Resource use, costs and quality of end-of-life care: Observations in a cohort of elderly Australian cancer decedents

© Commonwealth of Australia; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Background: The last year of life is one of the most resource-intensive periods for people with cancer. Very little population-based research has been conducted on end-of-life cancer care in the Australian health care setting. The objective of this program is to undertake a series of observational studies examining resource use, costs and quality of end-of-life care in a cohort of elderly cancer decedents using linked, routinely collected data. Methods/Design: This study forms part of an ongoing cancer health services research program. The cohorts for the end-of-life research program comprise Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs decedents with full health care entitlements, residing in NSW for the last 18 months of life and dying between 2005 and 2009. We used cancer and death registry data to identify our decedent cohorts and their causes of death. The study population includes 9,862 decedents with a cancer history and 15,483 decedents without a cancer history. The median age at death is 86 and 87 years in the cancer and non-cancer cohorts, respectively. We will examine resource use and associated costs in the last 6 months of life using linked claims data to report on health service use, hospitalizations, emergency department visits and medicines use. We will use best practice methods to examine the nature and extent of resource use, costs and quality of care based on previously published indicators. We will also examine factors associated with these outcomes. Discussion: This will be the first Australian research program and among the first internationally to combine routinely collected data from primary care and hospital-based care to examine comprehensively end-of-life care in the elderly. The research program has high translational value, as there is limited evidence about the nature and quality of care in the Australian end-of-life setting

Effectiveness of Paliperidone Palmitate vs Haloperidol Decanoate for Maintenance Treatment of Schizophrenia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are used to reduce medication non-adherence and subsequent relapse in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. The relative effectiveness of LAI versions of second-generation (atypical) and older antipsychotics has not been assessed

Building Better Neighborhoods Identity Design

The City of Muncie has diverse communities with friendly people, interesting past, and outstanding cultural amenities that make it a desired place to live, do business, and to visit. Until Spring 2019, a lot of the neighborhoods in Muncie were lacking proper visual identification. A strong visual identity was needed to elevate the image of the neighborhood as well as provide a sense of pride within the residents. In partnership with Building Better Neighborhoods and Muncie Action Plan, we worked with a core group of committee members from various Muncie Neighborhoods to develop their visual identity. Check out the other neighborhood identities at the Studio 165+ website: www.studio165plus.com/bb

Building Better Neighborhoods Design

The City of Muncie has diverse communities with friendly people, an interesting past, and outstanding cultural amenities that make it a desired place to live, do business, and visit. Until Spring 2019, a lot of the neighborhoods in Muncie were lacking proper visual identification. A strong visual identity was needed to elevate the image of the neighborhood as well as provide a sense of pride among the residents. In partnership with Building Better Neighborhoods and Muncie Action Plan, we worked with a core group of committee members from various Muncie Neighborhoods to develop their visual identity. Check out the other neighborhood identities at the Studio 165+ website: www.studio165plus.com/bb

Building Better Neighborhoods Identity Design

The City of Muncie has diverse communities with friendly people, interesting past, and outstanding cultural amenities that make it a desired place to live, do business, and to visit. Until Spring 2019, a lot of the neighborhoods in Muncie were lacking proper visual identification. A strong visual identity was needed to elevate the image of the neighborhood as well as provide a sense of pride within the residents. In partnership with Building Better Neighborhoods and Muncie Action Plan, we worked with a core group of committee members from various Muncie Neighborhoods to develop their visual identity. Check out the other neighborhood identities at the Studio 165+ website: www.studio165plus.com/bb

International expansion of emerging market enterprises: A springboard perspective

In this article, we present a springboard perspective to describe the internationalization of emerging market multinational corporations (EM MNEs). EM MNEs use international expansion as a springboard to acquire strategic resources and reduce their institutional and market constraints at home. In so doing, they overcome their latecomer disadvantage in the global stage via a series of aggressive, risk-taking measures by aggressively acquiring or buying critical assets from mature MNEs to compensate for their competitive weaknesses. We discuss unique traits that characterize the international expansion of EM MNEs, and the unique motivations that steer them toward internationalization. We further delineate peculiar strategies and activities undertaken by these firms in pursuit of international expansion, as well as internal and external forces that might compel or facilitate their propulsion into the global scene. We finally explain the risks and remedies associated with this international ‘springboarding’ strategy and highlight major issues meriting further investigation. Journal of International Business Studies (2007) 38, 481–498. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400275