Search results

The Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) has promoted Specialty Care Neighborhoods (SCN) to enhance the coordination of services between primary and specialty care. Care coordination agreements (CCAs) were included as a critical element in the SCN program. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of these documents in the successful implementation of SCNs.

Content, quality, and perceived usefulness of CCAs from 19 SCN sites were evaluated. CCA content was defined as the presence or absence of eight key components: contact information, process for urgent consults, process for e-consults, content of consults, primary and specialty care responsibilities, expected response time, discharge criteria, and review criteria. CCA quality was based on a qualitative assessment of CCA content; and perceived usefulness was based on a qualitative assessment of interview responses from CCA users. CCA characteristics were compared to SCN implementation levels using descriptive statistics. SCN implementation level was defined and measured by VHA Specialty Care Services.

Participating sites with medium-high or high SCN implementation levels had CCAs with more key components and of higher quality than sites with medium-low to medium SCN implementation levels. Perceived usefulness of CCAs was not associated with implementation level.

Since this study built on a quality improvement effort to facilitate care coordination, a rigorous research approach was not used. Specific CCA components could not be examined nor could specific hypotheses be tested due to the small and diverse sample. Findings presented are only preliminary.

The examination of CCAs suggests that these documents may be helpful to improve communication among primary and specialty care providers by explicitly stating agreed upon processes, mechanisms and criteria for referrals, roles and responsibilities for the co-management of patients, and timelines for review of CCAs.

This small study suggests that high-quality CCAs, which include a number of key components, can facilitate the implementation of coordinated care. Key characteristics of CCAs are identified in this study, including measures of CCA content, quality, and usefulness, which can be used in future efforts to develop and evaluate efforts to improve care coordination.

This chapter presents the author’s experiences over a 47-year career as a feminist applied sociologist at Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private non-profit research and testing company. The author presents early experiences that influenced her to become a feminist and a sociologist; her reactions to graduate school, the culture of academia, and her choice to leave before finishing her PhD to become an applied sociologist; the author’s early work in the ETS research department which included graduate school and gender-related publications; and the substantial part of author’s career as an applied sociologist and administrator in ETS’s corporate side. ETS’s founding with the mission to expand educational opportunities with fair, well-designed tests, and to further social science knowledge laid the groundwork for a corporate culture characterized by values of fairness, respect for individuals and diversity, and integrity. The ETS Standards for Quality and Fairness, along with annual reviews of testing programs for following these measurement standards, supported cultural norms, attitudes, and behaviors related to fairness. The multifaceted concept of fairness has been key not only to the author’s experience within the corporate culture but to the wide variety of responsibilities that the author had during her career.

Departing from an online interactive Gender Café on the topic of Knowledge Management (KM), jointly hosted by a UN agency and the Society of Gender Professionals, this chapter seeks to provide gender practitioners and others with practical examples of how to “gender” KM in international development. Through analyzing the travel of feminist ideas into the field of KM with inspiration from Barbara Czarniawska’s and Bernard Joerge’s (1996) theory of the travel of ideas, the chapter explores the spaces, limits, and future possibilities for the inclusion of feminist perspectives. The ideas and practical examples of how to do so provided in this chapter originated during the café, by the participants and panellists. The online Gender Café temporarily created a space for feminist perspectives. The data demonstrate how feminist perspectives were translated into issues of inclusion, the body, listening methodologies, practicing reflection, and the importance to one’s work of scrutinizing underlying values. However, for the feminist perspective to be given continuous space and material sustainability developing into an acknowledged part of KM, further actions are needed. The chapter also reflects on future assemblies of gender practitioners, gender scholars and activists, recognizing the struggles often faced by them. The chapter discusses strategies of how a collective organizing of “outside–inside” gender practitioners might push the internal work of implementing feminist perspectives forward.

Occupational therapy is a crucial part of the recovery agenda and social inclusion for people who experience mental ill health. Occupational therapists strive to support individuals to realise their potential by enabling them to participate in and contribute to society. Increasing someone's confidence by involvement with voluntary groups, work or training helps recovery. The importance and potential contribution of occupational therapy can be misunderstood or overlooked.

The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:

The purpose of this paper is to examine how HRM practices enhance and/or impede the employment, participation, and well-being of workers with intellectual disabilities in three hotels located in Australia.

The research employs a case study methodology, including interviews with three HR managers, three department managers, 17 workers with intellectual disabilities, and focus groups of 16 supervisors and 24 work colleagues.

The research found that the opportunities to participate in work are driven primarily by developing a social climate that enables social cohesion through the altruistic motives of managers/supervisors and reciprocal relationships.

The findings lend support for the importance of both formal and informal HR practices, such as inclusive recruitment and selection, mentoring, and training and development, as well as individualised day-to-day support provided by supervisors and colleagues, to improve the participation and well-being of workers with an intellectual disability.

This study explored how intermittent work capacity (IWC) presents in workplaces in order to advance conceptual understanding of this phenomenon and establish a set of initial principles to assist in its management.

The study followed a grounded theory approach in a multi-stage data collection process. In total, 25 employers representing diverse employment sectors were recruited with a goal of exploring their experiences with IWC. The first phase of the study comprised individual interviews with all employers. A subset of these employers later participated in two focus groups organized by company size. Finally, in-depth case studies were conducted with two information rich organizations to understand their approaches to managing IWC. Analysis methods consistent with grounded theory were used.

Although employers have a variety of positive motivations for supporting employees with IWC, they are challenged by the uncertainty arising from the unpredictable work patterns associated with IWC. Five distinct expressions of uncertainty were identified. Negotiation of this uncertainty involves attention to a range of factors, including intrapersonal factors, workplace relations and morale, specific job demands, communication processes, and structural and organizational factors.

The findings of this study advance understanding of the expression of IWC, and factors that influence its impact. This paper presents a series of workplace strategies that both enable the well-being and capabilities of employees who experience IWC, and ensure productive and diverse workplaces.

The findings of this study advance understanding of the expression of IWC, and factors that influence its impact. This paper presents a series of workplace strategies that both enable the well-being and capabilities of employees who experience IWC, and ensure productive and diverse workplaces.