Making the Most of the Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative

Author(s):  
Michelle Shumate ◽  
Liz Howard

In this case, lessons from the Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative illustrate key principles of collaborative action and the importance of using data to achieve SMART goals. In 2015, the Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative (CBC) was a network of seven agencies in Chicago, Illinois, serving 12,000 low-income residents. Each of the agencies had early childhood, school-age children, and adult education programs. At the prompting of the Chicago Community Trust, they came together to (1) benchmark their education programs outputs and outcomes; (2) learn and share best practices through developing a common set of metrics and measurements and implementing these measurements into a case management software system; and (3) share the costs of the case management software system to be used for program evaluation and continuous quality improvement. Three aspects of CBC are particularly noteworthy. First, there are no joint program activities or clients among these agencies. Their exchange is limited to sharing data and other information. This makes CBC distinct from collaborations formed to begin a program or to advocate for a policy. Second, the group requires each agency to enter data on a timely basis and to set SMART goals based on the data reports. The agencies are held mutually accountable for their work to achieve their own SMART goals during the year and report on progress. Third, CBC used monetary incentives to ensure that data entry and SMART goal action remained a priority for each agency.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Hudon ◽  
Mathieu Bisson ◽  
Marie-France Dubois ◽  
Yohann Chiu ◽  
Maud-Christine Chouinard ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Early identification of patients with chronic conditions and complex health needs in emergency departments (ED) would enable the provision of services better suited to their needs, such as case management. A case-finding tool would ultimately support ED teams to this end and could reduce the cost of services due to avoidable ED visits and hospitalizations. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a short self-administered case-finding tool in EDs to identify patients with chronic conditions and complex health needs in an adult population. Methods This prospective development and initial validation study of a case-finding tool was conducted in four EDs in the province of Quebec (Canada). Adult patients with chronic conditions were approached at their third or more visit to the ED within 12 months to complete a self-administered questionnaire, which included socio-demographics, a comorbidity index, the reference standard INTERMED self-assessment, and 12 questions to develop the case-finding tool. Significant variables in bivariate analysis were included in a multivariate logistic regression analysis and a backward elimination procedure was applied. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was developed to identify the most appropriate threshold score to identify patients with complex health needs. Results Two hundred ninety patients participated in the study. The multivariate analysis yielded a six-question tool, COmplex NEeds Case-finding Tool – 6 (CONECT-6), which evaluates the following variables: low perceived health; limitations due to pain; unmet needs; high self-perceived complexity; low income; and poor social support. With a threshold of two or more positive answers, the sensitivity was 90% and specificity 66%. The positive and negative predictive values were 49 and 75% respectively. Conclusions The case-finding process is the essential characteristic of case management effectiveness. This study presents the first case-finding tool to identify adult patients with chronic conditions and complex health needs in ED.


2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 360-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda F. C. Bullock ◽  
M. Kay Libbus ◽  
Suzanne Lewis ◽  
Debra Gayer

An investigator-designed survey was used to determine if attendance at specific continuing education programs increased the perceived competence of school nurses who enrolled and completed the programs. Respondents were queried about the general content of six courses offered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in conjunction with the University of Missouri—Columbia Sinclair School of Nursing. Specific content areas were mental health concerns, suicide prevention, diabetes management, asthma management, seizure disorders, and developing clinical skills as they pertained to school-age children. Comparing a sample of school nurses who had attended the programs with a group whom had not, a statistically significant difference was found in the participant group who reported higher self-perceived competence than the nonparticipant group in all content areas. Results of the study suggest that school nurses who attend specific continuing education programs feel more competent in practice than nurses who do not attend.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adel Hamed Elbaih ◽  
Maged El-Setouhy ◽  
Jon Mark Hirshon ◽  
Hazem Mohamed El-Hariri ◽  
Mohamed El-Shinawi

Abstract IntroductionTrauma deaths account for 8% of all deaths in Egypt. Patients with multiple injuries are at high risk but may be saved with a good triage system and a well-trained trauma team in dedicated institutions. The incidence of missed injuries in the Emergency Department (ED) of Suez Canal University Hospital (SCUH) was found to be 9.0% after applying Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) guidelines. However, this rate is still high compared with many trauma centers.AimImprove the quality of management of polytrauma patients by decreasing the incidence of missed injuries by implementing the Sequential Trauma Education Programs (STEPs) course in the ED at SCUH.MethodsThis interventional training study was conducted in the SCUH ED that adheres to CONSORT guidelines. The study was conducted during the 1-month precourse and for 6 months after the implementation of the STEPs course for ED physicians. Overall, 458 polytrauma patients were randomly selected, of which 45 were found to have missed injuries after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We assessed the clinical relevance of these cases for missed injuries before and after the STEPs course.ResultsOverall, 45 patients were found to have missed injuries, of which 15 (12%) were pre-STEPs and 30 (9%) were post-STEPs course. The STEPs course significantly increased adherence to vital data recording, but the reduction of missed injuries (3.0%) was not statistically significant in relation to demographic and trauma findings. However, the decrease in missed injuries in the post-STEPs course group was an essential clinically significant finding.ConclusionSTEPs course implementation decreased the incidence of missed injuries in polytrauma patients. Thus, the STEPs course can be considered at the same level of other advanced trauma courses as a training skills program or possibly better in dealing with trauma patients. Repetition of this course by physicians should be mandatory to prevent more missed injuries. Therefore, the validation of STEPs course certification should be completed at least every 2 years to help decrease the number of missed injuries, especially in low-income countries and low-resource settings.Trial RegistrationProject manager for the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (www.pactr.org) database has been accepted with the date of approval:18/11/2020. Current Controlled Trials number for the registry is PACTR202011853914203. Please note that the article state Retrospectively registered that my study adheres to CONSORT guidelines.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Mahurin-Smith ◽  
Monique T. Mills ◽  
Rong Chang

Purpose This study was designed to assess the utility of a tool for automated analysis of rare vocabulary use in the spoken narratives of a group of school-age children from low-income communities. Method We evaluated personal and fictional narratives from 76 school-age children from low-income communities ( M age = 9;3 [years;months]). We analyzed children's use of rare vocabulary in their narratives, with the goal of evaluating relationships among rare vocabulary use, performance on standardized language tests, language sample measures, sex, and use of African American English. Results Use of rare vocabulary in school-age children is robustly correlated with established language sample measures. Male sex was also significantly associated with more frequent rare vocabulary use. There was no association between rare vocabulary use and use of African American English. Discussion Evaluation of rare vocabulary use in school-age children may be a culturally fair assessment strategy that aligns well with existing language sample measures.


Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Kakinami ◽  
Tracie Barnett ◽  
Gilles Paradis

Background: One-quarter of children are already overweight or obese when they enter preschool, underscoring a critical need to improve our understanding of childhood determinants of health, including both sociodemographic (such as poverty) and social-familial influences (such as parenting style), as well as how these determinants may interact with one another. Objective: To examine the effects of parenting style on the risk of obesity in youth and determine if poverty is a mediator or moderator for this association. Methods: Participants (age 0-11) were from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), a representative cross-sectional survey of youth collected bi-annually (1994-2008) throughout Canada. Factor analysis identified 4 parenting styles consistent with Baumrind’s theory of authoritative (demanding and responsive), authoritarian (demanding but not responsive), permissive (responsive but not demanding), and negligent (not demanding and not responsive) parenting control prototypes. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the risk of a child being obese (BMI percentile ≥ 97.7 th compared to age- and sex-specific WHO growth curves) based on parenting style after adjusting for age, sex, parental education, immigration status, family functioning score, birth order, and maternal age. Analyses were stratified by age (younger: 2-5 years of age, n=19,026; school-age: 6-11 years of age, n=18,551) due to age-related differences in parenting styles. Mediation or moderation by poverty (household income < low income cut-offs adjusted for household size and geographic region) was assessed. Analyses used sampling and bootstrap weights. Results: Younger children’s parents were primarily authoritative (42%, n=7357), followed by negligent (22%, n=3763), permissive (20%, n=3436), and authoritarian (16%, n=4470). Parenting styles in school-age children were similar (authoritative: 32%, n=7195, negligent: 31%, n=5586, permissive: 22%, n=3850, authoritarian: 15%, n=1920). In multivariable analyses, compared to authoritative parenting, younger and school-age children with authoritarian parents were 30% (95% CI: 1.1-1.5, p=0.0002) and 37% (CI: 1.1-1.7, p=0.006) more likely to be obese, respectively. In younger children, poverty moderated this association: authoritarian and negligent parenting was associated with 39% (CI: 1.2-1.6, p<0.0001) and 28% (CI: 1.1-1.5, p=0.002) increased risk of obesity, respectively, only among the children not living in poverty. In school-age children, poverty was not a mediator or moderator. Conclusions: Parenting style is associated with a child’s risk of obesity but is moderated by poverty in younger children. Successful strategies to combat childhood obesity need to reflect the independent and interactive effects of sociodemographic and social-familial influences on health especially in early childhood.


2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-27
Author(s):  
Kevin C. Snow ◽  
John J. S. Harrichand ◽  
Joy M. Mwendwa

In the current world, working with immigrants and refugees presents unique clinical and case management challenges that may go beyond standard training offered in most counsellor education courses on diversity. This applied conceptual article examines some of the barriers to working with immigrants and refugees. It also discusses approaches to including a focus on immigrants and refugees in counsellor education programs and courses as well as suggestions for counsellors working with these members of the community. In addition, an advocacy and social justice mandate to provide exposure to and teaching about clinical work with these often overlooked members of society is presented.


2018 ◽  
pp. 312-322
Author(s):  
P.G. Malataras ◽  
Z.B. Bliznakov ◽  
N.E. Pallikarakis

The primary aim of a hospital Clinical Engineering Department (CED) is to ensure a safe and cost-effective operation of the medical devices. In order to achieve this goal, it needs to implement and establish a comprehensive biomedical technology management program, which is a complex and multidimensional task. This work presents a medical devices management software system to assist the CED in healthcare, and it appears, as a result, of an effort to re-engineer and rebuild such an old, successful management system. The findings of this re-engineering attempt are presented. The goal was the incorporation of the new trends in clinical engineering and medical devices management and the exploitation of the new capabilities provided by the modern software tools and platforms. The system is expected to respond to the changing healthcare environment demands, the increased efforts required, and the respective broader role that CEDs have to play.


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