National medical care utilization and expenditure survey.

Mode of access: Internet.

Medical care and health services for rural people; a study prepared as a result of a conference held at Chicago, Illinois, April 11-13, 1944,

Mode of access: Internet.

Dependents' Medical Care Program; Report

Mode of access: Internet.

Rural health and medical care,

Bibliographical footnotes.

Casework services in public assistance medical care.

First pub. in 1962 by U.S. Bureau of Family Services.

National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey.

Title from cover.

An evaluation of depression, self-efficacy, satisfaction with life and perceived access to medical care across stages of HIV infection

This survey was designed to identify the incidence and scope of depression, satisfaction with life, self-efficacy and perceived access to medical care for those who are infected with the HIV virus. It also determined whether or not factors such as sexual orientation, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are intervening variables with respect to mental health issues. Subjects were recruited through a purposive sample from South Florida. A total of 871 surveys were used in the analysis. The overall response rate was nearly 90%. The incidence of depression was found to be higher than 75% across all stages of HIV infection. Furthermore, the incidence of depression increased as HIV disease progressed. Satisfaction with life and for the most part, self efficacy were found to decrease slightly as HIV disease progressed. Significant variance in depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy were found across stages of HIV infection. No significant differences between groups that were HIV infected were found for depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy. The severity of depression was found to vary significantly with self efficacy, life satisfaction and access to medical care but not with socioeconomic status. Life satisfaction was found to vary significantly with socioeconomic status, depression and self efficacy but not with access to medical care. Self-efficacy was found to vary significantly with socioeconomic status, depression and life satisfaction but not with access to medical care. Gender and ethnicity were not found to be significant precedent variables in depression for HIV infected individuals. Sexual orientation was found to be a significant precedent variable for depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy.

Diabetes Self-management Behaviors, Medical Care, Glycemic Control, and Self-rated Health in US Men by Race/Ethnicity

Men, particularly minorities, have higher rates of diabetes as compared with their counterparts. Ongoing diabetes self-management education and support by specialists are essential components to prevent the risk of complications such as kidney disease, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological impairments. Diabetes self-management behaviors, in particular, as diet and physical activity, have been associated with glycemic control in the literature. Recommended medical care for diabetes may differ by race/ethnicity. This study examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2007 to 2010 for men with diabetes (N = 646) from four racial/ethnic groups: Mexican Americans, other Hispanics, non-Hispanic Blacks, and non-Hispanic Whites. Men with adequate dietary fiber intake had higher odds of glycemic control (odds ratio = 4.31, confidence interval [1.82, 10.20]), independent of race/ethnicity. There were racial/ethnic differences in reporting seeing a diabetes specialist. Non-Hispanic Blacks had the highest odds of reporting ever seeing a diabetes specialist (84.9%) followed by White non-Hispanics (74.7%), whereas Hispanics reported the lowest proportions (55.2% Mexican Americans and 62.1% other Hispanics). Men seeing a diabetes specialist had the lowest odds of glycemic control (odds ratio = 0.54, confidence interval [0.30, 0.96]). The results of this study suggest that diabetes education counseling may be selectively given to patients who are not in glycemic control. These findings indicate the need for examining referral systems and quality of diabetes care. Future studies should assess the effectiveness of patient-centered medical care provided by a diabetes specialist with consideration of sociodemographics, in particular, race/ethnicity and gender.

Trends in the use of psychotropic medications among adolescents, 1994 to 2001

Objectives: Few psychotropic medications are approved for use among children younger than 18 years. Yet previous studies have shown an increase in the use of psychotropic medications among school-age children and adolescents. Most previous studies examined data only up to 1997; therefore, the results predate any impact of changing federal policies and newly marketed medications. This study examined trends in the prescription of psychotropic medications to adolescents aged 14 to 18 years in office-based care in the United States from 1994 to 2001. Methods: Data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) were used to determine visit rates and prescribing patterns from 1994 to 2001 for psychotropics that were prescribed in office-based treatment settings to adolescents aged 14 to 18 years. Rates of visits that resulted in a prescription for psychotropic medication were calculated for two-year periods. Analyses were conducted by type of medication, gender, and the prescribing physician's specialty. Results: Rates of visits that resulted in a psychotropic prescription increased from 3.4 percent in 1994-1995 to 8.3 percent in 2000-2001. These trends were evident for males and females. The average annual growth rates for psychotropic prescriptions were much higher after 1999. Trends were also significant across drug classes. By 2001, one out of ten office visits by adolescent males resulted in a prescription for a psychotropic medication. Conclusions: Average annual growth rates for the prescription of psychotropics to adolescents increased from 1994 to 2001, with especially rapid acceleration after 1999. This increase may be associated with changing thresholds of diagnosis and treatment, availability of new medications, and changes in federal regulatory policies concerning promotion of medications by the pharmaceutical industry.

Cenários de impacto de uma eventual pandemia de gripe na população portuguesa : morbilidade, mortalidade e necessidade de cuidados de saúde

RESUMO - Introdução — O presente estudo descreve os cenários de impacto que uma eventual pandemia de gripe poderá ter na população portuguesa e nos serviços de saúde. Trata-se de uma versão actualizada dos cenários preliminares que têm vindo a ser elaborados e discutidos desde 2005. Material e métodos — Os cenários assumem que a pandemia ocorrerá em duas ondas das quais a primeira (taxa de ataque: 10%) será menos intensa do que a segunda (taxas de ataque: 20%, 25% ou 30%). Neste trabalho são descritos apenas os cenários respeitantes à situação mais grave (taxa de ataque global = 10% + 30%). A elaboração dos cenários utilizou o método proposto por Meltzer, M. I., Cox, N. J. e Fukuda, K. (1999) mas com quase todos os parâmetros adaptados à população portuguesa. Esta adaptação incidiu sobre: 1. duração da pandemia; 2. taxa de letalidade; 3. percentagem da população com risco elevado de complicações; 4. percentagem de doentes com suspeita de gripe que procurará consulta; 5. tempo entre o início dos sintomas e a procura de cuidados; 6. percentagem de doentes que terá acesso efectivo a antiviral; 7. taxa de hospitalização por gripe e tempo médio de hospitalização; 8. percentagem de doentes hospitalizados que necessitarão de cuidados intensivos (CI) e tempo de internamento em CI; 9. efectividade de oseltamivir para evitar complicações e morte. Resultados — Os cenários correspondentes à situação mais grave (taxa de ataque global: 10% + 30%) são apresentados sem qualquer intervenção e, também, com utilização de oseltamivir para fins terapêuticos. Os resultados sem intervenção para o cenário «provável» indicam: • número total de casos — 4 142 447; • número total de indivíduos a necessitar de consulta — 5 799 426; • número total de hospitalizações — 113 712; • número total de internamentos em cuidados intensivos — 17 057; • número total de óbitos — 32 051; • número total de óbitos, nas semanas com valor máximo — 1.a onda: 2551, 2.a onda: 7651. Quando os cenários foram simulados entrando em linha de conta com a utilização de oseltamivir (considerando uma efectividade de 10% e 30%), verificou-se uma redução dos valores dos óbitos e hospitalizações calculados. O presente artigo também apresenta a distribuição semanal, no período de desenvolvimento da pandemia, dos vários resultados obtidos. Discussão — Os resultados apresentados devem ser interpretados como «cenários» e não como «previsões». De facto, as incertezas existentes em relação à doença e ao seu agente não permitem prever com rigor suficiente os seus impactos sobre a população e sobre os serviços de saúde. Por isso, os cenários agora apresentados servem, sobretudo, para fins de planeamento. Assim, a preparação da resposta à eventual pandemia pode ser apoiada em valores cujas ordens de grandeza correspondem às situações de mais elevada gravidade. Desta forma, a sua utilização para outros fins é inadequada e é vivamente desencorajada pelos autores.

Comparación de parámetros de atención en una escala de triage de 5 niveles con los parámetros estándar

Introducción: La escala de severidad en emergencias es una herramienta que ofrece seguridad a pacientes en servicios de urgencias. Este trabajo evalúa la aplicación de la escala ESI 4.0 en términos de oportunidad de atención y consumo de recursos en la Fundación Santa Fé de Bogotá, para comparar los resultados con parámetros estándar. Metodología Estudio observacional analítico de corte transversal. Se incluyeron 385 pacientes aleatorizados por nivel de atención. Se tomaron datos demográficos y variables como consumo de recursos y destino del paciente para su descripción y análisis. Resultados: El promedio de edad fue 44.9 años IC95%42.9–46.9, el 54.5% fueron mujeres. Se encontró un tiempo promedio de espera para nivel 1 de 1.39 min, para el nivel 2 de 22.9 min 2, para el nivel 3 de 41.9 min, para el nivel 4 de 56.9 min y para el nivel 5 de 52.1 min. El tiempo promedio de estancia en urgencias fue 5.9 horas y el 78.9% consumió recursos. Al comparar los tiempos con estándares mundiales en el nivel 1, 2 y 3 son significativamente mayores (P<0,05), en el nivel 4 es similar (p0,51) y en el nivel 5 es significativamente menor (p=0,00) Discusión: La escala ESI 4.0 es una herramienta segura, con un comportamiento similar en oportunidad de atención y consumo de recursos con respecto a los estándares de cuidado en los servicios de urgencias.