scholarly journals Implementing the Royal College of Psychiatrists' guidelines for the practice of electroconvulsive therapy

2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 329-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Brookes ◽  
John Rigby ◽  
Richard Barnes

Aims and MethodTo implement the Royal College of Psychiatrists' guidelines for the practice of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and measure the impact of such implementation on the quality of treatment. Treatment of ECT for periods of six months before and after implementation of the guidelines were studied. The effect on producing adequate treatments and the actions taken by the administrating doctor were noted.ResultsOnce the guidelines were in place there was a slight improvement in the proportion of treatments considered therapeutic and the doctor was more likely to take appropriate action following an inadequate treatment. However, it was also clear that despite the guidelines being available they were not followed in a significant number of instances.ConclusionsImplementation of the guidelines is not easy and there needs to be considerable effort to ensure they are used. When they are followed there is an improvement in the practice of ECT.

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72
Author(s):  
Herlin Hamimi ◽  
Abdul Ghafar Ismail ◽  
Muhammad Hasbi Zaenal

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam which has a function of faith, social and economic functions. Muslims who can pay zakat are required to give at least 2.5 per cent of their wealth. The problem of poverty prevalent in disadvantaged regions because of the difficulty of access to information and communication led to a gap that is so high in wealth and resources. The instrument of zakat provides a paradigm in the achievement of equitable wealth distribution and healthy circulation. Zakat potentially offers a better life and improves the quality of human being. There is a human quality improvement not only in economic terms but also in spiritual terms such as improving religiousity. This study aims to examine the role of zakat to alleviate humanitarian issues in disadvantaged regions such as Sijunjung, one of zakat beneficiaries and impoverished areas in Indonesia. The researcher attempted a Cibest method to capture the impact of zakat beneficiaries before and after becoming a member of Zakat Community Development (ZCD) Program in material and spiritual value. The overall analysis shows that zakat has a positive impact on disadvantaged regions development and enhance the quality of life of the community. There is an improvement in the average of mustahik household incomes after becoming a member of ZCD Program. Cibest model demonstrates that material, spiritual, and absolute poverty index decreased by 10, 5, and 6 per cent. Meanwhile, the welfare index is increased by 21 per cent. These findings have significant implications for developing the quality of life in disadvantaged regions in Sijunjung. Therefore, zakat is one of the instruments to change the status of disadvantaged areas to be equivalent to other areas.


Background: Integrated disease management with self-management for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is effective to improve clinical outcomes. eHealth can improve patients’ involvement to be able to accept and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Eventhough there is mixed evidence of the impact of eHealth on quality of life (QoL) in different settings. Aim: The primary aim of the e-Vita-COPD-study was to investigate the effect of use of eHealth patient platforms on disease specific QoL of COPD patients. Methods: We evaluated the impact of an eHealth platform on disease specific QoL measured with the clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ), including subscales of symptoms, functional state and mental state. Interrupted time series (ITS) design was used to collect CCQ data at multiple time points. Multilevel linear regression modelling was used to compare trends in CCQ before and after the eHealth intervention. Results: Of 742 invited COPD patients, 244 signed informed consent. For the analyses, we only included patients who actually used the eHealth platform (n = 123). The decrease of CCQ-symptoms was 0,20% before the intervention and 0,27% after the intervention; this difference was statistically significant (P=0.027). The decrease of CCQ-mental was 0,97% before the intervention and after the intervention there was an increase of 0,017%; this difference was statistically significant (P=0,01). No significant difference was found in the slopes of CCQ (P=0,12) and CCQ-function (P=0,11) before and after the intervention. Conclusion: The e-Vita eHealth platform had a potential beneficial impact on the CCQ-symptoms of COPD patients, but not on functional state. The CCQ-mental state remained stable after the intervention, but this was a deterioration compared to the improving situation before the start of the eHealth platform. In conclusion, this study shows that after the introduction of the COPD platform, patients experienced fewer symptoms, but their mental state deteriorated slightly at the same time. Therefore, health care providers should be aware that, although symptoms improve, there might be a slight increase in anxiety and depression after introducing an eHealth intervention to support self-management.


Author(s):  
Carlos Mena Canata ◽  
Rebeca Noemí Ruiz Vallejos

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of adenotonsillectomy on the quality of life of postoperative patients.The study is observational, cross-sectional, and retrospective. The files of all postoperative adenotonsillectomy patients in Otorhinolaryngology Service, Hospital de Clínicas, San Lorenzo Paraguay. The Obstructive sleep apnea – 18 questionnaire (OSA 18) was applied, asking patients about symptoms before and after surgery. An effective sample of 143 postoperative patients was obtained. The average age was 6.05 ± 2.08 years, 55.10% (81) were male and 44.89% (66) were female, 65.30% (96) were from urban areas and 34.69% (51) from the rural areas. The t test was performed for means of two paired samples, comparing the results of the Obstructive sleep apnea – 18 questionnaire surveys before and after surgery which presented a significant difference (p <0.05) with a tendency to improve the quality of life after surgery. It has been shown that there is a significant difference, a considerable improvement in the quality of life of patients after adenotonsillectomy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-309
Author(s):  
Jamhur Poti ◽  
Mahadiansar Mahadiansar

Revitalizing traditional markets is a form of improving the quality of public space as a policy of the regional government in cooperation with local communities. The purpose of revitalizing traditional markets is not merely to improve the physical form of traditional markets but also to manage these traditional markets. The researcher raised a case study on the policy after revitalizing the Lembu Market, Tanjungpinang City, to what extent the policies that have been implemented before and after the market revitalization match the public's expectations, it is necessary to evaluate the programs that have been implemented. Researchers used policy evaluation techniques with a formal evaluation approach using Dunn 2018 theory. The research method used by researchers used library research, by carrying out a search of several library sources such as e-books, journals, websites, organizational reports, and other good documents. print and online relevant to the topic being evaluated. The results showed that the evaluation of the revitalization program for the beef slaughter market in the city of Tanjungpinang had not found the value of cross-impact analysis and discounting on the program so that the revitalization of traditional markets was only in the form of target mapping, value clarification and mapping of barriers that had become the impact of the revitalization policy of the traditional cattle slaughter market in Tanjungpinang City. The researcher also did not find Urgency in realizing the traditional market revitalization policy in order to change the characteristics of the market for the better.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Montse Romero-Mas ◽  
Anna Ramon-Aribau ◽  
Dyego Leandro Bezerra de Souza ◽  
Andrew M. Cox ◽  
Beni Gómez-Zúñiga

Caring for a person with dementia burdens family caregivers, and there is a close negative relationship between this burden and their quality of life (QoL). Research suggests that caregivers’ main needs are information and training about the disease and support from others experiencing the same situation, and Internet interventions hold considerable promise for meeting these needs. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) are Internet frameworks to share knowledge where members collaborate and achieve a sense of trust in the community. This paper seeks to evaluate the impact of participating in a VCoP (developed through an App) on the QoL of caregivers to people with Alzheimer’s. Results show QoL before and after the intervention changed significantly. The impact of VCoP on caregivers’ overall QoL is moderated by age and relation with the person with Alzheimer’s, specifically those over 65, and spouses. VCoPs allow interaction and knowledge sharing among caregivers which provide them mainly with information and support from peers helping them to meet their needs. Furthermore, caregivers’ QoL did not decrease when their relative deteriorated functionally, which could be due to the participation in VCoP. Although we found significant pre- and post differences in caregivers’ health literacy, we must report the ambiguous result that this variable only impacts on QoL’s physical domain. Participants also reported that they had a positive experience because the App was perceived to be a useful tool, because they could manage their own participation and they met peers and felt less lonely. Results suggest that participation in a VCoP impacts positively on caregivers’ QoL.


2022 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hedfi ◽  
M. Ben Ali ◽  
A. Noureldeen ◽  
H. Darwish ◽  
T. Saif ◽  
...  

Abstract The main objective of the current study was to assess the impact of the water taken from the ‘Tunisian Refining Industries Company’ on meiobenthic nematodes, before and after a series of treatments in decantation basins followed by its discharge in Bizerte bay, Tunisia. The comparison of environmental parameters of the two types of water was clearly indicative of an improvement in the quality of treated waters after a significant reduction in their loads in hydrocarbons. Overall, the water retained a good quality after being treated by ‘Tunisian Refining Industries Company’ before discharge in the sea. At the end of the experiment, differential responses were observed according to the richness of sediment in organic matter and hydrocarbons. Thus, it was apparent that the nematode assemblage exposed to the treated waters was closer to controls and associated to higher values of abundance, than that under untreated ones. It was also assumed that the species Microlaimus honestus De Man, 1922, Paramonohystera proteus Wieser, 1956 and Cyartonema germanicum Juario, 1972 are sensitive bioindicators of bad environmental statues and of hydrocarbon presence in the environment. On the other hand, Metoncholaimus pristiurus (Zur Strassen, 1894) Filipjev, 1918 would rather be classified as a positive bioindicative species of this type of pollutants.


2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 257-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Caird ◽  
Adrian Worrall ◽  
Paul Lelliott

The Electroconvulsive Therapy Accreditation Service (ECTAS) was launched in May 2003. Its purpose is to assure and improve the quality of the administration of electroconvulsive therapy. Participating clinics undergo a process of self- and peer-review. The Royal College of Psychiatrists' Court of Electors will award an accreditation rating to clinics that meet essential standards; this accreditation will last for 3 years, subject to annual self-review. Participating clinics will also receive feedback and advice about local strengths and areas for improvement. The accreditation service is endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Anaesthetists and has the support of the Healthcare Commission in relation to English services. Clinics that participate in ECTAS will be listed on the College website, with the accreditation rating awarded.


2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 03010
Author(s):  
Imrich Sánka ◽  
Dušan Petráš

This article investigates the impact of energy renovation on the indoor environmental quality of apartment building during heating season. The study was performed in one residential building before and after its renovation. Energy auditing and classification of the selected building into energy classes were carried out. Additionally, evaluation of indoor air quality was performed using objective measurements and subjective survey. Thermal environment and concentration of CO2 was measured in bedrooms. Higher concentrations of CO2 was observed in the residential building after its renovation. The concentrations of CO2, in some cases exceeded the recommended maximum limits, especially after implementing of energy saving measures on the building. The average air exchange rate was visible higher before renovation of the building. The current study indicates that large-scale of renovations may reduce the quality of the indoor environment in many apartments, especially in the winter season.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Cheng Cheng ◽  
Peng Qi

Pricing is a common measure for parking demand management that has been implemented worldwide. However, the impact of parking price on a parking lot’s quality of service is seldom discussed. This study investigated the impacts of a ladder daily maximum fee charging strategy on the quality of service of the Hongqiao International Airport parking lot based on automatic transaction data before and after the strategy was implemented. An evaluation framework considering managers’ and users’ perspectives was designed. The estimation results show that the new price regulation method largely discouraged long-term parking demand and improved the availability of airport parking facilities, especially during long holidays. As a consequence, throughput and income largely increased in the airport, and there were extra time costs during vehicle departures. The price elasticity of parkers with different parking durations was further estimated. The results showed that price sensitivity is relatively inelastic but varies based on parking duration.


2020 ◽  
pp. rapm-2020-101873
Author(s):  
Robert G Easther ◽  
Kristi Downey ◽  
Nancy Watts ◽  
Xiang Y Ye ◽  
Jose C A Carvalho

IntroductionWe wanted to better understand the quality of our labor epidural practice at a large urban academic medical center. Several practice changes were implemented between 2011 and 2017, namely a more uniform epidural loading dose of local anesthetic that includes fentanyl, an increase in both the hourly baseline offer and maximum allowed hourly amount of bupivacaine, and the change from a continuous epidural infusion to a programmed intermittent epidural bolus (PIEB) regimen. We aimed to assess the impact of those changes on the quality of labor analgesia.MethodsWe performed two separate audits representing before-and-after groups. The audits were performed in November 2011 (before group) and November–December 2017 (after group). The data for 2011 were extracted from a previously published study. Hence, we conducted a similar audit in 2017, including only outcomes that were included in the previous audit. The primary outcome was the presence of pain >3 (Numerical Rating Scale 0–10) at any time during first or second stage of labor. Secondary outcomes included top-up requirements, and women’s pain perception during the first and second stage of labor according to a postpartum questionnaire.ResultsWe studied 294 and 247 women in the before-and-after groups, respectively. The proportion of women reporting pain >3/10 at any time during labor and delivery significantly decreased in the after group (30% vs 41%; p<0.01). In an adjusted analysis, there was a 35% reduction in the likelihood of pain scores>3 for the after group (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.46, 0.94). Women in the after group received fewer top-ups by nurses (3% vs 24%, p<0.001). Most women in both cohorts (85% before and 87% after) were satisfied with the overall quality of analgesia.DiscussionA bundle of practice changes implemented in our clinical practice, including the PIEB regimen, has resulted in a significant improvement in the quality of labor analgesia. However, despite all the implemented changes, 30% of women still experience pain during labor and further optimization of our practice is warranted.


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