The Role of Gender in Descriptive Representation

This article broadens consideration of the gender gap from voting differ ences to the larger question of affective preferences for descriptive represen tation (Pitkin 1967). The results, based on a 1993 survey of 416 individuals, suggest that women are far more likely than men to be "gender conscious" in their evaluation of a candidate or a preferred representative. Differences among the 224 women in the sample can be traced to at least four sources. Group interests and feminist attitudes are positive sources of women's preferences for descriptive representation. Conversely, conservative political views deter some women from supporting women in politics. The results also provide partial support for Carroll's (1987) psychological and economic autonomy thesis. Finally, the results suggest that in part the "gender gap" may be a generational gap most prevalent among "baby boomers."Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Latinos and School Vouchers: Testing the "Minority Support" Hypothesis-super-

Voucher proponents, as well as some researchers, argue that minorities and individuals of relatively low socioeconomic status (SES) particularly favor school vouchers. Little work has specifically explored Latino attitudes, with the focus typically on African-American opinions. This article will therefore examine whether Latinos hold unique attitudes toward vouchers. Copyright (c) 2004 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Resiliency in the Age of COVID-19: A Policy Toolkit

Twenty-nine LBJ School authors have come together to craft interdisciplinary and resilience-based policy solutions in one toolkit called Resiliency in the Age of COVID-19. In 18 articles that span public management, climate change, economic development, national security and more, LBJ School policy authors provide a forward-thinking lens on what went wrong and what leadership, public policies and initiatives it will take to fix the system flaws exposed by the pandemic. Published during the LBJ School’s 50th anniversary year, the toolkit also provides a snapshot of the school’s depth and breadth of policy and research engagement at this moment in time.Public Affair

P-043 Feasibility of a Multicenter, Collaborative, Longitudinal, Quality Improvement Learning Health System for Adult IBD Care

Background There is significant variation in processes and outcomes of care for patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), suggesting poor quality of care. Improved quality of care can be facilitated through patient-centered learning health systems, process improvement methods, and multicenter collaborative models such as the Breakthrough Series (BTS) Collaborative developed at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). We piloted a learning health system of clinical practices caring for adults with IBD, and assessed the feasibility of a BTS innovation collaborative focused on improving the delivery of urgent IBD care. Methods Following IHI methodology, a focus topic (Improving delivery of urgent IBD care) was selected, and a charter was drafted for an 18 months BTS collaborative. Experts and faculty (5 physicians, 3 patients, and a quality improvement advisor) identified primary and secondary drivers of urgent IBD care delivery, and a package of “change ideas” were created. Key process and outcome measures were established based on previously published IBD outcome metrics. Improvement teams comprised of a physician, nurse and/or coordinator at each of ten IBD-focused clinical sites (6 university-based, 4 community) attended three 2-days in-person learning sessions marking the beginning, middle, and end of the collaborative. Sites each selected 3 to 5 change ideas most relevant to their settings, and learned quality improvement methods centered on the Model for Improvement. Standardized patient-reported measures were collected during patient-visits, and sites submitted monthly reports detailing their progress. Collaborative-wide coached monthly webinars were held to track and review progress using statistical process control charts, and to facilitate sharing of ideas and best practices. Results Four primary drivers of improving urgent IBD care delivery were identified: (1) Patients are activated, well-informed, and engaged in self-management and care planning (2) Care is available and accessible when needed (3) Care is collaborative, evidence-based, and consistent and (4) Care processes are patient-centered, with the right staff and resources. Nineteen “change ideas” related to these drivers were developed, and each site selected 3 to 5 changes to test. These included reserved “urgent care” ambulatory slots, development of urgent care nurse hotlines, tracking and improving telephone callback time, creation of patient education materials and website enhancements specifically regarding urgent care, telehealth for urgent care, restructuring mid-level provider time to accommodate or triage urgent patients, addition of intravenous hydration capabilities in the clinic, and education of local emergency room physicians. Patient-reported measures were collected at over 5500 discrete patient visits, including data on emergency room utilization, hospitalization, steroid and narcotic use, disease activity, and satisfaction with urgent care experiences. All teams were represented at each learning session, and participation on monthly webinars ranged from 90% to 100%. Conclusions A learning health system for adult IBD care in which clinical teams engage in systematic, collaborative, longitudinal quality improvement efforts is feasible. Process and outcome measures for adult IBD care can be reported by patients, minimizing practice burden for data collection. Efforts to demonstrate the feasibility of expanding the learning health system to varied healthcare settings, use of electronic data capture, electronic health record integration, and use of standardized care pathways are ongoing