Snapshot: Beds for Boomers: Will Hospitals Have Enough?

Presents data on seniors' projected population growth and the impact on acute care hospitals in California. Estimates hospitalization rates, acute care days, and licensed bed capacity by region to assess the likelihood of shortfalls by 2030

Quality of Care Facts and Figures 2009

Summarizes the performance of the state's healthcare system compared with national averages on ten quality measures, including maternal and child health; cancer, diabetes, and heart disease care; re-hospitalization rates; and care for seniors

Blowing Open the Bottleneck: Designing New Approaches to Increase Nurse Education Capacity

Outlines the challenges of expanding the nurse education capacity to meet nursing shortages. Explores strategies such as partnerships among stakeholders, faculty development, revised curricula, and policy and regulatory advocacy, and offers case studies

Quality of Care Facts and Figures

Compares the state's healthcare system with national averages on ten quality measures, including maternal and child health; cancer, diabetes, and heart disease care; re-hospitalization rates; and care for seniors. Analyzes select data by race/ethnicity

A sustainable approach to environmental noise barrier design.

This thesis recognises the implicit shortfalls in the current methods of noise barrier development. An holistic and integrative methodology was devised, which can be potentially incorporated into general practise, without the unnecessary burdens of excessive cost and environmental impacts. In essence the thesis defines, 'a sustainable approach to environmental noise barrier design'. The importance of sustainability as a key determinant of a noise barrier's success is demonstrated through the impacts of public participation on the acceptance of a noise barrier. This was achieved through the triangulation of a grounded theory, formulated through the qualitative analysis of a real case study and then tested quantitatively on a larger representative sample. The theory explored the impact of ineffective public participation on the perceived success of a noise barrier. Noise maps were developed for the comparison of subjective opinions with objective facts. This also illustrated how this technology can be manipulated to focus public participation, and increase success. Demonstrating the utility of this growing resource beyond its current scope. A methodology for assessing the embodied impacts of noise barrier structures was also devised. By addressing the current lack of availability of a specific model, the means of choosing a noise barrier based on sustainable assets was revealed. Finally, the thesis concluded with a laboratory experiment, which utilised a RAVE facility and revealed the extent to which preconceptions play a role in the perception of a noise barriers' effectiveness. Revealing that regardless of which noise barrier is presented, that preconceptions of a materials' ability to attenuate noise are imbedded. The thesis contributed to several areas through the illustration of a sustainable approach to environmental noise barrier design. The methods highlighted, demonstrate how those responsible for building noise barriers, can improve the acceptance by the public and decrease the environmental impacts associated with the construction of these structures

The influence of preconceptions on perceived sound reduction by environmental noise barriers

The paper presents research that answers three main questions: (1) Do preconceptions held about the constituent materials of an environmental noise barrier affect how people perceive the barrier will perform at attenuating noise? (2) Does aesthetic preference influence the perception of how a barrier will perform? (3) Are barriers, which are deemed more aesthetically pleasing, more likely to be perceived as better noise attenuators? In a virtual reality setting with film to improve the contextual realism of the intersensory interaction test, participants were required to compare the perceived effectiveness of five standard 'in-situ' noise barriers, including concrete, timber, metal, transparent acrylic and a vegetative screen. The audio stimulus was held at a constant sound pressure level (SPL), whilst the visual stimulus changed, as the influential factor. As the noise levels projected during the study were held constant, it was possible to attribute the participants' perception of noise attenuation by the barriers, to preconceptions of how the varying barrier material would attenuate noise. There was also an inverse correlation between aesthetics and perception of how a noise barrier would perform. The transparent and deciduous vegetation barriers, judged most aesthetically pleasing, were judged as the least effective at attenuating noise. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Suburban Neighbourhood Adaptation for a Changing Climate (SNACC) final report

The report presents findings from the Suburban Neighbourhood Adaptation to a Changing Climate (SNACC) project. The project tested the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of a range of adaptations to the physical environment (i.e. to homes, gardens, and public spaces) that could be used to both mitigate and adapt to climate change in the UK

The effectiveness of health appraisal processes currently in addressing health and wellbeing during spatial plan appraisal: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Spatial planning affects the built environment, which in turn has the potential to have a significant impact on health, for good or ill. One way of ensuring that spatial plans take due account of health is through the inclusion of health considerations in the statutory and non statutory appraisal processes linked to plan-making processes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review to identify evaluation studies of appraisals or assessments of plans where health issues were considered from 1987 to 2010.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 6161 citations were identified: 6069 from electronic databases, 57 fromwebsite searches, with a further 35 citations from grey literature, of which 20 met the inclusion criteria. These 20 citations reported on a total of 135 different case studies: 11 UK HIA; 11 non UK high income countries HIA, 5 UK SEA or other integrated appraisal; 108 non UK high income SEA or other integrated appraisal. All studies were in English. No relevant studies were identified reporting on low or middle income countries.</p> <p>The studies were limited by potential bias (no independent evaluation, with those undertaking the appraisal also responsible for reporting outcomes), lack of detail and a lack of triangulation of results. Health impact assessments generally covered the four specified health domains (physical activity, mental health and wellbeing, environmental health issues such as pollution and noise, injury) more comprehensively than SEA or other integrated appraisals, although mental health and wellbeing was an underdeveloped area. There was no evidence available on the incorporation of health in Sustainability Appraisal, limited evidence that the recommendations from any type of appraisal were implemented, and almost no evidence that the recommendations had led to the anticipated outcomes or improvements in health postulated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Research is needed to assess (i) the degree to which statutory plan appraisal processes (SA in the UK) incorporate health; (ii) whether recommendations arising from health appraisal translate into the development process and (iii) whether outcomes are as anticipated.</p