Health Improvement and Knowledge Management Subgroup Interim Report (PDF 138 KB)

Health Improvement and Knowledge Management Subgroup Interim Report January 2006

Drug and Alcohol Knowledge and Use Amongst Primary School Children (PDF 246 KB)

Mar-04

Making Knowledge Work for Health: A Strategy for Health Research

Making Knowledge Work for Health: A Strategy for Health Research, provides a framework for the development of health research to enhance health and quality of life and help ensure that our research compares favourably with the rest of the world. I believe that an active research community working close to the delivery of health care in clinical settings, laboratories, the community, third-level institutions and the healthcare industry is critical to the improvement of the quality of health services generally. It is vital for professional development and career satisfaction of health service staff. It is also important for the translation of ideas into medical and IT products that can add value to our economy Download the Report here

Review of governance and accountability mechanisms in the General Medical Services schemes

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Governance von Universitätsbibliotheken : Optimierungsmöglichkeiten aus institutioneller Sicht

Ausgangspunkt der Arbeit bildet die Beobachtung, dass Universitäts­biblio­theken unterschiedliche Aufgaben zu Händen verschiedener Akteure erfüllen - so nehmen Universitätsbibliotheken in der Schweiz häufig Aufgaben einer Kantonsbibliothek wahr. Universitätsbibliotheken zeichnen sich durch unterschiedliche Rechts- und Organisationsformen aus, unterhalten Beziehungen zu Dritten und sind deshalb verschiedenen Instanzen zur Rechenschaft verpflichtet. Sie sind, schliesslich, in Zusammenschlüsse unterschiedlicher Natur eingebunden. Vor diesem Hintergrund wirft die vorliegende Arbeit die Frage nach der Steuerung des Unternehmens Universitätsbibliothek auf. Anhand ausgewählter Fallbeispiele wird aufgezeigt, wie sich unterschiedliche Governance-Modelle gestalten. Dabei wird insbesondere auf die Rechts- und Organisationsform, auf institutionelle Strukturen, auf Steuerungsinstrumente (Auftrag und finanzielle Rahmenbedingungen), auf institutionelle Beziehungen sowie auf die Autonomie der Bibliothek eingegangen. Darauf auf­bau­end werden Vor- und Nachteile der Modelle hinsichtlich der Erfüllung des Doppelauftrags (Universitäts- und Kantonsbibliothek) diskutiert. Es zeigt sich, dass Universitäts- und Kantonsauftrag komplementäre Funktionen darstellen, wobei allerdings vereinzelt Schwierigkeiten auftreten können. Die Rechts- und Organisationsform sowie, insbesondere, die Trägerschaft bilden ein zentrales Element im Hinblick auf die Auftragserfüllung. Gleichzeitig sind auch weitere Elemente zentral, beispielsweise Instrumente, welche nicht nur die Aufgaben, sondern die Zuständigkeiten der beteiligten Akteure festhalten. Parmi les nombreuses fonctions remplies par les bibliothèques universitaires en Suisse, celle de bibliothèque cantonale est la plus fréquente. Les formes juridiques et/ou d'organisation des bibliothèques universitaires suisses sont multiples ; les bibliothèques entretiennent des liens avec des tiers et elles sont, par conséquent, tenues de rendre des comptes à diverses instances. Comme toutes les bibliothèques, elles s'intègrent, finalement, à des réseaux de nature différente. Dans ce contexte, le présent travail soulève la question de la gouvernance de la bibliothèque universitaire. Il décrit, à partir d'exemples choisis, différents modèles de gouvernance en s'intéressant surtout à la forme juridique et/ou d'organisation, aux structures institutionnelles, aux instruments de gouvernance concernant la mission et les conditions cadres financières de la bibliothèque, aux relations institutionnelles et à l'autonomie de la bibliothèque. L'analyse permet ainsi une réflexion sur les avantages et les inconvénients des différents modèles de gouvernance au vu de la double mission universitaire et cantonale des bibliothèques. Le présent travail montre que les fonctions universitaires et cantonales sont à priori complémentaires et ne donnent lieu qu'à des difficultés mineures. La forme juridique et/ou d'organisation ainsi que l'autorité de tutelle constituent des éléments déterminants pour l'accomplissement de la (double) mission de la bibliothèque. Parallèlement, d'autres éléments jouent également un rôle important - par exemple, les instruments permettant non seulement de régler les tâches de la bibliothèque, mais aussi de déterminer les compétences de tous les acteurs intéressés.

Framework for Corporate and Financial Governance for Regulatory Bodies under the aegis of the Department of Health and Children

The document should be read as supplementary to existing requirements as set out both in statute â?" particularly legislation specific to your organisation, the Health Acts 1947-2004, Ombudsman Act, 1980, Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003, Freedom of Information Acts 1997-2003, Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 & 2001, Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002 and the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 – and in Government approved guidelines, including the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2001), Public Financial Procedures, The Role and Responsibilities of Accounting Officers (2003) and Risk Management Guidance for Government Departments and Offices (2004). Read the report (PDF, 1.4mb)  

Framework for Corporate and Financial Governance for Agencies funded by the Department of Health and Children

Corporate governance is the system by which organisations direct and control their functions and relate to their stakeholders in order to manage their business, achieve their mission and objectives and meet the necessary standards of accountability, integrity and propriety. It is a key element in improving efficiency and accountability as well as enhancing openness and transparency. A significant element of the Governmentâ?Ts programme for health service reform is the strengthening of governance and accountability arrangements across the health system. Read the Report (PDF, 1mb)

Wissensvermehrung durch Konzeptentwicklung? Das Beispiel Vergänglichkeit [The contibution of concept development to nursing knowledge? The example of Transitoriness].

To provide nursing practice with evidence, it is important to understand nursing phenomena in detail. Therefore, good descriptions including the identification of characteristics and attributes of nursing phenomena on various levels of abstraction, i. e., concepts, are needed. In this article the significance of concept development for nursing science will be demonstrated by drawing on the example of 'transitoriness'. The evolutionary concept analysis proposed by Rodgers (2000) is introduced in more detail. Drawing on transitoriness, the phenomenon is presented with the help of the evolutionary concept analysis by Rodgers (2000). The phenomenon's characteristics and attributes are identified, as well as potential areas of application. Moreover, areas are outlined, in which interventions for nursing practice can be developed, implemented and evaluated. Thus, nursing practice is updated to include new findings and innovation. Through concept analysis nursing phenomena can be described in more detail, enhanced or broadened for use in nursing practice. Such structured processes as concept analysis can be employed successfully for other nursing phenomena. Concept analyses can lead to the identification of tasks for the respective scientific discipline and professionals. Thus, concept analyses can lead to the concretisation of tasks in nursing.

Consumer Food Safety Knowledge, Microbiology & Refrigeration Temperatures in Domestic Kitchens

This study examined consumer food safety knowledge on the island of Ireland. Domestic refrigerators were tested for the presence of a range of pathogenic bacteria.

A Study of Food Safety Knowledge, Microbiology and Refrigeration Temperatures in Restaurant Kitchens on the Island of Ireland

A population-based telephone survey conducted in 2002 estimated that there were 3.2 million episodes of acute gastroenteritis on the island of Ireland each year (Scallon et al., 2004). It is often very dif ficult to definitively identify the source of illness. However, of the respondents in that study suspecting food as the reason for their illness, 74% blamed food consumed from commercial premises such as restaurants, cafés, takeaways, canteens and pubs. Within the food services industry, statistics show a significant level of prosecutions, prohibition and closure orders of restaurants for food hygiene offences. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has identified the main contributory factors to foodborne infections to be: cross-contamination, inadequate cooking, inadequate storage, inadequate reheating, delayed serving and infected food handlers (FSAI, 2000). Development of appropriate training and education campaigns to target problem areas requires initial understanding of the current level of food safety knowledge and practices in the food services industry.