Models Needed to Assist in the Development of a National Fiber Supply Strategy for the 21st Century: Report of a Workshop

This discussion paper reports on a Workshop on Wood Fiber Supply Modeling held October 3-4, 1996 in Washington, DC. The purpose of this discussion paper is to provide an overview of some of the modeling work being done related to timber supply modeling and some of the issues related to the more useful application of wood fiber supply and projections models. This paper includes brief presentations of three commonly used long-term timber projections and forecasting models: the Timber Assessment Market Model (TAMM) of the Forest Service; the Cintrafor Global Trade Model (CGTM) of the University of Washington; and the Timber Supply Model (TSM) of Resources for the Future. Also, issues related to the useful of the models are addressed as well as a discussion of some applications of other timber or fiber projection models. The usefulness of the models are addressed from both a technical perspective and also from the perspective of their usefulness to various model users.

The Role of Media Specialists with Respect to Instructional Technology in an Urban School District in Georgia

In the absence of a Georgia Educator Certificate in instructional technology, and of state-wide staffing requirements for instructional technology specialists, media specialists may be playing an increasingly larger role in instructional technology support and focusing less on other vital media specialist responsibilities. A deeper understanding of the role of media specialists with respect to instructional technology may provide insight into determining a need for instructional technology certification and support in Georgia schools. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to examine the role of media specialists with respect to instructional technology in an urban school district in Georgia. Practicing media specialists’ perceived use, and perceived ideal use, of instructional technology specialist and media specialist job competencies were examined. The data revealed an overall difference among the four dependent variables (a) perceived current use of media specialist competencies, (b) perceived ideal use of media specialist competencies, (c) perceived current use of instructional technology specialist competencies, and (d) perceived ideal use of instructional technology specialist competencies. Within-subjects contrasts revealed significant pairwise differences among all the variables except the comparison of the use of media specialist competencies and the use of instructional technology specialist competencies. These findings suggest that in the absence of consistently staffed, certified instructional technology specialists, media specialists are playing an increasingly larger role in instructional technology support and focusing less on other essential media specialist roles and responsibilities

Cost Burden of Illness for Hepatitis C Patients with Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance

The disease burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is expected to more than double in the next two decades. Currently, there is very little information about the costs of HCV treatment for employers who pay for treatment and health plans that cover HCV patients. This study reports the medical costs of HCV for workers with health insurance. A retrospective claims data design was used for this study. A sample of HCV patients with health insurance was drawn from the inpatient, outpatient, and enrollment files of the MEDSTAT Group's MarketScan family of databases for 1993-1998. Patients were grouped into cohorts and studied for up to 2 years before and after HCV diagnosis. Sample size varies according to length of follow-up, peaking at 3,077 patients enrolled for at least 6 months. In the first year following HCV diagnosis, average payments for HCV patients ($10,925) were almost six times as high as payments for all patients in the MarketScan database ($1,186). Doctors are encouraged to test high-risk patients to find HCV patients earlier in the course of their disease and to better manage their care in order to avoid unnecessary illness and expenses for this disease.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63140/1/109350702320229195.pd

Guidance on Development of Employer Value Dashboards

Recent industry surveys indicate that a majority of employers are offering health and well-being (HWB) programs to their employees,1,2 but the reasons for offering them have changed over time. While a desire to improve employee health and contain rising health-care costs remain important, employers increasingly recognize a broader value proposition for investing in workforce HWB. A 2019 survey found employers are more likely to seek outcomes such as improved productivity and employee morale as well as reductions in injury rates and turnover.3 Demonstrating how workplace HWB initiatives are linked to such outcomes is challenging. As consultants, researchers, and practitioners working in the workplace wellness field for decades, we’ve often observed organizations that are benefits and data rich but information poor. Even when organizations invest in data warehouses and have access to sophisticated real-time reporting platforms, they struggle to organize the data into meaningful narratives that convey the value yielded by their investment. In 2018, Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) convened a large group of subject matter experts, employers, industry vendor suppliers, consultants, and practitioners to discuss how to approach measurement, evaluation, reporting, and dashboard development within their organization.4 A key point raised by several subject matter panelists was the need to identify who will be using the information that is shared and for what purpose. Additionally, the observation was made that there is a tremendous amount of time and energy invested in the development of client-specific dashboards and that a standardized approach and metrics would be of benefit to all involved. Therefore, the convening launched an effort focused on providing guidance for employers on development of a Value Demonstration Dashboard that informs decision-making regarding ongoing investments in workforce HWB. This article aims to share this guidance, with a focus on steps for development and identification of metrics that will be most meaningful for performance insight and informed decision-making by business leaders. But first, it’s important to clarify what we mean by a Value Demonstration Dashboard

Effectiveness and costs of a vocational advice service to improve work outcomes in patients with musculoskeletal pain in primary care: a cluster randomised trial (SWAP trial ISRCTN 52269669)

Musculoskeletal pain is a common cause of work absence and early intervention is advocated to prevent the adverse health and economic consequences of longer term absence. This cluster randomised controlled trial investigated the effect of introducing what was termed a vocational advice service into primary care to provide occupational advice. Six general practices were randomised, patients were eligible if they were consulting their general practitioner (GP) with musculoskeletal pain, were employed and struggling at work or absent from work <6 months. Practices in the intervention arm could refer patients to a vocational advisor embedded within the practice providing a case managed stepwise intervention addressing obstacles to working. The primary outcome was number of days off work, over 4 months. Participants in the intervention arm (n=158) had fewer days work absence compared to the control arm (n=180) (mean 9.3 (SD 21·7) versus 14·4 (SD 27·7)) days, Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) 0·51 (95% Confidence Interval 0·26, 0·99), p=0·048). The net societal benefit of the intervention compared with best care was £733: £748 gain (work absence) versus £15 loss (health care costs). The addition of a vocational advice service to best current primary care for patients consulting with musculoskeletal pain led to reduced absence and cost savings for society. If a similar early intervention to the one tested in this trial was implemented widely, it could potentially reduce days absent over 12 months by 16%, equating to an overall societal cost-saving of about £500 million (US $6 billion), and requiring an investment of only £10 million

The Business Case for Preconception Care: Methods and Issues

Only a limited number of economic evaluations have addressed the costs and benefits of preconception care. In order to persuade health care providers, payers, or purchasers to become actively involved in promoting preconception care, it is important to demonstrate the value of doing so through development of a “business case”. Perceived benefits in terms of organizational reputation and market share can be influential in forming a business case. In addition, it is standard to include an economic analysis of financial costs and benefits from the perspective of the provider practice, payer, or purchaser in a business case. The methods, data needs, and other issues involved with preparing an economic analysis of the likely financial return on investment in preconception care are presented here. This is accompanied by a review or case study of economic evaluations of preconception care for women with recognized diabetes. Although the data are not sufficient to draw firm conclusions, there are indications that such care may yield positive financial benefits to health care organizations through reduction in maternal and infant hospitalizations. More work is needed to establish how costs and economic benefits are distributed among different types of organizations. Also, the optimum methods of delivering preconception care for women with diabetes need to be evaluated. Similar assessments should also be conducted for other forms of preconception care, including comprehensive care

Job anxiety, work-related psychological illness and workplace performance

This paper uses matched employee-employer data from the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) to examine the relationship between employee psychological health and workplace performance in 2004 and 2011. Using two measures of work-related psychological health – namely employee-reported job anxiety and manager-reported workforce stress, depression and anxiety – we find a positive relationship between psychological ill-health and absence, but not quits. The association between psychological ill-health and labour productivity is less clear, with estimates sensitive to sector, time period and the measure of psychological health. The 2004-2011 panel is further used to explore the extent to which change in psychological health is related to change in performance