Through public forums with health care providers and consumers, the Maine Hospice Council identified a need for increased pain management education for health care professionals. Confusion among providers and consumers regarding legal issues, often state specific, concerning pain management at the end-of-life is prevalent. Further, lack of pain education during medical school training is frequently cited.
The Maine Hospice Council considered various ways to meet this need for pain management education. It was felt that a conference or training seminar would not reach a significant number of providers and an alternative method of education was formulated. Many physicians have indicated interest in self-guided educational opportunities and staff at the Muskie School successfully implemented a self-study program concerning medications for the elderly. A grant from the American Alliance of Cancer Pain Initiatives was awarded in 2005 to the Maine Hospice Council to continue its education of health care professionals about pain-related issues. The Muskie School was contracted to provide project research, writing, and organization of the study packet.
In 2005, the Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC), with support from the National Institute of Corrections, began implementing a series of evidence-based principles in community corrections with the goal of improving the effectiveness of offender management in the community. This brief examines Maine's sentencing practices during the pilot project, for adult probationers entering probation between 2004 and 2007. Two main questions guide the analysis: Who is more likely to receive a split sentence? And what is the relationship between sentence type and the probability of probation violation and/or recidivism?
This Project Brief provides a quick snapshot of the "Veggies for ME!" program designed by staff at the Muskie School, The Maine Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension to promote vegetable consumption among WIC participants and their families.
A recent report by the Muskie School and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services provides a new way of looking at the state's long term support system. With an emphasis on developing a common approach for description and analysis across programs, the profile reveals that users of long term services and supports in Maine span all age groups and types of service users. In fact, 28% are ages 17 or younger and 29% are between the age of 35 and 64. Long term service users include people with physical impairments, cognitive and intellectual disabilities, and people who need behavioral health support. In Maine, these long term service users account for two-thirds of total Medicaid expenditures.
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