SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Pilot Projects”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,243 records · Page 69Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

Behavioral risk factors among U.S. Air Force active-duty personnel, 1995.

Preventive medicine and public health policymakers need data to assess health-promotion efforts, track progress toward meeting national health goals, and focus interventions. To collect such data for U.S. Air Force (USAF) personnel, USAF's Office for Prevention and Health Services Assessment conducted a pilot project to measure the prevalence of behavioral risk factors and preventive health practices. Core questions were used from CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Minor changes were made to selected questions from the 1995 survey instrument. This report summarizes the results of the survey, which indicate that USAF personnel met several of the national health objectives. In addition, the report documents that a surveillance system designed to assess health behaviors and practices among the general population can be successfully adapted for a survey of a special population.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

[Group training for parents of young children with specific developmental speech and language disorder (SDLD)].

OBJECTIVE: Children with SDLD have a high risk of psychiatric disorder. For early intervention training of the parents in structured small groups is recommended. The aim of this pilot project is the development of a program for parents of german speaking children and the assessment of the acceptability by the parents. METHOD: The selected topics for the parent training were grouped in six moduls. The joint analysis of short videosequences of interactions were used as a mean medium. The acceptability was assessed by questionaires. RESULTS: In three groups with 4 - 8 participants so far completed the feedback was positive. CONCLUSIONS: The structured training of parents is an acceptable form also for german parents.

Child↗

PubMed2005

[From the concept of guilt to the value-free notification of errors in medicine. Risks, errors and patient safety].

The number of liability cases but also the size of individual claims due to alleged treatment errors are increasing steadily. Spectacular sentences, especially in the USA, encourage this trend. Wherever human beings work, errors happen. The health care system is particularly susceptible and shows a high potential for errors. Therefore risk management has to be given top priority in hospitals. Preparing the introduction of critical incident reporting (CIR) as the means to notify errors is time-consuming and calls for a change in attitude because in many places the necessary base of trust has to be created first. CIR is not made to find the guilty and punish them but to uncover the origins of errors in order to eliminate them. The Department of Anesthesiology of the University Hospital of Basel has developed an electronic error notification system, which, in collaboration with the Swiss Medical Association, allows each specialist society to participate electronically in a CIR system (CIRS) in order to create the largest database possible and thereby to allow statements concerning the extent and type of error sources in medicine. After a pilot project in 2000-2004, the Swiss Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics is now progressively introducing the 'CIRS Medical' of the Swiss Medical Association. In our country, such programs are vulnerable to judicial intervention due to the lack of explicit legal guarantees of protection. High-quality data registration and skillful counseling are all the more important. Hospital directors and managers are called upon to examine those incidents which are based on errors inherent in the system.

Anesthesiology↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Preliminary activities of the program for the control and treatment of onchocerciasis in the Yanomâmi territory, Roraima, Brazil].

After to characterize the clinic and epidemiological picture of the onchocerciasis in Yanomâmi region, RR, Brazil, begun in 1993, the National Health Foundation (FNS) implemented a Control and Treatment Pilot Project in Tootobi and Balawaú. Here, it was studied skin biopsies from 426 inhabitants. In the nodules of 86.7% from patients was encountered Onchocerca volvulus. The over-all prevalence in the examined population was 66.2%. The treatment with ivermectin covered 80.1% of total population. Adverse reactions, light and moderate, of the medicament were reported in 12.3% of the patients. These results agreeing with the medical literature and suggesting the viability of to increase of the programme for all Yanomâmi area in the next phase.

Antiprotozoal Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Maximizing influenza immunization in Edmonton: a collaborative model.

In 1991 the Edmonton Board of Health (EBH) entered into a partnership with seven senior citizen recreation centres to improve the efficiency of influenza immunization delivery by public health nurses in Edmonton. This initiative was driven by an annual increase in demand for flu vaccine coupled with diminishing health unit resources and a desire to collaborate with key community groups. A pilot project established that a cooperative approach could be more efficient than the previous health centre appointment model. In October 1991, 13,633 individuals were immunized with the assistance of 202 volunteer seniors who contributed 1,700 hours of their time. Unit labour costs incurred by the EBH were reduced by 40%. This model of delivery resulted in earlier completion of the flu immunization program and forged strong community alliances between the Edmonton Board of Health and the staff and volunteers of the seniors' recreational centres.

Alberta↗

PubMed2004

Realigning the communication paradigm in nursing case management.

Communication underlies all of case management (CM), and better comprehension of the processes of communication within the context of the CM role may facilitate positive patient and organizational outcomes, and assist providers and policy makers in designing effective CM systems. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative, pilot project was to explore dimensions of communication of the nurse case manager role within a hospital setting. The results describe a "hub and spoke" model of communications and suggest the utility of this familiar model for understanding the communication dynamics for those who work as nursing case managers in hospital settings. Findings suggest that nurse case managers are at various times both advocates and mediators--communications roles that may encompass somewhat contradictory demands and perspectives.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Patients' perceptions regarding home telecare.

While home telecare's potential to reduce health care costs appears clear, patients' perceptions regarding this new technology have not been studied. We conducted structured interviews to elicit patients' perceptions regarding home telecare. We developed a 34-item survey instrument, which was administered during structured home interviews to a convenience sample of patients who were currently or had previously been enrolled in the Sonora Health System or University of California Davis home telecare pilot projects. Fifteen (56%) of the 27 past or present enrollees agreed to be interviewed. Most had either a neutral (9 of 15, 60%) or positive (5 of 15, 33%) outlook regarding home telecare before their enrollment. Following enrollment, all were either very satisfied (10 of 15, 67%) or somewhat satisfied (5 of 15, 33%) with services they had received. Fourteen of 15 (93%) were willing to receive home telecare services in the future, and all 15 would recommend home telecare to friends or family members. Despite education to the contrary, patients perceived that the presence of telecare equipment in the home implied 24-hour-a-day access to a nurse. Some interviewees felt uncomfortable disclosing intimate information during televisits, and others lamented the reduced amount of time nurses spent "socializing" as compared to in-person visits. Despite concerns regarding its confidentiality and its ability to approximate the social stimulation of in-person nursing visits, patients in these pilot trials seemed satisfied with home telecare and appeared ready to accept its widespread use.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Prepackaged therapy for urethritis: the "MSTOP" experience in Cameroon.

RATIONALE: The social marketing of STD treatment may be a strategy to increase the availability of effective therapy for urethritis in male patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a pilot project of social marketing of urethritis treatment packages. The project, initially designed for over the counter sale in private pharmacies, was finally restricted by national health authorities to primary healthcare settings in Yaoundé and Douala, Cameroon. METHODS: Monthly sales of packages containing antibiotics, condoms, partner referral cards, and written information on STDs were monitored by the social marketing agency. Structured interviews were conducted with a sample of traceable patients who had consulted for urethritis. Structured interviews completed by focus group discussions were conducted among healthcare providers. Interview findings were further validated by a "mystery patient" survey, using surrogate patients. Lastly, 15 key informants among the decision markers involved in the project were interviewed in depth. Local independent consultants carried out the whole evaluation. RESULTS: A total of 1392 treatment packages were sold in 10 months. Patients who had purchased the package reported high compliance with the treatment, with 99% taking the single dose of cefuroxime-axetil and 83% completing the course of doxycycline. 76% notified all or some partners, and 84% of those who had sex during treatment used condoms. In contrast, only 27% of trained healthcare providers prescribed "MSTOP". They questioned the omission of laboratory diagnosis, the selection of antibiotics, and the duration of therapy. Public health authorities were also sceptical about the choice of antibiotics and viewed the initial project as an overt encouragement of self medication. CONCLUSIONS: Although the MSTOP project was not implemented in the way it had initially been designed, it highlighted the patients' interest in the product. Public health authorities in Cameroon should have been made aware of the limitations of the formal sector's response to STD care among men before over the counter sale of prepackaged therapy could have been considered as an alternative approach to inadequate self medication.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Multidisciplinary educational health programme for type 2 diabetic patients in primary care].

Type 2 diabetic patients followed in primary care rarely benefit from a structured educational approach in spite of the fact that the intervention of a multidisciplinary team has proven its efficacy for improving metabolic control. We describe a pilot project, which aimed at implementing an ambulatory multidisciplinary programme and at evaluating the feasibility of an educational module in type 2 diabetic patients followed in primary care. Four general practitioners (GP) selected 25 type 2 diabetic patients, not well controlled or with poor knowledge of their disease. Fourteen health care providers developed an intervention module comprising, over 4 months, an initial interview with the GP, three interviews with a dietician, two with a nurse and three with a psychologist. Besides studying the feasibility of the project, the primary objective was to analyze the subjective feeling of both patients and heath care providers participating to the project. A secondary objective was to compare some parameters of control (HbA1c, body weight) before and after the intervention in these 25 patients, and in 10 control patients followed as usual in general practice. The multidisciplinary educational intervention was well appreciated by diabetic patients whose adhesion was excellent. Health care provider's mobilization was enthusiastic, and all emphasized the human positive aspects of such a multidisciplinary approach. Preliminary analysis demonstrates beneficial effects of the educational programme.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Malaria control in an agro-industrial settlement of Rondônia (Western Amazon region, Brazil).

A malaria control pilot project was developed in the Urupá agro-industrial farm that is situated in the State of Rondônia (Western Amazon Region, Brazil). Around 180 inhabitants had been surveyed for the past five years. The control measures were based on (1) training a community agent to perform on the spot microscopical diagnosis of malaria and to treat the uncomplicated cases of malaria; (2) limiting the use of insecticides to a short period before the high transmission season. This resulted in a significant reduction in the time between the onset of clinical symptoms and specific chemotherapy which fell from 3.5 to 1.3 days. In relation to the previous three reference years the total number of malaria cases was reduced to 50% in the first year and to 25% in the second year. The introduction of these measures coincided with pronounced reduction in the frequency of Plasmodium falciparum infections but this was less marked for P. vivax infections. In the second year of the pilot experiment there was no P. falciparum transmission on the farm. During the last decade there was a general decrease in the endemicity of malaria in the State of Rondônia. The linear regression coefficient values indicate that the decline was more pronounced in Urupá than in the general municipality and that the falciparum malaria API in Urupá farm is significantly lower than in the general municipality of Candeias were the farm is situated.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

[The "proactive" approach and crisis intervention].

In this article, the author describes a mode of intervention defined as proactive in mental health care, in the case of an existing pilot project. This type of intervention contrasts with the reactive mode, which is characterized by reactions to urgent requests for services when a situation has deteriorated badly and social network resources are either absent or irrelevant. The author outlines the obstacles to developing such a proactive mode. This approach, which requires a high degree of visibility and accessibility on the part of the practitioner, involves providing services before they are even requested. Finally, the author examines certain types of proactive interventions whose objective is to offer support to members that are close to the individual.

Community Mental Health Services↗

PubMed1996

Measuring outcomes in psychiatry: an inpatient model.

BACKGROUND: This article describes a system for measuring outcomes recently implemented in the department of psychiatry of Baptist Memorial Hospital, a 78-bed inpatient and day treatment unit that represents one service line of a large, urban teaching hospital in Memphis. In June 1993 Baptist Hospital began a 15-month pilot test of PsychSentinel, a measurement tool developed by researchers in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Connecticut. The hospital identified the following four primary goals for this pilot project: provide data for internal hospital program evaluation, provide data for external marketing in a managed care environment, satisfy requirements of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, and generate studies that add to the literature in psychiatry and psychology. DESCRIPTION OF MEASURE: PsychSentinel is based on the standardized diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV). The outcome measure assesses the change in the number of symptoms of psychopathology that occurs between admission and discharge from the hospital. Included in the nonproprietary system are risk adjustment factors, as well as access to a national reference database for comparative analysis purposes. Data collection can be done by trained ancillary staff members, with as much or as little direct physician involvement as desired. The system has proven to be both time effective and cost effective, and it provides important outcome information both at the program level and at the clinician level. RESULTS: After the pilot test, the staff at Baptist Memorial Hospital determined that the system met all initial objectives identified and recently adopted the system as an ongoing measure of quality patient care in the department of psychiatry.

Length of Stay↗

PubMed2004

Cross-boundary working: a generic worker for older people in the community.

The care of older people often crosses the boundaries of health and social care. The new role of a health and social care trained generic worker was developed to provide comprehensive care for older people living at home. The role is a cross between a nursing auxiliary, health care assistant and a community support worker. The evaluation of the one-year pilot project demonstrated that clients were very satisfied with the care they received, particularly the emotional aspects of care. A high proportion of the generic workers time was spent listening and responding to their clients' mental health needs, and providing comfort and emotional support. Having been trained by local health professionals, the generic workers felt valued and respected, better able to communicate with their health colleagues, and therefore able to provide holistic care to their clients.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Experience with an adult alcohol withdrawal syndrome practice guideline in internal medicine patients.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To standardize treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) in internal medicine patients using an adult AWS practice guideline with a symptom-triggered management approach. DESIGN: Prospective interventional (pilot group) and retrospective (control group). SETTING: University teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Thirty-two internal medicine patients identified as being at risk for AWS and treated according to the AWS practice guideline who were compared with 49 internal medicine patients managed with nonstandardized approaches. INTERVENTION: Patients in the pilot group were assessed using the AWS type indicator. They received lorazepam, clonidine, or haloperidol, based on AWS type indicator assessment and adult AWS practice guideline criteria. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data collected and analyzed were drugs administered to control AWS symptoms, use of sitters and physical restraints, length of hospital stay, and discharge from hospital receiving tapered drug therapy. Pilot patients received 46.6% less benzodiazepine (p=0.001), 20% more clonidine (p=0.01), and 18.2% more haloperidol (p=0.002) than control patients. No drug therapy was required in 19% of pilot patients compared with 2% of controls (p=0.01). Significantly more control (71.4%) than pilot patients (18.8%) were discharged with tapered benzodiazepine therapy (p<or=0.01). No significant differences were found between groups for sitters, restraints, or hospital length of stay. CONCLUSION: This pilot project suggests that internal medicine patients at risk for AWS can be managed with a standardized, symptom-triggered approach using decreased amounts of benzodiazepine in combination with adjunctive agents to treat adrenergic hyperactivity and delirium. Further data are necessary to determine the impact of the practice guideline on patient outcome measurements.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Development of a surveillance system for nosocomial infections: the component for neonatal intensive care units in Germany.

Neonates are at high risk of nosocomial infections and surveillance has been shown to be valuable for the reduction of nosocomial infections. The National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system established in the US has a special surveillance component for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with some fairly specific methods. However, there are no specific definitions of nosocomial infections in this patient group. When creating a surveillance component for NICUs in Germany we therefore decided not to adopt merely all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions and NNIS methods, but also to develop our own surveillance methods for this patient group. For this process four steps became necessary: (1)development of modified definitions for nosocomial infections and their evaluation; (2)testing the NNIS method in three NICUs with infection control nurses; (3)a pilot project for a surveillance component within the national surveillance system in Germany; and (4)establishment of a surveillance component within our national surveillance system. The system is now established in 33 hospital departments and 66 NICUs participate in the surveillance system. We have an overview of 3357 neonates in three birthweight groups. This article explains the reasons for the various steps, and the advantages and disadvantages of modification of the original NNIS methods and definitions.

Clinical Protocols↗

PubMed1999

Emergency department-based telemedicine.

Although many studies have been published concerning clinical telemedicine, little information is available about emergency department (ED)-based telemedicine programs. An ED-based telemedicine program was initiated in April 1996 involving the National Cheng Kung University Hospital (NCKUH) and the Provincial Peng-Hu Hospital (PPHH) under a pilot project supported by the Department of Health. This is the first telemedicine program for remote offshore island service in Taiwan. The program is synchronous in nature to the practice of telemedicine. The role of the emergency physician includes giving initial suggestions, arranging consultations, coordination, and the organization of other medical tasks, such as accompanying some of the transfers. During the 12-month period, this system was used in 275 consultations, including 24 specialty and/or subspecialty department/sections, and more than 100 members of the medical staff have participated in this project since. In a survey, 89.4% of physicians in the PPHH and 82.2% of the physicians in NCKUH rated the system as very comfortable to work with and satisfactory. According to these observations, an ED-based telemedicine program is a feasible method for carrying out remote consultations. Successful development of the partnership and program of telemedicine is based on the active participation and coordination of the medical personnel and technicians between the cooperating hospitals.

Emergency Medicine↗

PubMed1978

The four wall syndrome: an analysis of the elderly in relation to Seniors' Day Care.

A description of a pilot project in daytime care for the elderly and its results will provide the background for the presentation of the theory named "The Four Wall Syndrome". This phrase was coined by the author to assist in the evaluation of the Day Care candidates and in the projection of the number of interviews as well as the type of interview techniques used when assessing the candidates for admission to a Seniors' Day Care program. The project began in May 1976, under the auspices of the New Brunswick Provincial Department of Social Services. Statistical proof of the project's success ensured its continuance for a second year. When the grant funds for the second year had been used, the Social Service Department decided to perpetuate Seniors' Day Care in the new package deal of community based services for the elderly in three key areas of New Brunswick. The ability of the program co-ordinator to apply "The Four Wall Syndrome" theory to interviews of candidates would assist in the screening process for admission to the program. It is believed that such a theory could be applicable to other programs for the elderly.

Aged↗

PubMed1998

A 'Well Woman Clinic' in Bangalore: one strategy to attempt to decrease the transmission of HIV infection.

Samraksha, a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Bangalore, South India, was established in 1993 to take steps to control the spread of HIV infection. As a result of their interactions the Samraksha team recognized the urgent need for management of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as a crucial component of their work. Samraksha approached Action Health, a UK-based charity, for assistance. This paper outlines the needs assessment and the process of setting up a Well Woman Clinic for commercial sex workers (CSWs) and other vulnerable groups in Bangalore. The pilot project has been running for over a year and has gained credibility both with vulnerable women and with professionals. Furthermore it has officially become a government resource centre for the training of doctors and health-care staff in the management of STDs, and provides formal training sessions for the staff at each of the primary health-care centres in Bangalore. Thus STD management is being integrated with the current primary health-care provision for women throughout Bangalore. Factors influencing the successful development of such a service are considered.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗