View clinical trials related to Chronic Diseases.
Filter by:To find out if a transitional care model can reduce the rate of unscheduled readmission to the Department of Internal Medicine (DIM) in SGH
The investigators conducted an open randomized control study of patients who received the transitional care program versus patients who received usual care at the Singapore General Hospital from Aug 2011 to Sept 2012.
Background: Despite evidence of benefit for pharmacist involvement in chronic disease management, the provision of these services in community pharmacy has been suboptimal. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework suggests that for knowledge translation to be effective, there must be evidence of benefit, a context conducive to implementation, and facilitation to support uptake. We hypothesize that while the evidence and context components of this framework are satisfied, that uptake into practice has been insufficient because of a lack of facilitation. This protocol describes the rationale and methods of a feasibility study to test a facilitated pharmacy practice intervention based on the PARiHS framework, to assist community pharmacists in increasing the number of formal and documented medication management services completed for patients with diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Methods: A cluster-randomized before-after design will compare ten pharmacies from within a single organization, with the unit of randomization being the pharmacy. Pharmacies will be randomized to facilitated intervention based on the PARiHS framework or usual practice. The Alberta Context Tool will be used to establish the context of practice in each pharmacy. Pharmacies randomized to the intervention will receive task-focused facilitation from an external facilitator, with the goal of developing alternative team processes to allow the greater provision of medication management services for patients with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The primary outcome will be a process evaluation of the needs of community pharmacies to provide more clinical services, the acceptability and uptake of modifications made, and the willingness of pharmacies to participate. Secondary outcomes will include the change in the number of formal and documented medication management services in the aforementioned chronic conditions provided 6 months before, versus after, the intervention between the two groups, and identification of feasible quantitative outcomes for evaluating the effect of the intervention on patient care outcomes. Results: To date, the study has identified and enrolled the ten pharmacies required and initiated the intervention process. Conclusion: This study will be the first to examine the role of facilitation in pharmacy practice, with the goal of scalable and sustainable practice change.
This is an observational study to assess the health behavior of Physicians from medical practices in Germany. Physicians will be asked by a questionnaire (self-report) on health behavior, self-diagnostics and self-medication in case of sickness. We will send the questionnaire to 1000 General Practitioners and to 300 medical specialists in Germany. We expect a response rate of 25-30 %. After electronically data-entry we will run a descriptive analysis for primary outcome. Results may provide a better understanding of the Physicians health behavior.
Introduction: Care of frail and dependent elders with multiple chronic conditions is a major challenge for health care systems. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of coordinating the existing structures in the private and public sector for the care of frail and dependent persons over age 60, and susceptible of presenting complex bio-psycho-social issues. This approach is aimed at improving the coordination, continuity, quality and efficacy of care in this population, which presents a high risk of hospitalization, emergency room visits, institutionalization and mortality. Methods: Three-year cluster randomised controlled trial. A control group receiving usual care (follow up by primary care physician and home nursing service) will be compared to an intervention group that will be provided, in addition, in-home multidimensional geriatric assessment with access to a 24h/7 day a week call service, and coordinated long-term follow-up. Survival analyses will be conducted to compare the outcomes between groups. Primary outcome: - Hospitalizations: rates of first hospitalization, number, cause and length of stay. Secondary outcomes: - Emergency room visits: rates of first visit, number and cause - Institutionalization: number of patients - Mortality: rate and number of deaths and place of death (home versus hospital)
Our long-term objective is to reduce the rates and risk of childhood obesity via school-based nutrition and physical activity policies. Using a randomized design, we propose to monitor and evaluate how Connecticut's first-ranked District Wellness Policy, in the New Haven Public School district, is implemented and determine its impact on children's obesogenic behaviors, weight outcomes, and school performance. This study is designed to significantly advance empirical research on school wellness policies and to provide important evidence to guide future interventions in schools and communities - translating science to improved health of the public.
The need for low vision services (LVS) will increase exponentially over the coming years due to the anticipated and exponential growth in the ageing population in Singapore and a rise in chronic non-communicable eye diseases. Finding the best evidenced-based management for chronic eye diseases contributing to low vision (LV) is therefore crucial. Improving patient responsibility is the key to managing LV effectively.1 This means achieving optimum self management (SM).2 However, there are currently no LV SM programs in Singapore and none has been evaluated using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, the gold standard methods to evaluate health interventions. The aims of this study are to assess the effectiveness of the 'Living Successfully with Low Vision (LSLV)' program in improving quality of life (QoL) in 160 elderly people with LV attending the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) LV clinic. Of these, 80 will be randomly allocated to receive the LSLV 4-week SM program while the remaining 80 will receive the usual care. Comparisons will be made to determine the efficacy of the LSLV program. QoL, self-efficacy, emotional well being, and vision-specific distress will be assessed 2 weeks after training, and at six months and 12 months post intervention. This study will be the first evidenced-based RCT investigating the effectiveness of a novel vision-specific self-management strategy to improve QoL. It will also adopt a longitudinal design where the effectiveness of these interventions will be evaluated at 12 months-the first follow-up assessment of that duration at both national and international levels. Furthermore this will be the first study to characterize and profile the patients where the effect of the program did not demonstrate an improvement in both primary and secondary outcomes six months after its completion. The future clinical implications of this study include the potential to implement a successful model of LV rehabilitation in other tertiary centres around the country.
The development and pilot testing of a self-management program that would be delivered in a one time mailing.
The purpose of this study is to implement a pragmatic intervention in four (4) family medicine groups(FMGs) in the region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (Quebec, Canada)for patients with chronic diseases.
The burden of tobacco use falls disproportionately on low-income populations, through high rates of primary smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. The remarkable progress in creating smoke-free environments in the U.S. over the past two decades has left smoker's homes as one of the primary sources of exposure to secondhand smoke for both children and nonsmoking adults. Intervention research that identifies effective and practical strategies for reaching the minority of households that still allow smoking in the home has considerable potential to reduce smoke exposure, but suitable channels to reach low-income families are limited. The proposed research will develop, evaluate and disseminate a brief smoke-free homes intervention through the established national infrastructure of 2-1-1 call centers. 2-1-1 is a nationally designated 3-digit telephone exchange, similar to 9-1-1 for emergencies or 4-1-1 for directory assistance, that links callers to community-based health and social services. The proposed research has four specific aims: 1) Conduct formative research on intervention messages and materials for promoting smoke-free homes in low-income populations, applicable to both smokers and nonsmokers as household change agents; 2) Conduct a randomized controlled trial in the Atlanta 2-1-1 service area to evaluate the efficacy of a brief intervention to create smoke-free homes among 2-1-1 callers; 3) Conduct replication studies in Houston and North Carolina 2-1-1 systems to systematically test the intervention in varied populations and tobacco control climates, and 4) Disseminate the research-tested smoke-free homes intervention through a variety of mechanisms including a national grants program to 2-1-1 systems and through the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium's linkages to the state and local tobacco control infrastructure in the U.S.