Maternal and Child Health Library
This and past issues of the MCH Alert are available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/alert/archives.html.
June 19, 2009
1. Library Creates Portal to Resources on the Electronic
Exchange of Health Information
2. Report Presents Interdisciplinary Perspective on U.S.
Health Care System
3. Issue Brief Examines Family Perceptions of Mental
Health Needs Among CSHCN
4. Report Explores Differences in the Health Experiences
of Women Across the Nation and by State
5. Report Reviews National Early Childhood Policy in Four
Countries
6. Article Evaluates Effectiveness of Urgent Care
Intervention to Improve Chlamydia Screening Rates of Adolescent Girls
************************************************************
1. LIBRARY CREATES PORTAL TO RESOURCES ON THE ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF
HEALTH INFORMATION
Health Information Technology (Health IT) Resource Brief is an
electronic guide to current resources on the use of computer hardware
and software to store, retrieve, and share health-related information,
data, and knowledge for communication and decision-making purposes. The
brief, produced by the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Library at
Georgetown University, lists and describes federal agency and
professional organization Web sites that focus on health IT or contain
health IT-specific resources. Selected resources include news
headlines; information on projects, programs, and initiatives;
publications; tutorials; guidelines and certification; a glossary;
discussion lists; and presentations. Search tips for accessing
citations, abstracts, and full-text journal articles on MCH-related
health IT are also included. The brief is available at http://mchlibrary.info/guides/healthinfotech.html.
MCH Library resource briefs on other topics are available at http://mchlibrary.info/products.html#select.
The MCH Library welcomes feedback on the usefulness and value of the
resource briefs. A feedback form is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/feedback/index.html.
************************************************************
2. REPORT PRESENTS INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE ON U.S. HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM
Models of Accountable, Coordinated Health Care: A Policy Paper of the
National Academies of Practice presents recommendations on steps to
promote and support a variety of health professionals in providing care
and achieving optimal outcomes across care settings and types of care
and throughout an individual's lifespan. The report, published by the
National Academies of Practice (an interdisciplinary organization of
health professionals representing 10 disciplines), contains background
and conclusions based on a review of the literature; information about
a forum of experts held on March 28, 2009, in Arlington, VA; and
committee deliberations informed by the literature review and forum
proceedings. Topics include the definition of an accountable,
coordinated health care system and the case for its inclusion in health
care reform; models of care (chronic care, medical home, home-based
primary care, community-based care, and other models); supports needed
to enable and enhance models of health care delivery; prevention and
health promotion; and universal coverage. An executive summary,
discussions and recommendations, definitions, and a reading list are
included. The report is available at http://nap.affiniscape.com/associations/9326/files/2009%20Forum%20Paper%20with%20cover.pdf.
************************************************************
3. ISSUE BRIEF EXAMINES FAMILY PERCEPTIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS AMONG
CSHCN
Mental Health Needs of Low-Income Children with Special Health Care
Needs (CSCHN) summarizes a study that compared the prevalence of mental
health problems among CSHCN to family perceptions of mental health
needs. The issue brief focuses on what was learned from a Child Health
Insurance Research Initiative (CHIRI) survey of families of CSHCN
enrolled in Medicaid receiving services in six primary health care
clinics in an urban Midwestern city. Family perceptions of their
child's mental health needs were compared with the results of the Child
Behavior Checklist, a standardized tool that uses parent report to
assess emotional, behavioral, and social problems in children. Data on
the percentage of health and mental health problems in CSCHN in
Medicaid and family perception and need for mental health treatment by
age are provided. Policy implications are also discussed. The brief is
available at http://www.ahrq.gov/chiri/chiribrf9/chiribrf9.pdf.
************************************************************
4. REPORT EXPLORES DIFFERENCES IN THE HEALTH EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN
ACROSS THE NATION AND BY STATE
Putting Women's Health Care Disparities on the Map: Examining Racial
and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level documents the health
experiences of women of particular racial and ethnic groups and how
these experiences differ across the nation and by state. The report,
published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, examines the magnitude of
the racial and ethnic differences between white women and women of
color for 25 indicators of health and well being in three dimensions:
health status, access and use, and social determinants. The report also
examines health care payment and work force issues that help shape
access at the state level. Indicators are based on criteria that
included both the relevancy of the indicator as a measure of women's
health and access to care and the availability of the data by state.
The report is available at http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/upload/7886.pdf.
************************************************************
5. REPORT REVIEWS NATIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD POLICY IN FOUR COUNTRIES
An International Comparison of Early Childhood Initiatives: From
Services to Systems describes components of efforts in England, Canada,
Australia, and the United States to develop early childhood systems and
considers the implications of the experiences for the development of
U.S. policy. The information in the report, published by the
Commonwealth Fund, reflects activity through the first quarter of 2009.
Descriptions of early childhood initiatives in the United States
include the following: Head Start and Early Head Start, From Neurons to
Neighborhoods, Early Childhood Comprehensive Services Initiative, state
early childhood initiatives, local innovations, and innovations in
pediatric care. A table compares, contrasts, and summarizes early
childhood initiatives and policies in each of the four countries. The
table includes several measures of child well being such as rates of
childhood poverty, levels of income inequality, percentages of children
in preschool, and ranking on the UNICEF Child Well Being Index. An
executive summary and conclusions are provided. The report is available
at
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2009/May/International%20Comparison/1241_Halfon_intl_comparison_early_child_init_svcs_to_sys_FINAL.pdf.
************************************************************
6. ARTICLE EVALUATES EFFECTIVENESS OF URGENT CARE INTERVENTION TO
IMPROVE CHLAMYDIA SCREENING RATES OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS
"To address the CT [chlamydia trachomatis] epidemic among our
adolescent and young adult populations, attention needs to be given to
the urgent care setting, the setting in which many adolescents and
young adults, especially those at high risk for CT, interface with the
health care system," state the authors of an article published in the
June 2009 issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. CT is
the most common reportable bacterial sexually transmitted infection in
the United States, with the highest rates among adolescents and young
adult women. Untreated CT infections can lead to pelvic inflammatory
disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. Since most of these
infections have no symptoms, routine screening is the only way to
detect the majority of CT cases. However, screening rates among
adolescents and young adults under age 26 remains low. To increase
screening rates, researchers developed a clinical practice improvement
intervention (CPI) that significantly increased screening of sexually
active girls during regularly scheduled preventive health visits, as
well as boys in the same setting. The goal of the study described in
this article was to modify this CPI model so that it was more
applicable to the urgent care setting, implement the revised CPI in
urgent care, and evaluate its effectiveness in improving CT screening
rates of sexually active adolescent girls attending urgent care.
The study was performed in partnership with a large health maintenance
organization in northern California. Ten pediatric clinics were chosen
to participate in the intervention. Five were randomly assigned to
receive the intervention, and five were controls. In the intervention
clinics, a team of health professionals and clinic staff met monthly to
redesign their clinic system to improve CT screening during urgent
care. Controls received an informational lecture on CT screening.
The authors found that
- The change in clinic-specific proportions of adolescent girls
screened for CT in urgent care was significantly greater in the
intervention group than in the control group.
- In the intervention group, the estimated change in the
proportions of girls screened each month was 0.0129 per month. In the
intervention group, the estimated change was -0.0015 per month.
- Between the baseline and the fifth post-intervention period, the
proportions of girls screened for CT increased by 15.93 percent in the
intervention group and decreased by 2.13 percent in the control group.
The authors conclude that "offering CT screening during urgent care, as
was done in this study, is one example of how to . . . [meet] the
health needs of adolescents when and where they seek care."
Tebb KP, Wibbelsman C, Neuhaus JM, et al. 2009. Screening for
asymptomatic chlamydia infections among sexually active adolescent
girls during pediatric urgent care. Archives of Pediatric and
Adolescent Medicine 163(6):559-564. Abstract available at http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/163/6/559?rss=1.
Readers: More information is available from the following MCH Library
resources:
- Adolescent Health: Resource Brief at
http://mchlibrary.info/guides/adolescent.html
************************************************************
To subscribe to MCH Alert, send an e-mail message to MCHAlert-request@lists.mchgroup.org with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
You do not need to enter any text in the body of the message.
To unsubscribe from MCH Alert, send an e-mail message to MCHAlert-request@lists.mchgroup.org with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject
line. You do not need to enter any text in the body of the message.
************************************************************
MCH Alert © 1998-2009 by National Center for Education in Maternal
and
Child Health and Georgetown University. MCH Alert is produced by
Maternal and Child Health Library at the National Center for Education
in Maternal and Child Health under its cooperative agreement
(U02MC00001) with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health
Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau reserves a
royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to use the work for
federal purposes and to authorize others to use the work for federal
purposes.
Permission is given to forward MCH Alert, in its entirety, to others.
For
all other uses, requests for permission to duplicate and use all or
part of the information contained in this publication should be sent to mchalert@ncemch.org.
The editors welcome your submissions, suggestions, and questions.
Please contact us at the address below.
MANAGING EDITOR: Jolene Bertness
CO-EDITOR: Tracy Lopez
COPYEDITOR/WRITER: Ruth Barzel
LIST ADMINISTRATOR: Beth DeFrancis Sun
MCH Alert
Maternal and Child Health Library
Georgetown University
Box 571272
Washington, DC 20057-1272
Phone: (202) 784-9770
Fax: (202) 784-9777
E-mail: mchalert@ncemch.org
Web site: http://www.mchlibrary.info/alert/
************************************************************