II Workshop on the use of Computed Tomography (CT) in pig carcass classification. Other CT applications: live animals and meat technology, 16-17th April 2009, Monells (Girona), Spain

Es va realitzar el II Workshop en Tomografia Computeritzada (TC) a Monells. El primer dia es va dedicar íntegrament a la utilització del TC en temes de classificació de canals porcines, i el segon dia es va obrir a altres aplicacions del TC, ja sigui en animals vius o en diferents aspectes de qualitat de la carn o els productes carnis. Al workshop hi van assistir 45 persones de 12 països de la UE. The II workshop on the use of Computed Tomography (CT) in pig carcass classification. Other CT applications: live animals and meat technology was held in Monells. The first day it was dedicated to the use of CT in pig carcass classification. The segond day it was open to otehr CT applications, in live animals or in meat and meat products quality. There were 45 assistants of 12 EU countries.

Patients' preferences on information and involvement in decision-making for gastrointestinal surgery

Objective: The relationship between physicians and patients has undergone¦important changes, and the current emancipation of patients has led to¦a real partnership in medical decision-making. This study aimed to assess¦patients' preferences on different aspects of decision-making during treatment¦and potential complications, as well as the amount and type of preoperative¦information before visceral surgery.¦Methods: Prospective non-randomized study based on a questionnaire given¦to 253 consecutive patients scheduled for elective GI surgery.¦Results: Concerning surgical complications or treatment in the intensive care¦unit, 64% of patients wished to take actively part in any medical decisions.¦The respective figures for cardiac resuscitation and treatment limitations were¦89% and 60%. About information, 73%, 77% and 47% of patients wish¦detailed information, information on a potential ICUhospitalization and cardiac¦resuscitation, respectively. Elderly and low-educated patients were significantly¦less interested in shared medical decision-making (p = 0·003 and 0·015) and in¦information receiving (p = 0·03 and 0·05). Similarly, involvement of the family¦in decision-making was significantly less important in elderly and male patients¦(p = 0·05 and 0·03 respectively). Neither the type of operation (minor or major)¦nor the severity of disease (malignancies vs. non-malignancies) was a significant¦factor for shared decision-making, information or family involvement.¦Conclusion: The vast majority of surgical patients clearly want to get adequate¦preoperative information about their disease and the planned treatment. They¦also consider it as crucial to be involved in any kind of decision-making for¦treatment and complications. The family's role is limited to support the treating¦physicians if the patient is unable to participate in taking decisions.

Contact and communication with healthcare providers regarding influenza vaccination during the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic.

Objective. The existence of two vaccines seasonal and pandemic-created the potential for confusion and misinformation among consumers during the 2009-2010 vaccination season. We measured the frequency and nature of influenza vaccination communication between healthcare providers and adults for both seasonal and 2009 influenza A(H1N1) vaccination and quantified its association with uptake of the two vaccines.Methods. We analyzed data from 4040 U.S. adult members of a nationally representative online panel surveyed between March 4th and March 24th, 2010. We estimated prevalence rates and adjusted associations between vaccine uptake and vaccination-related communication between patients and healthcare providers using bivariate probit models.Results. 64.1% (95%-CI: 61.5%-66.6%) of adults did not receive any provider-issued influenza vaccination recommendation. Adults who received a provider-issued vaccination recommendation were 14.1 (95%-CI: -2.4 to 30.6) to 32.1 (95%-CI: 24.3-39.8) percentage points more likely to be vaccinated for influenza than adults without a provider recommendation, after adjusting for other characteristics associated with vaccination.Conclusions. Influenza vaccination communication between healthcare providers and adults was relatively uncommon during the 2009-2010 pandemic. Increased communication could significantly enhance influenza vaccination rates. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Response to the Health Information and Quality Authority on their Corporate Plan

The Institute of Public Health in Ireland is an all-island body which aims to improve health in Ireland, by working to combat health inequalities and influence public policies in favour of health. The Institute promotes co-operation in research, training, information and policy in order to contribute to policies which tackle inequalities in health. He Institute houses the all-Ireland population health observatory, INIsPHO. The Institute has enjoyed good working relations with HIQA and welcomes the opportunity to submit its views for inclusion in HIQA’s forthcoming Corporate Plan. Our response highlights the inter-relatedness of the four Functions of HIQA. The Institute believes that HIQA’s first Corporate Plan should aim to develop all four Functions in a co-ordinated manner that recognizes and takes advantage of their inter-dependence. For example; the Health Information Function should include a strong focus on, but not be limited to, information requirements to support the delivery of the other three Functions. As well as gathering relevant information in a complementary way, these other Functions can help define priorities for the Health Information Function. This approach will have implications for the organizational structures and processes within HIQA, and the way it conducts its business.

Speech, Language and Communication Therapy Action Plan (2011/12 - 2012/13) - Easy Read (PDF 454 KB)

Easy Read version of Speech, Language and Communication Therapy Action Plan (2011/12 - 2012/13)

Information and education in schistosomiasis control: an analysis of the situation in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

This paper presents the main ideas discussed in the round-table "Social and Educacional Aspects of Schistosomiasis Control", during the VII International Symposium of Schistosomiais. Considering the perspectives of schistosomiasis control in Brazil, it is described the example of the State of Minas Gerais , where the disease has been registered for more than seven decades. The importance of an extensive evaluation is now more important, considering the recent change in the Brazilian health system, since the Federal responsibility for the tropical diseases control programs have been replaced by the municipalities coordination. In this way, it is urgent to develop effective alternatives to assist the municipal staffs in the control task. In the specific case of health education, one observes a wide gap between the planned objectives and what is in fact carried out. Instant objectives and the utilization of traditional techniques prevail, which do not take into account the active participation of the population involved. Based on the authors' experience in the scientific and health education, the paper analyzes: (1) some data from a case study in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, which presents the social representation and perception of schistosomiasis by the population; (2) an analysis of 35 different informative and educative materials used in Brazil since the sixties, and (3) some recommendations resulted from the studies that were carried out.

Does VAA popularity pay off ? : Smartvote users preferred candidates and their results in the 2007 Swiss federal elections

Voting is fundamental for democracy, however, this decisive democratic act requires quite an effort. Decision making at elections depends largely on the interest to gather information about candidates and parties, the effort to process the information at hand and the motivation to reach a vote choice. Especially in electoral systems with highly fragmented party systems and hundreds of candidates running for office, the process of decision making in the pre‐election sphere is highly demanding. In the age of information and communication technologies, new possibilities for gathering and processing such information are available. Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) provide guidance to voters prior to the act of voting and assist voters in choosing between different candidates and parties on the basis of issue congruence. Meanwhile widely used all over the world, scientific inquiry into the effect of such tools on electoral behavior is ongoing. This paper adds to the current debate by focusing on whether the popularity of candidates on the Swiss VAA smartvote eventually paid off at the 2007 Swiss federal elections and whether there is a direct link between the performance of a candidate on the tool and his or her electoral performance.

Information and Communications: ICT Strategy Vision Statement (PDF 323KB)

The Vision for ICT to Support Health and Social Care Services

Street-Level Bureaucracy and E-Government

With the intensive use of information and communication technologies, governments are transforming into e-governments. While public management research has given increased attention to this subject lately, this article reviews the limited literature that deals with the impacts of e-government technologies on street-level bureaucracies. A twofold argument is being developed. First, what can be called the 'curtailment thesis', stressing the reduction or disappearance of frontline policy discretion, is addressed. Second, the 'enablement thesis' gets attention, highlighting how technologies provide frontline workers and citizens with additional action resources. The article concludes with propositions for a future research agenda on the topic.

A Step in the Right Direction: An Evaluation of the Fáiltiú Information and Advise Service

The Fáiltiú service provides information and advice on rights, entitlements and options to homeless people, or those at risk of homelessness. The objectives of this evaluation were to assess the information needs of users of the service, how effectively they were being met, and how they could be improved. Two focus groups of staff members and service users gave their views on the design and implementation of the research at the outset of the project. A screening questionnaire identified 78 people who used the Fáiltiú service in a specified time period, of whom 40 participated in the evaluation by giving their views on the service. The study reviewed the literature on homelessness, attempted to define the term, and examined the characteristics of homeless people and relevant Irish social policy. The conclusions reached were: users of the Fáiltiú service are marginalized in a number of ways and share characteristics related to poverty and social exclusion, such as poor educational qualifications, high levels of unemployment and experience of prison; their needs are multi-dimensional and include accommodation, financial, social and medical support, and access to employment and training services: the service needs to respond to these needs in a holistic way.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Information and Intelligence forum presentation 2007: Jon Cox

Presentation from Jon Cox (Norfolk PCT) at the May 2007 Public Health Information and Intelligence forum

Informing healthier choices: Information and intelligence for healthy populations

One of the commitments given in the Choosing Health white paper was to develop and implement a comprehensive public health information and intelligence strategy. This work was led by a specially constituted Task Force and informed by extensive public and professional consultation conducted in 2006. The resulting strategy sets out an approach that will strengthen health information and intelligence resources across England.This document reports on the results of consultation on the strategy.

Health Poverty Index information and resources

This is a collection of HPI resources stored on the SEPHO web site