AMP second national workshop. Asthma Management Program

Powerpoint presentation presented at the Asthma Management Program: Second National Workshop, Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport Hote

Rural palliative care program national evaluation project: patient and carer experiences

[extract] Palliative care services in Australia are provided across a range of inpatient, outpatient and community settings by a mix of specialist and generalist providers from the public and private sectors. There is little evidence to guide the provision of palliative care in rural areas and few large scale studies that reflect on patient and carer experiences. The national Rural Palliative Care Program was implemented to provide support for palliative care interventions and to develop evidence on their effectiveness. An important part of that evidence is whether patients and their carers actually found the interventions to be helpful to them

Indigenous safety promotion program evaluation: lessons and challenges

The purpose of this paper is to share key lessons and identify ongoing challenges for the evaluation of interventions which address complex Indigenous health and safety issues. The paper draws on a review of the available literature as well as our experience in intervention studies which address injury and safety issues in Indigenous communities. We demonstrate that while there is no one correct approach to evaluation of policy and programs in this field, there is a need for multidisciplinary approaches, cultural sensitivity and Indigenous leadership. Injury which occurs in Indigenous communities must be understood within a broad context of historical, social and economic Indigenous disadvantage (Ivers et al 2007, Helps and Harrison 2006, Harrison et al 2001, Moller et al 2004). Preventing or reducing injury requires multi-level approaches and collaboration across government, non-government and community sectors to promote safety by addressing the multiple and often interrelated factors underlying the high rates of injury and violence in Indigenous, compared to non-indigenous sectors of the Australian population. Action is needed at many levels including systems level changes, workforce development and capacity building in addition to programs which address educational and behavioural change. Indigenous injury prevention and safety promotion has received some specific policy attention, for example, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Safety Promotion Strategy (National Public Health Partnership, 2004). Community safety is one of the Closing the Gap building blocks (Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, 2009). However there have been few rigorous evaluations of interventions and therefore a lack of evidence on which to base sound policy and programs to address the safety issues which affect Indigenous people (Boufous et al., 2010, Martiniuk et al., 2010, Senserrick et al., 2010). Findings from research in New South Wales highlight the need for the evaluation of Indigenous safety programs which focus strongly on culturally appropriate evaluation processes. In addition to leadership, capacity building and community engagement (Anderson, 2011), studies point to the need for a greater understanding of the contextual factors for the successful implementation of interventions, the collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data and the value of participatory approaches. They also indicate the need for broad and critical thinking around what constitutes evidence and how to more effectively translate evidence into policy and practice

Question prompt lists in health consultations: A review

Objectives: This review examines the use and effectiveness of Question Prompt Lists (QPL) as communication aids to enhance patient question asking, information provision to patients and patient participation in health and medical consultations. Methods: A systematic search was undertaken to identify relevant literature concerning QPLs including academic databases, Google-based and snowball searching. Forty-two relevant studies reporting 50 interventions were identified. Results: Although findings varied there was some evidence that a QPL endorsed by the physician increased total question asking. Using a QPL increased question asking concerning specific content areas (e.g. prognosis). There was some evidence that physicians provided more information during consultations. There were no consistent findings concerning effects on patient knowledge recall, anxiety and satisfaction or consultation time. Some interventions that increased question asking had longer consultation times. Conclusion: There is evidence that an appropriate QPL, endorsed by the physician and provided immediately before the consultation, may increase patient question asking and lead to more information being provided by the physician. Practice implications: There is increasing evidence to support QPL use in routine practice. Further trials might address the issues identified including an assessment of QPL optimal length and QPL adaptation for cultural and special needs groups

Measuring outcomes in community care: an exploratory study

[extract] The issues in measuring outcomes in community care can be characterised as being complex and technical, but addressing them is feasible if it is recognised that a number of key building blocks are already well known and if a longer term perspective on the issues is adopted

Targeting integrated care to those most likely to need frequent health care: a review of social and clinical risk factors

Evidence check: Targeting integrated care: social and clinical risk factor