6倍;④少数民族妇女家庭分娩和由家人接生的比例明显高于汉族妇女;⑤随着文化程度和经济收入的增加育龄妇女对分娩保健服务的利用增加,文盲、经济收入低的妇女家庭分娩比例和由家人接生的比例非常高。结论:我国分娩保健服务状况在改善,但发展极不平衡,西部地区农村的分娩保健服务急待提高。应加强对西部地区分娩保健服务的支持力度,研究制定应对策略,加强对西部农村接生人员的专业技术培训。     

A self-reported survey of Alzheimer's centers in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Directors of nursing at 23 nursing homes with Alzheimer's units in Southwestern Pennsylvania completed a self‐reported survey of 12 questions. Responses from the self‐administered questionnaires (100% response rate) revealed a wide variation in the staff categories assessing the oral health status of newly admitted residents with AD. The respondents described oral examinations that were incomplete when compared to the oral indicators listed in the Minimum Data Set. All nursing homes reported that oral hygiene was provided each day. The number of residents in a facility had a significant effect on the frequency of oral hygiene provided. Only 52% of the facilities reported yearly oral examinations for this population. According to the respondents, dental treatment was typically performed on‐site. The oral health care costs were paid by Medicare, Medicaid, the residents/family members, or by other undescribed resources. Insufficient time, staff, and training, as well as uncooperative behavior, were identified as barriers to optimum oral health care for residents with AD. Additional staff, specialized training, and increased government reimbursement were suggested to improve the oral health care for this group of older adults. For future studies, review of medical records and on‐site evaluation of the oral health care at these facilities should be required to verify the reported practices.     

Monitoring pressure ulcer healing in persons with disabilities.

Pressure ulcers are a high-risk, high-volume, and high-cost problem for persons with disabilities. This article describes four tools published in the literature and reports the validity, reliability, strengths, and limitations of each. These tools include the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH), the Pressure Sore Status Tool (PSST), the Sussman Wound Healing Tool (SWHT), and the Sessing Scale. Rehabilitation nurses should use a consistent framework with accurate quantification to assess, document, and monitor changes in pressure ulcers over time. Such a measurement tool must prove valid for the disabled population in which the tool is used. This will enable healthcare providers to communicate more effectively and evaluate the therapeutic plan of care.     

Frequency, nature and determinants of pharmaceutical consultations provided in private by Dutch community pharmacists

OBJECTIVE: According to a report published by the federation of Dutch patients' associations, patients would like to see a pharmacist, who acts more as a personal adviser. This raised the question, how often Dutch community pharmacists have personal consultations with their patients in daily practice, on which factors this depends, and what kind of topics are discussed during these meetings. SETTING: Community pharmacies in the Netherlands. METHOD: A questionnaire was distributed among 800 randomly selected pharmacies. Questions were restricted to consultations characterized by one-to-one contact, drug therapy related content, and adequate privacy. These consultations were labelled as pharmaceutical consultations in private to distinguish them from other contacts between pharmacists and patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Number, content, and character of consultations. RESULTS: 198 (24.8%) community pharmacies responded. The pharmacists provide an average of roughly 1.2 consultations in private per working day. The vast majority of respondents provided face-to-face and telephone consultations (94.4 and 91.9%, respectively), only a minority gave consultations by e-mail (30.8%). These consultations primarily dealt with topics related to medication safety. The mean overall time spent was 290 min per month. A relatively high frequency of personal consultations was significantly associated with the absolute number of full-time equivalent pharmacists in the pharmacy. CONCLUSION: The frequency of pharmaceutical consultations in private is low, but may be improved by reorganisation of the pharmacist's activities. The possibility of personal consultations by e-mail is not yet well-developed. Further research is needed to assess the patient's view of pharmaceutical consultations in private.     

Are hospitals prepared to support newborn survival? – an evaluation of eight first‐referral level hospitals in Kenya*

Objective To assess the availability of resources that support the provision of basic neonatal care in eight first‐referral level (district) hospitals in Kenya. Methods We selected two hospitals each from four of Kenya’s eight provinces with the aim of representing the diversity of this part of the health system in Kenya. We created a checklist of 53 indicator items necessary for providing essential basic care to newborns and assessed their availability at each of the eight hospitals by direct observation, and then compared our observations with the opinions of health workers providing care to newborns on recent availability for some items, using a self‐administered structured questionnaire. Results The hospitals surveyed were often unable to maintain a safe hygienic environment for patients and health care workers; staffing was insufficient and sometimes poorly organised to support the provision of care; some key equipment, laboratory tests, drugs and consumables were not available while patient management guidelines were missing in all sites. Conclusion Hospitals appear relatively poorly prepared to fill their proposed role in ensuring newborn survival. More effective interventions are needed to improve them to meet the special needs of this at‐risk group.     

Gerontology in the developing Brazil: Achievements and challenges in public policies

Aim:   In the last three decades, the segment of population aged 60 years and older has more than doubled in Brazil. People aged 80 years and older are expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the near future. This aim of this study was to analyze the legal structures currently in place in Brazil and to provide a framework for care policies and practices towards older-adults.
Methods:   This article focuses on past and present major socioeconomic burdens on this segment of the Brazilian population as well as on public achievements to overcome inequities.
Results:   Both the public health and the social security systems have been directed to provide preferential assistance to the aged. Nonetheless, the elderly remain the most impoverished segment of Brazil and carry the burden of an overall lack of specialized services. Moreover, socioeconomic inequalities and population diversity in Brazil affects elderly care, adding complexity to this unique scenario.
Conclusion:   Brazil has adopted legal hallmarks that substantially shifted public practices towards the elderly segment from a philanthropic status to a legitimate right for care and assistance. The demographic transition that took place provides an opportunity for innovative solutions in public policies for older adults in a developing economic environment.