Funding of child abuse evaluations: survey of child abuse evaluation programs.

This article delineates the current fiscal management and reimbursement for child abuse examinations. These financial issues are high priority for child abuse programs because most programs lack the revenues to meet the demands for service, education, advocacy and research. Programs may share medical protocols and standards but have yet to share management solutions. The authors present the administrative details of 75 child abuse evaluation programs and highlight innovative approaches to increase funding and stabilize the funding for the programs. They present information on billing, contracts, costs of care, and state-based initiatives that can be reproduced by other programs and states.

[An overview on palliative care and the end of life. Results of a survey conducted in a sample of the French population]. / Regards sur les soins palliatifs et la fin de vie. Résultats d'une enquête réalisée sur un échantillon de la poulation française.

OBJECTIVE: To have an overview of the French population concerning palliative care. METHOD: French opinion poll, based on a questionnaire submitted to 302 persons recruited at random in the street, in several regions of France. It included questions concerning the representation of pain, the sick body, death, the end of life and palliative care. RESULTS: Regarding the management of pain, the majority of persons surveyed (59.6%) felt that the general practitioner was the appropriate referent to treat pain. The population's experience with regard to the death of a close relative revealed that death had occurred in hospital in 58.3% of cases. Nevertheless, the majority (57%) of the population wished to die in their own home. The concept of palliative care centres is increasing in the public's mind, but remains vague in its practical aspects for 60.9% of the population surveyed. For 29.5% of the population surveyed, information and training of health professionals in palliative care was considered as a priority. CONCLUSION: The end of life and death is a source of fear for most of the population. This motivates a transfer towards the medical corps for the professional and technical management of this period of life, and the health professionals must be prepared to respond appropriately to this specific demand.