BACKGROUND In mainland China, the motivation behind voluntary blood donation is a relatively new and understudied behavior. In recent times provincial governments in China have implemented various institutional incentive measures. However, little is known regarding the effectiveness of such measures. This qualitative study investigated the nature and outcomes of some identified institutionalize...

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) established its Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) in 2010 to monitor and guide its progress toward stopping polio transmission globally. The concept of an IMB is innovative, with no clear analogue in the history of the GPEI or in any other global health program. The IMB meets with senior program officials every 3-6 months. Its reports provide anal...

The true prevalence of AF is likely underestimated because episodes are often sporadic and challenging to detect in a "real world" setting. This case report will describe a 58-year-old atrial fibrillation patient with multiple cardiac risk factors. After two ablations and one cardioversion, the patient failed to remain in normal sinus rhythm. Shortly after AF returned, the decision was made to ...

OBJECTIVE To examine changes in prevalence of obesity and target health behaviors (fruit, vegetable, and beverage consumption; physical activity; screen time; sleep duration) among students from communities that participated in the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) project compared to controls. METHODS MA-CORD was implemented in two low-income communities. Schoo...

Diabetes has been evolving as a worldwide epidemic and constitutes one of the important global burdens of diseases. The reference framework for diabetes care has been produced by the Task Force on Conceptual Model and Preventive Protocols of the Working Group on Primary Care, so as to enhance the clinical care for diabetes patients. The guideline emphasises a comprehensive, coordinated approach...

We develop and evaluate a data-driven approach for detecting unusual (anomalous) patient-management decisions using past patient cases stored in electronic health records (EHRs). Our hypothesis is that a patient-management decision that is unusual with respect to past patient care may be due to an error and that it is worthwhile to generate an alert if such a decision is encountered. We evaluat...

BACKGROUND Israel has boasted a highly effective national quality monitoring program for community-based health services since 2004. The program involves ongoing monitoring of the quality of selected services provided by Israeli health plans and includes approximately 70 indicators. OBJECTIVE To analyze Israeli primary care physicians' (PCPs) perceptions of nurses' roles in the national quali...

The scope of this study was to evaluate how aspects of mental health policy in Brazil have been conceived and implemented in outpatient services, such as the Regional Outpatient Mental Health Clinic and the Psychosocial Care Center II, both in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. Semi-direct interviews and focus groups were conducted with 22 health professionals. The theoretical method and data analysis ...