There is an increasing use of mobile radiographic units in equine ambulatory practices in Norway. Horse owners or handlers often participate in the radiographic examination in a non-controlled area. The aim of this descriptive, cross-sectional, survey study was to evaluate the radiation safety and protection in use of mobile radiography, and to identify areas where special attention from the regulatory authorities as well as veterinary educators would be required. A questionnaire was distributed to all equine veterinarians assumed to have access to mobile radiographic units, as part of a formal inspection in cooperation with the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority. Few practices met the regulatory requirements of notifying the authorities of their radiographic units and designation of a radiation protection officer. The minority of the practices performed periodic quality assurance of their equipment. Many of the practices performed all of their radiographic examinations off-site. The examinations were most often performed in the aisle outside the horses' stalls, and few practices established an operating zone. The horse owner or handler participated in the radiographic examination in almost all of the practices. Few practices used dosimeters for determination of the radiation exposure. The study shows that there are major deficits in regulatory compliance in ambulatory equine radiography practices in Norway. The study also suggests that less stringent regulations and supervision may translate into less stringent radioprotection practices.
The aim of this study was to investigate the adherence of nursing documentation to clinical guidelines in leg ulcer patients. Using two audit instruments, 100 patient records from primary health care were reviewed. The nursing content in the records was assessed according to instructions for documentation in local clinical guidelines for leg ulcers and the comprehensiveness of the nursing process in recording was reviewed. The results indicated deficiencies in the documentation of aspects of relevance in the care of leg ulcer patients. In addition, the findings indicated flaws in the adoption of the nursing process in recording. Only one problem in one patient record was recorded that consistently used the nursing process. The conclusion is that, despite specific and locally developed guidelines for care of leg ulcer patients, nursing records did not provide a precise audit of the care process. Because patient record information without a clear structure following the nursing process tends to impede communication and evaluation of care, such defective information is likely to have a significant impact on the continuity and quality in patient care.
To describe the process through which Ireland changed its policies towards smoking in work-places and distil lessons for others implementing or extending smoke-free laws. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, MEASUREMENTS: This analysis is informed by a review of secondary sources including a commissioned media analysis, documentary analysis and key informant interviews with policy actors who provide insight into the process of smoke-free policy development. The policy analysis techniques used include the development of a time-line for policy reform, stakeholder analysis, policy mapping techniques, impact analysis through use of secondary data and a review process. The policy analysis triangle, which highlights the importance of examining policy content, context, actors and processes, will be used as an analytical framework.
The importance of the political, economic, social and cultural context emerged clearly. The interaction of the context with the policy process both in identification of need for policy and its formulation demonstrated the opportunity for advocates to exert influence at all points of the process. The campaign to support the legislation had the following characteristics: a sustained consistent simple health message, sustained political leadership/commitment, a strong coalition between the Health Alliance, the Office of Tobacco Control and the Department of Health and Children, with cross-party political support and trade union support. The public and the media support clearly defined the benefit of deliberate and consistent planning and organization of a communication strategy.
The Irish smoke-free legislation was a success as a policy initiative because of timing, dedication, planning, implementation and the existence of strong leadership and a powerful convinced credible political champion.
In health care, it is mandatory to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of medical data. To achieve this, a fine-grained access control and an access log for accessing medical images are two important aspects that need to be considered in health care systems. Fine-grained access control provides access to medical data only to authorized persons based on priority, location, and content. A log captures each attempt to access medical data. This article describes an overall middleware infrastructure required for secure access to Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) images, with an emphasis on access control and log maintenance. We introduce a hybrid access control model that combines the properties of two existing models. A trust relationship between hospitals is used to make the hybrid access control model scalable across hospitals. We also discuss events that have to be logged and where the log has to be maintained. A prototype of security middleware infrastructure is implemented.
To answer three specific questions: (i) How do women experience the workplace after the onset of a musculoskeletal disease; (ii) What employment policy and programme suggestions can they offer for ways to better support chronically ill women in their abilities to maintain workforce participation; and (iii) How are these women's employment policy and programme recommendations informed by their own lived experiences and desires?
In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 women who had developed musculoskeletal diseases while involved in the labour market. Data were coded and analysed thematically.
Participants identified three common workplace barriers experienced and three types of workplace accommodations commonly requested. They offered four specific employment policy and programme recommendations for ways to better support women who develop musculoskeletal diseases in maintaining labour market participation. It is found that their employment policy and programme recommendations are informed by their own experiences in the workplace and desires for being supported in maintaining involvement in paid labour.
Creating employment programmes and policies that support chronically ill women in their attempts to remain involved in the workforce based on how much paid labour they are able to perform and where they are best able to work is of the utmost importance.
