Health programming priorities among faith communities in Jefferson County, Alabama.

This paper details findings from interviews with 32 faith leaders regarding their interest in and preferences for collaborative health partnerships with an academic center. Participants were willing to partner to develop equitable, sustainable, and trust-based relationships for the purpose of meeting the health needs of their congregations. We also describe the planning and early development of faith community-academic partnership focused on providing information and resources aimed at improving health. We apply a framework incorporating a socioecological perspective and social capital theory to discuss how establishing linkages between clergy and academic researchers is a beneficial and important task for social work.

Enhancing Sustainability in Healthcare Delivery-A Challenge to the New Malaysia.

There have been substantial improvements in the health indicators since Malaysia achieved independence. These were accomplished through strong primary healthcare services addressing maternal and paediatric health, as well as the successful control of communicable diseases. The rate of decline in the mortality statistics has been at a virtual standstill, or at best, almost plateaued since 2000. However, with the plethora of national health issues at both the policy and delivery levels, we cannot continue on with 'business as usual'. Therefore, we must strategise effective and practical approaches to a renewed and revamped national healthcare services for a modern 'New Malaysia' that are compatible with our quest toward the status of a 'truly developed' nation.

Enhancing Sustainability in Healthcare Delivery—A Challenge to the New Malaysia

@#There have been substantial improvements in the health indicators since Malaysia achieved independence. These were accomplished through strong primary healthcare services addressing maternal and paediatric health, as well as the successful control of communicable diseases. The rate of decline in the mortality statistics has been at a virtual standstill, or at best, almost plateaued since 2000. However, with the plethora of national health issues at both the policy and delivery levels, we cannot continue on with ‘business as usual’. Therefore, we must strategise effective and practical approaches to a renewed and revamped national healthcare services for a modern ‘New Malaysia’ that are compatible with our quest toward the status of a ‘truly developed’ nation.

Building Capacity Among Laity: A Faith-Based Health Ministry Initiative.

A systematic review of topic-specific faith-based health programs determined that health outcomes can be improved though faith-based health interventions. A university research team, in partnership with the Kansas United Methodist Church and a United Methodist philanthropy, facilitated planning and development of a statewide initiative to increase the capacity of laity-led health ministry teams. The purpose of this paper is to describe the processes utilized to design and implement an initiative to increase capacity for laity-led comprehensive health ministry among Kansas United Methodist Church congregations and to share the key elements of the initiative.

Equipes de saúde bucal na estratégia da saúde da família em polo urbano do sul do Brasil / Oral health teams in the family health strategy in urban pole of southern Brazil

Introdução: a Estratégia da Saúde da Família (ESF) é uma política brasileira recente de gestão e execução dos serviços de saúde. Um dos alvos desta política é promover a saúde bucal. Para tanto, as equipes devem ser constituídas segundo normas do Ministério da Saúde, compostas por cirurgião-dentista e pelo menos um auxiliar. Objetivo: avaliar a composição das equipes de saúde bucal da ESF do município de Passo Fundo/RS/Brasil e comparar com as normas do Ministério da Saúde. Métodos: neste estudo transversal, a composição de 22 ESFs foi avaliada através de consulta ao Sistema de Informação de Atenção Básica (SIAB), referente ao biênio 2013-2014, e por aplicação de questionário para avaliar a estrutura das Equipes da Saúde da Família. Resultados: nenhuma das 22 ESFs apresentou equipe de saúde bucal completa. O único profissional identificado foi o cirurgião-dentista, presente em 17 das 22 ESFs (77%), integralmente pago com verba municipal, sem contrapartida federal. Não há uma padronização na carga horária do profissional odontólogo, diferente dos demais profissionais que compõem a atenção básica. Das ESFs regularizadas no SIAB, 20% não apresentam cirurgião-dentista em sua composição, ficando esta população desassistida em saúde bucal. Conclusões: as equipes de saúde bucal das ESFs do município de Passo Fundo/RS são incompletas e não seguem as normas Brasileiras.

Introduction: the Family Health Strategy (ESF) is a recent Brazilian policy of management and execution from health services. One of its targets is to promote the Oral Health. In order to achieve this the staffs shall be established accordingly to the Health Ministry rules, formed by a dental surgeon and at least one assistant. Objective: to evaluate the oral health teams structure of the ESF in the city of Passo Fundo/ RS/Brazil and contrast it with the Health Ministry rules. Methods: in this cross-sectional study, were valued the structure of 22 ESFs by looking at the Basic Health Care Information System (SIAB), referring to the biennium 2013-2014 and by applying a questionnaire to evaluate the ESF´s teams structure. Results: none of the 22 ESFs reported an Oral Health perfect team. The only professional identified was the dental surgeon, existing in 17 out of 22 ESFs (77%), paid in full by municipal funds with no federal financial reward. There is not a standard at dentists workload oppositely to other professional in SIAB. From the ESFs settled at SIAB 20% have no dental surgeon in its staff leaving people unattended in oral health. Conclusions: the oral health ESFs teams from the city of Passo Fundo/RS are incomplete and don´t obey the Brazilian regulation.

Integrating Faith-based and Community-based Participatory Research Approaches to Adapt the Korean Parent Training Program.

PURPOSE: Faith and community based inquiry approaches are rarely used to develop research interventions. The purpose of this article is to present how a research team worked with six Korean American Christian churches to revise the prototype Korean Parent Training Program (KPTP), based upon the Bright Futures Parenting Program. The collaboration was sought to better integrate and align the KPTP with Korean culture and faith. The KPTP was developed to promote positive parenting practices and decrease mental health disparities of Korean American children. DESIGN AND METHODS: Sixteen church participants completed a Delphi survey, a workshop series, Community Theaters, and focus groups. RESULTS: The participants suggested adding Korean traditional parenting virtues, Christian parenting principles, and revising the standardized parent training and program philosophy. CONCLUSIONS: Revisions made KPTP sensitive to Korean culture and faith, and promoted program acceptability. IMPLICATIONS: The process demonstrated the importance of working with church volunteers to develop faith-based and community-based health promotion interventions targeting Korean American faith communities. This research presents significant and meaningful implications for working with other faith communities from minority backgrounds.

Use of an interactive, faith-based kiosk by congregants of four predominantly, african-american churches in a metropolitan area.

Chronic diseases are prevalent in ethnic communities. Churches represent a potent resource for targeted health promotion. A faith-based kiosk was developed as an informational tool and placed in four predominantly (>80%) African-American churches. Congregants were surveyed to describe kiosk-use, kiosk-user characteristics, health status, and self-reported behavior changes attributed to the kiosk. We analyzed 1,573 questionnaires. Mean age of respondents was 46.4 years and >70% were women. "Older" congregations (mean age ≥46.1 years) had more reports of diabetes (p = 0.002) and heart diseases (p = 0.01) than younger churches (mean age ≤44.1), whereas asthma was more prevalent in the latter (p < 0.001). Prevalence of obesity (40%) was similar across churches (p = 0.570). Kiosk-use was reported by 420 (26.7%) respondents. Compared to non-users, kiosk-users were >40 years (p < 0.001), and reported >two health conditions, adjusted Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval) = 1.43 (1.0-2.0), p = 0.05. Male kiosk-users preferred to select disease-specific content, aOR = 1.87 (1.10-3.17), p = 0.02, while females tended to select information about supportive community resources, aOR = 0.49 (0.23-1.04), p = 0.062. Knowledge of kiosk-user characteristics and the "health status" of a congregation, provide an opportunity for targeted, church-based health promotion.

Utility of a congregational health assessment to identify and direct health promotion opportunities in churches.

PURPOSE: The church is a focal point for health education efforts in minority communities due to its status as one of the most prominent and stable institutions. This paper highlights an approach for identifying health programming targets in minority churches. METHODS: Twenty-four churches participated in a one-year Health Ministry Institute (HMI), designed to help churches develop sustainable ministries for health promotion. HMI attendees were instructed on conducting a Congregational Health Assessment (CHA) to identify prevalent health conditions and related behaviors in their churches. Churches collected CHAs over a one-month period. Data were analyzed and results were discussed during a HMI session and used to prioritize health-related issues that could be addressed at individual churches. RESULTS: Seventeen churches (71%) returned surveys (n=887; 70% female; 73% African American). Prevalent health conditions, participation in health-promoting behaviors, interest in learning to live healthy, and interest in health ministry activities were identified using the CHA. CONCLUSIONS: The CHA shows promise for health assessment, and can be used to identify health issues that are of interest and relevance to church congregants and leaders. The CHA may assist churches with implementing effective and sustainable programs to address the identified health issues.

Perfil demográfico e epidemiológico dos usuários de medicamentos de alto custo no Sistema Único de Saúde / Perfil demográfico y epidemiológico de los usuarios de medicamentos de costo elevado en el Sistema Único de Salud / Epidemiological profile of high cost medicines users in the Brazilian Health System

O Programa de Medicamentos Excepcionais, do Ministério da Saúde, provê, ao tratamento de doenças, medicamentos de alto valor unitário, ou que, em caso de uso crônico ou prolongado, configurem um tratamento de custo elevado. Com o objetivo de descrever o perfil demográfico e epidemiológico dos pacientes atendidos pelo programa, realizou-se um relacionamento probabilístico-determinístico de dados provenientes de registros do Datasus: Autorizações de Procedimentos de Alta Complexidade/Alto Custo (Apac/SIA) e Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade (SIM). A coorte formada pelo pareamento das bases de dados identificou 611.419 indivíduos que iniciaram o tratamento no período de 2000-2004. As análises foram desagregadas por sexo, região de residência, diagnósticos e medicamentos mais utilizados. A construção desta coorte histórica propiciou a descrição das características demográficas, epidemiológicas e de utilização de medicamentos dos usuários do programa. Além disso, o banco de dados gerado viabiliza uma série de análises específicas por doenças, que podem contribuir para avaliações de efetividade e eficiência de alternativas terapêuticas constantes nos protocolos clínicos, com o objetivo de fornecer subsídios aos tomadores de decisão no que tange ao planejamento das ações e oferta de medicamentos de alto custo pelo SUS.

El Programa de Medicamentos Excepcionales del Ministerio de Salud tiene como objetivo satisfacer la demanda de medicamentos de alto valor unitario, o de aquellos empleados en enfermedades crónicas que impliquen un tratamiento de costo elevado. Con el objetivo de describir el perfil demográfico y epidemiológico de los pacientes incluidos en el programa, se realizó una vinculación probabilística-determinística de datos provenientes de registros del DATASUS (Banco de Datos del Sistema Único de Salud): Autorizaciones de Procedimientos de Alta Complejidad/Alto Costo (Apac/SIA) y Sistema de Información sobre Mortalidad (SIM). La cohorte formada a partir de la vinculación de las bases de datos identificó a 611.419 individuos que comenzaron el tratamiento en el período 2000-2004. Los análisis se han separado por sexo, región de residencia, diagnóstico y medicamentos más utilizados. La construcción de esta cohorte histórica permitió la descripción de las características demográficas, epidemiológicas y de utilización de medicamentos de los usuarios del programa. Además, el banco de datos generado hace posible la realización de una serie de análisis específicos para determinación de enfermedades, que pueden contribuir a evaluaciones de eficacia y eficiencia de las alternativas terapéuticas incluidas en los protocolos clínicos, con el objetivo de proporcionar subsidios a quienes toman decisiones con respecto a la planificación de las acciones y la oferta de medicamentos de alto costo por parte del SUS.

The Program for High-Cost Medicines of the Brazilian Health Ministry was set up to respond to the demand for high unit-cost medication or for medication used for chronic diseases that imply a high overall cost for treatment. To describe the epidemiological and demographic profiles of patients enrolled in the program, a probabilistic-deterministic connection was made between data in sections of the Health Ministry's databases (DATASUS), namely, the Outpatient Information System (APAC/SIA) and the Mortality Information System (SIM). The cohort formed by linking databases identified 611,419 individuals who began treatment between 2000 and 2004. The analyses were disaggregated by sex, region of residence, diagnoses and most widely used drugs.The construction of this historical cohort made possible a description of the epidemiological characteristics and drugs used by the program's users. The database generated can also provide analyses for specific diseases, with results that can contribute to evaluations of effectiveness and efficiency of clinical protocols, in order to better inform decision-makers regarding the planning and supplying of high-cost medication by the Brazilian Health Ministry.

Legal framework conditions for the reprocessing of medical devices.

The processing of single-use products is permissible pursuant to medical device law. This is apparent both from the wording of the German Law on Medical Devices and from the purpose and the objectives underpinning the legislative materials. The prerequisite for processing is, however, compliance with the the Joint Recommendation of the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and the Prevention of Infection at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Products (BfArM).For medical devices in the category "critical C", the RKI/BfArM-recommendation provides that the processor's quality management system must be certified by a body accredited by the Central Authority of the Federal States for Health Protection with regard to Medicinal Products and Medical Devices (Zentralstelle der Länder für Gesundheitsschutz bei Arzneimitteln und Medizinprodukten, ZLG). The certification must be carried out in accordance with EN ISO 13485:2003+AC:2007.On April 4, 2008 the Federal Health Ministry (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, BMG) presented a progress report on the processing of medical devices. The BMG concludes that the legal framework for the processing of medical devices is sufficient, and that a prohibition on the processing of single-use products is inappropriate.

Epilepsia e aspectos legais / Epilepsy and legal aspects

Durante a XXX Reunião da Liga Brasileira de Epilepsia, ocorrida durante o XX Congresso Brasileiro de Neurofisiologia Clínica em Gramado, a Comissão de Aspectos Legais optou-se por colocar em pauta a discussão da Portaria nº 391 de 07 de julho de 2005 do Ministério da Saúde (http://dtr2001.saude.gov.br/sas/portarias/ port2005/pt-391). Tendo por objetivo regulamentar a assistência de alta complexidade ao paciente com doença neurológica, a portaria 391 define que a rede de assistência a este paciente será composta por Unidades de Assistência de Alta Complexidade em Neurocirurgia (UAAC em NC) e Centros de Referência de Alta Complexidade em Neurocirurgia (CRAC em NC). A Cirurgia de Epilepsia passa então a ser um dos procedimentos oferecidos por um CRAC em NC. As implicações práticas desta regulamentação serão discutidas.(AU)

In the XXX Brazilian Epilepsy Meeting, taking place during the XX Brazilian Clinical Neurophysiology Meeting in Gramado, the Commission for Legal Aspects decided to discuss the Health Ministry Decision number 391 of July 07 2005 (http://dir2001.saude.gov.br/sas/portarias/port2005/pt-391). This decision defined that the high complexity neurological assistance, in the public health system, will be offered in two hierarchic different centers: Higt Complexity Neurosurgical Units and High Complexity Neurosurgical Reference Centers. Epilepsy Surgery can only take place in a High Complexity Neurosurgical Reference Center. The possible consequences of this decision will be discussed.(AU)