An interprofessional health assessment program in rural amateur sport.

Effective interprofessional learning (IPL) in multisectoral collaborations such as those linking health services within communities can provide an authentic experience for students and also appears to be the most effective way to achieve health changes in targeted population groups. The aim of this study was to facilitate the IPL of students at a rural university in a multisectoral health assessment programme and to promote health in players of rural amateur sport. Two rural rugby league teams took part in three pre-season health assessments conducted by general medical practitioners, practice nurses, and nursing, osteopathy, and exercise science students. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale questionnaire and a series of focus groups were used to evaluate participants' experiences of the programme. Results indicated that students saw the benefits for patients and 93% valued the opportunity to improve interprofessional communication, problem-solving and team skills. Some students felt they needed to learn more about their own professional role before learning about others, and instances of stereotyping were identified. The programme also enabled early detection of potential health risks and referral for medical care, management of musculoskeletal conditions, and health promotion. These health assessments would be readily transferred to other multisectoral sporting settings.

Challenges in the coordination of children's healthcare / Desafios à coordenação na atenção primária à saúde da criança

This is a qualitative survey with a hermeneutic-dialectic frame of reference, designed to identify how parents and caregivers see the attribute 'coordination' in children's healthcare, in terms of resolving problems in children's health. The interview was held with 16 people responsible for care of children under one year of age, served in Emergency Care Units of a municipality in the south of Brazil, in 2010. With the thematic analysis, the central category was identified as: Effects and results of fragile coordination in Children's Primary Health Care, with the following themes: Divergences between different health units in the organization of care; functional barriers and delays obstructing access to technologies; absence of effective communication; absence of medical transport; need for healthcare on an individual basis; and coordination involving management of healthcare. It was concluded that the absence of coordination results in the absence of a solution-based approach in healthcare for children under one year old, showing gaps in the organization of the services and in health management, since communication, access to technologies, referral and counter-referral systems, and secure transport become essential for organizing primary care services and offering fully rounded care to the child.

Com o objetivo de identificar o atributo coordenação na Atenção Primária à Saúde, na visão de pais e cuidadores, para a resolução dos problemas de saúde das crianças, desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa qualitativa baseada no referencial da hermenêutica-dialética. A entrevista foi feita com16 cuidadores de crianças menores de um ano, atendidas em Unidades de Pronto Atendimento de um município sul brasileiro, em 2010. Com a análise temática, identificou-se como categoria central: repercussões da frágil coordenação na Atenção Primária à Saúde da criança, representadas pelos temas divergências na organização do atendimento entre unidades de saúde; barreiras funcionais e morosidade dificultando o acesso às tecnologias; ausência de comunicação efetiva; ausência de transporte sanitário; busca por atenção à saúde individual; e, coordenação envolvendo gestão da atenção à saúde. Concluiu-se que a ausência da coordenação levou à falta de resolutividade na atenção à saúde da criança menor de um ano, demonstrando lacunas na organização dos serviços e na gestão em saúde, uma vez que, comunicação, acesso às tecnologias, sistemas de referência e contrarreferência e transporte seguro tornam-se essenciais para organizar os serviços de atenção primária e oferecer o cuidado integral à criança.

Osteopathic medical students' understanding of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: a first step toward a policy-informed curriculum.

CONTEXT: Current osteopathic medical students will play an important role in implementing, modifying, and advocating for or against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010. Accordingly, medical educators will need to address curricular gaps specific to the ACA and medical practice. Research that gauges osteopathic medical students' level of understanding of the ACA is needed to inform an evidence-based curriculum. OBJECTIVE: To assess first- and second-year osteopathic medical students' beliefs about the ACA. METHODS: In this descriptive cross-sectional survey-based study, first- and second-year students were recruited because their responses would be indicative of what, if any, information about the ACA was being covered in the preclinical curriculum. A 30-item survey was distributed in November 2013, after the health insurance exchanges launched on October 1, 2013. RESULTS: A total of 239 first- and second-year osteopathic medical students completed the survey. One hundred ten students (46%) disagreed and 103 (43.1%) agreed that the ACA would provide health insurance coverage for all US citizens. The ACA was predicted to lead to lower wages and fewer jobs (73 students [30.5%]), as well as small business bankruptcy because of employees' health insurance costs (96 [40.2%]). Regarding Medicare recipients, 113 students (47.3%) did not know whether these individuals would be required to buy insurance through the health insurance exchanges. The majority of students knew that the ACA would require US citizens to pay a penalty if they did not have health insurance (198 [82.8%]) and understood that not everyone would be required to purchase health insurance through health insurance exchanges (137 [57.3%]). Although students took note of certain clinical benefits for patients offered by the ACA, they remained concerned about the ACA's impact on their professional prospects, particularly in the area of primary care. CONCLUSION: These findings build on the existing literature that emphasize the need for incorporating into the osteopathic medical curriculum knowledge of the dynamics of health care policy and reform and for creating opportunities for students to follow health policy developments as they evolve in real time.

From "Doctor of Osteopathy" to "Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine": a title change in the push for equality.

Nationally, the California merger created great solidarity among osteopathic members of state and national osteopathic associations. They rebuffed further efforts at amalgamation and championed the continuation of the DO degree. Even after the American Medical Association (AMA) opened its doors to DOs to join local and state medical associations as well as the AMA itself and gave its blessing to them entering allopathic residency programs and becoming MD board certified, the DOs stood fast for their independence. Yet some across the country wanted to become known as MDs. A few osteopathic physicians even went to federal court to claim-unsuccessfully-that state medical boards' refusal to license them or allow them to identify themselves as MDs violated their constitutional rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments. In the mid-1990s, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) gave individual osteopathic medical colleges the option of indicating on their diplomas that the DO degree signified "Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine" rather than "Doctor of Osteopathy," a change that paralleled previous AOA policy changes regarding appropriate professional language. Nevertheless, some DOs and particularly a sizable number of osteopathic medical students continued to write of their desire for a change in the degree osteopathic medical colleges awarded. However, in July 2008 the AOA House of Delegates unanimously reaffirmed its commitment to continuing the traditional DO degree.

Osteopathic physicians and international medical graduates in the rural primary care physician workforce.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Primary care physician (PCP) shortages are a longstanding problem in the rural United States. This study describes the 2005 supply of two important components of the rural PCP workforce: rural osteopathic (DO) and international medical graduate (IMG) PCPs. METHODS: American Medical Association (AMA) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) 2005 Masterfiles were combined to identify clinically active, non-resident, non-federal physicians aged 70 or younger. Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes were used to categorize practice locations as urban, large rural, small rural, or isolated small rural. National- and state-level analyses were performed. PCPs included family physicians, general internists, and general pediatricians. RESULTS: DOs comprised 4.9% and IMGs 22.2% of the total clinically active workforce. However, they contributed 10.4% and 19.3%, respectively, to the rural PCP workforce, although their relative representation varied geographically. DO PCPs were more likely than allopathic PCPs to practice in rural places (20.5% versus 14.9%, respectively). IMG PCPs were more likely than other PCPs to practice in rural persistent poverty locations (12.4% versus 9.1%). The proportion of rural PCP workforce represented by DOs increased with increasing rurality and that of IMGs decreased. CONCLUSIONS: DO and IMG PCPs constitute a vital portion of the rural health care workforce. Their ongoing participation is necessary in addressing existing rural PCP shortages and handling the influx of newly insured residents as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) comes into effect. The impact on rural DO and IMG PCP supply of ACA measures intended to increase their numbers remains to be seen.