Ministry of Health Library

Health Improvement and Innovation Digest

Issue 136 - 16 February 2017

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

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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 (New Zealand)

How to do better health reform: a snapshot of change and improvement initiatives in the health systems of 30 countries
The authors of this study, published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, analysed the impact that health-reform initiatives have had on the quality and safety of care in an international context.

Quality Improvement (International)

Changes in safety climate and teamwork in the operating room after implementation of a revised WHO checklist: a prospective interventional study
Inter-professional teamwork in the operating room is important for patient safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) checklist was introduced to improve intraoperative teamwork. The aim of this study, published in Patient Safety in Surgery, was to evaluate the safety climate in a Swedish operating room setting before and after an intervention, using a revised version of the WHO checklist to improve teamwork.

Hospital Productivity (International)

Are wait lists inevitable in subacute ambulatory and community health services? A qualitative analysis
Wait lists are common in ambulatory and community-based services. The aim of the present study, published in the Australian Health Review, was to explore managers' perceptions of factors that contribute to wait times.

Shorter Stays In Emergency Departments (International)

Which indicators to include in a crowding scale in an emergency department? A national French Delphi study
Emergency department (ED) crowding is a serious international public health issue with a negative impact on quality of care. Despite two decades of research, there is no consensus on the indicators used to quantify crowding. The aim of this study, published in the European Journal of Emergency Medicine, was to select the most valid ED crowding indicators.

Influences on emergency department length of stay for older people
The aim of this study, published in the European Journal of Emergency Medicine, was to examine the influences on emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) for older people and develop a predictive model for an ED LOS more than 4 hours.

Exit block in emergency departments: a rapid evidence review
Exit block (or access block) occurs when 'patients in the ED requiring inpatient care are unable to gain access to appropriate hospital beds within a reasonable time frame'. Exit block is an increasing challenge for Emergency Departments (EDs) worldwide and has been recognised as a major factor in leading to departmental crowding. This paper, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, aims to identify empirical evidence, highlighting causes, effects and strategies to limit exit block.

More Heart and Diabetes Checks (International)

Cost-effectiveness of diabetes screening initiated through a dental visit
The objective of this study, published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, was to analyse the cost-effectiveness of a screening programme and follow-up interventions for persons with dysglycemia who are identified during a dental visit.

Primary Health Care (New Zealand)

New Zealand palliative care nurses experiences of providing spiritual care to patients with life-limiting illness
Internationally it is recognised that providing spiritual care is essential to reduce spiritual distress, particularly in patients who are facing a life-limiting illness. This study, published in the International Journal of Palliative Nursing, sought to explore palliative care nurses experiences providing spiritual care to their patients who are facing a life-limiting illness.

Beliefs and Attitudes to Bowel Cancer Screening in Patients with CKD: A Semistructured Interview Study
Bowel cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death in people with CKD. Shared decision making regarding cancer screening is particularly complex in CKD and requires an understanding of patients' values and priorities, which remain largely unknown. This study, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, aimed to describe the beliefs and attitudes to bowel cancer screening in patients with CKD.

Primary Health Care (International)

Implementation and maintenance of patient navigation programs linking primary care with community-based health and social services: a scoping literature review
Since the early 90s, patient navigation programs were introduced in the United States to address inequitable access to cancer care. Programs have since expanded internationally and in scope. This paper, published in BMC Health Services Research, investigates what is known about motivators and factors influencing implementation and maintenance of patient navigation programs in primary care that link patients to community-based health and social services.

Primary Mental Health (New Zealand)

Influence of Peer-Based Needle Exchange Programs on Mental Health Status in People Who Inject Drugs: A Nationwide New Zealand Study
Alleviating the personal and social burden associated with substance use disorders requires the implementation of a comprehensive strategy, including outreach, education, community interventions, psychiatric treatment, and access to needle exchange programs (NEP), where peer support may be available. Given that substantial research underscores the potential benefits of peer support in psychiatric interventions, the authors of this study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, aimed to conduct a national survey to examine key domains of mental health status in people who inject drugs (PWID) in New Zealand.

Primary Mental Health (International)

Ibobbly mobile health intervention for suicide prevention in Australian Indigenous youth: a pilot randomised controlled trial
Rates of youth suicide in Australian Indigenous communities are 4 times the national youth average and demand innovative interventions. Historical and persistent disadvantage is coupled with multiple barriers to help seeking. Mobile phone applications offer the opportunity to deliver therapeutic interventions directly to individuals in remote communities. This pilot study, published in BMJ Open, aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-help mobile app (ibobbly) targeting suicidal ideation, depression, psychological distress and impulsivity among Indigenous youth in remote Australia.

Mindfulness treatment for substance misuse: A systematic review and meta-analysis
High rates of relapse following substance misuse treatment highlight an urgent need for effective therapies. Although the number of empirical studies investigating effects of mindfulness treatment for substance misuse has increased dramatically in recent years, few reviews have examined findings of mindfulness studies. Thus, this systematic review, published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, examined methodological characteristics and substantive findings of studies evaluating mindfulness treatments for substance misuse published by 2015.

Serious Games for Mental Health: Are They Accessible, Feasible, and Effective? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
The development and use of serious games for mental health disorders are on the rise. Yet, little is known about the impact of these games on clinical mental health symptoms. This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, evaluated the effectiveness of serious games on symptoms of mental disorder.
 

Increased Immunisation (International)

Parents' and informal caregivers' views and experiences of communication about routine childhood vaccination: a synthesis of qualitative evidence
The specific objectives of this Cochrane Review were to identify, appraise and synthesise qualitative studies exploring: parents' and informal caregivers' views and experiences regarding communication about childhood vaccinations and the manner in which it is communicated; and the influence that vaccination communication has on parents' and informal caregivers' decisions regarding childhood vaccination.

Better Help for smokers to Quit (International)

Efficacy of mindfulness meditation for smoking cessation: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Smokers increasingly seek alternative interventions to assist in cessation or reduction efforts. Mindfulness meditation, which facilitates detached observation and paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity, and acceptance, has recently been studied as a smoking cessation intervention. This review, published in Addictive Behaviors, synthesizes randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mindfulness meditation (MM) interventions for smoking cessation.

A systematic review of eHealth behavioral interventions targeting smoking, nutrition, alcohol, physical activity and/or obesity for young adults
This systematic review of randomized control trials (RCT), published in Preventive Medicine, was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of eHealth behavioral interventions aiming to improve smoking rates, nutrition behaviors, alcohol intake, physical activity levels and/or obesity (SNAPO) in young adults.

Weight Management (New Zealand)

Physical activity is low in obese New Zealand children and adolescents
This study, published in Scientific Reports, aimed to describe physical activity and sedentary behaviour of obese children and adolescents in Taranaki, New Zealand, and to determine how these differ in Māori (indigenous) versus non-indigenous children.

Let them eat fruit! The effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on psychological well-being in young adults: A randomized controlled trial
This study, published in PLoS ONE, tested the psychological benefits of a 14-day preregistered clinical intervention to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in 171 low-FV-consuming young adults (67% female, aged 18-25).

Effects of interpretive nutrition labels on consumer food purchases: the Starlight randomized controlled trial
Nutrition labelling is a prominent policy to promote healthy eating. The aim of this study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was to evaluate the effects of 2 interpretive nutrition labels compared with a noninterpretive label on consumer food purchases.

2016 Health Star Rating Monitoring and Evaluation Year One Follow Up Research Report
This report, from the Health Promotion Agency, presents findings from the 2016 follow up survey and compares them to the baseline survey completed in 2015 which assessed consumers’ awareness, recognition, understanding, and correct use of the Health Star Rating prior to the launch of the consumer campaign.

Weight Management (International)

The 'Practice Entrepreneur' - An Australian case study of a systems thinking inspired health promotion initiative
The potential of systems science concepts to inform approaches for addressing complex public health problems, such as obesity prevention, has been attracting significant attention over the last decade. Despite its recent popularity, there are very few studies examining the application of systems science concepts, termed systems thinking, in practice and whether (if at all) it influences the implementation of health promotion in real world settings and in what ways. Healthy Together Victoria (HTV) was based on a systems thinking approach to address obesity prevention alongside other chronic health problems and was implemented across 14 local government areas. This paper, published in Health Promotion International, examines the experience of practitioners from one of those intervention sites

Childhood Obesity (International)

Modifying Provider Practice to Improve Assessment of Unhealthy Weight and Lifestyle in Young Children: Translating Evidence in a Quality Improvement Initiative for At-Risk Children
The authors of this study, published in Childhood Obesity, designed a quality improvement (QI) project to address the high prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity (OW/OB) in our patient population and the inconsistencies among primary care providers in recognizing and addressing OW/OB.

Child, maternal and household-level correlates of nutritional status: a cross-sectional study among young Samoan children
Young children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition as nutrition transition progresses. The present study, published in Public Health Nutrition, aimed to document the prevalence, coexistence and correlates of nutritional status (stunting, overweight/obesity and anaemia) in Samoan children aged 24-59 months.

Key Ministry of Health Publications

Final Evaluation Report of the Bowel Screening Pilot: Screening Rounds One and Two
The Ministry of Health funded Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB) to run a Bowel Screening Pilot (BSP) from 2012 to 2015, to inform whether a national bowel screening programme should be introduced. This report is the final evaluation report of the BSP, undertaken by Litmus, the Centre for Public Health Research Massey University, and Sapere Research Group.