Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care

Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-02-27

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 0309132746

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Among the issues confronting America is long-term care for frail, older persons and others with chronic conditions and functional limitations that limit their ability to care for themselves. Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care takes a comprehensive look at the quality of care and quality of life in long-term care, including nursing homes, home health agencies, residential care facilities, family members and a variety of others. This book describes the current state of long-term care, identifying problem areas and offering recommendations for federal and state policymakers. Who uses long-term care? How have the characteristics of this population changed over time? What paths do people follow in long term care? The committee provides the latest information on these and other key questions. This book explores strengths and limitations of available data and research literature especially for settings other than nursing homes, on methods to measure, oversee, and improve the quality of long-term care. The committee makes recommendations on setting and enforcing standards of care, strengthening the caregiving workforce, reimbursement issues, and expanding the knowledge base to guide organizational and individual caregivers in improving the quality of care.


Improving the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes

Improving the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1986-02-01

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0309036461

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As more people live longer, the need for quality long-term care for the elderly will increase dramatically. This volume examines the current system of nursing home regulations, and proposes an overhaul to better provide for those confined to such facilities. It determines the need for regulations, and concludes that the present regulatory system is inadequate, stating that what is needed is not more regulation, but better regulation. This long-anticipated study provides a wealth of useful background information, in-depth study, and discussion for nursing home administrators, students, and teachers in the health care field; professionals involved in caring for the elderly; and geriatric specialists.


Dying in America

Dying in America

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-03-19

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 0309303133

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For patients and their loved ones, no care decisions are more profound than those made near the end of life. Unfortunately, the experience of dying in the United States is often characterized by fragmented care, inadequate treatment of distressing symptoms, frequent transitions among care settings, and enormous care responsibilities for families. According to this report, the current health care system of rendering more intensive services than are necessary and desired by patients, and the lack of coordination among programs increases risks to patients and creates avoidable burdens on them and their families. Dying in America is a study of the current state of health care for persons of all ages who are nearing the end of life. Death is not a strictly medical event. Ideally, health care for those nearing the end of life harmonizes with social, psychological, and spiritual support. All people with advanced illnesses who may be approaching the end of life are entitled to access to high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based care, consistent with their wishes. Dying in America evaluates strategies to integrate care into a person- and family-centered, team-based framework, and makes recommendations to create a system that coordinates care and supports and respects the choices of patients and their families. The findings and recommendations of this report will address the needs of patients and their families and assist policy makers, clinicians and their educational and credentialing bodies, leaders of health care delivery and financing organizations, researchers, public and private funders, religious and community leaders, advocates of better care, journalists, and the public to provide the best care possible for people nearing the end of life.


Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries

Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries

Author: Dean T. Jamison

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2006-04-02

Total Pages: 1449

ISBN-13: 0821361805

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Based on careful analysis of burden of disease and the costs ofinterventions, this second edition of 'Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition' highlights achievable priorities; measures progresstoward providing efficient, equitable care; promotes cost-effectiveinterventions to targeted populations; and encourages integrated effortsto optimize health. Nearly 500 experts - scientists, epidemiologists, health economists,academicians, and public health practitioners - from around the worldcontributed to the data sources and methodologies, and identifiedchallenges and priorities, resulting in this integrated, comprehensivereference volume on the state of health in developing countries.


Improving the Quality of Life

Improving the Quality of Life

Author: Myles I. Friedman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 1997-10-30

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1567507646

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Nothing is of greater interest to most people than the quality of their lives. They go to great lengths to improve the quality of their lives and engage a variety of professionals to achieve that goal. Despite this, little has been done to increase understanding of quality of life, the factors that contribute to it, or the means of improving it. Friedman redresses this neglect and enhances our understanding of disability and its treatment. This book addresses the need, felt by professionals as well as the people they serve, for a better understanding of quality of life and how to improve it. Friedman makes a number of important contributions toward this end. He integrates and summarizes the diverse research on quality-of-life indicators and focuses and defines quality of life as a field of study. Friedman presents a holistic approach to quality of life. While many have recognized the need for such an approach, it has been given little more than lip service. By redressing the lack of understanding of what quality of life means, the factors that contribute to it, and the means to improve it, he has provided a book that will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, and professionals in a number of areas, from counseling to nursing, and to interested lay people.


Improving the Quality of Life

Improving the Quality of Life

Author: David M. Romney

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 940110171X

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The book is unique in two distinct ways. First, it focuses on improving quality of life in contrast to other books that have tended to focus more on its conceptualization and assessment. Second, it deals with improving quality of life in a variety of disabled populations, not just one, and includes chapters on people with chronic mental or physical conditions and those without disabilities at all (i.e. so-called normal people). The book outlines some of the challenges and controversies in the quality-of-life domain and attempts to synthesize the key issue and to draw generalizable conclusions. The book is mainly for university students and faculty and practitioners from various disciplines working in the field. It will also interest those members of the general public who wish to improve their own quality of life or that of their relatives or friends.


Improving Quality of Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Improving Quality of Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-11-19

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13: 030937345X

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Quality of care is a priority for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The agency's missions abroad and their host country partners work in quality improvement, but a lack of evidence about the best ways to facilitate such improvements has constrained their informed selection of interventions. Six different methods - accreditation, COPE, improvement collaborative, standards-based management and recognitions (SBM-R), supervision, and clinical in-service training - currently make up the majority of this investment for USAID missions. As their already substantial investment in quality grows, there is demand for more scientific evidence on how to reliably improve quality of care in poor countries. USAID missions, and many other organizations spending on quality improvement, would welcome more information about how different strategies work to improve quality, when and where certain tools are most effective, and the best ways to measure success and shortcomings. To gain a better understanding of the evidence supporting different quality improvement tools and clarity on how they would help advance the global quality improvement agenda, the Institute of Medicine convened a 2-day workshop in January 2015. The workshop's goal was to illuminate these different methods, discussing their pros and cons. This workshop summary is a description of the presentations and discussions.


Crossing the Global Quality Chasm

Crossing the Global Quality Chasm

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2019-01-27

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 0309477891

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In 2015, building on the advances of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations adopted Sustainable Development Goals that include an explicit commitment to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. However, enormous gaps remain between what is achievable in human health and where global health stands today, and progress has been both incomplete and unevenly distributed. In order to meet this goal, a deliberate and comprehensive effort is needed to improve the quality of health care services globally. Crossing the Global Quality Chasm: Improving Health Care Worldwide focuses on one particular shortfall in health care affecting global populations: defects in the quality of care. This study reviews the available evidence on the quality of care worldwide and makes recommendations to improve health care quality globally while expanding access to preventive and therapeutic services, with a focus in low-resource areas. Crossing the Global Quality Chasm emphasizes the organization and delivery of safe and effective care at the patient/provider interface. This study explores issues of access to services and commodities, effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and equity. Focusing on front line service delivery that can directly impact health outcomes for individuals and populations, this book will be an essential guide for key stakeholders, governments, donors, health systems, and others involved in health care.


Improving Quality of Life

Improving Quality of Life

Author: Ryan Merlin Yonk

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2021-11-03

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 1839688130

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The authors of this volume provide a window into what influences the quality of life, why people live longer, and why we are relatively better off compared to decades ago. While the potential ways of measuring life quality are abundant, understanding what causes improvement requires careful study and consideration. This volume provides useful insight into these challenges and helps to highlight a clear and important separation between wellbeing and standard of living, both relevant to assessing the quality of life. Standard of living refers to the material welfare of a group. Wellbeing, on the other hand, encapsulates harder-to-measure subjective preferences. Together they help us to understand the quality of life of certain groups at specific times, and in specific communities.


Improving Healthcare Quality in Europe Characteristics, Effectiveness and Implementation of Different Strategies

Improving Healthcare Quality in Europe Characteristics, Effectiveness and Implementation of Different Strategies

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2019-10-17

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 9264805907

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This volume, developed by the Observatory together with OECD, provides an overall conceptual framework for understanding and applying strategies aimed at improving quality of care. Crucially, it summarizes available evidence on different quality strategies and provides recommendations for their implementation. This book is intended to help policy-makers to understand concepts of quality and to support them to evaluate single strategies and combinations of strategies.