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The purpose of this case study is to explain the development of Queensland's strategic approach to health system reform, which promotes partnership across the health system to better deliver integrated and value-based health care across the continuum of care. The new health system vision was informed by undertaking literature searches on national and international health system approaches to reform and supported by extensive consultation across Queensland with more than 1100 stakeholders. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify key themes that were translated into a high-level vision document that communicated Queensland's renewed focus on wellness and delivering more care in the community. This was circulated to stakeholders for iterative and collaborative refinement before final approvals. Collaboratively and iteratively developing the new health system vision for Queensland with key stakeholders has contributed to a shared understanding and ownership of a vision that is committed to system reform, focused on delivering high-value care that reflects what is important to consumers and health system stakeholders. What is known about the topic? Vision statements for organisations including health are common. However, there is little information available in the literature regarding approaches to developing a vision for a health system. What does this paper add? An overview of an approach to developing a new health system vision through comprehensive consultation that engages stakeholders broadly to develop an informed vision that has support from all levels of the health system. What are the implications for practitioners? The method used to develop this vision could be replicated across any large-scale organisation. Although time consuming, the outcome is a vision that is widely supported and sets the organisation up for success for implementation. This article belongs to the Special Issue: Value-based Healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population is aging, with frailty emerging as a significant risk factor for poor outcomes for older people who become acutely ill. We describe the development and implementation of the Frail Older Persons' Collaborative Program, which aims to optimise the care of frail older adults across healthcare systems in Queensland. Priority areas were identified at a co-design workshop involving key stakeholders, including consumers, multidisciplinary clinicians, senior Queensland Health staff and representatives from community providers and residential aged care facilities. Locally developed, evidence-based interventions were selected by workshop participants for each priority area: a Residential Aged Care Facility acute care Support Service (RaSS); improved early identification and management of frail older persons presenting to hospital emergency departments (GEDI); optimisation of inpatient care (Eat Walk Engage); and enhancement of advance care planning. These interventions have been implemented across metropolitan and regional areas, and their impact is currently being evaluated through process measures and system-level outcomes. In this narrative paper, we conceptualise the healthcare organisation as a complex adaptive system to explain some of the difficulties in achieving change within a diverse and dynamic healthcare environment. The Frail Older Persons' Collaborative Program demonstrates that translating research into practice and effecting change can occur rapidly and at scale if clinician commitment, high-level leadership, and adequate resources are forthcoming. What is known about the topic? Providing frailty-focused care can improve outcomes, particularly by avoiding unnecessary admissions to hospital and reducing hospital-acquired complications, such as delirium and functional decline. Several evidence-based interventions exist that apply to specific points in the trajectory of older frail patients from hospital presentation to discharge and beyond, but these are not generally well integrated across the entire patient journey. What does this paper add? This paper describes a whole-of-healthcare system approach to improving care and outcomes for frail older people in Queensland. Rather than developing new care initiatives, the approach was taken to invest in pre-existing evidence-based interventions developed and validated in Queensland clinical settings and scale them across the state over 3 years. What are the implications for practitioners? This state-wide scale-up of evidence-based interventions has profiled how the healthcare system can be redesigned to implement models that better support vulnerable older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Recent advances in technology have raised a potentially promising service to overcome difficulties associated with remote witnesses: live video-feed interviews. The efficacy of this mode of interviewing, however, lacks empirical evidence, particularly with children in an investigative context. Methods This study explored the effects of live video-feed compared to face-to-face interviewing on the memory reports of 100 children (aged 5-12). Children participated in an innocuous event and were interviewed 1-2 days later by experienced interviewers. Results Analyses indicated that live video-feed interviewing was just as effective as face-to-face interviewing in terms of the accuracy and informativeness of children's accounts. Video-feed interviews, however, required a higher number of clarification prompts compared to face-to-face interviews. These findings were not influenced by children's familiarity with technology. Conclusions An initial test of live video-feed interviewing indicates it is a safe and effective method for interviewing children about an innocuous event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a vast array of clinical and quality data available within healthcare organisations. The availability of this data in a timely and easy to visualise way is an essential component of high-performing healthcare teams. It is recognised that good quality information is a driver of performance for clinical teams and helps ensure best possible care for patients. In 2012 the Internal Medicine Program at The Prince Charles Hospital developed a clinical dashboard that displays locally relevant information alongside relevant hospital and statewide metrics that inform daily clinical decision making. The data reported on the clinical dashboard is driven from data sourced from the electronic patient journey board in real time as well as other Queensland Health data sources. This provides clinicians with easy access to a wealth of local unit data presented in a simple graphical format that is being captured locally and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance. Local unit data informs daily decisions that identify and confirm patient flow problems, assist to identify root causes and enable evaluation of patient flow solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1989 through to and including 1994 extensive premature defoliation of black locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia L.) was observed in a progeny test plantation in Greene County, in the Georgia Piedmont. During July 1991 and 1992, all observed trees suffered greater than 50% defoliation. Leaflets of black locust showing symptoms of leaf spotting began abscising as early as mid-June following wet springs. Onset and progress of defoliation was followed on 50 trees in two plots in 1993 and 1994. In both years, sample trees were cut at the base and allowed to regrow from sprouts. A protectant fungicide, chlorothalonil (Daconil WDG 1.5 g/l water) was applied to run-off weekly to one-half of the growing sprouts beginning 17 April through 22 August 1994 by backpack sprayer. Air temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and leaf wetness were monitored. Abscission of unprotected leaflets in 1993, a dry, hot year, began in mid-July and averaged 36% by late August; abscission of unprotected leaflets in 1994, a wet, cool year, began in mid-June and averaged 80% by late August; whereas, abscission of protected leaflets in 1994 began in late June and averaged 70% by late August. The Gompertz model described the increase of leaflet abscission with time. The estimated rate of leaflet abscission for unprotected leaflets in 1993 was significantly slower ( k = 0.056/wk) compared to the rate of abscission of unprotected leaflets in 1994 ( k =0.070/wk). Estimated rates of leaflet abscission were not significantly different between protected ( k = 0.063/wk) and unprotected trees ( k =0.070/wk) in 1994. Cumulative hours of leaf wetness of 600 h were associated with initial leaf spotting and defoliation in 1993 and in 1994. Delay in leaflet abscission of protected trees indicates that fungal infection may have contributed to premature defoliation of black locust with onset related to moisture conditions favourable for infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]