Articles

Impact of briefly-assessed depression on secondary prevention outcomes after acute coronary syndrome: a one-year longitudinal survey

Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are at increased risk of further acute cardiac events. Secondary prevention aims to decrease morbidity and mortality post-ACS. Depression is related to increased ri...

Authors: Hannah M McGee, Frank Doyle, Ronán M Conroy, Davida De La Harpe and Emer Shelley

All that glisters is not gold: a comparison of electronic monitoring versus filled prescriptions – an observational study

Poor compliance with antihypertensive medication is assumed to be an important reason for unsatisfactory control of blood pressure. Poor compliance is difficult to detect. Each method of measuring compliance h...

Authors: Gwenn EC Wetzels, Patricia J Nelemans, Jan SAG Schouten, Boris LG van Wijk and Martin H Prins

Nutritional care of medical inpatients: a health technology assessment

The inspiration for the present assessment of the nutritional care of medical patients is puzzlement about the divide that exists between the theoretical knowledge about the importance of the diet for ill pers...

Authors: Karin O Lassen, Jens Olsen, Edvin Grinderslev, Filip Kruse and Merete Bjerrum

Exploring if day and time of admission is associated with average length of stay among inpatients from a tertiary hospital in Singapore: an analytic study based on routine admission data

It has been postulated that patients admitted on weekends or after office hours may experience delays in clinical management and consequently have longer length of stay (LOS). We investigated if day and time o...

Authors: Arul Earnest, Mark IC Chen and Eillyne Seow

Referrals from general practice to consultants in Germany: If the GP is the initiator, patients' experiences are more positive

Referrals of patients from primary care to medical specialist care are an important activity in any health care system. German data show that the number of referrals by GPs have increased since 2004, but detai...

Authors: Thomas Rosemann, Michel Wensing, Gernot Rueter and Joachim Szecsenyi

A blended knowledge translation initiative to improve colorectal cancer staging [ISRCTN56824239]

A significant gap has been documented between best practice and the actual practice of surgery. Our group identified that colorectal cancer staging in Ontario was suboptimal and subsequently developed a knowle...

Authors: Frances C Wright, Calvin HL Law, Linda D Last, Neil Klar, David P Ryan and Andrew J Smith

Overcoming inherent problems of preference-based techniques for measuring health benefits: An empirical study in the context of kidney transplantation

Economic valuations of health care programs often require using patients as subjects, implying that research methodology should conform to the surrounding social, cultural and ethical context. The significance...

Authors: Nick Kontodimopoulos and Dimitris Niakas

Quality research in healthcare: are researchers getting enough statistical support?

Reviews of peer-reviewed health studies have highlighted problems with their methodological quality. As published health studies form the basis of many clinical decisions including evaluation and provisions of...

Authors: Rumana Z Omar, Nick McNally, Gareth Ambler and Allyson M Pollock

Profit and loss analysis for an intensive care unit (ICU) in Japan: a tool for strategic management

Accurate cost estimate and a profit and loss analysis are necessary for health care practice. We performed an actual financial analysis for an intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital in Japan, and t...

Authors: Pengyu Cao, Shin-ichi Toyabe, Toshikazu Abe and Kouhei Akazawa

Integrating complementary and alternative medicine into academic medical centers: Experience and perceptions of nine leading centers in North America

Patients across North America are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with increasing frequency as part of their management of many different health conditions. The objective of this study was t...

Authors: Sunita Vohra, Kymm Feldman, Brad Johnston, Kellie Waters and Heather Boon

Technical efficiency of peripheral health units in Pujehun district of Sierra Leone: a DEA application

The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method has been fruitfully used in many countries in Asia, Europe and North America to shed light on the efficiency of health facilities and programmes. There is, however, a...

Authors: Ade Renner, Joses M Kirigia, Eyob A Zere, Saidou P Barry, Doris G Kirigia, Clifford Kamara and Lenity HK Muthuri

Correlates of health and healthcare performance: applying the Canadian health indicators framework at the provincial-territorial level

Since, at the health system level, there is little research into the possible interrelationships among the various indicators of health, healthcare performance, non-medical determinants of health, and communit...

Authors: OA Arah and GP Westert

Consumer involvement in Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) projects – lessons from Australia

It is essential that knowledge gained through health services research is collated and made available for evaluation, for policy purposes and to enable collaboration between people working in similar areas (ca...

Authors: Carl MJ Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth E Roughead, Gregory R Monteith and Susan E Tett

What factors explain the number of physical therapy treatment sessions in patients referred with low back pain; a multilevel analysis

It is well-known that the number of physical therapy treatment sessions varies over treatment episodes. Information is lacking, however, on the source and explanation of the variation. The purposes of the curr...

Authors: Ilse CS Swinkels, Raymond H Wimmers, Peter P Groenewegen, Wil JH van den Bosch, Joost Dekker and Cornelia HM van den Ende

A 6-months assessment of the alcohol-related clinical burden at emergency rooms (ERs) in 11 acute care hospitals of an urban area in Germany

The purpose of the study was to identify and to profile alcohol-related attendances to emergency rooms (ERs) of 11 hospitals of various medical specialties covering a large urban population, to assess risk fac...

Authors: Bernhard T Baune, Rafael T Mikolajczyk, Gerhard Reymann, Annette Duesterhaus, Susanne Fleck, Hildegard Kratz and Ulrike Sundermann

Cost-consciousness among Swiss doctors: a cross-sectional survey

Knowing what influences physicians attitudes toward health care costs is an important matter, because most health care expenditures are the results of doctors' decisions. Many decisions regarding medical tests...

Authors: Patrick A Bovier, Diane P Martin and Thomas V Perneger

The Swiss cheese model of safety incidents: are there holes in the metaphor?

Reason's Swiss cheese model has become the dominant paradigm for analysing medical errors and patient safety incidents. The aim of this study was to determine if the components of the model are understood in t...

Authors: Thomas V Perneger

"Saying no is no easy matter" A qualitative study of competing concerns in rationing decisions in general practice

The general practitioner in Norway is expected to ensure equity and effectiveness through fair rationing. At the same time, due to recent reforms of the Norwegian health care sector, both the role of economic ...

Authors: Benedicte Carlsen and Ole Frithjof Norheim

Cost and efficiency of public sector sexually transmitted infection clinics in Andhra Pradesh, India

Control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is an important part of the effort to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS. STI clinics in the government hospitals in India provide services predominantly to the poor....

Authors: Lalit Dandona, Pratap Sisodia, TLN Prasad, Elliot Marseille, M Chalapathi Rao, A Anod Kumar, SG Prem Kumar, YK Ramesh, Mead Over, M Someshwar and James G Kahn

Translating research into policy and practice in developing countries: a case study of magnesium sulphate for pre-eclampsia

The evidence base for improving reproductive health continues to grow. However, concerns remain that the translation of this evidence into appropriate policies is partial and slow. Little is known about the fa...

Authors: Morten Aaserud, Simon Lewin, Simon Innvaer, Elizabeth J Paulsen, Astrid T Dahlgren, Mari Trommald, Lelia Duley, Merrick Zwarenstein and Andrew D Oxman

Communication of bed allocation decisions in a critical care unit and accountability for reasonableness

Communication may affect perceptions of fair process for intensive care unit bed allocation decisions through its impact on the publicity condition of accountability for reasonableness.

Authors: Andrew B Cooper, Amit S Joglekar, Jennifer Gibson, Alissa H Swota and Douglas K Martin

Does a pre-hospital emergency pathway improve early diagnosis and referral in suspected stroke patients? – Study protocol of a cluster randomised trial [ISRCTN41456865]

Early interventions proved to be able to improve prognosis in acute stroke patients. Prompt identification of symptoms, organised timely and efficient transportation towards appropriate facilities, become esse...

Authors: Marica Ferri, Assunta De Luca, Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Giuliano Lori and Gabriella Guasticchi

The design of the Dutch EASYcare study: a randomised controlled trial on the effectiveness of a problem-based community intervention model for frail elderly people [NCT00105378]

Because of their complex clinical presentations and needs frail elderly people require another approach than people who age without many complications. Several inpatient geriatric health services have proven e...

Authors: René JF Melis, Monique IJ van Eijken, George F Borm, Michel Wensing, Eddy Adang, Eloy H van de Lisdonk, Theo van Achterberg and Marcel GM Olde Rikkert

Development of abbreviated measures to assess patient trust in a physician, a health insurer, and the medical profession

Despite the recent proliferation in research on patient trust, it is seldom a primary outcome, and is often a peripheral area of interest. The length of our original scales to measure trust may limit their use...

Authors: Elizabeth Dugan, Felicia Trachtenberg and Mark A Hall

Chances of late surgery in relation to length of wait lists

The proportion of patients who undergo surgery within a clinically safe time is an important performance indicator in health systems that use wait lists to manage access to care. However, little is known about...

Authors: Boris G Sobolev, Adrian R Levy, Lisa Kuramoto and Robert Hayden

How to promote, improve and test adherence to scientific evidence in clinical practice

Negative variation in the management of patients with the same clinical condition is frequent, and affects quality of care. Recent studies indicate that single interventions are not an effective solution. We a...

Authors: Caterina Caminiti, Umberto Scoditti, Francesca Diodati and Rodolfo Passalacqua

The use of end-quintile comparisons to identify under-servicing of the poor and over-servicing of the rich: A longitudinal study describing the effect of socioeconomic status on healthcare

To demonstrate the use of end-quintile comparisons in assessing the effect of socio-economic status on hospital utilisation and outcomes in Western Australia.

Authors: Kate J Brameld and C D'Arcy J Holman

Household out-of-pocket medical expenditures and national health insurance in Taiwan: income and regional inequality

Unequal geographical distribution of medical care resources and insufficient healthcare coverage have been two long-standing problems with Taiwan's public health system. The implementation of National Health I...

Authors: Tu-Bin Chu, Tsai-Ching Liu, Chin-Shyan Chen, Yi-Wen Tsai and Wen-Ta Chiu

Caution required when relying on a colleague's advice; a comparison between professional advice and evidence from the literature

Occupational Physicians rely especially on advice from colleagues when answering their information demands. On the other hand, Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) promotes the use of up-to-date research literature i...

Authors: Frederieke Schaafsma, Jos Verbeek, Carel Hulshof and Frank van Dijk

The cost-effectiveness of early noninvasive ventilation for ALS patients

Optimal timing of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) initiation in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is unknown, but NIPPV appears to benefit ALS patients who are symptomatic fro...

Authors: Kirsten L Gruis, Michael E Chernew and Devin L Brown

Heart failure guidelines and prescribing in primary care across Europe

Major international differences in heart failure treatment have been repeatedly described, but the reasons for these differences remain unclear. National guideline recommendations might be a relevant factor. T...

Authors: Heidrun B Sturm, Wiek H van Gilst, Karl Swedberg, FD Richard Hobbs and Flora M Haaijer-Ruskamp

Assessing health centre systems for guiding improvement in diabetes care

Aboriginal people in Australia experience the highest prevalence of diabetes in the country, an excess of preventable complications and early death. There is increasing evidence demonstrating the importance of...

Authors: Damin Si, Ross Bailie, Christine Connors, Michelle Dowden, Allison Stewart, Gary Robinson, Joan Cunningham and Tarun Weeramanthri

The effect of a monetary incentive on return of a postal health and development questionnaire: a randomised trial [ISRCTN53994660]

Postal questionnaires are widely used to collect data in healthcare research but a poor response rate may reduce the validity and reliability of results. There was a lack of evidence available relating to use ...

Authors: Sara Kenyon, Katie Pike, David Jones, David Taylor, Alison Salt, Neil Marlow and Peter Brocklehurst

Verbal and physical violence towards hospital- and community-based physicians in the Negev: an observational study

Over recent years there has been an increasing prevalence of verbal and physical violence in Israel, including in the work place. Physicians are exposed to violence in hospitals and in the community. The objec...

Authors: Tal Carmi-Iluz, Roni Peleg, Tami Freud and Pesach Shvartzman

Implementation of a health care policy: An analysis of barriers and facilitators to practice change

Governments often create policies that rely on implementation by arms length organizations and require practice changes on the part of different segments of the health care system without understanding the dif...

Authors: Susan Watt, Wendy Sword and Paul Krueger

Effect on survey response rate of hand written versus printed signature on a covering letter: randomised controlled trial [ISRCTN67566265]

It is important that response rates to postal surveys are as high as possible to ensure that the results are representative and to maximise statistical power. Previous research has suggested that any personali...

Authors: Kirstie McKenzie-McHarg, Lucy Tully, Simon Gates, Sarah Ayers and Peter Brocklehurst

Predictors of failed attendances in a multi-specialty outpatient centre using electronic databases

Failure to keep outpatient medical appointments results in inefficiencies and costs. The objective of this study is to show the factors in an existing electronic database that affect failed appointments and to...

Authors: Vernon J Lee, Arul Earnest, Mark I Chen and Bala Krishnan

What do we know about how to do audit and feedback? Pitfalls in applying evidence from a systematic review

Improving the quality of health care requires a range of evidence-based activities. Audit and feedback is commonly used as a quality improvement tool in the UK National Health Service [NHS]. We set out to asse...

Authors: R Foy, MP Eccles, G Jamtvedt, J Young, JM Grimshaw and R Baker

The development and implementation of a regional network of physiotherapists for exercise therapy in patients with peripheral arterial disease, a preliminary report

Exercise therapy (ET) is the main conservative and proven effective treatment of patients with intermittent claudication. Currently, the most frequent exercise prescription is a single 'go home and walk' advis...

Authors: EM Willigendael, BLW Bendermacher, C van der Berg, RJThJ Welten, MH Prins, RA Bie de and JAW Teijink

The impact of a pharmacist-managed dosage form conversion service on ciprofloxacin usage at a major Canadian teaching hospital: a pre- and post-intervention study

Despite cost containment efforts, parenteral (IV) ciprofloxacin appears to be overutilized at Vancouver General Hospital. In November 2003, the Pharmacist-managed intravenous to oral (IV-PO) Dosage Form Conver...

Authors: Bradley P Ho, Tim TY Lau, Robert M Balen, Terryn L Naumann and Peter J Jewesson

Do medical outpatients want 'out of hours' clinics?

Patient choice is a major theme in current healthcare delivery. Little is known about patients' wishes regarding the timing of medical outpatient clinics.

Authors: Claire L Feeney, Nicola J Roberts and Martyn R Partridge

Erratum To: The effect of executive walk rounds on nurse safety climate attitudes: A randomized trial of clinical units [ISRCTN85147255]

Authors: Eric J Thomas, J Bryan Sexton, Torsten B Neilands, Allan Frankel and Robert L Helmreich

The factors associated to psychosocial stress among general practitioners in Lithuania. Cross-sectional study

There are number of studies showing that general practice is one of the most stressful workplace among health care workers. Since Baltic States regained independence in 1990, the reform of the health care syst...

Authors: Giedrius Vanagas and Susanna Bihari-Axelsson

Unhappy doctors? A longitudinal study of life and job satisfaction among Norwegian doctors 1994 – 2002

General opinion is that doctors are increasingly dissatisfied with their job, but few longitudinal studies exist. This study has been conducted to investigate a possible decline in professional and personal sa...

Authors: Magne Nylenna, Pål Gulbrandsen, Reidun Førde and Olaf G Aasland

Willingness to pay to assess patient preferences for therapy in a Canadian setting

Adult outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) programs have been reported in the literature for over 20 years, however there are no published reports quantifying preference for treatment location of pa...

Authors: Carlo A Marra, Luciana Frighetto, Alan F Goodfellow, Amy O Wai, M Lynn Chase, Ruth E Nicol, Carole A Leong, Sally Tomlinson, Barbara M Ferreira and Peter J Jewesson

Volume-based referral for cardiovascular procedures in the United States: a cross-sectional regression analysis

We sought to estimate the numbers of patients affected and deaths avoided by adopting the Leapfrog Group's recommended hospital procedure volume minimums for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and per...

Authors: Andrew J Epstein, Saif S Rathore, Harlan M Krumholz and Kevin GM Volpp

Organisation and financing of the health care systems of Bulgaria and Greece – what are the parallels?

The Bulgarian and Greek Medical Care systems have been reformated the last fifteen years. The aim of this study was an examination and comparison of the Bulgarian and Greek Medical Care Systems.

Authors: Nikolaos M Exadaktylos

General practitioners with a special interest in respiratory medicine: national survey of UK primary care organisations

To meet the universally recognised challenge of caring for people with long-term diseases many healthcare cultures are encouraging family physicians to develop specialist skills. We aimed to determine the majo...

Authors: Hilary Pinnock, Gopalakrishnan Netuveli, David Price and Aziz Sheikh

A centralised public information resource for randomised trials: a scoping study to explore desirability and feasibility

There are currently several concerns about the ways in which people are recruited to participate in randomised controlled trials, the low acceptance rates among people invited to participate, and the experienc...

Authors: Anne L Langston, Marion K Campbell, Vikki A Entwistle and Zoë Skea

Intermediate care: for better or worse? Process evaluation of an intermediate care model between a university hospital and a residential home

Intermediate care was developed in order to bridge acute, primary and social care, primarily for elderly persons with complex care needs. Such bridging initiatives are intended to reduce hospital stays and imp...

Authors: Thomas Plochg, Diana MJ Delnoij, Tineke F van der Kruk, Tonnie ACM Janmaat and Niek S Klazinga