How Much Does Oregon Stand to Gain From the House Economic Stimulus Package?

With unemployment at 9 percent and rising, Oregon could use an economic boost. Congress is working on legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), to stimulate the nation's economy. What could the package mean for Oregon

One in Eight Oregonians Needs Congress to Halt the Erosion in Food Stamps

The purchasing power of food stamps has declined because Congress has not updated the value of food stamp benefits to keep up with the rising cost of food. The U.S. House of Representatives will soon decide whether to put a stop to this erosion of food stamp benefits when they vote on the 2007 Farm Bill.This short paper discusses the reasons behind the erosion in food stamp benefits and how it impacts Oregonians

Punishing Food Stamp Program Success: The Bush's Administration's Farm Bill would reverse Oregon's progress against hunger

The Bush Administration has proposed eliminating $543 million in food stamp benefits for about 329,000 low-income Americans over the next five years. The Agriculture Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives may soon vote on this proposal as an amendment to the 2007 Farm Bill

The Translation Evidence Mechanism. The Compact between Researcher and Clinician.

Currently, best evidence is a concentrated effort by researchers. Researchers produce information and expect that clinicians will implement their advances in improving patient care. However, difficulties exist in maximizing cooperation and coordination between the producers, facilitators, and users (patients) of best evidence outcomes. The Translational Evidence Mechanism is introduced to overcome these difficulties by forming a compact between researcher, clinician and patient. With this compact, best evidence may become an integral part of private practice when uncertainties arise in patient health status, treatments, and therapies. The mechanism is composed of an organization, central database, and decision algorithm. Communication between the translational evidence organization, clinicians and patients is through the electronic chart. Through the chart, clinical inquiries are made, patient data from provider assessments and practice cost schedules are collected and encrypted (HIPAA standards), then inputted into the central database. Outputs are made within a timeframe suitable to private practice and patient flow. The output consists of a clinical practice guideline that responds to the clinical inquiry with decision, utility and cost data (based on the "average patient") for shared decision-making within informed consent. This shared decision-making allows for patients to "game" treatment scenarios using personal choice inputs. Accompanying the clinical practice guideline is a decision analysis that explains the optimized clinical decision. The resultant clinical decision is returned to the central database using the clinical practice guideline. The result is subsequently used to update current best evidence, indicate the need for new evidence, and analyze the changes made in best evidence implementation. When updates in knowledge occur, these are transmitted to the provider as alerts or flags through patient charts and other communication modalities

Probability-Utility Model for Managing Evidence-based Central Database

The Probability-Utility Model is dependent on the clinical practice guideline for its function. The Model functions to provide decision analyses that demonstrate to clinicians and patients how personal preferences change the character of best evidence. Initially, patients are provided a clinical practice guideline based on “average patient” best evidence. The Model works to demonstrate how decision, utility, and cost best evidence impact on decisions. It offers to patients an explanation of these impacts. Thus, patients may become more informed about the choices that go into making optimal clinical decisions for their own personal health care. The model also provides for visual images to be used in discussing their personal choices when considering different treatment options and clinical scenarios. The calculations accomplished through the Model provide trade-off analyses by which discussions may be facilitated between provider and patient in reaching informed consent and optimal clinical decisions in formulating treatment plans

Transforming scientific evidence into better consumer choices

Translational research using evidence-based and comparative effectiveness research continues to evolve, becoming a useful tool in improving informed consent and decision-making in the clinical setting. While in development, emerging technologies, including cellular and molecular biology, are leading to establishing evidence-based dental practices. One emerging technology, which conjoins bench proteomic findings to clinical decision-making for treatment intervention, is the Translational Evidence Mechanism. This mechanism was developed to be a foundation for a compact between researcher, translational researcher, clinician, and patient. The output of such a mechanism is the clinical practice guideline (CPG), an interactive tool for dentists and patients to game evidence in reaching optimum clinical decisions that correspond to individual patient preferences and values. As such, the clinical practice guideline requires the vesting of decision, utility, and cost best evidence. Evidence-based research provides decision data, a first attempt at supporting decision-making by providing best outcome data. Since then comparative effectiveness research has emerged, using systematic review analysis to compare similar treatments or procedures in maximizing the choice of the most effective cost/benefit option within the context of best evidence. With innovation in the clinical practice guideline for optimizing efficacy and comparative effectiveness research, evidence-based practices will shape a new approach to health-based systems that adhere to shared decision-making between bench scientists, healthcare providers and patients

Feminist Scholarship Review: Paradise Found: Empowering Women of the Caribbean

Published from 1991 through 2007 at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, the Feminist Scholarship Review is a literary journal that describes women\u27s experiences around the world. FSR began as a review of feminist scholarly material, but evolved into a journal for poetry and short storie

Who's Getting Ahead? Opportunity in a Growing Economy

Working Oregonians are making the state economy hum. We are outpacing much of the nation on a number of key economic measures. Oregon's workers are producing goods and services much more efficiently than we were a few years ago.With the economy on an upswing, Oregon's workers should be seeing increased economic opportunities, but the numbers show they're not. Who's getting ahead? Not enough of us.This report, a resource guide for policy makers, advocates, the media, and the general public, explains why

Feminist Scholarship Review: Women and Urban Development

Published from 1991 through 2007 at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, the Feminist Scholarship Review is a literary journal that describes women\u27s experiences around the world. FSR began as a review of feminist scholarly material, but evolved into a journal for poetry and short storie