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Biomedical subjects

N Small

Publications and source records attributed to N Small.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Improving the management and referral of patients with transient ischaemic attacks: a change strategy for a health community.

PROBLEM: Rapid referral and management of patients with transient ischaemic attacks is a key component in the national strategy for stroke prevention. However, patients with transient ischaemic attacks are poorly identified and undertreated. DESIGN AND SETTING: Before and after evaluation of quality improvement programme with controlled comparison in three primary care trusts reflecting diverse populations and organisational structures in an urban district in the North of England. KEY MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT: The proportion of patients receiving antiplatelet drugs and safe driving advice on referral to a specialty clinic, and the numbers of referrals, adjusted for age, to the specialist clinic before and after the improvement programme. STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE: Interviews with patient and professionals to identify gaps and barriers to good practice; development of evidence based guidelines for the management of patients with transient ischaemic attacks; interactive multidisciplinary workshops for each primary care trust with feedback of individual audit results of referral practice; outreach visits to teams who were unable to attend the workshops; referral templates and desktop summaries to provide reminders of the guidelines to clinicians; incorporation of standards into professional contracts. EFFECTS OF CHANGE: A significant improvement occurred in identification and referral of patients with transient ischaemic attacks to specialist clinics, with a 41% increase in referrals from trained practices compared with control practices. There were also significant improvements in the early treatment and safety advice provided to patients before referral. LESSONS LEARNT: A strategic approach to effective quality improvement across a diverse health community is feasible and achievable. Careful planning with patient and professional involvement to develop a tailored and multifaceted quality improvement programme to implement evidence based practice can work in very different primary care settings. Key components of the effectiveness of the model include contextual analysis, strong professional support, clear recommendations based on robust evidence, simplicity of adoption, good communication, and use of established networks and opinion leaders.

Communication↗
PubMed1999

Postmodern health economics.

Postmodernism and health economics are both concerned with questions about choices and values, risk and uncertainty. Postmodernists seek to respond to such questions in the context of a world of uncoordinated and often contradictory chances, a world devoid of clear-cut standards. Health economics seeks to respond using the constructs of modernity, including the application of reason to generate better order. In this article we present two sorts of voice. First we introduce postmodernism and those seeking to contribute to economics from a postmodern perspective. Second, we consider critics of a prevalent neo-classicism within health economics both from outside that paradigm and from those more closely associated with it. It is increasingly evident that (health) economics, as presently constituted, is failing both in its descriptive powers and its prescriptive possibilities. Postmodernism offers not just an alternative theoretical approach but the possibility of both expanding the scope of health economics and grounding it more appropriately in the everyday experience of those engaging with health systems.

Causality↗
PubMed1997

Needs assessment and palliative care: the views of providers.

BACKGROUND: A key element within the programme of reform introduced into the UK National Health Service in the 1990s has been the concept of health needs assessment, which must be undertaken by health care purchasers as a guide to the planning process. As part of a wide-ranging study of the impact of the NHS reforms on hospices and specialist palliative care services, providers' perceptions of needs assessment for palliative care were examined, including the extent to which needs assessments had been carried out in local districts, together with the implications. METHODS: The study comprised two key elements. In spring 1995 a postal survey was conducted among all UK hospices and specialist palliative care in-patient units (n = 203) eliciting factual information concerning needs assessment and contracting, together with perceptions and evaluations of the local impact of the NHS reforms. A total of 128 (63 per cent) questionnaires was completed and returned. In addition to the survey, 12 case studies were conducted with a stratified random sample of NHS, independent and large or small hospices and specialist palliative care units. Each of the 12 case study sites was visited by a member of the research team, who conducted interviews with senior staff and analysed financial, planning and management data. Thus the survey allowed a wide analysis of the impact of the NHS reforms, which was enhanced by the more in-depth qualitative data gathered from the case studies. RESULTS: In the survey 49 per cent of those responding reported that their main purchaser had conducted a needs assessment for palliative care in the last five years. Palliative care needs assessment was seen as valuable by providers: 73 per cent considered it very important and 28 per cent of hospices had gone so far as to request a needs assessment from their health authority. In an open-ended question seeking views on the impact of health needs assessment, 66 per cent of those responding (71/107) stated that the impact had been or would be positive. The case studies, however, revealed a more mixed picture. The 12 hospices or specialist palliative care units had contracts with a total of 24 health authorities, 12 of which had conducted some type of needs assessment for palliative care. On close examination the comprehensiveness of these was questionable. Few providers had participated in the design and there were low levels of knowledge about the findings. High expectations of the value of needs assessment were often not fulfilled. There was also a tendency for providers to view needs assessment in a purely instrumental light, as a vehicle to further promote their own interests. CONCLUSIONS: Palliative care needs assessment has considerable potential to influence future purchasing and service provision, yet not all health commissions are undertaking it. There is a high level of provider enthusiasm for palliative care needs assessment, albeit coupled to low levels of technical knowledge and a lack of involvement in the process at local level. Purchaser-provider dialogue on needs assessment should focus on both raising awareness of appropriate techniques and debating 'ethical neutrality' about the outcome.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1994

Baseline data on the delivery of clinical preventive services provided by nurse practitioners.

The National Alliance of Nurse Practitioners (NANP) was one of five primary care provider groups that participated in a national government-sponsored survey on clinical preventive services (CPSs). The survey was based on 17 of the Healthy People 2000 national health objectives related to CPSs. This survey was sent to 2000 randomly selected nurse practitioners (NPs) to obtain information concerning the percentage of their patients who "routinely" receive the specified assessment and intervention services. Data from 892 completed and returned survey instruments indicated that NPs already exceed the Healthy People 2000 objective targets in some important clinical preventive assessment and intervention areas. They are close to the targets in a number of other CPS areas. In some areas, however, NP provision of preventive services was reported to be below the Healthy People 2000 targets. This data has far-reaching implications for NP practice, basic and continuing education, and curriculum reform.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Made in heaven?

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Health Care Coalitions↗