Efforts to catalogue non-governmental organizations with a role in global burn relief

IntroductionNon-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been instrumental in the treatment of traumatic injuries, including burns, particularly in low- and middle-income counties. The purpose of this project was to catalogue burn injury related NGO activities, describe coordinated efforts, and provide insight to burn health care professionals seeking volunteer opportunities.MethodsEligible burn NGOs were identified through internet searches, literature reviews, and social media. The organizations’ websites were reviewed for eligibility and contact was attempted to confirm details. Global health organizations, including the World Health Organization, were consulted for their viewpoints.ResultsWe identified 27 unique NGOs working in the area of burn care in African countries, all with differing missions, capacities, recruitment methods, and ability to respond to disaster. We also describe 14 global NGOs, some of which accept volunteers. Some NGOs were local, while others were headquartered in western countries.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first effort towards the establishment of a Burn-NGO catalogue. Challenges included: frequent shifts in geographical regions supported, lack of collaboration among organizations, availability of public information, and austere environments. We invite collaborators to assist in the creation of a comprehensive, interactive and complete catalogue.     

Adopting,manipulating, transforming: Tactics used by gender practitioners in South African NGOs to translate international gender policies into local practice

This paper looks at what is lost and gained through the process of translating international policy from a global to a local space. It does this by sharing results from a multisite ethnographic study of gender practices in foreign-funded South African health organisations. This study identifies a number of tactics used by practitioners to deal with the funding constraints and unique knowledge systems that characterise local spaces, including: using policy to appeal to donors; merging gender with better resourced programmes; and redirecting funding allocations. These tactics point to how practitioners are adopting, manipulating and transforming international policies in order to suit their everyday working realities.     

Feasibility and usability of measuring receipt of sealants in 2 states

BackgroundThe authors examined the reliability and validity of the Dental Quality Alliance childhood sealant measure under actual use conditions in Texas and Florida. The 2 states provide care for almost 20% of children in Medicaid nationally.MethodsThe authors used dental claims data to examine the reliability of the caries risk assessment component of the measure. They examined validity using a 3-year look-back period to identify children who were inaccurately included in the measure denominator as sealant eligible when they were not owing to already sealed, missing, or restored teeth.ResultsThe children identified at elevated risk varied between the states, with 85% at elevated risk in Texas and 39% in Florida in 2017. Different methods can be used to calculate risk, raising questions about reliability. In Texas, 31% of children included in the denominator were not eligible to receive sealants owing to already sealed, missing, or restored teeth. The magnitude of the underestimation increased with age, so by the time children were 9 years old, 40% were not measure eligible yet included in the denominator. Similar results were observed for Florida.ConclusionsThe authors propose eliminating the caries risk assessment requirement and incorporating a 3-year look-back period to identify already sealed, missing, or restored molars.Practical ImplicationsThe reliability and validity of the sealant measure needs to be enhanced. Measure misspecification in which children are not correctly identified as needing sealants can contribute to inaccurate development of quality improvement goals, performance improvement projects, or pay-for-quality programs.     

Physician Practice Participation in Accountable Care Organizations: The Emergence of the Unicorn

Objective

To provide the first nationally based information on physician practice involvement in ACOs.

Data Sources/Study Setting

Primary data from the third National Survey of Physician Organizations (January 2012–May 2013).

Study Design

We conducted a 40-minute phone survey in a sample of physician practices. A nationally representative sample of practices was surveyed in order to provide estimates of organizational characteristics, care management processes, ACO participation, and related variables for four major chronic illnesses.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

We evaluated the associations between ACO participation, organizational characteristics, and a 25-point index of patient-centered medical home processes.

Principal Findings

We found that 23.7 percent of physician practices (n = 280) reported joining an ACO; 15.7 percent (n = 186) were planning to become involved within the next 12 months and 60.6 percent (n = 717) reported no involvement and no plans to become involved. Larger practices, those receiving patients from an IPA and/or PHO, those that were physician-owned versus hospital/health system-owned, those located in New England, and those with greater patient-centered medical home (PCMH) care management processes were more likely to have joined an ACO.

Conclusions

Physician practices that are currently participating in ACOs appear to be relatively large, or to be members of an IPA or PHO, are less likely to be hospital-owned and are more likely to use more care management processes than nonparticipating practices.     

非政府办基层医疗机构实施基本药物制度SWOT分析

利用SWOT分析法对非政府办基层医疗机构开展基本药物制度所面临的优势、劣势、威胁和机遇进行分析,并针对基本药物制度实施过程中存在的主要问题提出对策建议,以促进基本药物制度在非政府办基层医疗机构的实施。     

男性性病诊疗服务体系的完善及规范化服务

目的通过完善男男性行为人群（MSM）的性病诊疗服务体系,促进男性性病诊疗服务的规范化。方法完善MSM的性病转介体系和性病服务内容,形成性病、艾滋病检测阳性者的服务机构、组织之间的顺畅转介关系,开展医务人员主动提供艾滋病病毒（HIV）检测咨询（PITC）促进。对服务日志进行统计并分析。结果自2011年4月至10月15日期间,MSM社区组织向性病门诊转介疑似性病患者156例;HIV感染者组织转介的性病患者诊治17例;性病门诊求诊者中453人接受了PITC服务,完成转介初筛HIV阳性25例。性病转介诊疗服务满意度和HIV阳性转介咨询服务满意度均很高。结论社区组织和医疗机构的合作是促进规范化性病服务的重要策略,医疗机构与成熟的社区组织开展进一步实质性合作可以促进服务质量提高。     

组织局部RAAS与2型糖尿病慢性合并症

局部肾素-血管紧张素-醛固酮系统(RAAS)是指血管紧张素Ⅱ(AngⅡ)不是来自循环而是由特殊组织产生,其产生的AngⅡ并不作用于远处,而是直接作用于局部或其邻近组织。RAAS广泛存在于包括肾脏、胰腺、心脏、视网膜等多种器官和组织。近年来大量研究表明,糖尿病患者局部RAAS水平升高,且与糖尿病肾病、糖尿病视网膜病变等密切相关。     

Interprofessional practice and decision support: An organizational framework applied to a mental health setting

Decision support as a means to assist people in making healthcare decisions has been discussed extensively in the medical literature. However, the potential for use of decision support and decision aids with people with psychiatric disabilities in order to promote recovery has only begun to be researched and discussed in the mental health literature. Organizational factors that foster interprofessional practice within a decision support environment focused on mental health issues are examined in this paper.     

The Rationale of Interorganizational Linkages to Connect Multiple Sites of Expertise,Knowledge Production,and Knowledge Transfer

Summary

This paper presents the rationale for a long-running project in which various community-based and tertiary-based providers are being linked to each other in order to understand, reach, and engage high-risk, hard-to-reach inner-city residents for prevention, treatment, and management of HIV/AIDS. Not simply a program to link disparate actors, the work has developed into a more fundamental approach through which to build and maintain the infrastructure required to generate and sustain knowledge development and integration within and between systems. This work is grounded in the recognition that each type of provider, as well as patients and clients themselves, has a particular type of expertise. All forms of expertise are necessary to fight HIV/ AIDS. Different forms of expertise are necessary to diagnose, treat, prevent, and cure HIV/AIDS and its sequelae. This work suggests revisions in traditional approaches to expertise and to the content and geometry of dissemination networks, and ultimately challenges the very concepts of dissemination and the lay/scientific boundary.