The Cannell Legacy

Charles Cannell engineered the study of Interviewer-respondent interaction. He created conceptual frameworks for understanding the interviewing process and its impact on data quality. He invented methods for observing and recording interview interaction. He pioneered the use of randomized experiments in the survey context. He amalgamated insights from clinical and social psychology, sociology, group dynamics, as well as research on verbal and nonverbal communication to inform his work. This interdisciplinary approach has broadly influenced both interviewing research and practice. In this paper, we review Cannell’s many contributions to the field and his enduring legacy

The Cannell Legacy

Charles Cannell engineered the study of Interviewer-respondent interaction. He created conceptual frameworks for understanding the interviewing process and its impact on data quality. He invented methods for observing and recording interview interaction. He pioneered the use of randomized experiments in the survey context. He amalgamated insights from clinical and social psychology, sociology, group dynamics, as well as research on verbal and nonverbal communication to inform his work. This interdisciplinary approach has broadly influenced both interviewing research and practice. In this paper, we review Cannell’s many contributions to the field and his enduring legacy

The Cannell Legacy

Charles Cannell engineered the study of Interviewer-respondent interaction. He created conceptual frameworks for understanding the interviewing process and its impact on data quality. He invented methods for observing and recording interview interaction. He pioneered the use of randomized experiments in the survey context. He amalgamated insights from clinical and social psychology, sociology, group dynamics, as well as research on verbal and nonverbal communication to inform his work. This interdisciplinary approach has broadly influenced both interviewing research and practice. In this paper, we review Cannell’s many contributions to the field and his enduring legacy

The Medicare Health Outcomes Survey program: Overview, context, and near-term prospects

In 1996, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated the development of the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (HOS). It is the first national survey to measure the quality of life and functional health status of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in managed care. The program seeks to gather valid and reliable health status data in Medicare managed care for use in quality improvement activities, public reporting, plan accountability and improving health outcomes based on competition. The context that led to the development of the HOS was formed by the convergence of the following factors: 1) a recognized need to monitor the performance of managed care plans, 2) technical expertise and advancement in the areas of quality measurement and health outcomes assessment, 3) the existence of a tested functional health status assessment tool (SF-36(®))1, which was valid for an elderly population, 4) CMS leadership, and 5) political interest in quality improvement. Since 1998, there have been six baseline surveys and four follow up surveys. CMS, working with its partners, performs the following tasks as part of the HOS program: 1) Supports the technical/scientific development of the HOS measure, 2) Certifies survey vendors, 3) Collects Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set(HEDIS(®))(2 )HOS data, 4) Cleans, scores, and disseminates annual rounds of HOS data, public use files and reports to CMS, Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), Medicare+Choice Organizations (M+COs), and other stakeholders, 5) Trains M+COs and QIOs in the use of functional status measures and best practices for improving care, 6) Provides technical assistance to CMS, QIOs, M+COs and other data users, and 7) Conducts analyses using HOS data to support CMS and HHS priorities. CMS has recently sponsored an evaluation of the HOS program, which will provide the information necessary to enhance the future administration of the program. Information collected to date reveals that the HOS program is a valuable tool that provides a rich set of data that is useful for quality monitoring and improvement efforts. To enhance the future of the HOS program, many stakeholders recommend the implementation of incentives to encourage the use of the data, while others identify the need to monitor the health status of plan disenrollees. Overall, the HOS program represents an important vehicle for collecting outcomes data from Medicare beneficiaries. The new Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (2003) mandates the collection and use of data for quality, outcomes measurement, program administration, and facilitating consumer choice. Consequently, it is important that the HOS program effectively meet this mandate

PACE: Program of All-inclusive Care of the Elderly

Educational Objectives 1. To describe the origin of PACE. 2. To identify essential services provided by the PACE model

Myocarditis, disseminated infection, and early viral persistence following experimental coxsackievirus B infection of cynomolgus monkeys.

Coxsackievirus B (CVB) infection is a common cause of acute viral myocarditis. The clinical presentation of myocarditis caused by this enterovirus is highly variable, ranging from mildly symptoms to complete hemodynamic collapse. These variations in initial symptoms and in the immediate and long term outcomes of this disease have impeded development of effective treatment strategies. Nine cynomolgus monkeys were inoculated with myocarditic strains of CVB. Virological studies performed up to 28 days post-inoculation demonstrated the development of neutralizing antibody in all animals, and the presence of CVB in plasma. High dose intravenous inoculation (n = 2) resulted in severe disseminated disease, while low dose intravenous (n = 6) or oral infection (1 animal) resulted in clinically unapparent infection. Transient, minor, echocardiographic abnormalities were noted in several animals, but no animals displayed signs of significant acute cardiac failure. Although viremia rapidly resolved, signs of myocardial inflammation and injury were observed in all animals at the time of necropsy, and CVB was detected in postmortem myocardial specimens up to 28 days PI. This non-human primate system replicates many features of illness in acute coxsackievirus myocarditis and demonstrates that myocardial involvement may be common in enteroviral infection; it may provide a model system for testing of treatment strategies for enteroviral infections and acute coxsackievirus myocarditis

Site and mechanism of enhanced gastrointestinal absorption of aluminum by citrate

Site and mechanism of enhanced gastrointestinal absorption of aluminum by citrate. Clinical and experimental studies have shown that citrate markedly enhances the intestinal absorption of aluminum (Al), but the site and mechanism of enhanced absorption are unknown. To determine where in the gastrointestinal tract aluminum citrate (Alcitr) was absorbed, Alcitr was gavaged with D-[1-3H] glucose in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Plasma Al levels increased rapidly and simultaneously peaked with D-[1-3G] glucose, suggesting early proximal bowel absorption. In in vitro duodenal and jejunal everted gut preparations, Alcitr incubation resulted in increased tissue Al levels and markedly enhanced transmural transport of Al and citr. Unlike citr, the transmural movement of Al was independent of temperature (37°C vs. 4°C). On the other hand, Al lactate (al Lac) increased tissue associated Al levels but had no effect on transmural Al movement. To determine if this large flux of Al following Alcitr administration was due to paracellular movement, ruthenium red and Ussing chamber studies were used to evaluate the morphologic and functional integrity of cellular tight junctions. Alcitr, as opposed to A1C13, markedly increased ruthenium red deposits in intercellular spaces, especially around goblet cells, and induced a prolonged significant reduction in transmural resistance. Alcitr also resulted in rapid and nearly complete (99.7%) chelation of free calcium, an event known to disrupt cellular tight junction integrity. Taken together, these data suggest that enhanced Al absorption following administration of Alcitr occurs in the proximal bowel via the paracellular pathway due to the opening of cellular tight junctions

Reproductive health services in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa: A situation analysis study focusing on HIV/AIDS services

This Horizons report examines the readiness of reproductive health services in South Africa, which are primarily geared to women, to deliver HIV and AIDS treatment, care, and prevention services. The goal of the study was to obtain information from a representative sample of provincial health care facilities offering reproductive health services in KwaZulu Natal to meet the growing demand for HIV/AIDS-related services. Ninety-eight hospitals, community health centers, and clinics participated in the situation analysis that identified gaps in service delivery and determined priorities for service integration. Results of the study were presented to a large audience of Department of Health, NGO, and donor agency staff with the hope that this workshop would set a trend for feedback and the use of research for service improvement

White Paper: Certification, Credentials, and Credentialing in Pharmacy

The rapid evolution of the health care system has provided the pharmacy profession with opportunities to expand existing and develop new direct patient care roles. Two critical challenges that the pharmacy profession must contend with to ensure the continued expansion and acceptance of pharmacists in advanced practice roles (e.g. direct patient care roles) are: (1) To develop and implement a credible, systematic, standards-based, and profession-wide plan that includes a system for identifying the types of pharmacists\u27 practices requiring credentials, a validated certification process, and a computerized credentialing process that is current, comprehensive, and easily accessible; (2) To establish the credibility of these advanced practice credentials and the certification and credentialing processes with other health care providers, the public, employers and payers (government and commercial)

Spectral signatures of photosynthesis I: Review of Earth organisms

Why do plants reflect in the green and have a 'red edge' in the red, and should extrasolar photosynthesis be the same? We provide: 1) a brief review of how photosynthesis works; 2) an overview of the diversity of photosynthetic organisms, their light harvesting systems, and environmental ranges; 3) a synthesis of photosynthetic surface spectral signatures; 4) evolutionary rationales for photosynthetic surface reflectance spectra with regard to utilization of photon energy and the planetary light environment. Given the surface incident photon flux density spectrum and resonance transfer in light harvesting, we propose some rules with regard to where photosynthetic pigments will peak in absorbance: a) the wavelength of peak incident photon flux; b) the longest available wavelength for core antenna or reaction center pigments; and c) the shortest wavelengths within an atmospheric window for accessory pigments. That plants absorb less green light may not be an inefficient legacy of evolutionary history, but may actually satisfy the above criteria.Comment: 69 pages, 7 figures, forthcoming in Astrobiology March 200