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.

The nurses’ voice of working in a newly established community based 24-hour support center for people with psychiatric disabilities

This study explores the perceptions of a small group of nurses working at a newly established 24-hour community-based service enter (SC) for users with psychiatric disability using a qualitative approach. Since the mental health reform in Sweden in 1995 where the communities (in Sweden called municipalities) were given the responsibility to establish service and support to people with severe psychiatric disabilities, they have struggled in finding suitable forms of these kinds of areas. In 2010, this led to the creation and development of a new center aiming to provide services and support based on the expressed needs of people with physchiatric disability in a community located in southern Sweden. During 2011, a total of three group interviews were performed to capture the employed nurses’ perceptions of this newly established SC. The interview texts were analyzed by way of qualitative content analysis. A first reading of the interview texts revealed that the nurses’ perceptions of the service center were unwaveringly positive but that their beliefs about who the specific target group were differed. The main finding was summarized by the theme: Making a difference—on an individual, professional, and organizational level. The sub themes were: 24-hour availability, unclear assignment, and preventing mental illness. The findings indicate a need for a community round-the-clock service center in this Swedish community and a more clear definition of the target group.

The lived experience of a 24-hour support center for persons with psychiatric disabilities: Making me feel almost like an ordinary person

This study illuminates nine psychiatric disabled persons’ lived experience of a newly established community-based service center open around the clock. This new 24-hour support center (SC) was established in 2011 in a Swedish community to better match and facilitate the disabled persons’ needs. In order to illuminate the disabled person’s experiences individual interview was performed. A phenomenological-hermeneutical method inspired by Paul Ricoeur was used to interpret the texts. After a naive reading, a structural analysis revealed two themes: 1), becoming aware of myself as a person, and 2) having a lifeline and belongingness. The comprehensive understanding was interpreted as meaning “Making me feel almost like an ordinary person”, which incorporated the person’s past with their present together with a direction for the future and hope for a more fulfilling life.