Sustainability in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Initiatives

The question often asked of a quality improvement initiative is whether the improvement process has been sustained within the organization. Rarely is the question answered satisfactorily. The sustainability of an improvement process is important as it justifies the investment of human and financial capital. The term \u27evaporation of improvements\u27 addresses the dilemma that between 33% to 70% of all innovations are reportedly not sustained (Fleiszer, Semenic, Ritchie, Richer, & Denis, 2015) . This evaporation of improvement captures the frustrating inability of many institutions to maintain the achieved improvement after the newness of the initial effort wears off (Buchanan, Fitzgerald, & Ketley, 2007). This article addresses the components of what makes a quality initiative sustainable by applying a framework developed that identifies components necessary within a sustainable quality initiative evident from the development process through to the implementation phase of the initiative which becomes part of the fabric of an organization

New Morbidities 2.0

Robert Sanborn and Angelo Giardino\u27s introduction for Volume 4, Issue 1: New Morbidities 2.

Review: The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics

A Review of The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics, 2nd Edition, by Lundy Bancroft, Jay G. Silverman, and D. Ritchie

Sustainability and Spread of Community-based Initiatives: A case study of Community Cares, a Children’s Hospital’s 16 year effort to serve its community

The sustainability and spread of innovations is often elusive, presenting continuous challenges to clinicians and healthcare leaders. Somewhere between 33 - 70% of all innovations are reportedly not sustained, and even fewer are spread beyond the original team, or to other units within an organization. In plain language, sustainability is defined as locking in progress, while continually building upon that foundation, while spread is the exchange of knowledge and experience to others beyond the original implementing team. The literature supports the concept that sustainability is both multi-dimensional and multi-factorial and has several characteristics and pre-conditions. Tax-exempt, not-for-profit organizations in the USA must provide measurable community benefits to the populations they seek to serve. Many of these community benefits take the form of locating necessary services closer to or directly within the communities being served in order to enhance access. A case study of a 16 year effort to provide a medical home-oriented primary care model to underserved children in Houston, Texas Children’s Pediatrics’ Community Cares, is presented as illustrative of such a community benefit. Many of the characteristics and preconditions essential to a model for sustainability and spread are highlighted and the Community Cares case study is discussed from the standpoint of this framework

SMEFT and the Drell-Yan Process at High Energy

The Drell-Yan process is a copious source of lepton pairs at high energy and is measured with great precision at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Barring any new light particles, beyond the Standard Model effects can be studied in Drell-Yan production using an effective field theory. At tree level, new 4-fermion interactions dominate, while at one loop operators modifying 3-gauge boson couplings contribute effects that are enhanced at high energy. We study the sensitivity of the neutral Drell-Yan process to these dimension-6 operators and compare the sensitivity to that of $W^+W^-$ pair production at the LHC.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. v2: version accepted for publication in PR

Report from the Field: The Results of a Community Needs Assessment for Parent Education in Houston, Texas

Introduction: An evolving body of research has demonstrated that parent education has a positive impact on children, parents, and the community. CHILDREN AT RISK conducted a needs assessment of parent support programs in Houston, Texas to determine if there was perceived need and community support for a community-wide approach to evidence-based parent education. Setting: The needs assessment was conducted by a research and advocacy non-profit that had the support of academic advisors in Houston, Texas. Methodology: The needs assessment included 70 key informant interviews, 3 focus groups, data collection, a literature review, and a participating stakeholder survey from 28 organizations. Findings: Less than 1% of parents have access to evidence-based parent education in Houston, Texas despite a perceived need and a willingness from community organizations to make evidence-based parenting support programs more available to parents. Conclusion: Conducting a rigorous needs assessment in conjunction with building partnerships and a coalition is a successful strategy to develop and move forward with recommendations that are supported by research and the community

Measuring Success in Public Education: Whether Wanted or Not

Robert Sanborn and Angelo Giardino\u27s introduction for Volume 3, Issue 2: Measuring Success in Public Education

Food Insecurity and Children: Hunger?… In America?... How is that possible?

Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the United States continues to be plagued by the problem of food insecurity, especially at the child level. The editors\u27 implications piece presents a call for greater urgency in addressing the problem of food insecurity in the United States

Human Trafficking: Awareness, Data and Policy

The implications of the new research presented in Volume 2, Issue 1 (Human Trafficking) of the Journal of Applied Research on Children are explored, calling attention to the need for increased awareness, greater availability of data, and proactive policy solutions to combat child trafficking

New Morbidities 2.0

Robert Sanborn and Angelo Giardino\u27s introduction for Volume 4, Issue 1: New Morbdities 2.