THE DECLINE OF ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE MORTALITY IN TEXAS: HEALTH PLANNING IMPLICATIONS

This is a report on an empirical study of the decline of ischemic heart disease mortality in the State of Texas. The study period was from 1970 to 1977. The data was collected and analyzed at three different levels of analysis: state, health service area (HSA), and county. The study was designed to test five main hypotheses. They serve to test the role of the medical care system as a possible factor associated with the changing ischemic heart disease mortality trends.^ The principal findings of the study were that a reasonable relationship could be found between the number of emergency medical care personnel, the number of icu-ccu beds, the number of medical specialists and the percent of hospitals with icu-ccu and the decline in ischemic heart disease mortality for the State of Texas. However, non significant relationships were found between variables in the medical care system and ischemic heart disease mortality trends, at the health service area level of analysis. More specifically, the number of coronary care unit beds was found to be negatively correlated with the decline in ischemic heart disease mortality at the county level.^ While being limited in its scope, the study suggests that certain factors (emergency medical service, icu-ccu beds, percent of icu-ccu units, and medical specialists) have been shown to be associated with the observed decline in ischemic heart disease mortality. The study also suggests many avenues of future research that need to be explored. ^

Health planning methods : an international perspective : report of the 1978 International Workshop /

Mode of access: Internet.

Comprehensive health planning as carried out by State and areawide agencies in three States, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; report to the Congress,

"B-164031(2)."

Competition and health planning : an issues paper /

"April 1982."

Unmasking problems in rural health planning /

Mode of access: Internet.

Emergency medical service systems and health planning : a bibliography.

Mode of access: Internet.

A manual on state mental health planning /

"Developed under contract No. 278-76-0047 (MH)...for the National Institute of Mental Health."

Manual of NCHSR-sponsored research products applicable to comprehensive health planning /

Mode of access: Internet.

Certificate of need, state health planning, and the state bonding authority for health facilities construction and development : Task Force report to the Council.

Cover title.

Guide to using the uniform Illinois hospital discharge abstract for health planning /

Includes bibliographical references.

The Comprehensive State Health Planning Agency : planning and administrative objectives : the fiscal year 1973, work program.

Mode of access: Internet.

Health planning information series.

Mode of access: Internet.

Implications of prospective payment for the health care system and health planning /

"HRP-0906516."

Developing a protocol for the use of telenursing in community health in Australia

As the first step in developing a protocol for the use of video-phones in community health, we carried out a feasibility study among clients with a range of health needs. Clients were equipped with a commercially available video-phone connected using the client's home telephone line. A hands-free speaker-phone and a miniature video-camera (for close-up views) were connected to the video-phone. Ten clients participated: five required wound care, two palliative care, two long-term therapy monitoring and one was a rural client. All but two were aged 75 years or more. Each client had a video-phone for an average of two to three weeks. During the six months of the study, 43 client calls were made, of which 36 (84%) were converted to video-calls. The speaker-phone was used on 24 occasions (56%) and the close-up camera on 23 occasions (53%). Both clients and nurses rated the equipment as satisfactory or better in questionnaires. None of the nurses felt that the equipment was difficult to use, including unpacking it and setting it up; only one client found it difficult. Taking into account the clients' responses, including their free-text comments, a judgement was made as to whether the video-phone had been useful to their nursing care. In seven cases it was felt to be unhelpful and in three cases it was judged helpful. Although the study sample was small, the results suggest that home telenursing is likely to be useful for rural clients in Australia, unsurprisingly, because of the distances involved.