Medical regimen adherence has been defined as the extent to which a patient's behavior coincides with medical advice. Poor patient adherence is common, costly, and exacerbated by providers' frequent failure to provide appropriate medical recommendations. Characteristics of the medical regimen, patient characteristics, provider characteristics, and the quality of the patient–provider communication and interaction have been associated with nonadherence. Adherence assessment should be disease-specific, address unintentional as well as intentional nonadherence, and focus on relevant disease management behaviors. Health status indicators should not be used to measure adherence. A variety of intervention strategies can be used to improve adherence.

This chapter explores the constraints and challenges faced by District Health Management Teams (DMTs) as they strive to ensure the delivery of quality public health care in a rapidly changing environment characterised by major national reform initiatives, such as the re-engineering of primary health care (PHC) and the introduction of National Health Insurance (NHI).The main difficulties faced by this group of public health managers were identified through surveys and interviews conducted with a cross-section of managers from urban and rural districts. Data were collected using three methods. Firstly, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine district managers regarding the district planning process. Secondly, quantitative data using a structured questionnaire were collected from 233 operational and district managers within these nine districts regarding their qualifications and their length of service within the health department. Thirdly, this information was supplemented by interviews with representatives of the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief who provide technical assistance to DMTs.Most of the problems identified relate to obstacles preventing the effective implementation of various steps in the management model. These originate from within and beyond the DMT, and include issues such inadequate delegation of authority to DMTs, defective budgeting processes, staffing issues, lack of managerial skills and vacancies in key managerial positions, and ineffective use or absence of quality management information systems to support decision-making. Despite these constraints, DMTs take on ambitious national programmes with a positive attitude, and there are promising indications that the hindrances identified are being successfully addressed through policy reforms.

RESULTS Note: If processed using typical schedules, items on this agenda which must be adopted by Ordinance will be introduced at the February 10, 2014 City Council meeting. At that time, City Council will establish February 24, 2014, as the public hearing date for those items. City Council meetings begin at 5:45 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 57 East First Street. Anyone interested in attending the public hearing should review the City Council agenda on the City’s website at www.mesaaz.gov prior to the meeting or call the Planning Division at 480.644.2385 to ensure the item has remained on the above-mentioned specified agenda.

The discipline of formal pre-border Weed Risk Assessment (WRA), initiated in the late 1980s, is now well established. Significant developments in post-border Weed Risk Management (WRM) systems are more recent, with the publication of the Australian and New Zealand Standard for National Post-Border Weed Risk Management Protocol HB 294:2006 (the protocol) in 2006. During 2011–2012, the protocol was updated. The revised protocol reflects developments in: risk management practice and in indicating the reliability of predictions; the management of contentious plants; and the translation of WRM results into policy and management responses.

Hibiscus trionum has generally been regarded as naturalised in Australia and New Zealand. Two varieties are sometimes accepted as occurring in Australia: H. trionum var. trionum and H. trionum var. vesicarius, with the latter occasionally treated as indigenous. Following studies of the variation within H. trionum in Australia and New Zealand we propose that there are three indigenous species in this complex. Of the three species, one, Hibiscus richardsonii, occurs in coastal regions of New South Wales, Australia and the northeastern half of the North Island, New Zealand, Hibiscus tridactylites Lindley occurs in inland southern and eastern Australia, and Hibiscus verdcourtii, described herein, occurs widely in inland Australia, especially north of latitude 28 degrees S. In addition, we provide a description and informally recognise a diploid race of H. trionum s.l. that is widespread in New Zealand. In past treatments of the species in New Zealand this diploid race has either been treated as indigenous or included with H. richardsonii under the name oH. trionumo as naturalised. A key is provided to identify these taxa.

A range of risk assessment systems has been applied to the field of weed management globally to address the ever-growing problem of plant invasions. Here, we review the development of risk assessment and management systems across the spectrum of weed management, spanning pre-border (quarantine), post-border (generally aimed at eradication and containment) and the protection of environmental assets. These systems have been developed using broader risk management frameworks, enabling consistency with a range of other agreements and strategies (e.g. pre-border with international phytosanitary measures). While a weed risk assessment system (pre-border) has been developed and widely tested/adopted, post-border systems, especially for established weed species, have been more varied in their nature and application. For example, a triage system has been outlined only recently for managing the current risks of established or widespread weeds to native species. This review also highlights a range of other weed management areas in which risk assessment systems have been applied (e.g. invasion pathways) and where further progress is needed in the current systems to make them more robust. By assessing risk across the spectrum of weed management, we have demonstrated the role of each system and how they link together to address the majority of the spectrum. The application of risk assessment procedures has helped to create systems that aim to prevent, eradicate, contain and protect assets from the effects of weed invasions, the legacy of which will be long lasting, globally.