In this article we present an example of our method for instrument development. This method is called the Development Cycle. It consists of four main stages: (1) defining the requirements for an instrument; (2) research, design and pilot testing; (3) implementation and (4) evaluation. An application of the Development Cycle was realized within a project for the development of a basic questionna...

Qualitative research can be influenced by the researcher's role in the study. Here, the authors propose reflexive methodologies as a means by which the processes undertaken by the researcher can be made transparent and used as part of the data. Using this approach, this paper explores the experience of becoming a qualitative research interviewer. It provides an account of dilemmas faced while u...

The Australian health care industry prior to the 1990s was notable for its relative stability and uniformity in relation to organisational design. Since then, new organisational designs have proliferated and a diversity of approaches is evident. The new fluidity in organisational design is particularly evident amongst the allied health professions. The aim of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, to...

INTRODUCTION Medical educators have been concerned that medical students may decline in empathy for patients during the course of their training, based on studies measuring clinical empathy using psychometrically strong self-report measures. Clinical empathy is a complex construct, incorporating attitudes toward patients but also other components, such as professional detachment. Triangulation ...

In three recent cases, hereinafter referred to as the driving cases, the courts have taken up the issue of whether a psychotherapist should be held liable for negligent diagnosis and treatment and failure to warn third parties of a patient's potential danger to others in the operation of an automobile. These cases will be discussed as (1) an extension of the Tarasoff decision, which established...

Evidence-based health care is expected of their practitioners by contemporary health professions. This requires health care to have a foundation in scholarly literature and to have a scientifically valid methodology. However, there are many instances of registered and unregistered practitioners either providing assessment and treatment that does not conform to such requirements or making repres...

Population health is concerned with reducing health inequities, defined as being unfair and avoidable differences in health. The equity-effectiveness framework is described and illustrated; this is an evidence-based approach to assessing the effects of programmes and policies on health equity. Such framework also assesses barriers and facilitators for improving health equity using four factors:...

In the last decades there have been discussions concerning the educational process of health professionals in Brazil. The discussed subjects are based on the verification of precarious aspects concerning a kind of formation that should be focused on attending the demands of the population, on the principles of SUS and an extended understanding of healthcare. We intended to think about alternati...

We argue that the field of Health Policy and Management (HPAM) ought to confront the gap between theory, policy, and practice. Although there are perennial efforts to reform healthcare systems, the conceptual barriers are considerable and reflect the theory-policy-practice gap. We highlight four dimensions of the gap: 1) the dominance of microeconomic thinking in health policy analysis and desi...

Information on the economic effect of poor population health is needed to engage the business community in population health improvement. In a competitive global market, the United States has high health care costs and poor outcomes (measured by such factors as healthy and productive lives) compared with other countries. US business needs to understand population health and not focus just on th...