Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-117). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references. Also issued online.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Xerox of typescript.

This thesis is about UK healthcare decision-makers’ responses to guidance that a new interventional procedure is safe and efficacious, and whether additional information would be helpful.  The aims were to conceptualise how evidence could be used to best inform decision-making; investigate the ways in which decision-makers currently respond to such guidance; identify types of additional useful information, and assess the feasibility and value of providing these. The study was based on the UK Interventional Procedures Programme (IPP).  A multidimensional framework for categorising evidence (explanatory vs. pragmatic) was developed and tested using IPP-evaluated procedures.  A qualitative study explored how local NHS decision-makers respond to IPP guidance and whether additional information might be useful to them.  A range of approaches – from simple descriptive data, through evidence syntheses, to economic models of cost-effectiveness – were explored in a case study of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for snoring. NHS decision-makers’ responses to IPP guidance varied and they indicated additional information would be helpful.  Available evidence on the effects of procedures went beyond ‘efficacy’.  The case study showed it was possible, within limitations, to provide useful additional information but at increasing costs as complexity increased. Decision-makers vary in their responses to IPP guidance.  Additional information (such as prevalence, incidence, costs and likely cost-effectiveness), which they indicated would be useful, is potentially available but the feasibility of providing this varies depending on the nature of the evidence available and the related costs.  The thesis indicates that the quality of decision-making would be improved if guidance that a new procedure is safe and efficacious were to be contextualised through specific extra information.

Thesis (M.A. (Population and Reproductive Health Research))--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0028 ; please contact computer services.

This thesis investigates the treatment quality of medical services in the hospital sector from different angles: theory, measures and application in China. This thesis includes three essays. The first essay (Chapter 2) is a critical review about the quality assessment. It shows that the environmental performance index is suitable for measuring treatment quality. The second essay (Chapter 3) introduces alternative approaches to environmental performance indices to solve the infeasibility problem of current measures. Environmental performance indices are measures to evaluate the production of undesirable outputs relative to desirable outputs. My new measures are more accurate using the sequential frontier and various reference vectors. The last essay (Chapter 4) is an empirical case study in the Chinese hospital sector that examines how the degree of government involvement and the degree of market competition affect the performance of treatment quality. Using the environmental performance indices of Essay 2 to evaluate treatment quality, I find that the performance of treatment quality of Chinese hospitals improved during the 2009-2014 period. Therefore, the marketisation of hospitals and government subsidies contribute to this sustained improvement

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2006. / Supervisor: Susan J. Elliott. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-171).

Thesis--University of California, San Francisco. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-260).

Thesis--University of California, San Francisco. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-260).

The overall aim of this thesis is to define a candidate set of quality indicators that are evidence-based, feasible to implement, and have the potential to improve the quality of care provided for children in UK general practice. The indicators were developed using a three-stage process. First, the areas and aspects of care of highest priority for quality indicator development were identified. This was achieved by seeking the views of primary care clinicians and by undertaking a formal analysis of unplanned hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions. Then, the evidence-base to underpin indicator development was identified through an overview of Cochrane systematic reviews of interventions relevant to the primary care of children. A search of SIGN and NICE national guidelines was also conducted to inform the evidence-base. Lastly, an expert panel determined the formulation and selection of indicators by applying the RAND appropriateness methodology. This process created a final set of 26 quality indicators in six priority areas: early recognition of potentially serious illness (n=7); child protection and safeguarding (n=4); mental health (n=4); health promotion (n=1); routinely managed conditions (n=6); and general practice management (n=4). The main strength of these indicators is that they reflect a strong professional consensus on their validity and feasibility. The main weakness is that the indicators are underpinned by evidence mainly derived from expert opinion rather than formal research; the requirement for professional consensus means that they do not challenge existing models of care delivery.