Avoidable Disasters

Introduction : Disasters as Politics – Politics as Disasters

What is the relationship between politics and disasters and how does this relate to the recent boom in disaster studies? The introduction to this volume argues that the recent interest in disasters is not because there are more disasters, but because of two recent developments within the social sciences: first, a focus on rupture rather than on continuity and second, a focus on materiality. Dis...

Is postoperative oliguria avoidable?

Postoperative salt and water retention has been recognized for most of this century. Does it matter? Can or should it be avoided? These are still questions about which debate continues. Pringle, in 1905, observed reduced urine volumes and weight gain in postoperative patients [31]. Wilkinson studied 27 patients perioperatively and observed a decrease in urinary concentrations of sodium and chlo...

Inevitable or avoidable?

The prospect of a superbug that could wipe out much of the human race sounds like the stuff of science-fiction novels, Hollywood movies or doomsday prophets. However, such a global pandemic might not be as unlikely as it seems—some would even go so far as to say that it is a certainty, with the only uncertainties being what pathogen will cause it, when it will happen and how well the world will...

Are readmissions avoidable?

OBJECTIVE To examine the possible use of readmission rates as an outcome indicator of hospital inpatient care by investigating avoidability of unplanned readmissions within 28 days of discharge. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of a stratified random sample of case notes of patients with an unplanned readmission between July 1987 and June 1988 by nine clinical assessors (263 assessments) and cat...

Avoidable Sets in Groups