Development of a national audit tool for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a BSPAR project funded by the Health Care Quality Improvement Partnership.

Objective: Timely access to holistic multidisciplinary care is the core principle underpinning management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Data collected in national clinical audit programmes fundamentally aim to improve health outcomes of disease, ensuring clinical care is equitable, safe and patient-centred. The aim of this study was to develop a tool for national audit of JIA in the UK.

Public response to infectious disease research: the UC Davis experience.

This summary of the experience of the University of California, Davis, in public communications describes the course of applying for funds to build a National Biocontainment Laboratory. Opponents of the project put forward a wide range of arguments falling into two main areas: (1) the safety of the facility and the perceived risk of release of biological agents by accident, theft, or terrorist acts; and (2) concerns that the laboratories would be used for military or secret research beyond the control of the university. The communications strategy in support of the proposal used a number of different tools, including public workshops, direct mail, web sites, and proactive media relations.