Réjean Hébert, Anne Veil, Michel Raîche, Marie‐France Dubois, Nicole Dubuc and Michel Tousignant
PRISMA is the only example of a co‐ordinated‐type model to be developed and fully implemented with a process and outcome evaluation. The PRISMA model was implemented in three…
Abstract
PRISMA is the only example of a co‐ordinated‐type model to be developed and fully implemented with a process and outcome evaluation. The PRISMA model was implemented in three areas (urban, rural with or without a local hospital) in Quebec, Canada and an implementation evaluation was carried out using mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methods. Over four years, the implementation rates went from 22% to 79%. The perception of integration by managers and clinicians working in the various organisations of the network shows that most interactions are perceived as at the co‐operation level, some getting the highest collaboration level. The perception of the efficacy of case managers was very high. Implementing such a model is feasible, and the decision to generalise it was made in Quebec. This model might be more appropriate for a universal publicly funded health care system like those in Canada, the UK and the Scandinavian countries.
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Mélanie Levasseur, Nadine Larivière, Noémie Royer, Johanne Desrosiers, Philippe Landreville, Philippe Voyer, Nathalie Champoux, Hélène Carbonneau and Andrée Sévigny
– This paper aims to explore the match between needs and services related to participation for frail older adults receiving home care.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the match between needs and services related to participation for frail older adults receiving home care.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative multiple case study was conducted with 11 triads each involving an elder, a caregiver and a healthcare provider working in a Health and Social Services Centers (HSSCs).
Findings
Although HSSCs in Québec are supposed to promote social integration and participation of older adults, services provided to the older adults in this study focused mainly on safety and independence in personal care, dressing, mobility and nutrition, without fully meeting older adults’ needs in these areas. Discrepancies between needs and services may be attributable to the assessment not covering all the dimensions of social participation or accurately identifying older adults’ complex needs; older adults’ and their caregivers’ difficulties identifying their needs and accepting their limitations and the assistance offered; healthcare providers’ limited knowledge and time to comprehensively assess needs and provide services; guidelines restricting the types and quantity of services to be supplied; and limited knowledge of older adults, caregivers and healthcare providers about services and resources available in the community.
Originality/value
To improve and maintain older adults’ participation, a more thorough assessment of their participation, especially in social activities, is required, as is greater support for older adults and their families in using available community resources. It is also important to review the services provided by HSSCs and to optimize partnerships with community organizations.
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Liisa Jaakkimainen, Imaan Bayoumi, Richard H. Glazier, Kamila Premji, Tara Kiran, Shahriar Khan, Eliot Frymire and Michael E. Green
The authors developed and validated an algorithm using health administrative data to identify patients who are attached or uncertainly attached to a primary care provider (PCP…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors developed and validated an algorithm using health administrative data to identify patients who are attached or uncertainly attached to a primary care provider (PCP) using patient responses to a survey conducted in Ontario, Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a validation study using as a reference standard respondents to a community-based survey who indicated they did or did not have a PCP. The authors developed and tested health administrative algorithms against this reference standard. The authors calculated the sensitivity, specificity positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) on the final patient attachment algorithm. The authors then applied the attachment algorithm to the 2017 Ontario population.
Findings
The patient attachment algorithm had an excellent sensitivity (90.5%) and PPV (96.8%), though modest specificity (46.1%) and a low NPV (21.3%). This means that the algorithm assigned survey respondents as being attached to a PCP and when in fact they said they had a PCP, yet a significant proportion of those found to be uncertainly attached had indicated they did have a PCP. In 2017, most people in Ontario, Canada (85.4%) were attached to a PCP but 14.6% were uncertainly attached.
Research limitations/implications
Administrative data for nurse practitioner's encounters and other interprofessional care providers are not currently available. The authors also cannot separately identify primary care visits conducted in walk in clinics using our health administrative data. Finally, the definition of hospital-based healthcare use did not include outpatient specialty care.
Practical implications
Uncertain attachment to a primary health care provider is a recurrent problem that results in inequitable access in health services delivery. Providing annual reports on uncertainly attached patients can help evaluate primary care system changes developed to improve access. This algorithm can be used by health care planners and policy makers to examine the geographic variability and time trends of the uncertainly attached population to inform the development of programs to improve primary care access.
Social implications
As primary care is an essential component of a person's medical home, identifying regions or high need populations that have higher levels of uncertainly attached patients will help target programs to support their primary care access and needs. Furthermore, this approach will be useful in future research to determine the health impacts of uncertain attachment to primary care, especially in view of a growing body of the literature highlighting the importance of primary care continuity.
Originality/value
This patient attachment algorithm is the first to use existing health administrative data validated with responses from a patient survey. Using patient surveys alone to assess attachment levels is expensive and time consuming to complete. They can also be subject to poor response rates and recall bias. Utilizing existing health administrative data provides more accurate, timely estimates of patient attachment for everyone in the population.
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Helen Frost, Sally Haw and John Frank
The population of older people in the UK is expected to rise rapidly over the next 20 years and therefore identification of effective interventions that prevent functional decline…
Abstract
Purpose
The population of older people in the UK is expected to rise rapidly over the next 20 years and therefore identification of effective interventions that prevent functional decline and disablement is a public health priority. This review summarises the evidence for interventions in community settings that aim to prevent or delay disablement in later life.
Design/methodology/approach
A search of review‐level literature was conducted for the period September 1999 and 2009 of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL databases. It included interventions that aimed to prevent disablement of community dwelling older people (50+ years old). It excluded interventions carried out in institutional care and those focused on specific disease. The reviews were screened using the AMSTAR assessment tool.
Findings
The search identified 62 reviews of complex interventions (preventative home visits (n=9), integrated service delivery/case management and comprehensive geriatric assessment (n=6), falls prevention (n=17), exercise (n=15), nutritional needs (n=3), medication review (n=2), telecare/telehealth (n=5), social integration interventions (n=3) and vision screening (n=2).
Originality/value to Conclusion
The review identified many areas of unknown effectiveness, partly due to unstandardised use of outcomes and poor experimental design. The most promising complex interventions include: assessment of risk factors; and direct referral to an easily accessible, comprehensive range of interventions that are tailored to need and include long‐term follow up. There is consistent evidence that exercise can be beneficial, particularly in preventing falls, but overall, the evidence‐base for other specific interventions is limited.