A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. / Background and Significance The prevalence of pediatric hypertension (HTN) has increased in the past several decades and is projected to continue to rise.2 Because normal blood pressure (BP) values in children depend on age, sex, and height, HTN is difficult to recognize. If not diagnosed during childhood, HTN poses several long‐term health risks.4,10 Electronic medical records (EMR) have tools to help recognize elevated BP in children. Unfortunately, many clinicians are unaware of these support tools, and pediatric HTN is underdiagnosed. Research Question This study is designed to improve the detection of HTN in children. Methods This is a prospective quality improvement (QI) study completed at a teaching institution with rotating physicians. We reviewed the charts of 1697 children aged 3 to 18 years who were seen by physicians for well‐child visits in March, June, July, August, November 2014, and January 2015. We recorded children with elevated BP and determined if HTN was recognized (noted in the assessment/plan or BP repeated). We used March as our baseline detection rate and completed five interventions, one before each month. All interventions consisted of PowerPoint presentations for medical personnel (physicians, nurses, medical assistants). The last two interventions consisted of a change in the EMR (BP percentiles displayed in a summary page) and signs hung in the clinic. Pre‐ and post‐intervention data underwent analysis, and we examined factors that may impact early detection of HTN. Results Of the 1697 children, 188 (11.1%) had elevated BP. The prevalence of elevated BP declined from the pre‐intervention month to post‐intervention months (March 13.5%, June 10.3%, July 9.7%, August 9.2%, November 12.5%). The prevalence returned to baseline by January (13.5%). The recognition of elevated BP improved from 25% in March to 44% and 55% in June and July, respectively. There was a decline in detection from July to August and November (55% to 41% and 35%). There was improved detection again from November to January (35% to 48%). Factors that increased the detection of HTN were obesity (χ2=22.9, p=0.000002), systolic BP >120 (χ2=8.1, p=0.0045), and a past history of elevated BP (χ2=5.1, p=0.024). Conclusions Our educational interventions improved the absolute detection of HTN. Repetition of interventions and involvement of the whole care team were important for sustaining the improvements, especially for a teaching institution with rotating physicians. Repeated interventions may not be necessary for private practice clinics. The improved detection correlated with a steady decline in the prevalence of HTN, probably related to blood pressures that were falsely elevated due to patient anxiety and incorrect cuff sizing. Obesity, systolic BP>120, and past history of at least one elevated BP significantly improved the detection. This QI project was not intended to determine the efficacy of each intervention, but rather to improve the detection rate as a whole. We cannot conclude whether the monthly changes were due to chance, but we can conclude that we improved the overall detection.

The ambulatory care facility is a new phenomenon in the British Columbia health care delivery system. Therefore, not only is its planner faced with the uncertainty of predicting future need, but also the perplexity of not having the very basis for his predictions: past utilization data from existing facilities. Moreover, there is no real agreement on what services should be provided in an ambulatory care facility. This thesis attempts to at least partially allay these uncertainties by setting down a format for planning an ambulatory care facility in and for the community of Delta, B. C. The planning method was divided into four parts: ambulatory care definition, data assemblage, data projection and facility simulation. Delta practitioners and several health care consultants co-operated in the production of an exhaustive list of medical, surgical and dental procedures defining ambulatory care. In accordance with this list, data was assembled regarding the number of ambulatory procedures regularly performed for Delta residents, by Delta practitioners. Medical and surgical data was taken from Provincial Department of Health computer data files; while dental data was gathered by questionnaire. The data trend for each procedure was then projected to the Target Years 1978 and 1982. Following these initial steps, a General Purpose Simulation System (G.P.S.S.) analysis was performed on the data gathered. Other information required for the simulation was gathered through questionnaires to Delta practitioners and private conferences with health care consultants. The results from the simulation were expressed in "work areas" (i.e. examination rooms, stretcher-beds, etc.) required in the major departments or service areas. The simulation analysis could only be completed for the Surgical Day Care Services area, because the data from Provincial computer data files, relevant to other departments or service areas, was found to be insufficient. The main problem encountered was an imprecise identification of patients' geographic origin; which in some instances made it impossible to identify procedures performed for Delta residents. Detailed suggestions for improving the method are presented in the Discussion. However, one should at least do the following: endeavour to use more than two years of data to project the trend in the Provincial computer data files; and explain the questionnaires circulated to practitioners by giving individual person-to-person instructions, rather than group verbal and individual written instructions. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1989.

published_or_final_version / Electrical Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-143).

Thesis (M.S.)--Pennsylvania State University, 2008. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Medicine at the University of Witwatersrand. Johannesburg, 16 April 2018. / Background: Chronic kidney disease and end stage kidney disease are becoming a huge health challenge. The optimal treatment is renal transplantation but due to low rates of transplantation most patients who are enrolled in the chronic renal replacement programme are on dialysis. This study aimed at investigating demographic and social factors that are associated with the outcomes of peritoneal dialysis (PD). The study also investigates how co-morbidity contributed to the outcomes of PD. Methods: The study makes use of retrospective analysis of demographic data (age, marital status, residential area, race) and socioeconomic status, level of education, family support, poor access to health care system as well as co-morbidities and underlying cause of ESKD, obtained from 167 patients who were enrolled on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) over the period of 2008 - 2012 at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Johannesburg Hospital (CMJAH). The data analysis for the present study was conducted using STATA version 14.0. To describe the demographic characteristics of the patients, frequency tables were computed for all categorical variables. For continuous variables, the Shapiro Wilk test for normality was used to assess the distribution of the data to report the appropriate central tendency measure i.e. mean±SD or median (IQR). To assess the contribution of demographic factors to the overall outcome of CAPD, a Fisher’s exact test of comparison was used to assess the difference between the proportions for each demographic factor and CAPD outcome. The Fisher exact test was used because the proportions for each frequency table included a proportion below five (<5). To assess how the relationship of demographic and co-morbid disease affects the outcome of the treatment, a multivariate logistic regression model was fitted adjusting for co-morbid disease for each of the demographic factors. Findings and interpretation: Of 167 patients enrolled, the majority were black with low levels of education, living in townships and 56% were on subsisting on disability grants. PD failure occurred in 53.3% of patients over the study period and 46.7% were successful on PD. Of the variables tested, age was statistically significant for CAPD outcomes [Fisher exact test (p= 0.004)], indicating a significant difference in the proportion of CAPD outcomes among different age categories). The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis did not show significant association with CAPD outcomes. Adherence also significantly impacted on outcomes in both univariate and multivariate analyses, showing that non-compliant patients were less likely to have successful outcomes on PD. In addition, the Fisher exact test showed no significant difference in the distribution of CAPD outcome with marital status while the multivariate analysis showed that single patients were three times more likely to succeed with PD compared to married patients. These could be due to chance, because of the small sample size, and require further investigation. Conclusions: Prospective studies are needed to fully understand the extent that demographic and socioeconomic factors impact on the outcomes of PD. This will assist in formulating comprehensive recommendations and ways to improve PD utilization and outcomes. / LG2018

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1973.

Thesis (M.H.S.A.)--University of Michigan, 1981.

Thesis (M.H.S.A.)--University of Michigan, 1977.