The Oregon plan: increasing access to health care.

In 1989, a coalition of Oregon legislators, policymakers, and health care professionals created a new plan that attempts to ensure equitable and universal access to health care by prioritizing types of care. Critics call it unrealistic and a dangerous rationing scheme. Proponents argue it is better than the current system that denies thousands of citizens access to basic care.

Alberta Assessment and Placement Instrument. Description and interrater reliability.

There is a clear need for increased standardization of placement and therefore greater equity among long-term-care patients with similar clinical needs and environmental constraints. This article describes a multidimensional instrument that incorporates a decision rule for placement recommendations across 4 levels of care. Interrater reliability for the assessment items as well as the placement levels are reported.

Maternal attachment to handicapped infants and the relationship to social support.

The parent-infant attachment of 36 mothers with and without a handicapped infant was compared. A prospective, longitudinal design was employed with data collection at 1, 6, and 12 months postpartum. There were significant differences in attachment at 1 month, with mothers of handicapped infants exhibiting fewer attachment behaviors; there were no differences at 6 or 12 months.