Clinical outcomes of subcutaneous vs. transvenous implantable defibrillator therapy in a polymorbid patient cohort.

Background: The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) has been designed to overcome lead-related complications and device endocarditis. Lacking the ability for pacing or resynchronization therapy its usage is limited to selected patients at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Objective: The aim of this single-center study was to assess clinical outcomes of S-ICD and single-chamber transvenous (TV)-ICD in an all-comers population.

Real three-dimensional objects: effects on mental rotation.

The current experiment investigated real three-dimensional (3D) objects with regard to performance on a mental rotation task and whether the appearance of sex differences may be mediated by experiences with spatially related activities. 40 men and 40 women were presented with alternating timed trials consisting of real-3D objects or two-dimensional illustrations of 3D objects. Sex differences in spatially related activities did not significantly influence the finding that men outperformed women on mental rotation of either stimulus type.

Community health development: a strategy for reinventing America's health care system one community at a time.

The purpose of this article is to propose a set of ideas for reinventing America's health care system, one community at a time. Community health development is proposed as a strategy and approach to population health improvement, the ultimate goal of health care reform. The practice of community health development, particularly the partnership approach, provides guidance about how this approach might be employed as a national health care reform strategy.

The political and policy implications of a rating system of community capacity to improve population health.

This article discusses the political and policy implications of a potential rating system of community capacity for health improvement. Evidence suggests that such a rating system will have little effect in the current health care environment unless it is directly related to the health care dollar. Community change agents and stakeholders, including the growing population of older adults, will perceive a rating system to have value only if the defined purpose meets their interests and needs, and if the rating system results prove useful for decisions that affect the bottom line in working on issues like health improvement and capacity.

Aggregate Health Status: a benchmark index for community health.

A qualitative review of population health assessment models used throughout the United States and Canada indicate both individual and community-level domains of health. Individual-level domains of health include health habits, education, public safety, environment, social, government, culture, and mobility. Community-level domains include the same general health domains but aggregated to the community level Aggregate Health Status (AHS).