Background: Caring for family is essential for organ donation request and decision making process and nurses are responsible for family caring. Aim: the present study have performed to explore the role of quality of care and treatment in facilitating decision making and consent to organ donation in family of the  brain death patient. Methods: A qualitative research approach with its focus on th...

BACKGROUND Multiple studies have investigated the outcome of integrated care programs for chronically ill patients. However, few studies have addressed the specific role hospitals can play in the downstream collaboration for chronic disease management. Our objective here is to provide a comprehensive overview of the role of the hospitals by synthesizing the advantages and disadvantages of hospi...

BACKGROUND Mental disorders among older adults are mainly treated with psychotropic drugs. Few of these drugs are, however, prescribed by specialized geriatricians or psychiatrists, but rather from general practitioners (GPs). Socioeconomic inequalities in access to specialist prescribing have been found in younger age groups. Hence, we aimed to investigate whether there are socioeconomic diffe...

BACKGROUND Current guidelines recommend referral to highly specialized care for patients with severe personality disorders. However, criteria for allocation to highly specialized care are not clearly defined. The aim of the present study was to develop a decision tool that can support clinicians to identify patients with a personality disorder in need of highly specialized care. METHODS Steps...

BACKGROUND Families with lower socioeconomic status (SES) often face problems with gaining access to health care services. Information is scarce on the relationship between SES and health care delivery for children suffering from chronic pain. METHODS Families presenting to a specialized pain center (N = 1,001) provided information on 'household income, 'parental education' and 'occupation' t...

BACKGROUND The management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs; Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis) is increasingly complex. Specialized care has been associated with improved ambulatory IBD outcomes. AIMS To examine if the implementation of specialized inpatient IBD care modified short-term and long-term clinical outcomes in IBD-related hospitalizations. METHODS This retrospective cohort ...

Health care spending increased 8.2 percent in 2004. This was virtually unchanged from 2003, which suggests that health care cost trends have stabilized. Hospital spending grew 10.1 percent in 2004, also virtually unchanged from 2003, reflecting a small increase in the hospital utilization trend and a small decline in hospital price inflation. Meanwhile, growth in prescription drug spending cont...