The success of Australia’s ‘No Jab,No Pay’ policy at a local level; retrospective clinical audit of a single medical practice assessing incidence of catch-up vaccinations

Vaccination is a vital health care initiative to prevent individual and population infection. To increase vaccination rates the federal government implemented the ‘No Jab, No Pay’ policy, where eligibility for several government benefits required children to be fully vaccinated by removing ‘conscientious objections’ and expanding the age range of children whose families receive benefits. This study assesses the impact of this policy at a local area within a single medical practice community in NSW, Australia. A retrospective clinical audit was performed between 2012 and 2017 on a single general practice's vaccination records for children ≤19 years. Catch-up vaccinations were assessed based on age at vaccination. Incidence of catch-up vaccinations was assessed for each of four years before and two years after the implementation of the ‘No Jab, No Pay’ policy in January 2016, along with the age of children and vaccination(s) given. Catch-up vaccinations were assessed temporally either side of implementation of ‘No Jab, No Pay’. Comparing the average annual vaccination catch-up incidence rate of 6.2% pre-implementation (2012–2015), there was an increase to 9.2% in 2016 (p < .001) and 7.8% in 2017 (p = .027). Secondary outcome measurement of catch-up vaccination incidence rates before (2012–2015) and after (2016–2017) ‘No Jab, No Pay’ implementation showed statistically significant increases for children aged 8–11 years (3.2%–5.6%, p = .038), 12–15 years (7.5%–14.7%, p < .001) and 16–19 years (3.3%–10.2%, p < .001) along with a statistically significant reduction in children aged 1–3 years (11.4%–6.2%, p = .015). Also, catch-up rates for DTPa significantly increased after program implementation. This study demonstrates that the Australian federal government vaccination policy ‘No Jab, No Pay’ was coincident with an increase in catch-up vaccinations within a rural NSW community served by one medical practice, especially for older children.     

‘When you visit a man you should prepare yourself’: male community care worker approaches to working with men living with HIV in Cape Town,South Africa

Caring is typically constructed as a feminised practice, resulting in women shouldering the burden of care-related work. Health-seeking behaviours are also constructed as feminine and men have poorer health outcomes globally. Employing men as carers may not only improve the health of the men they assist but also be transformative with regards to gendered constructions of caring. Using semi-structured interviews and observational home visits, this study explored the techniques that community care workers employ when working with male clients. The empirical analysis draws on the perspectives of eight care workers and three of their male clients from the Cape Town area. Interviews reveal how care workers and clients perform and negotiate masculinities as they navigate hegemonic masculine norms that require men to act tough, suppress emotions and deny weakness and sickness. Both parties bump up against ideals of what it means to be a man as they strive to provide care and receive support. Community care workers avoid rupturing client performances of hegemonic masculinities which inhibit confession and support. To do this, they use techniques of indirectly broaching sensitive subjects, acting in a friendly way and being clear about the intention of their work.     

Neighborhood: A Conceptual Analysis

Researchers interested in measuring neighborhood‐level effects should understand how “neighborhood” is defined within nursing sciences and other sciences, and the inherent strengths and weaknesses of current research methodologies. This concept analysis provides clarity around the concept of neighborhood within the context of health, analyzes the current state of development of the neighborhood concept, and proposes areas for future nursing research. Using the Rodger's Method of analysis, the concept of neighborhood within nursing and public health research is described based on existing literature. The concept's attributes, related concepts, antecedents, and consequences are given from the literature. Comparisons of the use of neighborhood are made between nursing, public health, sociology, and other sciences. The evolution of the concept of neighborhood throughout history is described, and important implications for future research are discussed.     

四方联动防跌护理在社区跌倒高危老年人中的应用

目的探讨专科护士-社区护士-个体-家庭四方联动防跌护理模式在社区跌倒高危老年人中的应用与效果。方法选取深圳市龙岗区的2个社区,随机分为观察组和对照组,从两个社区登记建档的跌倒高风险老年居民中分别随机抽选45名进行干预。观察组采用"专科护士-社区护士-个体-家庭"四方联动推进的综合干预方案。对照组接受社区防跌倒常规护理。于干预前及干预后12个月使用修订版社区老年人跌倒危险评估量表、步态和平衡测试量表对两组老年人进行评测,记录两组1年内跌倒发生例次。结果干预期间跌倒发生情况:观察组1人次,对照组6人次。观察组步态和平衡测试得分提高,跌倒危险评估表得分降低,与对照组比较,差异有统计学意义(均P0.01)。结论四方联动的综合干预方案应用于社区居家老年人,能有效降低老年人跌倒风险,提升其防跌能力,对预防社区老年人跌倒的发生有积极作用。     

Surviving a stroke in South Africa: outcomes of home-based care in a low-resource rural setting

Background: Little is known of stroke outcomes in low- and middle-income countries with limited formal stroke rehabilitation services and of homebased-stroke services delivered within the primary health care (PHC) context by community health workers (CHWs).

Objectives: To describe and analyze the outcomes of patients with stroke from a rural PHC setting in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Methods: In a longitudinal survey, 93 stroke patients, referred to home and community-based care services (HCBC) between June 2015 and December 2017, were assessed at baseline, one month and three months. Changes in function (Barthel Index (BI)), caregiver strain (Caregiver Strain Index (CSI)), impact of environmental factors and satisfaction with stroke care were measured.

Results: HCBC was delayed, fragmented and brief (median session duration 20 minutes (IQR 15.0–30.0)). Although function improved significantly, dependence remained high: median BI score changed from 40.0 (IQR 15.0–70.0) to 62.5 (IQR 30.0–81.25) (p = .019). A third (33.0% (30/91)) of caregivers initially experienced strain and the median CSI score remained 3.0 (IQR 0.0–7.0) (p = .672). Overall, patient and caregiver satisfaction with HCBC was low with only 46.9% (31/66) of caregivers and 17.4% (12/69) of patients satisfied with all aspects of care. Only 47.6% of assistive product needs were met. Environmental factors negatively impacted on patient function and caregiving.

Conclusions: Clinical practice pathways and referral guidelines should be developed for the HCBC platform. Specific training of CHWs, focusing on how to educate, support and train family caregivers, provide assistive devices and refer to health services is needed.     

慢性病患者对社区健康管理的接受情况及 满意度调查

目的了解上海市闵行区高血压和糖尿病患者对社区健康管理的接受情况及满意度,为提高管理质量提供参考依据。方法对门诊就诊的慢性病患者和近3个月接受慢性病管理的患者进行问卷调查,共完成有效问卷1617份,选择25例低满意度患者进行定性访谈。结果门诊患者慢性病健康管理接受率为75.3%;24.0%的管理对象接受了管理但自己不清楚。患者对慢性病健康管理的总体满意度高,达82.8%,但对社区医生专业技术水平、生活方式指导以及心理疏导的满意度相对较低。结论该地区的慢性病管理被大多数慢性病患者认可,但仍有不足之处,建议多途径宣传慢性病患者管理服务和相关知识,以提高患者的知晓率;加强社区医生专业能力的培养,进一步提升慢性病管理服务质量。