PURPOSE  Heart failure presents a huge burden for individual patients and the healthcare system as a whole. This study aims to assess the adherence to these core measures as identified by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)/ American Heart Association (AHA) by physicians of Pakistan. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY  We conducted a cross-sectional study in Shifa...

Background In this article, we analyze one case instance of how proposals for change to the priority setting and resource allocation (PSRA) processes at a Canadian healthcare institution reached the decision agenda of the organization’s senior leadership. We adopt key concepts from an established policy studies framework – Kingdon’s multiple streams theory – to inform our analysis.   Methods Tw...

BACKGROUND Pediatric subspecialists can participate in the care of obese children. OBJECTIVE To describe steps to help subspecialty providers initiate quality improvement efforts in obesity care. METHODS An anonymous patient data download, provider surveys and interviews assessed subspecialty providers' identification and perspectives of childhood obesity and gathered information on perceiv...

Objectives: The optimal timing for tracheostomy after cardiac surgery in patients undergoing prolonged ventilation is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of tracheostomy timing on shortand long-term mortality of these patients. Design: Retrospective study of prospectively collected data. Setting: Cardiac surgical intensive care unit (ICU) in a tertiary-care, university...

OBJECTIVE To describe family caregivers' experiences with palliative care services in rural communities. DESIGN Qualitative study. SETTING Manitoulin Island, Ont. PARTICIPANTS Thirteen family caregivers of 12 deceased patients who had received palliative care services. METHOD Twenty-five family caregivers were recruited by mail and local newspaper. Eight were excluded because they lived...

Background and Objectives: Health care workers are under constant exposure to the risk of ooccupational blood-borne infection, which most of the time can be avoided by observing standard precautions. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of health care workers of a sample tertiary care hospital towards occupational exposure to blood-borne pat...