Competency-based standardized training for humanitarian providers: making humanitarian assistance a professional discipline.

The number of people employed in international humanitarian care is growing at a yearly rate of 6%. The demand for better coordination, accountability, and training has led to a need for standardized humanitarian training programs for providers. Training should be based on comprehensive core competencies that providers must demonstrate in addition to their skill-specific competencies.

Professionally mediated peer support and early breastfeeding success.

Social support interventions that incorporate professionally mediated peer support (PMPS) for improved breastfeeding outcomes were compared with no special breastfeeding support. Fifty-five breastfeeding mothers participated. The breastfeeding outcomes of duration, completeness, satisfaction, and exclusive breastfeeding were compared at 6 weeks postpartum among an experimental group that received PMPS, and among younger community (YC) and older community (OC) groups that received no special breastfeeding support.

The impact of mammography quality improvement legislation in Michigan: implications for the National Mammography Quality Standards Act.

Objectives: This study examined the impact of state legislation on mammography quality and access in Michigan.

Methods: The impact of state legislation was analyzed with respect to utilization, numbers of machines and facilities, and image quality.

Results: The legislation had a positive effect on image quality improvement, had no impact on utilization by women aged 50 years and above, and resulted in few facility closures.

The history and the effect of the mammography quality assurance legislation in Michigan.

This paper describes the history of mammography quality assurance legislation in Michigan, the first of its kind in the nation. It discusses the collaboration of multiple organizations in the legislative process as well as in the implementation of it. It describes the effect of the legislation on the quality of mammography throughout the state and summarizes the lessons learned from the process, especially as they apply to the implementation of the Mammography Quality Standards Act at the national level.