Health services research
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Health services research · Dec 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyPractice-level effects of interventions to improve asthma care in primary care settings: the Pediatric Asthma Care Patient Outcomes Research Team.
To assess the practice-level effects of (1) a physician peer leader intervention and (2) peer leaders in combination with the introduction of asthma education nurses to facilitate care improvement. And, to compare findings with previously reported patient-level outcomes of trial enrollees. ⋯ This analysis showed a slight increase in ambulatory asthma visits as a result of asthma care improvement interventions, using automated data. The absence of detectable impact on medication use at the practice level differs from the positive intervention effect observed in patient self-reported data from trial enrollees. Analysis of automated data on nonenrollees adds information about practice-level impact of care improvement strategies. Benefits of practice-level interventions may accrue disproportionately to the subgroup of trial enrollees. The effect of such interventions may be less apparent at the level of practices or health plans.
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Health services research · Dec 2005
Assessment of the equivalence of the Spanish and English versions of the CAHPS Hospital Survey on the quality of inpatient care.
To describe translation and cultural adaptation procedures, and examine the degree of equivalence between the Spanish and English versions of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospital Survey (H-CAHPS) of patient experiences with care. ⋯ The results provide preliminary evidence of the equivalence between the Spanish and English versions of H-CAHPS. The translated Spanish version can be used to assess hospital quality of care for Spanish speakers, and compare results across these two language groups.
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Health services research · Dec 2005
Role of cognitive testing in the development of the CAHPS Hospital Survey.
To describe how cognitive testing results were used to inform the modification and selection of items for the Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospital Survey pilot test instrument. ⋯ Cognitive testing is the most direct way of finding out whether respondents understand questions consistently, have the information needed to answer the questions, and can use the response alternatives provided to describe their experiences or their opinions accurately. Many of the candidate questions failed to meet these standards. Cognitive testing only evaluates the way in which respondents understand and answer questions. Although it does not directly assess the validity of the answers, it is a reasonable premise that cognitive problems will seriously compromise validity and reliability.
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Health services research · Dec 2005
Out-of-pocket financial burden for low-income families with children: socioeconomic disparities and effects of insurance.
To determine whether socioeconomic disparities exist in the financial burden of out-of-pocket (OOP) health care expenditures for families with children, and whether health insurance coverage decreases financial burden for low-income families. ⋯ Socioeconomic disparities exist in the financial burden of OOP health care expenditures for families with children. For low-income families, full-year public coverage provides significantly greater protection from financial burden than full-year private coverage.
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Health services research · Oct 2005
Cross-functional team processes and patient functional improvement.
To test the hypothesis that higher levels of participation and functioning in cross-functional psychiatric treatment teams will be related to improved patient outcomes. ⋯ Findings support our premise that team process has important implications for patient outcomes. The results suggest that the level of participation by the team as a whole may be a more important process attribute, in terms of patient improvements in ADLs, than the team's smooth functioning. These findings indicate the potential appropriateness of managerial interventions to encourage member investment in team processes.