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Results for “Pilot Projects”

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At least 1,153 records · Page 64Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

Personal empowerment program: addressing health concerns in people with schizophrenia.

Three staff nurses in the Outpatient Schizophrenia Service of the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, became concerned about the weight gain of their patients. Patients and their family members were also concerned and asking for help. Before integrating a program to address these concerns, staff first had to demonstrate that a program of this nature would be beneficial for clinic patients. Of the 75 clients screened, many presented with problems in the areas of weight, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar and lipid levels. Although not a research study, an 8-month pilot project was implemented to address these concerns. It was hypothesized that integrating all dimensions of wellness in patient programming would have a positive effect on various defined indicators (e.g., weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar and lipid levels). Screening tests before, during, and after the 8-month project provided the physical outcome measurements. Social and psychological outcomes were described through observation and group member feedback. The positive results are significant in terms of empowering patients in the long-term management of their health.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Medicare education in housing facilities.

Housing professionals who work with older or disabled residents often are asked questions about Medicare-related issues. Many lack the training and education to adequately respond to the questions because their primary responsibilities are not directly related to Medicare. This brief describes a pilot project that tested different methods to educate housing and social services staff about Medicare to better equip them to assist residents with Medicare-related informational needs, and perhaps to better serve as a resource to the broader community.

Aged↗

PubMed1995

Case management: more population-based data.

A pilot project conducted in a 540-bed teaching hospital reveals more population-based data related to nursing case management, a system of patient care that promotes cost containment while ensuring quality outcomes. Positive outcomes were demonstrated in quality of care, patient satisfaction, staff satisfaction, length of stay, and cost.

Hospitals, Teaching↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Introduction of an automated medical record at an HMO clinic.

In May 1993, CIGNA Healthcare of Arizona implemented a comprehensive automated medical record system in a pilot project performed at a primary care clinic in Chandler, Arizona. The system, EpicCare, operates in a client-server environment and completely replaces the paper chart in all phases of medical care. After six months of use by 10 medical providers and a 50-member staff, the system has been approved by clinicians, staff, and patients.

Arizona↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Measuring state expenditures for core public health functions.

In 1993, the U.S. Public Health Service, with the assistance of the Public Health Foundation (PHF), launched a pilot study to develop state and national expenditure estimates for the core functions of public health. The core public health functions selected for the data collection effort were (1) health-related data, surveillance, and outcomes monitoring; (2) investigation and control of diseases, injuries, and response to natural disasters; (3) immunizations, family planning, and STD and TB clinical services; (4) protection of environment, housing, food, water, and the workplace; (5) laboratory services; (6) public information and education and community mobilization; (7) targeted outreach and linkage to personal services; (8) accountability/quality assurance; (9) training and education; and (10) leadership, planning, policy development, and administration. State health officials from Connecticut, Iowa, Missouri, Oregon, and Rhode Island helped develop a methodology and a set of guidelines for estimating expenditures on core functions and used this methodology to report expenditure data. Three additional states--Illinois, New York, and Texas--joined in a second phase of the pilot study, one that included collecting data on personal health services and total agency expenditure data. The eight states' combined per capita core function expenditures were $44 in fiscal year (FY) 1993. This included expenditures by state and local public health agencies and state substance abuse, mental health, and environmental health agencies. Expenditures for core public health functions accounted for 27% of these agencies' total expenditures. The largest core function expenditure accounting for approximately 30% of the total was for the protection of environment, housing, food, water, and the workplace. Extrapolating the eight states' expenditure estimates to the national level, spending for core public health functions in FY 1993 totaled $11.4 billion, or 1.3% of total U.S. health spending. The pilot project demonstrates that with appropriate guidance, including an estimating methodology and uniform definitions, categorical program data can be reported by function. The results of the data collection effort also demonstrate the potential utility of examining expenditures by core functions for state planning and policy making. The methodology allows states to distinguish core functions from other responsibilities, providing states with quantified information useful for reform efforts.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2002

An HIV risk-reduction intervention in an adolescent correctional facility: lessons learned.

Adolescents are now being described as the generation most at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Incarcerated young women remain a group at even greater risk, with markedly higher HIV seroprevalence rates compared with their male counterparts. In preparing for a longitudinal, randomized, controlled trial, our research team conducted a pilot project with incarcerated adolescent women. The purpose of this report is to offer clinicians and researchers interested in working with this population some insights on how to approach young women in detention and the logistics of carrying out a program in a correctional facility.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Cancer diagnosis and telemedicine: a case study from Cambodia.

Cambodia is one of the least developed countries in the world, and presents major challenges to the provision of effective healthcare. Partners Telemedicine, a non-profit organization based in Boston, MA, is leading a pilot project to assess whether accurate diagnosis and treatment can be provided by email to patients in remote locales in the developing world. This project, in rural Cambodia, has had a beneficial impact on the public health of the communities served. There has been a reduced demand for acute care services, with patients seeking treatment earlier and adhering better to their prescribed treatment regimens for chronic diseases, and the project illustrates the potential for simple communications technology to improve care, even to some of the most impoverished communities. However, infrastructure must be improved in Cambodia to enable patients, in particular cancer patients, to receive acute care that can only be provided in distant Phnom Penh.

Cambodia↗

PubMed2000

Telemedicine services to a county jail.

Local and county jails rarely offer telepsychiatry services to their inmates. We have established a telepsychiatry pilot project between the Kansas University Medical Center and the Lyon County Jail in Emporia, Kansas. A total of 264 telepsychiatry consultations were conducted with jail inmates. Of these, 70 were initial evaluations and 194 were follow-up visits; only one inmate refused to be seen. Approximately one-third of all inmates were seen for psychiatric consultation within one week of their incarceration and 68% were seen within one month of incarceration. Among lessons learned during the first year of service were: the monthly demand for consultations was five times greater than projected; moderately to severely ill inmates with a broad range of psychiatric illness can be seen and treated effectively using videoconferencing; and the technology was accepted by the jail personnel and the inmates alike and integrated into the jail's routine in terms of the delivery of psychiatric care.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Enhancing the care of older people in the community.

This article describes a pilot project that aimed to enhance the care of older people who dialled 999 but did not require hospital admission. The project demonstrated how intermediate care teams and the ambulance service worked in partnership to avoid unnecessary hospital admission and to improve health and social care services for this patient group.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

Linking Internet strategy to high-quality, cost-effective managed care.

This article describes an experimental pilot project incorporating e-commerce and the Internet into the traditional process of health benefit negotiations through the utilization of an HMO Internet auction. The timeline and process of the auction are described, with the final auction taking place during the last week of negotiations. The results reveal an efficient and effective system to augment the traditional benefit negotiation process.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

PubMed2000

Argument identification for arterial branching predications asserted in cardiac catheterization reports.

The language describing coronary vasculature provides a suitable paradigm for research in semantic interpretation of anatomical text. As a pilot project we investigate the possibility of highly accurate retrieval of arterial branching relationships asserted in cardiac catheterization reports. Our methodology relies on the cooperation of underspecified linguistic analysis and structured domain knowledge. The satisfactory results of formal evaluation on both a training and testing set support the promise of this approach.

Cardiac Catheterization↗

PubMed1996

Integrated delivery systems: has their time come in Canada?

In the 1990s every Canadian province is struggling to reduce health care expenditures without jeopardizing access to health care or quality of care. The authors propose a new model for health care delivery: the Canadian Integrated Delivery System (CIDS). A CIDS is a network of health care organizations; it would provide, or arrange to provide, a coordinated continuum of services to a defined population and would be held clinically and fiscally accountable for the outcomes in and health status of that population. A CIDS would serve 100,000 to 2 million people; the care it would provide would be funded on a capitation basis. For providers, there would be explicit financial incentives to minimize costs. At the same time, service quality and consumer choice of primary care practitioner would be maintained. Primary care physicians and specialists would work with other health care service providers to offer a full spectrum of care. CIDS providers would form strategic alliances with community agencies, hospitals, the private sector and other health care services not managed by the CIDS, as needed. For physicians, affiliation with a CIDS that provided strong clinical leadership could be beneficial to their income stability and autonomy. Pilot projects of this model in several communities would determine whether this concept is feasible in the Canadian health care context.

Canada↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The PDA as a reference tool: libraries' role in enhancing nursing education.

"The PDA as a Reference Tool: The Libraries' Role in Enhancing Nursing Education" is a pilot project funded by the University of Massachusetts President's Office Information Technology Council through their Professional Development Grant program in 2004. The project's goal is to offer faculty and students in nursing programs at two University of Massachusetts campuses access to an array of medical reference information, such as handbooks, dictionaries, calculators, and diagnostic tools, on small handheld computers called personal digital assistants. Through exposure to the variety of information resources in this digital format, participants can discover and explore these resources at no personal financial cost. Participants borrow handhelds from the University Library's circulation desks. The libraries provide support in routine resynchronizing of handhelds to update information. This report will discuss how the projects were administered, what we learned about what did and did not work, the problems and solutions, and where we hope to go from here.

Advertising↗

PubMed2000

A low-cost approach to public health education using multimedia packages.

The effect of health education programmes depends on the number of people exposed to the messages, as well as the method and style in which the information is transmitted. We conducted a pilot project to encourage healthier lifestyles by presenting culturally sensitive information using a variety of media. Material intended to provoke discussion was shared with a range of audiences in Barbados and Montserrat in the West Indies by a series of lecture discussions, which were videorecorded for local television and sound recorded for local radio. The lecture was also disseminated by newspaper articles, a special magazine and by publication on the Internet. The aim of the project was to achieve maximum effect for minimum effort, thus making optimum use of resources. The feedback obtained at the lecture discussions and in response to the radio broadcasts and newspaper articles provided a needs assessment on which to base a definitive programme, and confirmed that radio and television are the most effective media for health education.

Barbados↗

PubMed2003

Birth of normal kids after microinjection of pronuclear embryos in a transgenic goat (Capra hircus) production program in Brazil.

This pilot project was designed to determine if normal kids could be produced after microinjection in pronuclear embryos and subsequent transfer to recipients in a transgenic goat program in Brazil. Twelve donors of the Saanen breed and 17 recipients of an undefined breed were used. The estrus of both donors and recipients was synchronized by a standard progestagen treatment and superovulation obtained by six pFSH injections. Donors in estrus were mated with fertile Saanen bucks. Zygotes were recovered surgically by flushing oviducts. The recovered zygotes with visible pronuclei were microinjected with 500 to 1000 copies of the human G-CSF gene. Two or four embryos were surgically transferred into the oviducts of recipients. One recipient became pregnant and two kids were born. No transgenic goat was identified after PCR analysis. Even though transgenic goats were not obtained, this experiment establishes the basis of a synchronization and superovulation regimen for use in goats raised in Brazil, for the purpose of collecting and manipulating the pronuclear embryos. This project also showed that microinjected one-cell goat embryos can survive to produce live young following surgical transfer.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

The effect of acupuncture on nonallergic rhinitis: a controlled pilot study.

The purpose of this pilot project was to evaluate the immediate effects of real acupuncture compared with two placebo controls (sham acupuncture and mock transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) in the treatment of nonallergic rhinitis patients. These three treatments were given in a nonrandomized order to the same patients at weekly intervals. Real acupuncture showed an improvement in nasal airways resistance after treatment in 9 of 13 patients, sham acupuncture in 2 of 9, and mock transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in 3 of 10 patients. With the exception of improvement in a minimal cross-sectional area (measured by acoustic rhinometry) in the real acupuncture group following treatment, the outcome was not statistically significant. This pilot study raised a number of issues related to the effects of acupuncture in nonallergic rhinitis that must be addressed by a study involving more patients in which the order of treatment is randomized and the two placebo control treatments are evaluated in relation to their credibility.

Acupuncture Therapy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Development of a practice-based research program.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an infrastructure to collect accurate data from ambulatory settings. DESIGN: The program was developed through an iterative model governed by a process of formative evaluation. The three iterations were a needs assessment, feasibility study and pilot project. Necessary program components were identified as infrastructure, practitioner-researcher partnership, centralized data management and standardized quality assurance measures. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Volunteer chiropractors and their staff collected data on patients in their practices in ambulatory settings in the U.S. and Canada. OUTCOME MEASURES: Evaluative measures were counts of participants, patients and completed forms. Standardized, validated and reliable measures collected by patient self-report were used to assess treatment outcomes. These included the SF-36 or SF-12 Health Survey, the Pain Disability Index, and the Global Well-Being Scale. For characteristics for which appropriate standardized instruments were not available, questionnaires were designed and and pilot-tested before use. RESULTS: Information was gathered on practice and patient characteristics and treatment outcomes, but for this report, only those data concerning process evaluation are reported. Through the three program iterations, 65 DCs collected data on 1360 patients, 663 of whom were new patients. Follow-up data recorded by doctors were obtained for more than 70% of patients; a maximum of 50% of patient-completed follow-up forms were collected in the three iterations. CONCLUSIONS: This program is capable of providing data for descriptive epidemiology of ambulatory patients, and, with continued effort to maximize follow-up, may have utility in providing insight into utilization patterns and patient outcomes.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Exploring performance issues for a clinical database organized using an entity-attribute-value representation.

BACKGROUND: The entity-attribute-value representation with classes and relationships (EAV/CR) provides a flexible and simple database schema to store heterogeneous biomedical data. In certain circumstances, however, the EAV/CR model is known to retrieve data less efficiently than conventionally based database schemas. OBJECTIVE: To perform a pilot study that systematically quantifies performance differences for database queries directed at real-world microbiology data modeled with EAV/CR and conventional representations, and to explore the relative merits of different EAV/CR query implementation strategies. METHODS: Clinical microbiology data obtained over a ten-year period were stored using both database models. Query execution times were compared for four clinically oriented attribute-centered and entity-centered queries operating under varying conditions of database size and system memory. The performance characteristics of three different EAV/CR query strategies were also examined. RESULTS: Performance was similar for entity-centered queries in the two database models. Performance in the EAV/CR model was approximately three to five times less efficient than its conventional counterpart for attribute-centered queries. The differences in query efficiency became slightly greater as database size increased, although they were reduced with the addition of system memory. The authors found that EAV/CR queries formulated using multiple, simple SQL statements executed in batch were more efficient than single, large SQL statements. CONCLUSION: This paper describes a pilot project to explore issues in and compare query performance for EAV/CR and conventional database representations. Although attribute-centered queries were less efficient in the EAV/CR model, these inefficiencies may be addressable, at least in part, by the use of more powerful hardware or more memory, or both.

Database Management Systems↗