Strategies of Intervention with Families of Pediatric Leukemia Patients

As part of a longitudinal research study, families of children with leukemia were provided with a psychosocial intervention program over a two-year period. This paper describes the approaches used at specific times during the illness: diagnosis and initial treatment, early outpatient treatment, later outpatient treatment, remission, relapse, and death. the goals of the intervention strategies were to facilitate: an understanding of the realities of the illness; management of emotional distress; and utilization of resources to care for the child, attend to other responsibilities, and support and communicate with one another.     

Home Care of the Frail Elderly in the United Kingdom:

The paper reports the essential featurcs and evaluation of a scheme to improve the cffcctiveness of home care for the frail elderly. Decisions about resource allocation were devolved to front line social work staff, giving them greater autonomy within clear expenditure parameters. More imaginative responses were noted in the management of a number of difficult problems and the results of the evaluation were generally positive. It appeared that the scheme was most cost-effective for the extremely mentally and physically frail living with others and also for the less frail, socially isolated, depressed elderly person.     

American Public Health Association Meeting

Unit managers do need formal supervisory training. Training should focus on their approach to the decision making process as wel as their performance within it. Quality circle training was deemed most appropriate, because it focuses on team management and the development of skills needed to handle interactions in team settings.     

Nexus: Physician-Assisted Suicide and Health Services Delivery

Two major factors trouble hospital engineering departments today. First, engineers are saddled with a janitor's image, a misconception contradicting the job's rapidly advancing sophistication and formidable academic requirements. Second, a staggering rate of technological advancement complicated by the introduction of energy conservation mandates has been thrust upon the engineer.

Until the mid-1960's, acquisition cost was the only consideration in equipment selection. Given proportionately low energy prices, long term payback considerations and efficiency were of the lowest priority in purchasing deliberations.

System integration was a virtually unknown concept. Today, energy efficiency is a prime concern in the selection of many pieces of equipment. The hospital engineer is looked to for that input.     

Les besoins non couverts des personnes âgées en incapacités fonctionnelles à Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso)

BackgroundIn sub-Sahara Africa, the strong involvement of the family in multidimensional cares/supports of elderly is often presented like the family ensures almost everything to these people. Thus, few studies have focused on unmet needs of the elderly in their family or above. This study was conducted in Bobo-Dioulasso to identify those needs.MethodsThis is a longitudinal study including 58 people or 15 elderly and 43 caregivers from 15 families in Bobo-Dioulasso. In addition to regular observations of these families during 1 year, we conducted in-depth individual interview with each participant at the beginning and at the end of the study. The data were analyzed using QSR NVivo 8 software.ResultsA priori, respondents let believe that there is no unmet functional needs of the elderly in their family. However, the food, the first and main functional need of the elderly is not qualitatively satisfied by their family as well as other equipments or health needs. The quality of social cares/supports, biomedical cares and community supports are insufficient when these cares/supports are provided. The family demands many free or subsidized services to public or community structures then they are not currently available.DiscussionIn a context of widespread poverty, it is difficult for each actor of the social system of maintaining elderly in functional autonomy to provide services/supports of optimal quality. A synergy of action will reduce the unmet needs of the elderly in Bobo-Dioulasso.     

Declining Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Nurses,Hong Kong, 2006–2012

Seasonal influenza vaccination of nurses in Hong Kong fell from 57% in 2005 to 24% in 2012, paralleling concern for adverse reactions associated with vaccination. Decreased acceptance of vaccination was most prominent among nurses who had less work experience and more frequent contact with patients.