2,509 research outputs found
Supporting the threads of the family tapestry : the role of child life in adoption
Explores the developmental, cultural and health related impacts of adoption along with effects of early adversity. The goal of this paper is to utilize existing research on adoption to argue the necessity for a child life specialist in the life of an adopted child and their family
Changes to Racial Disparities in Readmission Rates After Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program Within Safety-Net and Non-Safety-Net Hospitals
After the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program began enforcing financial penalties, disparities in readmissions between white and black patients widened at safety-net hospitals for conditions not targeted by the program. Disparities were stable for conditions targeted by the program. At non-safety-net hospitals, disparities were unchanged for both targeted and non-targeted conditions
Diffuse Extragalactic Background Radiation
Attenuation of high--energy gamma rays by pair--production with UV, optical
and IR background photons provides a link between the history of galaxy
formation and high--energy astrophysics. We present results from our latest
semi-analytic models (SAMs), based upon a CDM hierarchical structural
formation scenario and employing all ingredients thought to be important to
galaxy formation and evolution, as well as reprocessing of starlight by dust to
mid- and far-IR wavelengths. Our models also use results from recent
hydrodynamic galaxy merger simulations. These latest SAMs are successful in
reproducing a large variety of observational constraints such as number counts,
luminosity and mass functions, and color bimodality. We have created 2 models
that bracket the likely ranges of galaxy emissivities, and for each of these we
show how the optical depth from pair--production is affected by redshift and
gamma-ray energy. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our
work, and how the burgeoning science of gamma-ray astronomy will continue to
help constrain cosmology.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 4th
Heidelberg International Symposium on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy, held
July 2008 in Heidelberg, German
Many Older Americans Do Not Receive the Recommended Home Health Care After Hospitalization
Only 54% of Medicare patients referred to home health care services following a hospitalization received home health care visits. Policymakers must address this discrepancy to ensure all patients receive the home health services they need
Changes in Consumer Demand Following Public Reporting of Summary Quality Ratings: An Evaluation in Nursing Homes
A nursing home report card that converted 12 measures of quality into a simple 5-star system significantly affected consumer demand for low- and high-scoring facilities. One-star facilities typically lost 8 percent of their market share and 5-star facilities gained more than 6 percent of their market share. These results support the use of summary measures in report cards
Modeling Gamma-Ray Attenuation in High-Redshift GeV Spectra
We present two models for the cosmological UV background light, and calculate
the opacity of GeV gamma--rays out to redshift 9. The contributors to the
background include 2 possible quasar emissivities, and output from
star--forming galaxies as determined by recent a semi--analytic model (SAM) of
structure formation. The SAM used in this work is based upon a hierarchical
build-up of structure in a CDM universe and is highly successful in
reproducing a variety of observational parameters. Above 1 Rydberg energy,
ionizing radiation is subject to reprocessing by the IGM, which we treat using
our radiative transfer code, CUBA. The two models for quasar emissivity
differing above z = 2.3 are chosen to match the ionization rates observed using
flux decrement analysis and the higher values of the line-of-sight proximity
effect. We also investigate the possibility of a flat star formation rate
density at z . We conclude that observations of gamma--rays from 10 to 100
GeV by Fermi (GLAST) and the next generation of ground based experiments should
confirm a strongly evolving opacity from z . Observation of
attenuation in the spectra of gamma--ray bursts at higher redshift could
constrain emission of UV radiation at these early times, either from a flat or
increasing star-formation density or an unobserved population of sources.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures, To be published in the Proceedings of the 4th
Heidelberg International Symposium on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy, held
July 2008 in Heidelberg, German
Physicians and Advanced Practitioners Specializing in Nursing Home Care, 2012-2015
The number of clinicians specializing in nursing home care increased by 33.7% from 2012 to 2015, although nursing home specialists made up only 21% of nursing home clinicians in 2015. Most of these specialists were advanced practitioners (physician assistants and nurse practitioners) delivering post-acute care. The change in number of nursing home specialists varied significantly by geographic region
The Pay-Off on Nursing Home Report Cards
For the past decade, policymakers have used public reporting of quality measures as a strategy to improve quality in nursing homes. In theory, public reporting might improve overall quality in two ways: first, if consumers choose nursing homes with better performance, and second, if public reporting encourages nursing homes to improve their performance. Has public reporting had its intended effects? Does improving quality give nursing homes a competitive advantage in the marketplace, thereby improving their bottom line? This Issue Brief summarizes a series of studies that assess the impact of public reporting on nursing home quality and on the financial performance of these facilities
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