No / OBJECTIVES: To model the frequency of 'last minute' cancellations of planned elective procedures in the English NHS with respect to the patient and provider factors that led to these cancellations. METHODS: A dataset of 5,288,604 elective patients spell in the English NHS from January 1st, 2007 to December 31st, 2007 was extracted from the Hospital Episode Statistics. A binary dependent variable indicating whether or not a patient had a Health Resource Group coded as S22--'Planned elective procedure not carried out'--was modeled using a probit regression estimated via maximum likelihood including patient, case and hospital level covariates. RESULTS: Longer waiting times and being admitted on a Monday were associated with a greater rate of cancelled procedures. Male patients, patients from lower socio-economic groups and older patients had higher rates of cancelled procedures. There was significant variation in cancellation rates between hospitals; Foundation Trusts and private facilities had the lowest cancellation rates. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed on why Foundation Trusts exhibit lower cancellation rates. Hospitals with relatively high cancellation rates should be encouraged to tackle this problem. Further evidence is needed on whether hospitals are more likely to cancel operations where the procedure tariff is lower than the S22 tariff as this creates a perverse incentive to cancel. Understanding the underlying causes of why male, older and patients from lower socio-economic groups are more likely to have their operations cancelled is important to inform the appropriate policy response. This research suggests that interventions designed to reduce cancellation rates should be targeted to high-cancellation groups.

Mental health in the United States is a rising concern. More concerning still is the growing number of children and adolescents with serious depression and other mental health disorders (SAMHSA, 2009; Merikangas et al., 2010). Despite a growing list of proven and best-practice prevention and intervention initiatives that have been made available to children and adolescents, 80 percent of children and adolescents with a diagnosable mental health disorder will not receive services for their associated mental health concerns (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999; Cummings 2014). Children and adolescents with mental health disorders are faced with an ever-increasing list of barriers that prevent them from accessing much needed mental health services. At a particular disadvantage are Black adolescents, who are even less likely than their non-minority peers to have access to or receive services for mental health concerns (Lindsey, Chambers, Pohle, Beall, & Lucksted, 2013). As result, this Q Methodology study was designed to understand the perspectives Black adolescents hold toward access to mental health care. The researcher first developed a naturalistic, 36-item Q Sample from participant responses to open-ended prompts designed to elicit distinct thoughts around perceptions of access to mental health care, including supports and barriers. Thirty Black adolescents sorted this 36-item Q sample in a forced distribution resembling a semi-normal curve ranging from “least like my perspective” (-4) to “most like my perspective” (+4) and also wrote explanations for why they sorted they ways they did. Subsequently, these 30 Q sorts were correlated and these correlations were factor analyzed, rotated, and extracted producing five factors. Based on an analysis of these five factors, or shared perspectives, they were named: Building My Own Barriers (Factor 1), I Don’t Talk About My Feelings! (Factor 2), I’m Looking For A Shift In My Perspective (Factor 3), Counseling When I Want It; Not Always From A Counselor (Factor 4), and Money Is The Least Of My Problems (Factor 5). These five factors represented distinct and diverse viewpoints toward the access to mental health counseling. A primary implication from this study was that school leaders and community leaders, educators, parents and caregivers, and policy-makers must find ways to decrease the barriers youth experience as they seek and attempt to participate in mental health counseling services, while working also to leverage the power of those things that support access.

Introdução: A adesão à terapia antirretroviral (TARV) é essencial para o sucesso do tratamento do HIV/aids. Apesar das recomendações fornecidas para a promoção da adesão nos serviços de assistência ambulatorial ao HIV/aids do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), não há medidas padronizadas para o monitoramento da adesão nos serviços e há pouca informação disponível sobre as atividades de adesão efetivamente realizadas. Este estudo teve como objetivos: descrever medidas nacionais de adesão à TARV e atividades de adesão conduzidas nos serviços de HIV/aids do SUS; investigar relações entre adesão e características dos serviços. Métodos: Entre 2009 e 2011, conduziu-se um estudo transversal da adesão à TARV em amostra nacional de pacientes em tratamento em serviços do SUS. Foram sorteados para participar do estudo: 1) serviços de diferentes níveis de qualidade (segundo avaliação nacional prévia da organização da assistência ao HIV/aids), localizados nas diferentes regiões do país; 2) pacientes sob TARV em acompanhamento nos serviços selecionados, maiores de 18 anos, não gestantes. Para medir a adesão à TARV, utilizou-se o Questionário WebAd-Q, instrumento de autorrelato em linguagem \"Web\", previamente validado, que aborda três dimensões da adesão: medicamentos, dose (número de comprimidos) e horários de tomada. As respostas foram ponderadas de acordo com a probabilidade de seleção amostral dos pacientes. Características dos serviços foram obtidas com base em dois instrumentos autorrespondidos pelos gerentes e equipes de saúde: 1) o Questionário Qualiaids, voltado para a avaliação geral da qualidade organizacional da assistência ao HIV/aids; 2) o Questionário de Atividades de Adesão, que enfoca aspectos especificamente voltados para a promoção da adesão. Outras características dos serviços analisadas foram: região geográfica, porte do serviço (número de pacientes em TARV) e porte do município (número de habitantes). O desempenho dos serviços em relação às atividades de adesão realizadas foi avaliado segundo cinco domínios: monitoramento; investigação da adesão; cuidado multidisciplinar; atividades de grupo e para populações específicas; capacitação e atualização dos profissionais. Associações entre medidas de adesão e características dos serviços foram testadas em modelos de regressão logística (IC 95%, p < 0,05). Associações entre atividades de adesão e demais características dos serviços também foram investigadas. Resultados: De um total de 2.424 participantes, acompanhados em 55 serviços, 61,1% (IC 95% 58,5-63,7) reportaram não adesão a uma ou mais das dimensões analisadas. A dimensão com maior proporção de não adesão foi o horário (50,9%). Os serviços apresentaram desempenho geral mediano em relação às atividades de adesão. Serviços de boa qualidade organizacional e de pequeno porte associaram-se ao melhor desempenho e/ou à realização de atividades específicas. Ao contrário do esperado, houve predomínio de associações inversas da adesão com a qualidade, a complexidade assistencial (segundo o porte) e a realização de atividades de adesão. Discussão: O estudo indicou a necessidade de ações para aprimorar o trabalho em adesão realizado nos serviços, incluindo: promoção da adesão ao horário; priorização de pessoas com dificuldades de adesão e de populações que requerem intervenções específicas; padronização do monitoramento; maior investimento no gerenciamento técnico, no enfoque multidisciplinar, em atividades específicas de apoio à adesão, e em parcerias com a sociedade civil organizada. A exploração de novos modelos de análise em futuros estudos deverá contribuir para a melhor compreensão das relações entre adesão e características dos serviços / Background: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial for HIV/AIDS treatment success. In spite of recommendations provided for adherence promotion in HIV outpatient care facilities of the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS), there are no standard measures for adherence monitoring in the facilities and there is little information available about adherence strategies actually implemented. This study aimed at: describing national ART adherence measures and adherence strategies conducted in public HIV care facilities; investigating relationships between adherence and care site characteristics. Methods: Between 2009 and 2011, a cross-sectional study of ART adherence was conducted with a national sample of patients treated in public health care facilities. Randomly selected study participants were: 1) care sites of different quality levels (according to a previous national evaluation of HIV care organization), located in different country regions; 2) patients receiving ART at selected sites, 18 years or older, non-pregnant. Adherence measurement was based on the WebAd-Q Questionnaire, a pre-validated web-based self-report tool that approaches three adherence dimensions: drugs, dose (number of pills) and time schedule. Answers were weighted according to patients\' probability of selection. Site characteristics were obtained based on two self-report tools answered by managers and health care teams: 1) the Qualiaids Questionnaire, which evaluates HIV care overall organizational quality; 2) the Adherence Strategies Questionnaire, which focuses on aspects specifically related to adherence promotion. Other site characteristics analyzed were: geographic region, site size (number of patients receiving ART) and municipality size (number of inhabitants). Care site performance in relation to adherence strategies was evaluated based on five domains: monitoring; adherence investigation; multidisciplinary care; group activities and strategies for special populations; professionals\' training and update. Associations between adherence measures and site characteristics were tested in logistic regression models (CI 95%, p < 0.05). Associations between adherence strategies and other site characteristics were also investigated. Results: From a total of 2,424 participants, who were receiving care at 55 facilities, 61.1% (CI 95% 58.5-63.7) reported non-adherence to one or more of the dimensions analyzed. The dimension with the largest non-adherence proportion was timing (50.9%). Overall, the facilities presented a medium performance on adherence strategies. Good organizational quality and small size were associated with better site performance and/or with conduction of specific strategies. Contrary to expectations, inverse associations of adherence with quality, care complexity (according to size) and implementation of adherence strategies were predominant. Discussion: This study indicated actions required to improve adherence work developed in the facilities, including: timing adherence promotion; prioritization of people facing adherence difficulties and populations requiring specific interventions; monitoring standardization; more efforts focusing on technical management, multidisciplinary approach, specific strategies to support adherence, and partnerships with organized civil society. The development of new analysis models in future studies should contribute to improve understanding of the relationships between adherence and care site characteristics

A qualidade dos serviços de saúde que assistem pessoas que vivem com HIV é um dos fatores determinantes do desfecho clínico e do impacto do tratamento na transmissão do HIV. No Brasil, desde a instituição do acesso universal à assistência e tratamento da aids em 1996, houve grande expansão do número de serviços de assistência em HIV, inseridos em estruturas do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) de diferentes tipos: unidades básicas de saúde, ambulatórios de especialidade vinculados a hospitais e serviços especializados em DST/Aids. Estes serviços atendem hoje cerca de 830 mil pessoas vivendo com HIV. Exceto pelos insumos específicos (antirretrovirais, carga viral, contagem de linfócitos CD4 e genotipagem) providos pelo nível federal, todos os demais recursos são dependentes da configuração local do SUS. Estas condições conformaram um conjunto bastante heterogêneo de serviços. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os serviços do SUS de assistência ambulatorial a adultos vivendo com HIV. Os dados são provenientes da base de dados de 419 serviços que participaram das duas aplicações nacionais do Questionário Qualiaids de avaliação da qualidade organizacional em 2007 e 2010. O questionário, validado em 2001, é respondido online pelo responsável técnico pelo serviço de assistência em HIV. Contém 107 questões, das quais 97 são indicadores da qualidade, classificadas em três dimensões teóricas: organização do processo de assistência (07 domínios: 42 indicadores), gerenciamento técnico do trabalho (05 domínios: 31 indicadores), e disponibilidade de recursos (04 domínios: 24 indicadores). As respostas às questões indicadoras de qualidade são pontuadas em escala de 0 (padrão insuficiente), 1 (aceitável) a 2 (esperado) produzindo médias gerais de desempenho dos serviços. Não houve diferença entre a média geral obtida pelos 419 serviços que responderam o questionário em 2007 (1,27) e 2010 (1,28). Mostraram diferença as médias da dimensão de organização do processo de assistência (2007: 1,26; 2010: 1,29) e de disponibilidade de recursos (2007: 1,28; 2019:1,34). O aporte de recursos de provisão federal manteve-se alto para a grande maioria dos serviços, enquanto recursos humanos de provisão local, com destaque para o acesso às especialidades médicas, permanecem incipientes e menos disponíveis que em 2007. O gerenciamento técnico dos serviços manteve a proporção alta de serviços que realiza atendimento a pacientes com dificuldade de adesão ao tratamento em consultas médicas de retorno em intervalos menores, ou que reforçam a adesão para todos os pacientes durante a consulta médica e em consultas com outros profissionais. No entanto, permanece pequena a proporção de serviços que convoca os pacientes faltosos (~30%), assim como a proporção que conduz reuniões para discussão de casos. Entre os componentes do fluxograma geral da assistência, a proporção de serviços em que o monitoramento da adesão ao tratamento é realizado durante a consulta médica se manteve alta, semelhante à proporção de serviços que atendem os pacientes faltosos/em abandono no mesmo dia em que procuram o serviço. Contudo, continua baixo o número de serviços que realizam o agendamento de consultas médicas com hora marcada. O agrupamento dos serviços segundo kmédias produziu 4 grupos de qualidade em 2007, com 27,7% (116) dos serviços estudados no melhor grupo; em 2010, o agrupamento produziu 5 grupos, com 28,9%(121) dos serviços no melhor grupo. Analisou-se as chances de pertencer ao melhor grupo de qualidade em ambos os anos segundo características dos serviços não consideradas na pontuação de qualidade (instituição gestora, tipo de unidade, porte do serviço e número de habitantes). Associaram-se independentemente à maior chance de pertencer ao grupo de melhor qualidade, em 2007 e 2010, serviços com mais de 500 pacientes e do tipo especializados. Houve 58 serviços (13,8%) que se mantiveram no grupo de melhor qualidade em 2007 e 2010. Além de apresentarem altas médias nas dimensões de organização do processo de assistência e disponibilidade de recursos, este grupo distingue-se pelo desempenho do gerenciamento técnico especialmente na condução de atividades de planejamento, avaliação e coordenação do trabalho assistencial. A qualidade em serviços de saúde deve ser pensada sempre de modo incremental. Sistemas como o Qualiaids fornecem à gestão dos programas e dos serviços a possibilidade de monitorar o incremento da qualidade organizacional ao longo do tempo. Em que pese a relevância do sistema para a identificação de monitoramento de processos que necessitam atenção, seu papel no alcance de melhores resultados para o bem-estar dos pacientes depende da integração em políticas de qualidade e do aporte de recursos que sustentem uma vigorosa resposta assistencial, essencial para o programa como um todo / The quality of healthcare services for people living with HIV is one of the factors determining the clinical outcome and impact of treatment in HIV transmission. In Brazil, since the introduction of universal access for AIDs care and treatment in 1996, there has been a major increase in the number of HIV care services within the framework of the Brazilian National Health Service (SUS) of different types: basic healthcare units, specialist out-patient clinics affiliated to hospitals and specialized services for STD/AIDS. These services currently provide care for around 830,000 people living with HIV. Apart from specific inputs (antiretroviral drugs, viral load, CD4 lymphocyte counts and genotyping) provided at a Federal level, all other resources are dependent on the local structure of the SUS. These conditions give rise to a highly heterogeneous group of services. The objective of this study was to assess the SUS out-patient care services for adults living with HIV. The data were drawn from a database on 419 services involved in two nationwide applications of the Qualiaids Questionnaire assessing organizational quality in 2007 and 2010. The questionnaire, validated in 2001, is answered online by the technician in charge of each HIV care service. The survey comprised 107 questions, 97 of which relate to quality indicators, classified under three theoretical dimensions: Organization of the care process (07 domains: 42 indicators), Technical management of the service (05 domains: 31 indicators), and Availability of resources (04 domains: 24 indicators). The responses to the quality indicator questions are scored on a scale of 0 (insufficient level), 1 (acceptable) or 2 (expected), yielding overall mean performance scores for the services. There were no differences for overall means attained by the 419 services that answered the questionnaire in 2007 (1.27) and 2010 (1.28). However, differences in means for the dimensions \"organization of the care process\" (2007: 1.26; 2010: 1.29) and \"availability of resources\" (2007: 1.28; 2019:1.34) were evident. The level of resources provided Federally remained high for the vast majority of the services, whereas the locally provided human resources, particularly for access to medical specialties, remained underdeveloped and with lower availability in 2010 compared to 2007. The technical management of the services maintained a high proportion of services for patients having difficulties adhering to treatment involving return medical visits at shorter time intervals, or that focused on adherence for all patients during medical visits and in consultations with other professionals. However, the proportion of services that actively called in non-attenders (~30%), and also the proportion that ran meetings to discuss cases, remained low. Among the components of the general flow-diagram of care, the proportion of services in which monitoring of treatment adherence was performed during the medical consultation remained high, and was similar to the proportion of services that saw patients who had missed appointments or dropped out of treatment on the same day that they sought the service. However, the number of services that scheduled individual medical appointments remained low. K-means clustering of services produced 4 quality groups in 2007, with 27.7% (116) of services classified into the best group; in 2010, this clustering produced 5 groups, with 28.9%(121) of services in the best group. The likelihood of belonging to the best quality group on both years for the characteristics of the services not included in the quality scoring (managing institution, type of unit, size of service and population) was also analyzed. Services with over 500 patients or of the specialized type were independently associated with greater likelihood of belonging to the best quality group in both 2007 and 2010. Fifty-eight (13.8%) services remained in the best quality group in 2007 and 2010. Besides having high means for the dimensions \"organization of the care process\" and \"availability of resources\", this group stood out for performance of technical management, particularly for the activities of planning, assessment and coordination of care. The health service quality should always be considered in terms of progressive improvement. Systems such as Qualiaids allow managers of programs and services to monitor improvements in organizational quality over time. With regards to the relevance of the system for identifying and monitoring processes that require attention, its role in attaining better results for the well-being of patients depends on integration into quality policies and on level of resources which promote a strong care response, essential for the program as a whole

As gerontologists may know, there are a great deal of studies and a variety of academic literature on the misuse of alcohol and prescription medication amongst the elderly population. While there is a plethora of information on alcohol and prescription misuse, there is little reported data about the prevalence of other substance misuse experienced by this population. This study aims to help to fill that gap in the data by using quantitative methods to describe the scope of substance abuse of individuals 55-years or older. This study utilizes data from the Treatment Data Set Admission (TEDS-A). The TEDS-A is a public data set which includes admissions data from multiple substance abuse treatment facilities associated with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA). This is a regional study, therefore this study focuses only on individuals 55-years or older who have been admitted into substance abuse treatment facilities in the state of California in the year 2014. The TEDS-A is a data set that is supported and conducted by members of SAMHSA. Most of their public data sets, including the TEDS-A, can be accessed on their website (https://www.datafiles.samhsa.gov/study/treatment-episode-data-set-admissions-teds-2014-nid16949). The data available in the TEDS-A involves a number of admission questions, including demographic data, reasons for intake, primary through tertiary substance concerns, questions regarding social status, information on medical insurance, and more. This study looks at the descriptive frequencies of the use of alcohol, crack/cocaine, marijuana/hashish, heroin, other opiates & synthetics, methamphetamine, and other substances. The study includes 13,512 cases, of which 9966 (73.8%) of cases were male, 3539 (26.2%) were female, and 7 (0.1%) were missing and/or invalid. The results of the data suggests that, while alcohol abuse is a problem, those over 55 are admitted into substance abuse clinics for many other reasons, not just alcohol abuse.

Orientador: Cristina Maria Garcia de Lima Parada / Resumo: O presente estudo teve por objetivo comparar o processo e resultado do cuidado pré-natal considerando-se as Unidades Básicas de Saúde de modelo tradicional e Estratégia Saúde da Família, identificar a influência da qualidade da assistência pré-natal desenvolvida sobre a prematuridade e a situação do aleitamento materno no primeiro ano de vida do lactente prematuro. A tese a ser defendida é que há diferenças no resultado pré-natal quando se consideram os diferentes modelos de atenção, com melhor situação na Estratégia Saúde da Família e que a baixa qualidade pré-natal é fator de risco para prematuridade. Estudo de coorte prospectiva tomou por base a Coorte de Lactentes de Botucatu – CLaB. Utilizou-se amostra intencional de 273 duplas mães/bebês. Os dados foram colhidos em sete momentos. Durante o recrutamento foi realizada entrevista para caracterização das duplas e sobre o processo de atenção pré-natal e nascimento. Nos outros momentos investigou-se a situação do aleitamento materno. A inclusão na coorte ocorreu entre junho de 2015 e janeiro de 2016 e o seguimento foi concluído em janeiro de 2017. Para avaliação da qualidade do pré-natal criou-se escore que variou de zero (pior situação) a sete pontos (melhor situação), a partir de indicadores de processo (início precoce, número de consultas, exames de primeiro e terceiro trimestres, ultrassom precoce, educação em saúde e revisão de parto) propostos pelo Ministério da Saúde. Considerou-se escore baixo quando igual ou inferior... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This study aimed to compare the process and the result of the prenatal care considering the traditional Basic Health Units model and Family Health Strategy, identify the influency of the quality of the prenatal assistance carried on the prematurity and the situation of the breastfeeding during the premature first year of life. The hypothesis to be defended is that there are differences in the prenatal results when we take into account the different models of prenatal health care, with a better situation in the Family Health Care and that in a low quality prenatal is a risk factor for prematurity. A prospective cohort study was based on the Infant Cohort of Botucatu – ICB. An intentional sample of 273 mother/baby pairs was used. The data were collected in five moments. An interview for the characterization of the pairs and the prenatal and birth process was carried out during the recruitment. On the other moments the situation of the breastfeeding was investigated. The inclusion of the cohort occurred between June, 2015 and January, 2016 and the follow-up period was concluded in January 2017. For the prenatal quality evaluation a score which varied from zero (worst situation) to seven points (best situation) was created, taking into account some indicators of process (early start, number of visits, first and third quarters exams, early ultrasound exam, health education and review of labour) proposed by the Ministry of Health. It was considered low score when it was equal or be... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Resumen: El presente estúdio tuvo por objetivo comparar el processo y el resultado del cuidado prenatal considerando las Unidades de Salud de modelo tradicional y Estrategia Salud de la Familia, identificar la influencia de la calidad de la asistencia prenatal desarrollada sobre la prematuridade y la situación de la lactancia materna en el primer año de vida del lactante prematuro. La tesis a ser defendida es que hay diferencias en el resultado prenatal cuando se consideran los diferentes modelos de atención, con mejor situación en la Estrategia Salud de la Familia y que la baja calidad prenatal es fator de riesgo para prematuridad. El estúdio de cohorte prospectiva se basó en la Cohorte de Lactantes de Botucatu – CLaB. Se utilizó una muestra intencional de 273 dobles madres/bebés. Los datos fueron recogidos en cinco momentos. Durante el recrutamento se realióo una entrevista para caracterizar las dobles y sobre el proceso de atención prenatal e nacimiento. En los otros momentos se investigó la situación de la lactancia materna. La inclusión en la cohorte ocurrió entre junio de 2015 y enero de 2016 y el seguimiento se concluyó en enero de 2017. Para la evaluación de la calidad del prenatal se creó una puntuación que varía de cero (peor situación) a siete puntos (mejor sitación), a partir de indicadores de proceso (inicio precoz, número de consultas, exámenes de preimer y tercer trimestres, ultrasonido precoz, educación en salud y revisión de parto) propuestos por el Ministerio de Salu... (Resumen completo clicar acceso eletrônico abajo) / Doutor

A qualidade dos serviços de saúde que assistem pessoas que vivem com HIV é um dos fatores determinantes do desfecho clínico e do impacto do tratamento na transmissão do HIV. No Brasil, desde a instituição do acesso universal à assistência e tratamento da aids em 1996, houve grande expansão do número de serviços de assistência em HIV, inseridos em estruturas do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) de diferentes tipos: unidades básicas de saúde, ambulatórios de especialidade vinculados a hospitais e serviços especializados em DST/Aids. Estes serviços atendem hoje cerca de 830 mil pessoas vivendo com HIV. Exceto pelos insumos específicos (antirretrovirais, carga viral, contagem de linfócitos CD4 e genotipagem) providos pelo nível federal, todos os demais recursos são dependentes da configuração local do SUS. Estas condições conformaram um conjunto bastante heterogêneo de serviços. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os serviços do SUS de assistência ambulatorial a adultos vivendo com HIV. Os dados são provenientes da base de dados de 419 serviços que participaram das duas aplicações nacionais do Questionário Qualiaids de avaliação da qualidade organizacional em 2007 e 2010. O questionário, validado em 2001, é respondido online pelo responsável técnico pelo serviço de assistência em HIV. Contém 107 questões, das quais 97 são indicadores da qualidade, classificadas em três dimensões teóricas: organização do processo de assistência (07 domínios: 42 indicadores), gerenciamento técnico do trabalho (05 domínios: 31 indicadores), e disponibilidade de recursos (04 domínios: 24 indicadores). As respostas às questões indicadoras de qualidade são pontuadas em escala de 0 (padrão insuficiente), 1 (aceitável) a 2 (esperado) produzindo médias gerais de desempenho dos serviços. Não houve diferença entre a média geral obtida pelos 419 serviços que responderam o questionário em 2007 (1,27) e 2010 (1,28). Mostraram diferença as médias da dimensão de organização do processo de assistência (2007: 1,26; 2010: 1,29) e de disponibilidade de recursos (2007: 1,28; 2019:1,34). O aporte de recursos de provisão federal manteve-se alto para a grande maioria dos serviços, enquanto recursos humanos de provisão local, com destaque para o acesso às especialidades médicas, permanecem incipientes e menos disponíveis que em 2007. O gerenciamento técnico dos serviços manteve a proporção alta de serviços que realiza atendimento a pacientes com dificuldade de adesão ao tratamento em consultas médicas de retorno em intervalos menores, ou que reforçam a adesão para todos os pacientes durante a consulta médica e em consultas com outros profissionais. No entanto, permanece pequena a proporção de serviços que convoca os pacientes faltosos (~30%), assim como a proporção que conduz reuniões para discussão de casos. Entre os componentes do fluxograma geral da assistência, a proporção de serviços em que o monitoramento da adesão ao tratamento é realizado durante a consulta médica se manteve alta, semelhante à proporção de serviços que atendem os pacientes faltosos/em abandono no mesmo dia em que procuram o serviço. Contudo, continua baixo o número de serviços que realizam o agendamento de consultas médicas com hora marcada. O agrupamento dos serviços segundo kmédias produziu 4 grupos de qualidade em 2007, com 27,7% (116) dos serviços estudados no melhor grupo; em 2010, o agrupamento produziu 5 grupos, com 28,9%(121) dos serviços no melhor grupo. Analisou-se as chances de pertencer ao melhor grupo de qualidade em ambos os anos segundo características dos serviços não consideradas na pontuação de qualidade (instituição gestora, tipo de unidade, porte do serviço e número de habitantes). Associaram-se independentemente à maior chance de pertencer ao grupo de melhor qualidade, em 2007 e 2010, serviços com mais de 500 pacientes e do tipo especializados. Houve 58 serviços (13,8%) que se mantiveram no grupo de melhor qualidade em 2007 e 2010. Além de apresentarem altas médias nas dimensões de organização do processo de assistência e disponibilidade de recursos, este grupo distingue-se pelo desempenho do gerenciamento técnico especialmente na condução de atividades de planejamento, avaliação e coordenação do trabalho assistencial. A qualidade em serviços de saúde deve ser pensada sempre de modo incremental. Sistemas como o Qualiaids fornecem à gestão dos programas e dos serviços a possibilidade de monitorar o incremento da qualidade organizacional ao longo do tempo. Em que pese a relevância do sistema para a identificação de monitoramento de processos que necessitam atenção, seu papel no alcance de melhores resultados para o bem-estar dos pacientes depende da integração em políticas de qualidade e do aporte de recursos que sustentem uma vigorosa resposta assistencial, essencial para o programa como um todo / The quality of healthcare services for people living with HIV is one of the factors determining the clinical outcome and impact of treatment in HIV transmission. In Brazil, since the introduction of universal access for AIDs care and treatment in 1996, there has been a major increase in the number of HIV care services within the framework of the Brazilian National Health Service (SUS) of different types: basic healthcare units, specialist out-patient clinics affiliated to hospitals and specialized services for STD/AIDS. These services currently provide care for around 830,000 people living with HIV. Apart from specific inputs (antiretroviral drugs, viral load, CD4 lymphocyte counts and genotyping) provided at a Federal level, all other resources are dependent on the local structure of the SUS. These conditions give rise to a highly heterogeneous group of services. The objective of this study was to assess the SUS out-patient care services for adults living with HIV. The data were drawn from a database on 419 services involved in two nationwide applications of the Qualiaids Questionnaire assessing organizational quality in 2007 and 2010. The questionnaire, validated in 2001, is answered online by the technician in charge of each HIV care service. The survey comprised 107 questions, 97 of which relate to quality indicators, classified under three theoretical dimensions: Organization of the care process (07 domains: 42 indicators), Technical management of the service (05 domains: 31 indicators), and Availability of resources (04 domains: 24 indicators). The responses to the quality indicator questions are scored on a scale of 0 (insufficient level), 1 (acceptable) or 2 (expected), yielding overall mean performance scores for the services. There were no differences for overall means attained by the 419 services that answered the questionnaire in 2007 (1.27) and 2010 (1.28). However, differences in means for the dimensions \"organization of the care process\" (2007: 1.26; 2010: 1.29) and \"availability of resources\" (2007: 1.28; 2019:1.34) were evident. The level of resources provided Federally remained high for the vast majority of the services, whereas the locally provided human resources, particularly for access to medical specialties, remained underdeveloped and with lower availability in 2010 compared to 2007. The technical management of the services maintained a high proportion of services for patients having difficulties adhering to treatment involving return medical visits at shorter time intervals, or that focused on adherence for all patients during medical visits and in consultations with other professionals. However, the proportion of services that actively called in non-attenders (~30%), and also the proportion that ran meetings to discuss cases, remained low. Among the components of the general flow-diagram of care, the proportion of services in which monitoring of treatment adherence was performed during the medical consultation remained high, and was similar to the proportion of services that saw patients who had missed appointments or dropped out of treatment on the same day that they sought the service. However, the number of services that scheduled individual medical appointments remained low. K-means clustering of services produced 4 quality groups in 2007, with 27.7% (116) of services classified into the best group; in 2010, this clustering produced 5 groups, with 28.9%(121) of services in the best group. The likelihood of belonging to the best quality group on both years for the characteristics of the services not included in the quality scoring (managing institution, type of unit, size of service and population) was also analyzed. Services with over 500 patients or of the specialized type were independently associated with greater likelihood of belonging to the best quality group in both 2007 and 2010. Fifty-eight (13.8%) services remained in the best quality group in 2007 and 2010. Besides having high means for the dimensions \"organization of the care process\" and \"availability of resources\", this group stood out for performance of technical management, particularly for the activities of planning, assessment and coordination of care. The health service quality should always be considered in terms of progressive improvement. Systems such as Qualiaids allow managers of programs and services to monitor improvements in organizational quality over time. With regards to the relevance of the system for identifying and monitoring processes that require attention, its role in attaining better results for the well-being of patients depends on integration into quality policies and on level of resources which promote a strong care response, essential for the program as a whole

Introdução: A adesão à terapia antirretroviral (TARV) é essencial para o sucesso do tratamento do HIV/aids. Apesar das recomendações fornecidas para a promoção da adesão nos serviços de assistência ambulatorial ao HIV/aids do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), não há medidas padronizadas para o monitoramento da adesão nos serviços e há pouca informação disponível sobre as atividades de adesão efetivamente realizadas. Este estudo teve como objetivos: descrever medidas nacionais de adesão à TARV e atividades de adesão conduzidas nos serviços de HIV/aids do SUS; investigar relações entre adesão e características dos serviços. Métodos: Entre 2009 e 2011, conduziu-se um estudo transversal da adesão à TARV em amostra nacional de pacientes em tratamento em serviços do SUS. Foram sorteados para participar do estudo: 1) serviços de diferentes níveis de qualidade (segundo avaliação nacional prévia da organização da assistência ao HIV/aids), localizados nas diferentes regiões do país; 2) pacientes sob TARV em acompanhamento nos serviços selecionados, maiores de 18 anos, não gestantes. Para medir a adesão à TARV, utilizou-se o Questionário WebAd-Q, instrumento de autorrelato em linguagem \"Web\", previamente validado, que aborda três dimensões da adesão: medicamentos, dose (número de comprimidos) e horários de tomada. As respostas foram ponderadas de acordo com a probabilidade de seleção amostral dos pacientes. Características dos serviços foram obtidas com base em dois instrumentos autorrespondidos pelos gerentes e equipes de saúde: 1) o Questionário Qualiaids, voltado para a avaliação geral da qualidade organizacional da assistência ao HIV/aids; 2) o Questionário de Atividades de Adesão, que enfoca aspectos especificamente voltados para a promoção da adesão. Outras características dos serviços analisadas foram: região geográfica, porte do serviço (número de pacientes em TARV) e porte do município (número de habitantes). O desempenho dos serviços em relação às atividades de adesão realizadas foi avaliado segundo cinco domínios: monitoramento; investigação da adesão; cuidado multidisciplinar; atividades de grupo e para populações específicas; capacitação e atualização dos profissionais. Associações entre medidas de adesão e características dos serviços foram testadas em modelos de regressão logística (IC 95%, p < 0,05). Associações entre atividades de adesão e demais características dos serviços também foram investigadas. Resultados: De um total de 2.424 participantes, acompanhados em 55 serviços, 61,1% (IC 95% 58,5-63,7) reportaram não adesão a uma ou mais das dimensões analisadas. A dimensão com maior proporção de não adesão foi o horário (50,9%). Os serviços apresentaram desempenho geral mediano em relação às atividades de adesão. Serviços de boa qualidade organizacional e de pequeno porte associaram-se ao melhor desempenho e/ou à realização de atividades específicas. Ao contrário do esperado, houve predomínio de associações inversas da adesão com a qualidade, a complexidade assistencial (segundo o porte) e a realização de atividades de adesão. Discussão: O estudo indicou a necessidade de ações para aprimorar o trabalho em adesão realizado nos serviços, incluindo: promoção da adesão ao horário; priorização de pessoas com dificuldades de adesão e de populações que requerem intervenções específicas; padronização do monitoramento; maior investimento no gerenciamento técnico, no enfoque multidisciplinar, em atividades específicas de apoio à adesão, e em parcerias com a sociedade civil organizada. A exploração de novos modelos de análise em futuros estudos deverá contribuir para a melhor compreensão das relações entre adesão e características dos serviços / Background: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial for HIV/AIDS treatment success. In spite of recommendations provided for adherence promotion in HIV outpatient care facilities of the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS), there are no standard measures for adherence monitoring in the facilities and there is little information available about adherence strategies actually implemented. This study aimed at: describing national ART adherence measures and adherence strategies conducted in public HIV care facilities; investigating relationships between adherence and care site characteristics. Methods: Between 2009 and 2011, a cross-sectional study of ART adherence was conducted with a national sample of patients treated in public health care facilities. Randomly selected study participants were: 1) care sites of different quality levels (according to a previous national evaluation of HIV care organization), located in different country regions; 2) patients receiving ART at selected sites, 18 years or older, non-pregnant. Adherence measurement was based on the WebAd-Q Questionnaire, a pre-validated web-based self-report tool that approaches three adherence dimensions: drugs, dose (number of pills) and time schedule. Answers were weighted according to patients\' probability of selection. Site characteristics were obtained based on two self-report tools answered by managers and health care teams: 1) the Qualiaids Questionnaire, which evaluates HIV care overall organizational quality; 2) the Adherence Strategies Questionnaire, which focuses on aspects specifically related to adherence promotion. Other site characteristics analyzed were: geographic region, site size (number of patients receiving ART) and municipality size (number of inhabitants). Care site performance in relation to adherence strategies was evaluated based on five domains: monitoring; adherence investigation; multidisciplinary care; group activities and strategies for special populations; professionals\' training and update. Associations between adherence measures and site characteristics were tested in logistic regression models (CI 95%, p < 0.05). Associations between adherence strategies and other site characteristics were also investigated. Results: From a total of 2,424 participants, who were receiving care at 55 facilities, 61.1% (CI 95% 58.5-63.7) reported non-adherence to one or more of the dimensions analyzed. The dimension with the largest non-adherence proportion was timing (50.9%). Overall, the facilities presented a medium performance on adherence strategies. Good organizational quality and small size were associated with better site performance and/or with conduction of specific strategies. Contrary to expectations, inverse associations of adherence with quality, care complexity (according to size) and implementation of adherence strategies were predominant. Discussion: This study indicated actions required to improve adherence work developed in the facilities, including: timing adherence promotion; prioritization of people facing adherence difficulties and populations requiring specific interventions; monitoring standardization; more efforts focusing on technical management, multidisciplinary approach, specific strategies to support adherence, and partnerships with organized civil society. The development of new analysis models in future studies should contribute to improve understanding of the relationships between adherence and care site characteristics

Background: Antenatal Psychosocial Assessment (APA) has recently been introduced into routine antenatal care, but the ways in which maternity service providers assess and respond to maternal stress are subject of debate. There is a lack of consensus on the instrument(s) of choice and lack of evidence regarding appropriate interventions. Further, national guidelines have not kept apace with the conceptual shift from ‘postnatal depression’ to ‘perinatal anxiety and depression’. Adopting the Medical Research Council Complex Interventions Framework, the ARMS research aimed to inform the development of interventions that support women who are experiencing, or at risk of, mild-moderate mental health disorder in pregnancy. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted. In the quantitative element (Study Part 1) participants (n=191) completed a questionnaire when attending for their first formal antenatal appointment, using a procedure and materials that had been previously tested in a pilot study. Details including mental health assessment and referrals were obtained from their health records, following delivery. In the qualitative element (Study Part 2) a sub-sample of women (n=22) experiencing high levels of maternal stress took part in up to three serial in-depth interviews during pregnancy and the early postnatal period.Findings: Maternal stress was found to be common. Using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) threshold of ≥10, approximately 1 in 4 women were classed as high depression (halving to 1 in 8 at the more conservative threshold of ≥13). Almost 1 in 3 women were classed as high anxiety, using the state scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S, threshold ≥41), compared with 1 in 5 using the two-item GAD (threshold ≥3). Fewer than half of the women identified as high anxiety were identified by both measures. Factor analyses of the symptom measures were consistent with wider literature suggesting a three-item anxiety component of the EPDS; however, concurrent validation using regression analyses did not indicate that the EPDS could be used as an anxiety case finding instrument. Women reported that maternal stress had significant impact on their lives that may not be captured with existing clinical approaches. Women commonly found it difficult to self-assess severity of maternal stress and the assessment process could itself act as an intervention. The research provided the first validation of the depression case finding questions in UK clinical practice. The Whooley items completed in clinical practice identified only half of the possible cases identified by the EPDS, at both commonly adopted EPDS thresholds. Inclusion of the Arroll 'help' question as a criterion improved specificity of the assessment completed in clinical practice but substantially compromised sensitivity, missing 9 in 10 possible cases. Women’s mental health history and treatment history were similarly under-reported, particularly concerning anxiety. APA was introduced into routine clinical practice without attention to topics of relevance to women, context of disclosure or to provision of adequate resources for consistently responding to identified need. Women experiencing, or at risk of, mild-moderate disorder were thus usually ineligible for further support. Implications: Care pathways are needed that encompass both assessing and responding to maternal stress, where communication with health professionals, subsequent referral and management are addressed. The development, implementation and evaluation of low-cost resources embedded in such pathways are a priority and the research presented in the thesis offers a foundation on which to build.

Background Close, continuous and efficient collaboration between different professions and sectors of care is necessary to provide patient-centered care for individuals with mental disorders. The lack of structured collaboration between in- and outpatient care constitutes a limitation of the German health care system. Since 2012, a new law in Germany (§64b Social code book (SGB) V) has enabled the establishment of cross-sectoral and patient-centered treatment models in psychiatry. Such model projects follow a capitation budget, i.e. a total per patient budget of inpatient and outpatient care in psychiatric clinics. Providers are able to choose the treatment form and adapt the treatment to the needs of the patients. The present study (EVA64) will investigate the effectiveness, costs and efficiency of almost all model projects established in Germany between 2013 and 2016. Methods/design A health insurance data-based controlled cohort study is used. Data from up to 89 statutory health insurance (SHI) funds, i.e. 79% of all SHI funds in Germany (May 2017), on inpatient and outpatient care, pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical treatments and sick leave for a period of 7 years will be analyzed. All patients insured by any of the participating SHI funds and treated in one of the model hospitals for any of 16 pre-defined mental disorders will be compared with patients in routine care. Sick leave (primary outcome), utilization of inpatient care (primary outcome), utilization of outpatient care, continuity of contacts in (psychiatric) care, physician and hospital hopping, re-admission rate, comorbidity, mortality, disease progression, and guideline adherence will be analyzed. Cost and effectivity of model and routine care will be estimated using cost-effectiveness analyses. Up to 10 control hospitals for each of the 18 model hospitals will be selected according to a pre-defined algorithm. Discussion The evaluation of complex interventions is an important main task of health services research and constitutes the basis of evidence-guided advancement in health care. The study will yield important new evidence to guide the future provision of routine care for mentally ill patients in Germany and possibly beyond. Trial registration This study was registered in the database “Health Services Research Germany” (trial number: VVfD_EVA64_15_003713).