Obwohl therapeutisch angestrebte Veränderungen im Rahmen der kognitiven Verhaltenstherapie vor allem als Veränderungen des Erlebens und Verhaltens im Alltag des Patienten konzipiert werden, konzentriert sich die Psychotherapieforschung bei der Aufklärung relevanter Wirkmechanismen bislang eher auf Einflüsse der unmittelbaren therapeutischen Interaktion sowie auf den Beitrag konkreter Intervention. Prozesse außerhalb der therapeutischen Sitzungen wurden in ihrer Bedeutung für Veränderungen eher vernachlässigt. Es ist jedoch davon auszugehen, dass ein umfassenderes Verständnis dieser Prozesse helfen könnte, psychotherapeutische Behandlungen weiter zu optimieren und ihre Gesamteffektivität zu erhöhen. Die vorliegende Arbeit macht veränderungsrelevante Prozesse außerhalb des eigentlichen Therapiekontextes zum Ausgangspunkt verschiedener Überlegungen zur Optimierung verhaltenstherapeutischer Behandlungen. Dabei werden exemplarisch Prozesse in der Wartezeit zwischen Anmeldung zur Psychotherapie und Beginn der eigentlichen Behandlung sowie therapeutische Hausaufgaben als veränderungsrelevante Aktivitäten zwischen zwei Therapiestunden untersucht. Einen wichtigen Bereich potentieller Veränderungsprozesse stellen Einflüsse in der Zeit vor der Therapie dar. In der Überblicksarbeit „Wartezeit für Psychotherapiepatienten – und wie sie zu nutzen ist“ (Helbig, Hähnel, Weigel & Hoyer, 2004) wird zunächst die derzeitige Versorgungslage im Psychotherapiesektor in Bezug auf Wartezeiten dargestellt und damit assoziierte Probleme aufgezeigt. Es werden Empfehlungen für einen konstruktiven Umgang mit diesen Wartezeiten diskutiert sowie eine konkrete Vorgehensweise vorgeschlagen. In einer Praxiserhebung wurden darüber hinaus ca. 300 Patienten auf einer Warteliste für ambulante Verhaltenstherapie mit einem Kurzfragebogen zu eigeninitiierten problembezogenen Aktivitäten und Coping-Strategien befragt („What do patients do before it starts? Coping with mental health problems on a CBT waiting list“; Helbig & Hoyer, 2008). Es zeigte sich, dass das therapierelevante Verhalten in der Wartezeit erheblich variierte, jedoch fast alle Patienten bereits während der Wartezeit im Hinblick auf ihr Problem aktiv wurden. Überraschenderweise konnten keine klaren Assoziationen zwischen Patienten-Charakteristika und Art des gezeigten Selbsthilfe- oder Copingverhaltens nachgewiesen werden. Eine erste Exploration der Effekte von Selbsthilfe-Verhalten in der Wartezeit auf das Therapie-Ergebnis ergab hypothesenkonträr, dass aktive Selbsthilfe ein ungünstigeres Behandlungsergebnis im Hinblick auf depressive Symptome vorhersagte – hier bleibt jedoch offen, inwieweit dieses Ergebnis durch den fehlenden Erfolg der Selbsthilfestrategien und einen damit verbundenen Selbstwirksamkeitsverlust moderiert wird. Die Ergebnisse führten zu der Hypothese, dass systematische und erwiesenermaßen nutzbringende Angebote für Patienten in der Wartezeit helfen könnten, Kosten durch Inanspruchnahme weiterer Dienste zu sparen und die Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung von Patienten schon vor Beginn der Therapie zu erhöhen. Diese Annahme wurde anhand einer speziell für die Wartezeit entwickelten Intervention untersucht („Hilft wenig viel? Eine Minimalintervention für Patienten während der Wartezeit auf ambulante Verhaltenstherapie“; Helbig & Hoyer, 2007). In einer universitären Psychotherapieambulanz wurden 75 Patienten mit Angst- bzw. depressiven Störungen nach Anmeldung zur Behandlung kontrolliert einer Versuchs- oder einer Kontrollgruppe zugewiesen. Während die Kontrollgruppe wie üblich auf den Behandlungsbeginn wartete, erhielt die Versuchsgruppe bibliotherapeutische Materialien sowie ein Informationsblatt zur Überbrückung von Wartezeit. Beide Gruppen wurden vor und nach der Wartezeit im Hinblick auf Erwartungen und Einstellungen zur Behandlung sowie hinsichtlich ihrer Zufriedenheit mit der Einrichtung untersucht. Die Minimalintervention erbrachte differenziell positive Effekte, insbesondere bei Personen mit geringem Vorwissen über Psychotherapie; ein global positiver Einfluss auf die untersuchten Variablen konnte jedoch nicht nachgewiesen werden. Bei Teilnehmern mit depressiven Erkrankungen wurden sogar vereinzelt negative Effekte der Intervention beobachtet. Entsprechend wurde geschlussfolgert, dass ein patienten- und störungsübergreifendes Vorgehen in der Wartezeit für eine Optimierung der psychotherapeutischen Versorgung nicht Erfolg versprechend erscheint. Neben Prozessen in der Wartezeit auf Psychotherapie sind auch Prozesse zwischen den eigentlichen Therapiesitzungen ein möglicher Ansatzpunkt zur Steigerung der Gesamteffektivität. Trotz ihrer theoretischen Bedeutsamkeit existieren bislang nur wenige empirische Befunde zur Frage, wie Hausaufgaben zur Therapieeffektivität beitragen und wie sie gewinnbringend einzusetzen sind. Eine Befragung von 77 verhaltenstherapeutisch arbeitenden Psychotherapeuten ergab, dass der Einsatz von Hausaufgaben in der Praxis mit einer Vielzahl von Problemen behaftet ist: Nur ca. ein Drittel der vereinbarten Aufgaben wurde durch den Patienten wie geplant erledigt („Problems with homework in CBT: Rare exception or rather frequent?“; Helbig & Fehm, 2004). Die Hausaufgaben-Compliance war dabei positiv korreliert mit der Vergabe schriftlicher Materialien, einem späteren Therapiestadium sowie der allgemeinen Einstellung zu Hausaufgaben. Aus diesen Ergebnissen wurden konkrete Maßnahmen für einen gewinnbringenden Einsatz von Hausaufgaben abgeleitet. Aufgrund der überraschend häufigen Probleme im Umgang mit Hausaufgaben beschäftigte sich eine weitere Arbeit mit allgemeinen Empfehlungen für den effektiven Einsatz von Hausaufgaben und deren empirischer Fundierung („Der Einsatz von Hausaufgaben in der Psychotherapie. Empfehlungen und ihre empirische Fundierung“; Helbig & Fehm, 2005). Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Mehrzahl der in der Literatur genannten Empfehlungen noch nicht empirisch untersucht ist bzw. nicht nachgewiesenermaßen mit der Hausaufgabenerledigung assoziiert ist. In den bisher beschriebenen empirischen Arbeiten wurden Schwierigkeiten bei der aussagekräftigen Erfassung des Geschehens außerhalb des Therapiekontexts deutlich. Aus diesem Grund wurde im Rahmen einer weiteren Studie das Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) als ambulantes Monitoring-Verfahren auf seine Anwendbarkeit bei der Untersuchung von klinisch relevanten Veränderungsprozessen überprüft („Implementierung, Akzeptanz und Informationsgehalt eines „Ecological Momentary Assessment“-Ansatzes bei Patienten mit Panikstörung und Agoraphobie“; Helbig, Lang, Swendsen, Hoyer & Wittchen, 2009). Insgesamt konnte EMA gut in eine allgemeine Versorgungsstruktur implementiert werden und bot einen deutlichen Informationsgewinn gegenüber klassischen Erhebungsmethoden. In weiteren Studien sollte jedoch weiter untersucht werden, ob der Einsatz von EMA zu systematischen Stichprobenselektionseffekten führt. Die vorgestellten Befunde lassen den enormen Forschungsbedarf erkennen, der auf dem Gebiet veränderungsrelevanter Prozesse außerhalb der therapeutischen Beziehung und Intervention besteht. Aus diesem Grund wird abschließend eine weiterführende Forschungsagenda entwickelt und praxisnahe Vorschläge zur Optimierung der therapeutischen Versorgung abgeleitet. / Therapeutic outcome in cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) is often defined as lasting changes in cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes in a patient’s daily life. Psychotherapy research, on the contrary, mainly focuses on processes during therapeutic sessions and effects of specific interventions in examining mechanisms of change. Processes outside the therapeutic setting were mostly neglected, although it might be assumed that a comprehensive knowledge of these processes might help optimizing treatment and enhancing overall therapeutic effectiveness. The present dissertation is based on assumptions about the importance of change-relevant processes outside the direct therapist-patient-interaction on CBT outcome. Processes during waiting time for psychotherapy and therapeutic homework assignments are exemplarily scrutinized. Influences prior to therapy start are an important research subject in studying change processes outside the therapeutic setting. In a first paper, the status of German psychotherapy health care in relation to waiting times is reviewed, and related problems are discussed („Waiting time for psychotherapy – and how to make use of it“; Helbig, Hähnel, Weigel & Hoyer, 2004). Recommendations for using these waiting times for therapy preparation are proposed. Additionally, about 300 patients on a outpatient CBT waiting list were surveyed using a specifically developed questionnaire that retrospectively assessed problem-related activities and coping strategies („What do patients do before it starts? Coping with mental health problems on a CBT waiting list“; Helbig & Hoyer, 2008). It showed that patient behaviour during waiting time largely varied; however, almost all patients instigated activities in regard to their problem. Surprisingly, no clear associations between patient characteristics and coping behaviour could be found. A preliminary exploration of self-help effects during waiting on therapy outcome pointed out unfavourable effects of active self-help – however, it remained open whether failure in self-help and a related decrease of perceived self-effectiveness contributed to this surprising finding. It was concluded that a therapist initiated offer for using waiting times might help reduce additional health care utilization and promote patients’ self-effectiveness even prior to therapy start. This assumption was examined in a subsequent study on the effects of a minimal intervention for waiting list patients („Effects of a minimal intervention for patients on a CBT waiting list“; Helbig & Hoyer, 2007). 75 patients reporting depressive and anxiety disorders at intake were allocated to either waiting as usual or an intervention group. Patients in the intervention group received bibliotherapeutic materials and a leaflet informing about strategies that might help bridging the waiting time. Before and after waiting, consumer satisfaction, attitudes towards psychotherapy and treatment expectations were assessed in both groups. The minimal intervention had some positive effects, especially in patients with less knowledge about psychotherapy; however, there was no global improvement in the intervention group. In patients with depressive disorders, single adverse effects were observed. It was concluded that the use of therapy preparation strategies cannot overall be recommended, but has to take differences among patients into account. Besides processes prior to therapy start, intersession processes might be used for enhancing overall therapy effectiveness. Despite their theoretical importance, little is known about therapeutic homework assignments and their effective use. A survey among 77 behaviour therapists showed that only about one third of homework is completed as assigned („Problems with homework in CBT: Rare exception or rather frequent?“; Helbig & Fehm, 2004). Homework compliance was positively associated with providing written materials, a later stage of therapy and positive attitudes towards homework. Recommendations for homework assignment were derived from these findings. Due to the surprisingly frequent problems related to homework use, a review on recommendations for effective homework use and their empirical foundation was conducted („Homework recommendations in theory and research. Empirical results on the recommended use of homework“; Helbig & Fehm, 2005). It was shown that the majority of homework recommendations is not examined yet, or lacks empirical evidence. The empirical studies described above disclosed methodological difficulties in a meaningful assessment of intersession processes. Thus, a last study was designed to test the feasibility of an ambulatory assessment strategy (EMA) for examining clinically relevant mechanisms of change (“Feasibility, compliance and information content of an Ecological Momentary Assessment approach in patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia”; Helbig, Lang, Swendsen, Hoyer & Wittchen, 2009). Overall, EMA demonstrated feasibility in routine care as well as substantial information gains compared to questionnaire measures. Further studies should reappraise whether EMA is linked to systematic sample selection effects. Presented findings refer to a substantial need for further research on change-relevant processes outside the therapeutic setting. Against this background, the dissertation concludes with an intersession research agenda and with recommendations for enhancing therapeutic effectiveness.

In recent years, the transplant community has explored and adopted tools for quantifying clinical insight into illness severity and frailty. This dissertation work explores the interplay between objective and subjective assessments of physical health status and the implications for liver transplant candidate and recipient outcomes. The first aim characterizes national epidemiologic trends and the impact of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid quality improvement policies on likelihood of waitlist removal based on the patient being too frail to benefit from liver transplant (“too sick to transplant”). This aim includes more than a decade (2002–2012) of comprehensive national transplant waitlist data (Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR)). The second aim will assess and define objective parameters of liver transplant patient frailty by measuring decline in lean core muscle mass (“sarcopenia”) using abdominal CT scans collected retrospectively at a single U.S. transplant center between 2006 and 2015. The relationship between these objective sarcopenia measures and subjective functional status assessed using the Karnofsky Functional Performance (KPS) scale are described and quantified. The third aim quantifies the extent to which poor functional status (KPS) pre-transplant is associated with worse post-transplant survival and includes national data on liver transplantations conducted between 2005 and 2014 (SRTR). The results of this dissertation will help providers in the assessment of frailty and subsequent risk of adverse outcomes and has implications for strategic clinical management in anticipation of surgery. This research will also to serve to inform national policy on the design of transplant center performance measures.

Patient satisfaction dimensions have a wide ranging and significant impact on organizational performance in the healthcare industry. In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Value Based Purchasing (HVBP) Program links patient satisfaction to Medicare reimbursement, putting millions of dollars at risk for health systems. A gap in the literature exists in the exploration of how a patient's experience in the emergency department affects their satisfaction with inpatient services. In a multiple regression analysis, the relationship between HVBP Patient Experience of Care and hospital level factors including emergency department wait times are explored. Results indicate a statistically significant relationship between hospital level factors and standardized measure of patient satisfaction with a moderate adjusted effect size (p= <.0001, R2 adjusted= 0.184). Emergency department wait times post physician admit orders were most salient in predicting patient satisfaction scores (rs2= 0.434, β= -0.334, p= <.001). Recommendations to improve emergency department wait times include focusing on key decision points and implementation of electronic systems to support the movement of admitted patients out of the emergency department as quickly as possible.

A presente dissertação, inserida na área temática da Saúde Pública de Regulação e Fiscalização em Saúde (categoria SP1.011.127), destacou aspectos relacionados à política nacional de regulação em saúde. Com base na revisão da literatura relacionada com o tema, o estudo teve como objetivo principal apresentar e discutir os desdobramentos da realização de intervenção no sistema de regulação do acesso à assistência às especialidades médicas de um município de 250 mil habitantes no período de 2009 a 2011. Teve também, como objetivo secundário, analisar estratégias de desenvolvimento e operacionalização de protocolos de regulação do acesso à assistência ambulatorial em perspectiva municipal. Como referencial metodológico foi adotado o estudo de caso com abordagem descritiva predominantemente qualitativa. O capítulo de introdução versou sobre o cenário relacionado com a regulação do acesso à assistência e as intervenções aplicadas. Como resultados foram apresentadas as ações desenvolvidas no município no campo de infraestrutura e tecnologia da informação, aperfeiçoamento logístico e de processos, educação permanente e o desenvolvimento de protocolos de regulação do acesso. Na discussão, foram analisados os processos desenvolvidos, escolhas e ferramentas adotadas para o aperfeiçoamento do acesso à atenção ambulatorial, suas características e vulnerabilidades, discutindo-se as potencialidades desta implementação e o impacto no acesso aos serviços de saúde municipal / This dissertation, inserted in the thematic area of Health Care Coordination and Monitoring (SP1.011.127 category), emphasized issues related to national policy health regulation in Brazil. Based on a review of literature related to the topic, the study had, as main objective, present and discuss the unfolding of intervention performed in the medical specialties accessibility settled in a city of 250 000 inhabitants in the period from 2009 to 2011. Also sought, as a secondary objective, examine strategies to develop and manage regulatory access protocols in that city. The methodological framework was a case study with predominantly qualitative descriptive approach. The introductory chapter was about the scenario related to the regulation of access to care and interventions applied. Results presented the actions developed in the field of municipal infrastructure and information technology, logistics and process improvement, Public Health Professional Education and the development of regulatory access protocols. In the discussion were analyzed the processes developed, choices and tools used for the improvement of Health Services Accessibility, their characteristics and vulnerabilities, discussing the potential of this implementation and the impact on local health services

A presente dissertação, inserida na área temática da Saúde Pública de Regulação e Fiscalização em Saúde (categoria SP1.011.127), destacou aspectos relacionados à política nacional de regulação em saúde. Com base na revisão da literatura relacionada com o tema, o estudo teve como objetivo principal apresentar e discutir os desdobramentos da realização de intervenção no sistema de regulação do acesso à assistência às especialidades médicas de um município de 250 mil habitantes no período de 2009 a 2011. Teve também, como objetivo secundário, analisar estratégias de desenvolvimento e operacionalização de protocolos de regulação do acesso à assistência ambulatorial em perspectiva municipal. Como referencial metodológico foi adotado o estudo de caso com abordagem descritiva predominantemente qualitativa. O capítulo de introdução versou sobre o cenário relacionado com a regulação do acesso à assistência e as intervenções aplicadas. Como resultados foram apresentadas as ações desenvolvidas no município no campo de infraestrutura e tecnologia da informação, aperfeiçoamento logístico e de processos, educação permanente e o desenvolvimento de protocolos de regulação do acesso. Na discussão, foram analisados os processos desenvolvidos, escolhas e ferramentas adotadas para o aperfeiçoamento do acesso à atenção ambulatorial, suas características e vulnerabilidades, discutindo-se as potencialidades desta implementação e o impacto no acesso aos serviços de saúde municipal / This dissertation, inserted in the thematic area of Health Care Coordination and Monitoring (SP1.011.127 category), emphasized issues related to national policy health regulation in Brazil. Based on a review of literature related to the topic, the study had, as main objective, present and discuss the unfolding of intervention performed in the medical specialties accessibility settled in a city of 250 000 inhabitants in the period from 2009 to 2011. Also sought, as a secondary objective, examine strategies to develop and manage regulatory access protocols in that city. The methodological framework was a case study with predominantly qualitative descriptive approach. The introductory chapter was about the scenario related to the regulation of access to care and interventions applied. Results presented the actions developed in the field of municipal infrastructure and information technology, logistics and process improvement, Public Health Professional Education and the development of regulatory access protocols. In the discussion were analyzed the processes developed, choices and tools used for the improvement of Health Services Accessibility, their characteristics and vulnerabilities, discussing the potential of this implementation and the impact on local health services

Abstract The aim of the study was to describe and analyse access to care and factors relating to access to care theoretically and empirically. Access to care is a theoretical concept, analysed through waiting list lengths categorised by field of special health care. Public health services and related factors, access to care and the disparity between demand and supply are analysed within a theoretical framework. The study is divided into a theoretical and an empirical section. Access to care was studied through a mixed methods approach, based on a two-phase empiric material. The first phase is composed of focus group interviews (N=4). Interviewees were hospital district administrators and medical directors as well as chairpersons of the board and council or their representatives. The interviews were analysed by phenomenographic methods. The second phase is composed of waiting list data collected by THL (N=79) as well as population and prevalence data acquired from SOTKAnet (N=12) for 2008–2010. For 2009–2010, hospital district documents include financial statements (N=16), annual reports (N=23), annual statistics (N=6), personnel reports (N=21) and balance sheet books (N=6). The second phase were statistically analyzed. Results of the study on factors affecting access to care are divided into two themes: 1. challenges related to access to care from the hospital district’s perspective and 2. component factors of the realisation of access to care. Macro-level challenges related to access to care are legislation, politics, regulatory bodies, uniform grounds for non-urgent treatment, Current Care Guidelines recommendations and the connection between access to care, Current Care Guidelines recommendations, uniform grounds for non-urgent treatment, prioritisation and regulations. Meso-level challenges are operative decision-making and organisational operations models, resources, supply-based demand and the chain of treatment. Component factors of the realisation of access to care are the variance in waiting list lengths between different fields; the connection between waiting lists, the population and the hospital district; population size and its prevalence as well as resources and financial factors. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kuvata ja analysoida hoitoon pääsyä ja siihen vaikuttavia tekijöitä teoreettisesti ja empiirisesti. Hoitoon pääsy on teoreettinen käsite, jota analysoidaan erikoisaloittaisten jonojen pituutena. Teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä tarkastellaan julkisen terveydenhuollon palveluja ja niihin vaikuttavia tekijöitä, hoitoon pääsyä sekä kysynnän ja tarjonnan epäsuhtaa. Tutkimus jakautuu teoreettiseen ja empiiriseen osaan. Hoitoon pääsyä tutkittiin mixed methods -menetelmällä kaksivaiheisen empiirisen aineiston pohjalta. Ensimmäinen vaihe koostui fokusryhmähaastatteluista (N=4). Haastateltavina olivat SHP:n johtajat ja johtajaylilääkärit sekä SHP:n ky:n valtuuston ja hallituksen puheenjohtajat tai heidän edustajansa. Haastattelut analysoitiin fenomenografisen menetelmän mukaisesti. Toinen vaihe koostui THL:n erikoisaloittaisista jonotiedoista (N=79) ja SOTKAnetistä saaduista väestö- ja sairastavuustiedoista (N=12) vuosilta 2008–2010. Aineistona vuosilta 2009–2010 käytettiin myös SHP:n dokumentteja, joita olivat tilinpäätökset (N=16), vuosi-/toimintakertomukset (N=23), vuositilastot (N=6), henkilöstökertomukset (N=21) ja tasekirjat (N=6). Toinen vaihe analysoitiin tilastollisesti. Tutkimustulokset hoitoon pääsyyn vaikuttavista tekijöistä jakaantuivat kahteen teemaan: 1. hoitoon pääsyn haasteisiin SHP:n näkökulmasta sekä 2. hoitoon pääsyn toteutumisen osatekijöihin. Hoitoon pääsyn haasteita makrotasolla olivat lainsäädäntö, politiikka, STM, THL ja EOA merkityksellisinä tahoina, yhtenäiset kiireettömän hoidon perusteet, Käypä hoito -suositukset sekä hoitoon pääsyn, Käypä hoito -suositusten, yhtenäisten kiireettömän hoidon perusteiden sekä priorisoinnin ja sääntelyn yhteys. Mesotason haasteita olivat operatiivinen päätöksenteko ja organisatoriset toimintamallit, resurssit, tarjontalähtöinen kysyntä ja hoitoketju. Hoitoon pääsyn toteutumisen osatekijöitä ovat erikoisaloittaisten jonojen pituuden vaihtelu, jonojen yhteys väestöön ja SHP:iin, väestön määrä ja sen sairastavuus sekä resurssit ja taloudelliset tekijät.

Healthcare resources in Sweden are limited, and not everyone that wants care can receive it. Restrictions on access to care are therefore necessary. The restrictions can be implemented in various ways, but in Sweden, waiting lists are used. Waiting lists are often considered a more equitable way to distribute healthcare compared to using prices. Research has however shown that these waiting lists sometimes lead to inequalities, where, for example, higher income is associated with shorter waiting times. We study the relationship between socioeconomic status and waiting times for elective care in Region Östergötland during the period 2018-2023. Linear regression analysis is used to study this link. The overall delivery of care appears equal, but the specialty of Ophthalmology shows disparities in waiting times related to socioeconomic factors. A more detailed analysis also shows that the relationship varies depending on the length of the waiting time within Ophthalmology / Hälso- och sjukvårdens resurser i Sverige är knappa och alla som vill ha vård kan inte få det. Begränsningar i tillgången till vård är således ett måste. Det kan ske på flera olika sätt men i Sverige används vårdköer för detta. Köer anses ofta vara ett mer jämlikt sätt att fördela vård än att använda priser. Det finns dock studier som visar att dessa vårdköer ibland leder till ojämlikheter, där exempelvis högre inkomst är kopplat till kortare väntetider. Vi studerar sambandet mellan socioekonomisk status och väntetid till elektiv kirurgi i Region Östergötland under 2018-2023. Linjär regressionsanalys används för att analysera sambandet. Resultaten visar att vården i stor utsträckning levereras på ett jämlikt sätt. Det existerar dock ojämlikheter inom specialistområdet Ögonsjukvård kopplat till socioekonomisk status. En mer detaljerad analys visar även att sambandet varierar beroende på väntetidens längd inom Ögonsjukvård.

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