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B Weitzman

Publications and source records attributed to B Weitzman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Health management education partnerships: more than technology transfer.

This article presents the reflections of three faculty members from New York University based on more than two years of experience in a health management education (HME) partnership with institutions in the Republic of Albania. The most significant point to be shared with colleagues considering similar initiatives in other countries is that aiding other professionals in developing health management education programs involves much more than the transfer of technical information among professionals. Based on experience in Albania, we argue that the development of viable management and policy analysis programs will require assistance to counterparts in Central and Eastern Europe in: (1) building constituencies for these activities among influential leaders and sustaining this support through changes in government; (2) providing models of and motivations for using styles of pedagogy that vary significantly from those now common in this part of the world; and (3) reconciling conflicts between pressures for investments in the largely hospital-based activity of health management and the largely public-health-based needs of relatively poor countries.

Albania↗

Sudden unexpected death in the emergency department: caring for the survivors.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether emergency department staff met the needs of the next of kin and close friends ("survivors") of patients dying in an emergency department and to assess the effectiveness of a program to improve care of survivors. DESIGN: Mail survey before and after program implementation. SETTING: Emergency department of a tertiary care, adult teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Two groups of survivors, identified through a review of emergency department records of deaths during two 6-month periods. In the first group, surveyed in 1987, before program implementation, 26 (53%) of 49 responded; in the second group, surveyed in 1990, after program implementation, 40 (70%) of 57 responded. INTERVENTIONS: A structured, multidisciplinary protocol for notifying next of kin of death and supporting the survivors was implemented. An educational program was provided to all emergency department staff. An information pamphlet was created and provided to survivors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Questionnaire responses regarding the adequacy and timeliness of information provided, the support and actions by emergency department staff and the survivors' desire to be present during resuscitation efforts. RESULTS: Comparison of responses before and after program implementation showed that adequate information was provided before notification of death in 32% and 83% of cases respectively (p < 0.001), lengthy delays in receiving medical information occurred in 60% and 15% of cases (p < 0.01), adequate medical information concerning the events of death was provided in 53% and 88% (p < 0.05), the presence of emergency department staff was sufficient in 40% and 79% (p < 0.01), survivors spent less than 2 hours in the emergency department in 50% and 81% (p < 0.05), and survivors expressed a desire to be present during resuscitation efforts in 95% and 11% of cases (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The grievous experience of learning that a loved one has suddenly and unexpectedly died in the emergency department can be alleviated somewhat by a structured, multidisciplinary approach combined with staff sensitization and education.

Bereavement↗

Getting care: poor children and New York City hospitals.

In 1984, almost 10 million visits were made to New York City hospital emergency rooms and outpatient departments. Of these, nearly one-quarter were made by children. Almost nine out of ten children using hospital emergency rooms and outpatient departments were either poor or uninsured. Nearly 70 percent of emergency room visits by Medicaid-covered children in 1984 were made to voluntary hospitals, as compared with less than 40 percent of uninsured visits. Medicaid patients -- poor but uninsured -- are less likely than uninsured patients to visit the emergency room for non-urgent care. For example, in 1984, 35 percent of uninsured medical and surgical after-care visits were made to the emergency room, as compared with 13 percent of Medicaid-covered visits. The availability of primary care physicians in a neighborhood reduces the rate of outpatient department use by children covered by Medicaid, but has no affect on the utilization rates of uninsured children. Access to routine health care by uninsured children is limited by the number of municipal hospital sites, both because children seek care within their home community. More details from the study of poor children and New York City hospitals follow. Data sources and statistical methods are described in an appendix to this report.

Adolescent↗

A reply to Wolpe.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Behavior Therapy↗