scholarly journals The Impact of Health Care Restructuring on Nosocomial Infections and Transmission of Antimicrobial Resistant Organisms

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 271-274
Author(s):  
J Conly ◽  
Lynn Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Health Care Expenditures ◽  
Outpatient Basis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Canadian Health ◽  
Canadian Health Care ◽  
The Impact

The past decade has seen a dramatic change in Canadian health care as the treatment of many patients shifts from the hospital setting to the home or other alternative health care settings (1). Complex advances in technology and significant changes in the funding environment have also precipitated many changes in the functional capacity of our health care system. The portion of the total Canadian health care expenditures that has been allocated to hospitals and other institutions has declined steadily over the past two decades (2,3). This reduction in institutional-based funding reflects the need to develop a system that improves the use of out-of-hospital sites for delivery of health care services and decreases reliance on the specific institutional component of the health care sector. Recent data reveal that Canadian hospital discharge rates have decreased by 14% between 1994 and 1998, and there has been a reduction in the length of stay from 7.4 to 7 days (4). In conjunction with a reduction in the number of hospital beds, there has been a massive shift in the proportion of surgeries that are performed on an outpatient basis. Further developments in the delivery of care include the increased use of telehealth, which allows health care professionals to provide increasingly complex services centralized hospital sites to outlying areas.

The Impact of War on Population Health

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Turkan Ahmet
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
The Impact

The past few decades of ongoing war in Iraq has had a dramatic impact on the health of Iraq’s population. Wars are known to have negative effects on the social and physical environments of individuals, as well as limit their access to the available health care services. This paper explores the personal experiences of my family members, who were exposed to war, as well as includes information that has been reviewed form many academic sources. The data aided in providing recommendations and developing strategies, on both local and international levels, to improve the health status of the populations exposed to war.

scholarly journals Tobacco Control and Nicotine Addiction in Canada: Current trends, Management and Challenges

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew McIvor
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Tobacco Control ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Nicotine Addiction ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Canadian Health ◽  
Canadian Health Care

Despite a significant decrease in tobacco use over the past four decades, cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Canada. Nicotine addiction, unequal access to available support programs and gaps in continuity of health care are recognized as the main barriers to smoking cessation. To overcome these obstacles and to reach the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy goal of reducing smoking prevalence in Canada from 19% to 12% by 2011, several Canadian health care organizations developed extensive sets of recommendations. Improved access to affordable pharmacotherapies and behavioural counselling, better training of health care professionals and the addition of systemic cessation measures appear to be the key components in all of the proposed recommendations.The present article provides an overview of the current approaches to smoking cessation in Canada, describes the remaining challenges, and outlines recent recommendations that are geared toward not only tobacco control but also overall improvement in long-term health outcomes.

Management Training: How Canadian Health Care Organizations Compare

1992 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Loo
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Comprehensive Approach ◽  
Organizational Goals ◽  
The Past ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Canadian Health ◽  
Canadian Health Care

Management training has been receiving increasing attention over the past decade. The present study reports on a survey of 1,000 randomly selected Canadian organizations having at least 500 employees. Analysis of returns from 56 health care organizations and 169 other Canadian organizations yielded many notable findings. Only 36 percent of health care and 37 percent of other organizations report formal policies and procedures for management training. Fortunately, many health care organizations are evolving toward a more articulated and comprehensive approach to management training; however, the constraint of limited funds for training is frequently cited. Overall, both health care and other Canadian organizations recognize the importance of management training for achieving organizational goals and they are striving to improve such training.

scholarly journals Canadian health care professionals' knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of nutritional genomics

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (8) ◽  
pp. 1112-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Weir ◽  
Karine Morin ◽  
Nola Ries ◽  
David Castle
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professional ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Genome Project ◽  
Regulatory Oversight ◽  
Canadian Health ◽  
Open Debate ◽  
Canadian Health Care ◽  
Nutritional Genomics

Nutritional genomics has reached the public through applications of the Human Genome Project offered direct to consumers (DTC). The ability to pursue nutrigenetic testing without the involvement of a health care professional has received considerable attention from academic and policy commentators. To better understand the knowledge and attitudes of Canadian health care professionals regarding nutritional genomics and nutrigenetic testing, qualitative research in the form of focus group discussions was undertaken. Four key themes emerged: (1) concerns over DTC testing; (2) lack of health care professional competency; (3) genetic scepticism and inevitability; (4) expectation of regulation. Together, they indicate that health care professionals have little knowledge about nutritional genomics and hold contradictory attitudes towards genomics in general, and to nutritional genomics in particular. Respondents argue in favour of a delivery model where health care professionals act as intermediaries. They are also aware of their lack of competency to provide such services. To ensure greater public protection, respondents cite the importance of more stringent regulatory oversight of DTC genetic testing. Whether such an approach is necessary to address the various ethical and social issues raised by nutrigenetic testing remains an open debate.

scholarly journals A realist evaluation of the implementation of open visiting in an acute care setting for older people

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Hurst ◽  
Jane Griffiths ◽  
Carrie Hunt ◽  
Ellen Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Positive Culture ◽  
Routine Data ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Barriers To Implementation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Open visiting refers to the principle of unrestricted visiting hours in the hospital setting to enable relatives, families and carers to visit at any time. There has been recognition that open visiting supports the principle of patient and family supported care and improves communication. Despite this there has been difficulty in implementing open visiting and barriers identified. The aims of this study were therefore to evaluate the implementation of open visiting, the barriers to implementation, sustainability and the impact of open visiting on communication between health care professionals, families and carers. Methods The study was conducted on two large acute wards for the older person. Realist evaluation methods were used to understand ‘what works well, how, for whom and to what extent.’ Mixed methods were employed including qualitative interviews and descriptive analyses of routine data sets. Following the methodology of realist evaluation, programme theories were identified a long with the context, mechanisms and outcomes of implementation, to better understand the implementation process. Results The results of this study identified some key findings, demonstrating that open visiting does improve communication and can help to build trusting relationships between families/carers and health care professionals (HCP). Barriers to implementation were based on the belief that it would impinge on routines within the ward setting. To achieve the principles of patient and family/carer centred care, the key mechanisms are the confidence and skills of individual nurses and health care assistants to engage with relatives/carers, whilst retaining a sense of control, particularly when care is being delivered to other patients. Conclusion In summary, open visiting creates a positive culture which fosters better relationships between families/carers and HCPs. Involving families/carers as partners in care does not happen automatically in an environment where open visiting is the policy, but requires engagement with staff to encourage and support relatives/carers.

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