BACKGROUND Community-based self-screening may provide opportunities to increase detection of hypertension, and identify raised blood pressure (BP) in populations who do not access healthcare. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of non-physician screening and self-screening of BP in community settings. METHODS We searched the Cochrane Central Trials Register, Medline, Em...

Recent interest in evidence-based design (EBD) by the U.S. healthcare industry has led to new questions about how to best use this knowledge to improve the efficiency, safety, quality, and sustainability of new or existing facilities. Proponents of EBD claim that it enhances healthcare outcomes by utilizing empirical research to drive decision-making during all phases of healthcare facility pla...

OBJECTIVES Few studies have systematically examined the effects of barriers such as distance to health facilities on child survival in low- and middle-income countries. Our primary objective was to estimate the effect of proximity to health facilities on child survival in low- and middle-income countries. The secondary objective was to compare effects in different age categories (perinatal (28 ...

The Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc (CBIC) is a voluntary autonomous multidisciplinary board that provides direction and administers the certification process for professionals who are responsible for the infection prevention and control program in a health care facility. The CBIC performs a practice analysis approximately every 4-5 years. The practice analysis is...

The structure and provision mechanism of maternity services in Nepal appears to be good, with adequate coverage and availability. Utilization of maternity services has also improved in the past decade. However, this progress may not be adequate to achieve the Millennium Development Goal to improve maternal health (MDG 5) in Nepal. This paper reviews the factors that impede women from utilizing ...

There is increasing demand for evaluation work funded by public agencies to become more focused on demonstrating effectiveness. Focusing evaluation on outcomes and effectiveness meets the information needs of strategic planners and policy makers, but other stakeholders involved in managing, delivering or using public services and programmes may use other assessment criteria, such as improving t...

A1C point-of-care (POC) instruments benefit patients with diabetes by facilitating clinician decision making that results in significant glycemic improvements. Three National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP)-certified POC products are available in the United States: the handheld A1CNow (formerly manufactured by Bayer Diabetes Care but now made by Chek Diagnostics) and two bench-to...

In order to improve the knowledge and skills of midwives at health facilities and those based in villages in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, three in-service training programmes were carried out during 1995–98. A scheme used for both facility and village midwives included training at training centres, peer review and continuing education. One restricted to village midwives involved an internship p...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the relationship of positive screening for depression during and after pregnancy with deployment status of the spouse. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study by reviewing a departmental database of women who completed the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale during pregnancy from 2007 to 2009. Per departmental protocol, screening is offered at the initial obs...

BACKGROUND A community pharmacy real-time electronic recording program, ProjectSTOP, enables Australian community pharmacists to verify pseudoephedrine requests. In Western Australia the program was available for voluntary use from April 2007 and became mandatory November 2010. This case study explores the effectiveness of the program by reviewing the total requests for pseudoephedrine products...