Posts Tagged ‘effectiveness’
Poor Evidence For Effectiveness Of Influenza Vaccines In Elderly
Evidence for the safety and efficacy of influenza vaccines in the over 65s is poor, despite the fact that vaccination has been recommended for the prevention of influenza in older people for the past 40 years. These are the conclusions of a new Cochrane Systematic Review. Adults aged 65 and over are some of the most vulnerable during influenza season and a priority for vaccination programmes…
Proving Value A Challenge For Comparative Effectiveness And Pharmaceutical Technologies
The Wall Street Journal reports that “an examination of one of the best-known examples of a comparative-effectiveness analysis shows how complicated such a seemingly straightforward idea can get” as officials look for savings in the health care system…
Validity of cost-effectiveness models based on randomized clinical trials
Cost-effectiveness studies are widely used to guide prescribing policy in many countries, as part of health technology assessment programs. However, a new study suggests that cost-effectiveness analyses based on data from randomized controlled trials may not be realistic enough to accurately inform policy.
Aspirin, Tylenol may decrease effectiveness of vaccines
With flu season in full swing and the threat of H1N1 looming, demand for vaccines is at an all-time high. Although those vaccines are expected to be effective, researchers have found further evidence that some over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin and Tylenol, that inhibit certain enzymes could impact the effectiveness of vaccines.
Graduates from a traditional medical curriculum evaluate the effectiveness of their medical curriculum through interviews.
Background:
In 1996 The University of Liverpool reformed its medical course from a traditional lecture-based course to an integrated PBL curriculum. A project has been underway since 2000 to evaluate this change. Part of this project has involved gathering retrospective views on the relevance of both types of undergraduate education according to graduates. This paper focuses on the views of traditional Liverpool graduates approximately 6 years after graduation.
Methods:
From February 2006 to June 2006 interviews took place with 46 graduates from the last 2 cohorts to graduate from the traditional Liverpool curriculum.
Results:
The graduates were generally happy with their undergraduate education although they did feel there were some flaws in their curriculum. They felt they had picked up good history and examination skills and were content with their exposure to different specialties on clinical attachments. They were also pleased with their basic science teaching as preparation for postgraduate exams, however many complained about the overload and irrelevance of many lectures in the early years of their course, particular in biochemistry. There were many different views about how they integrated this science teaching into understanding disease processes and many didn’t feel it was made relevant to them at the time they learned it. Retrospectively, they felt that they hadn’t been clinically well prepared for the role of working as junior doctor, particularly the practical aspects of the job nor had enough exposure to research skills. Although there was little communication skills training in their course they didn’t feel they would have benefited from this training as they managed to pick up had the required skills on clinical attachments.
Conclusion:
These interviews offer a historical snapshot of the views of graduates from a traditional course before many courses were reformed. There was some conflict in the interviews about the doctors enjoying their undergraduate education but then saying that they didn’t feel they received good preparation for working as a junior doctor. Although the graduates were happy with their undergraduate education these interviews do highlight some of the reasons why the traditional curriculum was reformed at Liverpool.
Study Examines Effectiveness Of Laparoscopic Surgical Treatments To Alleviate Chronic Pelvic Pain
A surgical procedure known as LUNA (laparoscopic uterosacral nerve ablation) did not result in improvements in chronic pelvic pain, painful menstruation, painful sexual intercourse or quality of life when compared with laparoscopic surgery that does not interrupt pelvic nerve connections, according to a new study.
Comparative Effectiveness: Back Surgery Remains Popular Despite Poor Study Results
Studies have recently found that vertebroplasty – a type of back surgery in which cement is injected into the spine – isn’t effective, but many patients and their doctors insist it works. The surgery “is under scrutiny after two recent studies in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded the popular treatment to ease pain from back fractures, typically caused by osteoporosis, is no more effective than a sham surgery,”
Comparative Effectiveness Studies Raise Questions About Popular Back Pain Treatment
New studies on treating back pain from a fractured spine could call more attention to the type of comparative effectiveness research health policy experts and President Barack Obama have embraced in their quest to increase quality of care while lowering costs.
The effectiveness of web-based and face-to-face continuing education methods on nurses’ knowledge about AIDS: a comparative study
Background:Information about web-based education outcomes in comparison with a face-to-face format can help researchers and tutors prepare and deliver future web-based or face-to-face courses more efficiently. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of web-based and face-to-face continuing education methods in improving nurses’ knowledge about AIDS.Methods:A quasi-experimental method was used with a pre-test and post-test design. In this study 140 nurses with BSc degrees were chosen through a random sampling method and divided into a web-based and a face-to-face group by random allocation. For the former group the intervention consisted of a web-based course on AIDS; the latter received a 3-hour lecture course on the same subject. At the beginning and end of the course in both groups, the nurses’ knowledge was measured by a questionnaire. Pre- and post-test scores were compared within and between the groups.Results:The results show that there was no significant difference between the groups in either the pre-test (t(138)=-1.7 , p=0.096) nor the post-test (t(138)=-1.4 , p=0.163) scores in the knowledge test. However, there was a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores within each group (web-based, t(69)=26, p<.001; face-to-face, t(69) =24.3, p<.001).Conclusions:The web-based method seems to be as effective as the face-to-face method in the continuing education of nurses. Therefore, the web-based method is recommended, as complementary to the face-to-face method, for designing and delivering some topics of continuing education programs for nurses.
Working To Boost The Effectiveness Of The Flu Vaccine
Vaccines intended to help the body to fight off the flu bug may actually give the bug an edge, researchers say. That doesn’t mean vaccines are bad, it just may help explain why they aren’t as good as they could be, says Dr. Andrew Mellor, director of the Immunotherapy Center at the Medical College of Georgia and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Molecular Immunogenetics.
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