Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.
Mixed Methods in Health Sciences Research: A Practical Primer, by Leslie Curry and Marcella Nunez-Smith, presents key theories, concepts, and approaches in an accessible way. Packed with illustrations from the health sciences literature, this ready-to-use guidebook shows readers how to design, conduct, review, and use mixed methods research findings. Helpful checklists, figures, tables, templates, and much more give readers examples that will elevate the quality of their research, facilitate communication about their methods, and improve efficiency over the course of their projects. Real-world examples and insights from mixed methods researchers provide unique perspectives on every aspect of mixed methods research. This book successfully pulls together foundational mixed methods principles, synthesizes the knowledge base in the field, and translates it for a health science researcher audience. “The content is highly applicable to real life research teams in the areas of clinical research, health services research, and implementation science, providing sound content and practical advice. The authors have synthesized and pull key concepts from a variety of sources to provide a concise resource.” —Linda M. Herrick, South Dakota State University “Everything from the references, to the topics, checklists, conceptual graphic representations, and organizers, interviews, and resources, all contribute to the content and aid with understanding and/or application. … It addresses specific MM research as it pertains to health sciences in a way that other texts just do not even attempt.” —Denise L. Winsor, University of Memphis “[This text is] a very pragmatic approach to mixed methods research; excellent resources, tables, and figures [are] provided, along with cases and examples of value to researchers and grant reviewers. Its relevance to practice, education, and research, as well as to potential policy implications, is a strong focus that would make this a valued textbook for any researcher!” ? —Karen Devereaux Melillo, University of Massachusetts Lowell “The text is cutting edge. It leads the way with its focus on team dynamics. [The authors] succeed in making the book relevant and practical. They also articulate a number of key insights in the area of mixed methods that rarely get addressed, such as teams and conflict. Great read with a lot of good, practical information for mixed methods researchers at all levels. The practical approach of this text makes it an innovative and valuable resource.” —John G. Schumacher, University of Maryland
The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide benefits based on disability: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. This report analyzes health care utilizations as they relate to impairment severity and SSA's definition of disability. Health Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination identifies types of utilizations that might be good proxies for "listing-level" severity; that is, what represents an impairment, or combination of impairments, that are severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity, regardless of age, education, or work experience.
Drawing on the work of the Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine, the 2007 IOM Annual Meeting assessed some of the rapidly occurring changes in health care related to new diagnostic and treatment tools, emerging genetic insights, the developments in information technology, and healthcare costs, and discussed the need for a stronger focus on evidence to ensure that the promise of scientific discovery and technological innovation is efficiently captured to provide the right care for the right patient at the right time. As new discoveries continue to expand the universe of medical interventions, treatments, and methods of care, the need for a more systematic approach to evidence development and application becomes increasingly critical. Without better information about the effectiveness of different treatment options, the resulting uncertainty can lead to the delivery of services that may be unnecessary, unproven, or even harmful. Improving the evidence-base for medicine holds great potential to increase the quality and efficiency of medical care. The Annual Meeting, held on October 8, 2007, brought together many of the nation's leading authorities on various aspects of the issues - both challenges and opportunities - to present their perspectives and engage in discussion with the IOM membership.
Business intelligence supports managers in enterprises to make informed business decisions in various levels and domains such as in healthcare. These technologies can handle large structured and unstructured data (big data) in the healthcare industry. Because of the complex nature of healthcare data and the significant impact of healthcare data analysis, it is important to understand both the theories and practices of business intelligence in healthcare. Theory and Practice of Business Intelligence in Healthcare is a collection of innovative research that introduces data mining, modeling, and analytic techniques to health and healthcare data; articulates the value of big volumes of data to health and healthcare; evaluates business intelligence tools; and explores business intelligence use and applications in healthcare. While highlighting topics including digital health, operations intelligence, and patient empowerment, this book is ideally designed for healthcare professionals, IT consultants, hospital directors, data management staff, data analysts, hospital administrators, executives, managers, academicians, students, and researchers seeking current research on the digitization of health records and health systems integration.
