The Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32) was developed to assess mental health outcomes among patients with severe illness treated on inpatient programs. However;its applicability and utility to those ...
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The Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32) was developed to assess mental health outcomes among patients with severe illness treated on inpatient programs. However;its applicability and utility to those treated in outpatient programs has not been determined The objective of this study war;to assess reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the BASIS-32 among mental health consumers treated in outpatient programs. A total of 407 outpatients completed the BASIS-32 and the Short Form Health Status Profile (SF-36) at the beginning of a treatment episode and again 30 to 90 days later Outpatients reported less difficulty at intake than did inpatients, and the BASIS-32 detected statistically significant changes 30 To 90 days after beginning outpatient treatment. Factor structure and construct validity were partially confirmed on this sample of outpatient consumers. Analyses of data from a wide range of facilities and samples would add to validation efforts and to further refinement of the BASIS-32.
The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine the frequency of HIV infection among dental patients attending the three dental facilities at Muhimbili Medical Centre (MMC) in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, a...
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The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine the frequency of HIV infection among dental patients attending the three dental facilities at Muhimbili Medical Centre (MMC) in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, and to compare the dental treatment demands and needs of the patients found to be HIV-infected with those of their HIV-seronegative counterparts. The facilities were;the dental outpatient department (DOPD) clinic, the dental minor surgery department, and the dental ward. This study which was conducted between March and April, 1996 enrolled a total of 460 patients. The investigations involved detection of anti-HIV IgG antibodies in saliva, examination of oral and peri-oral tissues, and assessment of dental and periodontal status. The overall HIV frequency among the dental patients was 10.9 per cent. The frequencies of HIV infection among patients attending the dental OPD clinic, minor surgery, and those admitted in the dental ward were 9.4 per cent, 26.3 per cent, and 25.0 per cent, respectively. The dental treatment demands and needs of HIV-seropositive patients were not different from that of HIV-seronegative patients. The high frequency of HIV infection calls for institution of infection control measures in the dental clinics. However, such measures need to be tailored for the poor countries, with potentially high frequency of HIV infection and minimal resources, in order to make them relevant.
This first of two papers on the health sector in Lebanon describes how unregulated development of private care quickly led to a crisis situation. Following the civil war the health care sector in Lebanon is characteri...
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This first of two papers on the health sector in Lebanon describes how unregulated development of private care quickly led to a crisis situation. Following the civil war the health care sector in Lebanon is characterized by (i) ambulatory care provided by private practitioners working as individual entrepreneurs, and, to a small extent, by NGO health centres;and (ii) by a fast increase in hi-tech private hospitals. The latter is fuelled by unregulated purchase of hospital care by the Ministry of Health and public insurance schemes. Health expenditure and financing patterns are described. The position of the public sector in this context is analyzed. In Lebanon unregulated private care has resulted in major inefficiencies, distortion of the health care system, the creation of a culture that is oriented to secondary care and technology, and a non-sustainable cost explosion. Between 1991 and 1995 this led to a financing and organizational crisis that is the background for growing pressure for reform.
In recent years there have been several attempts to develop quantitative measures of potential spatial access to health care services which, despite their limitations, offer many positive ideas that can perhaps be int...
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In recent years there have been several attempts to develop quantitative measures of potential spatial access to health care services which, despite their limitations, offer many positive ideas that can perhaps be integrated into a logically consistent and generally acceptable index. It is in this vein that the current paper presents an integrated approach, drawing partially from past contributions, to measuring potential spatial access to health care services. The final access index is derived as the culmination of a series of individual measures, starting with an initial gravity formulation and progressing through successive stages as new elements, consistent with the definition and conceptualization of potential spatial access, are introduced. Application of the proposed index to the ambulatory medical care system of the Akron, Ohio SMSA, demonstrates the validity of the measure, and its suitability as a potential health care planning tool.
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