Ministry of Health Library

Health Improvement and Innovation Digest

Issue 208 - 30 January 2020

Welcome to the fortnightly Health Improvement and Innovation Digest (formerly the HIIRC digest). The Digest has links to key evidence of interest, with access to new content arranged by topic.

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Have you heard about Grey Matter?

We'd like to introduce you to another newsletter that the Ministry of Health Library prepares.  The Grey Matter newsletter provides monthly access to a selection of recent NGO, Think Tank, and International Government reports related to health. Information is arranged by topic, allowing readers to quickly find their areas of interest.  If you'd like to subscribe to Grey Matter, email library@health.govt.nz.

Article access

For articles that aren't open access, contact your DHB library, or organisational or local library for assistance in accessing the full text. If your organisation has a subscription, you may be able to use the icon under full text links in PubMed to access the full article.

Quality Improvement (International)

Ensuring successful implementation of communication-and-resolution programmes
Communication-and-resolution programmes (CRP) aim to increase transparency surrounding adverse events, improve patient safety and promote reconciliation by proactively meeting injured patients’ needs. Although early adopters of CRP models reported relatively smooth implementation, other organisations have struggled to achieve the same. However, two Massachusetts hospital systems implementing a CRP demonstrated high fidelity to protocol without raising liability costs. This study, published in BMJ Quality & Safety, explored the factors that may account for the Massachusetts hospitals’ ability to implement their CRP successfully.

Cancer Services (New Zealand)

Impact of human papillomavirus vaccination on rates of abnormal cervical cytology and histology in young New Zealand women
The aim of this study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, was to determine the impact of quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination on abnormal cervical cytology and histology rates in young New Zealand women.

Stage at diagnosis for Māori cancer patients: disparities, similarities and data limitations.
Māori are more likely than non-Māori to get cancer, and once they have cancer they are less likely to survive it. One frequently proposed explanation for this survival disparity is differences between these groups in terms of stage at diagnosis-whereby Māori may be less likely to be diagnosed at an earlier stage, when treatment is more feasible and outcomes are better for the patient. However, this simple explanation ignores the true complexity of the issue of stage at diagnosis as a driver of survival disparities, and makes critical assumptions about the quality of available staging data. In this manuscript, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, the authors draw on New Zealand Cancer Registry and available clinical audit data to explore this issue in detail.

Cancer Services (International)

Achieving Health Equity in Preventive Services: A Systematic Review for a National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention Workshop
Disadvantaged populations in the United States experience disparities in the use of preventive health services. The aim of this review, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was to examine effects of barriers that create health disparities in 10 recommended preventive services for adults, and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce them.

Shorter Stays In Emergency Departments (International)

Effectiveness of the Manchester Triage System on time to treatment in the emergency department: a systematic review
The objective of this review, published in JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, was to synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of the Manchester Triage System (MTS) on time to treatment (TtT) for patients who visit the emergency department (ED).

Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (International)

Non‐attendance at diabetes outpatient appointments: a systematic review
Non‐attendance at diabetes outpatient appointments is a sizeable problem worldwide and has been associated with suboptimal health outcomes. The aim of this review, published in Diabetic Medicine, was to describe the characteristics, health outcomes and reasons given for non‐attendance at doctor‐ or nurse‐led diabetes appointments, and interventions to improve attendance.

Primary Health Care (New Zealand)

Medical cannabis: knowledge and expectations in a cohort of North Island New Zealand general practitioners
The aim of this study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, was to investigate GP knowledge of the use of cannabis as a medicine and its regulation in New Zealand

Primary Health Care (International)

The Community Pharmacist: Perceived Barriers and Patient-Centered Care Communication
Patient-centered care communication is emphasized as the essential element to build a solid and appropriate interpersonal relationship with the patient, to make the consultancy process effective, and to strengthen the pharmacist’s professionalism in community pharmacy. This paper, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, presents a narrative review of existing literature with the first aim of pinpointing the factors affecting pharmacy professional practice, and secondly, of how to improve patient-centered communication skills.

Primary Mental Health (International)

Supporting family engagement with child and adolescent mental health services: A scoping review
A key challenge facing the mental health field is connecting children and families to services when symptoms first appear. Multiple barriers inhibit timely access to treatment, and interventions to resolve barriers to care are not common among health and social care organisations. This study, published in Health and Social Care in the Community, undertook a scoping review of the empirical literature aimed at identifying key factors in the social ecology of families which influence family engagement with child and adolescent mental health services, then identifying and describing models of intervention designed to help facilitate access to care.

Increased Immunisation (International)

School-based vaccination programmes: An evaluation of school immunisation delivery models in England in 2015/16
Schools are increasingly being used to deliver vaccines. In 2015/16 three school-based vaccination programmes were delivered to adolescents in England: human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y disease (MenACWY) and tetanus, diphtheria and polio (Td/IPV). This study, published in Vaccine, explored how school delivery models impact vaccine coverage and how a delivery model for one programme may impact another.

Childhood Obesity (International)

School-Based Intervention Programs for Preventing Obesity and Promoting Physical Activity and Fitness: A Systematic Review
With the significant decrease in physical activity rates, the importance of intervention programs in the schools, where children spend a significant part of the day, has become indisputable. The purpose of this review, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, is to systematically examine the possibility of school-based interventions on promoting physical activity and physical fitness as well as preventing obesity.

Oral Health (International)

Periodontal therapy for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in people with periodontitis
There may be an association between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, the evidence so far has been uncertain about whether periodontal therapy can help prevent CVD in people diagnosed with chronic periodontitis. The aim of this Cochrane Review was to investigate the effects of periodontal therapy for primary or secondary prevention of CVD in people with chronic periodontitis.

Disability Improvement (International)

Low vision rehabilitation for better quality of life in visually impaired adults
Low vision rehabilitation aims to optimise the use of residual vision after severe vision loss, but also aims to teach skills in order to improve visual functioning in daily life. Other aims include helping people to adapt to permanent vision loss and improving psychosocial functioning. These skills promote independence and active participation in society. Low vision rehabilitation should ultimately improve quality of life (QOL) for people who have visual impairment. The aim of this Cochrane Review was to assess the effectiveness of low vision rehabilitation interventions on health‐related QOL (HRQOL), vision‐related QOL (VRQOL) or visual functioning and other closely related patient‐reported outcomes in visually impaired adults.

District Health Board Initiative

Click to Tick checklist for COPD discharges in Southern DHB
Patients with acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being discharged from Dunedin Hospital will receive referrals and advice for correct medicine and inhaler use and a fully funded visit to their GP within 14 days in a new electronic discharge process.

The information available on or through this newsletter does not represent Ministry of Health policy. It is intended to provide general information to the health sector and the public, and is not intended to address specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity.