Andreeva Bay in northwest Russia hosts one of the former coastal technical bases of the Northern Fleet. Currently, this base is designated as the Andreeva Bay branch of Northwest Center for Radioactive Waste Management (SevRAO) and is a site of temporary storage (STS) for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and other radiological waste generated during the operation and decommissioning of nuclear submarines and ships. According to an integrated expert evaluation, this site is the most dangerous nuclear facility in northwest Russia. Environmental rehabilitation of the site is currently in progress and is supported by strong international collaboration. This paper describes how the optimization principle (ALARA) has been adopted during the planning of remediation work at the Andreeva Bay STS and how Russian-Norwegian collaboration greatly contributed to ensuring the development and maintenance of a high level safety culture during this process. More specifically, this paper describes how integration of a system, specifically designed for improving the radiological safety of workers during the remediation work at Andreeva Bay, was developed in Russia. It also outlines the 3D radiological simulation and virtual reality based systems developed in Norway that have greatly facilitated effective implementation of the ALARA principle, through supporting radiological characterisation, work planning and optimization, decision making, communication between teams and with the authorities and training of field operators.
Homelessness is a social condition increasing in frequency and severity across Canada. Interventions to end and prevent homelessness include effective case management in addition to an affordable housing provision. Little standardization exists for service providers to guide their decision making in developing and maintaining effective case management programs. The purpose of this 2-part article is to articulate dimensions of promising practice for case managers working in a "Housing First" context. Part 1 discusses research processes and findings and part-2 articulates the 6 Dimensions of Quality.
Practice settings include community-based organizations that employ and support case managers whose primary role is moving people from homelessness into permanent housing.
Six dimensions of promising practice are critically important to reducing barriers, improving sector collaboration, and ensuring case managers have appropriate and effective training and support. Dimensions of promising practice are: (1) collaboration and cooperation-a true team approach; (2) right matching of services-person-centered; (3) contextual case management-culture and flexibility; (4) the right kind of engagement-relationships and advocacy; (5) coordinated and well managed system-ethics and communication; and (6) evaluation for success-support and training.
Effective, coordinated case management, in addition to permanent affordable housing has the potential to reduce a person or family's homelessness permanently. Organizations and professionals working in this context have the opportunity to improve processes, reduce burnout, collaborate and standardize, and most importantly, efficiently and permanently end someone's homelessness with the help of dimensions of quality for case management.
The Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada asked whether Medicare is sustainable in its present form. Well, Medicare is not sustainable for at least six reasons. Given a long list of factors, such as Canada's changing dependency ratio, the phenomenon of diminishing returns from increased taxation, competing provincial expenditure needs, low labour and technological productivity in government-funded healthcare, the expectations held by baby boomers, and the evolving value sets of Canadians--Medicare will impoverish Canada within the next couple of decades if not seriously recast. As distasteful as parallel private-pay, private-choice healthcare may be to some policy makers and providers who grew up in the 1960s, the reality of the 2020s will dictate its necessity as a pragmatic solution to a systemic problem.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of the clinical pharmacy service in a Swedish hospital according to the Lund Integrated Medicine Management (LIMM) model, in terms of the acceptance and clinical significance of the recommendations made by clinical pharmacists.
The clinical significance of the recommendations made by clinical pharmacists was assessed for a random sample of inpatients receiving the clinical pharmacy service in 2007. Two independent physicians retrospectively ranked the recommendations emerging from errors in the patients' current medication list and actual drug-related problems according to Hatoum, with rankings ranging between 1 (adverse significance) and 6 (extremely significant).
The random sample comprised 132 patients (out of 800 receiving the service). The clinical significance of 197 recommendations was assessed. The physicians accepted and implemented 178 (90%) of the clinical pharmacists' recommendations. Most of these recommendations, 170 (83%), were ranked 3 (somewhat significant) or higher.
This study provides further evidence of the quality of the LIMM model and confirms that the inclusion of clinical pharmacists in a multi-professional team can improve drug therapy for inpatients. The very high level of acceptance by the physicians of the pharmacists' recommendations further demonstrates the effectiveness of the process.
To use the philosophy and methodology of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) in the investigation of unit to unit transfers to determine aspects which are working well and should be incorporated into standard practice.
Handoffs can result in threats to patient safety and an atmosphere of distrust and blaming among staff can be engendered. As the majority of handoffs go well, an alternative is to build on successful handoffs.
The AI methodology was used to discover what was currently working well in unit to unit transfers. The data from semi-structured interviews that were conducted with staff, patients, and family informed structural process improvements.
Themes extracted from the interviews focused on the situational variables necessary for the perfect transfer, the mode and content of transfer-related communication, and important factors in communication with the patient and family.
This project was successful in demonstrating the usefulness of AI as both a quality improvement methodology and a strategy to build trust among key stakeholders.
Giving staff members the opportunity to contribute positively to process improvements and share their ideas for innovation has the potential to highlight expertise and everyday accomplishments enhancing morale and reducing conflict.
Social, ethical and policy analysis of the issues arising from gene patenting and commercial genetic testing is enhanced by the application of science and technology studies, and Actor-Network Theory (ANT) in particular. We suggest the potential for transferring ANT's flexible nature to an applied heuristic methodology for gathering empirical information and for analysing the complex networks involved in the development of genetic technologies. Three concepts are explored in this paper--actor-networks, translation, and drift--and applied to the case of Myriad Genetics and their commercial BRACAnalysis genetic susceptibility test for hereditary breast cancer. Treating this test as an active participant in socio-technical networks clarifies the extent to which it interacts with, shapes and is shaped by people, other technologies, and institutions. Such an understanding enables more sophisticated and nuanced technology assessment, academic analysis, as well as public debate about the social, ethical and policy implications of the commercialization of new genetic technologies.
A Swedish framework law has enabled integration between public agencies in vocational rehabilitation. With the support of this law, coordination associations can be formed to fund and organize joint activities. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how the law has been interpreted and translated into local coordination associations and how local institutional logics have developed to guide the organization of these associations.
Data was collected through observations of meetings within two coordination associations and supplemented with documents. The material was analyzed by compilation and examination of data from field notes, whereupon the most important aspects were crystallized and framed with institutional organization theory.
Two different translations of the law were seen in the associations studied: the association as an independent actor, and as an arena for its member organizations. Two subsequent institutional logics have developed, influencing decisions on autonomy, objectives and rationality for initiating and organizing in the two associations and their activities. The institutional logics are circular, further enhancing the different translations creating different forms of integration.
Both forms of integration are legitimate, but the different translations have created integration with different degrees of autonomy in relation to the member organizations. Only a long-term analysis can show whether one form of integration is more functional than the other.
This article is based on an extensive material providing insights into a form of interorganizational integration which has been scarcely researched. The findings show how different translations can influence the integration of welfare services.
International agencies are required to adapt, pilot and then evaluate the effectiveness of the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) prior to broad implementation of this public health intervention. The objectives of this qualitative case study were to: 1) determine whether the NFP can be implemented in Canada with fidelity to the US model, and 2) identify the adaptations required to increase the acceptability of the intervention for service providers and families.
108 low-income, first-time mothers in Hamilton, Ontario, received the NFP intervention. In-depth interviews were conducted with NFP clients (n=38), family members (n=14) and community professionals (n=24).
Hamilton, Ontario.INTERVENTION AND DATA COLLECTION: An intensive nurse home visitation program delivered to women starting early in pregnancy and continuing until the child was two years old. Processes to adapt and implement the NFP were explored across seven focus groups with public health nurses and managers. Eighty documents were reviewed to identify implementation challenges. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis.
The NFP model elements are acceptable to Canadian health care providers, public health nurses and families receiving the intervention. The primary adaptation required was to reduce nurse caseloads from 25 to 20 active clients. Recommendations for adapting and implementing all model elements are described.
The NFP model requires minor adaptations to increase the acceptability of the intervention to Canadian stakeholders. A consistent approach to adapting the NFP program in Canada is necessary as provincial jurisdictions commit themselves to supporting an experimental evaluation of the effectiveness of the NFP.
