Analysis of Inpatient Bed Allocation Equity and Utilization in the City Community Health Service Center of China

The objective of this study was to examine the inpatient bed （IB） allocation equity and utilization in Chinese city commtmity health service centers （CHSCs）. The data were derived from the Baseline Survey of National City Community Health Service System Building Project, which was conducted in 1917 CHSCs in 28 cities in 2007. The IB allocation was analyzed in terms oflB alloca- tion quantity and distribution equity, and the IB utilization was analyzed by the IB utilization rate and average length of stay of the CHSC inpatients. The results showed that 49.3% of the CHSCs were equipped with IB; averagely, there were 45 IBs per CHSC, 0.94 IBs per 1000 people, and 0.38 nurses and 0.57 doctors per IB; the IB Gini coefficient was 0.32; the IB utilization rate was 40.06%; and the average length of stay of inpatients was 12.24 days. The conclusions were that IB allocation among the population was equitable, but the number of nurse per IB was not up to the national standard; and the CHSC IB utilization was low as a whole, thus inpatient service was not the main health service for Chinese CHSCs.

Socio-economic and Psychosocial Determinants of Smoking and Passive Smoking in Older Adults

Objective To determine the associations of socio-economic and psychosocial factors with active and passive smoking in older adults. Methods Using a standard interview method, we examined random samples of 6071 people aged 〉 60 years in 5 provinces of China during 2007-2009. Results World age-standardised prevalence for current and former smoking in men was 45.6% and 20.5%, and in women 11.1% and 4.5%. Current smoking reduced with older age but increased with men, low socioeconomic status （SES）, alcohol drinking, being never-married, pessimistic and depressive syndromes. Former smoking was associated with men, secondary school education, a middle-high income, being a businessman, being widowed, less frequencies of visiting children/relatives and friends, and worrying about children. Among 3774 never-smokers, the prevalence of passive smoking was 31.5%, and the risk increased with women, low SES, alcohol drinking, being married, having a religious believe, and daily visiting children/relatives. There were sex differences in the associations, and an interaction effect of education and income on smoking and passive smoking. Conclusion Older Chinese had a higher level of smoking and passive smoking than those in high income countries, reflecting China＇s failures in controlling smoking. The associations with low SES and different psychosocial aspects and sex differences suggest preventative strategies for active and passive smoking.

Development and pilot implementation of a patient-oriented discharge summary for critically Ill patients

BACKGROUND Patients leaving the intensive care unit(ICU)often experience gaps in care due to deficiencies in discharge communication,leaving them vulnerable to increased stress,adverse events,readmission to ICU,and death.To facilitate discharge communication,written summaries have been implemented to provide patients and their families with information on medications,activity and diet restrictions,follow-up appointments,symptoms to expect,and who to call if there are questions.While written discharge summaries for patients and their families are utilized frequently in surgical,rehabilitation,and pediatric settings,few have been utilized in ICU settings.AIM To develop an ICU specific patient-oriented discharge summary tool(PODS-ICU),and pilot test the tool to determine acceptability and feasibility.METHODS Patient-partners(i.e.,individuals with lived experience as an ICU patient or family member of an ICU patient),ICU clinicians(i.e.,physicians,nurses),and researchers met to discuss ICU patients’specific informational needs and design the PODS-ICU through several cycles of discussion and iterative revisions.Research team nurses piloted the PODS-ICU with patient and family participants in two ICUs in Calgary,Canada.Follow-up surveys on the PODS-ICU and its impact on discharge were administered to patients,family participants,and ICU nurses.RESULTS Most participants felt that their discharge from the ICU was good or better(n=13;87.0%),and some(n=9;60.0%)participants reported a good understanding of why the patient was in ICU.Most participants(n=12;80.0%)reported that they understood ICU events and impacts on the patient’s health.While many patients and family participants indicated the PODS-ICU was informative and useful,ICU nurses reported that the PODS-ICU was“not reasonable”in their daily clinical workflow due to“time constraint”.CONCLUSION The PODS-ICU tool provides patients and their families with essential information as they discharge from the ICU.This tool has the potential to engage and empower patients and their families in ensuring continuity of care beyond ICU discharge.However,the PODS-ICU requires pairing with earlier discharge practices and integration with electronic clinical information systems to fit better into the clinical workflow for ICU nurses.Further refinement and testing of the PODS-ICU tool in diverse critical care settings is needed to better assess its feasibility and its effects on patient health outcomes.

The current status of community mental health services in three northern areas of China

Objective:This study investigated and discussed the current status of community mental health service in three northern areas of China(Beijing,Harbin,and Karamay)in an effort to improve the community mental health services in China.Methods:In this study 176 residents from communities of the three northern areas of China were involved and divided into 18 groups.The study was conducted according to a self-prepared structured interview outline.Results:The analysis was conducted based on the following four perspectives:1.commu-nity residents’understanding of the mental health problems and how they treated psychiatric patients;2.community residents’access to and application of mental health information;3.com-munity residents’attitude to accept mental health services and the factors influencing community residents to seek help from mental health services;and 4.community residents’attitude and will-ingness to participate in the activities of community mental health services.Conclusion:Based on the investigation and analysis regarding the current status of the com-munity mental health services in three northern areas of China,it is concluded that the residents do not have s clear and complete understanding of mental health.The characteristics of mental health services had a regional correlation.Currently,the mental health services do not work effectively,and the residents are somewhat passive in obtaining information about mental health.Community mental health services should be offered according to different individual needs of the residents and the actual situations of each region.

Bayesian methods in reporting and managing Australian clinical indicators

Sustained clinical improvement is unlikely without appropriate measuring and reporting techniques. Clinical indicators are tools to help assess whether a standard of care is being met. They are used to evaluate the potential to improve the care provided by healthcare organisations(HCOs). The analysis and reporting of these indicators for the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards have used a methodology which estimates, for each of the 338 clinical indicators, the gains in the system that would result from shifting the mean proportion to the 20 th centile. The results are used to provide a relative measure to help prioritise quality improvement activity within clinical areas, rather than simply focus on "poorer performing" HCOs. The method draws attention to clinical areas exhibiting larger between-HCO variation and affecting larger numbers of patients. HCOs report data in six-month periods, resulting in estimated clinical indicator proportions which may be affected by small samples and sampling variation. Failing to address such issues would result in HCOs exhibiting extremely small and large estimated proportions and inflated estimates of the potential gains in the system. This paper describes the 20 th centile method of calculating potential gains for the healthcare system by using Bayesian hierarchical models and shrinkage estimators to correct for the effects of sampling variation, and provides an example case in Emergency Medicine as well as example expert commentary from colleges based upon the reports. The application of these Bayesian methods enables all collated data to be used, irrespective of an HCO's size, and facilitates more realistic estimates of potential system gains.

Efficiency and Productivity of County-level Public Hospitals Based on the Data Envelopment Analysis Model and Malmquist Index in Anhui, China

Background： China began to implement the national medical and health system and public hospital reforms in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Anhui Province is one of the four pilot provinces, and the medical reform measures received wide attention nationwide. The effectiveness of the above reform needs to get attention. This study aimed to master the efficiency and productivity of county-level public hospitals based on the data envelopment analysis （DEA） model and Malmquist index in Anhui, China, and then provide improvement measures for the future hospital development. Methods： We chose 12 country-level hospitals based on geographical distribution and the economic development level inAnhui Province. Relevant data that were collected in the field and then sorted were provided by the administrative departments of the hospitals. DEA models were used to calculate the dynamic efficiency and Malmquist index factors for the 12 institutions. Results： During 2010-2015, the overall average relative service efficiency of 12 county-level public hospitals was 0.926, and the number of hospitals achieved an effective DEA for each year from 2010 to 2015 was 4, 6, 7, 7, 6, and 8, respectively, as measured using DEA. During this same period, the average overall production efficiency was 0.983, and the total productivity factor had declined. The overall production efficiency of five hospitals was 〉1, and the rest are 〈1 between 2010 and 2015. Conclusions： In 2010-2015, the relative service efficiency of 12 county-level public hospitals in Anhui Province showed a decreasing trend, and the service efficiency of each hospital changed. In the past 6 years, although some hospitals have been effective, the efficiency of the county-level public hospitals in Anhui Province has not improved significantly, and the total factor productivity has not been effectively improved. County-level public hospitals need to combine their own reality to find their own deficiencies.

Challenges to the Chinese Health Insurance System： Users＇ and Service Providers＇ Perspectives

To achieve universal health insurance coverage,China has launched three phases of health care system reforms.The first round of reforms was embarked on in the mid-1980s with the introduction of market incentives.The second round began in 1997 with the introduction of the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance （UEBMI） scheme which provided health insurance coverage to all urban workers in addition to a long-term/historical scheme for government workers.

Global trends in diabetes-related mortality with regard to lifestyle modifications,risk factors,and affordable management:A preliminary analysis

Background:According to the World Health Organization (WHO),a global reduction of 17% has been achieved in the major noncommunicable disease-associated mortality rate since 2000.This decline was due to the decreasing mortality associated with cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. The WHO has not made any comments on diabetes-related mortality thus far.The objective of this study was to demonstrate trends in diabetes-related mortality associated with country-wide interventions.Methods:The WHO statistics were used to assess trends in diabetes-related mortality from 2000 to 2016.Different types of community-based interventions in 49 countries were compared and assessed.Results:The baseline mortality decreased by 7%.Mortality in middle-income countries was higher than that in high-income countries. The prevalence of obesity showed a gradual increase in all countries. After implementation of the WHO "best buy" in 2010, mortality increased in 17 countries and decreased in 32 countries. Regarding the smoking prevalence trend, 87% countries with decreasing diabetes-related mortality had a gradual decline in tobacco usage since 2000.The decline was observed only in 43% countries with increasing diabetes-related mortality. The prevalence of hypertension increased in 19% countries with declining diabetes-related mortality and in 35% countries with increasing diabetes-related mortality. Physical activity measures tended to be better implemented in countries with declining diabetes-related mortality than in countries with increasing diabetes-related mortality.Conclusion:Smoking cessation and better blood pressure control are associated with declining diabetes-related mortality. Longer implementation periods are needed for other lifestyle interventions.

Global lung cancer mortality trends and lifestyle modifications:preliminary analysis

Background:According to the Independent High-level Commission on Non-communicable Diseases(NCD)of the World Health Organization(WHO),global reduction in lung cancer mortality has been achieved since the year 2000,although this effect is not sufficient to reach the 30%reduction of mortality from NCDs by the year 2030,as stipulated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.4.The objective of this study was to analyze whether the lifestyle changes implemented by the WHO at country level could have an impact on mortality from this form of cancer.Methods:WHO statistics,based on the unified mortality and causes-of-death reports of Member-State countries,were used to evaluate global lung cancer mortality trends and make comparisons and assessments of different types of community-based,country-wide interventions.Results:The lung cancer mortality decline was associated with the anti-tobacco campaign initiated by the WHO in the last 15 to 20 years.Comprehensive tobacco control remained the major and most successful lifestyle modification measure.In countries with declining lung cancer mortality,91%of countries had decreasing tobacco prevalence in males and 82%in females.Country-wide measures to increase physical activity had a strong tendency to be better implemented in countries with declining lung cancer mortality(t=1.79,P>0.05).Other WHO"best-buy"lifestyle modification campaigns(diet and alcohol)had been carried out for shorter periods,and their associations with lung cancer were less strong than tobacco.There was no significant difference between countries with declining and increasing lung cancer mortality in the measures for reduction of harmful alcohol use(t=0.92,P>0.05)and unhealthy diet reduction measures(t=0.84,P>0.05).Conclusion:Following WHO"best-buys"should facilitate to move countries towards the NCD including lung cancer mortality reduction targets.Governments and communities must embrace these targets with coordinated effective action for better health.

Antiarrhythmic drug usage and prostate cancer： a population-based cohort study

Even though the relationship between antiarrhythmic drug usage and subsequent prostate cancer （PCa） risk has recently been highlighted, relevant findings in the previous literature are still inconsistent. In addition, very few studies have attempted to investigate the association between sodium channel blockers or potassium channel blockers for arrhythmia and the subsequent PCa risk. Therefore, this cohort study aimed to find the relationship between antiarrhythmic drug usage and the subsequent PCa risk using a population-based dataset. The data used in this study were derived from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005, Taiwan, China. We respectively identified 9988 sodium channel blocker users, 3663 potassium channel blocker users, 65 966 beta-blocker users, 23 366 calcium channel blockers users, and 7031 digoxin users as the study cohorts. The matched comparison cohorts （one comparison subject for each antiarrhythmic drug user） were selected from the same dataset. Each patient was tracked for a 5-year period to define those who were subsequently diagnosed with PCa. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, and age, Cox proportional hazard regressions found that the hazard ratio （HR） of subsequent PCa for sodium channel blocker users was 1.12 （95% confidence interval [CI]： 0.84-1.50）, for potassium channel blocker users was 0.89 （95% CI. 0.59-1.34）, for beta-blocker users was 1.08 （95% Ch 0.96-1.22）, for calcium channel blocker users was 1.14 （95% Ch 0.95-1.36）, and for digoxin users was 0.89 （95% Ch 0.67-1.18）, compared to their matched nonusers. We concluded that there were no statistical associations between different types of antiarrhvthmic drug usage and subsequent PCa risk.