Health-related quality of life and rehabilitation cost following intensive care unit stay in multiple trauma patients.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in multiple trauma patients due to motor vehicle crashes during a follow-up period of 2 years after discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU) and the effect of income and financial cost of rehabilitation in HRQOL.

Methods: The study was a prospective observational study of multiple trauma patients from January 2009 to January 2011 who were hospitalized in a general, medical, and surgical ICU of a district hospital in Athens, Greece. Eighty-five patients with multiple traumas due to motor vehicle crashes and with an ICU stay of more than 24 hours were included in the study.

The work environment of haemodialysis nurses and its impact on patients' outcomes.

The aims of this study were to assess haemodialysis nurses' work environment and investigate the correlation between work environment and patients' outcomes. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the 11 public hospital-based haemodialysis units of the 5th Regional Health Authority of Greece. The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) was used to assess work environment.

Can cost sharing measures improve the function of outpatient departments of public hospitals: the opinions of administrative directors.

This paper describes a study aiming to investigate the opinions of administrative personnel concerning the effectiveness of a cost sharing mechanism (of euro 5/visit) at public hospitals' outpatient departments. Data was derived through a structured questionnaire (developed by the researchers) which appealed to 112 administrative directors of public hospitals. Results highlighted a positive attitude concerning the function of the cost - sharing mechanism at public hospitals, a rather fair measure for the users (vulnerable groups are excluded) which probably is enhancing the monetary flow in public hospitals.