Product Description: Mental disorders have a huge cost, both to individuals and to society. The direct costs of providing appropriate mental healthcare must be considered along with the societal costs of not doing so. This volume uses the findings of the WHO Mental Health surveys, a long-term study with more than 150,000 people from 24 countries, to present a comprehensive portrait of the burden of mental disorders...read more

Product Description: American Health: Demographics and Spending of Health Care Consumers provides a comprehensive look at the demographics of health care consumers and the services they use, ranging from fish oil supplements to mammograms, from doctor visits to birth control pills...read more

'As part of a multifaceted look at the inherited and evolving portfolio of the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL), the laboratory asked the National Academies to undertake a special look at the informational underpinnings of the NPPTL program to promote effective use of respirator equipment in the workplace. The primary focus of the committee inquiry was to be on a landmark survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)--the 2001 Survey of Respirator Use and Practices (SRUP).' - p. 1

Designing and Conducting Health Surveys is written for students, teachers, researchers, and anyone who conducts health surveys. This third edition of the standard reference in the field draws heavily on the most recent methodological research on survey design and the rich storehouse of insights and implications provided by cognitive research on question and questionnaire design in particular. This important resource presents a total survey error framework that is a useful compass for charting the dangerous waters between systematic and random errors that inevitably accompany the survey design enterprise. In addition, three new studies based on national, international, and state and local surveys—the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, California Health Interview Survey, and National Dental Malpractice Survey—are detailed that illustrate the range of design alternatives available at each stage of developing a survey and provide a sound basis for choosing among them.

Worldwide economic constraints on health care systems have stressed the need to monitor the outcomes of care and the output of the health system. This is the second edition of a reference book that provides in-depth reviews of the quality of the leading health measurements that are used for these purposes. Its principal aim is to guide the reader in choosing among rival measurement methods and to score the instrument chosen. The book also provides a critical overview of the field of health measurement, with a technical introduction and discussion of the history and future directions for measurements in each area. Eighty-eight measurements that evaluate health via questionnaires or rating scales are reviewed.. Reviews of the 50 scales included in the first edition have been updated, the original chapters have been expanded to include new methods, and two new chapters have been written. The book covers measurements of physical disability, social health, psychological well-being, depression, mental status testing, pain, general health status and quality of life. Each chapter presents a tabular comparison of the quality of the instruments. The description of each method covers its purpose and conceptual basis, its reliability and validity, and a copy of the scale is shown. This book is intended as a reference work for researchers from the medical and social sciences, and for health professionals wishing to evaluate the progress of their patients. The first edition was praised for its accurate and thorough descriptions of measurement scales and for its contributions to improving the science of health measurement. It has always been used as a text in health services research courses. The second edition further strengthens these qualities.

Product Description: A 'how-to' or 'cookbook' style book, setting out why patient-based measures are important, their history, and how to develop and select quality of life and related measures to assess outcomes in the health care workplace. For those interested in a more in-depth understanding of the area, or whose curiosity has been piqued, there would also be brief sections in each chapter that provide a more detailed examination of relevant theoretical or technical issues...read more

This is the second edition of the only practical guide for clinicians developing tools to measure subjective states, attitudes, and other 'non-tangible' outcomes in their patients. This new edition has been thoroughly revised to incorporate all the latest research published since the first edition. Additions to this edition include a chapter on ethics and a discussion of reliability and generalizability theory. Throughout, the authors provide a methodical, step-by-step approach, explaining both the theory and the practical applications of health measurement scales, to guide the reader through the development of their own scales. These features combine to provide the most up-to-date guide to measurement scale development available. Written in a concise and intelligible style, it enables both experienced researchers and novices to develop accurate, sensitive and easy-to-use measurement scales of their own. This is an essential book for anyone who uses or would like to use rating scales in their clinical practice.

Product Description: Researching Health Needs is an easy to use introductory guide to the main social research techniques used to gather evidence about the health needs of local communities. The reader is taken through the process of producing evidence, from the initial planning stages of research, to writing up, getting the message across, and trying to influence policy and practice...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

This book covers approximately 200 instruments, all validated by key references, used by researchers to measure the quality of life. Reliability, validity and strengths and weaknesses of the instruments will be presented, enabling researchers to decide their use.

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Product Description: For this new edition, the text, notes and references have again been thoroughly revised and updated. Chapters on clinical trials and programme trials have been added, and due attention is now paid to the use of personal computers...read more