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Improve Your Eyesight Naturally: See Results Quickly
by Leo AngartThis title details strategies designed to improve your eyesight by literally exercising your ability to see. Leo's approach is very specific and targets each degree of vision problem. He explains how you can tone your eye-muscles, release tension, and build up energy in order to regain your natural eyesight.
Improved Outcomes in Colon and Rectal Surgery
by Charles B Whitlow David E Beck David A Margolin Terry C HicksWritten by many of the world's leading colorectal surgeons, this evidence-based text investigates the risks and benefits of colorectal surgeries. By using clinical pathways, algorithms, and case discussions, the authors identify the best practices for patient safety and positive outcomes to ensure that physicians correctly recognize potential probl
Improving Access to Essential Medicines for Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary
by Diane E. PankevichIn 2011 the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health initiative identified priorities that have the potential to make a significant impact on the lives of people with mental, neurological, and substance use disorders. Reduction of the cost and improvement of the supply of effective medicines was highlighted as one of the top five challenges. For low- and middle-income countries, improving access to appropriate essential medicines can be a tremendous challenge and a critical barrier to scaling up quality care for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders. Reduction of cost and improvement of the supply of effective medicines has the potential to significantly impact the lives of patients with these disorders. "Improving Access to Essential Medicines for Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa" is the summary of a workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine Neuroscience Forum in January 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss opportunities for achieving long-term affordable access to medicines for these disorders. This report examines challenges and opportunities for improving access to essential medicines in four critical areas: demand, selection, supply chains, and financing and pricing. The report also discusses successful activities that increase access to essential medicines both within Sub-Saharan Africa and in other developing countries, and considers the role of governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private groups in procurement of essential medicines for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders.
Improving Access to HIV Care: Lessons from Five U.S. Sites
by Kriti M. Jain David R. Holtgrave Cathy Maulsby J. Janet Kim Rose Zulliger Meredith Massey Vignetta CharlesEffective strategies for identifying people living with HIV and helping them receive ongoing medical care.The availability of combination antiretroviral therapy has changed the lives of millions of people living with HIV (PLWH), for whom a once fatal infection can now be a manageable chronic disease. Yet only 30 percent of PLWH in the United States are virally suppressed, and significant gaps in access to care persist. While programs to boost linkage to and retention in HIV care are critical to improving the health of PLWH, efforts to evaluate these programs are surprisingly scarce. Using cutting-edge implementation science, this book tackles the issue of how to better link and retain PLWH in ongoing primary medical care. A multipart case study examines successful strategies and provides detailed profiles of the organizations involved and their processes for reaching, linking, and retaining PLWH. Barriers to and facilitators of implementation are explored qualitatively, network analysis is used to assess changes in interagency collaboration among organizations serving PLWH, and evidence-based recommendations are offered for improving linkage to HIV care in the U.S.
Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations
by Committee on Oral Health Access to ServicesAccess to oral health care is essential to promoting and maintaining overall health and well-being, yet only half of the population visits a dentist each year. Poor and minority children are less likely to have access to oral health care than are their nonpoor and nonminority peers. Older adults, people who live in rural areas, and disabled individuals, uniformly confront access barriers, regardless of their financial resources. The consequences of these disparities in access to oral health care can lead to a number of conditions including malnutrition, childhood speech problems, infections, diabetes, heart disease, and premature births. Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations examines the scope and consequences of inadequate access to oral health services in the United States and recommends ways to combat the economic, structural, geographic, and cultural factors that prevent access to regular, quality care. The report suggests changing funding and reimbursement for dental care; expanding the oral health work force by training doctors, nurses, and other nondental professionals to recognize risk for oral diseases; and revamping regulatory, educational, and administrative practices. It also recommends changes to incorporate oral health care into overall health care. These recommendations support the creation of a diverse workforce that is competent, compensated, and authorized to serve vulnerable and underserved populations across the life cycle. The recommendations provided in Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations will help direct the efforts of federal, state, and local government agencies; policy makers; health professionals in all fields; private and public health organizations; licensing and accreditation bodies; educational institutions; health care researchers; and philanthropic and advocacy organizations.
Improving Anesthesia Technical Staff’s Skills
by Ahmed Ismail Nabil A. Shallik Othman Al HaririThis book showcases state-of-the-art techniques as well as various clinical, technical and non-technical skills. By highlighting the reliability of the new techniques compared to standard clinical methods of predicting peri-operative problems in the operating rooms, it enables better management and utilization of operating rooms. The combined use of knowledge and technology has resulted in improvements in healthcare services that are not achieved by the use of the best technology but by the best use of technology. Medicine is a continually advancing science, and healthcare providers constantly enhance their knowledge and develop their skills. While knowledge sharing is vital for humanity, technology has made the application of medical knowledge more versatile and more widely available. Written by leading anesthesiologists, anesthesia technicians and technologists, the book addresses the need for a ready reference for anesthesiologists, as well as anesthesia technical staff. It provides an easily navigated, pocket-sized reference resource featuring pictures, tables and schema.
Improving Animal Welfare
by Temple Grandin Jeffrey Rushen Jennifer Woods Anne De Passillé David Mellor David Main Kevin Stafford Jeff Hill Bernard Rollin Camie Heleski Janice Swanson Amy Mclean Lily Nowell Edwards Jan Shearer Helen Whay Tina WidowskiBy taking an entirely practical approach, this textbook aims to help those working with animals to apply methods for improving welfare, bridging the gap between scientific research and practical application. This book provides a guide to practical evaluation and auditing of welfare problems for farmed animals, emphasizing the importance of measuring conditions that compromise welfare such as lameness, or the use of electric goads. This second edition is fully updated with new literature, new, up to date coverage of pain management, and the addition of a new chapter on animal welfare in organic farming systems.
Improving Animal Welfare
by Temple GrandinNew legislation on animal welfare standards has created the need for welfare programmes to be implemented on farms, during transportation, and in slaughter plants. While there is a wealth of information on animal behaviour, ethics and factors effecting welfare, there is little to guide veterinarians and managers in evaluating animal welfare and improving it. This textbook aims to help those working with animals to apply practical methods for improving welfare, bridging the gap between scientific research and practical application. Drawing on the editor's extensive experience in teaching and auditing, and contributions from international experts, this book provides a guide to practical evaluation and auditing of welfare problems, emphasizing the importance of measuring conditions that compromise welfare. Key Features Written by a leading authority on the subject with contributions from industry experts Provides a strongly practical review of the topic and how to apply research where it makes a difference Ideal guide for veterinarians and veterinary students and welfare auditing and officer training, and students in animal sciences
Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach
by Jeffrey Rushen Jennifer Woods Anne De Passillé David Mellor David Main Kevin Stafford Jeff Hill Bernard Rollin Camie Heleski Janice Swanson Lily Nowell Edwards Jan Shearer Helen Whay Tina Widowski Amy McLeanBy taking an entirely practical approach, this textbook aims to help those working with animals to apply methods for improving welfare, bridging the gap between scientific research and practical application. This book provides a guide to practical evaluation and auditing of welfare problems for farmed animals, emphasizing the importance of measuring conditions that compromise welfare such as lameness, or the use of electric goads. This second edition is fully updated with new literature, new, up to date coverage of pain management, and the addition of a new chapter on animal welfare in organic farming systems.
Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach
by Jeffrey Rushen Jennifer Woods Anne Marie Anne Marie David Main Kevin Stafford Bernard Rollin Camie Heleski Janice Swanson Jan Shearer Helen Whay Tina Widowski Derek Donkin Amy McLean Kurt Vogel Lily N. Edwards-Callaway Madonna Benjamin Courtney Lynd Daigle Wendy K Fulwider Hubert J. Karreman David J Mellor Siobhan Mullan Steven Yik Upinder Kaur Richard M. Voyles Shawn DonkinCompletely revised, updated and with four new chapters on sustainability, new technologies, precision agriculture and the future of animal welfare, the third edition of this highly successful textbook: · Is edited by an outstanding world expert on animal welfare. · Emphasizes throughout the importance of measuring conditions that compromise welfare, such as lameness, heat stress, body condition, and bruises during transport. · Combines scientific information with practical recommendations for use on commercial operations. · Reviews practical information on livestock handling, euthanasia, slaughter, pain relief, and assessments of abnormal behavior. Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach remains essential reading for students and practitioners of ethology, animal and veterinary science, veterinary medicine, as well as those working directly with farm animals and committed to improving their welfare.
Improving Birth Outcomes: Meeting The Challenge In The Developing World
by Committee on Improving Birth OutcomesBirth outcomes have improved dramatically worldwide in the past 40 years. Yet there is still a large gap between the outcomes in developing and developed countries. This book addresses the steps needed to reduce that gap. It reviews the available statistics of low birth weight, prematurity, and birth defects; reviews current knowledge and practices of a healthy pregnancy, identifies cost-effective opportunities for improving birth outcomes and supporting families with an infant handicapped by birth problems, and recommens priority research, capacity building, and institutional and global efforts to reduce adverse birth outcomes in developing countries. The committee has based its study on data and information from several developing countries, and provides recommendations that can assist the March of Dimes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and NIH in tailoring their international program and forging new partnerships to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with adverse birth outcomes.
Improving Breast Imaging Quality Standards
by Institute of Medicine National Research Council of the National AcademiesMammography is an important tool for detecting breast cancer at an early stage. When coupled with appropriate treatment, early detection can reduce breast cancer mortality. At the request of Congress, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioned a study to examine the current practice of mammography and breast cancer detection, with a focus on the FDA’s oversight via the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA), to identify areas in need of improvement. Enacted in 1993, MQSA provides a general framework for ensuring national quality standards in facilities performing screening mammography, requires that each mammography facility be accredited and certified, and mandates that facilities will undergo annual inspections. This book recommends strategies for achieving continued progress in assuring mammography quality, including changes to MQSA regulation, as well as approaches that do not fall within the purview of MQSA. Specifically, this book provides recommendations aimed at improving mammography interpretation; revising MQSA regulations, inspections, and enforcement; ensuring an adequate workforce for breast cancer screening and diagnosis; and improving breast imaging quality beyond mammography.
Improving Clinical Communication: A Clinician's Guide to Building Better Skills and Patient Outcomes
by Ernesto Gil DezaThis is a book about medical communication. Communication is a skill, as such it is learnable and can be refined. Between what we learn in college and clinical practice there is a gap regarding communication with patients and their families that many health professionals want to fill. Thus, the goal of this book is to encourage readers to develop their communication skills in patient care. Chapters cover the possible therapeutic origin of the human word, the placebo effect of the medical word, the distinction between information and communication, and the importance of empathy while communicating with patients. An overview of the medical words throughout history up to our current practice is presented. In addition, the content helps to develop a strategy for nonverbal communication and to analyse the impact of empathy on communication and patient satisfaction. Current topics such as special needs for LGBTQ patient care, telehealth and virtual communication are also featured in this book. Knowing how to communicate is healthy not only for the patient but also for the doctor. Therefore, the prevention of medical burnout through adequate communication, both in routine practice, and with patients with special needs, as well as in telemedicine is also discussed. Finally, the author addresses a personal and non-transferable task: each individual must build their own toolbox for communication - the stories, the anecdotes, the metaphors, the silences with which each of the readers will use to communicate with their patients. The aim of this book is to bridge a gap between the graduate and postgraduate training for dealing with information and problems in communicating during clinical practice. Since it is never too late to acquire or improve our communication skills, this work will be a useful and valuable resource for any health professional interested in the subject.
Improving Concentration: A Professional Resource for Assessing and Improving Concentration and Performance
by Roy BaileyImproving Concentration has been designed to help individuals improve their concentration skills. It is aimed primarily at those taking on a training role in relation to the individual concerned. However, it can also be used by the individuals themselves as a self-help resource. This resource will help trainers to convey to their students: an understanding of concentration how concentration works for them how to improve their concentration skills how to manage concentration in relation to their performance. This Psychological skills training resource is arranged in a format that is both easy to use and clear to follow. The activities can be used with both individual students and groups Part 1 'The knowledge base' outlines theoretical perspectives on concentration and describes the Bailey / Brown model of concentration. Part 2 'Pathways to improving concentration' explains and describes how the Bailey / Brown model of concentration can be used as a guide to raising awareness, understanding, monitoring and evaluating interventions aimed at improving concentration in people. Part 3 'The activities' in this resource can be used singly or combined as part of a structured intervention to improve an individual's concentration skills.
Improving Critical Care Survivorship: A Guide to Prevention, Recovery, and Reintegration
by Kimberley J. Haines Joanne McPeake Carla M. SevinThis book provides a comprehensive overview of improving critical care survivorship. Comprised of four sections, the text presents interventions that can be used to improve patient outcomes and reduce the burden of post-intensive care syndrome across the arc of care, from the ICU to returning home. The first section of the text focuses on preventing adverse outcomes in the ICU, with an emphasis on implementing early mobilization, engaging and supporting families, and employing various forms of therapy. The second section revolves around enhancing recovery post-ICU, focusing on physical and neurocognitive rehabilitation programs, peer support, and poly-pharmacy management. Community reintegration is the subject of the third section, with emphasis on socioeconomic reintegration, healthcare utilization, and volunteerism in ICU recovery. The book concludes with a section on future considerations, specifically spotlighting preliminary ideas that address long-term sequelae and international collaboration to solve critical care challenges. Written by experts in the field, Improving Critical Care Survivorship: A Guide for Prevention, Recovery, and Reintegration is a valuable resource for critical care clinicians and researchers interested in improving the quality of patient survival after ICU admission.
Improving Dementia Long-Term Care: A Policy Blueprint
by Regina A. Shih Jodi L. Liu Thomas W. Concannon Esther M. FriedmanIn 2010, 15 percent of Americans older than age 70 had dementia. By 2050, the number of new dementia cases among those 65 and older is expected to double. This blueprint outlines policy options to help decisionmakers improve dementia long-term services and supports (LTSS) by promoting earlier detection, improving access to LTSS, promoting person- and caregiver-centered care, supporting caregivers, and reducing dementia LTSS costs.
Improving Diagnosis in Health Care
by Erin P. BaloghGetting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. "Improving Diagnosis in Health Care" a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports "To Err Is Human" (2000) and "Crossing the Quality Chasm" (2001) finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsa "has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of "Improving Diagnosis in Health Care" contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety. "
Improving Diets and Nutrition
by Brian Thompson Leslie AmorosoNutrition-sensitive, food-based approaches towards hunger and malnutrition are effective, sustainable and long-term solutions. This book discusses the policy, strategic, methodological, technical and programmatic issues associated with such approaches, proposes "best practices" for the design, targeting, implementation and evaluation of specific nutrition-sensitive, food-based interventions and for improved methodologies for evaluating their efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and provides practical lessons for advancing nutrition-sensitive food-based approaches for improving nutrition at policy and programme level.
Improving Diets and Nutrition: Food-based Approaches (Co-published With The Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations (fao) Ser.)
by Brian Thompson Leslie AmorosoNutrition-sensitive, food-based approaches towards hunger and malnutrition are effective, sustainable and long-term solutions. This book discusses the policy, strategic, methodological, technical and programmatic issues associated with such approaches, proposes “best practices” for the design, targeting, implementation and evaluation of specific nutrition-sensitive, food-based interventions and for improved methodologies for evaluating their efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and provides practical lessons for advancing nutrition-sensitive food-based approaches for improving nutrition at policy and programme level.
Improving Discipline-Based Undergraduate Medical Curriculum: An Evidence Informed Approach
by Kadambari D Kumar S Zayapragassarazan Z Parija ScThe past few decades have seen the increasing use of evidence in all aspects of healthcare. The concept of evidence-informed healthcare began in the 1990s as evidence-informed practice, and has since become widely accepted. It is also accepted that the training of medical graduates must be informed by evidence obtained from educational research. This book utilizes an evidence-informed approach to improve discipline-based undergraduate medical curricula. Discipline-based undergraduate medical curricula represent a widely adopted choice for undergraduate medical education around the world. However, there have been criticisms leveled against the discipline-based approach. One of the shortcomings cited is that students are insufficiently equipped to meet the challenges of today’s healthcare. As a result, various strategies have been proposed. One option, currently in vogue, is the outcome-based approach, wherein the exit behaviors of medical graduates are explicitly examined and used to guide the educational process. The shortcomings present in discipline-based undergraduate medical curricula can be overcome by the strengths of these strategies. This book recommends improving discipline-based undergraduate medical curricula by combining several strategies, including the adoption of an outcome-based approach and the use of evidence-informed implementable solutions. The book is relevant for all faculty, administrators and policymakers involved in undergraduate medical education, and can also be used as a resource for faculty development.
Improving Effective Coverage in Health: Do Financial Incentives Work? (Policy Research Reports)
by Friedman Adam Wagstaff Damien de Walque Eeshani Kandpal Moritz Piatti-Fünfkirchen Anja Sautmann Gil Shapira Ellen Van de PoelIn many low- and middle-income countries, health coverage has improved dramatically in the past two decades, but health outcomes have not. As such, effective coverage—a measure of service delivery that meets a minimum standard of quality—remains unacceptably low. Improving Effective Coverage in Health examines one specific policy approach to improving effective coverage: financial incentives in the form of performance-based financing (PBF), a package reform that typically includes performance pay to frontline health workers as well as facility autonomy, transparency, and community engagement. This Policy Research Report draws on a rich set of rigorous studies and new analysis. When compared with business-as-usual, in low-income settings with centralized health systems PBF can result in substantial gains in effective coverage. However, the relative benefits of PBF—the performance pay component in particular—are less clear when it is compared with two alternative approaches, direct facility financing, which provides operating budgets to frontline health services with facility autonomy on allocation, but not performance pay, and demand-side financial support for health services (that is, conditional cash transfers and vouchers). Although PBF often results in improvements on the margins, closing the substantial gaps in effective health coverage is not yet within reach for many countries. Nonetheless, important lessons and experiences from the rollout of PBF over the past decade can guide health financing into the future. In particular, to be successful, health financing reform may need to pivot from performance pay while retaining the elements of direct facility financing, autonomy, transparency, and community engagement.
Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach
by Eileen R. ChoffnesGlobalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the United States, food-borne agents affect 1 out of 6 individuals and cause approximately 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year. This figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg, because it fails to account for the broad array of food-borne illnesses or for their wide-ranging repercussions for consumers, government, and the food industry-both domestically and internationally. A One Health approach to food safety may hold the promise of harnessing and integrating the expertise and resources from across the spectrum of multiple health domains including the human and veterinary medical and plant pathology communities with those of the wildlife and aquatic health and ecology communities. The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop on December 13 and 14, 2011 that examined issues critical to the protection of the nation's food supply. The workshop explored existing knowledge and unanswered questions on the nature and extent of food-borne threats to health. Participants discussed the globalization of the U. S. food supply and the burden of illness associated with foodborne threats to health; considered the spectrum of food-borne threats as well as illustrative case studies; reviewed existing research, policies, and practices to prevent and mitigate foodborne threats; and, identified opportunities to reduce future threats to the nation's food supply through the use of a "One Health" approach to food safety. Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary covers the events of the workshop and explains the recommendations for future related workshops.
Improving Functional Outcomes in Physical Rehabilitation
by Susan B. O'Sullivan Thomas J. SchmitzAchieve the best functional outcomes for your patients. Here is a practical, step-by-step guide to understanding the treatment process and selecting the most appropriate intervention for your patient. Superbly illustrated, in-depth coverage shows you how to identify functional deficits, determine what treatments are appropriate, and then implement them to achieve the best functional outcome for your patients. This one-of-a-kind resource features case studies in the text accompanied by videos online at DavisPlus that demonstrate how the interventions selected make a difference in your patients’ lives.
Improving Health Care Cost Projections for the Medicare Population: Summary of a Workshop
by National Research Council of the National AcademiesDeveloping credible short-term and long-term projections of Medicare health care costs is critical for public- and private-sector policy planning, but faces challenges and uncertainties. There is uncertainty not only in the underlying economic and demographic assumptions used in projection models, but also in what a policy modeler assumes about future changes in the health status of the population and the factors affecting health status , the extent and pace of scientific and technological breakthroughs in medical care, the preferences of the population for particular kinds of care, the likelihood that policy makers will alter current law and regulations, and how each of these factors relates to health care costs for the elderly population. Given the substantial growth in the Medicare population and the continued increases in Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance spending, the availability of well-specified models and analyses that can provide useful information on the likely cost implications of health care policy alternatives is essential. It is therefore timely to review the capabilities and limitations of extant health care cost models and to identify areas for research that offer the most promise to improve modeling, not only of current U.S. health care programs, but also of policy alternatives that may be considered in the coming years. The National Research Council conducted a public workshop focusing on areas of research needed to improve health care cost projections for the Medicare population, and on the strengths and weaknesses of competing frameworks for projecting health care expenditures for the elderly. The workshop considered major classes of projection and simulation models that are currently used and the underlying data sources and research inputs for these models. It also explored areas in which additional research and data are needed to inform model development and health care policy analysis more broadly. The workshop, summarized in this volume, drew people from a wide variety of disciplines and perspectives, including federal agencies, academia, and nongovernmental organizations.
Improving Health Care Quality: Case Studies with JMP
by Cecilia Martinez Mary Ann Shifflet Oppenlander ShmerlingLearn how to improve the quality of health care offered by your institution using data you already have Improving Health Care Quality: Case Studies with JMP® teaches readers how to systematically identify problems, collect and interpret data, and solve issues in the real world. Relying on JMP® software, the authors walk readers through the process of applying quality improvement techniques to real-life health care problems. The case studies provided in the book vary significantly and provide a wide-ranging view of the application of quality improvement techniques in the health care field. Studies regarding length of stay of diabetes patients to benchmarking the costs of hip replacement all serve to illuminate and explain the underlying concepts of statistical analysis. The authors break each case study down into several sections, including: Background and Task Data and Data Management Analysis Summary Concepts and Tools Exercises and Discussion Questions Each section reinforces the lessons learned in each case study and helps the reader learn to apply statistical data to their own health care quality problems.