Major Health Issues in Nova Scotia: An Environmental Scan

# Reference Brief Notes
in this review is difficult without an agreed conceptual framework for
examining risk-taking behaviour and injury. Considerable work needs
to be done to provide a convincing evidence base on which to build
public health interventions around risk behaviour. However,
sufficient evidence exists to suggest that effort in this area may be
beneficial for the health of the community.
46. Woods,AJ. The role of health professionals
in childhood injury prevention: A systematic
review of the literature. Patient Educ.Couns.;
2006; 64(1-3):35-42.
47. Wright,S, Goldman,B and Beresin,N. Three
essentials for successful fall management:
Communication, policies and procedures,
and teamwork. J.Gerontol.Nurs.; 2007;
33(8):42-8.
48. Zaloshnja,E, Miller,TR, Galbraith,MS, et al.
Reducing injuries among native americans:
Five cost-outcome analyses (structured
abstract). 2003; 35(5):631-639.
This study’s objective was to systematically review the literature to
explore health professionals' knowledge, attitudes and practices and
their role in childhood injury prevention. Twenty-five primary studies
were retrieved, the majority of which were surveys. The authors
conclude that there continues to be a need for high quality research
specifically looking at how to change practice. Nevertheless, although
training may be effective at increasing health professionals'
knowledge and changing their attitudes, legislative and engineering
measures may ultimately more effective at reducing the burden of
childhood injuries.
Falls among older adults, especially within the nursing home setting,
can be challenging for health care providers. Attention to the basic
processes of communication, policy and procedure, and teamwork
proved to be necessary steps to facilitate successful fall management
within this pilot program. This article provides an overview of the
specified areas, along with examples of techniques developed to
address identified needs in each of the three areas. A focused
examination of these three essentials could prove instructive to any
facility working to improve its fall management process.
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Chronic Disease Management: Annotated Inventory of Reviews
# Reference Brief Notes
1. Adams,SG, Smith,PK, Allan,PF, et al.
Systematic review of the chronic care model
in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
prevention and management.
Arch.Intern.Med.; 2007; 167(6):551-61.
Implementation of the chronic care model (CCM) has been shown to
be an effective preventative strategy to improve outcomes in diabetes
mellitus, depression, and congestive heart failure. Limited published
data exist evaluating the efficacy of CCM components in chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease management. However, pooled data
demonstrated that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease who received interventions with 2 or more CCM components
had lower rates of hospitalizations and emergency/unscheduled visits
and a shorter length of stay compared with control groups. The
results of this review highlight the need for well-designed trials in this
2. Astin,F, Closs,SJ and Lascelles,M. A 21st
century approach to chronic disease
management in the united kingdom:
Implications for nurse education.
Contemp.Nurse; 2005; 20(2):201,11.
population.
The new 'National Health Service (NHS) and Social Care Long Term
Conditions Model' represents a cultural shift as patient and carer are
scripted as central in managing their chronic disease, supported rather
than directed by a health and social care team. The patient as a
passive recipient of care is no longer viable in this approach to care
delivery. It has been acknowledged that cultural shift within the NHS
is required for these initiatives to be successful. Nurse educators have
the potential to play a key role in supporting nurses to fully engage in
the modernised chronic disease management initiative. This paper
outlines the main features of the contemporary approach to chronic