Health technology assessment with risk aversion in health

Standard cost-effectiveness models compare incremental cost increases to incremental average gains in health, commonly expressed in Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). Our research generalizes earlier models in several ways. We introduce risk aversion in Quality of Life (QoL), which leads to “willingness-to-pay” thresholds that rise with illness severity, potentially by an order of magnitude. Unlike traditional CEA analyses, which discriminate against persons with disabilities, our analysis implies that the marginal value of improving QoL rises for disabled individuals. Our model can also value the uncertain benefits of medical interventions by employing well-established analytic methods from finance. Finally, we show that traditional QALYs no longer serve as a single index of health, when consumers are risk-averse. To address this problem, we derive a generalized single-index of health outcomes—the Generalized Risk-Adjusted QALY (GRA-QALY). Earlier models of CEA that abstract from risk-aversion nest as special cases of our more general model.     

Developing a Brief Neuropsychological Battery for Early Diagnosis of Cognitive Impairment

ObjectivesEarly diagnosis of cognitive impairment is increasingly emphasized in the literature to facilitate timely preventive interventions. Although bedside cognitive tests such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are widely used for such early diagnostic purposes, they may not have comparable performance to a full neuropsychological battery (FNB) in diagnosing early cognitive impairment. This study investigated whether a small subset of neuropsychological tests can be added on to MoCA to match its performance to that of the FNB in discriminating mild cognitive impairment and dementia (MCI/dementia) from normal cognition.DesignCross-sectional diagnostic study.SettingAlzheimer's Disease Centers across the United States.ParticipantsOlder participants (≥50 years) who completed MoCA and the FNB (N = 9187).MeasuresThe study sample was split into two: the derivation sample (n = 1837) was used to develop a brief neuropsychological battery that best discriminated MCI/dementia (using the best-subset approach with 10-fold cross-validation); while the validation sample (n = 7350) verified its actual performance in discriminating MCI/dementia.ResultsA 3-item neuropsychological battery was identified, comprising MoCA, Benson Complex Figure Recall, and Craft Story 21 Delayed Recall. It had excellent performance in discriminating MCI/dementia from normal cognition (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC] 90.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 89.2%-90.7%), which was comparable to that of the FNB (AUROC 88.4%, 95% CI 87.6%-89.2%). By contrast, MoCA alone had significantly worse AUROC (86.9%, 95% CI 86.0%-87.7%) than that of the FNB.Conclusions/ImplicationsUsing rigorous methods, this study developed a brief neuropsychological battery that maintained the brevity of a bedside cognitive test, while rivaling the diagnostic performance of an FNB in early cognitive impairment. This brief battery offers a viable alternative when the FNB is needed but cannot be feasibly administered in nonspecialty clinics. It can have a wider health systems effect of improving patients’ access to accurate diagnosis in early cognitive impairment and facilitating timely interventions to delay the progression of cognitive impairment.     

邹城市预防艾滋病健康教育效果评价

目的评价预防艾滋病健康教育与行为干预效果。方法采用问卷方式对社区居民进行预防艾滋病信息的可及性及知信行的调查。结果社区居民艾滋病知晓率为97.41%,熟悉艾滋病传播途径的87.78%,62.78%的认为艾滋病病人或感染者和正常人享有一样的入学/就业权,38.70%的人愿意与感染艾滋病的同事继续共事,60.19%的人愿意与感染艾滋病的家人继续共同生活,最近3次性行为100%使用安全套者为26.48%,82.04%的人有医疗用血安全意识,64.81%的人有医疗器械安全意识。最想获取艾滋病预防措施、传播途径、病理知识、症状表现、治疗方法、检测途径及检测方法、疫情信息,新闻、电视公益广告、专题报道、反映艾滋病病人生活的电影或电视剧、科普材料、大型公益演出人们最喜欢。结论政府重视,多部门合作,组织机构健全,宣传教育广泛,干预措施到位,成效显著。     

设立门诊健康教育室需求的调查与分析

且的调查和分析门诊设立健康教育室的可能性与必要性，使门诊健康教育工作变得更规范．更系统。更科学、更有效，更经济。方法采用发放问卷的形式，随机对2004年1月-2006年1月在上海市桌三级综合性医院门诊就诊的200例病人进行不记名调查、统计和分析．结果病人在门诊就诊时普遍认为健康教育现状不够理想，而对健康教育需求较迫切，对于开设健康教育室十分受欢迎。结论门诊设立健康教育室可将现有的医院内存在的、分散的、不同形式的健康教育工作纳入一个集中、统一的部门，有利于提高门诊健康教育质量。     

社区糖尿病患者的健康教育

目的 评价社区健康教育在糖尿病(DM)防治中的作用.方法 对已经在社区卫生服务站建立健康档案的85例DM患者进行DM相关知识的健康教育,通过患者不良生活方式和自我管理能力的改变及监测血糖、血脂等指标的变化情况,观察健康教育结果.结果 实施健康教育后,患者不良生活方式明显得到改变,自我管理能力得到显著提高,血糖、血脂控制理想.结论 对DM患者实施社区健康教育,有利于控制血糖、血脂,延缓并发症发生,提高患者生活质量.     

职业性萘暴露工人的健康监护结果评价

目的：讨论萘对人体的慢性毒效应和亚临床客观检测指标。方法：对河南省萘暴露工人（环境接触萘浓度平均为８．２５～２６．４３ｍｇ／ｍ３）进行了健康监护和医学动态观察。结果：发现长期萘暴露工人的白细胞、血小板减少及眼晶体混浊检出率显著高于对照组（Ｐ＜０．００１）；血清ＳＯＤ同功酶、ＧＳＨ－ＰＸ活性显著低于对照组，而ＬＰＯ水平、神经元特异性烯醇化酶（ＮＳＥ）活性水平以及外周血染色体畸变和微核阳性检出率均显著高于对照组（Ｐ＜０．００１）。神经行为功能检查结果，主要为消极情绪增加，记忆力下降等。事件相关电位Ｐ３００峰潜伏期比对照组显著延长，与对照组差异显著（Ｐ＜０．０５）。结论：慢性低浓度萘暴露对工人主要损害部位（靶器官）有皮肤，眼、血液和神经组织等。ＮＣＴＢ、ＮＳＥ、Ｐ３００三项可作为早期神经受损的客观指标。     

计算机专业人员心理健康状况的研究

目的 :探讨计算机专业人员的心理健康状况。方法 :以SCL 90为工具 ,对 71名计算机专业人员进行评估。结果 :计算机专业人员SCL 90总分和各因子显著低于全国常模 ;男性员工在躯体化、强迫、人际关系、焦虑、敌对、饮食和睡眠因子上得分显著高于女性员工 ;女性在恐怖因子得分显著高于男性。结论 :计算机专业人员心理症状较少 ,症状严重程度较低 ,男性员工自我感觉与自我评价方面低于女性员工。     

Comparison of gas-liquid chromatography and EMIT assay for serum valproic acid

We describe a simple direct extraction method for the gas-liquid chromatography determination of serum valproic acid. The working range for the assay is 2-180 mg/L and our within-run precision was 5.8 and 4.3% at the 40 and 90 mg/L concentrations respectively. Hemolyzed and lipemic sera as well as samples from patients with hyperbilirubinemia and from patients with decreased renal function were put through the assay and no interfering peaks were noted. Interference occurred when teflon-lined screw caps were used during the extraction step. The method was proven to be accurate by linear regression analysis of samples containing weighed-in amounts of valproic acid. The above assay was compared to an enzyme immunoassay technique (EMIT). The working range for the latter is 10-150 mg/L and the with-run precision was 10.8 and 5.9% and 90 mg/L concentration respectively. Samples were run by both the gas-liquid chromatograph and enzyme immunoassay methods and gave very similar results over the range 16-139 mg/L.     

Action Research: a valuable research technique for service delivery development

The evaluation of healthcare practice and service delivery is fraught with difficulties. Service development and / or delivery occurs within socially dynamic settings which are in a continual state of change. Service development also often involves large elements of improvisation. The action research approach is useful for health service research, as it supports collaboration between researchers and practitioners, and not only allows but makes explicit that the action researcher has both roles within the setting being studied. This paper discusses action research methodology and offers insight into principles that favor its use for service delivery development. This includes consideration of the interactive variables within studies of health care systems and the importance of evaluating relationships between stakeholders to understand how these factors or variables, which cannot be controlled for, are responsible for successful development of the service. Action research facilitates change and helps bridge the heory--practice gap. With the current dynamic changes within both the pharmacy profession and national health services, researchers may find the action research technique of value when considering new roles and innovative ways of engaging in collaborative, multi-disciplinary working to improve delivery of patient care.Accepted july 2004     

老年冠心病患者实施健康教育的远期效果分析

目的：探讨老年冠心病患者实施健康教育的远期效果。方法：110例老年冠心病患者被随机分为健康教育组（教育组）及对照组，每组各55例。在常规治疗的基础上教育组在住院期间及出院后4年内给予健康教育处方结合口头卫生宣教及科普板报知识等经常性的健康教育活动，而对照组不予健康教育。结果：教育组患者对冠心病知识的了解情况、饮食控制情况、规律服药治疗情况比对照组好（P＜0．01），出院后再次住院次数比对照组少（P＜0．01）。而情绪及吸烟量控制两组无显著性差异（P＞0．05）。结论：对老年冠心病患者实施经常性的健康教育是控制疾病恶化的重要措施。