WorldWideScience

Sample records for preventive services delivery

  1. Improving the delivery of preventive care services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Dorothy Y

    2007-05-01

    Performance of preventive services is an important indicator of high-quality health care, but many recommended services are not regularly offered in primary care practices. Health risk assessments, counseling, and referral to community-based programs help address risk behaviors, many of which are leading causes of preventable death and disability in the United States. This study examined various influences on the delivery of preventive services designed to address smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol, unhealthy diets, and sedentary lifestyles. More than 300 health care providers in 52 practices nationwide have contributed data to this study. Staff participation in quality improvement enhanced work relationships and also diminished the effect of practice size on the performance of preventive care. The use of nurse practitioners, allied health professionals, clinician reminders, and patient registries were positively associated with care delivery.

  2. Preventing Elder Abuse: The Texas Plan for a Coordinated Service Delivery System. Collaborative Elder Abuse Prevention Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDaniel, Garry L.

    The Texas Department of Human Services, in collaboration with 13 other public and private organizations, co-sponsored a statewide Collaborative Elder Abuse Prevention project. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive, long-range plan for the prevention of elder abuse, a method for achieving a coordinated service delivery system for…

  3. Improving preventive service delivery at adult complete health check-ups: the Preventive health Evidence-based Recommendation Form (PERFORM cluster randomized controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moineddin Rahim

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To determine the effectiveness of a single checklist reminder form to improve the delivery of preventive health services at adult health check-ups in a family practice setting. Methods A prospective cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted at four urban family practice clinics among 38 primary care physicians affiliated with the University of Toronto. Preventive Care Checklist Forms© were created to be used by family physicians at adult health check-ups over a five-month period. The sex-specific forms incorporate evidence-based recommendations on preventive health services and documentation space for routine procedures such as physical examination. The forms were used in two intervention clinics and two control clinics. Rates and relative risks (RR of the performance of 13 preventive health maneuvers at baseline and post-intervention and the percentage of up-to-date preventive health services delivered per patient were compared between the two groups. Results Randomly-selected charts were reviewed at baseline (n = 509 and post-intervention (n = 608. Baseline rates for provision of preventive health services ranged from 3% (fecal occult blood testing to 93% (blood pressure measurement, similar to other settings. The percentage of up-to-date preventive health services delivered per patient at the end of the intervention was 48.9% in the control group and 71.7% in the intervention group. This is an overall 22.8% absolute increase (p = 0.0001, and 46.6% relative increase in the delivery of preventive health services per patient in the intervention group compared to controls. Eight of thirteen preventive health services showed a statistically significant change (p Conclusion This simple, low cost, clinically relevant intervention improves the delivery of preventive health services by prompting physicians of evidence-based recommendations in a checklist format that incorporates existing practice patterns. Periodic updates

  4. Quality of IT service delivery — Analysis and framework for human error prevention

    KAUST Repository

    Shwartz, L.

    2010-12-01

    In this paper, we address the problem of reducing the occurrence of Human Errors that cause service interruptions in IT Service Support and Delivery operations. Analysis of a large volume of service interruption records revealed that more than 21% of interruptions were caused by human error. We focus on Change Management, the process with the largest risk of human error, and identify the main instances of human errors as the 4 Wrongs: request, time, configuration item, and command. Analysis of change records revealed that the humanerror prevention by partial automation is highly relevant. We propose the HEP Framework, a framework for execution of IT Service Delivery operations that reduces human error by addressing the 4 Wrongs using content integration, contextualization of operation patterns, partial automation of command execution, and controlled access to resources.

  5. Office-Based Tools and Primary Care Visit Communication, Length, and Preventive Service Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lafata, Jennifer Elston; Shay, L Aubree; Brown, Richard; Street, Richard L

    2016-04-01

    The use of physician office-based tools such as electronic health records (EHRs), health risk appraisal (HRA) instruments, and written patient reminder lists is encouraged to support efficient, high-quality, patient-centered care. We evaluate the association of exam room use of EHRs, HRA instruments, and self-generated written patient reminder lists with patient-physician communication behaviors, recommended preventive health service delivery, and visit length. Observational study of 485 office visits with 64 primary care physicians practicing in a health system serving the Detroit metropolitan area. Study data were obtained from patient surveys, direct observation, office visit audio-recordings, and automated health system records. Outcome measures included visit length in minutes, patient use of active communication behaviors, physician use of supportive talk and partnership-building communication behaviors, and percentage of delivered guideline-recommended preventive health services for which patients are eligible and due. Simultaneous linear regression models were used to evaluate associations between tool use and outcomes. Adjusted models controlled for patient characteristics, physician characteristics, characteristics of the relationship between the patient and physician, and characteristics of the environment in which the visit took place. Prior to adjusting for other factors, visits in which the EHR was used on average were significantly (p communication behaviors facilitating patient involvement (2.1 vs. 2.6 occurrences), but more use of active patient communication behaviors (4.4 vs. 2.6). Likewise, HRA use was significantly associated with increased preventive services delivery (62.1 percent vs. 57.0 percent). All relationships remained significant (p > .05) in adjusted models with the exception of that between HRA use and preventive service delivery. Office-based tools intended to facilitate the implementation of desired primary care practice

  6. From concept to application: the impact of a community-wide intervention to improve the delivery of preventive services to children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margolis, P A; Stevens, R; Bordley, W C; Stuart, J; Harlan, C; Keyes-Elstein, L; Wisseh, S

    2001-09-01

    To improve health outcomes of children, the US Maternal and Child Health Bureau has recommended more effective organization of preventive services within primary care practices and more coordination between practices and community-based agencies. However, applying these recommendations in communities is challenging because they require both more complex systems of care delivery within organizations and more complex interactions between them. To improve the way that preventive health care services are organized and delivered in 1 community, we designed, implemented, and assessed the impact of a health care system-level approach, which involved addressing multiple care delivery processes, at multiple levels in the community, the practice, and the family. Our objective was to improve the processes of preventive services delivery to all children in a defined geographic community, with particular attention to health outcomes for low-income mothers and infants. Observational intervention study in 1 North Carolina county (population 182 000) involving low- income pregnant mothers and their infants, primary care practices, and departments of health and mental health. An interrupted time-series design was used to assess rates of preventive services in office practices before and after the intervention, and a historical cohort design was used to compare maternal and child health outcomes for women enrolled in an intensive home visiting program with women who sought prenatal care during the 9 months before the program's initiation. Outcomes were assessed when the infants reached 12 months of age. Our primary objective was to achieve changes in the process of care delivery at the level of the clinical interaction between care providers and patients that would lead to improved health and developmental outcomes for families. We selected interventions that were directed toward major risk factors (eg, poverty, ineffective care systems for preventive care in office practices) and

  7. Quality of IT service delivery — Analysis and framework for human error prevention

    KAUST Repository

    Shwartz, L.; Rosu, D.; Loewenstern, D.; Buco, M. J.; Guo, S.; Lavrado, Rafael Coelho; Gupta, M.; De, P.; Madduri, V.; Singh, J. K.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we address the problem of reducing the occurrence of Human Errors that cause service interruptions in IT Service Support and Delivery operations. Analysis of a large volume of service interruption records revealed that more than 21

  8. Use of Six Sigma for eliminating missed opportunities for prevention services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gittner, LisaAnn S; Husaini, Baqar A; Hull, Pamela C; Emerson, Janice S; Tropez-Sims, Suzanne; Reece, Michelle C; Zoorob, Roger; Levine, Robert S

    2015-01-01

    Delivery of primary care preventative services can be significantly increased utilizing Six Sigma methods. Missed preventative service opportunities were compared in the study clinic with the community clinic in the same practice. The study clinic had 100% preventative services, compared with only 16.3% in the community clinic. Preventative services can be enhanced to Six Sigma quality when the nurse executive and medical staff agree on a single standard of nursing care executed via standing orders.

  9. Identifying barriers to receiving preventive dental services: expanding access to preventive dental hygiene services through affiliated practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross-Panico, Michelle L; Freeman, Wilbur K

    2012-01-01

    Minority children and children from lower income families are more likely to experience the burden of oral disease. Since oral disease reduces quality of life, it is a priority to utilize preventive dental services. The research questions ask if affiliated practice increases utilization of preventive dental services by underserved children from birth to 18 years of age, and what the barriers to receiving preventive dental services are and their level of importance. A survey was administered to parents/guardians of patients from birth to 18 years of age who received preventive dental services from Catholic Healthcare West East Valley Children's Dental Clinic, an affiliated practice dental clinic in Chandler, Arizona. Thirty-four surveys were completed: 21 completed in English and 13 completed in Spanish. The data was analyzed to provide descriptive statistics and non-parametrically analyzed using the Friedman's, Kendall's W and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Tests. The cost of preventive dental services is more important to this population than both convenience of appointment time and distance traveled. As the cost increases for preventive dental services, this population will utilize preventive dental services less frequently. The study indicated that the increase of self-reported utilization of preventive dental services by underserved children, ranging in age from birth to 18 years old, in Arizona affiliated practice dental clinics, was primarily impacted by perceived reduced costs of receiving care. Funding efforts, reimbursement mechanisms and legislative policies should support this dental care delivery model to provide care to underserved children, adults and seniors throughout the U.S.

  10. Exploring Service Providers' Perspectives in Improving Childhood Obesity Prevention among CALD Communities in Victoria, Australia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheila Cyril

    Full Text Available Childhood obesity rates have been increasing disproportionately among disadvantaged communities including culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD migrant groups in Australia due to their poor participation in the available obesity prevention initiatives. We sought to explore service providers' perceptions of the key factors influencing the participation of CALD communities in the existing obesity prevention services and the service requirements needed to improve CALD communities' participation in these services.We conducted a qualitative study using focus group discussions involving fifty-nine service providers from a range of services, who are involved in the health and wellbeing of children from CALD groups living in four socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in Victoria, Australia.Thematic analysis of the data showed three major themes including community-level barriers to CALD engagement in childhood obesity prevention services; service-level barriers to the delivery of these services; and proposed changes to current childhood obesity prevention approaches. Integrating obesity prevention messages within existing programs, better coordination between prevention and treatment services and the establishment of a childhood obesity surveillance system, were some of the important changes suggested by service providers.This study has found that low CALD health literacy, lack of knowledge of cultural barriers among service providers and co-existing deficiencies in the structure and delivery of obesity prevention services negatively impacted the participation of CALD communities in obesity prevention services. Cultural competency training of service providers would improve their understanding of the cultural influences of childhood obesity and incorporate them into the design and development of obesity prevention initiatives. Service providers need to be educated on the pre-migratory health service experiences and health conditions of CALD

  11. Exploring Service Providers' Perspectives in Improving Childhood Obesity Prevention among CALD Communities in Victoria, Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyril, Sheila; Green, Julie; Nicholson, Jan M.; Agho, Kingsley; Renzaho, Andre M. N.

    2016-01-01

    Background Childhood obesity rates have been increasing disproportionately among disadvantaged communities including culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrant groups in Australia due to their poor participation in the available obesity prevention initiatives. We sought to explore service providers’ perceptions of the key factors influencing the participation of CALD communities in the existing obesity prevention services and the service requirements needed to improve CALD communities’ participation in these services. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using focus group discussions involving fifty-nine service providers from a range of services, who are involved in the health and wellbeing of children from CALD groups living in four socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in Victoria, Australia. Results Thematic analysis of the data showed three major themes including community-level barriers to CALD engagement in childhood obesity prevention services; service-level barriers to the delivery of these services; and proposed changes to current childhood obesity prevention approaches. Integrating obesity prevention messages within existing programs, better coordination between prevention and treatment services and the establishment of a childhood obesity surveillance system, were some of the important changes suggested by service providers. Conclusion This study has found that low CALD health literacy, lack of knowledge of cultural barriers among service providers and co-existing deficiencies in the structure and delivery of obesity prevention services negatively impacted the participation of CALD communities in obesity prevention services. Cultural competency training of service providers would improve their understanding of the cultural influences of childhood obesity and incorporate them into the design and development of obesity prevention initiatives. Service providers need to be educated on the pre-migratory health service experiences and health

  12. Exploring Service Providers' Perspectives in Improving Childhood Obesity Prevention among CALD Communities in Victoria, Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyril, Sheila; Green, Julie; Nicholson, Jan M; Agho, Kingsley; Renzaho, Andre M N

    2016-01-01

    Childhood obesity rates have been increasing disproportionately among disadvantaged communities including culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrant groups in Australia due to their poor participation in the available obesity prevention initiatives. We sought to explore service providers' perceptions of the key factors influencing the participation of CALD communities in the existing obesity prevention services and the service requirements needed to improve CALD communities' participation in these services. We conducted a qualitative study using focus group discussions involving fifty-nine service providers from a range of services, who are involved in the health and wellbeing of children from CALD groups living in four socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in Victoria, Australia. Thematic analysis of the data showed three major themes including community-level barriers to CALD engagement in childhood obesity prevention services; service-level barriers to the delivery of these services; and proposed changes to current childhood obesity prevention approaches. Integrating obesity prevention messages within existing programs, better coordination between prevention and treatment services and the establishment of a childhood obesity surveillance system, were some of the important changes suggested by service providers. This study has found that low CALD health literacy, lack of knowledge of cultural barriers among service providers and co-existing deficiencies in the structure and delivery of obesity prevention services negatively impacted the participation of CALD communities in obesity prevention services. Cultural competency training of service providers would improve their understanding of the cultural influences of childhood obesity and incorporate them into the design and development of obesity prevention initiatives. Service providers need to be educated on the pre-migratory health service experiences and health conditions of CALD communities to ensure

  13. Factors associated with institutional delivery service utilization in Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kebede A

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Alemi Kebede,1 Kalkidan Hassen,2 Aderajew Nigussie Teklehaymanot1 1Department of Population and Family Health, 2College of Health Sciences, Jimma University, Ethiopia Background: Most obstetric complications occur unpredictably during the time of delivery, but they can be prevented with proper medical care in the health facilities. Despite the Ethiopian government’s efforts to expand health service facilities and promote health institution-based delivery service in the country, an estimated 85% of births still take place at home.Objective: The review was conducted with the aim of generating the best evidence on the determinants of institutional delivery service utilization in Ethiopia.Methods: The reviewed studies were accessed through electronic web-based search strategy from PubMed, HINARI, Mendeley reference manager, Cochrane Library for Systematic Reviews, and Google Scholar. Review Manager V5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. Mantel–Haenszel odds ratios (ORs and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs were calculated. Heterogeneity of the study was assessed using I2 test.Results: People living in urban areas (OR =13.16, CI =1.24, 3.68, with primary and above educational level of the mother and husband (OR =4.95, CI =2.3, 4. 8, and OR =4.43, CI =1.14, 3.36, respectively, who encountered problems during pregnancy (OR =2.83, CI =4.54, 7.39, and living at a distance <5 km from nearby health facility (OR =2.6, CI =3.33, 6.57 showed significant association with institutional delivery service utilization. Women’s autonomy was not significantly associated with institutional delivery service utilization.Conclusion and recommendation: Distance to health facility and problems during pregnancy were factors positively and significantly associated with institutional delivery service utilization. Promoting couples education beyond primary education regarding the danger signs of pregnancy and benefits of institutional delivery through available

  14. Good governance, service delivery and records: the African tragedy

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    mpho ngoepe

    A transparent and accountable government conducts its business openly ... party to boast about its service delivery record but also to allow international ... members of public and private bodies need strong and explicit ethics to prevent bribery, ... have actually carried out the actions and transactions that they had to execute,.

  15. 20 CFR 628.405 - Service delivery areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Service delivery areas. 628.405 Section 628... TITLE II OF THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT Local Service Delivery System § 628.405 Service delivery... evaluate the degree to which a proposed service delivery area meets criteria established by the Governor...

  16. Controlling service delivery in service triads

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Iwaarden, van J.; Valk, van der W.; Aalders, L.; Virolainen, V.-M.

    2010-01-01

    Organizations are increasingly sourcing services that are directly delivered to their (end) customers by external providers. Buying organization, supplier and (end) customer operate in a triadic service relationship. In these triads, the buying organization lacks direct control over service delivery

  17. Linking HIV-Negative Youth to Prevention Services in 12 U.S. Cities: Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing the HIV Prevention Continuum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doll, Mimi; Fortenberry, J Dennis; Roseland, Denise; McAuliff, Kathleen; Wilson, Craig M; Boyer, Cherrie B

    2018-04-01

    Linkage of HIV-negative youth to prevention services is increasingly important with the development of effective pre-exposure prophylaxis that complements behavioral and other prevention-focused interventions. However, effective infrastructure for delivery of prevention services does not exist, leaving many programs to address HIV prevention without data to guide program development/implementation. The objective of this study was to provide a qualitative description of barriers and facilitators of linkage to prevention services among high-risk, HIV-negative youth. Thematic analysis of structured interviews with staff implementing linkage to prevention services programs for youth aged 12-24 years. Twelve adolescent medicine HIV primary care programs as part of larger testing research program focused on young sexual minority men of color. The study included staff implementing linkage to prevention services programs along with community-based HIV testing programs. The main outcomes of the study were key barriers/facilitators to linkage to prevention services. Eight themes summarized perspectives on linkage to prevention services: (1) relationships with community partners, (2) trust between providers and youth, (3) youth capacity to navigate prevention services, (4) pre-exposure prophylaxis specific issues, (5) privacy issues, (6) gaps in health records preventing tailored services, (7) confidentiality of care for youth accessing services through parents'/caretakers' insurance, and (8) need for health-care institutions to keep pace with models that prioritize HIV prevention among at-risk youth. Themes are discussed in the context of factors that facilitated/challenged linkage to prevention services. Several evidence-based HIV prevention tools are available; infrastructures for coordinated service delivery to high-risk youth have not been developed. Implementation of such infrastructures requires attention to community-, provider-, and youth-related issues. Copyright

  18. 77 FR 44306 - Service Delivery Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-27

    ... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION [Docket No. SSA-2012-0048] Service Delivery Plan AGENCY: Social... input as we develop our Service Delivery Plan (SDP). We recently completed our Agency Strategic Plan... how we plan to provide our services over the next four years and beyond. DATES: To ensure that we...

  19. Preventing mental illness: closing the evidence-practice gap through workforce and services planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furber, Gareth; Segal, Leonie; Leach, Matthew; Turnbull, Catherine; Procter, Nicholas; Diamond, Mark; Miller, Stephanie; McGorry, Patrick

    2015-07-24

    Mental illness is prevalent across the globe and affects multiple aspects of life. Despite advances in treatment, there is little evidence that prevalence rates of mental illness are falling. While the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancers are common in the policy dialogue and in service delivery, the prevention of mental illness remains a neglected area. There is accumulating evidence that mental illness is at least partially preventable, with increasing recognition that its antecedents are often found in infancy, childhood, adolescence and youth, creating multiple opportunities into young adulthood for prevention. Developing valid and reproducible methods for translating the evidence base in mental illness prevention into actionable policy recommendations is a crucial step in taking the prevention agenda forward. Building on an aetiological model of adult mental illness that emphasizes the importance of intervening during infancy, childhood, adolescence and youth, we adapted a workforce and service planning framework, originally applied to diabetes care, to the analysis of the workforce and service structures required for best-practice prevention of mental illness. The resulting framework consists of 6 steps that include identifying priority risk factors, profiling the population in terms of these risk factors to identify at-risk groups, matching these at-risk groups to best-practice interventions, translation of these interventions to competencies, translation of competencies to workforce and service estimates, and finally, exploring the policy implications of these workforce and services estimates. The framework outlines the specific tasks involved in translating the evidence-base in prevention, to clearly actionable workforce, service delivery and funding recommendations. The framework describes the means to deliver mental illness prevention that the literature indicates is achievable, and is the basis of an ongoing project to model the workforce

  20. Why do some women still prefer traditional birth attendants and home delivery?: a qualitative study on delivery care services in West Java Province, Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Titaley, Christiana R; Hunter, Cynthia L; Dibley, Michael J; Heywood, Peter

    2010-08-11

    Trained birth attendants at delivery are important for preventing both maternal and newborn deaths. West Java is one of the provinces on Java Island, Indonesia, where many women still deliver at home and without the assistance of trained birth attendants. This study aims to explore the perspectives of community members and health workers about the use of delivery care services in six villages of West Java Province. A qualitative study using focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews was conducted in six villages of three districts in West Java Province from March to July 2009. Twenty FGDs and 165 in-depth interviews were conducted involving a total of 295 participants representing mothers, fathers, health care providers, traditional birth attendants and community leaders. The FGD and in-depth interview guidelines included reasons for using a trained or a traditional birth attendant and reasons for having a home or an institutional delivery. The use of traditional birth attendants and home delivery were preferable for some community members despite the availability of the village midwife in the village. Physical distance and financial limitations were two major constraints that prevented community members from accessing and using trained attendants and institutional deliveries. A number of respondents reported that trained delivery attendants or an institutional delivery were only aimed at women who experienced obstetric complications. The limited availability of health care providers was reported by residents in remote areas. In these settings the village midwife, who was sometimes the only health care provider, frequently travelled out of the village. The community perceived the role of both village midwives and traditional birth attendants as essential for providing maternal and health care services. A comprehensive strategy to increase the availability, accessibility, and affordability of delivery care services should be considered in these West Java

  1. 78 FR 15797 - Service Delivery Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-12

    ... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION [Docket No. SSA-2012-0048] Service Delivery Plan AGENCY: Social... input as we finalize our Service Delivery Plan (SDP). We designed our SDP as a roadmap for how we will... Plan. DATES: To ensure that we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than April 11...

  2. Estimated time spent on preventive services by primary care physicians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gradison Margaret

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Delivery of preventive health services in primary care is lacking. One of the main barriers is lack of time. We estimated the amount of time primary care physicians spend on important preventive health services. Methods We analyzed a large dataset of primary care (family and internal medicine visits using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2001–4; analyses were conducted 2007–8. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the amount of time spent delivering each preventive service, controlling for demographic covariates. Results Preventive visits were longer than chronic care visits (M = 22.4, SD = 11.8, M = 18.9, SD = 9.2, respectively. New patients required more time from physicians. Services on which physicians spent relatively more time were prostate specific antigen (PSA, cholesterol, Papanicolaou (Pap smear, mammography, exercise counseling, and blood pressure. Physicians spent less time than recommended on two "A" rated ("good evidence" services, tobacco cessation and Pap smear (in preventive visits, and one "B" rated ("at least fair evidence" service, nutrition counseling. Physicians spent substantial time on two services that have an "I" rating ("inconclusive evidence of effectiveness", PSA and exercise counseling. Conclusion Even with limited time, physicians address many of the "A" rated services adequately. However, they may be spending less time than recommended for important services, especially smoking cessation, Pap smear, and nutrition counseling. Future research is needed to understand how physicians decide how to allocate their time to address preventive health.

  3. 42 CFR 136a.15 - Health Service Delivery Areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Health Service Delivery Areas. 136a.15 Section 136a... Receive Care? § 136a.15 Health Service Delivery Areas. (a) The Indian Health Service will designate and... Federal Indian reservations and areas surrounding those reservations as Health Service Delivery Areas. (b...

  4. Why do some women still prefer traditional birth attendants and home delivery?: a qualitative study on delivery care services in West Java Province, Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Titaley Christiana R

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Trained birth attendants at delivery are important for preventing both maternal and newborn deaths. West Java is one of the provinces on Java Island, Indonesia, where many women still deliver at home and without the assistance of trained birth attendants. This study aims to explore the perspectives of community members and health workers about the use of delivery care services in six villages of West Java Province. Methods A qualitative study using focus group discussions (FGDs and in-depth interviews was conducted in six villages of three districts in West Java Province from March to July 2009. Twenty FGDs and 165 in-depth interviews were conducted involving a total of 295 participants representing mothers, fathers, health care providers, traditional birth attendants and community leaders. The FGD and in-depth interview guidelines included reasons for using a trained or a traditional birth attendant and reasons for having a home or an institutional delivery. Results The use of traditional birth attendants and home delivery were preferable for some community members despite the availability of the village midwife in the village. Physical distance and financial limitations were two major constraints that prevented community members from accessing and using trained attendants and institutional deliveries. A number of respondents reported that trained delivery attendants or an institutional delivery were only aimed at women who experienced obstetric complications. The limited availability of health care providers was reported by residents in remote areas. In these settings the village midwife, who was sometimes the only health care provider, frequently travelled out of the village. The community perceived the role of both village midwives and traditional birth attendants as essential for providing maternal and health care services. Conclusions A comprehensive strategy to increase the availability, accessibility, and

  5. Rethinking the delivery of public services to citizens

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Seidle, F. Leslie

    1995-01-01

    ... Sector Reform and Service Delivery in the Antipodes New Zealand: Transforming the State Australia: a Concerted Program of Management Reform Conclusion Notes 75 Chapter Four The Canadian Federal Government and Service Delivery Issues Perceptions of Service from the Federal Government The Mulroney Government and Public Service 2000 Special Operati...

  6. Research on Clinical Preventive Services for Adolescents and Young Adults: Where Are We and Where Do We Need to Go?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Sion K; Aalsma, Matthew C; Weitzman, Elissa R; Garcia-Huidobro, Diego; Wong, Charlene; Hadland, Scott E; Santelli, John; Park, M Jane; Ozer, Elizabeth M

    2017-03-01

    We reviewed research regarding system- and visit-level strategies to enhance clinical preventive service delivery and quality for adolescents and young adults. Despite professional consensus on recommended services for adolescents, a strong evidence base for services for young adults, and improved financial access to services with the Affordable Care Act's provisions, receipt of preventive services remains suboptimal. Further research that builds off successful models of linking traditional and community clinics is needed to improve access to care for all youth. To optimize the clinical encounter, promising clinician-focused strategies to improve delivery of preventive services include screening and decision support tools, particularly when integrated into electronic medical record systems and supported by training and feedback. Although results have been mixed, interventions have moved beyond increasing service delivery to demonstrating behavior change. Research on emerging technology-such as gaming platforms, mobile phone applications, and wearable devices-suggests opportunities to expand clinicians' reach; however, existing research is based on limited clinical settings and populations. Improved monitoring systems and further research are needed to examine preventive services facilitators and ensure that interventions are effective across the range of clinical settings where youth receive preventive care, across multiple populations, including young adults, and for more vulnerable populations with less access to quality care. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Integrating cervical cancer screening and preventive treatment with family planning and HIV-related services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Heather L; Meglioli, Alejandra; Chowdhury, Raveena; Nuccio, Olivia

    2017-07-01

    Cervical cancer is a leading cause of mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa-in large part because of inadequate coverage of screening and preventive treatment services. A number of programs have begun integrating cervical cancer prevention services into existing family planning or HIV/AIDS service delivery platforms, to rapidly expand "screen and treat" programs and mitigate cervical cancer burden. Drawing upon a review of literature and our experiences, we consider benefits and challenges associated with such programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. We then outline steps that can optimize uptake and sustainability of integrated sexual and reproductive health services. These include increasing coordination among implementing organizations for efficient use of resources; task shifting for services that can be provided by nonphysicians; mobilizing communities via trusted frontline health workers; strengthening management information systems to allow for monitoring of multiple services; and prioritizing an operational research agenda to provide further evidence on the cost-effectiveness and benefits of integrated service delivery. © 2017 The Authors. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

  8. Efficacy of a process improvement intervention on delivery of HIV services to offenders: a multisite trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, Frank S; Shafer, Michael S; Dembo, Richard; Del Mar Vega-Debién, Graciela; Pankow, Jennifer; Duvall, Jamieson L; Belenko, Steven; Frisman, Linda K; Visher, Christy A; Pich, Michele; Patterson, Yvonne

    2014-12-01

    We tested a modified Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) process improvement model to implement improved HIV services (prevention, testing, and linkage to treatment) for offenders under correctional supervision. As part of the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies, Phase 2, the HIV Services and Treatment Implementation in Corrections study conducted 14 cluster-randomized trials in 2011 to 2013 at 9 US sites, where one correctional facility received training in HIV services and coaching in a modified NIATx model and the other received only HIV training. The outcome measure was the odds of successful delivery of an HIV service. The results were significant at the .05 level, and the point estimate for the odds ratio was 2.14. Although overall the results were heterogeneous, the experiments that focused on implementing HIV prevention interventions had a 95% confidence interval that exceeded the no-difference point. Our results demonstrate that a modified NIATx process improvement model can effectively implement improved rates of delivery of some types of HIV services in correctional environments.

  9. 78 FR 8596 - Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Commercial/Actuarial/ Information Delivery Services (IDS...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-06

    ... Services Group, Inc., Commercial/Actuarial/ Information Delivery Services (IDS)/Corporate & Financial... workers and former workers of Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Commercial/Actuarial/Information Delivery Services (IDS)/Corporate & Financial Reporting group, Hartford, Connecticut (The Hartford-IDS...

  10. 78 FR 773 - Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Commercial/Actuarial/Information Delivery Services (IDS...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-04

    ... Services Group, Inc., Commercial/Actuarial/ Information Delivery Services (IDS)/Corporate & Financial... Assistance (TAA) applicable to workers and former workers of Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Commercial/ Actuarial/Information Delivery Services (IDS)/Corporate & Financial Reporting group, Hartford...

  11. Menu-based service access and delivery pattern: Towards achieving equatable access to digital services

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Makitla, I

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available . This capability is used in basic service such as Short Message Service (SMS) as well as Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD). There is a need for a service access and delivery pattern that can facilitate the delivery of services using common...

  12. Bespoke program design for school-aged therapy disability service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weatherill, Pamela; Bahn, Susanne; Cooper, Trudi

    2012-01-01

    This article uses the evaluation of a school-aged therapy service for children with disabilities in Western Australia to investigate models of service delivery. The current literature on family-centered practice, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, and 4 models of service are reviewed. The models include the life needs model, the relational goal-orientated model of optimal service delivery to children and families, the quality of life model, and the collaborative model of service delivery. Analysis of the data is presented together with a bespoke model of service delivery for children with disabilities, arguing that local contexts benefit from custom-made service design.

  13. Project management: a new service delivery paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. van der Walt

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available In line with international trends in governance, the South African Government’s initial focus on the development of policy frameworks, structures and systems in order to give effect to the values and principles of the Constitution, shifted to the most critical issue, namely service delivery. The Government became increasingly aware that a significant expansion in the scope and quality of service provision was not possible with traditional delivery settings and approaches. There is growing evidence that there is a need for a significant departure from conventional approaches and that a leap into a new service delivery paradigm is necessary. Increasingly this new paradigm highlights the need to further develop the government’s project management skills and applications with a view to achieving improved delivery capability. In this article the focus will be placed on the changing service delivery paradigm – from an “old” traditional model through the transition to a “new” paradigm. This paradigm is shaped by international and national trends and events in government. The contribution and advantages of project management applications for effective governance are highlighted and the article concludes with an explanation of project management organisational arrangements necessary to support the new paradigm.

  14. A Multi-organisational Approach to Service Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purchase, Valerie; Mills, John; Parry, Glenn

    Who is involved in delivering a service? There has been growing recognition in a wide variety of contexts that service is increasingly being delivered by multi-rather than single-organisational entities. Such recognition is evident not only in our experience but in a number of areas of literature including strategy development, core competence analysis, operations and supply chain management, and is reflected in and further facilitated by ICT developments. Customers have always been involved in some degree in the process of value delivery and such involvement is increasing to include complex co-creation of value. Such interactions are challenging when they involve individual customers, however, this becomes ever more challenging when the 'customer' is another organisation or when there are multiple 'customers'. Within this chapter we will consider some of the key drivers for a multi-organisational approach to service delivery; examine the ways in which the parties involved in service co-creation have expanded to include multiple service providers and customers; and finally, identify some of the challenges created by a multi-organisational approach to service delivery.

  15. Factors affecting utilization of cervical cancer prevention services in low-resource settings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bingham Allison

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Strategies for introducing or strengthening cervical cancer prevention programs must focus on ensuring that appropriate, cost-effective services are available and that women who most need the services will, in fact, use them. This article summarizes the experiences of research projects in Bolivia, Peru, Kenya, South Africa, and Mexico. Factors that affect participation rates in cervical cancer prevention programs are categorized in three sections. The first section describes factors that arise from prevailing sociocultural norms that influence women's views on reproductive health, well being, and notions of illness. The second section discusses factors related to the clinical requirements and the type of service delivery system in which a woman is being asked to participate. The third section discusses factors related to quality of care. Examples of strategies that programs are using to encourage women's participation in cervical cancer prevention services are provided.

  16. Home visitation programs: An untapped opportunity for the delivery of early childhood obesity prevention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvy, Sarah-Jeanne; de la Haye, Kayla; Galama, Titus; Goran, Michael I.

    2016-01-01

    Background Extant obesity efforts have had limited impact among low-income underserved children, in part because of limitations inherent to existing programs: 1) short duration and low intensity; 2) late timing of implementation, when children are already overweight or obese; 3) intervention delivery limiting their accessibility and sustainability; and 4) failure to address barriers such as a lack of culturally competent services, poverty and housing instability, which interfere with healthy lifestyle changes. Objective This concept paper proposes an innovative model of obesity prevention implemented in infancy and sustained throughout early childhood to address the limitations of current obesity prevention efforts. Specifically, we propose to integrate sustained, weekly, in-home obesity prevention as part of the services already delivered by ongoing Home Visitation Programs, which currently do not target obesity prevention. Conclusion The home visiting structure represents an ideal model for impactful obesity prevention as home visitation programs: (1) already provide comprehensive services to diverse low-income infants and families who are most at risk for obesity and poor health due to socio-economic and structural conditions; (2) services are initiated in infancy and sustained throughout critical developmental periods for the formation of healthy/unhealthy behaviors; and (3) have been in place for more than 40 years, with a widespread presence across the United States and nationwide, which is critical for the scalability and sustainability of obesity prevention. PMID:27911984

  17. Home visitation programs: an untapped opportunity for the delivery of early childhood obesity prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvy, S-J; de la Haye, K; Galama, T; Goran, M I

    2017-02-01

    Extant obesity efforts have had limited impact among low-income underserved children, in part because of limitations inherent to existing programs: (i) short duration and low intensity; (ii) late timing of implementation, when children are already overweight or obese; (iii) intervention delivery limiting their accessibility and sustainability; and (iv) failure to address barriers such as a lack of culturally competent services, poverty and housing instability, which interfere with healthy lifestyle changes. This concept paper proposes an innovative model of obesity prevention implemented in infancy and sustained throughout early childhood to address the limitations of current obesity prevention efforts. Specifically, we propose to integrate sustained, weekly, in-home obesity prevention as part of the services already delivered by ongoing Home Visitation Programs, which currently do not target obesity prevention. The home visiting structure represents an ideal model for impactful obesity prevention as home visitation programs: (i) already provide comprehensive services to diverse low-income infants and families who are most at risk for obesity and poor health because of socio-economic and structural conditions; (ii) services are initiated in infancy and sustained throughout critical developmental periods for the formation of healthy/unhealthy behaviors; and (iii) have been in place for more than 40 years, with a widespread presence across the United States and nationwide, which is critical for the scalability and sustainability of obesity prevention. © 2016 World Obesity Federation.

  18. 42 CFR 460.98 - Service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Service delivery. 460.98 Section 460.98 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED..., national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or source of...

  19. The delivery of primary care services.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wilson, A.; Windak, A.; Oleszczyk, M.; Wilm, S.; Hasvold, T.; Kringos, D.

    2015-01-01

    This chapter will be devoted to the dimensions which have been grouped in the framework as “process” and that focus on essential features of service delivery in primary care. In addition to the breadth of services delivered, a comparative overview will be provided of variation in access to services,

  20. planning for gender equitable services delivery in a decentralised ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Sarah Ssali

    Services Delivery in Uganda. – Services offered. – Participation. – Decision making process. – Actors. – Issues. • Post-Conflict Situations in Uganda. – Challenges from Conflict. – Decentralisation in Post conflict settings. – Planning for gender equitable services delivery. • Recommendations (Policy). • Research Gaps ...

  1. Contributing factors to poor service delivery by administrative ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article reports on a study that was conducted among non-managerial administrative employees in the public sector in Gauteng. The researchers attempted to determine the effect of specified job factors on the wellbeing and service delivery of these employees. Poor service delivery in the country triggered the research.

  2. Assessment of Extension Service Delivery on Improved Cassava ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Extension service delivery is too often merely seen as a vehicle for spreading scientific and technical progress and technology transfer. In the real sense, however, dissemination of knowledge is not a one way affair from scientists to producers. The study was conducted to assess extension service delivery on improved ...

  3. The morphological /settlement pattern classification of South African settlements based on a settlement catchment approach, to inform facility allocation and service delivery

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Sogoni, Z

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available / settlement pattern classification of South African settlements based on a settlement catchment approach, to inform facility allocation and service delivery Zukisa Sogoni Planning Africa Conference 2016 4 July 2Project Focus and Background • CSIR... services. • Purpose is to support application & planning for new investment & prevent “unsustainable” investments / White elephants. 3Outputs • National set of service delivery catchments • Profile information per individual catchment • Ranking...

  4. Improving Service Delivery of the Finance and Budget Section ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    dell

    Action research was conducted in May and June 2004 aimed at improving service delivery of ... improve service delivery. (Quinby,1985). Furthermore, the intervention stage in which the development of ..... Educational leadership,. 42, 17-21.

  5. 'Wagging the dog': supply chain management and service delivery

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Wall, K

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available in the appointment of contractors, leading to delays in the delivery of services. The SCM “tail” would appear on those occasions to be “wagging the dog”, namely service delivery....

  6. Graduate Student Services: A Study of the Delivery of Services at the Location Where Students Matriculate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burlison, John G.

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation investigates and explores the best method for the delivery of graduate student services. Essentially, there are two methods for delivery of these services. They can be delivered by virtue of centralization or decentralization. Decentralized delivery, for the purpose of this dissertation is the delivery of graduate student…

  7. Controlling the delivery of outsourced services in asymmetrical supply chains

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Iwaarden, van J.; Valk, van der W.; Aalders, L.; Brown, S.W.

    2009-01-01

    Services are increasingly outsourced. When outsourced services are directly delivered to the final customer by the supplier, the buying company lacks direct control over the delivery of the service. The purpose of this study is to expand theory on control over service delivery in supply chains. A

  8. Characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models: a systematic scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harfield, Stephen G; Davy, Carol; McArthur, Alexa; Munn, Zachary; Brown, Alex; Brown, Ngiare

    2018-01-25

    Indigenous populations have poorer health outcomes compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. The evolution of Indigenous primary health care services arose from mainstream health services being unable to adequately meet the needs of Indigenous communities and Indigenous peoples often being excluded and marginalised from mainstream health services. Part of the solution has been to establish Indigenous specific primary health care services, for and managed by Indigenous peoples. There are a number of reasons why Indigenous primary health care services are more likely than mainstream services to improve the health of Indigenous communities. Their success is partly due to the fact that they often provide comprehensive programs that incorporate treatment and management, prevention and health promotion, as well as addressing the social determinants of health. However, there are gaps in the evidence base including the characteristics that contribute to the success of Indigenous primary health care services in providing comprehensive primary health care. This systematic scoping review aims to identify the characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models. This systematic scoping review was led by an Aboriginal researcher, using the Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping Review Methodology. All published peer-reviewed and grey literature indexed in PubMed, EBSCO CINAHL, Embase, Informit, Mednar, and Trove databases from September 1978 to May 2015 were reviewed for inclusion. Studies were included if they describe the characteristics of service delivery models implemented within an Indigenous primary health care service. Sixty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and then thematically analysed to identify the characteristics of Indigenous PHC service delivery models. Culture was the most prominent characteristic underpinning all of the other seven characteristics which were identified - accessible health services, community

  9. Evaluating the benefits of incorporating traditional birth attendants in HIV prevention of mother to child transmission service delivery in Lilongwe, Malawi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamela, Gloria; Kabondo, Charity; Tembo, Tapiwa; Zimba, Chifundo; Kamanga, Esmie; Mofolo, Innocent; Bulla, Bertha; Sellers, Christopher; Nakanga, R C; Lee, Clara; Martinson, Francis; Hoffman, Irving; van der Horst, Charles; Hosseinipour, Mina C

    2014-03-01

    The objective of our intervention was to examine the benefits of incorporating traditional birth attendants (TBA) in HIV Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) service delivery. We developed a training curriculum for TBAs related to PMTCT and current TBA roles in Malawi. Fourteen TBAs and seven TBA assistants serving 4 urban health centre catchment areas were assessed, trained and supervised. Focus group discussions with the TBAs were conducted after implementation of the program. From March 2008 to August 2009, a total of 4017 pregnant women visited TBAs, out of which 2133 (53.1%) were directly referred to health facilities and 1,884 (46.9%) women delivered at TBAs and subsequently referred. 168 HIV positive women were identified by TBAs. Of these, 86/168 (51.2%) women received nevirapine and 46/168 (27.4%) HIV exposed infants received nevirapine. The challenges in providing PMTCT services included lack of transportation for referrals and absence of a reporting system to confirm the woman's arrival at the health center. Non-disclosure of HIV status by patients to the TBAs resulted in inability to assist nevirapine uptake. TBAs, when trained and well-supervised, can supplement efforts to provide PMTCT services in communities.

  10. The influences of patient's satisfaction with medical service delivery, assessment of medical service, and trust in health delivery system on patient's life satisfaction in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Liyang

    2012-09-14

    Patient's satisfaction with medical service delivery/assessment of medical service/trust in health delivery system may have significant influence on patient's life satisfaction in China's health delivery system/in various kinds of hospitals.The aim of this study was to test whether and to what extent patient's satisfaction with medical service delivery/patient's assessments of various major aspects of medical service/various major aspects of patient's trust in health delivery system influenced patient's life satisfaction in China's health delivery system/in various kinds of hospitals. This study collaborated with National Bureau of Statistics of China to carry out a 2008 national urban resident household survey in 17 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government (N = 3,386), and specified ordered probit models were established to analyze dataset from this household survey. The key considerations in generating patient's life satisfaction involved patient's overall satisfaction with medical service delivery, assessment of doctor-patient communication, assessment of medical cost, assessment of medical treatment process, assessment of medical facility and hospital environment, assessment of waiting time for medical service, trust in prescription, trust in doctor, and trust in recommended medical examination. But the major considerations in generating patient's life satisfaction were different among low level public hospital, high level public hospital, and private hospital. The promotion of patient's overall satisfaction with medical service delivery, the improvement of doctor-patient communication, the reduction of medical cost, the improvement of medical treatment process, the promotion of medical facility and hospital environment, the reduction of waiting time for medical service, the promotion of patient's trust in prescription, the promotion of patient's trust in doctor, and the promotion of patient's trust in

  11. A cross-sectional survey of the prevalence of environmental tobacco smoke preventive care provision by child health services in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daly Justine B

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the need for a reduction in levels of childhood exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS being a recognised public health goal, the delivery of ETS preventive care in child health service settings remains a largely unstudied area. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of ETS preventive care in child health services; differences in the provision of care by type of service; the prevalence of strategies to support such care; and the association between care support strategies and care provision. Method One-hundred and fifty-one (83% child health service managers within New South Wales, Australia completed a questionnaire in 2002 regarding the: assessment of parental smoking and child ETS exposure; the provision of parental smoking cessation and ETS-exposure reduction advice; and strategies used to support the provision of such care. Child health services were categorised based on their size and case-mix, and a chi-square analysis was performed to compare the prevalence of ETS risk assessment and ETS prevention advice between service types. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between the existence of care support strategies and the provision of ETS risk assessment and ETS exposure prevention advice. Results A significant proportion of services reported that they did not assess parental smoking status (26%, and reported that they did not assess the ETS exposure (78% of any child. Forty four percent of services reported that they did not provide smoking cessation advice and 20% reported they did not provide ETS exposure prevention advice. Community based child and family health services reported a greater prevalence of ETS preventive care compared to other hospital based units. Less than half of the services reported having strategies to support the provision of ETS preventive care. The existence of such support strategies was associated with greater odds of care provision

  12. Good governance, service delivery and records: the African tragedy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A paper tasked to establish the relationship between records, good governance and service delivery, especially in Africa, runs into immediate definitional ambiguities. This is because good governance and service delivery mean different things to different African leaders. Moreover, even the most criminal and tyrannical ...

  13. Perspectives of rural health and human service practitioners following suicide prevention training programme in Australia: A thematic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Martin; Ferguson, Monika; Walsh, Sandra; Martinez, Lee; Marsh, Michael; Cronin, Kathryn; Procter, Nicolas

    2018-05-01

    There are well-established training programmes available to support health and human services professionals working with people vulnerable to suicide. However, little is known about involving people with lived experience in the delivery of suicide prevention training with communities with increased rates of suicide. The aim of this paper was to report on a formative dialogical evaluation that explored the views of health and human services workers with regard to a suicide prevention training programme in regional (including rural and remote areas) South Australia which included meaningful involvement of a person with lived experience in the development and delivery of the training. In 2015, eight suicide prevention training workshops were conducted with health and human services workers. All 248 participants lived and worked in South Australian regional communities. We interviewed a subsample of 24 participants across eight sites. A thematic analysis of the interviews identified five themes: Coproduction is key, It is okay to ask the question, Caring for my community, I can make a difference and Learning for future training. The overall meta-theme was "Involvement of a person with lived experience in suicide prevention training supports regional communities to look out for people at risk of suicide." This paper highlights the need for suicide prevention training and other workforce development programmes to include lived experience participation as a core component in development and delivery. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Can a Unified Service Delivery Philosophy Be Identified in Aging and Disability Organizations? Exploring Competing Service Delivery Models Through the Voices of the Workforce in These Organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keefe, Bronwyn

    2018-01-01

    Services for older adults and younger people with disabilities are increasingly merging, as reflected in the creation of Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs). Using ADRCs to coordinate services is challenging, primarily because these fields have different service delivery philosophies. Independent Living Centers, which serve people with disabilities, have a philosophy that emphasizes consumer control and peer mentoring. However, the aging service delivery philosophy is based in a case management or medical model in which the role of consumers directing their services is less pronounced. Using institutional logics theory and a qualitative research design, this study explored whether a unified service delivery philosophy for ADRCs was emerging. Based on focus groups and questionnaires with staff from ADRCs, findings revealed that competing service delivery models continue to operate in the aging and disability fields.

  15. Nursing Services Delivery Theory: an open system approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Raquel M; O’Brien-Pallas, Linda L

    2010-01-01

    meyer r.m. & o’brien-pallas l.l. (2010)Nursing services delivery theory: an open system approach. Journal of Advanced Nursing66(12), 2828–2838. Aim This paper is a discussion of the derivation of the Nursing Services Delivery Theory from the application of open system theory to large-scale organizations. Background The underlying mechanisms by which staffing indicators influence outcomes remain under-theorized and unmeasured, resulting in a ‘black box’ that masks the nature and organization of nursing work. Theory linking nursing work, staffing, work environments, and outcomes in different settings is urgently needed to inform management decisions about the allocation of nurse staffing resources in organizations. Data sources A search of CINAHL and Business Source Premier for the years 1980–2008 was conducted using the following terms: theory, models, organization, organizational structure, management, administration, nursing units, and nursing. Seminal works were included. Discussion The healthcare organization is conceptualized as an open system characterized by energy transformation, a dynamic steady state, negative entropy, event cycles, negative feedback, differentiation, integration and coordination, and equifinality. The Nursing Services Delivery Theory proposes that input, throughput, and output factors interact dynamically to influence the global work demands placed on nursing work groups at the point of care in production subsystems. Implications for nursing The Nursing Services Delivery Theory can be applied to varied settings, cultures, and countries and supports the study of multi-level phenomena and cross-level effects. Conclusion The Nursing Services Delivery Theory gives a relational structure for reconciling disparate streams of research related to nursing work, staffing, and work environments. The theory can guide future research and the management of nursing services in large-scale healthcare organizations. PMID:20831573

  16. Older individuals' experiences during the assistive technology device service delivery process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gramstad, Astrid; Storli, Sissel Lisa; Hamran, Torunn

    2014-07-01

    Providing assistive technology devices to older individuals living in their ordinary homes is an important intervention to increase and sustain independence and to enable ageing at home. However, little is known about older individuals' experiences and needs in the assistive technology device (ATD) service delivery process. The purpose of this study was to investigate older individuals' experiences during the service delivery process of ATDs. Nine older individuals were interviewed three times each throughout the ATD service delivery process. The interviews were analysed within a hermeneutical phenomenological perspective. The results show that the service delivery process could be interpreted as an enigmatic journey and described using four themes: "hope and optimistic expectations", "managing after delivery or needing additional help", "having available help versus being abandoned", and "taking charge or putting up". The results emphasize the need for occupational therapists to maintain an individualized approach towards older clients throughout the service delivery process. The experiences of older individuals were diverse and related to expectations that were not necessarily articulated to the occupational therapist. The situation when the ATD is delivered to the client was highlighted by the clients as an important event with the potential to facilitate a successful service delivery process.

  17. Evaluation of an integrated services program to prevent subsequent pregnancy and birth among urban teen mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patchen, Loral; Letourneau, Kathryn; Berggren, Erica

    2013-01-01

    This article details the evaluation of a clinical services program for teen mothers in the District of Columbia. The program's primary objectives are to prevent unintended subsequent pregnancy and to promote contraceptive utilization. We calculated contraceptive utilization at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after delivery, as well as occurrence of subsequent pregnancy and birth. Nearly seven in ten (69.5%) teen mothers used contraception at 24 months after delivery, and 57.1% of contraceptive users elected long-acting reversible contraception. In the 24-month follow-up period, 19.3% experienced at least one subsequent pregnancy and 8.0% experienced a subsequent birth. These results suggest that an integrated clinical services model may contribute to sustained contraceptive use and may prove beneficial in preventing subsequent teen pregnancy and birth.

  18. 76 FR 4726 - Avaya Global Services, AOS Service Delivery, Worldwide Services Group, Including Workers Whose...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-74,411] Avaya Global Services, AOS Service Delivery, Worldwide Services Group, Including Workers Whose Unemployment Insurance (UI) Wages Are Reported Through Diamondware, Ltd and Nortel Networks, Inc., Including Workers Working at...

  19. Invigorating Library Service Delivery through the Adoption of M ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Invigorating Library Service Delivery through the Adoption of M-Learning by Library Users in Nigeria. ... Nigerian School Library Journal ... so as to be at par with the libraries in the developed nations and to keep abreast Nigerian library users with the recent mobile technologies in the library services delivery in the world.

  20. original article predictors of safe delivery service utilization in arsi

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abrham

    There is limited information on the mothers' use of skilled delivery services in the ... edited, cleaned, and entered into a computer and analyzed using SPSS for ... education and communication on safe delivery service utilization, expansion of ...

  1. Operations and quality management for public service delivery improvement.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulin Mbecke

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Public service management reforms have not yet contributed to poverty eradication and generally socio-economic development of many African countries. The reforms suggested and implemented to date still prove to be weak in addressing the many challenges faced by the public service in delivering goods and services to the population. The failure of the current public service management calls for a consideration of business-driven approaches and practices that facilitate effectiveness, efficiency, competitiveness and flexibility in goods and services provision. The critical social theory methodology and the literature review technique described and raised awareness on service delivery chaos in South Africa. A public service reform that focuses on operations and quality management is one of the ways of improving and sustaining service delivery in South Africa. Operations management is an essential tool for the planning, execution, control, monitoring and evaluation of production processes. Quality management, in the other hand, is essential to ensure best quality of goods and services produced by the public service within acceptable time and available resources to meet or exceed people’s expectations. The operations and quality management framework proposed in this article is a potential alternative to the current service delivery crisis in South Africa.

  2. Malaria Prevention by New Technology: Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-01

    AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0401 TITLE: Malaria Prevention by New Technology : Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Gary...CONTRACT NUMBER Malaria Prevention by New Technology : Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-15-1-0401 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...whole animals. Using a specific technology originally applied to expression of HIV antibodies, we demonstrated that mice can be protected from

  3. THE WEB SERVICE PROTOTYPE ON DELIVERY SYSTEM IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENTERPRISE SERVICE BUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghifari Munawar

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The main component of the logistics system is a delivery goods system. It has an enormous role in managing the entire historical shipment data from the start point (origin to the end of delivery (destination. This research aims to implement the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB on delivery systems as a middleware in the integration data process. ESB technology used in this research is NServiceBus. The stages of research using a prototype model to develop a web service that suits with theirs needs. Testing is done by tested two aspects of the exchange messages; the performance aspect and the aspect of independence. The test results show that the performance of the web service with the ESB application is better than the non-ESB user and Web services developed to have a good level of independence (loosely coupling.

  4. The effect of service delivery in public ‘community service centres’: A case of an emerging economy

    OpenAIRE

    Ndabazinhle Ngobese; Roger B. Mason; Mandusha Maharaj

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated public perceptions of the service delivery provided by the Community Service Centres (CSC) of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Durban, South Africa. The study focuses on measuring service quality and service delivery. SERVQUAL was used to compare clients’ perceptions against expectations of service quality. Four hundred respondents were surveyed at three community service centres (previously known as ‘police stations’), with expectations and perceptions being as...

  5. Priority interventions to reduce HIV transmission in sex work settings in sub-Saharan Africa and delivery of these services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Chersich (Matthew); S. Luchters (Stanley); I. Ntaganira (Innocent); A. Gerbase (Antonio); Y-R. Lo (Ying-Ru); F. Scorgie (Fiona); R. Steen (Richard)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractIntroduction: Virtually no African country provides HIV prevention services in sex work settings with an adequate scale and intensity. Uncertainty remains about the optimal set of interventions and mode of delivery. Methods: We systematically reviewed studies reporting interventions for

  6. Nursing Services Delivery Theory: an open system approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Raquel M; O'Brien-Pallas, Linda L

    2010-12-01

    This paper is a discussion of the derivation of the Nursing Services Delivery Theory from the application of open system theory to large-scale organizations. The underlying mechanisms by which staffing indicators influence outcomes remain under-theorized and unmeasured, resulting in a 'black box' that masks the nature and organization of nursing work. Theory linking nursing work, staffing, work environments, and outcomes in different settings is urgently needed to inform management decisions about the allocation of nurse staffing resources in organizations. A search of CINAHL and Business Source Premier for the years 1980-2008 was conducted using the following terms: theory, models, organization, organizational structure, management, administration, nursing units, and nursing. Seminal works were included. The healthcare organization is conceptualized as an open system characterized by energy transformation, a dynamic steady state, negative entropy, event cycles, negative feedback, differentiation, integration and coordination, and equifinality. The Nursing Services Delivery Theory proposes that input, throughput, and output factors interact dynamically to influence the global work demands placed on nursing work groups at the point of care in production subsystems. THE Nursing Services Delivery Theory can be applied to varied settings, cultures, and countries and supports the study of multi-level phenomena and cross-level effects. The Nursing Services Delivery Theory gives a relational structure for reconciling disparate streams of research related to nursing work, staffing, and work environments. The theory can guide future research and the management of nursing services in large-scale healthcare organizations. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  7. Municipal service delivery SET for success

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Naidoo, S

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The application of scientific, engineering and technological solutions by the CSIR to support local government environmental management and service delivery has the potential for significant impact. A case study illustrates the application...

  8. Buying results? Contracting for health service delivery in developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loevinsohn, Benjamin; Harding, April

    To achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals, the delivery of health services will need to improve. Contracting with non-state entities, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), has been proposed as a means for improving health care delivery, and the global experience with such contracts is reviewed here. The ten investigated examples indicate that contracting for the delivery of primary care can be very effective and that improvements can be rapid. These results were achieved in various settings and services. Many of the anticipated difficulties with contracting were either not observed in practice or did not compromise contracting's effectiveness. Seven of the nine cases with sufficient experience (greater than 3 years' elapsed experience) have been sustained and expanded. Provision of a package of basic services by contractors costs between roughly US3 dollars and US6 dollars per head per year in low-income countries. Contracting for health service delivery should be expanded and future efforts must include rigorous evaluations.

  9. Personalizing knowledge delivery services: a conceptual framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majchrzak, Ann; Chelleppa, Ramnath K.; Cooper, Lynne P.; Hars, Alexander

    2003-01-01

    Consistent with the call of the Minnesota Symposium for new theory in knowledge management, we offer a new conceptualization of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) as a portfolio of personalized knowledge delivery services. Borrowing from research on online consumer behavior, we describe the challenges imposed by personalized knowledge delivery services, and suggest design parameters that can help to overcome these challenges. We develop our design constructs through a set of hypotheses and discuss the research implications of our new conceptualization. Finally, we describe practical implications suggested by our conceptualization - practical suggestions that we hope to gain some experience with as part of an ongoing action research project at our partner organization.

  10. Service delivery, community development, and disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, John W

    2010-01-01

    Service delivery has traditionally been based on market forces. When this is the case, the community becomes a silent partner in this process. Services, accordingly, are directed mostly to correcting personal ills and have little to do with community uplift. Another model, based on the work of Amartya Sen, is available that conceptualizes interventions in a very different way. If understood in the context of community development, the focus of services is social change, rather than merely personal rehabilitation. This reorientation is discussed in this article.

  11. Human Resources Management and Service Delivery in Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper represents essentially an attempt to analyse and comprehend the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in effective service delivery in Nigeria. The paper advocates that the revamping and transformation of the Nigerian Civil Service to render effective service to the public lies not in the continuous ...

  12. The effect of service delivery in public ‘community service centres’: A case of an emerging economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ndabazinhle Ngobese

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated public perceptions of the service delivery provided by the Community Service Centres (CSC of the South African Police Service (SAPS Durban, South Africa. The study focuses on measuring service quality and service delivery. SERVQUAL was used to compare clients’ perceptions against expectations of service quality. Four hundred respondents were surveyed at three community service centres (previously known as ‘police stations’, with expectations and perceptions being assessed via the dimensions of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The results indicate that in all five dimensions there is a significant negative quality gap, implying that the quality of service received is below what is expected by clients. Improvements are required in all five dimensions if service delivery is to be improved. Actions needed to improve service quality include regular assessment and monitoring of clients’ experiences, as well as employees’ behaviour

  13. Service quality of delivered care from the perception of women with caesarean section and normal delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabrizi, Jafar S; Askari, Samira; Fardiazar, Zahra; Koshavar, Hossein; Gholipour, Kamal

    2014-01-01

    Our aim was to determine the service quality of delivered care for people with Caesarean Section and Normal Delivery. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 people who had caesarean section and normal delivery in Al-Zahra Teaching Hospital in Tabriz, north western Iran. Service quality was calculated using: Service Quality = 10 - (Importance × Performance) based on importance and performance of service quality aspects from the postpartum women's perspective.A hierarchical regression analysis was applied in two steps using the enter method to examine the associations between demographics and SQ scores. Data were analysed using the SPSS-17 software. "Confidentiality", "autonomy", "choice of care provider" and "communication" achieved scores at the highest level of quality; and "support group", "prompt attention", "prevention and early detection", "continuity of care", "dignity", "safety", "accessibility and "basic amenities" got service quality score less than eight. Statistically significant relationship was found between service quality score and continuity of care (P=0.008). A notable gap between the participants‟ expectations and what they have actually received in most aspects of provided care. So, there is an opportunityto improve the quality of delivered care.

  14. The challenges of government use of cloud services for public service delivery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Irion, K.

    2014-01-01

    Cloud services hold the promise of rendering public service delivery and back-office operations more effective and efficient, by providing ubiquitous, on-demand access to computing resources. Beyond the compelling cost economies, cloud technology is also a promising platform for open government,

  15. Exploring Challenges of Municipal Service Delivery in South Africa (1994 - 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Modimowabarwa Kanyane

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to explore municipal service delivery challenges in South Africa between 1994 and 2013 in order to stimulate debate in addressing problems and challenges confronting municipalities. A fundamental question to be asked stems from the challenges of municipal service delivery. Why, in spite of the existence of regulatory and institutional frameworks, are municipalities still struggling to satisfy basic community needs such as water and electricity amongst others? All of government’s official documents and contemporary literature reviewed, including the summative record of historical facts and narrative data, are evidence of the qualitative research design employed in this study. It is clearly articulated in this article that the existence of a local municipality with poor service delivery is, amongst others, a direct consequence or manifestation of municipal capacity constraints, financial viability problems, service delivery protests, convoluted political process, corruption and poor planning as well as monitoring and evaluation challenges. In the main, the article accounts for why service delivery has failed to meet the expectations of the communities and thereby provide some possible propositions for consideration to attempt to bring a resolve to critical issues raised.

  16. The prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV cascade analysis tool: supporting health managers to improve facility-level service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gimbel, Sarah; Voss, Joachim; Mercer, Mary Anne; Zierler, Brenda; Gloyd, Stephen; Coutinho, Maria de Joana; Floriano, Florencia; Cuembelo, Maria de Fatima; Einberg, Jennifer; Sherr, Kenneth

    2014-10-21

    The objective of the prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (pMTCT) cascade analysis tool is to provide frontline health managers at the facility level with the means to rapidly, independently and quantitatively track patient flows through the pMTCT cascade, and readily identify priority areas for clinic-level improvement interventions. Over a period of six months, five experienced maternal-child health managers and researchers iteratively adapted and tested this systems analysis tool for pMTCT services. They prioritized components of the pMTCT cascade for inclusion, disseminated multiple versions to 27 health managers and piloted it in five facilities. Process mapping techniques were used to chart PMTCT cascade steps in these five facilities, to document antenatal care attendance, HIV testing and counseling, provision of prophylactic anti-retrovirals, safe delivery, safe infant feeding, infant follow-up including HIV testing, and family planning, in order to obtain site-specific knowledge of service delivery. Seven pMTCT cascade steps were included in the Excel-based final tool. Prevalence calculations were incorporated as sub-headings under relevant steps. Cells not requiring data inputs were locked, wording was simplified and stepwise drop-offs and maximization functions were included at key steps along the cascade. While the drop off function allows health workers to rapidly assess how many patients were lost at each step, the maximization function details the additional people served if only one step improves to 100% capacity while others stay constant. Our experience suggests that adaptation of a cascade analysis tool for facility-level pMTCT services is feasible and appropriate as a starting point for discussions of where to implement improvement strategies. The resulting tool facilitates the engagement of frontline health workers and managers who fill out, interpret, apply the tool, and then follow up with quality improvement activities. Research on

  17. “Just-in-Time” Unmediated Document Delivery Service Provides Fast Delivery, Helps Identify Collection Gaps, but Incurs Extra Costs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heather MacDonald

    2017-06-01

    patrons, helping boost the total number of requests. The date of the Taylor and Francis materials ordered through CCC-GiN tended to be more recent compared to other publishers. The authors suggest CCC-GiN is a possible solution for acquiring embargoed material. Average fulfillment time increased during the three year time period from 1:34 (hr:min to 3:52. The percentage of requests outside of ILL working hours was consistent across all three years (62% each academic year. The authors note CCC-GiN service provided the most expedient way for patrons to receive requested material. A number of the most requested CCC-GiN publications were also available in print format. The quality of print serials data was uncertain hence the decision was made to not upload this data to the CCC-GiN service. This resulted in some overlap in requests with the library’s print holdings. Older content was requested through CCC-GiN rather than through traditional ILL. This resulted in increased costs from copyright fees that would have been avoided using traditional ILL services. Conclusion – The authors reference the impact of e-commerce on library patron expectations about ease of access and just-in-time delivery. They found that the CCC-GiN service meets these expectations as patrons were able to access a broad selection of materials in a timely and easy to use manner. From the analysis come suggestions to help reduce costs associated with the service. They include adjusting system settings to cap spending limits, limiting who can use the service, selecting only titles that cover a gap in the collection, and including quality print serials holdings data to prevent purchase of already owned material. The authors also discuss using a mediated rather than unmediated service to help lower costs but they note this would slow down turnaround time. The authors close by saying each library will have to consider its own needs and those of its patrons with respect to ease of use, delivery time, and

  18. The democratisation of meal delivery service in France

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Szu-Pu

    2017-01-01

    Master's thesis in International hotel and tourism management : Culinary leadership and innovation The purpose of this study was to explore the meal delivery service in French market and the customer’s opinion in the future meal delivery business. In addition, I first did the research basically on the evolution of history and the existing of delivery business in France. Then, I examined the dining habits and behaviours during the weekday of French citizen and their opinions in the futur...

  19. Innovations in health service delivery: the corporatization of public hospitals

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Harding, April; Preker, Alexander S

    2003-01-01

    ... hospitals play a critical role in ensuring delivery of health services, less is known about how to improve the efficiency and quality of care provided. Much can be learned in this respect from the experiences of hospital reforms initiated during the 1990s. Innovations in Health Service Delivery: The Corporatization of Public Hospitals is an a...

  20. Participation of traditional birth attendants in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services in two rural districts in Zimbabwe: a feasibility study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Engelsmann Barbara

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT is among the key HIV prevention strategies in Zimbabwe. A decrease in use of antenatal care (ANC services with an increase in home deliveries is affecting the coverage of PMTCT interventions in a context of accelerated economic crisis. The main objective was to evaluate acceptability and feasibility of reinforcing the role of traditional birth attendants (TBAs in family and child health services through their participation in PMTCT programmes in Zimbabwe. Methods A community based cross-sectional survey was undertaken using multistage cluster sampling in two rural districts through interviews and focus group discussions among women who delivered at home with a TBA, those who had an institutional delivery and TBAs. Results 45% of TBAs interviewed knew the principles of PMTCT and 8% delivered a woman with known HIV-positive status in previous year. Of the complete package of PMTCT services, more than 75% of TBAs agreed to participate in most activities with the exception of performing a blood test (17%, accompanying new-borns to closest health centre to receive medication (15% and assisting health centres in documentation of the link ANC-PMTCT services (18%. Women who delivered at home were less likely to have received more than one ANC service or have had contact with a health centre compared to women who delivered in a health centre (91.0% vs 72.6%; P Conclusion Although the long-term goal of ANC service delivery in Zimbabwe remains the provision of skilled delivery attendance, PMTCT programmes will benefit from complementary approaches to prevent missed opportunities. TBAs are willing to expand their scope of work regarding activities related to PMTCT. There is a need to reinforce their knowledge on MTCT prevention measures and better integrate them into the health system.

  1. Predictors of Safe Delivery Service Utilization in Arsi Zone, South-East Ethiopia

    OpenAIRE

    Abera, Mulumebet; Gebremariam, Abebe; Belachew, Tefera

    2011-01-01

    Background Evidence show that lack of access to and use of, essential obstetric care services to be a crucial factor that contributes to the high maternal morbidity and mortality. Skilled attendance during labor, delivery and early post-partum period could reduce deaths due to obstructed labor, hemorrhage, sepsis and eclampsia. There is limited information on the mothers' use of skilled delivery services in the study area. This study assessed the predictors of safe delivery service utilizatio...

  2. ELECTRONIC BANKING ADVANTAGES FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES DELIVERY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paun Dragos

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available E-banking is a fully automatic service for traditionally banking customers products based on information technology platforms. E-banking services provide customer access to accounts, the ability to move their money between different accounts or making payments via e-channels. The advantages generated by this services have determined an accelerate developing of this industry over the entire world. This paper examines some of the advantages of electronic banking products together with the characteristic management issues generated by the implementation of this new channel for financial services delivery.

  3. Prevention of urinary and anal incontinence: role of elective cesarean delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lal, Mira

    2003-10-01

    Currently, prophylactic elective cesarean to prevent incontinence is being promoted without robust evidence supporting it, this has created confusion among health personnel [corrected]. Past research centered on defining the damaging effect of vaginal birth on continence whilst the limited research on elective cesarean considered it protective. Cesarean delivery has economic, obstetric, gynecological and psychosocial consequences, but incontinence is not uncommon with a persistent morbidity. There is confusion among health personnel about advocating elective cesarean delivery to prevent incontinence. Reviewing current research would facilitate obstetric thinking. Multiplanar endosonography and three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging scanning are reportedly better in delineating structural alterations in the continence mechanism following vaginal birth and could be applied to postcesarean incontinence. Incontinence can follow vaginal or elective cesarean delivery and the severity following either mode is comparable. Urinary incontinence can resolve, persist or start de novo and the primiparous prevalence is similar following cesarean or vaginal birth. Transient anal incontinence can manifest during pregnancy. Paradoxically, pelvic floor strengthening exercises are beneficial for pregnancy-related incontinence, yet urinary incontinence occurs in nulliparas notwithstanding a strong pelvic floor. Improved imaging techniques should promote a better understanding of postcesarean incontinence. Since severe incontinence can occur after elective cesarean, its reportedly preventative role deserves more scrutiny. When incontinence occurs without labor, it is transient or shows exercise-related improvement; the role of elective cesarean delivery seems tenuous and needs careful evaluation. Current evidence does not support the routine use of elective cesarean to prevent incontinence so the delivery mode should continue to be dictated by obstetric considerations.

  4. Service Quality of Delivered Care from the Perception of Women with Caesarean Section and Normal Delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jafar S. Tabrizi

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Our aim was to determine the service quality of delivered care for people with Caesarean Section and Normal Delivery. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 people who had caesarean section and normal delivery in Al-Zahra Teaching Hospital in Tabriz, north western Iran. Service quality was calculated using: Service Quality = 10 – (Importance × Performance based on importance and performance of service quality aspects from the postpartum women‟s perspective.A hierarchical regression analysis was applied in two steps using the enter method to examine the associations between demographics and SQ scores. Data were analysed using the SPSS-17 software. Results: “Confidentiality”, “autonomy”, “choice of care provider” and “communication” achieved scores at the highest level of quality; and “support group”, “prompt attention”, “prevention and early detection”, “continuity of care”, “dignity”, “safety”, “accessibility and “basic amenities” got service quality score less than eight. Statistically significant relationship was found between service quality score and continuity of care (P=0.008. Conclusion: A notable gap between the participants‟ expectations and what they have actually received in most aspects of provided care. So, there is an opportunityto improve the quality of delivered care.

  5. 78 FR 16753 - Service Delivery Plan; Correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-18

    ... the first sentence after the words, ``Service Delivery Plan (SDP) insert http://www.ssa.gov/open/SDP... http://ssa.gov/asp/plan-2013-2016.pdf . Paul Kryglik, Director, Office of Regulations, Social Security...

  6. Towards a project-based service delivery approach : Uncovering organisational tensions

    OpenAIRE

    12330841 - Van der Waldt, Gerrit

    2009-01-01

    In line with the modernizing, re-inventing and alternative service delivery paradigm, governments increasingly utilise project-based methodologies to improve service delivery. There is general agreement that projects are becoming increasingly important for government institutions to operationalise strategic objectives and policy programmes. This approach is commonly known as ‗Management-by-Projects‘. To adopt this approach requires of public institutions to adjust their existing structures...

  7. Alternative Public Service Delivery Models in Health, Water and ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    The literature on public service delivery alternatives has to date been highly localized, sector specific and lacking in methodological consistency. This project seeks to analyze health, water and electricity delivery models in Africa, Asia and Latin America in order to identify and document successful alternatives to ...

  8. Service delivery innovation architecture: An empirical study of antecedents and outcomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajeev Verma

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The research examines service delivery innovation architecture and its role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage of firms. The study develops and empirically examines an antecedent based model of service delivery innovation. We collected data from 203 service sector professionals working in Mexican financial and information technology firms, and tested the proposed relationship. Further, the study investigates the moderating role of customer orientation on innovation driven performance outcomes. Results show that customer orientation strengthens the service delivery–performance relationship. This paper aims to contribute to the strategic planning of service firms by guiding their resource allocation to ensure sustainable growth.

  9. Prevention of preterm delivery in twin pregnancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rode, Line; Tabor, Ann

    2014-01-01

    The incidence of twin gestation has increased markedly over the past decades, mostly because of increased use of assisted reproductive technologies. Twin pregnancies are at increased risk of preterm delivery (i.e. birth before 37 weeks of gestation). Multiple gestations therefore account for 2...... sequelae such as abnormal neurophysiological development in early childhood and underachievement in school. Several treatment modalities have been proposed in singleton high-risk pregnancies. The mechanism of initiating labour may, however, be different in singleton and twin gestations. Therefore......, it is mandatory to evaluate the proposed treatments in randomised trials of multiple gestations. In this chapter, we describe the results of trials to prevent preterm delivery in twin pregnancies....

  10. Channel integration in governmental service delivery: the effects on citizen behavior and perceptions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pieterson, Willem Jan; Teerling, Marije; Wimmer, Maria A.; Scholl, Hans J.; Janssen, Marijn; Traunmüller, Roland

    2009-01-01

    Governmental agencies continuously work on the improvement of their service delivery through an array of channels. To improve service satisfaction and to reduce the cost of service delivery, channel integration gets more popular with governmental agencies. In a quasi experimental longitudinal field

  11. Factors associated with the utilization of institutional delivery services in Bangladesh.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanni Yaya

    Full Text Available Bangladesh has made remarkable progress towards reducing its maternal mortality rate (MMR over the last two decades and is one of the few countries on track to achieving the MMR-related Millennium Development Goals (MDG-5A. However, the provision of universal access to reproductive healthcare (MDG-5B and the utilization of maternal healthcare services (MHS such as institutional delivery, which are crucial to the reduction of maternal mortality, are far behind the internationally agreed-upon target. Effective policymaking to promote the utilization of MHS can be greatly facilitated by the identification of the factors that hinder service uptake. In this study, we therefore aim to measure the prevalence of institutional delivery services and explore the factors associated with their utilization in Bangladesh.Data for this study were extracted from the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS, 2011; participants were 7,313 women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, selected from both urban and rural households. Data were analyzed using Chi-square analysis, and conditional logistic regression.According to the findings, fewer than one in three women reported delivering at a health facility. The multivariable regression analysis showed that participants from rural areas were 46.9% less likely to have institutional deliveries compared to urban dwellers (OR = 0.531; p<0.001; 95%CI: 0.467-0.604, and participants aged between 30 and 49 years had a 23.6% higher prevalence of institutional delivery service utilization compared to those aged 15 to 29 years (OR = 1.236; p = 0.006; 95%CI: 1.062-1.437. Moreover, participants with higher educational attainment were about twice as likely to deliver at a standard health facility when compared to those without formal education (OR = 2.081; p<0.001; 95%CI: 1.650-2.624, and similarly, husbands with higher educational attainment exhibited an approximately 71% higher service utilization of institutional

  12. The quality of free antenatal and delivery services in Northern Sierra Leone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koroma, Manso M; Kamara, Samuel S; Bangura, Evelyn A; Kamara, Mohamed A; Lokossou, Virgil; Keita, Namoudou

    2017-07-12

    The number of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be overwhelmingly high. In West Africa, Sierra Leone leads the list, with the highest maternal mortality ratio. In 2010, financial barriers were removed as an incentive for more women to use available antenatal, delivery and postnatal services. Few published studies have examined the quality of free antenatal services and access to emergency obstetric care in Sierra Leone. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2014 in all 97 peripheral health facilities and three hospitals in Bombali District, Northern Region. One hundred antenatal care providers were interviewed, 276 observations were made and 486 pregnant women were interviewed. We assessed the adequacy of antenatal and delivery services provided using national standards. The distance was calculated between each facility providing delivery services and the nearest comprehensive emergency obstetric care (CEOC) facility, and the proportion of facilities in a chiefdom within 15 km of each CEOC facility was also calculated. A thematic map was developed to show inequities. The quality of services was poor. Based on national standards, only 27% of women were examined, 2% were screened on their first antenatal visit and 47% received interventions as recommended. Although 94% of facilities provided delivery services, a minority had delivery rooms (40%), delivery kits (42%) or portable water (46%). Skilled attendants supervised 35% of deliveries, and in only 35% of these were processes adequately documented. None of the five basic emergency obstetric care facilities were fully compliant with national standards, and the central and northernmost parts of the district had the least access to comprehensive emergency obstetric care. The health sector needs to monitor the quality of antenatal interventions in addition to measuring coverage. The quality of delivery services is compromised by poor infrastructure, inadequate skilled staff, stock-outs of

  13. Expanding the domain of drug delivery for HIV prevention: exploration of the transdermal route.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puri, Ashana; Sivaraman, Arunprasad; Zhang, Wei; Clark, Meredith R; Banga, Ajay K

    2017-01-01

    Constant efforts for HIV prevention using antiretroviral drugs, pre- and postexposure prophylactic agents, and microbicides are being made by researchers. Drug-delivery systems such as oral tablets and coitally dependent vaginal gels are short acting, require daily application, and are associated with user adherence issues, whereas the coitally independent systems such as injectables and biodegradable implants are long acting, lasting several months, during which time the termination of prophylaxis is impractical in case of adverse effects. An effective drug-delivery system to be used for an intermediate duration, if available, would be an attractive alternative option for users in terms of adherence. Transdermal delivery systems, overcoming most of the limitations of the other routes of administration and aiming to provide sustained delivery of drugs through skin, may be explored for HIV prevention. Passive and physical enhancement techniques may be designed strategically to improve the transdermal delivery of HIV preventive agents.

  14. Older adults and the emerging digital service delivery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Siren, Anu; Knudsen, Sine Grønborg

    2017-01-01

    Based on data from a survey (n = 3291) and 14 qualitative interviews among Danish older adults, this study investigated the use of, and attitudes toward, information communications technology (ICT) and the digital delivery of public services. While age, gender, and socioeconomic status were...... associated with use of ICT, these determinants lost their explanatory power when we controlled for attitudes and experiences. We identified three segments that differed in their use of ICT and attitudes toward digital service delivery. As nonuse of ICT often results from the lack of willingness to use...... it rather than from material or cognitive deficiencies, policy measures for bridging the digital divide should focus on skills and confidence rather than on access or ability....

  15. Early identification and preventive care for elevated cardiovascular disease risk within a remote Australian Aboriginal primary health care service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O'Dea Kerin

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD is the single greatest contributor to the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Our objective is to determine if holistic CVD risk assessment, introduced as part of the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adult Health Check (AHC, results in better identification of elevated CVD risk, improved delivery of preventive care for CVD and improvements in the CVD risk profile for Aboriginal adults in a remote community. Methods Interrupted time series study over six years in a remote primary health care (PHC service involving Aboriginal adults identified with elevated CVD risk (N = 64. Several process and outcome measures were audited at 6 monthly intervals for three years prior to the AHC (the intervention and three years following: (i the proportion of guideline scheduled CVD preventive care services delivered, (ii mean CVD medications prescribed and dispensed, (iii mean PHC consultations, (iv changes in participants' CVD risk factors and estimated absolute CVD risk and (v mean number of CVD events and iatrogenic events. Results Twenty-five percent of AHC participants were identified as having elevated CVD risk. Of these, 84% had not been previously identified during routine care. Following the intervention, there were significant improvements in the recorded delivery of preventive care services for CVD (30% to 53%, and prescription of CVD related medications (28% to 89% (P P = 0.004 following the intervention. However, there were no significant changes in the mean number of PHC consultations or mean number of CVD events or iatrogenic events. Conclusions Holistic CVD risk assessment during an AHC can lead to better and earlier identification of elevated CVD risk, improvement in the recorded delivery of preventive care services for CVD, intensification of treatment for CVD, and improvements in participants' CVD risk profile. Further research is required on

  16. The perceptions and nature of service delivery innovation among government employees: An exploratory study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nico Martins

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Innovation has become prominent within the leadership literature as an underlying and important aspect of service delivery. This study set out to determine the perceptions and nature of service delivery innovation among employees of a South African government department, using a sample of 289 participants. Statistical analysis was conducted to analyse the data which indicate that innovation is an important aspect of service delivery. This study suggests that to enhance service delivery employees should be encouraged to be innovative. The implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are made.

  17. Families at risk of poor parenting: a model for service delivery, assessment, and intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayoub, C; Jacewitz, M M

    1982-01-01

    The At Risk Parent Child Program is a multidisciplinary network agency designed for the secondary prevention of poor parenting and the extremes of child abuse and neglect. This model system of service delivery emphasizes (1) the coordination of existing community resources to access a target population of families at risk of parenting problems, (2) the provision of multiple special services in a neutral location (ambulatory pediatric clinic), and (3) the importance of intensive individual contact with a clinical professional who serves as primary therapist, social advocate and service coordinator for client families. Identification and assessment of families is best done during prenatal and perinatal periods. Both formal and informal procedures for screening for risk factors are described, and a simple set of at risk criteria for use by hospital nursing staff is provided. Preventive intervention strategies include special medical, psychological, social and developmental services, offered in an inpatient; outpatient, or in-home setting. Matching family needs to modality and setting of treatment is a major program concern. All direct services to at risk families are supplied by professionals employed within existing local agencies (hospital, public health department, state guidance center, and medical school pediatric clinic). Multiple agency involvement allows a broad-based screening capacity which allows thousands of families routine access to program services. The administrative center of the network stands as an independent, community-funded core which coordinates and monitors direct clinical services, and provides local political advocacy for families at risk of parenting problems.

  18. Assistive Technology Service Delivery in Rural School Districts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ault, Melinda Jones; Bausch, Margaret E.; Mclaren, Elizabeth M.

    2013-01-01

    Little is known about the implementation of assistive technology (AT) services for students in rural areas. This study investigated the AT service delivery in 10 rural districts across six states. The results indicated that students use AT across functional areas, but considerably fewer number of devices than do those not living in rural areas. AT…

  19. Mental health service delivery following health system reform in Colombia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romero-González, Mauricio; González, Gerardo; Rosenheck, Robert A

    2003-12-01

    In 1993, Colombia underwent an ambitious and comprehensive process of health system reform based on managed competition and structured pluralism, but did not include coverage for mental health services. In this study, we sought to evaluate the impact of the reform on access to mental health services and whether there were changes in the pattern of mental health service delivery during the period after the reform. Changes in national economic indicators and in measures of mental health and non-mental health service delivery for the years 1987 and 1997 were compared. Data were obtained from the National Administrative Department of Statistics of Colombia (DANE), the Department of National Planning and Ministry of the Treasury of Colombia, and from national official reports of mental health and non-mental health service delivery from the Ministry of Health of Colombia for the same years. While population-adjusted access to mental health outpatient services declined by -2.7% (-11.2% among women and +5.8% among men), access to general medical outpatient services increased dramatically by 46%. In-patient admissions showed smaller differences, with a 7% increase in mental health admissions, as compared to 22.5% increase in general medical admissions. The health reform in Colombia imposed competition across all health institutions with the intention of encouraging efficiency and financial autonomy. However, the challenge of institutional survival appears to have fallen heavily on mental health care institutions that were also expected to participate in managed competition, but that were at a serious disadvantage because their services were excluded from the compulsory standardized package of health benefits. While the Colombian health care reform intended to close the gap between those who had and those who did not have access to health services, it appears to have failed to address access to specialized mental health services, although it does seem to have promoted a

  20. Records management and service delivery: the case of Department ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article explores the role of records management in the delivery of public service in ... to the Corporate Services Division at the Ministry of Health headquarters. ... delays in access and use of records; lack of a elaborate electronic records ...

  1. Assessing family planning service-delivery skills in Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valadez, J J; Transgrud, R; Mbugua, M; Smith, T

    1997-06-01

    This report demonstrates the use of Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) to evaluate the technical competence of two cohorts of family planning service providers in Kenya trained with a new curriculum. One cohort had just finished training within two months of the study. The other cohort was the first group trained with the new curriculum about one year before the study. LQAS was adapted from industrial and other public health applications to assess both the individual competence of 30 service providers and the competence of each cohort. Results show that Cohorts One and Two did not differ markedly in the number of tasks needing improvement. However, both cohorts exhibited more tasks needing improvement in counseling skills as compared with physical examination skills or with all other skills. Care-givers who were not currently providing services accounted for most service-delivery problems. This result suggests that providers' use of their skills explains their ability to retain service-delivery skills learned in training to a greater degree than does the amount of time elapsed since they were trained. LQAS proved to be a rapid, easy-to-use empirical method for management decisionmaking for improvement of a family planning training curriculum and services.

  2. Challenges of NGO-to-state Referral in the Delivery of HIV Prevention Programs in Ukraine Supported by the Global Fund

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetlana McGill

    2016-03-01

    Conclusions: Gaps in linking HIV patients to the HIV care continuum have been identified as a potentially problematic issue in delivery of HIV prevention services by GF funded NGOs. With an anticipated GF exit from Ukraine, the lack of clearly defined NGO-to-state referrals of HIV patients complicates the transition of NGO run services into state funding. Further steps to improve referral systems are necessary to ensure a smooth transition and enable Ukraine to fight its HIV epidemic effectively.

  3. Application of social media to library service delivery: Perception of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study revealed that few of the social media identified are rarely relevant to library service delivery. Reference services, current awareness services, and library news postings were the types of library services that social media are applied. Results also indicated that there were benefits derived from using social media in ...

  4. Family-centred care delivery: comparing models of primary care service delivery in Ontario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayo-Bruinsma, Liesha; Hogg, William; Taljaard, Monica; Dahrouge, Simone

    2013-11-01

    To determine whether models of primary care service delivery differ in their provision of family-centred care (FCC) and to identify practice characteristics associated with FCC. Cross-sectional study. Primary care practices in Ontario (ie, 35 salaried community health centres, 35 fee-for-service practices, 32 capitation-based health service organizations, and 35 blended remuneration family health networks) that belong to 4 models of primary care service delivery. A total of 137 practices, 363 providers, and 5144 patients. Measures of FCC in patient and provider surveys were based on the Primary Care Assessment Tool. Statistical analyses were conducted using linear mixed regression models and generalized estimating equations. Patient-reported FCC scores were high and did not vary significantly by primary care model. Larger panel size in a practice was associated with lower odds of patients reporting FCC. Provider-reported FCC scores were significantly higher in community health centres than in family health networks (P = .035). A larger number of nurse practitioners and clinical services on-site were both associated with higher FCC scores, while scores decreased as the number of family physicians in a practice increased and if practices were more rural. Based on provider and patient reports, primary care reform strategies that encourage larger practices and more patients per family physician might compromise the provision of FCC, while strategies that encourage multidisciplinary practices and a range of services might increase FCC.

  5. The design & delivery of quality services: A paradigm shift

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. B.H. Smith

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available As result of the increasingly important role information technology (IT is playing in service provision, less person-to-person contact will in future be made during service provision. Highly skilled specialists will make the remaining contact. Emphasis will shift to speed of delivery, with logistics playing an important role. The designers of services must take these factors into account if they wish to design quality services.

  6. EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES AND SERVICE DELIVERY CHOICES IN SPANISH MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miquel SALVADOR

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This article contributes to the debate on the use of alternative formulas for public service provision with arguments related to epistemic communities’ influence. Drawing on the literature on models of local public service delivery, the role of internal epistemic communities is discussed and tested through the consideration of two different communities related to specific municipal areas such as personal and urban services. The results demonstrate that the association of urban services’ epistemic communities with alternative formulas for direct provision to deliver services is greater than in the case of personal services’ epistemic community. Those findings contribute to the academic debate not only with arguments and evidence that reinforces the role of variables included in previous research but also by introducing the role of epistemic communities in determining some policy options (as the use of local public-service delivery formulas.

  7. Strategic Promotion And Bank Services Delivery: Operational ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Chi-square (x2) non-parametric statistical technique was applied in analyzing the primary data so harnessed. The results indicated that Banks services delivery systems are not critically determined by available operational finance. This strategically necessitates budgetary enhancement and focal human capital development ...

  8. Steering healthcare service delivery: a regulatory perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prakash, Gyan

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to explore regulation in India's healthcare sector and makes recommendations needed for enhancing the healthcare service. The literature was reviewed to understand healthcare's regulatory context. To understand the current healthcare system, qualitative data were collected from state-level officials, public and private hospital staff. A patient survey was performed to assess service quality (QoS). Regulation plays a central role in driving healthcare QoS. India needs to strengthen market and institutional co-production based approaches for steering its healthcare in which delivery processes are complex and pose different challenges. This study assesses current healthcare regulation in an Indian state and presents a framework for studying and strengthening regulation. Agile regulation should be based on service delivery issues (pull approach) rather than monitoring and sanctions based regulatory environment (push approach). Healthcare pitfalls across the world seem to follow similar follies. India's complexity and experience is useful for emerging and developed economies. The author reviewed around 70 publications and synthesised them in healthcare regulatory contexts. Patient's perception of private providers could be a key input towards steering regulation. Identifying gaps across QoS dimensions would be useful in taking corrective measures.

  9. Performance-based incentives may be appropriate to address challenges to delivery of prevention of vertical transmission of HIV services in rural Mozambique: a qualitative investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuster, Roseanne C; de Sousa, Octávio; Rivera, Jacqueline; Olson, Rebecca; Pinault, Delphine; Young, Sera L

    2016-10-07

    Performance-based incentives (PBIs) have garnered global attention as a promising strategy to improve healthcare delivery to vulnerable populations. However, literature gaps in the context in which an intervention is implemented and how the PBIs were developed exist. Therefore, we (1) characterized the barriers and promoters to prevention of vertical transmission of HIV (PVT) service delivery in rural Mozambique, where the vertical transmission rate is 12 %, and (2) assessed the appropriateness for a PBI's intervention and application to PVT. We conducted 24 semi-structured interviews with nurses, volunteers, community health workers, and traditional birth attendants about the barriers and promoters they experienced delivering PVT services. We then explored emergent themes in subsequent focus group discussions (n = 7, total participants N = 92) and elicited participant perspectives on PBIs. The ecological motivation-opportunity-ability framework guided our iterative data collection and thematic analysis processes. The interviews revealed that while all health worker cadres were motivated intrinsically and by social recognition, they were dissatisfied with low and late remuneration. Facility-based staff were challenged by factors across the rest of the ecological levels, primarily in the opportunity domain, including the following: poor referral and record systems (work mandate), high workload, stock-outs, poor infrastructure (facility environment), and delays in obtaining patient results and donor payment discrepancies (administrative). Community-based cadres' opportunity challenges included lack of supplies, distance (work environment), lack of incorporation into the health system (administration), and ability challenges of incorrect knowledge (health worker). PBIs based on social recognition and that enable action on intrinsic motivation through training, supervision, and collaboration were thought to have the most potential for targeting improvements

  10. Challenges in immunisation service delivery for refugees in Australia: A health system perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahimbo, A; Seale, H; Smith, M; Heywood, A

    2017-09-12

    Refugees are at risk of being under-immunised in their countries of origin, in transit and post-resettlement in Australia. Whilst studies have focused on identifying barriers to accessibility of health services among refugees, few focus on providers' perspectives on immunisation service delivery to this group. Health service providers are well placed to provide insights into the pragmatic challenges associated with refugee health service delivery, which can be useful in identifying strategies aimed at improving immunisation coverage among this group. A qualitative study involving 30 semi-structured interviews was undertaken with key stakeholders in immunisation service delivery across all States and Territories in Australia between December 2014 and December 2015. Thematic analysis was undertaken. Variability in accessing program funding and vaccines, lack of a national policy for catch-up vaccination, unclear roles and responsibilities for catch-up, a lack of a central immunisation register and insufficient training among general practitioners were seen as the main challenges impacting on immunisation service delivery for refugees. This study provides insight into the challenges that impact on effective immunisation service delivery for refugees. Deliberate strategies such as national funding for relevant vaccines, improved data collection nationally and increased guidance for general practitioners on catch-up immunisation for refugees would help to ensure equitable access across all age groups. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Toward a Blueprint for Trauma-Informed Service Delivery in Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chafouleas, Sandra M.; Johnson, Austin H.; Overstreet, Stacy; Santos, Natascha M.

    2016-01-01

    Recognition of the benefits to trauma-informed approaches is expanding, along with commensurate interest in extending delivery within school systems. Although information about trauma-informed approaches has quickly burgeoned, systematic attention to integration within multitiered service delivery frameworks has not occurred yet is essential to…

  12. The LIFEspan model of transitional rehabilitative care for youth with disabilities: healthcare professionals' perspectives on service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamdani, Yani; Proulx, Meghann; Kingsnorth, Shauna; Lindsay, Sally; Maxwell, Joanne; Colantonio, Angela; Macarthur, Colin; Bayley, Mark

    2014-01-01

    LIFEspan is a service delivery model of continuous coordinated care developed and implemented by a cross-organization partnership between a pediatric and an adult rehabilitation hospital. Previous work explored enablers and barriers to establishing the partnership service. This paper examines healthcare professionals' (HCPs') experiences of 'real world' service delivery aimed at supporting transitional rehabilitative care for youth with disabilities. This qualitative study - part of an ongoing mixed method longitudinal study - elicited HCPs' perspectives on their experiences of LIFEspan service delivery through in-depth interviews. Data were categorized into themes of service delivery activities, then interpreted from the lens of a service integration/coordination framework. Five main service delivery themes were identified: 1) addressing youth's transition readiness and capacities; 2) shifting responsibility for healthcare management from parents to youth; 3) determining services based on organizational resources; 4) linking between pediatric and adult rehabilitation services; and, 5) linking with multi-sector services. LIFEspan contributed to service delivery activities that coordinated care for youth and families and integrated inter-hospital services. However, gaps in service integration with primary care, education, social, and community services limited coordinated care to the rehabilitation sector. Recommendations are made to enhance service delivery using a systems/sector-based approach.

  13. Situation Analysis of Healthcare Service Delivery using ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ISML5

    7. No. 1, AARSE 2017 Special Edition, January 2017. 75. Situation Analysis of ... then becomes a major bottleneck to proper planning and policy formulation in healthcare delivery. ... Uganda Annual Health Sector Performance Report for Financial Year 2014/15 ... government's strategy of taking services closer to the people.

  14. Measuring quality of delivery in a substance use prevention program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giles, Steven; Jackson-Newsom, Julia; Pankratz, Melinda M; Hansen, William B; Ringwalt, Christopher L; Dusenbury, Linda

    2008-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an observation measure designed to capture teachers' use of interactive teaching skills within the delivery of the All Stars substance use prevention program. Coders counted the number of times teachers praised and encouraged students, accepted and used students' ideas, asked questions, self-disclosed personal anecdotes, and corrected student misbehavior. These teacher behaviors loaded on three factors: classroom management, acknowledgment, and student-centered methods. Classroom management was negatively related to student engagement. Acknowledgment was negatively related to students' normative beliefs. Student-centered methods were positively related to student idealism and normative beliefs, and marginally predicted decreases in student marijuana use. Editors' Strategic Implications: The authors provide a promising approach to studying pedagogical prevention approaches, and they also link teaching processes to student outcomes. This study of program delivery should be of general interest (i.e., not limited to substance use prevention) to practitioners and researchers.

  15. 20 CFR 652.208 - How are core services and intensive services related to the methods of service delivery described...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How are core services and intensive services related to the methods of service delivery described in § 652.207(b)(2)? 652.208 Section 652.208 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ESTABLISHMENT AND...

  16. Contributing Factors to Poor Service Delivery by Administrative ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Poor service delivery by local government is crippling South African businesses .... main categories: one focuses on an employee's internal attributes (content ... admitted that their attitude to work was adversely affected by the poor quality.

  17. Identification of Technical Requirement for Improving Quality of Local Online Food Delivery Service in Yogyakarta

    OpenAIRE

    Elvandari, , Cecilia Desvita Ratna; Sukartiko, Anggoro Cahyo; Nugrahini, Arita Dewi

    2017-01-01

    Increased internet usage and fast-paced consumer’s demands have created business opportunities, including online food delivery services. However, competition with similar national-scale businesses allegedly contributed to the decline in the number of XYZ company orders, one of the food-delivery service providers in Yogyakarta. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the need’s attributes of the daring food delivery service consumers, to find out the service-quality satisfaction level, and to ...

  18. Determinants and gaps in preventive care for Indigenous Australians: a cross sectional analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ross Stewart Bailie

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundPotentially preventable chronic diseases are the greatest contributor to the health gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians. Preventive care is important for earlier detection and control of chronic disease, and a number of recent policy initiatives have aimed to enhance delivery of preventive care. We examined documented delivery of recommended preventive services for Indigenous peoples across Australia, and investigated the influence of health center and client level factors on adherence to best practice guidelines. MethodsClinical audit data from 2012-2014 for 3623 well adult clients (aged 15-54 of 101 health centers from four Australian states and territories were analyzed to determine adherence to delivery of 26 recommended preventive services classified into five different modes of care on the basis of the way in which they are delivered (eg. basic measurement; laboratory tests and imaging; assessment and brief interventions, eye, ear and oral checks; follow-up of abnormal findings. Summary statistics were used to describe the delivery of each service item across jurisdictions. Multilevel regression models were used to quantify the variation in service delivery attributable to health center and client level factors and to identify factors associated with higher quality care.ResultsDelivery of recommended preventive care varied widely between service items, with good delivery of most basic measurements but poor follow-up of abnormal findings. Health center characteristics were associated with most variation. Higher quality care was associated with Northern Territory location, urban services and smaller service population size. Client factors associated with higher quality care included age between 25-34 years, female sex and more regular attendance. ConclusionsWide variation in documented preventive care delivery, poor follow-up of abnormal findings, and system factors that

  19. Global Document Delivery, User Studies, and Service Evaluation: The Gateway Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Rush; Xu, Hong; Zou, Xiuying

    2008-01-01

    This study examines user and service data from 2002-2006 at the East Asian Gateway Service for Chinese and Korean Academic Journal Publications (Gateway Service), the University of Pittsburgh. Descriptive statistical analysis reveals that the Gateway Service has been consistently playing the leading role in global document delivery service as well…

  20. Towards reframing health service delivery in Uganda: the Uganda Initiative for Integrated Management of Non-Communicable Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremy I. Schwartz

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs is accelerating. Given that the capacity of health systems in LMICs is already strained by the weight of communicable diseases, these countries find themselves facing a double burden of disease. NCDs contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality, thereby playing a major role in the cycle of poverty, and impeding development. Methods: Integrated approaches to health service delivery and healthcare worker (HCW training will be necessary in order to successfully combat the great challenge posed by NCDs. Results: In 2013, we formed the Uganda Initiative for Integrated Management of NCDs (UINCD, a multidisciplinary research collaboration that aims to present a systems approach to integrated management of chronic disease prevention, care, and the training of HCWs. Discussion: Through broad-based stakeholder engagement, catalytic partnerships, and a collective vision, UINCD is working to reframe integrated health service delivery in Uganda.

  1. Engineering Consultancy: An Assessment of IT-enabled International Delivery of Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baark, Erik

    1999-01-01

    The delivery of engineering consultancy services in global markets has been dominated by a small group of firms located in Europe and the US. Like many other service industries, engineering consultants have depended on the movement of highly qualified people and establishment of local affiliates...... services in arms-length transactions across national borders does not appear to have been significantly exploited. Nevertheless, IT-enabled delivery of engineering consultancy services opens up possibilities for business process reengineering that may provide some firms new competitive advantages in global...... markets and lead to further integration of design and construction in partnerships or project consortia, or in the strengthening of design-build approaches in project execution....

  2. Investigation of the mediating effects of IT governance-value delivery on service quality and ERP performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Wen-Hsien; Chou, Yu-Wei; Leu, Jun-Der; Chao Chen, Der; Tsaur, Tsen-Shu

    2015-02-01

    This study aimed to explore the mediating effects of IT governance (ITG)-value delivery in the relationships among the quality of vendor service, the quality of consultant services, ITG-value delivery and enterprise resource planning (ERP) performance. The sampling of this research was acquired from a questionnaire survey concerning ERP implementations in Taiwan. In this survey, 4366 questionnaires were sent to manufacturing and service companies listed in the TOP 5000: The Largest Corporations in Taiwan 2009. The results showed that an ERP system will exhibit a decreased error rate and improved performance if ERP system vendors and consultants provide good service quality. The results also demonstrated that significant relationships exist among the quality of vendor service, the quality of consultant services and value delivery. The contribution of this article is twofold. First, it found that value delivery provides an effective measure of ERP performance under an ITG framework. Second, it provides evidence of the partial mediating effects of value delivery between service quality and ERP performance. In other words, if enterprises want to improve ERP performance, they need to consider factors such as value delivery and the quality of a vendor/consultant's service.

  3. Geographic delivery models for radiotherapy services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, G.H.; Dunscombe, P.B.; Samant, R.S.

    2002-01-01

    The study described here was undertaken to quantify the societal cost of radiotherapy in idealized urban and rural populations and, hence, to generate a measure of impediment to access. The costs of centralized, distributed comprehensive and satellite radiotherapy delivery formats were examined by decomposing them into institutional, productivity and geographical components. Our results indicate that centralized radiotherapy imposes the greatest financial burden on the patient population in both urban and rural scenarios. The financial burden faced by patients who must travel for radiotherapy can be interpreted as one component of the overall impediment to access. With advances in remote-monitoring systems, it is possible to maintain technical quality while enhancing patient access. However, the maintenance of professional competence will remain a challenge with a distributed service-delivery format. Copyright (2002) Blackwell Science Pty Ltd

  4. Evidence to service gap: cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention in rural and remote Western Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Sandra; Mills, Belynda; McRae, Shelley; Thompson, Sandra

    2018-01-30

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, has similar incidence in metropolitan and rural areas but poorer cardiovascular outcomes for residents living in rural and remote Australia. Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) is an evidence-based intervention that helps reduce subsequent cardiovascular events and rehospitalisation. Unfortunately CR attendance rates are as low as 10-30% with rural/remote populations under-represented. This in-depth assessment investigated the provision of CR and secondary prevention services in Western Australia (WA) with a focus on rural and remote populations. CR and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services were identified through the Directory of Western Australian Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention Services 2012. Structured interviews with CR coordinators included questions specific to program delivery, content, referral and attendance. Of the 38 CR services identified, 23 (61%) were located in rural (n = 11, 29%) and remote (n = 12, 32%) regions. Interviews with coordinators from 34 CR services (10 rural, 12 remote, 12 metropolitan) found 77% of rural/remote services were hospital-based, with no service providing a comprehensive home-based or alternative method of program delivery. The majority of rural (60%) and remote (80%) services provided CR through chronic condition exercise programs compared with 17% of metropolitan services; only 27% of rural/remote programs provided education classes. Rural/remote coordinators were overwhelmingly physiotherapists, and only 50% of rural and 33% of remote programs had face-to-face access to multidisciplinary support. Patient referral and attendance rates differed greatly across WA and referrals to rural/remote services generally numbered less than 5 per month. Program evaluation was reported by 33% of rural/remote coordinators. Geography, population density and service availability limits patient access to CR services in rural/remote WA. Current

  5. Quality of the delivery services in health facilities in Northern Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisseha, Girmatsion; Berhane, Yemane; Worku, Alemayehu; Terefe, Wondwossen

    2017-03-09

    Substantial improvements have been observed in the coverage of and access to maternal health service, especially in skilled birth attendants, in Ethiopia. However, the quality of care has been lagging behind. Therefore, this study investigated the status of the quality of delivery services in Northern Ethiopia. A facility based survey was conducted from December 2014 to February 2015 in Northern Ethiopia. The quality of delivery service was assessed in 32 health facilities using a facility audit checklist, by reviewing delivery, by conducting in-depth interview and observation, and by conducting exit interviews with eligible mothers. Facilities were considered as 'good quality' if they scored positively on 75% of the quality indicators set in the national guidelines for all the three components; input (materials, infrastructure, and human resource), process (adherence to standard care procedures during intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods) and output (the mothers' satisfaction and utilization of lifesaving procedures). Overall 2 of 32 (6.3%) of the study facilities fulfilled all the three quality components; input, process and output. Two of the three components were assessed as good in 11 of the 32 (34.4%) health facilities. The input quality was the better of the other quality components; which was good in 21 out of the 32 (65.6%) health facilities. The process and output quality was good in only 10 of the 32 (31.3%) facilities. Only 6.3% of the studied health facilities had good quality in all three dimensions of quality measures that was done in accordance to the national delivery service guidelines. The most compromised quality component was the process. Systematic and sustained efforts need to be strengthened to improve all dimensions of quality in order to achieve the desired quality of delivery services and increase the proportion of births occurring in health facilities.

  6. Factors associated with the utilization of institutional delivery services in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaya, Sanni; Bishwajit, Ghose; Ekholuenetale, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Bangladesh has made remarkable progress towards reducing its maternal mortality rate (MMR) over the last two decades and is one of the few countries on track to achieving the MMR-related Millennium Development Goals (MDG-5A). However, the provision of universal access to reproductive healthcare (MDG-5B) and the utilization of maternal healthcare services (MHS) such as institutional delivery, which are crucial to the reduction of maternal mortality, are far behind the internationally agreed-upon target. Effective policymaking to promote the utilization of MHS can be greatly facilitated by the identification of the factors that hinder service uptake. In this study, we therefore aim to measure the prevalence of institutional delivery services and explore the factors associated with their utilization in Bangladesh. Data for this study were extracted from the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS, 2011); participants were 7,313 women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, selected from both urban and rural households. Data were analyzed using Chi-square analysis, and conditional logistic regression. According to the findings, fewer than one in three women reported delivering at a health facility. The multivariable regression analysis showed that participants from rural areas were 46.9% less likely to have institutional deliveries compared to urban dwellers (OR = 0.531; pdelivery service utilization compared to those aged 15 to 29 years (OR = 1.236; p = 0.006; 95%CI: 1.062-1.437). Moreover, participants with higher educational attainment were about twice as likely to deliver at a standard health facility when compared to those without formal education (OR = 2.081; pservice utilization of institutional delivery facilities compared to those without formal education (OR = 1.709; pdelivery service use, with participants belonging to the highest economic stratum being more likely to receive skilled care compared to the lowest economic stratum (OR = 2

  7. Improving Financial Service Delivery to Communities through Micro ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... through Micro-finance Institutions in Uganda; the case of Pride Micro-finance ... This data was analysed qualitatively and the results of the analysis indicated that ... a number of challenges in financial service delivery; like inability to reach out ...

  8. Expanding services in a shrinking economy: desktop document delivery in a dental school library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gushrowski, Barbara A

    2011-07-01

    How can library staff develop and promote a document delivery service and then expand the service to a wide audience? The setting is the library at the Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD), Indianapolis. A faculty survey and a citation analysis were conducted to determine potential use of the service. Volume of interlibrary loan transactions and staff and equipment capacity were also studied. IUSD Library staff created a desktop delivery service (DDSXpress) for faculty and then expanded the service to practicing dental professionals and graduate students. The number of faculty using DDSXpress remains consistent. The number of practicing dental professionals using the service is low. Graduate students have been quick to adopt the service. Through careful analysis of capacity and need for the service, staff successfully expanded document delivery service without incurring additional costs. Use of DDSXpress is continually monitored, and opportunities to market the service to practicing dental professionals are being investigated.

  9. Global fund financing of tuberculosis services delivery in prisons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Donna; Lal, S S; Komatsu, Ryuichi; Zumla, Alimuddin; Atun, Rifat

    2012-05-15

    Despite concerted efforts to scale up tuberculosis control with large amounts of international financing in the last 2 decades, tuberculosis continues to be a social issue affecting the world's most marginalized and disadvantaged communities. This includes prisoners, estimated at about 10 million globally, for whom tuberculosis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has emerged as the single largest international donor for tuberculosis control, including funding support in delivering tuberculosis treatment for the confined population. The Global Fund grants database, with an aggregate approved investment of $21.7 billion in 150 countries by the end of 2010, was reviewed to identify tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus/tuberculosis grants and activities that monitored the delivery of tuberculosis treatment and support activities in penitentiary settings. The distribution and trend of number of countries with tuberculosis prison support was mapped by year, geographic region, tuberculosis or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis burden, and prison population rate. We examined the types of grant recipients managing program delivery, their performance, and the nature and range of services provided. Fifty-three of the 105 countries (50%) with Global Fund-supported tuberculosis programs delivered services within prison settings. Thirty-two percent (73 of 228) of tuberculosis grants, representing $558 million of all disbursements of Global Fund tuberculosis support by the end of 2010, included output indicators related to tuberculosis services delivered in prisons. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of these grants were implemented by governments, with the remaining by civil society and other partners. In terms of services, half (36 of 73) of grants provided diagnosis and treatment and an additional 27% provided screening and monitoring of tuberculosis for prisoners. The range of services tracked was limited in scope

  10. Innovative Mobile Platform Developments for Electronic Services Design and Delivery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scupola, Ada

    In the ever-growing world of technology, it is becoming more important to understand the developments of new electronic services and mobile applications. Innovative Mobile Platform Developments for Electronic Services Design, and Delivery is a comprehensive look at all aspects of production manag...

  11. Transforming Health Care Service Delivery and Provider Selection

    OpenAIRE

    Reiner, Bruce I.

    2011-01-01

    Commoditization pressures in medicine have risked transforming service provider selection from “survival of the fittest” to “survival of the cheapest.” Quality- and safety-oriented mandates by the Institute of Medicine have led to the creation of a number of data-driven quality-centric initiatives including Pay for Performance and Evidence-Based Medicine. A synergistic approach to creating quantitative accountability in medical service delivery is through the creation of consumer-oriented per...

  12. Predictors of safe delivery service utilization in arsi zone, South-East ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abera, Mulumebet; Gebremariam, Abebe; Belachew, Tefera

    2011-08-01

    Evidence show that lack of access to and use of, essential obstetric care services to be a crucial factor that contributes to the high maternal morbidity and mortality. Skilled attendance during labor, delivery and early post-partum period could reduce deaths due to obstructed labor, hemorrhage, sepsis and eclampsia. There is limited information on the mothers' use of skilled delivery services in the study area. This study assessed the predictors of safe delivery service utilization in Arsi Zone, Southeast Ethiopia. A cross- sectional community based study using quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted from February 15(th) to March 15(th) 2006. A total of 1089 women who had at least one birth one year prior to the study were involved in the study from nine rural and four urban kebeles in three Woredas (Districts) selected using a systematic sampling method from all households in the study area. A pre-tested structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Information on the utilization of safe delivery service and socio-demographic, individual and institutional factors and past obstetric history were collected. Focus Group Discussion guide was used for qualitative data collection. The data were edited, cleaned, and entered into a computer and analyzed using SPSS for windows version 12.0. One thousand seventy four women who had at least one birth were interviewed making a response rate 98.6%. Two hundred seventy one (75.0%) of urban and 373(52.0%) rural women received antenatal care from skilled health professional at least once during their last pregnancy. Thirty-one (4.3%) of rural and 145 (40.4%) of urban women delivered in health institution. In multivariate analysis showed that residential area OR= 8.5, 95%CI; (5.1,13.9), parity OR=0.18, 95%CI; (0.08, 0.42), and ANC service use OR= 4.5, 95%CI; (2.2,8.9), and maternal education OR=4.6, 95%CI; (1.7,12.8), were most significant predictors of safe delivery service use by mothers

  13. The dynamics of the service delivery process : a value-based approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruyter, de J.C.; Wetzels, M.G.M.; Lemmink, J.G.A.M.; Mattsson, J.

    1997-01-01

    Recent research linking service quality and service satisfaction has raised issues which require conceptual and empirical elaboration. Among these are the formation of satisfaction during the service delivery process and the role of customer value. In this article, the focus is on how different

  14. Cancer screening and health system resilience: keys to protecting and bolstering preventive services during a financial crisis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin-Moreno, Jose M; Anttila, Ahti; von Karsa, Lawrence; Alfonso-Sanchez, Jose L; Gorgojo, Lydia

    2012-09-01

    The aim of this paper is to elucidate the rationale for sustaining and expanding cost-effective, population-based screening services for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers in the context of the current financial crisis. Our objective is not only to promote optimal delivery of high-quality secondary cancer prevention services, but also to underline the importance of strengthening comprehensive cancer control, and with it, health system response to the complex care challenges posed by all chronic diseases. We focus primarily on issues surrounding planning, organisation, implementation and resources, arguing that given the growing cancer burden, policymakers have ample justification for establishing and expanding population-based programmes that are well-organised, well-resourced and well-executed. In a broader economic context of rescue packages, deficits and cutbacks to government entitlements, health professionals must intensify their advocacy for the protection of vital preventive health services by fighting for quality services with clear benefits for population health outcomes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. IT enabled service delivery innovation from quality perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yao-Chin Lin

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective is to understand how information and service quality to influence of IT enabled service (ITeS, then to enhance service delivery innovation (SDI. This study bases ITeS to elaborate two research questions by adopting Rodosek’s business reference model. Consequently, we conduct a case study approach, by deriving proposals concerning the relationships among two quality perspectives, ITeS, and SDI in a Taiwanese publishing company. In the end, we concluded three related findings. Firstly, the company based on service orientated to provide basic service functions to encourage more users to enjoy their services, as well as facilitating collaborative work via the online discussion area. Secondly, the company adopted advanced service functions to extend their service scopes to end-users, such as download the news into handheld devices. Finally, the company utilized the supporting service functions to assist customers integrating the ideas and plans.

  16. Changing public service delivery: Learning in co-creation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    W.H. Voorberg (William); V.J.J.M. Bekkers (Victor); Timeus, K. (Krista); Tonurist, P. (Piret); L.G. Tummers (Lars)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractCo-creation – where citizens and public organizations work together to deal with societal issues – is increasingly considered as a fertile solution for various public service delivery problems. During cocreation, citizens are not mere consumers, but are actively engaged in building

  17. Quality & timely delivery of products and services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, K.; Shabbir, K.

    2015-01-01

    This paper discusses quality and timely delivery of services. The approach is to support our customers, to ensure quality, schedule and cost predictability with no compromise to safety, to avoid optimistic project schedules and conservative cost estimates. It is important to maintain a strategic focus in helping to improve the customer's assets and improve the methodology to improve assets.

  18. Opening the Black Box: Exploring the Effect of Transformation on Online Service Delivery in Local Governments

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Veenstra, Anne Fleur; Zuurmond, Arre

    To enhance the quality of their online service delivery, many government organizations seek to transform their organization beyond merely setting up a front office. This transformation includes elements such as the formation of service delivery chains, the adoption of a management strategy supporting process orientation and the implementation of enterprise architecture. This paper explores whether undertaking this transformation has a positive effect on the quality of online service delivery, using data gathered from seventy local governments. We found that having an externally oriented management strategy in place, adopting enterprise architecture, aligning information systems to business and sharing activities between processes and departments are positively related to the quality of online service delivery. We recommend that further research should be carried out to find out whether dimensions of organizational development too have an effect on online service delivery in the long term.

  19. Techno-Bureaucratic Governance and Public Service Delivery: Indonesia and Nigeria in Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacob Olufemi Fatile

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Techno-bureaucratic governance is fundamental to contemporary public service. This is because the roles of the bureaucrats and technocrats become more relevant in policy formulation and implementation when the government had to (reinvent its institutions to move from routine administration to that of development planning and management. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the paper notes that techno-bureaucratic ideology values technical expertise itself and its technical experts, efficiency, economic development and effective public service delivery. Adopting comparative perspective, the paper examines techno-bureaucratic governance and public service delivery in Indonesia and Nigeria. The paper takes a cursory look at the similarities and differences between the two countries. The paper notes that the technocracy nurtured by the New Order in Indonesia was cohesive and effective because of its technical expertise and has helped Indonesia to turn oil income into productive investments,whereas in Nigeria the oil income was used for prestigious projects to the detriment of productive investments. The paper therefore recommend among others that developing societies need a new strategy in delivery services in their public service, and this can be achieved through skilled professionals, technocrats and knowledge based actors. It concludes that for public service to deliver effective services, an efficient bureaucracy and technocracy remain invaluable.

  20. Public Health Investment in Team Care: Increasing Access to Clinical Preventive Services in Los Angeles County

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tony Kuo

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available As part of federal and local efforts to increase access to high quality, clinical preventive services (CPS in underserved populations, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH partnered with six local health system and community organization partners to promote the use of team care for CPS delivery. Although these partners were at different stages of organizational capacity, post-program review suggests that each organization advanced team care in their clinical or community environments, potentially affecting >250,000 client visits per year. Despite existing infrastructure and DPH’s funding support of CPS integration, partner efforts faced several challenges. They included lack of sustainable funding for prevention services; limited access to community resources that support disease prevention; and difficulties in changing health-care provider behavior. Although team care can serve as a catalyst or vehicle for delivering CPS, downstream sustainability of this model of practice requires further state and national policy changes that prioritize prevention. Public health is well positioned to facilitate these policy discussions and to assist health system and community organizations in strengthening CPS integration.

  1. Mobile government implementation for government service delivery in developing countries: a South Africa context

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ogunleye, OS

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available an opportunity to use of this platform to provide better service delivery to the citizens of the developing countries. This paper identifies major service delivery issues in South Africa. Various m-government systems that have been implemented in other countries...

  2. A Universal Design Approach to Government Service Delivery: The Case of ChileAtiende.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandoval, Leonardo

    2016-01-01

    A common challenge for government administrations that aim to improve the delivery of information and services to citizens is to go beyond a government-centred approach. By focusing on citizens and the needs of a wide range of citizens, Universal Design (UD) can help to increase the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of government services. This paper examines the case of an internationally recognised Chilean government service delivery programme inspired by UD principles known as ChileAtiende ("ChileService"). A brief account of its creation and current status is provided.

  3. Changing public service delivery: learning in co-creation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voorberg, William; Bekkers, Victor; Timeus, Krista; Tonurist, Piret; Tummers, L.G.

    2017-01-01

    Co-creation – where citizens and public organizations work together to deal with societal issues – is increasingly considered as a fertile solution for various public service delivery problems. During co-creation, citizens are not mere consumers, but are actively engaged in building resilient

  4. Library service delivery, information literacy knowledge: a modelling ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Knowledge preservation, access to information and dissemination has rapidly changed the way people seek and use information. The study concluded that the application of IT will encourage self sufficiency in food production, good health and rapid development among the citizenry. Keywords: Library service delivery, ...

  5. Extending access to essential services against constraints: the three-tier health service delivery system in rural China (1949-1980).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xing Lin; Martinez-Alvarez, Melisa; Zhong, Jun; Xu, Jin; Yuan, Beibei; Meng, Qingyue; Balabanova, Dina

    2017-05-23

    China has made remarkable progress in scaling up essential services during the last six decades, making health care increasingly available in rural areas. This was partly achieved through the building of a three-tier health system in the 1950s, established as a linked network with health service facilities at county, township and village level, to extend services to the whole population. We developed a Theory of Change to chart the policy context, contents and mechanisms that may have facilitated the establishment of the three-tier health service delivery system in rural China. We systematically synthesized the best available evidence on how China achieved universal access to essential services in resource-scarce rural settings, with a particular emphasis on the experiences learned before the 1980s, when the country suffered a particularly acute lack of resources. The search identified only three peered-reviewed articles that fit our criteria for scientific rigor. We therefore drew extensively on government policy documents, and triangulated them with other publications and key informant interviews. We found that China's three-tier health service delivery system was established in response to acute health challenges, including high fertility and mortality rates. Health system resources were extremely low in view of the needs and insufficient to extend access to even basic care. With strong political commitment to rural health and a "health-for-all" policy vision underlying implementation, a three-tier health service delivery model connecting villages, townships and counties was quickly established. We identified several factors that contributed to the success of the three-tier system in China: a realistic health human resource development strategy, use of mass campaigns as a vehicle to increase demand, an innovative financing mechanisms, public-private partnership models in the early stages of scale up, and an integrated approach to service delivery. An

  6. The Dilemma of Accountability and Good Governance for Improved Public Service Delivery in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kehinde David Adejuwon

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The public sector in Nigeria is irrefutably beset with gross  incompetence and ineffective management. Perplexing difficulties endure in the Nigerian public sector in spite of a number of reform programmes that have been designed to enhance efficient and effective service delivery for almost two decades. The fact that public service has failed dismally to achieve its laudable objectives is the reason for the vote of no confidence passed on its administrators by majority of the Nigerian populace. The article examines the dilemma of accountability and good governance in Nigeria and demonstrates that the critical point in achieving meaningful developments in the country intrinsically lay with improved service delivery in the public sector. The basic reason why the public service has become the scorn of the people is because for too long, both the government and public servants have paid lip service to the crucial issue of effective and efficient service delivery. The article argues that improved service delivery will improve both the performance and the image of public service and re-awaken the citizens’ interest and trust in them to do business with public servants. It suggests that  in order to bring sanity back to the Nigerian Public Service,  all unprofessional tendencies such as ethnicity bias and nepotism in appointments and promotions, lack of security of tenure of office, and appointment of non-career public servants into key positions in the public service must stop. Also,  effective service delivery must be tailored to the circumstances of Nigeria. The study made use of secondary data obtained from various sources. It therefore concludes that without a reawakening of the culture of accountability and transparency lost over the years, the trusting relationship needed to forge between the government and the governed for the actualization of good governance will not materialize.

  7. Socio-cultural and service delivery dimensions of maternal mortality in rural central India: a qualitative exploration using a human rights lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jat, Tej Ram; Deo, Prakash R; Goicolea, Isabel; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; San Sebastian, Miguel

    2015-01-01

    Despite the avoidable nature of maternal mortality, unacceptably high numbers of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Considering its preventability, maternal mortality is being increasingly recognised as a human rights issue. Integration of a human rights perspective in maternal health programmes could contribute positively in eliminating avertable maternal deaths. This study was conducted to explore socio-cultural and service delivery-related dimensions of maternal deaths in rural central India using a human rights lens. Social autopsies were conducted for 22 maternal deaths during 2011 in Khargone district in central India. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The factors associated with maternal deaths were classified by using the 'three delays' framework and were examined by using a human rights lens. All 22 women tried to access medical assistance, but various factors delayed their access to appropriate care. The underestimation of the severity of complications by family members, gender inequity, and perceptions of low-quality delivery services delayed decisions to seek care. Transportation problems and care seeking at multiple facilities delayed reaching appropriate health facilities. Negligence by health staff and unavailability of blood and emergency obstetric care services delayed receiving adequate care after reaching a health facility. The study highlighted various socio-cultural and service delivery-related factors which are violating women's human rights and resulting in maternal deaths in rural central India. This study highlights that, despite the health system's conscious effort to improve maternal health, normative elements of a human rights approach to maternal health (i.e. availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services) were not upheld. The data and analysis suggest that the deceased women and their relatives were unable to claim their entitlements and that the duty bearers were not

  8. Viability of healthcare service delivery alternatives for the Australian mining sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Patricia A H; Giles, Margaret

    2012-01-01

    The changing and demanding nature of the mining workforce in rural and remote Australia brings unique challenges to the delivery of healthcare services. In an attempt to control costs whilst delivering cost effective and quality healthcare, new models of delivery must be considered. For a workforce that is fly-in/fly-out, the provision of healthcare is problematic given the lack of consistency in location. A cost-benefit framework is analysed comparing three models of service provision using travel to a major location, locum services and remote health monitoring. Ultimately, new models of care must be considered to address the issues of increasing workforce turnover, to cater for rising healthcare costs, and to improve the health of such communities.

  9. Feasibility Study of Document Delivery Services in Special Libraries in Tehran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Assiyeh Pour- Emam- Ali

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigates the feasibility of establishing document delivery services in special libraries in Tehran. Document delivery services is copyright-cleared hard copy or electronic copy supply to individuals or corporations on a non-profit or for-profit basis. A descriptive survey was conducted over 105 special libraries located within Tehran. Capabilities studied included manual and automated equipments, skilled and motivated manpower, adequate budget and etc. Investigations show that 8.42% of these libraries use web-sites for resource location. 5.43% employ bibliographies. 5.36% of users lodge their requests by phone. 2.32% of the libraries receive requests in person. 3.14% of librarians are familiar with English while 6.28% are familiar with IT. 5.27% of the libraries studied use British library Document Supply Center at Boston Spa as their primary source of Foreign Document acquisition. 5.32% of the libraries consider membership in Interlibrary Cooperative Schemes as appropriate means of meeting patrons’ information needs. Maximum request response time is 3-4 weeks. 3.28% of the requests are for books. 6.88% of the special libraries, lack staff training courses for skill acquisition in the area of document delivery. 8.29% of libraries cite lack of adequate equipment as the main document delivery obstacle. The findings demonstrate the document delivery service among special libraries in Tehran is not appropriate given the existing capabilities.

  10. Quality & timely delivery of products and services

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scott, K.; Shabbir, K. [WorleyParsons, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2015-07-01

    This paper discusses quality and timely delivery of services. The approach is to support our customers, to ensure quality, schedule and cost predictability with no compromise to safety, to avoid optimistic project schedules and conservative cost estimates. It is important to maintain a strategic focus in helping to improve the customer's assets and improve the methodology to improve assets.

  11. Quality of antenatal and delivery care before and after the implementation of a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programme in Côte d'Ivoire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delvaux, Thérèse; Konan, Jean-Paul Diby; Aké-Tano, Odile; Gohou-Kouassi, Valérie; Bosso, Patrice Emery; Buvé, Anne; Ronsmans, Carine

    2008-08-01

    To assess whether implementation of a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programme in Côte d'Ivoire improved the quality of antenatal and delivery care services. Quality of antenatal and delivery care services was assessed in five urban health facilities before (2002-2003) and after (2005) the implementation of a PMTCT programme through review of facility data; observation of antenatal consultations (n = 606 before; n = 591 after) and deliveries (n = 229 before; n = 231 after) and exit interviews of women; and interviews of health facility staff. HIV testing was never proposed at baseline and was proposed to 63% of women at the first ANC visit after PMTCT implementation. The overall testing rate was 42% and 83% of tested HIV-infected pregnant women received nevirapine. In addition, inter-personal communication and confidentiality significantly improved in all health facilities. In the maternity ward, quality of obstetrical care at admission, delivery and post-partum care globally improved in all facilities after the implementation of the programme although some indicators remained poor, such as filling in the partograph directly during labour. Episiotomy rates among primiparous women dropped from 64% to 25% (P implementation. Global scores for quality of antenatal and delivery care significantly improved in all facilities after the implementation of the programme. Introducing comprehensive PMTCT services can improve the quality of antenatal and delivery care in general.

  12. Ante natal care services utilization, delivery practices and factors affecting them in tribal area of North Maharashtra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sachin S Mumbare

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Utilization of Ante natal care (ANC services is poor in the tribal areas, causing increased maternal morbidity and mortality. Objective: This study was carried out to find out ANC services utilization, delivery practices and factors affecting them in a tribal area of North Maharashtra in Nashik district. Design: Cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in two tribal blocks of Nashik district. Cluster sampling technique was used. 210 mothers in the selected clusters, who had delivered within last 1 year, were interviewed. Information about the ANC services utilization and place of delivery was recorded. Relevant socio-demographic data were also collected. Results: Adequate ANC services utilization was found to be 64.76%. Home deliveries were 34.29% and home deliveries conducted by untrained persons were 15.24%. Conclusion: The utilization of ANC services and deliveries at health centers were significantly associated with education of the women and their spouses, and the socioeconomic status of the family. Main reasons for inadequate utilization of ANC services were financial, unawareness about ANC services, etc. Place of delivery was associated with the type of the family. Traditional practices were the most common reason for conducting the deliveries at home.

  13. The Cost of Health Services Delivery in Health Houses of Alborz: A Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javad Ghoddousinejad

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives : Health houses play an active role to improve health status of rural population.Furthermore, it is important to know the costs of provided services. This research was designed to determine the costs of healthcare delivery in health houses of ALBORZ district. Material and Methods : In this cross-sectional descriptive study, Activity Based Costing (ABC was used to analyze the costs of services. Results : The average Direct Costs (DC of healthcare delivery in health houses was estimated 37033365 Rials. Direct and Indirect Costs (IC of service delivery in health houses were 65.91% and 34.09% of Total Costs (TC respectively. Conclusion : Since human resources play the most important role in determining the costs of health services delivery in healthcare, reforming payment mechanisms would be a suitable solution to reduce extra costs. Moreover, in order to decrease extra costs, it is essential to modify activities and eliminate parallel tasks.

  14. Characteristics of Indigenous primary health care models of service delivery: a scoping review protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harfield, Stephen; Davy, Carol; Kite, Elaine; McArthur, Alexa; Munn, Zachary; Brown, Ngiare; Brown, Alex

    2015-11-01

    mainstream health services to address the poor health and premature deaths of Aboriginal people, and to provide a culturally appropriate system of health care". There are now over 150 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in Australia. Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services are underpinned by common values such as culture, cultural respect, integrity, inclusion, self-determination, community control, sovereignty and leadership.Similar models of Indigenous health services exist in other countries, such as Māori health providers in New Zealand, First Nations and Inuit Health Authorities in Canada, and the Indian Health Services in the US. In New Zealand, Māori health providers deliver health and disability services to Māori and non-Māori clients. The difference between Māori health providers and mainstream services in New Zealand is that Māori health services are based on kaupapa, a plan or set of principles and ideas that informs behavior and customs, and the delivery framework which is distinctively Māori. First Nations and Inuit Health Authorities in Canada coordinate and integrate health programs and services to achieve better health outcomes for First Nations people. These community-based services largely focus on health promotion and prevention. First Nations and Inuit Health Authorities work under a unique health governance structure that includes local First Nations' leadership, based on the philosophy of self-governance and self-determination, which represent and address the health needs of First Nation communities. The Indian Health Service (IHS) in the US is responsible for providing comprehensive health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The IHS aims to raise the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level, and its goal is "to ensure that comprehensive, culturally acceptable personal and public health services are available and accessible to American Indian and

  15. Fault Activity Aware Service Delivery in Wireless Sensor Networks for Smart Cities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaomei Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Wireless sensor networks (WSNs are increasingly used in smart cities which involve multiple city services having quality of service (QoS requirements. When misbehaving devices exist, the performance of current delivery protocols degrades significantly. Nonetheless, the majority of existing schemes either ignore the faulty behaviors’ variability and time-variance in city environments or focus on homogeneous traffic for traditional data services (simple text messages rather than city services (health care units, traffic monitors, and video surveillance. We consider the problem of fault-aware multiservice delivery, in which the network performs secure routing and rate control in terms of fault activity dynamic metric. To this end, we first design a distributed framework to estimate the fault activity information based on the effects of nondeterministic faulty behaviors and to incorporate these estimates into the service delivery. Then we present a fault activity geographic opportunistic routing (FAGOR algorithm addressing a wide range of misbehaviors. We develop a leaky-hop model and design a fault activity rate-control algorithm for heterogeneous traffic to allocate resources, while guaranteeing utility fairness among multiple city services. Finally, we demonstrate the significant performance of our scheme in routing performance, effective utility, and utility fairness in the presence of misbehaving sensors through extensive simulations.

  16. Potentiality of the Usage of Compressed Natural Gas for Competitiveness in Service Delivery Industries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gazi Mohammad Hasan Jamil

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. With the rising costs of gasoline, many vehicle owners are looking for alternatives of it. Compressed natural gas (CNG has been tested for this very purpose in some countries and found as a better alternative so far. CNG comes from country’s natural resources and it is clean and less costly to use. This paper is mainly an analysis of the potential benefits of using natural gas as a transportation fuel by the service delivery industries. It will examine CNG’s potential contribution in reducing delivery and vehicle maintenance cost, saving money in the long run projects, improving fuel efficiency, enhancing physical safety and assuring environment friendly emissions of carbon monoxide or reactive gases for the service delivery industries.Keywords: Compressed natural gas (CNG, Service Delivery, Fossil fuel, Global warming, Competitiveness

  17. Single-Commodity Vehicle Routing Problem with Pickup and Delivery Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goran Martinovic

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a novel variation of the vehicle routing problem (VRP. Single commodity cargo with pickup and delivery service is considered. Customers are labeled as either cargo sink or cargo source, depending on their pickup or delivery demand. This problem is called a single commodity vehicle routing problem with pickup and delivery service (1-VRPPD. 1-VRPPD deals with multiple vehicles and is the same as the single-commodity traveling salesman problem (1-PDTSP when the number of vehicles is equal to 1. Since 1-VRPPD specializes VRP, it is hard in the strong sense. Iterative modified simulated annealing (IMSA is presented along with greedy random-based initial solution algorithm. IMSA provides a good approximation to the global optimum in a large search space. Experiment is done for the instances with different number of customers and their demands. With respect to average values of IMSA execution times, proposed method is appropriate for practical applications.

  18. Laboratories: Integrating Services

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2011-04-04

    This podcast highlights the importance of integrating laboratory services to maximize service delivery to patients.  Created: 4/4/2011 by National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP).   Date Released: 4/7/2011.

  19. Decentralisation in Uganda: Prospects for Improved Service Delivery

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Financial decentralisation, on the other hand, attempted to assign responsibilities and taxes between the centre and local governments, to enable the transfer of grants and other resources to different parts of the country, and to improve service delivery. This paper will review different government, public and academic ...

  20. Electronic Immunization Alerts and Spillover Effects on Other Preventive Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Julia M; Rivera, Maria; Persing, Nichole; Bundy, David G; Psoter, Kevin J; Ghazarian, Sharon R; Miller, Marlene R; Solomon, Barry S

    2017-08-01

    The impact of electronic health record (EHR) immunization clinical alert systems on the delivery of other preventive services remains unknown. We assessed for spillover effects of an EHR immunization alert on delivery of 6 other preventive services, in children 18 to 30 months of age needing immunizations. We conducted a secondary data analysis, with additional primary data collection, of a randomized, historically controlled trial to improve immunization rates with EHR alerts, in an urban, primary care clinic. No significant differences were found in screening for anemia, lead, development, nutrition, and injury prevention counseling in children prompting EHR immunization alerts (n = 129), compared with controls (n = 135). Significant increases in oral health screening in patients prompting EHR alerts (odds ratio = 4.8, 95% CI = 1.8-13.0) were likely due to practice changes over time. An EHR clinical alert system targeting immunizations did not have a spillover effect on the delivery of other preventive services.

  1. Medicare Preventive Services Quick Reference Tool

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This educational tool provides the following information on Medicare preventive services Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS)-Current Procedural...

  2. How to move towards community based service delivery?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meuwissen, L.; Voorham, T.; Bakker, D. de

    2007-01-01

    Aim: Community based primary health care offers in potential the opportunity to tailor health service delivery to the needs and demands of the local population. Up to now, there is no clear cut method to do this. In a pilot benchmark for general practices, data were collected on demand and

  3. 75 FR 32186 - Task Force on Community Preventive Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Task Force on Community Preventive Services Name: Task Force on Community Preventive Services meeting. Times and Dates: 8... by space available. Purpose: The mission of the Task Force is to develop and publish the Guide to...

  4. 75 FR 4402 - Task Force on Community Preventive Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Task Force on Community Preventive Services Name: Task Force on Community Preventive Services meeting. Times and Dates: 8..., limited only by space available. Purpose: The mission of the Task Force is to develop and publish the...

  5. Home delivery of medication - the role of a patient information leaflet on maximising service uptake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, L; Ahmed, N; Mccall, H; Minton, J; Benn, P; Edwards, S; Waters, L

    2014-12-01

    There are currently over 30,000 HIV-positive individuals in London and over 25,000 on anti-retroviral therapy. In 2009/2010, this equated to £170m spent by London's NHS on anti-retroviral drugs. Ways employed to reduce this cost include standardising the drugs patients are on and delivering medication to patients at home. Home delivery (HD) medication is exempt from value-added tax. The savings made from 10 patients using the home delivery service would free up resources to provide anti-retroviral therapy to one further patient. Studies have shown that concerns surrounding potential breaches of confidentiality are a potential barrier to some people using the home delivery service. In order to challenge these concerns, a leaflet was devised highlighting the major benefits to both the patient and the NHS of home delivery and addressing concerns over confidentiality. The leaflet was handed out to patients at the Mortimer Market Centre who were currently on anti-retroviral medication but not on home delivery. They were asked to complete a survey on their views of the service before and after reading the leaflet, whether they had been previously aware of the service and whether their concerns had been addressed. Some 79% felt that the patient information leaflet addressed all of their concerns, and it helped 11% decide whether to consider using home delivery. However, as more patients were opposed to the service after reading the patient information leaflet than those considering it, more work needs to be done to explore patients' concerns and other factors influencing home delivery service uptake. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

  6. Service requirement for terminal delivery: An empirical study from the perspective of online shoppers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junjie Xu

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available To investigate customer’s service requirement for parcel delivery, combining with theoretical analysis and empirical test, a measuring model of customer service requirement was proposed for terminal delivery. Based on literature reviews, five potential dimensions with 27 items were initially discussed. Through exploratory factor analysis on samples collected from Taobao networks, four dimensions with 18 measurement items were finally confirmed including service attitude, service reliability, service standardization and service flexibility. By further confirmatory factor analysis, the fitness of this measuring model was proved to be acceptable. The research revealed that online shoppers paid attention to not only service result but also service process, so related suggestions were also proposed for express firms to promote their service management.

  7. California Integrated Service Delivery Evaluation Report. Phase I

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Richard W.; Rossy, Gerard; Roberts, William; Chapman, Kenneth; Sanchez, Urte; Hanley, Chris

    2010-01-01

    This study is a formative evaluation of the OneStop Career Center Integrated Service Delivery (ISD) Model within the California Workforce System. The study was sponsored by the California Workforce Investment Board. The study completed four in-depth case studies of California OneStops to describe how they implemented the ISD model which brings…

  8. The role of transformational leadership and organizational culture in service delivery within a public service organization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ophillia Ledimo

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Continuous changes in the external environment deriving from legislative, economic and technological factors, puts pressure not only to corporate organizations, but also to public service organizations. These changes have increased pressure on service delivery and calls for accountability in public service organizations. With this increased pressure comes the need for public service organizations to discover how to most effectively enhance their organizational performance. Two of the most effective ways to improve performance are through the organizational leadership and culture. Although many studies were conducted on transformational leadership and organizational culture, there is still a need to investigate the link between these constructs in public service organizations. Hence the objective of this study was to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational culture for service delivery practices. The Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI and Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI were administered to a random sample size of N=238, from a population of 4350 employees working within the public service organization. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation were conducted to analyse the data. The results of this study indicated a significant positive relationship between transformational leadership and the constructive dimension of organizational culture within a public service organization. In terms of contributions and practical implications, insight gained from the findings may be used in proposing leadership and organizational development interventions and future research

  9. Simulation of robotic courier deliveries in hospital distribution services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossetti, M D; Felder, R A; Kumar, A

    2000-06-01

    Flexible automation in the form of robotic couriers holds the potential for decreasing operating costs while improving delivery performance in hospital delivery systems. This paper discusses the use of simulation modeling to analyze the costs, benefits, and performance tradeoffs related to the installation and use of a fleet of robotic couriers within hospital facilities. The results of this study enable a better understanding of the delivery and transportation requirements of hospitals. Specifically, we examine how a fleet of robotic couriers can meet the performance requirements of the system while maintaining cost efficiency. We show that for clinical laboratory and pharmaceutical deliveries a fleet of six robotic couriers can achieve significant performance gains in terms of turn-around time and delivery variability over the current system of three human couriers per shift or 13 FTEs. Specifically, the simulation results indicate that using robotic couriers to perform both clinical laboratory and pharmaceutical deliveries would result in a 34% decrease in turn-around time, and a 38% decrease in delivery variability. In addition, a break-even analysis indicated that a positive net present value occurs if nine or more FTEs are eliminated with a resulting ROI of 12%. This analysis demonstrates that simulation can be a valuable tool for examining health care distribution services and indicates that a robotic courier system may yield significant benefits over a traditional courier system in this application.

  10. Partnership working and improved service delivery: views of staff providing sexual health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pow, Janette; Elliott, Lawrie; Raeside, Robert; Themessl-Huber, Markus; Claveirole, Anne

    2013-07-01

    Successful partnership working has theoretically been linked to improvements in service delivery and is dependent on the strength of the partnership, trust, communication, professional roles and resource sharing. Empirical evidence to confirm the relationships between these factors and improved service provision, however, is lacking. Our aim was to assess the views of staff as to the conditions required for partnership working. This study was a cross-sectional survey of 687 staff offering sexual health education, information or support to young people in the Healthy Respect intervention area in Scotland. Views of each variable were scored and structural equation modelling was used to assess the theoretical model. Responses were received from 284 (41%) staff. Greater strength of partnership was directly associated with increasing the number of referrals. Establishing professional roles between organizations was also associated with increasing the number of referrals. Strength of partnership was indirectly associated with working more effectively with young people and this relationship depended on clear communication, trust, established professional roles and shared resources. Effective partnership working depends on a number of interdependent relationships between organizations, which act synergistically to improve organizational outcomes. Effective partnership working leads to improved service delivery though there is a need for better controlled studies which demonstrate the effect on health outcomes.

  11. The potential for preventing the delivery and perinatal mortality of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective. To determine the potentiaJ for preventing the delivery and perinatal mortality of low-birth-weight (LBW) babies in a black urban population. Design. Cross-sectionaJ descriptive study. Setting. All women delivering babies weighing less than 2 500 g at Kalafong Hospital in a 6-month period (December 1991 - May ...

  12. Explaining the de-prioritization of primary prevention: Physicians' perceptions of their role in the delivery of primary care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuo Christina L

    2003-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background While physicians are key to primary preventive care, their delivery rate is sub-optimal. Assessment of physician beliefs is integral to understanding current behavior and the conceptualization of strategies to increase delivery. Methods A focus group with regional primary care physician (PCP Opinion Leaders was conducted as a formative step towards regional assessment of attitudes and barriers regarding preventive care delivery in primary care. Following the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, the focus group aim was to identify conceptual themes that characterize PCP beliefs and practices regarding preventive care. Seven male and five female PCPs (family medicine, internal medicine participated in the audiotaped discussion of their perceptions and behaviors in delivery of primary preventive care. The transcribed audiotape was qualitatively analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Results The PCPs' own perceived role in daily practice was a significant barrier to primary preventive care. The prevailing PCP model was the "one-stop-shop" physician who could provide anything from primary to tertiary care, but whose provision was dominated by the delivery of immediate diagnoses and treatments, namely secondary care. Conclusions The secondary-tertiary prevention PCP model sustained the expectation of immediacy of corrective action, cure, and satisfaction sought by patients and physicians alike, and, thereby, de-prioritized primary prevention in practice. Multiple barriers beyond the immediate control of PCP must be surmounted for the full integration of primary prevention in primary care practice. However, independent of other barriers, physician cognitive value of primary prevention in practice, a base mediator of physician behavior, will need to be increased to frame the likelihood of such integration.

  13. The role of value in the delivery process of hospitality services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lemmink, J.G.A.M.; Ruyter, de J.C.; Wetzels, M.G.M.

    1998-01-01

    In the services marketing literature only scant attention has been paid to the concept of customer value as a basis for evaluative judgment. So far, value has been defined primarily in monetary terms ("value for money"). In this paper the role of customer value in the service delivery process is

  14. Interplay Wellbeing Framework: Community Perspectives on Working Together for Effective Service Delivery in Remote Aboriginal Communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva McRae-Williams

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Access to effective services and programs is necessary to improve wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote Australia. Without genuine participation of Aboriginal community members in the design, governance, and delivery of services, desired service delivery outcomes are rarely achieved. Using a "shared space" model, Aboriginal communities, governments, and scientists came together to design and develop the Interplay Wellbeing Framework. This Framework brings together stories and numbers (or qualitative and quantitative data to represent community values for the purpose of informing program and policy agendas. This article unpacks what community members saw as making a service work well and why. The domains of empowerment and community functioning are discussed and their relationship to effective service delivery demonstrated.

  15. Urban-rural disparity in utilization of preventive care services in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiang; Li, Ningxiu; Liu, Chaojie; Ren, Xiaohui; Liu, Danping; Gao, Bo; Liu, Yuanyuan

    2016-09-01

    Preventive care service is considered pivotal on the background of demographic ageing and a rise in chronic diseases in China. The disparity in utilization of preventive care services between urban and rural in China is a serious issue. In this paper, we explored factors associated with urban-rural disparity in utilization of preventive care services in China, and determined how much of the urban-rural disparity was attributable to each determinant of utilization in preventive care services. Using representative sample data from China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2011 (N = 12,976), the present study performed multilevel logistic model to examine the factors that affected utilization of preventive care services in last 4 weeks. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method was applied to divide the utilization of preventive care disparity between urban and rural residents into a part that can be explained by differences in observed covariates and unobserved part. The percentage of rural residents utilizing preventive care service in last 4 weeks was lower than that of urban residents (5.1% vs 9.3%). Female, the aged, residents with higher education level and household income, residents reporting self-perceived illness in last 4 weeks and physician-diagnosed chronic disease had higher likelihood of utilizing preventive care services. Household income was the most important factor accounting for 26.6% of urban-rural disparities in utilization of preventive care services, followed by education (21.5%), self-perceived illness in last 4 weeks (7.8%), hypertension (4.4%), diabetes (3.3%), other chronic diseases (0.8%), and health insurance (-1.0%). Efforts to reduce financial barriers for low-income individuals who cannot afford preventive services, increasing awareness of the importance of obtaining preventive health services and providing more preventive health services covered by health insurance, may help to reduce the gap of preventive care services utilization between

  16. The Effect of Service Compact (SERVICOM on Service Delivery in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jude Kennedy Emejulu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the effect of service compact (Servicom Service delivery in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi. Questionnaire and face-to-face interviews were used in the collection of data. The hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics. The study discovered among other things that with the inauguration of the SERVICOM Charter by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi identified key areas that required re-evaluation and attention based on the submissions of every service unit and department, after an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT of each of the service areas. A pre-SERVICOM Charter workshop which was supervised by the Federal Government was held in the various institutions nationwide to enable care providers enumerate their current service capacity and identify their impediments. In the light of the foregoing, some of the recommendations proffered are that the SERVICOM Charter project should be sustained and supervision and control of the SERVICOM Charter project should be intensified in order to ensure that the Nigerian factor of service-fatigue would not supervene in care delivery in the near future.

  17. The increased effectiveness of HIV preventive intervention among men who have sex with men and of follow-up care for people living with HIV after 'task-shifting' to community-based organizations: a 'cash on service delivery' model in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hongjing; Zhang, Min; Zhao, Jinkou; Huan, Xiping; Ding, Jianping; Wu, Susu; Wang, Chenchen; Xu, Yuanyuan; Liu, Li; Xu, Fei; Yang, Haitao

    2014-01-01

    A large number of men who have sex with men (MSM) and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) are underserved despite increased service availability from government facilities while many community based organizations (CBOs) are not involved. We aimed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the task shifting from government facilities to CBOs in China. HIV preventive intervention for MSM and follow-up care for PLHA were shifted from government facilities to CBOs. Based on 'cash on service delivery' model, 10 USD per MSM tested for HIV with results notified, 82 USD per newly HIV cases diagnosed, and 50 USD per PLHA received a defined package of follow-up care services, were paid to the CBOs. Cash payments were made biannually based on the verified results in the national web-based HIV/AIDS information system. After task shifting, CBOs gradually assumed preventive intervention for MSM and follow-up care for PLHA from 2008 to 2012. HIV testing coverage among MSM increased from 4.1% in 2008 to 22.7% in 2012. The baseline median CD4 counts of newly diagnosed HIV positive MSM increased from 309 to 397 cells/µL. HIV tests among MSM by CBOs accounted for less than 1% of the total HIV tests in Nanjing but the share of HIV cases detected by CBOs was 12.4% in 2008 and 43.6% in 2012. Unit cost per HIV case detected by CBOs was 47 times lower than that by government facilities. The coverage of CD4 tests and antiretroviral therapy increased from 71.1% and 78.6% in 2008 to 86.0% and 90.1% in 2012, respectively. It is feasible to shift essential HIV services from government facilities to CBOs, and to verify independently service results to adopt 'cash on service delivery' model. Services provided by CBOs are cost-effective, as compared with that by government facilities.

  18. The increased effectiveness of HIV preventive intervention among men who have sex with men and of follow-up care for people living with HIV after 'task-shifting' to community-based organizations: a 'cash on service delivery' model in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongjing Yan

    Full Text Available A large number of men who have sex with men (MSM and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA are underserved despite increased service availability from government facilities while many community based organizations (CBOs are not involved. We aimed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the task shifting from government facilities to CBOs in China.HIV preventive intervention for MSM and follow-up care for PLHA were shifted from government facilities to CBOs. Based on 'cash on service delivery' model, 10 USD per MSM tested for HIV with results notified, 82 USD per newly HIV cases diagnosed, and 50 USD per PLHA received a defined package of follow-up care services, were paid to the CBOs. Cash payments were made biannually based on the verified results in the national web-based HIV/AIDS information system.After task shifting, CBOs gradually assumed preventive intervention for MSM and follow-up care for PLHA from 2008 to 2012. HIV testing coverage among MSM increased from 4.1% in 2008 to 22.7% in 2012. The baseline median CD4 counts of newly diagnosed HIV positive MSM increased from 309 to 397 cells/µL. HIV tests among MSM by CBOs accounted for less than 1% of the total HIV tests in Nanjing but the share of HIV cases detected by CBOs was 12.4% in 2008 and 43.6% in 2012. Unit cost per HIV case detected by CBOs was 47 times lower than that by government facilities. The coverage of CD4 tests and antiretroviral therapy increased from 71.1% and 78.6% in 2008 to 86.0% and 90.1% in 2012, respectively.It is feasible to shift essential HIV services from government facilities to CBOs, and to verify independently service results to adopt 'cash on service delivery' model. Services provided by CBOs are cost-effective, as compared with that by government facilities.

  19. Perceptions of clients regarding family planning service delivery in a clinic of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Kellner

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Unwanted pregnancies with their negative impact on both women and children occur on an ongoing basis in Gauteng, South Africa. One way to prevent unwanted pregnancies is to use a reliable contraceptive method available free of charge from primary health care clinics providing family planning services throughout Gauteng Province. A literature review was completed on women and access to family planning services and an interview schedule (questionnaire was developed. The purpose of this study was to describe guidelines to meet the expectations of clients accessing family planning services provided by a clinic in Region F, Area 28 of the Greater Johannesburg metropolitan council. This quantitative, exploratory, descriptive and comparative study measured the gaps between the expectations of participants on service delivery and the extent to which these expectations were met. A convenience sample was conducted and consisted of 50 women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 49 attending the family planning clinic. Pre-testing of the instrument was conducted. Structured interviews with a interview schedule were conducted before and after women attended a family planning service. Inferential statistics indicated that there was a significant gap between the client expectations of family planning service delivery and the extent to which these expectations were met. Of the sixty-four items where women indicated the extent of their expectations the findings on only three items were not statistically significant. These gaps were addressed by proposing managerial guidelines to be implemented by the nurse manager in charge of the facility, on which this article will focus. Validity and reliability principles were ensured in the study. Ethical principles were adhered to during the research process.

  20. In-flight food delivery and waste collection service: the passengers’ perspective and potential improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romli, F. I.; Rahman, K. Abdul; Ishak, F. D.

    2016-10-01

    Increased competition in the commercial air transportation industry has made service quality of the airlines as one of the key competitive measures to attract passengers against their rivals. In-flight services, particularly food delivery and waste collection, have a notable impact on perception of the overall airline's service quality because they are directly and interactively provided to passengers during flight. An online public survey is conducted to explore general passengers' perception of current in-flight food delivery and waste collection services, and to identify potential rooms for improvement. The obtained survey results indicate that in-flight service does have an effect on passengers' choice of airlines. Several weaknesses of the current service method and possible improvements have been established from the collected responses.

  1. The demand for preventive and restorative dental services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyerhoefer, Chad D; Zuvekas, Samuel H; Manski, Richard

    2014-01-01

    Chronic tooth decay is the most common chronic condition in the United States among children ages 5-17 and also affects a large percentage of adults. Oral health conditions are preventable, but less than half of the US population uses dental services annually. We seek to examine the extent to which limited dental coverage and high out-of-pocket costs reduce dental service use by the nonelderly privately insured and uninsured. Using data from the 2001-2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and an American Dental Association survey of dental procedure prices, we jointly estimate the probability of using preventive and both basic and major restorative services through a correlated random effects specification that controls for endogeneity. We found that dental coverage increased the probability of preventive care use by 19% and the use of restorative services 11% to 16%. Both conditional and unconditional on dental coverage, the use of dental services was not sensitive to out-of-pocket costs. We conclude that dental coverage is an important determinant of preventive dental service use, but other nonprice factors related to consumer preferences, especially education, are equal if not stronger determinants. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Outpatients’ experiences of quality service delivery at a teaching hospital in Gauteng

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ebin J Arries

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Quality service delivery to the consumer of health is a legal reality as it is emphasised in the White Paper on the Transformation of Public Service delivery (South Africa, 1997. The guiding philosophy adopted within this framework is that of Batho Pele, which means placing the consumer at the centre of healthcare service delivery. Increasing attention has been paid to hospital processes from a quality perspective. By analogy, outpatient departments can be viewed as industrial plants where technological know-how is transferred to patients through service delivery, which is a cornerstone of a hospital’s business. Outpatients, as consumers of healthcare, draw conclusions about the quality of service delivery based on their experiences of such services. In this vein, an outpatient’s experience of a particular service is an indicator of his/her level of satisfaction with the quality of that service. No South African study can be found in the literature on out-patients’ experiences of quality service delivery. This study’s purpose is to explore and describe outpatients’ experiences of the quality of service delivery at a teaching hospital in Gauteng. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive study that was contextual in nature was conducted to achieve this aim. Focus group interviews were conducted with outpatients who met the selection criteria. Open coding was used to analyse the contents from the transcripts and field notes typed verbatim. Strategies for trustworthiness, namely co-coding, prolonged engagement, triangulation and adequate referencing, were employed to ensure the credibility of the study and research findings. The results reflect themes that were reduced into two main categories, namely positive and negative experiences. The positive experiences reflect outpatients’ experience of their relationship with medical staff and their satisfaction with the quality of medical care. Negative experiences relate predominantly to a lack

  3. How to achieve optimal organization of primary care service delivery at system level: lessons from Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pelone, Ferruccio; Kringos, Dionne S.; Spreeuwenberg, Peter; de Belvis, Antonio G.; Groenewegen, Peter P.

    2013-01-01

    To measure the relative efficiency of primary care (PC) in turning their structures into services delivery and turning their services delivery into quality outcomes. Cross-sectional study based on the dataset of the Primary Healthcare Activity Monitor for Europe project. Two Data Envelopment

  4. Proposal of a service delivery integration index of home care for older persons: application in several European cities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Claude Henrard

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To propose an integration index of home care delivery to older persons, to study its validity and to apply it to home care services of European cities. Theory: Home care delivery integration was based on two dimensions referring to process-centred integration and organisational structure approach. Method: Items considered as part of both dimensions according to an expert consensus (face validity were extracted from a standardised questionnaire used in “Aged in Home care” (AdHoc study to capture basic characteristics of home care services. Their summation leads to a services' delivery integration index. This index was applied to AdHoc services. A factor analysis was computed in order to empirically test the validity of the theoretical constructs. The plot of the settings was performed. Results: Application of the index ranks home care services in four groups according to their score. Factor analysis identifies a first factor which opposes working arrangement within service to organisational structure bringing together provisions for social care. A second factor corresponds to basic nursing care and therapies. Internal consistency for those three domains ranges from 0.78 to 0.93. When plotting the different settings different models of service delivery appear. Conclusion: The proposed index shows that behind a total score several models of care delivery are hidden. Comparison of service delivery integration should take into account this heterogeneity.

  5. Knowledge and perceptions of antenatal services need and delivery ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    treatment during pregnancy (IPTp) against malaria in Mkuranga and Mufindi districts, Tanzania. Methodology: ... when it comes to utilization of specific health services or interventions .... decision to visit a clinic was the need to be vaccinated .... Health information provided about how to prepare for the delivery. 68 (47.6%).

  6. Use of quality management methods in the transition from efficacious prevention programs to effective prevention services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniels, Vicki-Smith; Sandler, Irwin; Wolchik, Sharlene

    2008-06-01

    This paper applies concepts and methods developed in management to translate efficacious prevention programs into effective prevention services. The paper describes Quality Function Deployment (QFD) as a method for structured planning and development that connects the needs and wants of the consumer with the design of the product or service. The paper describes basic tools used in quality management, and discusses how they might be applied to prepare a prevention program for implementation by community agencies. Prevention programs are conceptualized as having multiple consumers (i.e., stakeholders), including the participants who receive the service, the service providers, the organizations that deliver the program, and the researchers who evaluate the programs. As an illustration of one step in the application of QFD to translate efficacious prevention programs into effective prevention services, analysis of the needs and preferences of Family Courts for the implementation of an the New Beginnings Program is presented.

  7. original article predictors of safe delivery service utilization in arsi

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abrham

    There is limited information on the mothers' use of skilled delivery services in the ... to conditions related to pregnancy and child birth. 99% of .... having favourable attitude towards utilization of ... two injections of Tetanus Toxoid vaccine during.

  8. Alternate service delivery models in cancer genetic counseling: a mini-review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam Hudson Buchanan

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Demand for cancer genetic counseling has grown rapidly in recent years as germline genomic information has become increasingly incorporated into cancer care and the field has entered the public consciousness through high-profile celebrity publications. Increased demand and existing variability in the availability of trained cancer genetics clinicians place a priority on developing and evaluating alternate service delivery models for genetic counseling. This mini-review summarizes the state of science regarding service delivery models such as telephone counseling, telegenetics and group counseling. Research on comparative effectiveness of these models in traditional individual, in-person genetic counseling has been promising for improving access to care in a manner acceptable to patients. Yet, it has not fully evaluated the short- and long-term patient- and system-level outcomes that will help answer the question of whether these models achieve the same beneficial psychosocial and behavioral outcomes as traditional cancer genetic counseling. We propose a research agenda focused on comparative effectiveness of available service delivery models and how to match models to patients and practice settings. Only through this rigorous research can clinicians and systems find the optimal balance of clinical quality, ready and secure access to care, and financial sustainability. Such research will be integral to achieving the promise of genomic medicine in oncology.

  9. Privatization of Electricity Service Delivery in Developing Nations: Issues and Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olamide Eniola Victor

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The provision of public utilities and infrastructures particularly electricity by the public sector (Government especially in the Developing Nations has been heavily criticized. This has been attributed to many reasons including poor electricity supply, poor distribution of service delivery of electricity due to the absence of spatial planning, insufficient government investment into the power industry, ineptitude operation on the part of the technicians, poor administration and managerial control. However, efforts to move away from government ownership, control or participation in this sector of economy towards free enterprise and increased inclusive private sector participation known as privatization, has been adopted as one of the solutions. This paper presents a critical review of privatization practices of alternative Service Delivery approach of selected Asian and African nations. The paper would elicit the common variants of privatization models adopted by these nations and the different implementation strategies which resulted in divergence in effectiveness and efficiency in the service delivery of electricity. The selected Asian countries are; Malaysia, India, and China, while the selected African nations are Nigeria, Cameroun and South Africa. The paper will draw from the literatures the various approaches, concepts adopted, practices, issues and challenges faced by these countries.

  10. The Role of Libraries in eHealth Service Delivery in Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Sarada

    2009-01-01

    eHealth is an emerging service sector which has great potential to improve health care delivery to rural and remote communities, facilitate health surveillance, and promote health education and research. Despite the critical need for eHealth services in Australia based on the challenges of distance and human resources, its utility has yet to be…

  11. How to achieve optimal organization of primary care service delivery at system level: Lessons from Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pelone, F.; Kringos, D.S.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; de Belvis, A.; Groenewegen, P.P.

    2013-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To measure the relative efficiency of primary care (PC) in turning their structures into services delivery and turning their services delivery into quality outcomes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study based on the dataset of the Primary Healthcare Activity Monitor for Europe project. Two Data

  12. How to achieve optimal organization of primary care service delivery at system level: lessons from Europe.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pelone, F.; Kringos, D.S.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; Belvis, A.G. de; Groenewegen, P.P.

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To measure the relative efficiency of primary care (PC) in turning their structures into services delivery and turning their services delivery into quality outcomes. Design: Cross-sectional study based on the dataset of the Primary Healthcare Activity Monitor for Europe project. Two Data

  13. Assessment of the administration of healthcare service delivery in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined the structure and mode of administration in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex Ile-Ife Nigeria; and also assessed the impact of the structure and mode of administration on the service delivery in the hospital. These were with a view to assessing the administration of healthcare ...

  14. Understanding the queuing theory for improved service delivery: an ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The methodology adopted in this paper, therefore is to describe queuing theory and its associated terminologies in relation to service delivery. In view of this, the paper presented a simplified exposition of queuing theory and management of waiting lines as it affects entrepreneurial drive for more business growth and ...

  15. Quality Service Delivery as a Competitive Weapon in Corporate ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study assessed quality service delivery of Zenith Bank of Nigeria to determine whether it confers competitive advantage on the Bank. A survey research method was adopted. A sample of the Bank's branches in 4 towns in Anambra State was selected. Data were generated from questionnaires, interviews and internet as ...

  16. The health maintenance organization strategy: a corporate takeover of health services delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, J W

    1975-01-01

    This paper presents a political economic framework for viewing the social organization of the delivery of health care servies and predicting a qualitatively different institutional configuration involving the health maintenance organization. The principal forces impacting American capitalism today are leading to a fundamental restructuring for increased social efficiency of the entire social welfare sector, including the health services industry. The method to achieve this restructuring involves health policy directed at raising the contribution to the social surplus from the delivery of health care services and eventual corporate domination. The health maintenance organization conceptualization is examined with suggestions as to how the HMO strategy promoted by the state leads to this corporate takeover. The mechanism and extent of the present corporate involvement are examined and implications of health services as a social control mechanism are presented.

  17. Receipt of Preventive Services After Oregon's Randomized Medicaid Experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marino, Miguel; Bailey, Steffani R; Gold, Rachel; Hoopes, Megan J; O'Malley, Jean P; Huguet, Nathalie; Heintzman, John; Gallia, Charles; McConnell, K John; DeVoe, Jennifer E

    2016-02-01

    It is predicted that gaining health insurance via the Affordable Care Act will result in increased rates of preventive health services receipt in the U.S., primarily based on self-reported findings from previous health insurance expansion studies. This study examined the long-term (36-month) impact of Oregon's 2008 randomized Medicaid expansion ("Oregon Experiment") on receipt of 12 preventive care services in community health centers using electronic health record data. Demographic data from adult (aged 19-64 years) Oregon Experiment participants were probabilistically matched to electronic health record data from 49 Oregon community health centers within the OCHIN community health information network (N=10,643). Intent-to-treat analyses compared receipt of preventive services over a 36-month (2008-2011) period among those randomly assigned to apply for Medicaid versus not assigned, and instrumental variable analyses estimated the effect of actually gaining Medicaid coverage on preventive services receipt (data collected in 2012-2014; analysis performed in 2014-2015). Intent-to-treat analyses revealed statistically significant differences between patients randomly assigned to apply for Medicaid (versus not assigned) for 8 of 12 assessed preventive services. In intent-to-treat analyses, Medicaid coverage significantly increased the odds of receipt of most preventive services (ORs ranging from 1.04 [95% CI=1.02, 1.06] for smoking assessment to 1.27 [95% CI=1.02, 1.57] for mammography). Rates of preventive services receipt will likely increase as community health center patients gain insurance through Affordable Care Act expansions. Continued effort is needed to increase health insurance coverage in an effort to decrease health disparities in vulnerable populations. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. 42 CFR 440.130 - Diagnostic, screening, preventive, and rehabilitative services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Diagnostic, screening, preventive, and rehabilitative services. 440.130 Section 440.130 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... Definitions § 440.130 Diagnostic, screening, preventive, and rehabilitative services. (a) “Diagnostic services...

  19. Fiscal Decentralization and Delivery of Public Services: Evidence from Education Sector in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rauf Abdur

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Fiscal Decentralization is the devolution of fiscal assignments to lower governments for high growth and better delivery of public services. The current study covering the period from 1972 to 2009 is an attempt to find out the impacts of fiscal decentralization on public services deliveries in Pakistan. Public services are proxy by Gross enrollment at primary school level while fiscal decentralization by fiscal transfer and expenditure sides of devolution. Using time series data, it is found that the individual impacts of fiscal transfer are although insignificant but still support the theoretical proposition regarding fiscal decentralization and public services relationship while delegation of expenditure responsibilities helps in improving the gross enrollment at primary school level. Furthermore the study evident that complete delegation of fiscal responsibilities to lower governments enhance enrollment ratio in Pakistan.

  20. Examining leadership as a strategy to enhance health care service delivery in regional hospitals in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Govender, Sagaren; Gerwel Proches, Cecile N; Kader, Abdulla

    2018-01-01

    Four public hospitals in South Africa, which render both specialized and nonspecialized services to thousands of patients, were examined to determine the impact of leadership on health care service delivery. These hospitals were inundated by various problems that were impacting negatively on health care service delivery. This research study aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges, complexities and constraints facing public health care in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and to examine leadership as a strategy to enhance healthcare service delivery with a particular focus on four regional hospitals in the KZN Province. The mixed-method research approach was utilized. Purposive sampling and stratified random sampling were employed in the research setting, and in-depth, semistructured interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using the Nvivo computer software package for in-depth interviews and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software for the quantitative analysis. The research findings showed that the current leadership framework adopted by the health care leaders in regional hospitals in KZN is weak and is contributing to poor health care service delivery. This study, therefore, aimed to address the current challenges and weaknesses that are impacting negatively on health care service delivery in regional hospitals in the KZN Province and made recommendations for improvement.

  1. Acceptability and Receipt of Preventive Care for Chronic-Disease Health Risk Behaviors Reported by Clients of Community Mental Health Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartlem, Kate; Bowman, Jenny; Freund, Megan; Wye, Paula; Lecathelinais, Christophe; McElwaine, Kathleen; Wolfenden, Luke; Gillham, Karen; Wiggers, John

    2015-08-01

    Compared with the general population, people with a mental illness have a greater prevalence of behaviors that contribute to higher chronic disease rates. Mental health clinical guidelines recommend preventive care to address such behaviors; however, little information is available about whether clients consider preventive care acceptable or about the prevalence of such care in mental health services. This article describes acceptability and receipt of assessment, advice, and referral for smoking, inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, harmful alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity, as reported by community mental health service clients. The association between preventive care, diagnosis, and number of clinical appointments was examined. A cross-sectional telephone interview was conducted with clients (N=558) of community mental health services in Australia. Although preventive care was highly acceptable to clients (86%-97%), receipt of preventive care was low. Client receipt of risk assessment ranged from 26% (assessment of fruit or vegetable intake) to 76% (assessment of alcohol consumption). The proportion of clients at risk of and assessed for unhealthy behavior who then received brief advice ranged from 69% (fruit or vegetable intake) to 85% (physical activity), whereas only 38% (alcohol consumption) to 49% (smoking) received any referral. A greater number of mental health appointments were associated with higher prevalence of preventive care, as were diagnoses of diabetes or respiratory conditions and not having a schizophrenia diagnosis. Practice change strategies are required to increase the delivery of routine preventive care within mental health services if clients are to benefit from clinical guidelines.

  2. A review of technology and trends in document delivery services

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourne, C P [DIALOG Information Services, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (United States)

    1990-05-01

    This paper reviews the major lines of technical development being pursued to extend or replace traditional inter-library loan and photocopy service and to facilitate the delivery of source documents to individual end users. Examples of technical approaches discussed are: (1) the inclusion of full text and image data in central online systems; (2) image workstations such as the ADONIS and UMI systems; and (3) the use of electronic networks for document ordering and delivery. Some consideration is given to the policy implications for libraries and information systems. (author). 11 tabs.

  3. A review of technology and trends in document delivery services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourne, C.P.

    1990-05-01

    This paper reviews the major lines of technical development being pursued to extend or replace traditional inter-library loan and photocopy service and to facilitate the delivery of source documents to individual end users. Examples of technical approaches discussed are: 1) the inclusion of full text and image data in central online systems; 2) image workstations such as the ADONIS and UMI systems; and 3) the use of electronic networks for document ordering and delivery. Some consideration is given to the policy implications for libraries and information systems. (author). 11 tabs

  4. QoC-based Optimization of End-to-End M-Health Data Delivery Services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Widya, I.A.; van Beijnum, Bernhard J.F.; Salden, Alfons

    2006-01-01

    This paper addresses how Quality of Context (QoC) can be used to optimize end-to-end mobile healthcare (m-health) data delivery services in the presence of alternative delivery paths, which is quite common in a pervasive computing and communication environment. We propose min-max-plus based

  5. Capacity, pressure, demand, and flow: A conceptual framework for analyzing ecosystem service provision and delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villamagna, Amy M.; Angermeier, Paul L.; Bennett, Elena M.

    2013-01-01

    Ecosystem services provide an instinctive way to understand the trade-offs associated with natural resource management. However, despite their apparent usefulness, several hurdles have prevented ecosystem services from becoming deeply embedded in environmental decision-making. Ecosystem service studies vary widely in focal services, geographic extent, and in methods for defining and measuring services. Dissent among scientists on basic terminology and approaches to evaluating ecosystem services create difficulties for those trying to incorporate ecosystem services into decision-making. To facilitate clearer comparison among recent studies, we provide a synthesis of common terminology and explain a rationale and framework for distinguishing among the components of ecosystem service delivery, including: an ecosystem's capacity to produce services; ecological pressures that interfere with an ecosystem's ability to provide the service; societal demand for the service; and flow of the service to people. We discuss how interpretation and measurement of these four components can differ among provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. Our flexible framework treats service capacity, ecological pressure, demand, and flow as separate but interactive entities to improve our ability to evaluate the sustainability of service provision and to help guide management decisions. We consider ecosystem service provision to be sustainable when demand is met without decreasing capacity for future provision of that service or causing undesirable declines in other services. When ecosystem service demand exceeds ecosystem capacity to provide services, society can choose to enhance natural capacity, decrease demand and/or ecological pressure, or invest in a technological substitute. Because regulating services are frequently overlooked in environmental assessments, we provide a more detailed examination of regulating services and propose a novel method for quantifying the flow of

  6. Rationale and design: telepsychology service delivery for depressed elderly veterans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richardson Lisa K

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Older adults who live in rural areas experience significant disparities in health status and access to mental health care. "Telepsychology," (also referred to as "telepsychiatry," or "telemental health" represents a potential strategy towards addressing this longstanding problem. Older adults may benefit from telepsychology due to its: (1 utility to address existing problematic access to care for rural residents; (2 capacity to reduce stigma associated with traditional mental health care; and (3 utility to overcome significant age-related problems in ambulation and transportation. Moreover, preliminary evidence indicates that telepsychiatry programs are often less expensive for patients, and reduce travel time, travel costs, and time off from work. Thus, telepsychology may provide a cost-efficient solution to access-to-care problems in rural areas. Methods We describe an ongoing four-year prospective, randomized clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of an empirically supported treatment for major depressive disorder, Behavioral Activation, delivered either via in-home videoconferencing technology ("Telepsychology" or traditional face-to-face services ("Same-Room". Our hypothesis is that in-homeTelepsychology service delivery will be equally effective as the traditional mode (Same-Room. Two-hundred twenty-four (224 male and female elderly participants will be administered protocol-driven individual Behavioral Activation therapy for depression over an 8-week period; and subjects will be followed for 12-months to ascertain longer-term effects of the treatment on three outcomes domains: (1 clinical outcomes (symptom severity, social functioning; (2 process variables (patient satisfaction, treatment credibility, attendance, adherence, dropout; and (3 economic outcomes (cost and resource use. Discussion Results from the proposed study will provide important insight into whether telepsychology service delivery is as effective

  7. Participation of traditional birth attendants in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services in two rural districts in Zimbabwe: a feasibility study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, Freddy; Aung, Khin Devi; Ndoro, Theresa; Engelsmann, Barbara; Dabis, François

    2008-01-01

    Background Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) is among the key HIV prevention strategies in Zimbabwe. A decrease in use of antenatal care (ANC) services with an increase in home deliveries is affecting the coverage of PMTCT interventions in a context of accelerated economic crisis. The main objective was to evaluate acceptability and feasibility of reinforcing the role of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in family and child health services through their participation in PMTCT programmes in Zimbabwe. Methods A community based cross-sectional survey was undertaken using multistage cluster sampling in two rural districts through interviews and focus group discussions among women who delivered at home with a TBA, those who had an institutional delivery and TBAs. Results 45% of TBAs interviewed knew the principles of PMTCT and 8% delivered a woman with known HIV-positive status in previous year. Of the complete package of PMTCT services, more than 75% of TBAs agreed to participate in most activities with the exception of performing a blood test (17%), accompanying new-borns to closest health centre to receive medication (15%) and assisting health centres in documentation of the link ANC-PMTCT services (18%). Women who delivered at home were less likely to have received more than one ANC service or have had contact with a health centre compared to women who delivered in a health centre (91.0% vs 72.6%; P attendance, PMTCT programmes will benefit from complementary approaches to prevent missed opportunities. TBAs are willing to expand their scope of work regarding activities related to PMTCT. There is a need to reinforce their knowledge on MTCT prevention measures and better integrate them into the health system. PMID:19061506

  8. Improving Government service delivery with private sector intermediaries

    OpenAIRE

    Klievink, B.; Janssen, M.

    2008-01-01

    Government organizations operate a variety of channels to interact with citizens and businesses. Advances in information and communication technology enabled an online presence and more direct interactions. A focus on efficiency makes organizations encourage the use of electronic channels over traditional channels. Also, intermediaries in the service delivery chain are cut out in favor of direct interactions. This strategy of disintermediation finds its rationale in the transaction costs theo...

  9. Can branding by health care provider organizations drive the delivery of higher technical and service quality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snihurowych, Roman R; Cornelius, Felix; Amelung, Volker Eric

    2009-01-01

    Despite the widespread use of branding in nearly all other major industries, most health care service delivery organizations have not fully embraced the practices and processes of branding. Facilitating the increased and appropriate use of branding among health care delivery organizations may improve service and technical quality for patients. This article introduces the concepts of branding, as well as making the case that the use of branding may improve the quality and financial performance of organizations. The concepts of branding are reviewed, with examples from the literature used to demonstrate their potential application within health care service delivery. The role of branding for individual organizations is framed by broader implications for health care markets. Branding strategies may have a number of positive effects on health care service delivery, including improved technical and service quality. This may be achieved through more transparent and efficient consumer choice, reduced costs related to improved patient retention, and improved communication and appropriateness of care. Patient satisfaction may be directly increased as a result of branding. More research into branding could result in significant quality improvements for individual organizations, while benefiting patients and the health system as a whole.

  10. Industrial Perspectives of Work Place Basics and Training Delivery Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, Joyce; Byers, Charles

    1991-01-01

    Kentucky employers (249 of 800 surveyed) identified adaptability, teamwork, communication, and problem solving as entry-level and advancement skills. Over 50 percent did no preemployment testing. Responses indicated areas needing change: training focused on workplace basics, accessible training delivery, and preemployment assessment services. (SK)

  11. Examining leadership as a strategy to enhance health care service delivery in regional hospitals in South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Govender, Sagaren; Gerwel Proches, Cecile N; Kader, Abdulla

    2018-01-01

    Background Four public hospitals in South Africa, which render both specialized and nonspecialized services to thousands of patients, were examined to determine the impact of leadership on health care service delivery. These hospitals were inundated by various problems that were impacting negatively on health care service delivery. Purpose This research study aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges, complexities and constraints facing public health care in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and to examine leadership as a strategy to enhance healthcare service delivery with a particular focus on four regional hospitals in the KZN Province. Methods The mixed-method research approach was utilized. Purposive sampling and stratified random sampling were employed in the research setting, and in-depth, semistructured interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using the Nvivo computer software package for in-depth interviews and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software for the quantitative analysis. Results The research findings showed that the current leadership framework adopted by the health care leaders in regional hospitals in KZN is weak and is contributing to poor health care service delivery. Conclusion This study, therefore, aimed to address the current challenges and weaknesses that are impacting negatively on health care service delivery in regional hospitals in the KZN Province and made recommendations for improvement. PMID:29535529

  12. The role of short messaging service in supporting the delivery of healthcare: An umbrella systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Househ, Mowafa

    2016-06-01

    Short messaging service (SMS) messages may present a convenient and cost-effective method to support healthcare interventions. This work assesses the effects of short messaging service on various healthcare interventions found in systematic reviews. The search strategy was based on two key concepts: short messaging service and healthcare delivery. The initial search was conducted in December 2012 and was updated in June 2013. Of the 550 identified references, 13 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria, of which 8 were published in peer-reviewed journals and 5 were retrieved from the Cochrane library. Data analysis shows that low to moderate research evidence exists on the benefits of short messaging service interventions for appointment reminders, promoting health in developing countries and preventive healthcare. In many interventions, however, there were a few studies that were of high quality, and most of the studies were rated from low to moderate quality or had no rating at all. Healthcare organizations, policy makers, or clinicians using short messaging service messages to support healthcare interventions should (1) implement interventions that have been found to work in healthcare settings, (2) continue evaluating short messaging service interventions that have not been adequately assessed, and (3) improve collaboration between various healthcare entities to develop studies targeted at specific populations to evaluate the long-term impact of short messaging service on healthcare outcomes. © The Author(s) 2014.

  13. Delivery of public services in ethnic minority states: Gender equality ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Delivery of public services in ethnic minority states: Gender equality and decentralization in Myanmar. In 2017, to sustain Myanmar's democratic transition, IDRC and Global Affairs Canada ... and staff from the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs (Asia ... Ideas from the global climate change hotspot research.

  14. A national survey of services for the prevention and management of falls in the UK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Potter Rachel

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The National Health Service (NHS was tasked in 2001 with developing service provision to prevent falls in older people. We carried out a national survey to provide a description of health and social care funded UK fallers services, and to benchmark progress against current practice guidelines. Methods Cascade approach to sampling, followed by telephone survey with senior member of the fall service. Characteristics of the service were assessed using an internationally agreed taxonomy. Reported service provision was compared against benchmarks set by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE. Results We identified 303 clinics across the UK. 231 (76% were willing to participate. The majority of services were based in acute or community hospitals, with only a few in primary care or emergency departments. Access to services was, in the majority of cases, by health professional referral. Most services undertook a multi-factorial assessment. The content and quality of these assessments varied substantially. Services varied extensively in the way that interventions were delivered, and particular concern is raised about interventions for vision, home hazard modification, medication review and bone health. Conclusion The most common type of service provision was a multi-factorial assessment and intervention. There were a wide range of service models, but for a substantial number of services, delivery appears to fall below recommended NICE guidance.

  15. Cost effectiveness and efficiency in assistive technology service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, C G

    1993-01-01

    In order to develop and maintain a viable service delivery program, the realities of cost effectiveness and cost efficiency in providing assistive technology must be addressed. Cost effectiveness relates to value of the outcome compared to the expenditures. Cost efficiency analyzes how a provider uses available resources to supply goods and services. This paper describes how basic business principles of benefit/cost analysis can be used to determine cost effectiveness. In addition, basic accounting principles are used to illustrate methods of evaluating a program's cost efficiency. Service providers are encouraged to measure their own program's effectiveness and efficiency (and potential viability) in light of current trends. This paper is meant to serve as a catalyst for continued dialogue on this topic.

  16. Exploration of the administrative aspects of the delivery of home health care services: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahsavari, Hooman; Nasrabadi, Alireza Nikbakht; Almasian, Mohammad; Heydari, Heshmatolah; Hazini, Abdolrahim

    2018-01-01

    Because of the variety of services and resources offered in the delivery of home health care, its management is a challenging and difficult task. The purpose of this study was to explore the administrative aspects of the delivery of home health care services. This qualitative study was conducted based on the traditional content analysis approach in 2015 in Iran. The participants were selected using the purposeful sampling method and data were collected through in-depth semi-structured personal interviews and from discussions in a focus group. The collected data were analyzed using the Lundman and Graneheim method. 23 individuals participated in individual interviews, and the collected data were categorized into the two main themes of policymaking and infrastructures, each of which consisted of some subcategories. Health policymakers could utilize the results of this study as baseline information in making decisions about the delivery of home health care services, taking into account the contextual dimensions of home care services, leading to improvements in home health care services.

  17. A systematic review of interventions to improve prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission service delivery and promote retention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambia, Julie; Mandala, Justin

    2016-01-01

    The success of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) is dependent upon high retention of mother-infant pairs within these programmes. This is a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions that aim to improve PMTCT service delivery and promote retention throughout the PMTCT steps. Selected databases were searched for studies published in English (up to September 2015). Outcomes of interest included antiretroviral (ARV) drugs or antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation among HIV-positive pregnant and/or breastfeeding women and their infants, retention into PMTCT programs, the uptake of early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV and infant HIV status. Risk ratios and random-effect meta-analysis were used in the analysis. Interventions assessed in the 34 identified studies included male partner involvement in PMTCT, peer mentoring, the use of community health workers (CHWs), mobile phone-based reminders, conditional cash transfer, training of midwives, integration of PMTCT services and enhanced referral. Five studies (two randomized) that evaluated mobile phone-based interventions showed a statistically significant increase (pooled RR 1.18; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.32, I(2)=83%) in uptake of EID of HIV at around six weeks postpartum. Male partner involvement in PMTCT was associated with reductions in infant HIV transmission (pooled RR 0.61; 95% CI 0.39 to 0.94, I(2)=0%) in four studies (one randomized). Four studies (three randomized) that were grounded on psychological interventions reported non-significant results (pooled RR 1.01; 95% CI 0.93 to 1.09, I(2)=69%) in increasing ARV/ART uptake among HIV-positive pregnant and/or breastfeeding women and infant HIV testing (pooled RR 1.00; 95% CI 0.94 to 1.07, I(2)=45%). The effect of the other interventions on the effectiveness of improving PMTCT uptake was unclear. Heterogeneity of interventions limits these findings. Our findings indicate that mobile phone-based reminders may increase the uptake

  18. The Changing Political Undercurrents in Health Services Delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichoku, H E; Ifelunini, A I

    2017-07-01

    This article reviews the changing political undercurrent in health service delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa, chronicling the ideological shift in orientation toward neoliberalism in the health sector, an ideology crafted and introduced into Sub-Saharan Africa by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The article examines the implication of this neoliberal reform on the efficiency in health care provision and on the quality and accessibility of health services by the poor and vulnerable. Drawing inference from countries like Nigeria, the authors argue that the ascendency of neoliberalism in the health systems of Sub-Saharan Africa has engendered unethical practices and introduced elements of moral hazard in the health sector, reducing the incentive for governments to develop effective service delivery over the long term. The authors therefore advocate for a rejection of neoliberal ideology in favor of a universal coverage principle if an inclusive health system is to be developed.

  19. The role of the document delivery service at an evolving research library in Saudi Arabia

    KAUST Repository

    Vijayakumar, J.K.

    2015-01-01

    Design/methodology/approach – To collect the responses of document delivery service users, an online questionnaire was used with 12 multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions. The questionnaires were sent only to the users of this service, and the responses were collected anonymously. Two surveys were conducted, in 2010 and 2013, with the same questions. The responses are displayed graphically prepared to compare the results. There were 71 responses in 2010 and 95 in 2013. Findings – In both surveys, the majority of users rated the service, staff behaviour, speed, quality, etc. with a high satisfaction level. Document delivery order statistics are a major decision-making tool, in addition to usage analysis, for developing a better, economical and highly utilized collection in brand new libraries. delivery order statistics are a major decision-making tool, in addition to usage analysis, for developing a better, economical and highly utilized collection in brand new libraries. Originality/value – This is the first published study of user perception of document delivery in Saudi Arabia.

  20. Priority interventions to reduce HIV transmission in sex work settings in sub-Saharan Africa and delivery of these services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chersich, Matthew F; Luchters, Stanley; Ntaganira, Innocent; Gerbase, Antonio; Lo, Ying-Ru; Scorgie, Fiona; Steen, Richard

    2013-03-04

    Virtually no African country provides HIV prevention services in sex work settings with an adequate scale and intensity. Uncertainty remains about the optimal set of interventions and mode of delivery. We systematically reviewed studies reporting interventions for reducing HIV transmission among female sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa between January 2000 and July 2011. Medline (PubMed) and non-indexed journals were searched for studies with quantitative study outcomes. We located 26 studies, including seven randomized trials. Evidence supports implementation of the following interventions to reduce unprotected sex among female sex workers: peer-mediated condom promotion, risk-reduction counselling and skills-building for safer sex. One study found that interventions to counter hazardous alcohol-use lowered unprotected sex. Data also show effectiveness of screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and syndromic STI treatment, but experience with periodic presumptive treatment is limited. HIV testing and counselling is essential for facilitating sex workers' access to care and antiretroviral treatment (ART), but testing models for sex workers and indeed for ART access are little studied, as are structural interventions, which create conditions conducive for risk reduction. With the exception of Senegal, persistent criminalization of sex work across Africa reduces sex workers' control over working conditions and impedes their access to health services. It also obstructs health-service provision and legal protection. There is sufficient evidence of effectiveness of targeted interventions with female sex workers in Africa to inform delivery of services for this population. With improved planning and political will, services - including peer interventions, condom promotion and STI screening - would act at multiple levels to reduce HIV exposure and transmission efficiency among sex workers. Initiatives are required to enhance access to HIV testing and ART for

  1. Priority interventions to reduce HIV transmission in sex work settings in sub-Saharan Africa and delivery of these services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chersich, Matthew F; Luchters, Stanley; Ntaganira, Innocent; Gerbase, Antonio; Lo, Ying-Ru; Scorgie, Fiona; Steen, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Virtually no African country provides HIV prevention services in sex work settings with an adequate scale and intensity. Uncertainty remains about the optimal set of interventions and mode of delivery. Methods We systematically reviewed studies reporting interventions for reducing HIV transmission among female sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa between January 2000 and July 2011. Medline (PubMed) and non-indexed journals were searched for studies with quantitative study outcomes. Results We located 26 studies, including seven randomized trials. Evidence supports implementation of the following interventions to reduce unprotected sex among female sex workers: peer-mediated condom promotion, risk-reduction counselling and skills-building for safer sex. One study found that interventions to counter hazardous alcohol-use lowered unprotected sex. Data also show effectiveness of screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and syndromic STI treatment, but experience with periodic presumptive treatment is limited. HIV testing and counselling is essential for facilitating sex workers’ access to care and antiretroviral treatment (ART), but testing models for sex workers and indeed for ART access are little studied, as are structural interventions, which create conditions conducive for risk reduction. With the exception of Senegal, persistent criminalization of sex work across Africa reduces sex workers’ control over working conditions and impedes their access to health services. It also obstructs health-service provision and legal protection. Conclusions There is sufficient evidence of effectiveness of targeted interventions with female sex workers in Africa to inform delivery of services for this population. With improved planning and political will, services – including peer interventions, condom promotion and STI screening – would act at multiple levels to reduce HIV exposure and transmission efficiency among sex workers. Initiatives are

  2. Measurement and evaluation of the public administration performance through delivery of electronic services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirlinda Batalli

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper concerns the relation between delivery of electronic services (e-services and evaluation of public administration performance. Public sector organizations should pay attention and determine the strategies to be followed in order to increase the satisfaction of citizens and businesses in relation to delivery of electronic services. The study aims to review the demands toward progress to the competitiveness, the sustainability, efficiency and effectives in public administration that have rapidly enforced the wide reforms in the public sector, in order to modernize the initiatives to offer better electronic services for the citizens. The article aims to present that the transformation process toward providing electronic services to the citizens should be assessed continuously, in light with challenges, demands and process of globalization, in order to strengthen the capacities of public administration and make it more efficient. In this regard, the regular evaluation and measurement of the public administration performance leads toward the promotion of enhanced public services and higher level of accountability. Through receiving the e-services, citizens can save their time, can reduce the expenses and create an easier access of communication with all levels of the government.

  3. Distance from health facility and mothers' perception of quality related to skilled delivery service utilization in northern Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisseha, Girmatsion; Berhane, Yemane; Worku, Alemayehu; Terefe, Wondwossen

    2017-01-01

    Poor maternal health service utilization is one of the contributing factors to a high level of maternal and newborn mortality in Ethiopia. The factors associated with utilization of services are believed to differ from one context to another. We assessed the factors associated with skilled delivery service utilization in rural northern Ethiopia. A community-based survey was conducted among mothers who gave birth in the 12 months preceding the study period, from January to February 2015, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Multistage sampling technique was used to select mothers from the identified clusters. Households within a 10 km radius of the health facility were taken as a cluster for a community survey. Data were collected using face-to-face interview at the household level. We compared the mothers who reported giving birth to the index child in a health facility and those who reported delivering at home, in order to identify the predictors of skilled delivery utilization. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors of skilled delivery service utilization. The results are presented with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). A total of 1,796 mothers participated in the study, with a 100% response rate. Distance to health facilities (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =0.53 [95% CI: 0.39, 0.71]), perception of mothers to the availability of adequate equipment in the delivery service in their catchment area (AOR =1.5 [95% CI: 1.11, 2.13]), experiencing any complication during childbirth, using antenatal care, lower birth order and having an educated partner were the significant predictors of skilled delivery service utilization. Implementing community-based intervention programs that will address the physical accessibility of delivery services, such as the ambulance service, road issues and waiting rooms, and improving quality maternity service will likely reduce the current problem.

  4. Distance from health facility and mothers’ perception of quality related to skilled delivery service utilization in northern Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisseha, Girmatsion; Berhane, Yemane; Worku, Alemayehu; Terefe, Wondwossen

    2017-01-01

    Background Poor maternal health service utilization is one of the contributing factors to a high level of maternal and newborn mortality in Ethiopia. The factors associated with utilization of services are believed to differ from one context to another. We assessed the factors associated with skilled delivery service utilization in rural northern Ethiopia. Subjects and methods A community-based survey was conducted among mothers who gave birth in the 12 months preceding the study period, from January to February 2015, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Multistage sampling technique was used to select mothers from the identified clusters. Households within a 10 km radius of the health facility were taken as a cluster for a community survey. Data were collected using face-to-face interview at the household level. We compared the mothers who reported giving birth to the index child in a health facility and those who reported delivering at home, in order to identify the predictors of skilled delivery utilization. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors of skilled delivery service utilization. The results are presented with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results A total of 1,796 mothers participated in the study, with a 100% response rate. Distance to health facilities (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =0.53 [95% CI: 0.39, 0.71]), perception of mothers to the availability of adequate equipment in the delivery service in their catchment area (AOR =1.5 [95% CI: 1.11, 2.13]), experiencing any complication during childbirth, using antenatal care, lower birth order and having an educated partner were the significant predictors of skilled delivery service utilization. Conclusion Implementing community-based intervention programs that will address the physical accessibility of delivery services, such as the ambulance service, road issues and waiting rooms, and improving quality maternity service will likely reduce the current

  5. Relational Analysis for Delivery of Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Bauer, Jörg

    2008-01-01

    substantially improves the precision of the results obtained while being able to deal with the full generality of the syntax of processes. The analysis reveals a feasible complexity for practical examples and gives rise to a fast prototype. We use this prototype to automatically prove the correct delivery......Many techniques exist for statically computing properties of the evolution of processes expressed in process algebras. Static analysis has shown how to obtain useful results that can both be checked and computed in polynomial time. In this paper we develop a static analysis in relational form which...... of messages for the implementation of an accident service, which is based on multiplexed communication, a crucial feature of global computing applications....

  6. How do we capture the emergency nurse practitioners' contribution to value in health service delivery?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennings, Natasha; Lutze, Matthew; Clifford, Stuart; Maw, Michael

    2017-03-01

    The emergency nurse practitioner is now a well established and respected member of the healthcare team. Evaluation of the role has focused on patient safety, effectiveness and quality of care outcomes. Comparisons of the role continue to focus on cost, with findings based on incomplete and almost impossible to define, recognition of contribution to service delivery by paralleled practitioners. Currently there is no clear definition as to how nurse practitioners contribute to value in health service delivery. Robust and rigorous research needs to be commissioned taking into consideration the unique hybrid nature of the emergency nurse practitioner role and focusing on the value they contribute to health care delivery.

  7. The determinations of remote sensing satellite data delivery service quality: A positivistic case study in Chinese context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Jiahua; Yan, Xiangbin; Tan, Qiaoqiao; Li, Yijun

    2014-03-01

    With the development of remote sensing technology, remote-sensing satellite has been widely used in many aspects of national construction. Big data with different standards and massive users with different needs, make the satellite data delivery service to be a complex giant system. How to deliver remote-sensing satellite data efficiently and effectively is a big challenge. Based on customer service theory, this paper proposes a hierarchy conceptual model for examining the determinations of remote-sensing satellite data delivery service quality in the Chinese context. Three main dimensions: service expectation, service perception and service environment, and 8 sub-dimensions are included in the model. Large amount of first-hand data on the remote-sensing satellite data delivery service have been obtained through field research, semi-structured questionnaire and focused interview. A positivist case study is conducted to validate and develop the proposed model, as well as to investigate the service status and related influence mechanisms. Findings from the analysis demonstrate the explanatory validity of the model, and provide potentially helpful insights for future practice.

  8. The determinations of remote sensing satellite data delivery service quality: A positivistic case study in Chinese context

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Jiahua; Yan, Xiangbin; Tan, Qiaoqiao; Li, Yijun

    2014-01-01

    With the development of remote sensing technology, remote-sensing satellite has been widely used in many aspects of national construction. Big data with different standards and massive users with different needs, make the satellite data delivery service to be a complex giant system. How to deliver remote-sensing satellite data efficiently and effectively is a big challenge. Based on customer service theory, this paper proposes a hierarchy conceptual model for examining the determinations of remote-sensing satellite data delivery service quality in the Chinese context. Three main dimensions: service expectation, service perception and service environment, and 8 sub-dimensions are included in the model. Large amount of first-hand data on the remote-sensing satellite data delivery service have been obtained through field research, semi-structured questionnaire and focused interview. A positivist case study is conducted to validate and develop the proposed model, as well as to investigate the service status and related influence mechanisms. Findings from the analysis demonstrate the explanatory validity of the model, and provide potentially helpful insights for future practice

  9. Characteristics of U.S. Mental Health Facilities That Offer Suicide Prevention Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuramoto-Crawford, S Janet; Smith, Kelley E; McKeon, Richard

    2016-01-01

    This study characterized mental health facilities that offer suicide prevention services or outcome follow-up after discharge. The study analyzed data from 8,459 U.S. mental health facilities that participated in the 2010 National Mental Health Services Survey. Logistic regression analyses were used to compare facilities that offered neither of the prevention services with those that offered both or either service. About one-fifth of mental health facilities reported offering neither suicide prevention services nor outcome follow-up. Approximately one-third offered both, 25% offered suicide prevention services only, and 21% offered only outcome follow-up after discharge. Facilities that offered neither service were less likely than facilities that offered either to offer comprehensive support services or special programs for veterans; to offer substance abuse services; and to be accredited, licensed, or certified. Further examination of facilitators and barriers in implementing suicide prevention services in mental health facilities is warranted.

  10. Use of antenatal services and delivery care among women in rural western Kenya: a community based survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosen Daniel H

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Improving maternal health is one of the UN Millennium Development Goals. We assessed provision and use of antenatal services and delivery care among women in rural Kenya to determine whether women were receiving appropriate care. Methods Population-based cross-sectional survey among women who had recently delivered. Results Of 635 participants, 90% visited the antenatal clinic (ANC at least once during their last pregnancy (median number of visits 4. Most women (64% first visited the ANC in the third trimester; a perceived lack of quality in the ANC was associated with a late first ANC visit (Odds ratio [OR] 1.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0–2.4. Women who did not visit an ANC were more likely to have 90%, but provision of other services was low, e.g. malaria prevention (21%, iron (53% and folate (44% supplementation, syphilis testing (19.4% and health talks (14.4%. Eighty percent of women delivered outside a health facility; among these, traditional birth attendants assisted 42%, laypersons assisted 36%, while 22% received no assistance. Factors significantly associated with giving birth outside a health facility included: age ≥ 30 years, parity ≥ 5, low SES, 1 hour walking distance from the health facility. Women who delivered unassisted were more likely to be of parity ≥ 5 (AOR 5.7, 95% CI 2.8–11.6. Conclusion In this rural area, usage of the ANC was high, but this opportunity to deliver important health services was not fully utilized. Use of professional delivery services was low, and almost 1 out of 5 women delivered unassisted. There is an urgent need to improve this dangerous situation.

  11. HIV/AIDS Prevention Activities of Faith-Based Christian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Based on these findings, it was recommended that the faith-based Christian organizations should collaborate with relevant agencies, community based workers and non-formal education providers to improve HIV/AIDS prevention service delivery in the study area. Keywords: Prevention, Activities, HIV/AIDS, Empowerment, ...

  12. Addressing Trauma in Schools: Multitiered Service Delivery Options for Practitioners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinbergs, Erik J.; Fefer, Sarah A.

    2018-01-01

    Hundreds of thousands of children are confronted with traumatic experiences each year in the United States. As trauma-informed care begins to take hold in schools, school mental health providers (e.g., school psychologists, counselors, and social workers) desire concrete service-delivery options for students affected by trauma. This article…

  13. 42 CFR 405.2448 - Preventive primary services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... centers are the following: (1) Medical social services. (2) Nutritional assessment and referral. (3) Preventive health education. (4) Children's eye and ear examinations. (5) Prenatal and post-partum care. (6) Perinatal services. (7) Well child care, including periodic screening. (8) Immunizations, including tetanus...

  14. A Service Delivery Model for Addressing Activity and Social Participation Needs of People Living with HIV

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gayle Restall

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Occupational therapy can contribute to the health and well-being of people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV who are experiencing health consequences of living long term with this disease. However, there are no comprehensive rehabilitation service delivery models to guide this emerging area of practice. The purpose of this study was to obtain critical feedback about a service delivery model to address the activity and social participation needs of people living with HIV. Method: We developed a service delivery model from a synthesis of the literature. Using a qualitative research design, we conducted individual and focus group interviews with 35 informants from diverse backgrounds and involvement in HIV-related research, service provision, and policymaking to provide critical feedback about the model. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using inductive qualitative methods. Results: The informants identified the strengths and limitations of the model and supports and barriers to its implementation. They highlighted the importance of principle-based services, increasing resources for service navigation, building capacity of rehabilitation services to address the needs of people with HIV, and increasing research and program evaluation targeted to achieving activity and social participation outcomes. Conclusions: The model provides a framework for occupational therapists to design and evaluate services for this population.

  15. Complaints and compliments assessment in developing service delivery measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norshahrizan Nordin

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Excellent healthcare services delivered to patients would not necessarily entail an excellent patient service fulfillment, fulfill patient expectations, and attain high satisfaction levels. Hence, patient satisfaction is multifactorial and difficult to measure. Appliance of satisfaction model, service dissatisfaction and satisfaction feedback are able to translate the nonlinear attributes for a more accurate service dissatisfaction and satisfaction feedback assessment. Service recipients of experienced Inpatient and Outpatient (IOPs can be translated into levels of compliments and complaints to describe degrees of patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction, respectively. Compliments and complaints voiced by patients should be taken seriously. As a result, the translation of service satisfaction and service dissatisfaction based on compliments and complaints from patients in the form of satisfaction index SCi and dissatisfaction index SCa introduced a new theoretical concept of concurrent and balance measurement in evaluating customer (VOC or VOPs feedback. In normal practice, the service improvement is usually based on complaints or dissatisfaction aspect, but the compliments or satisfaction aspect on the same service delivery was always neglected. In this study, the formulation which was based on a non-linear assessment, not only amplified the effectiveness in communicating patients’ compliments and complaints in a more receptive manner but also corresponded with Kano model.

  16. Women's perceptions of antenatal, delivery, and postpartum services in rural Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gladys Reuben Mahiti

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Maternal health care provision remains a major challenge in developing countries. There is agreement that the provision of quality clinical services is essential if high rates of maternal death are to be reduced. However, despite efforts to improve access to these services, a high number of women in Tanzania do not access them. The aim of this study is to explore women's views about the maternal health services (pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum period that they received at health facilities in order to identify gaps in service provision that may lead to low-quality maternal care and increased risks associated with maternal morbidity and mortality in rural Tanzania. Design: We gathered qualitative data from 15 focus group discussions with women attending a health facility after child birth and transcribed it verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysis. Results: ‘Three categories emerged that reflected women's perceptions of maternal health care services: “mothers perceive that maternal health services are beneficial,” “barriers to accessing maternal health services” such as availability and use of traditional birth attendants (TBAs and the long distances between some villages, and “ambivalence regarding the quality of maternal health services” reflecting that women had both positive and negative perceptions in relation to quality of health care services offered’. Conclusions: Mothers perceived that maternal health care services are beneficial during pregnancy and delivery, but their awareness of postpartum complications and the role of medical services during that stage were poor. The study revealed an ambivalence regarding the perceived quality of health care services offered, partly due to shortages of material resources. Barriers to accessing maternal health care services, such as the cost of transport and the use of TBAs, were also shown. These findings call for improvement on the services

  17. original article assessment of effective coverage of hiv prevention of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abrham

    BACKGROUND: Coverage assessment of prevention of Pregnant Mother to Child Transmission. (PMTCT) of HIV service is useful to measure the health system effort or performance of health service delivery function and ... anti retroviral drugs, breast-feeding counseling and ... care service coverage to develop appropriate.

  18. How does outcome-based funding affect service delivery? An analysis of consequences within employment services for people living with serious mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gewurtz, Rebecca E; Cott, Cheryl; Rush, Brian; Kirsh, Bonnie

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores the impact of outcome-based funding on service delivery within employment services for people with serious mental illness. It draws on a case study of a policy change in the provincial disability support program in Ontario, Canada where funding for employment programs and services was changed from a fee-for-service to an outcome-based model. The findings highlight that the financial imperative for programs to meet employment targets in order to secure their funding has shifted the focus away from the provision of pre-employment supports to job development and job placements. However, there remains little attention to job matching and career development, and there is concern about access to services among those with complex barriers to employment. There is a need to reconcile tensions between the goals of outcome-based funding and on-the-ground service delivery to promote ongoing innovation in employment services for people with serious mental illness.

  19. Quality service delivery for the community, by the community: an innovative Eastern Cape infrastructure and job creation success

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Wall, K

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available ; and service delivery; through O/&M activities that increase the availability and utility of infrastructure, and the quality and reliability of services. ... of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa Annual (IMIESA) Conference, Port Elizabeth, October 2013 Quality service delivery for the community, by the community: an innovative Eastern Cape infrastructure and job creation success Wall K, Ive O, Bhagwan J...

  20. Enhancing Human Capital Development and Service Delivery in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions through Effective Academic Staff

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chinyeaka Igbokwe-Ibeto

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Within the framework of bureaucratic and human capital theories, an eclectic approach, the study examines the nexus between academic staff recruitment in Nigerian tertiary institutions and human capital development as well as service delivery with specific reference to universities. It is generally agreed that higher education is a sine-qua-non for human capital development and efficient service delivery. Higher education is a prerequisite for the production of highly competent experts, which in turn, contributes to the development of organizations and the economy at large. For these to be achieved, the right content and academic staff  must be in place to perform this varied function.  However, over the years the quality of human capital coming out of Nigerian universities and its impact on service delivery has become a source of concern to employers of labour and all stakeholders. Inferential opinions have traced the problem to the recruitment of incompetent academic staff. To investigate the issues raised, the study relied heavily on primary and secondary data and multi stage sampling was used to select the sample population. The data collected was presented in pie chart and simple percentage. Similarly, in order to test the hypotheses and establish the degree of dependence or independence of the variables under investigation, the chi-square statistical technique was used. The findings of the study revealed among others, that Nigerian universities do not employ merit, qualification and competency in the academic staff recruitment. It also established that there is a significant relationship between merit, qualification and competency based academic staff recruitment and human capital development and service delivery. To enhance human capital development and service delivery in Nigerian universities, the study recommends among others, that an independent body like the National University Commission (NUC should be given the responsibility of

  1. Family Violence Prevention and Services Programs. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-11-02

    This rule will better prevent and protect survivors of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence, by clarifying that all survivors must have access to services and programs funded under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. More specifically, the rule enhances accessibility and non-discrimination provisions, clarifies confidentiality rules, promotes coordination among community-based organizations, State Domestic Violence Coalitions, States, and Tribes, as well as incorporates new discretionary grant programs. Furthermore, the rule updates existing regulations to reflect statutory changes made to the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, and updates procedures for soliciting and awarding grants. The rule also increases clarity and reduces potential confusion over statutory and regulatory standards. The rule codifies standards already used by the program in the Funding Opportunity Announcements and awards, in technical assistance, in reporting requirements, and in sub-regulatory guidance.

  2. Overview of States' Use of Telehealth for the Delivery of Early Intervention (IDEA Part C Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Cason

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Early intervention (EI services are designed to promote the development of skills and enhance the quality of life of infants and toddlers who have been identified as having a disability or developmental delay, enhance capacity of families to care for their child with special needs, reduce future educational costs, and promote independent living (NECTAC 2011.  EI services are regulated by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA; however, personnel shortages, particularly in rural areas, limit access for children who qualify.  Telehealth is an emerging delivery model demonstrating potential to deliver EI services effectively and efficiently, thereby improving access and ameliorating the impact of provider shortages in underserved areas. The use of a telehealth delivery model facilitates inter-disciplinary collaboration, coordinated care, and consultation with specialists not available within a local community.  Method:  A survey sent by the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC to IDEA Part C coordinators assessed their utilization of telehealth within states’ IDEA Part C programs.  Reimbursement for provider type and services and barriers to implement a telehealth service delivery model were identified.  Results:  Representatives from 26 states and one jurisdiction responded to the NECTAC telehealth survey.  Of these, 30% (n=9 indicated that they are either currently using telehealth as an adjunct service delivery model (n=6 or plan to incorporate telehealth within the next 1-2 years (n=3.  Identified telehealth providers included developmental specialists, teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, behavior specialists, audiologists, and interpreters.  Reimbursement was variable and included use of IDEA Part C funding, Medicaid, and private insurance.  Expressed barriers and concerns for

  3. The value of express delivery services for cross-border e-commerce in European Union markets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    T.Y. Kim (Thai Young); R. Dekker (Rommert); C. Heij (Christiaan)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractFurther growth of cross-border e-commerce in the European Union markets requires improved express delivery services. The framework presented in this paper identifies relevant contextual factors that affect express delivery adoption rates in European cross-border e-commerce. This

  4. Routine Immunization Service Delivery Through the Basic Package of Health Services Program in Afghanistan: Gaps, Challenges, and Opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mbaeyi, Chukwuma; Kamawal, Noor Shah; Porter, Kimberly A; Azizi, Adam Khan; Sadaat, Iftekhar; Hadler, Stephen; Ehrhardt, Derek

    2017-07-01

    The Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) program has increased access to immunization services for children living in rural Afghanistan. However, multiple surveys have indicated persistent immunization coverage gaps. Hence, to identify gaps in implementation, an assessment of the BPHS program was undertaken, with specific focus on the routine immunization (RI) component. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2014 on a representative sample drawn from a sampling frame of 1858 BPHS health facilities. Basic descriptive analysis was performed, capturing general characteristics of survey respondents and assessing specific RI components, and χ2 tests were used to evaluate possible differences in service delivery by type of health facility. Of 447 survey respondents, 27% were health subcenters (HSCs), 30% were basic health centers, 32% were comprehensive health centers, and 12% were district hospitals. Eighty-seven percent of all respondents offered RI services, though only 61% of HSCs did so. Compared with other facility types, HSCs were less likely to have adequate stock of vaccines, essential cold-chain equipment, or proper documentation of vaccination activities. There is an urgent need to address manpower and infrastructural deficits in RI service delivery through the BPHS program, especially at the HSC level. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  5. Institutional delivery service utilization in Munisa Woreda, South East Ethiopia: a community based cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amano, Abdella; Gebeyehu, Abebaw; Birhanu, Zelalem

    2012-10-08

    Reducing maternal morbidity and mortality is a global priority which is particularly relevant to developing countries like Ethiopia. One of the key strategies for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality is increasing institutional delivery service utilization of mothers under the care of skilled birth attendants. The aim of this study was to determine the level of institutional delivery service utilization and associated factors. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from April 1-20, 2011, among mothers who gave birth 12 months before the study began in Munesa Woreda, Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Southeast Ethiopia. A stratified cluster sampling was used to select a sample of 855 participants. Out of all deliveries, only 12.3% took place at health facilities. Women who were urban residents (AOR = 2.27, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.40), women of age at interview less than 20 years (AOR = 6.06, 95%CI: 1.54, 23.78), women with first pregnancy (AOR = 2.41, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.97) and, women who had ANC visit during the last pregnancy (AOR = 4.18, 95%CI: 2.54, 6.89) were more likely to deliver at health institutions. Secondary and above level of mother`s and husband`s education had also a significant effect on health institution delivery with AOR = 4.31 (95%CI: 1.62, 11.46) and AOR = 2.77 (95%CI: 1.07, 7.19) respectively. Institutional delivery service utilization was found to be low in the study area. Secondary and above level of mother`s and husband`s education, urban residence and ANC visit were amongst the main factors that had an influence on health institution delivery. Increasing the awareness of mothers and their partners about the benefits of institutional delivery services are recommended.

  6. Institutional delivery service utilization in Munisa Woreda, South East Ethiopia: a community based cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amano Abdella

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Reducing maternal morbidity and mortality is a global priority which is particularly relevant to developing countries like Ethiopia. One of the key strategies for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality is increasing institutional delivery service utilization of mothers under the care of skilled birth attendants. The aim of this study was to determine the level of institutional delivery service utilization and associated factors. Methods A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from April 1–20, 2011, among mothers who gave birth 12 months before the study began in Munesa Woreda, Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Southeast Ethiopia. A stratified cluster sampling was used to select a sample of 855 participants. Results Out of all deliveries, only 12.3% took place at health facilities. Women who were urban residents (AOR = 2.27, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.40, women of age at interview less than 20 years (AOR = 6.06, 95%CI: 1.54, 23.78, women with first pregnancy (AOR = 2.41, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.97 and, women who had ANC visit during the last pregnancy (AOR = 4.18, 95%CI: 2.54, 6.89 were more likely to deliver at health institutions. Secondary and above level of mother`s and husband`s education had also a significant effect on health institution delivery with AOR = 4.31 (95%CI: 1.62, 11.46 and AOR = 2.77 (95%CI: 1.07, 7.19 respectively. Conclusion Institutional delivery service utilization was found to be low in the study area. Secondary and above level of mother`s and husband`s education, urban residence and ANC visit were amongst the main factors that had an influence on health institution delivery. Increasing the awareness of mothers and their partners about the benefits of institutional delivery services are recommended.

  7. Rural and urban women entrepreneurs: A comparison of service needs and delivery methods priorities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davis, A.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Women entrepreneurs face a wide variety of barriers and challenges throughout the life and growth of their entrepreneurial venture. This study expands the knowledge base on women entrepreneurs’ needs, specifically their needs in terms of service areas and service delivery method preferences. Twenty three “needed” service areas were identified by 95 Manitoba based women entrepreneurs. The first five included: finding new customers, growth benefits and tools, market expansion, general marketing, and networking skills. This study also examined the differences between urban and rural based entrepreneurs. Two service need areas “how to find mentors and role models” and “legal issues” exhibited statistically significant priority differences. Service delivery methods did not produce any statistically significant differences. Overall, this study concludes that regardless of location, women entrepreneurs’ training and support needs are not significantly that different. The effects of entrepreneurial stage and years in business on entrepreneurial support needs are also examined.

  8. Analysis and Design Information System Logistics Delivery Service in Pt Repex Wahana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Surja

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Analysis and Design of Logistic Delivery System in PT Repex Wahana aims to analyze company’s need in existing business process of logistic delivery service. This will then be used in the development of an integrated system that can address the problems in the running process of sending and tracking the whereaboutsor status of the delivered goods which are the core business processes in the enterprise. The result then will be used as basis in the development of integrated information system in pursuit of corporate solution for process business automation, delivery process, inventory, and logistic delivery tracking, which is the core of the company business process, and it will be documented using Unified Modeling Language. The information system is meant to simplify the delivery and tracking process in the company, besides will minimize lost and error of data which is often happened because of the manual and unorganized transaction data processing.

  9. Perceptions of International Students on Service Quality Delivery in a Malaysian Public University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Njie, Baboucarr; Asimiran, Soaib; Baki, Roselan

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of international students of service quality delivery (SQD) in a Malaysian public university. Design/methodology/approach: The study was limited to the University's immediate physical environment and its associated human and systems-based services. The physical environment in this…

  10. Opportunities for Pharmacists and Student Pharmacists to Provide Clinical Preventive Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalie A. DiPietro Mager

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Pharmacists and student pharmacists can play an important role in providing clinical preventive services as specified by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF. The USPSTF guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services for the general population. The purpose of this paper is to provide information to pharmacists and student pharmacists developing and implementing preventive health care services. Examples of successful pharmacy-based programs are also provided. Pharmacists and student pharmacists can provide preventive health care interventions by conducting screenings, providing education, and making referrals. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received, employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties   Type: Idea Paper

  11. The Effect of Service Compact (SERVICOM) on Service Delivery in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Nigeria

    OpenAIRE

    Jude Kennedy Emejulu; M. C. Muo; E. E.O. Chukwuemeka

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the effect of service compact (Servicom Service delivery) in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi. Questionnaire and face-to-face interviews were used in the collection of data. The hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics. The study discovered among other things that with the inauguration of the SERVICOM Charter by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi identified key areas that requir...

  12. Receipt of Preventive Services After Oregon’s Randomized Medicaid Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marino, Miguel; Bailey, Steffani R.; Gold, Rachel; Hoopes, Megan J.; O’Malley, Jean P.; Huguet, Nathalie; Heintzman, John; Gallia, Charles; McConnell, K. John; DeVoe, Jennifer E.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction It is predicted that gaining health insurance via the Affordable Care Act will result in increased rates of preventive health services receipt in the U.S, primarily based on self-reported findings from previous health insurance expansion studies. This study examined the long-term (36-month) impact of Oregon’s 2008 randomized Medicaid expansion (“Oregon Experiment”) on receipt of 12 preventive care services in community health centers using electronic health record data. Methods Demographic data from adult (aged 19–64 years) Oregon Experiment participants were probabilistically matched to electronic health record data from 49 Oregon community health centers within the OCHIN community health information network (N=10,643). Intent-to-treat analyses compared receipt of preventive services over a 36-month (2008–2011) period among those randomly assigned to apply for Medicaid versus not assigned, and instrumental variable analyses estimated the effect of actually gaining Medicaid coverage on preventive services receipt (data collected in 2012–2014; analysis performed in 2014–2015). Results Intent-to-treat analyses revealed statistically significant differences between patients randomly assigned to apply for Medicaid (versus not assigned) for eight of 12 assessed preventive services. In intent-to-treat[MM1] analyses, Medicaid coverage significantly increased the odds of receipt of most preventive services (ORs ranging from 1.04 [95% CI=1.02, 1.06] for smoking assessment to 1.27 [95% CI=1.02, 1.57] for mammography). Conclusions Rates of preventive services receipt will likely increase as community health center patients gain insurance through Affordable Care Act expansions. Continued effort is needed to increase health insurance coverage in an effort to decrease health disparities in vulnerable populations. PMID:26497264

  13. Trends in health surveillance and joint service delivery for pastoralists in West and Central Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abakar, M F; Schelling, E; Béchir, M; Ngandolo, B N; Pfister, K; Alfaroukh, I O; Hassane, H M; Zinsstag, J

    2016-11-01

    In most sub-Saharan African countries, pastoralism represents an important economic resource and contributes significantly to national growth; however, challenges remain, particularly in providing social services to pastoralists (especially health and education) and in avoiding conflict with local sedentary communities and local authorities. All of this takes place while pastoralists try to maintain their mobile lifestyle within a rapidly changing ecosystem. Transdisciplinary approaches, such as 'One Health', which covers both human and animal health, have proven effective in delivering services and reaching mobile pastoralists in remote areas. The pastoralist way of life could be described as being linked to both their livestock and their environment, which makes social science an important element when researching the delivery and adaptation of social services to pastoralists. Early or pre-diagnostic detection of emerging and endemic infectious disease remains a vital aspect of health surveillance targeted at preventing further transmission and spread. Community-based syndromic surveillance, coupled with visual mobile phone technology, adapted to the high levels of illiteracy among nomads, could offer an alternative to existing health surveillance systems. Such an approach could contribute to accelerated reporting, which could in turn lead to targeted intervention among mobile pastoralists in sub-Saharan Africa. Although considerable efforts have been made towards integrating mobile pastoralists into social services, obstacles remain to the adoption of a clear, specific and sustainable policy on pastoralism in sub-Saharan Africa.

  14. Pregnant women's preference and factors associated with institutional delivery service utilization in Debra Markos Town, North West Ethiopia: a community based follow up study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayu, Hinsermu; Adefris, Mulatu; Amano, Abdella; Abuhay, Mulunesh

    2015-02-05

    Majority of deaths from obstetric complications are preventable. But every pregnant woman face risks which may not always be detected through the risk assessment approach during antenatal care (ANC). Therefore, the presence of a skilled birth attendant in every delivery is the most critical intervention in reducing maternal mortality and morbidity. In Ethiopia the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel, is very low, even for women who have access to the services. A community-based follow up study was conducted from January 17, 2012 to July 30, 2012, among 2(nd) and 3(rd) trimester's pregnant women in Debre-Markos town, east Gojam Zone, Amhara Region, North West Ethiopia. Simple random sampling technique was used to get a total sample size of 422 participants. A total of 393 pregnant women were included in the study. The study revealed that 292(74.3%) of the pregnant women planned to deliver in a health institution. Of these 292 pregnant women 234 (80.14%) actually delivered in a health facility. Age range from 15-19 year (AOR = 4.83, 95% CI = 1.562-12.641), college and above education of the pregnant women (AOR = 12.508, 95% CI = 1.082-14.557), ANC visit during the current pregnancy (AOR = 1.975, 95% CI = 1.021-3.392),perceived susceptibility and severity of pregnancy and delivery complication (AOR = 3.208, 95% CI = 1.262-8.155) and intention (preference) of pregnant women for place of delivery (AOR = 7.032, 95% CI = 3.045-10.234) are predictors of institutional delivery service utilization. Preference for institutional delivery is low in the study area. Sociodemographic factors, perception about delivery complication, ANC follow up and their intentions for institutional delivery are among important predictors of institutional delivery.

  15. 49 CFR 1242.76 - Administration; pickup and delivery, marine line haul, and rail substitute service; loading...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... haul, and rail substitute service; loading, unloading and local marine; protective services; freight... SEPARATION OF COMMON OPERATING EXPENSES BETWEEN FREIGHT SERVICE AND PASSENGER SERVICE FOR RAILROADS 1 Operating Expenses-Transportation § 1242.76 Administration; pickup and delivery, marine line haul, and rail...

  16. 77 FR 4561 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-30

    ... Disease, Mental Health, and Alcohol. Meeting Accessibility: This meeting is open to the public, limited... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC...

  17. Influence of Students’ Feedback on the Quality of Adult Higher Distance Education Service Delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akpovire ODUARAN

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The evaluation of a program’s compliance with service delivery and features necessary for the attainment of the programs educational objectives, student outcomes and continuous improvement is an important element in program accreditation and continuous improvement process. The study reported in this paper investigated the possible effects of students’ feedback on the improvement of adult higher education distance learning service quality in a South African rural-based university. The study interrogated the service provision factors that seemingly helped in improving the delivery of the program. Such information are vital for planning, good governance, policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation, and for decision-making. The study used a quantitative descriptive statistics analysis of data generated ranging from 2013-2014. It comprised of overall student satisfaction as the dependent variable and the explanatory variables were given by program management, facilitation, assessment, learner support, systems, resources, program outcomes and subject matter. Analytical results were obtained from the Mann Whitney Test. The population consisted of students enrolled in the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE program by distance mode. The 313 respondents sampled were randomly selected from a total population of 916 students. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results revealed that service qualities linked to effective management, facilitation, academic support and subject matter delivery were the main qualities that the students recommended for the improvement of the program. It is therefore recommended that adult higher education programs must have a documented systematically utilized and effective process involving program service delivery constituencies like assessment, academic support and resources provided, for the periodic review of the program educational objectives to ensure that the program remains consistent

  18. Consumer Cooperatives for Delivery of Urban Water and Sanitation Services

    OpenAIRE

    Ruiz-Mier, Fernando; Ginneken, Meike van

    2008-01-01

    To find the optimal delivery model for urban water supply and sanitation (WSS) services, one must look beyond ownership structures to the practices and designs that support good performance. Consumer cooperatives are often attractive institutional models. This note focuses on a Bolivian cooperative that is one of the most successful water cooperatives in Latin America. Successful cooperatives ...

  19. Going the distance: Service delivery for the Danish National swimming team during the Olympics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Carsten Hvid

    In this presentation I will outline the service delivery for the Danish National swimming team and provide an example of my work based on mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with an individual swimmer during the Olympics. Being part of the Olympics involves a range of stressors...... and distractions such as a tight packed swimming schedule (up to 12 starts across seven days), a lot of media attention, social media, others and own expectations. In my service delivery during the Olympics I tried to create an awareness of these stressors and distractions. On a normal day at the Olympics I had...

  20. Distance from health facility and mothers’ perception of quality related to skilled delivery service utilization in northern Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fisseha G

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Girmatsion Fisseha,1 Yemane Berhane,2 Alemayehu Worku,2,3 Wondwossen Terefe1 1Mekelle University, College of Health Science, School of Public Health, Mekelle, Ethiopia; 2Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Epidemiology Department, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 3Addis Ababa University, School of Public Health, Biostatistics Department, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Background: Poor maternal health service utilization is one of the contributing factors to a high level of maternal and newborn mortality in Ethiopia. The factors associated with utilization of services are believed to differ from one context to another. We assessed the factors associated with skilled delivery service utilization in rural northern Ethiopia.Subjects and methods: A community-based survey was conducted among mothers who gave birth in the 12 months preceding the study period, from January to February 2015, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Multistage sampling technique was used to select mothers from the identified clusters. Households within a 10 km radius of the health facility were taken as a cluster for a community survey. Data were collected using face-to-face interview at the household level. We compared the mothers who reported giving birth to the index child in a health facility and those who reported delivering at home, in order to identify the predictors of skilled delivery utilization. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors of skilled delivery service utilization. The results are presented with odds ratio (OR and 95% confidence interval (CI.Results: A total of 1,796 mothers participated in the study, with a 100% response rate. Distance to health facilities (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =0.53 [95% CI: 0.39, 0.71], perception of mothers to the availability of adequate equipment in the delivery service in their catchment area (AOR =1.5 [95% CI: 1.11, 2.13], experiencing any complication during childbirth, using antenatal care, lower

  1. Profile of pregnant women using delivery hut services of the Ballabgarh Health and Demographic Surveillance System in rural north India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kant, Shashi; Haldar, Partha; Singh, Arvind K; Archana, S; Misra, Puneet; Rai, Sanjay

    2016-08-01

    To describe women who attended two delivery huts in rural Haryana, India. The present observational study assessed routinely collected service provision data from two delivery huts located at primary health centers in the district of Faridabad. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, prenatal care, use of free transport services, and maternal and neonatal indicators at delivery were assessed for all pregnant women who used the delivery hut services from January 2012 to June 2014. During the study period, 1796 deliveries occurred at the delivery huts. The mean age of the mothers was 23.3 ± 3.3 years (95% confidence interval 23.1-23.5). Of 1648 mothers for whom data were available, 1039 (63.0%) had travelled less than 5 km to the delivery hut. The proportion of mothers who belonged to a lower caste increased from 31.0% (193/622) in 2012 to 41.1% (162/394) in 2014. The proportion of mothers who were illiterate also increased, from 8.1% (53/651) in 2012 to 26.4% (104/394) in 2014. Belonging to a disadvantaged social group (in terms of caste or education) was not an obstacle to use of delivery hut services. The delivery huts might have satisfied some unmet needs of community members in rural India. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... USPSTF Our Members Conflict of Interest Disclosures Task Force Resources Our Partners Reports to Congress Contact Us ... effort to make the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations clearer and its processes more transparent, ...

  3. Profile, knowledge, and work patterns of a cadre of maternal, newborn, and child health CHWs focusing on preventive and promotive services in Morogoro Region, Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LeFevre, Amnesty E; Mpembeni, Rose; Chitama, Dereck; George, Asha S; Mohan, Diwakar; Urassa, David P; Gupta, Shivam; Feldhaus, Isabelle; Pereira, Audrey; Kilewo, Charles; Chebet, Joy J; Cooper, Chelsea M; Besana, Giulia; Lutale, Harriet; Bishanga, Dunstan; Mtete, Emmanuel; Semu, Helen; Baqui, Abdullah H; Killewo, Japhet; Winch, Peter J

    2015-12-24

    Despite impressive decreases in under-five mortality, progress in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality in Tanzania has been slow. We present an evaluation of a cadre of maternal, newborn, and child health community health worker (MNCH CHW) focused on preventive and promotive services during the antenatal and postpartum periods in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Study findings review the effect of several critical design elements on knowledge, time allocation, service delivery, satisfaction, and motivation. A quantitative survey on service delivery and knowledge was administered to 228 (of 238 trained) MNCH CHWs. Results are compared against surveys administered to (1) providers in nine health centers (n = 88) and (2) CHWs (n = 53) identified in the same districts prior to the program's start. Service delivery outputs were measured by register data and through a time motion study conducted among a sub-sample of 33 randomly selected MNCH CHWs. Ninety-seven percent of MNCH CHWs (n = 228) were interviewed: 55% male, 58% married, and 52% with secondary school education or higher. MNCH CHWs when compared to earlier CHWs were more likely to be unmarried, younger, and more educated. Mean MNCH CHW knowledge scores were <50% for 8 of 10 MNCH domains assessed and comparable to those observed for health center providers but lower than those for earlier CHWs. MNCH CHWs reported covering a mean of 186 households and were observed to provide MNCH services for 5 h weekly. Attendance of monthly facility-based supervision meetings was nearly universal and focused largely on registers, yet data quality assessments highlighted inconsistencies. Despite program plans to provide financial incentives and bicycles for transport, only 56% of CHWs had received financial incentives and none received bicycles. Initial rollout of MNCH CHWs yields important insights into addressing program challenges. The social profile of CHWs was not significantly associated with knowledge or

  4. Customer's Perceptions and Intentions on Online Travel Service Delivery: An Empirical Study in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hongxiu; Suomi, Reima

    With the wide adoption of e-commerce in travel and tourism industry, the Internet has become an important travel service delivery channel, and traditional travel agency has been under severe disintermediation threat. This paper reports on a survey conducted to explore the Chinese consumer's current usage of the Internet as the channel to search travel information and to book travel services. It also investigates customer's future intentions on using the Internet to book travel services. This paper aims to examine whether there are difference between different consumer segments in terms of gender and age, and to find the hypothesis of disintermediation or intermediation in travel industry. The results indicates that online travel service delivery has grown as a popular direct distribution channel in travel industry, but more of the customers still turn to the traditional travel agencies, which support both the disintermediation and intermediation in travel industry. The results also reveal that online travel services provided by travel service providers still need to be improved since the number of online bookers is declined. This paper concludes by discussing the limitation of this study and highlighting areas for the future research in online travel service field.

  5. Corporate municipal governance for effective and efficient public service delivery in South Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulin Mbecke

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This research acknowledges the current service delivery chaos manifested through numerous protests justifying the weakness of the “Batho Pele” good governance principles to facilitate, improve and sustain service delivery by local governments. The success of corporate governance in corporate companies and state owned enterprises is recognised prompting suggestions that local governments should too adopt corporate governance principles or King III to be effective. The research reviews the King III and literature to ascertain the lack of research on corporate governance in local governments in South Africa. Considering the particular set-up of local governments, the research doubts the successful application of King III in local governments. Through critical research theory, the current service delivery crisis in local governments in South Africa is described. The success of corporate governance systems in the United Kingdom and Australian local governments justify the need for a separate corporate municipal governance system as a solution to the crisis. A specific change of legislation and corporate governance guidelines is necessary to address the uniqueness of local governments. Hence, corporate municipal governance should be compulsory and based on ten standardised good governance principles via a code of corporate governance and a corporate governance framework responding to specific prerequisites for success

  6. Role Of E-Government In Delivery Of Public Services In Tanzania Electric Supply Company In Ruvuma Region Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanuel Jackson Petro Gunda

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT E-government facilitates delivery of public services of relevant government information in electronic form to citizens in a timely manner and better service delivery to citizens. E-government is a kind of governmental administration which is based on Information Communication and Technology Services. Electronic government describes the use of technologies to facilitate the operation of government and disperse of government information and services. The scope of the work was limited to Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited TANESCO in Ruvuma region. The population of thirty 31 were selected from a total population of 169 public servants use both purposive and stratified random sampling techniques applied. The major findings of study revealed that about 67.7 of response from respondents agree that ICT infrastructures specifically modern computer connected to internet reliable internet speed well organized organization website power availability in public operation contribute to efficient in delivery of services it also noted by respondents to faster decision making speeding up transaction processing and reduce cost. The study greatly recommends that capacity building to public servants on ICT install and strengthening ICT infrastructures to government organizational are inevitable to realise relevant role of e-government in delivery of public services.

  7. How to achieve optimal organization of primary care service delivery at system level: lessons from Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelone, Ferruccio; Kringos, Dionne S; Spreeuwenberg, Peter; De Belvis, Antonio G; Groenewegen, Peter P

    2013-09-01

    To measure the relative efficiency of primary care (PC) in turning their structures into services delivery and turning their services delivery into quality outcomes. Cross-sectional study based on the dataset of the Primary Healthcare Activity Monitor for Europe project. Two Data Envelopment models were run to compare the relative technical efficiency. A sensitivity analysis of the resulting efficiency scores was performed. PC systems in 22 European countries in 2009/2010. Model 1 included data on PC governance, workforce development and economic conditions as inputs and access, coordination, continuity and comprehensiveness of care as outputs. Model 2 included the previous process dimensions as inputs and quality indicators as outputs. There is relatively reasonable efficiency in all countries at delivering as many as possible PC processes at a given level of PC structure. It is particularly important to invest in economic conditions to achieve an efficient structure-process balance. Only five countries have fully efficient PC systems in turning their services delivery into high quality outcomes, using a similar combination of access, continuity and comprehensiveness, although they differ on the adoption of coordination of services. There is a large variation in efficiency levels obtained by countries with inefficient PC in turning their services delivery into quality outcomes. Maximizing the individual functions of PC without taking into account the coherence within the health-care system is not sufficient from a policymaker's point of view when aiming to achieve efficiency.

  8. Reforming health service delivery at district level in Ghana: the perspective of a district medical officer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agyepong, I A

    1999-03-01

    Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa face the problem of organizing health service delivery in a manner that provides adequate quality and coverage of health care to their populations against a background of economic recession and limited resources. In response to these challenges, different governments, including that of Ghana, have been considering or are in the process of implementing varying degrees of reform in the health sector. This paper examines aspects of health services delivery, and trends in utilization and coverage, using routine data over time in the Dangme West district of the Greater Accra region of Ghana, from the perspective of a district health manager. Specific interventions through which health services delivery and utilization at district level could be improved are suggested. Suggestions include raising awareness among care providers and health managers that increased resource availability is only a success in so far as it leads to improvements in coverage, utilization and quality; and developing indicators of performance which assess and reward use of resources at the local level to improve coverage, utilization and quality. Also needed are more flexibility in Central Government regulations for resource allocation and use; integration of service delivery at district level with more decentralized planning to make services better responsive to local needs; changes in basic and inservice training strategies; and exploration of how the public and private sectors can effectively collaborate to achieve maximum coverage and quality of care within available resources.

  9. Ethical issues in cesarean delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chervenak, Frank A; McCullough, Laurence B

    2017-08-01

    Cesarean delivery is the most common and important surgical intervention in obstetric practice. Ethics provides essential guidance to obstetricians for offering, recommending, recommending against, and performing cesarean delivery. This chapter provides an ethical framework based on the professional responsibility model of obstetric ethics. This framework is then used to address two especially ethically challenging clinical topics in cesarean delivery: patient-choice cesarean delivery and trial of labor after cesarean delivery. This chapter emphasizes a preventive ethics approach, designed to prevent ethical conflict in clinical practice. To achieve this goal, a preventive ethics approach uses the informed consent process to offer cesarean delivery as a medically reasonable alternative to vaginal delivery, to recommend cesarean delivery, and to recommend against cesarean delivery. The limited role of shared decision making is also described. The professional responsibility model of obstetric ethics guides this multi-faceted preventive ethics approach. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Health policies and federative gaps in Brazil: an analysis of regional capacity of services delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, José Mendes; Moreira, Marcelo Rasga; Ouverney, Assis Mafort; Silva, Cosme Marcelo Furtado Passos da

    2017-04-01

    This paper analyzes Brazilian health regions according to their service delivery capacity from the debate on the crisis of cooperative federalism in the SUS that resulted from decentralizing process established in the 1988 Constitution. Service delivery capacity tracer indicators were selected by regions and statistical analyses evidenced greater regional capacity in hospital care and large asymmetries with regard to the availability of physicians, high complexity equipment and private insurance coverage. In conclusion,we argue that further solutions are required to strengthen governmental capacity to reduce regional inequalities throughincreased central coordination.

  11. The value of express delivery services for cross-border e-commerce in European Union markets

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Thai Young; Dekker, Rommert; Heij, Christiaan

    2016-01-01

    textabstractFurther growth of cross-border e-commerce in the European Union markets requires improved express delivery services. The framework presented in this paper identifies relevant contextual factors that affect express delivery adoption rates in European cross-border e-commerce. This framework leads to a set of hypotheses, both on the effects of express deliveries on financial performance indicators (order incidence, order size, and repurchase rate) and on the factors that drive demand...

  12. Factors Associated with Teacher Delivery of a Classroom-Based Tier 2 Prevention Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutherland, Kevin S; Conroy, Maureen A; McLeod, Bryce D; Algina, James; Kunemund, Rachel L

    2018-01-01

    Teachers sometimes struggle to deliver evidence based programs designed to prevent and ameliorate chronic problem behaviors of young children with integrity. Identifying factors associated with variations in the quantity and quality of delivery is thus an important goal for the field. This study investigated factors associated with teacher…

  13. Urban governance and spatial inequality in service delivery: a case study of solid waste management in Abuja, Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adama, Onyanta

    2012-09-01

    Spatial inequality in service delivery is a common feature in African cities. Several factors account for the phenomenon but there is growing attention towards urban governance and the role of the state. Urban governance policies such as privatization serve as key strategies through which the state regulates and (re)produces spatial inequality in service delivery. This study examined how governance practices related to privatization and the regulatory role of the state reinforce spatial inequalities in the delivery of solid waste services in Abuja, Nigeria. It focused primarily on the issue of cost recovery. Privatization became a major focus in Abuja in 2003 when the government launched a pilot scheme. Although it has brought improvements in service delivery, privatization has also increased the gap in the quality of services delivered in different parts of the city. Drawing on empirical data, the study revealed that little sensitivity to income and affordability, and to income differentials between neighbourhoods in the fixing of user charges and in the choice of the billing method is contributing to spatial inequalities in service delivery. Furthermore, the study suggests that these practices are linked to a broader issue, a failure of the government to see the people as partners. It therefore calls for more inclusive governance especially in decision-making processes. The study also emphasizes the need for a policy document on solid waste management, as this would encourage a critical assessment of vital issues including how privatization is to be funded, especially in low-income areas.

  14. Heel pressure ulcer, prevention and predictors during the care delivery chain - when and where to take action? A descriptive and explorative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muntlin Athlin, Åsa; Engström, Maria; Gunningberg, Lena; Bååth, Carina

    2016-11-14

    Hazardous healthcare settings, for example acute care, need to focus more on preventing adverse events and preventive actions across the care delivery chain (i.e pre-hospital and emergency care, and further at the hospital ward) should be more studied. Pressure ulcer prevalence is still at unreasonably high levels, causing increased healthcare costs and suffering for patients. Recent biomedical research reveals that the first signs of cell damage could arise within minutes. However, few studies have investigated optimal pressure ulcer prevention in the initial stage of the care process, e.g. in the ambulance care or at the emergency department. The aim of the study was to describe heel pressure ulcer prevalence and nursing actions in relation to pressure ulcer prevention during the care delivery chain, for older patients with neurological symptoms or reduced general condition. Another aim was to investigate early predictors for the development of heel pressure ulcer during the care delivery chain. Existing data collected from a multi-centre randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of using a heel prevention boot to reduce the incidence of heel pressure ulcer across the care delivery chain was used. Totally 183 patients participated. The settings for the study were five ambulance stations, two emergency departments and 16 wards at two hospitals in Sweden. A total of 39 individual patients (21 %) developed heel pressure ulcer at different stages across the care delivery chain. Findings revealed that 47-64 % of the patients were assessed as being at risk for developing heel pressure ulcer. Preventive action was taken. However, all patients who developed pressure ulcer during the care delivery chain did not receive adequate pressure ulcer prevention actions during their hospital stay. In the ambulance and at the emergency department, skin inspection seems to be appropriate for preventing pressure ulcer. However, carrying out risk assessment with a validated

  15. Informing resource-poor populations and the delivery of entitled health and social services in rural India: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, Priyanka; Sehgal, Ashwini R; Riboud, Michelle; Levine, David; Goyal, Madhav

    2007-10-24

    A lack of awareness about entitled health and social services may contribute to poor delivery of such services in developing countries, especially among individuals of low socioeconomic status. To determine the impact of informing resource-poor rural populations about entitled services. Community-based, cluster randomized controlled trial conducted from May 2004 to May 2005 in 105 randomly selected village clusters in Uttar Pradesh state in India. Households (548 intervention and 497 control) were selected by a systematic sampling design, including both low-caste and mid- to high-caste households. Four to 6 public meetings were held in each intervention village cluster to disseminate information on entitled health services, entitled education services, and village governance requirements. No intervention took place in control village clusters. Visits by nurse midwife; prenatal examinations, tetanus vaccinations, and prenatal supplements received by pregnant women; vaccinations received by infants; excess school fees charged; occurrence of village council meetings; and development work in villages. At baseline, there were no significant differences in self-reported delivery of health and social services. After 1 year, intervention villagers reported better delivery of several services compared with control villagers: in a multivariate analysis, 30% more prenatal examinations (95% confidence interval [CI], 17%-43%; P India about entitled services enhanced the delivery of health and social services among both low- and mid- to high-caste households. Interventions that emphasize educating resource-poor populations about entitled services may improve the delivery of such services. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00421291.

  16. Diffusion of electronic service delivery innovations: the case of e-policing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    E.H. Korteland (Evelien); V.J.J.M. Bekkers (Victor)

    2009-01-01

    textabstractThis article examines the diffusion and adoption process of an electronic service delivery innovation, which can be seen as an example of e-policing – called SMS-alert – among Dutch police forces. Important is not only to pay attention to the question how an innovation has spread - and

  17. Funding issues and the delivery of public library services in Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper examined the impact of government public expenditure on education and the effect of special funding in enhancing the delivery of public library services in Nigeria. secondary data were collected from the websites of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Education Trust Fund (ETF.). Results from the regression ...

  18. Delivery through innovation: CSIR research on water services infrastructure operation through franchising

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Wall, K

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available There is a great need for institutional innovations aimed at improving access to basic water services in South Africa, and sustaining that improvement. In support of effective delivery, the CSIR, with the support of the Water Research Commission...

  19. The Emergency Department: Challenges and Opportunities for Suicide Prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asarnow, Joan Rosenbaum; Babeva, Kalina; Horstmann, Elizabeth

    2017-10-01

    Emergency departments (EDs) can offer life-saving suicide prevention care. This article focuses on the ED and emergency services as service delivery sites for suicide prevention. Characteristics of EDs, models of emergency care, ED screening and brief intervention models, and practice guidelines and parameters are reviewed. A care process model for youths at risk for suicide and self-harm is presented, with guidance for clinicians based on the scientific evidence. Strengthening emergency infrastructure and integrating effective suicide prevention strategies derived from scientific research are critical for advancing suicide prevention objectives. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Carbetocin versus oxytocin for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage in obese nulliparous women undergoing emergency cesarean delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Behery, Manal M; El Sayed, Gamal Abbas; El Hameed, Azza A Abd; Soliman, Badeea S; Abdelsalam, Walid A; Bahaa, Abeer

    2016-01-01

    To assess and compare the effectiveness and safety of single IV polus dose of carbetocin, versus IV oxytocin infusion in the prevention of PPH in obese nulliparous women undergoing emergency Cesarean Delivery. A double-blinded randomized-controlled trial was conducted on 180 pregnant women with BMI >30. Women were randomized to receive either oxytocin or carbetocin during C.S. The primary outcome measure was major primary PPH >1000 ml within 24 h of delivery as per the definition of PPH by the World Health Organization Secondary outcome measures were hemoglobin and hematocrit changes pre- and post-delivery, use of further ecobolics, uterine tone 2 and 12-h postpartum and adverse effects. A significant difference in the amount of estimated blood loss or the incidence of primary postpartum haemorrhage (>1000 ml) in both groups. Haemoglobin levels before and 24-h postpartum was similar. None from the carbetocin group versus 71.5% in oxytocin group needed additional utrotonics (p postpartum (p oxytocin infusion for maintaining adequate uterine tone and preventing postpartum bleeding in obese nulliparous women undergoing emergency cesarean delivery, both has similar safety profile and minor hemodynamic effect.

  1. Estimating the costs of the vaccine supply chain and service delivery for selected districts in Kenya and Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mvundura, Mercy; Lorenson, Kristina; Chweya, Amos; Kigadye, Rosemary; Bartholomew, Kathryn; Makame, Mohammed; Lennon, T Patrick; Mwangi, Steven; Kirika, Lydia; Kamau, Peter; Otieno, Abner; Murunga, Peninah; Omurwa, Tom; Dafrossa, Lyimo; Kristensen, Debra

    2015-05-28

    Having data on the costs of the immunization system can provide decision-makers with information to benchmark the costs when evaluating the impact of new technologies or programmatic innovations. This paper estimated the supply chain and immunization service delivery costs and cost per dose in selected districts in Kenya and Tanzania. We also present operational data describing the supply chain and service delivery points (SDPs). To estimate the supply chain costs, we collected resource-use data for the cold chain, distribution system, and health worker time and per diems paid. We also estimated the service delivery costs, which included the time cost of health workers to provide immunization services, and per diems and transport costs for outreach sessions. Data on the annual quantities of vaccines distributed to each facility, and the occurrence and duration of stockouts were collected from stock registers. These data were collected from the national store, 2 regional and 4 district stores, and 12 SDPs in each country for 2012. Cost per dose for the supply chain and immunization service delivery were estimated. The average annual costs per dose at the SDPs were $0.34 (standard deviation (s.d.) $0.18) for Kenya when including only the vaccine supply chain costs, and $1.33 (s.d. $0.82) when including immunization service delivery costs. In Tanzania, these costs were $0.67 (s.d. $0.35) and $2.82 (s.d. $1.64), respectively. Both countries experienced vaccine stockouts in 2012, bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine being more likely to be stocked out in Kenya, and oral poliovirus vaccine in Tanzania. When stockouts happened, they usually lasted for at least one month. Tanzania made investments in 2011 in preparation for planned vaccine introductions, and their supply chain cost per dose is expected to decline with the new vaccine introductions. Immunization service delivery costs are a significant portion of the total costs at the SDPs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All

  2. Factors associated with utilization of skilled service delivery among women in rural Northern Ghana: a cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gudu, William; Addo, Bright

    2017-05-31

    Ghana's current Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 319 per 100,000 live births makes achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal of 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births or less by 2030 appear to be illusory. Skilled assistance during childbirth is a critical strategy to reducing maternal mortality, yet the proportion of deliveries taking place within health facilities where such assistance is provided is very low in Ghana, with huge disparity between urban and rural women. To address the gap in skilled attendance in rural Upper East Region, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in 2005 piloted a program that involved training of Community Health Officers (CHOs) as midwives. This study explored factors associated with skilled delivery services utilization in a predominantly rural district in Ghana. A cross-sectional study, data was collected from a sample of 400 women between the ages of 15 and 49 years who had given birth a year prior to the study. We used frequencies and percentages for descriptive analysis and chi-square (χ 2 ) test for relationship between independents factors and utilization of skilled delivery services. Of the 400 women included in the analysis, 93.3% of them delivered in a health facility. Almost all of the mothers (97.3%) attended or received antenatal care at their last pregnancy with 75.0% of them having four or more ANC visits. The proportion of women who received ANC and utilized skilled delivery services was high (91.5%). Mother's educational attainment, ANC attendance, frequency of ANC visits, satisfaction with ANC services and possession of valid NHIS card significantly associated with utilisation of skilled delivery services. For a predominantly rural district, the percentage of women who deliver within health facilities where skilled assistance is available is very encouraging and a significant stride towards reducing Ghana's overall MMR. Having four or more ANC visits and improving on the quality of care provided has a great

  3. Correlates of and Barriers to the Utilization of Health Services for Delivery in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nai-Peng Tey

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The high maternal and neonatal mortality rates in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa can be attributed to the lack of access and utilization of health services for delivery. Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania show that more than half of the births in these countries were delivered outside a health facility. Institutional delivery was closely associated with educational level, family wealth, place of residence, and women’s media exposure status, but it was not influenced by women’s work status and their roles in decision-making (with the exception of Nigeria. Controlling for other variables, higher parity and younger women were less likely to use a health facility for delivery. Within each country, the poorer, less educated and rural women had higher unmet need for maternal care services. Service related factors (accessibility in terms of cost and distance and sociocultural factors (e.g., did not perceive the need for the services and objections from husband and family also posed as barriers to institutional delivery. The paper concludes with some suggestions to increase institutional delivery.

  4. Engaging children and parents in service design and delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bedford Russell, A R; Passant, M; Kitt, H

    2014-12-01

    The involvement of all user groups, including children, young people (CYP) and their parents, encourages people to take responsibility for healthier lifestyle behaviours, improves treatment compliance and leads to more appropriate use of healthcare resources. Initiatives to engage CYP in the UK are gathering momentum, but significant improvements are still needed. There is a national drive from the department of health (DH) and NHS England, strategic clinical networks, operational delivery networks (including newborn networks), charities, parent groups and a number of other bodies to embed CYP involvement in service design and delivery. User engagement and patient choice, is underpinned by the NHS outcomes framework, and a myriad of other DH and NHS England policies and practice frameworks. It is now everybody's business. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  5. Delivery Practices and Associated Factors among Mothers Seeking Child Welfare Services in Selected Health Facilities in Nyandarua South District, Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wanjira Carol

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A measure of the proportion of deliveries assisted by skilled attendants is one of the indicators of progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG 5, which aims at improving maternal health. This study aimed at establishing delivery practices and associated factors among mothers seeking child welfare services at selected health facilities in Nyandarua South district, Kenya to determine whether mothers were receiving appropriate delivery care. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional survey among women who had recently delivered while in the study area was carried out between August and October 2009. Binary Logistic regression was used to identify factors that predicted mothers' delivery practice. Results Among the 409 mothers who participated in the study, 1170 deliveries were reported. Of all the deliveries reported, 51.8% were attended by unskilled birth attendants. Among the deliveries attended by unskilled birth attendants, 38.6% (452/1170 were by neighbors and/or relatives. Traditional Birth Attendants attended 1.5% (17/1170 of the deliveries while in 11.7% (137/1170 of the deliveries were self administered. Mothers who had unskilled birth attendance were more likely to have Conclusion Among the mothers interviewed, utilization of skilled delivery attendance services was still low with a high number of deliveries being attended by unqualified lay persons. There is need to implement cost effective and sustainable measures to improve the quality of maternal health services with an aim of promoting safe delivery and hence reducing maternal mortality.

  6. Drinking Patterns, Gender and Health II: Predictors of Preventive Service Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Carla A; Polen, Michael R; Leo, Michael C; Perrin, Nancy A; Anderson, Bradley M; Weisner, Constance M

    2010-07-01

    Chronic diseases and injuries are elevated among people with substance use problems/dependence, yet heavier drinkers use fewer routine and preventive health services than non-drinkers and moderate drinkers, while former drinkers and abstainers use more than moderate drinkers. Researchers hypothesize that drinking clusters with attitudes and practices that produce better health among moderate drinkers and that heavy drinkers avoid doctors until becoming ill, subsequently quitting and using more services. Gender differences in alcohol consumption, health-related attitudes, practices, and prevention-services use may affect these relationships. A stratified random sample of health-plan members (7884; 2995 males, 4889 females) completed a mail survey that was linked to 24 months of health-plan records. Data were used to examine relationships between alcohol use, gender, health-related attitudes/practices, health, and prevention-service use. Controlling for attitudes, practices, and health, female lifelong abstainers and former drinkers were less likely to have mammograms; individuals with alcohol use disorders and positive AUDIT scores were less likely to obtain influenza vaccinations. AUDIT-positive women were less likely to undergo colorectal screening than AUDIT-positive men. Consistent predictors of prevention-services use were: self-report of having a primary care provider (positive); disliking visiting the doctor (negative); smoking cigarettes (negative), and higher BMI (negative). When factors associated with drinking are controlled, patterns of alcohol consumption have limited effects on preventive service use. Individuals with stigmatized behaviors (e.g., hazardous/harmful drinking, smoking, or high BMIs) are less likely to receive care. Making care experiences positive and carefully addressing stigmatized health practices could increase preventive service use.

  7. Scoping out the literature on mobile needle and syringe programs-review of service delivery and client characteristics, operation, utilization, referrals, and impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strike, Carol; Miskovic, Miroslav

    2018-02-08

    Needle and syringe program (NSP) service delivery models encompass fixed sites, mobile services, vending machines, pharmacies, peer NSPs, street outreach, and inter-organizational agreements to add NSP services to other programs. For programs seeking to implement or improve mobile services, access to a synthesis of the evidence related to mobile services is beneficial, but lacking. We used a scoping study method to search MEDLINE, PSYCHInfo, Embase, Scopus, and Sociological for relevant literature. We identified 39 relevant manuscripts published between 1975 and November 2017 after removing duplicates and non-relevant manuscripts from the 1313 identified by the search. Charting of the data showed that these publications reported findings related to the service delivery model characteristics, client characteristics, service utilization, specialized interventions offered on mobile NSPs, linking clients to other services, and impact on injection risk behaviors. Mobile NSPs are implemented in high-, medium-, and low-income countries; provide equipment distribution and many other harm reduction services; face limitations to service complement, confidentiality, and duration of interactions imposed by physical space; adapt to changes in locations and types of drug use; attract people who engage in high-risk/intensity injection behavior and who are often not reached by other service models; and may lead to reduced injection-related risks. It is not clear from the literature reviewed, what are, or if there are, a "core and essential" complement of services that mobile NSPs should offer. Decisions about service complement for mobile NSPs need to be made in relation to the context and also other available services. Reports of client visits to mobile NSP provide a picture of the volume and frequency of utilization but are difficult to compare given varied measures and reference periods. Mobile NSPs have an important role to play in improving HIV and HCV prevention efforts

  8. High volume acupuncture clinic (HVAC) for chronic knee pain--audit of a possible model for delivery of acupuncture in the National Health Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berkovitz, Saul; Cummings, Mike; Perrin, Chris; Ito, Rieko

    2008-03-01

    Recent research has established the efficacy, effectiveness and cost effectiveness of acupuncture for some forms of chronic musculoskeletal pain. However, there are practical problems with delivery which currently prevent its large scale implementation in the National Health Service. We have developed a delivery model at our hospital, a 'high volume' acupuncture clinic (HVAC) in which patients are treated in a group setting for single conditions using standardised or semi-standardised electroacupuncture protocols by practitioners with basic training. We discuss our experiences using this model for chronic knee pain and present an outcome audit for the first 77 patients, demonstrating satisfactory initial (eight week) clinical results. Longer term (one year) data are currently being collected and the model should next be tested in primary care to confirm its feasibility.

  9. Impact of ICT on Agricultural Extension Services Delivery: Evidence from the Catholic Relief Services SMART Skills and Farmbook Project in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tata, Joyous S.; McNamara, Paul E.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The study was carried out to assess the impact of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Skills for Marketing and Rural Transformation (SMART) skills and Farmbook information communication technology (ICT) on agricultural extension service delivery by front-line extension officers in two counties in Kenya. The second objective was to assess…

  10. Strength of primary care service delivery: a comparative study of European countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlič, Danica R; Sever, Maja; Klemenc-Ketiš, Zalika; Švab, Igor; Vainieri, Milena; Seghieri, Chiara; Maksuti, Alem

    2018-05-01

    AimWe sought to examine strength of primary care service delivery as measured by selected process indicators by general practitioners from 31 European countries plus Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. We explored the relation between strength of service delivery and healthcare expenditures. The strength of a country's primary care is determined by the degree of development of a combination of core primary care dimensions in the context of its healthcare system. This study analyses the strength of service delivery in primary care as measured through process indicators in 31 European countries plus Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. A comparative cross-sectional study design was applied using the QUALICOPC GP database. Data on the strength of primary healthcare were collected using a standardized GP questionnaire, which included 60 questions divided into 10 dimensions related to process, structure, and outcomes. A total of 6734 general practitioners participated. Data on healthcare expenditure were obtained from World Bank statistics. We conducted a correlation analysis to analyse the relationship between strength and healthcare expenditures.FindingsOur findings show that the strength of service delivery parameters is less than optimal in some countries, and there are substantial variations among countries. Continuity and comprehensiveness of care are significantly positively related to national healthcare expenditures; however, coordination of care is not.

  11. Neuropsychologists as primary care providers of cognitive health: A novel comprehensive cognitive wellness service delivery model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pimental, Patricia A; O'Hara, John B; Jandak, Jessica L

    2018-01-01

    By virtue of their extensive knowledge base and specialized training in brain-behavior relationships, neuropsychologists are especially poised to execute a unique broad-based approach to overall cognitive wellness and should be viewed as primary care providers of cognitive health. This article will describe a novel comprehensive cognitive wellness service delivery model including cognitive health, anti-aging, lifelong wellness, and longevity-oriented practices. These practice areas include brain-based cognitive wellness, emotional and spiritually centric exploration, and related multimodality health interventions. As experts in mind-body connections, neuropsychologists can provide a variety of evidence-based treatment options, empowering patients with a sense of value and purpose. Multiple areas of clinical therapy skill-based learning, tailor-made to fit individual needs, will be discussed including: brain stimulating activities, restorative techniques, automatic negative thoughts and maladaptive thinking reduction, inflammation and pain management techniques, nutrition and culinary focused cognitive wellness, spirituality based practices and mindfulness, movement and exercise, alternative/complimentary therapies, relationship restoration/social engagement, and trauma healing/meaning. Cognitive health rests upon the foundation of counteracting mind-body connection disruptions from multiple etiologies including inflammation, chronic stress, metabolic issues, cardiac conditions, autoimmune disease, neurological disorders, infectious diseases, and allergy spectrum disorders. Superimposed on these issues are lifestyle patterns and negative health behaviors that develop as ill-fated compensatory mechanisms used to cope with life stressors and aging. The brain and body are electrical systems that can "short circuit." The therapy practices inherent in the proposed cognitive wellness service delivery model can provide preventative insulation and circuit breaking against

  12. Institutional arrangements for decentralized water and health services delivery in rural Tanzania: differences and constraints

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Masanyiwa, Z.S.; Niehof, A.; Termeer, C.J.A.M.

    2013-01-01

    In recent years, decentralization has been upheld by governments, donors and policy makers in many developing countries as a means of improving public services although opinion is divided on the link between decentralization and service delivery. This article reviews recent literature and research

  13. Local Governance, Urban Poverty and Service Delivery in Namibia

    OpenAIRE

    Fjeldstad, Odd-Helge; Geisler, Gisela; Nangulah, Selma; Nygaard, Knut; Pomuti, Akiser; Shifotoka, Albertina; Van Rooy, Gert

    2005-01-01

    The urbanisation of poverty is one of the most dramatic developments on the African continent, yielding contrasting images of affluent residential and business districts and utter misery in sprawling shantytowns or slums. Namibia has one of Africa’s highest urban growth rates, taking thousands of women, men and children to towns in search of a better life. The large majority of these end up in poverty-stricken informal settlements in urban areas. The current service delivery approach of the g...

  14. Pasundan Delivery Services (PT. Wahana Bumi Raya) Business Strategy Formulation and Implementation to Create Sustain Future Competition

    OpenAIRE

    Haryanto, Iman; Wandebori, Harimukti

    2012-01-01

    Pasundan Delivery Services (PDS) is the delivery services provider using motorcycle provide solutions for visitors and Bandung citizens to effective and efficient their valuable time, run its costumer order through smartphone and social media, lucrative demand leads PDS to formulate its strategy to reach more costumers among existing competitors to win the competition in and as the leader the future. Formulation of strategic management involving small team discussion group as the management o...

  15. Potential Impact of Integrated Stigma Mitigation Interventions in Improving HIV/AIDS Service Delivery and Uptake for Key Populations in Senegal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, Carrie E; Ketende, Sosthenes; Diouf, Daouda; Drame, Fatou M; Liestman, Benjamin; Coly, Karleen; Ndour, Cheikh; Turpin, Gnilane; Mboup, Souleymane; Diop, Karim; Toure-Kane, Coumba; Castor, Delivette; Leye-Diouf, Nafissatou; Baral, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    Men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW) are consistently shown to have a higher burden of HIV compared with other adults in Senegal. This study, HIV Prevention 2.0, evaluates the impact of the 3-tiered integrated stigma mitigation interventions (ISMIs) approach to optimizing HIV service delivery for key populations in Senegal. Baseline assessment includes a questionnaire and biological testing for HIV. A proportion of participants enrolled into a 24-month longitudinal cohort with questionnaires and biological testing every 3 months. In these preliminary analyses, ISMIs are evaluated from participants in the cohort through uptake of HIV services and implementation outcomes. Overall, 724 MSM and 758 FSW participated in the baseline assessment. HIV prevalence is 30.2% (n = 219/724) among MSM and 5.3% (n = 40/758) among FSW. Fear of seeking health services among MSM is 17.7% (n = 128/724) at baseline, 10.5% (n = 18/172) at month 3, and 9.8% (n = 10/102) at month 6 (P intervention is effective in addressing stigma; however, loss to follow-up was 41.1% among MSM and 10% among FSW. Baseline data reinforce the need for stigma mitigation interventions, combined with enhanced linkage and retention to optimize HIV treatment. Preliminary results show high levels of HIV-related risk determinants and suggest the potential utility of the ISMI to decrease perceived stigma relating to engagement in HIV prevention, treatment, and care services among key populations in Senegal.

  16. Public health service options for affordable and accessible noncommunicable disease and related chronic disease prevention and management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brownie S

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Sharon Brownie,1,2 Andrew P Hills,3,4 Rachel Rossiter51Workforce and Health Services, Griffith Health, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia; 2Oxford PRAXIS Forum, Green Templeton College, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom; 3Allied Health Research, Mater Research Institute – The University of Queensland and Mater Mothers' Hospital, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia; 4Griffith Health Institute, Griffith Health, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia; 5MMHN and Nurse Practitioner Programs, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AustraliaAbstract: Globally, nations are confronted with the challenge of providing affordable health services to populations with increasing levels of noncommunicable and chronic disease. Paradoxically, many nations can both celebrate increases in life expectancy and bemoan parallel increases in chronic disease prevalence. Simply put, despite living longer, not all of that time is spent in good health. Combined with factors such as rising levels of obesity and related noncommunicable disease, the demand for health services is requiring nations to consider new models of affordable health care. Given the level of disease burden, all staff, not just doctors, need to be part of the solution and encouraged to innovate and deliver better and more affordable health care, particularly preventative primary health care services. This paper draws attention to a range of exemplars to encourage and stimulate readers to think beyond traditional models of primary health service delivery. Examples include nurse-led, allied health-led, and student-led clinics; student-assisted services; and community empowerment models. These are reported for the interest of policy makers and health service managers involved in preventative and primary health service redesign initiatives.Keywords: primary health care planning, community health care, nurse-led clinics, allied health personnel

  17. A Blockchain Ecosystem for Digital Identity: Improving Service Delivery in Canada’s Public and Private Sectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Greg Wolfond

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Blockchain-based solutions have the potential to make government operations more efficient and improve the delivery of services in the public and private sectors. Identity verification and authentication technologies, as one of the applications of blockchain-based solutions – and the focus of our own efforts at SecureKey Technologies – have been critical components in service delivery in both sectors due to their power to increase trust between citizens and the services they access. To convert trust into solid value added, identities must be validated through highly-reliable technologies, such as blockchain, that have the capacity to reduce cost and fraud and to simplify the experience for customers while also keeping out the bad actors. With identities migrating to digital platforms, organizations and citizens need to be able to transact with reduced friction even as more counter-bound services move to online delivery. In this article, drawing on our own experiences with an ecosystem approach to digital identity, we describe the potential value of using blockchain technology to address the present and future challenges of identity verification and authentication within a Canadian context.

  18. The ethics of health service delivery: a challenge to public health leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLuca, D M

    1989-01-01

    The ethical distribution of health care is a central issue now that AIDS has started to be a drain on health care resources. If the worst predictions are true, the next half century will be capitalized by a great stress of the health care delivery system in the Pacific. The critical challenges that face the current leadership are: sustaining commitment to all levels of administration to reduce social and health inequities; making sound decisions on policies, priorities and goals that are based on valid information; strengthen health infrastructure, based on the principle of primary health care, including appropriate distribution of staffing, skills, technology and resources. The goals of the Pacific Health Promotion and Development center must not focus exclusively on AIDs. Hepatitis B control measures, hypertension and diabetes, primary care in remote areas, and rehabilitation initiatives must be kept in place. Humanitarian interests for AIDs patients must be balanced with the pragmatic reality of saving children's hearing, or extending useful lives. The attributes of respect, accountability, leadership, judgement, fairness, integrity and honesty controlled by principles of social justice must be part of the administrative decision making process. The 2 major issues facing public health professional are: (1) the financial considerations involved with increasingly expensive technology, services and research, contrasted against the need to prioritize their use and development; (2) pragmatic and ideological needs must be balanced to maximize preventative and curative services and make them available to those who can benefit from them.

  19. A break-even analysis of a community rehabilitation falls prevention service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comans, Tracy; Brauer, Sandy; Haines, Terry

    2009-06-01

    To identify and compare the minimum number of clients that a multidisciplinary falls prevention service delivered through domiciliary or centre-based care needs to treat to allow the service to reach a 'break-even' point. A break-even analysis was undertaken for each of two models of care for a multidisciplinary community rehabilitation falls prevention service. The two models comprised either a centre-based group exercise and education program or a similar program delivered individually in the client's home. The service consisted of a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and therapy assistant. The participants were adults aged over 65 years who had experienced previous falls. Costs were based on the actual cost of running a community rehabilitation team located in Brisbane. Benefits were obtained by estimating the savings gained to society from the number of falls prevented by the program on the basis of the falls reduction rates obtained in similar multidisciplinary programs. It is estimated that a multi-disciplinary community falls prevention team would need to see 57 clients per year to make the service break-even using a centre-based model of care and 78 clients for a domiciliary-based model. The service this study was based on has the capability to see around 300 clients per year in a centre-based service or 200-250 clients per year in a home-based service. Based on the best available estimates of costs of falls, multidisciplinary falls prevention teams in the community targeting people at high risk of falls are worthwhile funding from a societal viewpoint.

  20. New delivery technology for financial services and the changing role of financial intermediaries

    OpenAIRE

    Buhl, Hans Ulrich

    1998-01-01

    New delivery technology for financial services and the changing role of financial intermediaries / H. U. Buhl ; A. Will. - In: Business Information Systems ´98 / W. Abramowicz (ed.). - Poznan : Akad. Ekonomiczna w Poznaniu, 1998. - S. 203-215

  1. An information technology framework for strengthening telehealthcare service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Li-Chin; Chen, Chi-Wen; Weng, Yung-Ching; Shang, Rung-Ji; Yu, Hui-Chu; Chung, Yufang; Lai, Feipei

    2012-10-01

    Telehealthcare has been used to provide healthcare service, and information technology infrastructure appears to be essential while providing telehealthcare service. Insufficiencies have been identified, such as lack of integration, need of accommodation of diverse biometric sensors, and accessing diverse networks as different houses have varying facilities, which challenge the promotion of telehealthcare. This study designs an information technology framework to strengthen telehealthcare delivery. The proposed framework consists of a system architecture design and a network transmission design. The aim of the framework is to integrate data from existing information systems, to adopt medical informatics standards, to integrate diverse biometric sensors, and to provide different data transmission networks to support a patient's house network despite the facilities. The proposed framework has been evaluated with a case study of two telehealthcare programs, with and without the adoption of the framework. The proposed framework facilitates the functionality of the program and enables steady patient enrollments. The overall patient participations are increased, and the patient outcomes appear positive. The attitudes toward the service and self-improvement also are positive. The findings of this study add up to the construction of a telehealthcare system. Implementing the proposed framework further assists the functionality of the service and enhances the availability of the service and patient acceptances.

  2. Applying a Total Market Lens: Increased IUD Service Delivery Through Complementary Public- and Private-Sector Interventions in 4 Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Julia N; Corker, Jamaica

    2016-08-11

    Increasing access to the intrauterine device (IUD), as part of a comprehensive method mix, is a key strategy for reducing unintended pregnancy and maternal mortality in low-income countries. To expand access to IUDs within the framework of informed choice, Population Services International (PSI) has historically supported increased IUD service delivery through private providers. In applying a total market lens to better understand the family planning market and address major market gaps, PSI identified a lack of high-quality public provision of IUDs. In 2013, PSI started a pilot in 4 countries (Guatemala, Laos, Mali, and Uganda) to grow public-provider IUD service delivery through increased public-sector engagement while maintaining its ongoing focus on private providers. In collaboration with country governments, PSI affiliates carried out family planning market analyses in the 4 pilot countries to identify gaps in IUD service delivery and create sustainable strategies for scaling up IUD services in the public sector. Country-specific interventions to increase service delivery were implemented across all levels of the public health system, including targeted advocacy at the national level to promote government ownership and program sustainability. Mechanisms to ensure government ownership were built into the program design, including a proof-of-concept approach to convince governments of the feasibility and value of taking over and scaling up interventions. In the first 2 years of the pilot (2013-2014), 102,055 IUD services were provided to women at 417 targeted public-sector facilities. These preliminary results suggest that there is untapped demand for IUD service delivery in the public sector that can be met in part through greater participation of the public sector in family planning and IUD provision. © White et al.

  3. Applying a Total Market Lens: Increased IUD Service Delivery Through Complementary Public- and Private-Sector Interventions in 4 Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Julia N; Corker, Jamaica

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Increasing access to the intrauterine device (IUD), as part of a comprehensive method mix, is a key strategy for reducing unintended pregnancy and maternal mortality in low-income countries. To expand access to IUDs within the framework of informed choice, Population Services International (PSI) has historically supported increased IUD service delivery through private providers. In applying a total market lens to better understand the family planning market and address major market gaps, PSI identified a lack of high-quality public provision of IUDs. In 2013, PSI started a pilot in 4 countries (Guatemala, Laos, Mali, and Uganda) to grow public-provider IUD service delivery through increased public-sector engagement while maintaining its ongoing focus on private providers. In collaboration with country governments, PSI affiliates carried out family planning market analyses in the 4 pilot countries to identify gaps in IUD service delivery and create sustainable strategies for scaling up IUD services in the public sector. Country-specific interventions to increase service delivery were implemented across all levels of the public health system, including targeted advocacy at the national level to promote government ownership and program sustainability. Mechanisms to ensure government ownership were built into the program design, including a proof-of-concept approach to convince governments of the feasibility and value of taking over and scaling up interventions. In the first 2 years of the pilot (2013–2014), 102,055 IUD services were provided to women at 417 targeted public-sector facilities. These preliminary results suggest that there is untapped demand for IUD service delivery in the public sector that can be met in part through greater participation of the public sector in family planning and IUD provision. PMID:27540122

  4. Distributor pricing approaches enabled in Smart Grid to differentiate delivery service quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhongwei Jake Zhang

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Industry practitioners who advocate retail competition and Demand-side Participation now look for approaches to link both initiatives through distributor pricing. As distributors incrementally convert more traditional assets into Smart Grid assets, they also need to consider different pricing approaches to recover the investment costs and meet the regulatory business requirements. Small electricity consumers need incentives to take part in these initiatives but their delivery service quality should also be closely guarded. Hence this paper addresses the above needs as a whole and investigates a set of distributor pricing approaches with Smart Grid technologies. Pricing of network and non-network based solutions should follow the incremental basis, such as the long run average incremental cost (LRAIC. The benefit of deferring network investment is calculated and should be passed to consumers as peak pricing rebate. A concept of reliability premium (RP based on load point reliability index is proposed, through which customers can express their preference of service quality and adjust their network tariff payment accordingly. A service delivery model is also proposed to utilize the savings from wholesale market trading to compensate for the downgraded service when loads are controlled. The IEEE 123-node distribution test feeder and the IEEE distribution system for RBTS Bus No. 2 are simulated, and solved using General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS to demonstrate the proposed distributor pricing approaches in Smart Grid.

  5. Trends in Rural Water Supply: Towards a Service Delivery Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Moriarty

    2013-10-01

    The papers in this special issue argue that tackling these challenges requires a shift in emphasis in rural water supply in developing countries: away from a de-facto focus on the provision of hardware for first-time access towards the proper use of installed hardware as the basis for universal access to rural water services. The outline of the main actions required to achieve this shift are becoming clearer. Chief amongst these are the professionalisation of community management and/or provision of direct support to community service providers; adoption of a wider range of service delivery models than community management alone; and addressing the sustainable financing of all costs with a particular focus on financing capital maintenance (asset management and direct support costs. This introductory paper provides an overview of these issues and a guide to the other articles, which demonstrate these points.

  6. The Role of Agro-Veterinary Shops in Animal Health Services, Information and Technology Delivery in Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ngotho, R.N.

    2002-01-01

    With the withdrawal of animal health services by the government of Kenya, 'private' delivery has become increasingly important, especially in urban and per-urban settings. Rural agri- business shops ('dukas') are situated everywhere in the country and areas devoid of veterinarians due to poor establishment of private practice as in the ASALs, they have mushroomed to address the delivery vacuum. Four participatory approaches were used in a study to gauge the perceptions of stakeholders on the role of 'dukas' in delivery of animal health services, technologies and information. Rapid rural appraisals were carried out in three representative districts of Kenya to obtain perceptions in farmers' group settings. Semi-structured interviews of key informants endeavoured to tease out opinions of the professionals on the service and information delivery mode they considered to be most effective and sustainable. Shop exit surveys targeting individual consumers sought to assess what livestock keepers had to say on a one to one basis regarding the agro-veterinary shops. Two consensus-building workshop meetings for stakeholders were held to help crystallise recommendations and develop guidelines and support mechanisms for future duka involvements in AHSD. In this paper, the main stakeholders' perspectives and highlights from stakeholders' consensus-building workshops are also presented. In conclusion the role of the dukas is discussed impartially

  7. Denial of Service Prevention for 5G

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Yao; Kaur, Bipjeet; Andersen, Birger

    2011-01-01

    5G wireless mobile communication is expected to include a large number of advanced technologies in order to further increase bandwidth, Quality of Service (QoS), improve usability and security, decrease delays and cost of service. Software Defined Radio (SDR) will be the platform for advanced...... terminals. Our focus is security and especially prevention of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks which we believe will become more common in commercial networks through increasing availability of easy programmable SDRs. We propose a secret version of Adaptive Frequency Hopping, as a possible 5G technology...

  8. Technologies for HIV prevention and care: challenges for health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maksud, Ivia; Fernandes, Nilo Martinez; Filgueiras, Sandra Lucia

    2015-09-01

    This article aims to consider some relevant challenges to the provision of "new prevention technologies" in health services in a scenario where the "advances" in the global response to AIDS control are visible. We take as material for analysis the information currently available on the HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), treatment as prevention (TASP) and over the counter. The methodology consisted of the survey and analysis of the Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS: MEDLINE, LILACS, WHOLIS, PAHO, SciELO) articles that addressed the issue of HIV prevention and care in the context of so-called new prevention technologies. The results of the studies show that there is assistance on the ground of clinics for the treatment of disease responses, but there are several challenges related to the sphere of prevention. The articles list some challenges regarding to management, organization of services and the attention given by health professionals to users. The current context shows evidence of the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in reducing the risk of HIV transmission, but the challenges for the provision of preventive technologies in health services permeate health professionals and users in their individual dimensions and health services in organizational and structural dimension. Interventions should be made available in a context of community mobilization; there should be no pressure on people to make HIV testing, antiretroviral treatment or for prevention. In the management is responsible for the training of health professionals to inform, clarify and make available to users, partners and family information about the new antiretroviral use strategies.

  9. Stoppage - Vat Return and Accounting Practice in Re-Delivery of a Delivery Subject to Stoppage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmet Yanık

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Value Added Tax (VAT is calculated based on the goods and service delivery costs realized by the corporations. Unless this VAT is subject to stoppage, seller takes the VAT from the purchaser in delivery of goods or services and then the corporate pays this amount to the tax office or sets off through the VAT he paid for his service or goods procurement. However, in some cases, Ministry of Finance holds not those providing the delivery or service but those purchasing or procuring the goods or services responsible partly or fully for the tax calculated based on the delivery or service fee. The purpose of this paper is to reveal VAT stoppage, accounting entries with regards to the corporation accepting the delivery and re-delivering it, VAT set off and VAT return in the re-delivery of a delivery subject to stoppage pursuant to General Communiqué of VAT Serial No 117

  10. [Delivery management for the prevention of shoulder dystocia in case of identified risk factors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitz, T

    2015-12-01

    To determine the impact of (i) computed tomographic (CT) pelvimetry for the choice of the mode of delivery, (ii) cesarean, (iii) induction of labor, and of (iv) various delivery managements on the risk of shoulder dystocia in case of fetal macrosomia, with or without maternal diabetes, and in women with previous history of shoulder dystocia. The PubMed database, the Cochrane Library and the recommendations from the French and foreign obstetrical societies or colleges have been consulted. In case of clinically suspected macrosomia, a sonography should be performed to increase diagnostic performances and to assist in decision-making (Professional consensus). Because CT pelvimetry is associated with high false positive rates and increases cesarean deliveries, its use is not recommended to prevent shoulder dystocia in case of fetal macrosomia (Professional consensus). To avoid the neonatal complications of shoulder dystocia, mainly permanent brachial plexus palsy, cesarean delivery is recommended in case of estimated fetal weight (EFW) greater than 4500 g if associated with maternal diabetes (grade C), and greater than 5000 g in the absence of maternal diabetes (grade C). The published data do not provide definitive evidences to recommend systematic labor induction in case of impending fetal macrosomia (Professional consensus). In case of favourable cervix and gestational age greater than 39 weeks of gestation, labor induction should be promoted (Professional consensus). Prophylactic McRoberts maneuver is not recommended to prevent shoulder dystocia in case of fetal macrosomia (grade C). Because data are lacking, no recommendation is possible regarding the use of episiotomy. In case of fetal macrosomia and failure to progress in the second stage of labor, midpelvic and higher instrumental deliveries are not recommended and a cesarean delivery should be preferred (grade C), if the fetal head is at or lower than a +2 station, cesarean delivery is not recommended and an

  11. Counselling and psychotherapy services in more developed and developing regions in China: a comparative investigation of practitioners and current service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Mingyi; Chen, Ruiyun; Chen, Hong; Hu, Sherlyn; Zhong, Jie; Yao, Ping; Yi, Chunli

    2012-09-01

    Counselling and psychotherapy services have taken off with uneven speed across China since the 1980s after several years of stagnation. Researchers have attributed socioeconomic development (or the lack thereof) and regional differences as main barriers to the development in this field. However, little is known today about the status of counselling and psychotherapy services across China. To investigate and compare the current situation of practitioners and service delivery of counselling and psychotherapy in more developed and developing regions across China. Convenience sampling methods from counselling and psychological services organizations in 29 Chinese provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions were used to recruit 1,543 participants to take part in the investigation by completing a 93-item self-designed questionnaire. Organizations in developing and more developed regions in China varied in their current practices and employment situation of their practitioners, and in the quality of service delivery. However, counselling and psychotherapy offered at universities in both types of regions are of similar quality. In China, the level of socioeconomic development significantly influences the development of professional counselling and psychotherapy services. Important progress is evident in the field; however, the lack of systematic training and the scarcity of professional practitioners remain a challenge.

  12. Global Delivery Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manning, Stephan; Møller Larsen, Marcus; Bharati, Pratyush

    -zone spread allowing for 24/7 service delivery and access to resources. Based on comprehensive data we show that providers are likely to establish GDM configurations when clients value access to globally distributed talent pools and speed of service delivery, and in particular when services are highly...

  13. Performance Analyses in an Assistive Technology Service Delivery Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Anne Karin

    Performance Analyses in an Assistive Technology Service Delivery Process.Keywords: process model, occupational performance, assistive technologiesThe Poster is about teaching students, using models and theory in education and practice. It is related to Occupational therapy process and professional...... af top-til-bund, klientcentreret og aktivitetsbaseret interventioner, ERGO/MunksgaardFisher, A. &, Griswold, L. A., 2014. Performance Skills. I: B.Schell red.2014 Occupational Therapy. Willard &Spackman’s occupational therapy. -12th ed., p.249-264Cook A.M., Polgar J.M. (2015) Assistive Technologies...

  14. Informal learning processes in support of clinical service delivery in a service-oriented community pharmacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Brandon J; Bakken, Brianne K; Doucette, William R; Urmie, Julie M; McDonough, Randal P

    The evolving health care system necessitates pharmacy organizations' adjustments by delivering new services and establishing inter-organizational relationships. One approach supporting pharmacy organizations in making changes may be informal learning by technicians, pharmacists, and pharmacy owners. Informal learning is characterized by a four-step cycle including intent to learn, action, feedback, and reflection. This framework helps explain individual and organizational factors that influence learning processes within an organization as well as the individual and organizational outcomes of those learning processes. A case study of an Iowa independent community pharmacy with years of experience in offering patient care services was made. Nine semi-structured interviews with pharmacy personnel revealed initial evidence in support of the informal learning model in practice. Future research could investigate more fully the informal learning model in delivery of patient care services in community pharmacies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Service Delivery and Related Issues at the Trace Research and Development Center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, R. O.

    The environmental context of the Trace Center is first briefly described as background for a more detailed description of the center's service delivery activities in the field of rehabilitation/education technology. Trace serves four major functions in rehabilitation/education technology. As a nationally funded rehabilitation engineering center,…

  16. Health services financing and delivery: analysis of policy options for Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamidi S

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Samer Hamidi School of Health and Environmental Studies, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Introduction: A national health account (NHA provides a systematic approach to mapping the flow of health sector funds within a specified health system over a defined time period. This article attempts to present a profile of health system financing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates using data from NHAs, and to compare the functional structures of financing schemes in Dubai with schemes in Qatar and selected member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD. Methods: The author analyzed secondary data published in NHAs of Dubai and Qatar and data collected by the OECD countries and publicly available from Eurostat (Statistical Office of the European Union of 25 OECD countries for comparative analysis. All health financing indicators used were as defined in the international System of Health Accounts (SHA. Results: In Dubai, spending on inpatient care was the highest-costing component, with 30% of current health expenditures (CHE. Spending on outpatient care was the second highest-costing component and accounted for about 23% of the CHE. Household spending accounted for about 22% of CHE (equivalent to US$187 per capita, compared to an average of 20% of CHE of OECD countries. Dubai spent 0.02% of CHE on long-term care, compared to an average of 11% of CHE of OECD countries. Dubai spent about 6% of CHE on prevention and public health services, compared to an average of 3.2% of CHE of OECD countries. Conclusion: The findings point to potential opportunities for growth and improvement in several health policy issues in Dubai, including increasing focus and funding of preventive services; shifting from inpatient care to day surgery, outpatient, and home-based services and strengthening long-term care; and introducing cost-containment measures for pharmaceuticals. More investment in the translation of

  17. Speak Up: Help Prevent Errors in Your Care: Laboratory Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    SpeakUP TM Help Prevent Errors in Your Care Laboratory Services To prevent health care errors, patients are urged to... SpeakUP TM ... are more likely to get better faster. To help prevent health care mistakes, patients are urged to “ ...

  18. A spatial model to quantify the mortality impact of service delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa: an ecological design utilizing data from South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sartorius, Kurt; Sartorius, Benn K D

    2013-02-20

    Sub Saharan Africa is confronted with a wide range of interlinked health and economic problems that include high levels of mortality and poor service delivery. The objective of the paper is to develop a spatial model for Sub-Saharan Africa that can quantify the mortality impact of (poor) service delivery at sub-district level in order to integrate related health and local level policy interventions. In this regard, an expanded composite service delivery index was developed, and the data were analysed using a Bayesian Poisson spatial model. The results indicate significant differences in the risk of mortality and poor service delivery at sub-district level. In particular, the results indicate clusters of high mortality and poor service delivery in two of the bigger, poorer provinces with large rural communities. Conversely, two of the wealthier provinces have lower levels of mortality and higher levels of service delivery, but income inequality is more widespread. The bivariate and multivariate models, moreover, reflect significant positive linkages (p service delivery after adjusting for HIV/AIDS, income inequality, population density and the protective influence of metropolitan areas. Finally, the hypothesized provision of a basket of services reduced the mortality rate in South Africa's 248 sub-districts by an average of 5.3 (0.3-15.4) deaths per 1000. The results indicate that the model can accurately plot mortality and service delivery "hotspots' at sub-district level, as well as explain their associations and causality. A mortality reduction index shows that mortality in the highest risk sub-districts can be reduced by as much as 15.4 deaths per 1000 by providing a range of basic services. The ability to use the model in a wider SSA context and elsewhere is also feasible given the innovative use of available databases. Finally, the paper illustrates the importance of developing policy in SSA that can simultaneously solve both economic and health problems.

  19. Prevalence of vaccine preventable diseases and utilization of routine immunizations services by parents of under‐one children in a semi‐urban community of Sokoto State, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaoje AU

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Vaccine preventable diseases are categories of diseases that could be prevented by immunization. They affect children of less than five years of age. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of vaccine preventable diseases and utilization of routine immunization services among parents/caregivers of under‐one children in Bodinga town of Sokoto State, Nigeria. Methods The study was community based and a descriptive cross sectional epidemiological study design was used. Four hundred households participated in the survey and were selected using a two stage sampling technique. A structured interviewer administered questionnaire with closed and some open‐ ended questions was used to collect the survey data through face‐to‐face interview. Data collected were entered into computer and analyzed using the SPSS version 23. Results were presented in simple tables for clarity. Results Measles was found to be the most prevalent vaccine preventable diseases in the community, while Hepatitis B has the least prevalence and mortality from these diseases was found to be 3%. Majority of the respondent were aware of Poliomyelitis as vaccine preventable disease and only few were aware of Hepatitis B vaccination. The percentage of fully vaccinated children was very low (4.75% while about one‐third of the children were not immunized at all. The socio‐cultural factors found to affect the utilization of routine immunization services includes: place of delivery (more for the hospital delivery, educational level and occupation of child’s parent affect positively more especially the mother. The major reason for not taking the children for immunization was Father’s refusal. Conclusion The study revealed that measles is the most prevalent vaccine preventable disease in the study area. The awareness of vaccine preventable diseases was found to be low except for poliomyelitis. Strengthening routine immunization including demand creation

  20. Impact of USPSTF recommendations for aspirin for prevention of recurrent preeclampsia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tolcher, Mary Catherine; Chu, Derrick M; Hollier, Lisa M; Mastrobattista, Joan M; Racusin, Diana A; Ramin, Susan M; Sangi-Haghpeykar, Haleh; Aagaard, Kjersti M

    2017-09-01

    The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends low-dose aspirin for the prevention of preeclampsia among women at high risk for primary occurrence or recurrence of disease. Recommendations for the use of aspirin for preeclampsia prevention were issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force in September 2014. The objective of the study was to evaluate the incidence of recurrent preeclampsia in our cohort before and after the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation for aspirin for preeclampsia prevention. This was a retrospective cohort study designed to evaluate the rates of recurrent preeclampsia among women with a history of preeclampsia. We utilized a 2-hospital, single academic institution database from August 2011 through June 2016. We excluded multiple gestations and included only the first delivery for women with multiple deliveries during the study period. The cohort of women with a history of preeclampsia were divided into 2 groups, before and after the release of the US Preventive Services Task Force 2014 recommendations. Potential confounders were accounted for in multivariate analyses, and relative risk and adjusted relative risk were calculated. A total of 17,256 deliveries occurred during the study period. A total of 417 women had a documented history of prior preeclampsia: 284 women before and 133 women after the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation. Comparing the before and after groups, the proportion of Hispanic women in the after group was lower and the method of payment differed between the groups (P .05]). Risk factors for recurrent preeclampsia included maternal age >35 years (relative risk, 1.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-2.48), Medicaid insurance (relative risk, 2.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-3.78), type 2 diabetes (relative risk, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.37-3.33), and chronic hypertension (relative risk, 1.96; 95% confidence interval, 1.44-2.66). The risk of recurrent preeclampsia was decreased by

  1. Progress in the utilization of antenatal and delivery care services in Bangladesh: where does the equity gap lie?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pulok, Mohammad Habibullah; Sabah, Md Nasim-Us; Uddin, Jalal; Enemark, Ulrika

    2016-07-29

    Universal access to health care services does not automatically guarantee equity in the health system. In the post Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era, the progress towards universal access to maternal health care services in a developing country, like Bangladesh requires an evaluation in terms of equity lens. This study, therefore, analysed the trend in inequity and identified the equity gap in the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) and delivery care services in Bangladesh between 2004 and 2011. The data of this study came from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. We employed rate ratio, concentration curve and concentration index to examine the trend in inequity of ANC and delivery care services. We also used logistic regression models to analyse the relationship between socioeconomic factors and maternal health care services. The concentration index for 4+ ANC visits dropped from 0.42 in 2004 to 0.31 in 2011 with a greater decline in urban area. There was almost no change in the concentration index for ANC services from medically trained providers during this period. We also found a decreasing trend in inequity in the utilization of both health facility delivery and skilled birth assistance but this trend was again more pronounced in urban area compared to rural area. The concentration index for C-section delivery decreased by about 33 % over 2004-2011 with a similar rate in both urban and rural areas. Women from the richest households were about 3 times more likely to have 4+ ANC visits, delivery at a health facility and skilled birth assistance compared to women from the poorest households. Women's and their husbands' education were significantly associated with greater use of maternal health care services. In addition, women's exposure to mass media, their involvement in microcredit programs and autonomy in healthcare decision-making appeared as significant predictors of using some of these health care services. Bangladesh faces not only a

  2. Women veterans' healthcare delivery preferences and use by military service era: findings from the National Survey of Women Veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington, Donna L; Bean-Mayberry, Bevanne; Hamilton, Alison B; Cordasco, Kristina M; Yano, Elizabeth M

    2013-07-01

    The number of women Veterans (WVs) utilizing the Veterans Health Administration (VA) has doubled over the past decade, heightening the importance of understanding their healthcare delivery preferences and utilization patterns. Other studies have identified healthcare issues and behaviors of WVs in specific military service eras (e.g., Vietnam), but delivery preferences and utilization have not been examined within and across eras on a population basis. To identify healthcare delivery preferences and healthcare use of WVs by military service era to inform program design and patient-centeredness. Cross-sectional 2008-2009 survey of a nationally representative sample of 3,611 WVs, weighted to the population. Healthcare delivery preferences measured as importance of selected healthcare features; types of healthcare services and number of visits used; use of VA or non-VA; all by military service era. Military service era differences were present in types of healthcare used, with World War II and Korea era WVs using more specialty care, and Vietnam era-to-present WVs using more women's health and mental health care. Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) WVs made more healthcare visits than WVs of earlier military eras. The greatest healthcare delivery concerns were location convenience for Vietnam and earlier WVs, and cost for Gulf War 1 and OEF/OIF/OND WVs. Co-located gynecology with general healthcare was also rated important by a sizable proportion of WVs from all military service eras. Our findings point to the importance of ensuring access to specialty services closer to home for WVs, which may require technology-supported care. Younger WVs' higher mental health care use reinforces the need for integration and coordination of primary care, reproductive health and mental health care.

  3. Effects of demand-side incentives in improving the utilisation of delivery services in Oyam District in northern Uganda: a quasi-experimental study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massavon, William; Wilunda, Calistus; Nannini, Maria; Majwala, Robert Kaos; Agaro, Caroline; De Vivo, Emanuela; Lochoro, Peter; Putoto, Giovanni; Criel, Bart

    2017-12-19

    We evaluated the effects and financial costs of two interventions with respect to utilisation of institutional deliveries and other maternal health services in Oyam District in Uganda. We conducted a quasi-experimental study involving intervention and comparable/control sub-counties in Oyam District for 12 months (January-December 2014). Participants were women receiving antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care services. We evaluated two interventions: the provision of (1) transport vouchers to women receiving antenatal care and delivering at two health centres (level II) in Acaba sub-county, and (2) baby kits to women who delivered at Ngai Health Centre (level III) in Ngai sub-county. The study outcomes included service coverage of institutional deliveries, four antenatal care visits, postnatal care, and the percentage of women 'bypassing' maternal health services inside their resident sub-counties. We calculated the effect of each intervention on study outcomes using the difference in differences analysis. We calculated the cost per institutional delivery and the cost per unit increment in institutional deliveries for each intervention. Overall, transport vouchers had greater effects on all four outcomes, whereas baby kits mainly influenced institutional deliveries. The absolute increase in institutional deliveries attributable to vouchers was 42.9%; the equivalent for baby kits was 30.0%. Additionally, transport vouchers increased the coverage of four antenatal care visits and postnatal care service coverage by 60.0% and 49.2%, respectively. 'Bypassing' was mainly related to transport vouchers and ranged from 7.2% for postnatal care to 11.9% for deliveries. The financial cost of institutional delivery was US$9.4 per transport voucher provided, and US$10.5 per baby kit. The incremental cost per unit increment in institutional deliveries in the transport-voucher system was US$15.9; the equivalent for the baby kit was US$30.6. The transport voucher scheme

  4. The politics of service delivery in South Africa: The local government sphere in context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purshottama S. Reddy

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The post-1994 democratic developmental South African state opted for a strong local government system which has been constitutionalised, in terms of Chapter 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996. The politicisation of the local bureaucracy was inevitable as the ruling party sought to ensure that the executive leadership of municipalities shared the same political ideology and vision to facilitate local development. This raises the question, where does politicisation commence and end, and what is the ideal local political interface for efficient and effective service delivery and, more importantly, to ensure good governance? These questions have to take cognisance of the fact that South Africa is a ‘struggle democracy’ and development has to take place in historically disadvantaged areas, where services have been poor or non-existent. The historically advantaged areas have to also be maintained and upgraded, as they are key to financial sustainability of the municipalities. The increasing service delivery protests is a matter for concern, if one has to take cognisance of the popular adage highlighted in official literature, ‘if local government fails, South Arica fails’. Given that the struggles for a democratic South Africa were fought at the grassroots level, this has to translate to an improved quality of life for local communities. Consequently, sound political management is key to enhanced municipal service delivery and ultimately good local governance. This paper reviews political trends and developments up to 2016, but excludes any discussion on the recent local government elections.

  5. Maternal complication prevention: evidence from a case-control study in southwest Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kayode O. Osungbade

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: The importance of strengthening maternal health services as a preventive intervention for morbidities and complications during pregnancy and delivery in developing countries cannot be over-emphasised, since use of prenatal health services improves maternal health outcomes. Aim: This study investigated differences in risk factors for maternal complications in booked and unbooked pregnant women in Nigeria, and provided evidence for their prevention. Setting: The study was carried out in a postnatal ward in a secondary health facility. Methods: This was a case-control study involving booked and unbooked pregnant women who had delivered. Consecutive enrolment of all unbooked pregnant women (cases was done, and one booked pregnant woman (control was enrolled and matched for age with each of these. Both groups were interviewed using a questionnaire, whilst records of delivery were extracted from the hospital files. Findings were subjected to logistical regression at a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Booked women had a lower median length of labour (10 hours compared to unbooked women (13 hours. More women in the booked control group (139; 35.1% than in the unbooked case group (96; 23.6% reported at least one type of morbidity during the index pregnancy (p = 0.0004. Booking status was associated with a likelihood of spontaneous vaginal delivery. Young maternal age, low education, rural residence and low socio-economic status were associated with less likelihood of using prenatal services. Young maternal age, low education and intervention in the delivery were associated with a likelihood of experiencing a complication of delivery. Conclusion: Strengthening antenatal and secondary healthcare services as short- and mediumterm measures might be cost-effective as a preventive strategy in complications of pregnancy,whilst socio-economic dimensions of health are accorded priority in the long term.

  6. Emergence of a rehabilitation medicine model for low vision service delivery, policy, and funding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stelmack, Joan

    2005-05-01

    A rehabilitation medicine model for low vision rehabilitation is emerging. There have been many challenges to reaching consensus on the roles of each discipline (optometry, ophthalmology, occupational therapy, and vision rehabilitation professionals) in the service delivery model and finding a place in the reimbursement system for all the providers. The history of low vision, legislation associated with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services coverage for vision rehabilitation, and research on the effectiveness of low vision service delivery are reviewed. Vision rehabilitation is now covered by Medicare under Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation codes by some Medicare carriers, yet reimbursement is not available for low vision devices or refraction. Also, the role of vision rehabilitation professionals (rehabilitation teachers, orientation and mobility specialists, and low vision therapists) in the model needs to be determined. In a recent systematic review of the scientific literature on the effectiveness of low vision services contracted by the Agency for Health Care Quality Research, no clinical trials were found. The literature consists primarily of longitudinal case studies, which provide weak support for third-party funding for vision rehabilitative services. Providers need to reach consensus on medical necessity, treatment plans, and protocols. Research on low vision outcomes is needed to develop an evidence base to guide clinical practice, policy, and funding decisions.

  7. Costs and outcomes of VCT delivery models in the context of scaling up services in Indonesia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Siregar, A.Y.M.; Komarudin, D.; Wisaksana, R.; Crevel, R. van; Baltussen, R.M.P.M.

    2011-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate costs and outcomes of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) service delivery models in urban Indonesia. METHODS: We collected primary data on utilization, costs and outcomes of VCT services in a hospital clinic (568 clients), HIV community clinic (28 clients), sexually

  8. Masculinity, medical mistrust, and preventive health services delays among community-dwelling African-American men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammond, Wizdom Powell; Matthews, Derrick; Mohottige, Dinushika; Agyemang, Amma; Corbie-Smith, Giselle

    2010-12-01

    's potential to frame preventive services utilization as a demonstration, as opposed to, denial of masculinity and implementing policies to reduce biases in healthcare delivery that increase mistrust, may be viable strategies to eliminate disparities in African-American male healthcare utilization.

  9. Patients’ perception of quality service delivery of public hospitals in Nigeria using analytical hierarchy process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanuel Olateju Oyatoye

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Patients are recently more aware and conscious. This is because of the belief that a high level of quality can translate into patient satisfaction. This is critical for healthcare providers as they deal with life. This recognition by both the service provider and service receivers made the government to establish units of service commission (SERVICOM in each of the governmental agencies including hospitals in Nigeria to monitor the level of quality of service delivery. However, to what extent do patients’ perceptions about health services seem to have been largely recognized remain unclear by health care providers, despite the (SERVICOM units in public institutions in Nigeria? Method: A cross-sectional analytical study using convenient sample method, based on the fact that not every patient of the selected hospitals can be chosen, was performed on 400 patients who received health services at four different public hospitals in Ogun state Nigeria. The selection of these hospitals was based on the zones in the state (Egba, Ijebu, Remo and Yewa area of Ogun-state. The instrument was a valid and reliable analytical hierarchy process based questionnaire containing five service quality dimensions. Data were analyzed using SPSS, Expert choice and Microsoft Excel software to determine the perception of patients towards service quality delivery in pairwise comparison of judgment consistent at less than 10%. Results:The results showed the composite priorities of the patients’ perception with respect to determinants of the patients’ perception towards quality of services delivered in the public hospitals in Nigeria. The most important factor to patients was the reliability dimension with composite priority 0.24 or 24% followed by the responsiveness dimension with 0.22 assurance dimension 0.21, tangibility dimension with 0.21, and the least determinant factor was the empathy dimension with 0.1101. Conclusion: Based on the results, the

  10. Access-technology agnostic delivery platform for ICT4D services

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Makitla, I

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available .kashan.co.za] CONTEXT Capitalising on target resource-constrained rural communities? technological capabilities can be considered a critical consideration when delivering Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) content and services... to these communities. The core approach of this research project, which is informed by the concept of ?digital difference?[1], is to leverage the existing technological infrastructure and capacity (know-how) in a community to enable delivery of ICT4D content...

  11. Utilization of institutional delivery service at Wukro and Butajera districts in the Northern and South Central Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality in the world. Institutional delivery is the key intervention in reducing maternal mortality and complications. However, the uptake of the service has remained low and the factors which contribute to this low uptake appear to vary widely. Our study aims to determine the magnitude and identify factors affecting delivery at health institution in two districts in Ethiopia. Methods A community based cross sectional household survey was conducted from January to February 2012 in 12 randomly selected villages of Wukro and Butajera districts in the northern and south central parts of Ethiopia, respectively. Data were collected using a pretested questionnaire from 4949 women who delivered in the two years preceding the survey. Results One in four women delivered the index child at a health facility. Among women who delivered at health facility, 16.1% deliveries were in government hospitals and 7.8% were in health centers. The factors that significantly affected institutional delivery in this study were district in which the women lived (AOR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.28, 3.82), women age at interview (AOR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.05, 3.62), women’s education (AOR: 3.53, 95% CI: 1.22, 10.20), wealth status (AOR: 16.82, 95% CI: 7.96, 35.54), women’s occupation (AOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.24), antenatal care (4+) use (AOR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.42, 2.20), and number of pregnancies (AOR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.18,0.35). We found that women who were autonomous in decision making about place of delivery were less likely to deliver in health facility (AOR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.23,0.63). Conclusions Institutional delivery is still low in the Ethiopia. The most important factors that determine use of institutional delivery appear to be women education and household economic status. Women’s autonomy in decision making on place of delivery did not improve health facility delivery in our study population. Actions targeting the disadvantaged, improving

  12. Women's Preventive Services Guidelines Affordable Care Act Expands Prevention Coverage for Women's Health and Well-Being

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... in existing guidelines. Health Resources and Services Administration Women's Preventive Services Guidelines Non-grandfathered plans (plans or policies created or sold after March 23, 2010, or older plans or policies that ...

  13. Customer satisfaction of mobile telecommunication networks in Ghana: service delivery perspective

    OpenAIRE

    A.R. ABDUL-AZIZ; Bashiru I.I. SAEED; Ayogyam ALEXANDER

    2014-01-01

    Organizations, both private and public, in today’s dynamic marketplaces are increasingly leaving antiquated marketing philosophies and strategies to the adoption of more customer driven initiatives that seek to understand, attract, retain and build intimate long term relationship with profitable customers. This article analyzed customer satisfaction with the service delivery of mobile telecommunication networks in Ghana using a binary logistic regression model. Primary data was collected thro...

  14. Impact of Access to Online Databases on Document Delivery Services within Iranian Academic Libraries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zohreh Zahedi

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigates the impact of access to online databases on the document delivery services in Iranian Academic Libraries, within the framework of factors such as number of orders lodged over the years studied and their trends, expenditures made by each university, especially those universities and groups that had the highest number of orders. This investigation was carried out through a survey and by calling on the library document supply unit in universities as well as in-person interview with librarians in charge. The study sample was confined to the universities of Shiraz, Tehran and Tarbiyat Modaress along with their faculties. Findings indicate that the rate of document requests in various universities depends on the target audience, capabilities, students’ familiarity as well as mode of document delivery services..

  15. [Research progress on a nanodrug delivery system for prevention and control of dental caries and periodontal diseases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaling, Jiang; Mingye, Feng; Lei, Cheng

    2017-02-01

    Dental caries and periodontal diseases are common chronic infectious diseases that cause serious damage to oral health. Bacteria is the primary factor leading to such conditions. As a dental plaque control method, chemotherapeutic agents face serious challenges in dental care because of the specific physiological and anatomical characteristics of the oral cavity. Nanodrug delivery system is a series of new drug delivery systems at nanoscale, and it can target cells, promote sustainedrelease effects, and enhance biodegradation. This review focuses on research progress on nanodrug delivery systems for prevention and control of dental caries and periodontal diseases.

  16. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Utilization of Preventive Health Care Services

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    Victor Eno

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available We examined how (a health insurance coverage, and (b familiarity with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA’s or ObamaCare mandate of cost-free access to preventive health services, affect the use of preventive services by residents of a minority community. It was based on primary data collected from a survey conducted during March to April 2012 among a sample of self-identified African American adults in Tallahassee-Leon County area of northwest Florida. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Version 22 was used for running frequency analysis on the data set and multivariable regression modeling. The results showed that of 524 respondents, 382 (73% had health insurance while 142 (27% lacked insurance. Majority of insured respondents, 332 (87%, used preventive health services. However, the remaining 13% of respondents did not use preventive services because they were unfamiliar with the ACA provision of free access to preventive services for insured people. Regression analysis showed a high (91.04% probability that, among the insured, the use of preventive health services depended on the person’s age, income, and education. For uninsured residents, the lack of health insurance was the key reason for non-use of preventive health services, while among the insured, lack of knowledge about the ACA benefit of free access contributed to non-use of preventive services. Expansion of Medicaid eligibility can increase insurance coverage rates among African Americans and other minority populations. Health promotion and awareness campaigns about the law’s benefits by local and state health departments can enhance the use of preventive services.

  17. Evaluating the Effect of Lead Time on Quality Service Delivery in the Banking Industry in Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen Okyere

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Customers are becoming more attracted to quality service delivery and are being impatience and unsatisfied when they had to be delayed or wait for longer times before they are served.  Hence, Quality Service Delivery is of utmost importance to every service organisation especially financial industry. Most financial institutions focus attention on product innovation at the expense of lead time management which is a major factor in ensuring service quality and customer satisfaction. Consequently, this research looks at evaluating the effect of lead time on quality service delivery in the Banking Industry in Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The study relied on Primary data collected through questionnaires, observation and interview instruments, administered to staff and customers of some selected branches of a commercial bank in the study area. The data was analysed qualitatively. The researchers realised that despite the immense importance of lead time on quality service delivery, little attention is given to the concept. It was revealed that, customers were dissatisfied with the commercial bank’s services as a result of the unnecessary delays and queuing at the bank premises. The long lead time was found to be attributable to plant/system failure, skill gap on the part of employees, ATM underutilization and frequent breakdowns, among others. This has consequently resulted into long lead time, waiting, queuing and unnecessary delay at the banking hall. It is recommended that Tellers should be provided with electronic card readers for verification of customer’s data and processing to be faster.

  18. Assessment of the management factors that influence the development of preventive care in the New South Wales public dental service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masoe, Angela V; Blinkhorn, Anthony S; Taylor, Jane; Blinkhorn, Fiona A

    2015-01-01

    Oral diseases, particularly dental caries, remain one of the most common chronic health problems for adolescents, and are a major public health concern. Public dental services in New South Wales, Australia offer free clinical care and preventive advice to all adolescents under 18 years of age, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This care is provided by dental therapists and oral health therapists (therapists). It is incumbent upon clinical directors (CDs) and health service managers (HSMs) to ensure that the appropriate clinical preventive care is offered by clinicians to all their patients. The aims of this study were to 1) explore CDs' and HSMs' perceptions of the factors that could support the delivery of preventive care to adolescents, and to 2) record the strategies they have utilized to help therapists provide preventive care to adolescents. In-depth, semistructured interviews were undertaken with 19 CDs and HSMs from across NSW local health districts. A framework matrix was used to systematically code data and enable key themes to be identified for analysis. The 19 CDs and HSMs reported that fiscal accountability and meeting performance targets impacted on the levels and types of preventive care provided by therapists. Participants suggested that professional clinical structures for continuous quality improvement should be implemented and monitored, and that an adequate workforce mix and more resources for preventive dental care activities would enhance therapists' ability to provide appropriate levels of preventive care. CDs and HSMs stated that capitalizing on the strengths of visiting pediatric dental specialists and working with local health district clinical leaders would be a practical way to improve models of preventive oral health care for adolescents. The main issue raised in this study is that preventive dentistry per se lacks strong support from the central funding agency, and that increasing prevention activities is not a simple

  19. Global Delivery Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manning, Stephan; Larsen, Marcus M.; Bharati, Pratyush

    2013-01-01

    This article examines antecedents and performance implications of global delivery models (GDMs) in global business services. GDMs require geographically distributed operations to exploit both proximity to clients and time-zone spread for efficient service delivery. We propose and empirically show...

  20. 78 FR 59939 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-30

    ... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... September 17, 2013, announcing the next meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force... the Task Force to consider the findings of systematic reviews and issue findings and recommendations...

  1. Provision of relapse prevention interventions in UK NHS Stop Smoking Services: a survey

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    McEwen Andy

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background UK NHS Stop Smoking Services provide cost effective smoking cessation interventions but, as yet, there has been no assessment of their provision of relapse prevention interventions. Methods Electronic questionnaire survey of 185 UK Stop Smoking Services Managers. Results Ninety six Stop Smoking Service managers returned completed questionnaires (52% response rate. Of these, 58.3% (n = 56 ran NHS Stop Smoking Services which provided relapse prevention interventions for clients with the most commonly provided interventions being behavioural support: telephone (77%, group (73%, and individual (54%. Just under half (48%, n = 27 offered nicotine replacement therapy (NRT, 21.4% (n = 12 bupropion; 19.6% (n = 11 varenicline. Over 80% of those providing relapse prevention interventions do so for over six months. Nearly two thirds of all respondents thought it was likely that they would either continue to provide or commence provision of relapse prevention interventions in their services. Of the remaining respondents, 66.7% (n = 22 believed that the government focus on four-week quit rates, and 42.9% (14 services believed that inadequate funding for provision of relapse prevention interventions, were major barriers to introducing these interventions into routine care. Conclusions Just over half of UK managers of NHS Stop Smoking Services who responded to the questionnaire reported that, in their services, relapse prevention interventions were currently provided for clients, despite, at that time, there being a weak evidence base for their effectiveness. The most commonly provided relapse prevention interventions were those for which there was least evidence. If these interventions are found to be effective, barriers would need to be removed before they would become part of routine care.

  2. Policy Framework for Covering Preventive Services Without Cost Sharing: Saving Lives and Saving Money?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Stephanie C; Pearson, Steven D

    2016-08-01

    The US Affordable Care Act mandates that private insurers cover a list of preventive services without cost sharing. The list is determined by 4 expert committees that evaluate the overall health effect of preventive services. We analyzed the process by which the expert committees develop their recommendations. Each committee uses different criteria to evaluate preventive services and none of the committees consider cost systematically. We propose that the existing committees adopt consistent evidence review methodologies and expand the scope of preventive services reviewed and that a separate advisory committee be established to integrate economic considerations into the final selection of free preventive services. The comprehensive framework and associated criteria are intended to help policy makers in the future develop a more evidence-based, consistent, and ethically sound approach.

  3. Alternative Service Delivery in Africa: The Case for International Regional Organisations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moses N. Kiggundu

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Alternative service delivery (ASD is generally confined to the provision opublic services within the boundaries of a single nation state. This paper extends thisconceptualization and practice beyond a single nation state by focusing on services provided  by international regional organizations (IROs, which encompass more than a single country. Recognizing that the regional approach may not be suitable under all circumstances, the papertakes a contingency approach and discusses with illustrations the conditions under which the regional or continental approaches may provide superior public services to the wider population. Three examples from the East African Community (EAC, Africa’s riparian river basins, and cross-border illicit trade of conflict minerals in the Great Lakes region are given as illustrative cases. Noting that Africa’s growing aspirations for inclusive development and rapid transformation call for better governance and quality public services, the paper ends by calling for more scholarly work and field experiments on ASD and other models applicable at local, national, regional and continental levels.

  4. Mapping the ecosystem service delivery chain: Capacity, flow, and demand pertaining to aesthetic experiences in mountain landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egarter Vigl, Lukas; Depellegrin, Daniel; Pereira, Paulo; de Groot, Rudolf; Tappeiner, Ulrike

    2017-01-01

    Accounting for the spatial connectivity between the provision of ecosystem services (ES) and their beneficiaries (supply-benefit chain) is fundamental to understanding ecosystem functioning and its management. However, the interrelationships of the specific chain links within ecosystems and the actual benefits that flow from natural landscapes to surrounding land have rarely been analyzed. We present a spatially explicit model for the analysis of one cultural ecosystem service (aesthetic experience), which integrates the complete ecosystem service delivery chain for Puez-Geisler Nature Park (Italy): (1) The potential service stock (ES capacity) relies on an expert-based land use ranking matrix, (2) the actual supply (ES flow) is based on visibility properties of observation points along recreational routes, (3) the beneficiaries of the service (ES demand) are derived from socioeconomic data as a measure of the visitation rate to the recreation location, and (4) the supply-demand relationship (ES budget) addresses the spatially explicit oversupply and undersupply of ES. The results indicate that potential ES stocks are substantially higher in core and buffer zones of protected areas than in surrounding land owing to the specific landscape composition. ES flow maps reveal service delivery to 80% of the total area studied, with the highest actual service supply to locations with long and open vistas. ES beneficiary analyses show the highest demand for aesthetic experiences in all-season tourist destinations like Val Badia and Val Gardena, where both recreational amenity and overnight stays are equally high. ES budget maps identify ES hot and cold spots in terms of ES delivery, and they highlight ES undersupply in nature protection buffer zones although they are characterized by highest ES capacity. We show how decision/policy makers can use the presented methodology to plan landscape protection measures and develop specific regulation strategies for visitors based on

  5. Delivery Unit Costs for Antiretroviral Treatment and Prevention of Mother-to-Child-Transmission of HIV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galárraga, Omar; Wirtz, Veronika J.; Figueroa-Lara, Alejandro; Santa-Ana-Tellez, Yared; Coulibaly, Ibrahima; Viisainen, Kirsi; Medina-Lara, Antonieta; Korenromp, Eline L.

    2013-01-01

    Background As antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV/AIDS is scaled-up globally, information on per-person costs is critical to improve efficiency in service delivery and maximize coverage and health impact. Objective To review studies on delivery unit costs for adult and pediatric ART provision per-patient-year, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) interventions per mother-infant pair screened or treated, in low- and middle-income countries. Methods Systematic review of English, French and Spanish publications from 2001 to 2009, reporting empirical costing that accounted for at least antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, laboratory testing and personnel. Expenditures were analyzed by country income level and cost component. All costs were standardized to 2009 US dollars. Results Analyses covered 29 eligible, comprehensive costing studies. In the base case, in low-income countries (LIC), median, ART cost per patient-year was $792 (mean: $839, range: $682-$1089); for lower-middle-income countries (LMIC), the median was $932 (mean: $1246, range: $156-$3904); and for upper-middle-income countries (UMIC) the median was $1454 (mean: $2783, range: $1230-$5667). ARV drugs were largest component of overall ART cost in all settings (62%, 50% and 47% in LIC, LMIC and UMIC respectively). Out of 26 ART studies, 14 report which drug regimes were used, and only one study explicitly reported second line treatment costs. The second cost driver was laboratory cost in LIC and LMIC (14% and 19.5%) whereas it was personnel costs in UMIC (26%). Two studies specified the types of laboratory tests costed, and three studies specifically included above-facility-level personnel costs. Three studies reported detailed PMTCT costs, and two studies reported on pediatric ART. Conclusions There is a paucity of data on the full ART and PMTCT delivery unit costs, in particular for low-and middle-income countries. Heterogeneity in activities costed and insufficient detail regarding

  6. Perceived service delivery and productivity in the food and beverage sector in Potchefstroom / Adam Herman Viljoen

    OpenAIRE

    Viljoen, Adam Herman

    2012-01-01

    The importance of management in the food and beverage sector as well as managing food and beverage service employees are crucial aspects that influence quality service delivery. The food and beverage sector is a large service orientated segment of the greater tourism industry, and effective management of employees is therefore necessary since employees are regarded as the primary resource through which establishments deliver services. One might further argue that an employee is...

  7. Architectural Principles for Orchestration of Cross-Organizational Service Delivery: Case Studies from the Netherlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Veenstra, Anne Fleur; Janssen, Marijn

    One of the main challenges for e-government is to create coherent services for citizens and businesses. Realizing Integrated Service Delivery (ISD) requires government agencies to collaborate across their organizational boundaries. The coordination of processes across multiple organizations to realize ISD is called orchestration. One way of achieving orchestration is to formalize processes using architecture. In this chapter we identify architectural principles for orchestration by looking at three case studies of cross-organizational service delivery chain formation in the Netherlands. In total, six generic principles were formulated and subsequently validated in two workshops with experts. These principles are: (i) build an intelligent front office, (ii) give processes a clear starting point and end, (iii) build a central workflow application keeping track of the process, (iv) differentiate between simple and complex processes, (v) ensure that the decision-making responsibility and the overview of the process are not performed by the same process role, and (vi) create a central point where risk profiles are maintained. Further research should focus on how organizations can adapt these principles to their own situation.

  8. Weighted log-linear models for service delivery points in Ethiopia: a case of modern contraceptive users at health facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Workie, Demeke Lakew; Zike, Dereje Tesfaye; Fenta, Haile Mekonnen; Mekonnen, Mulusew Admasu

    2018-05-10

    Ethiopia is among countries with low contraceptive usage prevalence rate and resulted in high total fertility rate and unwanted pregnancy which intern affects the maternal and child health status. This study aimed to investigate the major factors that affect the number of modern contraceptive users at service delivery point in Ethiopia. The Performance Monitoring and Accountability2020/Ethiopia data collected between March and April 2016 at round-4 from 461 eligible service delivery points were in this study. The weighted log-linear negative binomial model applied to analyze the service delivery point's data. Fifty percent of service delivery points in Ethiopia given service for 61 modern contraceptive users with the interquartile range of 0.62. The expected log number of modern contraceptive users at rural was 1.05 (95% Wald CI: - 1.42 to - 0.68) lower than the expected log number of modern contraceptive users at urban. In addition, the expected log count of modern contraceptive users at others facility type was 0.58 lower than the expected log count of modern contraceptive users at the health center. The numbers of nurses/midwives were affecting the number of modern contraceptive users. Since, the incidence rate of modern contraceptive users increased by one due to an additional nurse in the delivery point. Among different factors considered in this study, residence, region, facility type, the number of days per week family planning offered, the number of nurses/midwives and number of medical assistants were to be associated with the number of modern contraceptive users. Thus, the Government of Ethiopia would take immediate steps to address causes of the number of modern contraceptive users in Ethiopia.

  9. 78 FR 2996 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-15

    ... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

  10. 77 FR 56845 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-14

    ... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

  11. 78 FR 27969 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-13

    ... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

  12. Facilities Management Service Delivery in Public and Private High Rise Residential Buildings in Nigeria: A case study of Eko Court Complex and Niger Towers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olanrele O. O.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study assessed and compared the delivery of Facilities Management (FM services in public and private high rise residential buildings in Lagos, Nigeria. While some facilities or services may not be available in some public estates, the efficiency of the available ones is inadequate in comparison with the adequacy and efficiency of services provided in private estates. The objectives set for the study include identification of services that are provided in the case studies, service delivery method, and an assessment of the residents’ satisfaction of the services. This study adopted questionnaire survey for collection of data. 127 questionnaires were distributed to the residents of the case studies and 93 were returned. Three of which were discarded for incompleteness, thus 90 were analysed. The study found that most but not all of the facilities services expected in high rise buildings are available in the case studies and the services are outsourced under a standard Service Level Agreement. The service delivery in private high rise residential building is better than the public residential high rise buildings as revealed by the study. The study recommends improved standardization of services, customized services and meeting customer’s expectation for improved service delivery.

  13. Innovative health service delivery models in low and middle income countries - what can we learn from the private sector?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharyya, Onil; Khor, Sara; McGahan, Anita; Dunne, David; Daar, Abdallah S; Singer, Peter A

    2010-07-15

    The poor in low and middle income countries have limited access to health services due to limited purchasing power, residence in underserved areas, and inadequate health literacy. This produces significant gaps in health care delivery among a population that has a disproportionately large burden of disease. They frequently use the private health sector, due to perceived or actual gaps in public services. A subset of private health organizations, some called social enterprises, have developed novel approaches to increase the availability, affordability and quality of health care services to the poor through innovative health service delivery models. This study aims to characterize these models and identify areas of innovation that have led to effective provision of care for the poor. An environmental scan of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted to select exemplars of innovation. A case series of organizations was then purposively sampled to maximize variation. These cases were examined using content analysis and constant comparison to characterize their strategies, focusing on business processes. After an initial sample of 46 studies, 10 case studies of exemplars were developed spanning different geography, disease areas and health service delivery models. These ten organizations had innovations in their marketing, financing, and operating strategies. These included approaches such a social marketing, cross-subsidy, high-volume, low cost models, and process reengineering. They tended to have a narrow clinical focus, which facilitates standardizing processes of care, and experimentation with novel delivery models. Despite being well-known, information on the social impact of these organizations was variable, with more data on availability and affordability and less on quality of care. These private sector organizations demonstrate a range of innovations in health service delivery that have the potential to better serve the poor's health needs and be

  14. Innovative health service delivery models in low and middle income countries - what can we learn from the private sector?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daar Abdallah S

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The poor in low and middle income countries have limited access to health services due to limited purchasing power, residence in underserved areas, and inadequate health literacy. This produces significant gaps in health care delivery among a population that has a disproportionately large burden of disease. They frequently use the private health sector, due to perceived or actual gaps in public services. A subset of private health organizations, some called social enterprises, have developed novel approaches to increase the availability, affordability and quality of health care services to the poor through innovative health service delivery models. This study aims to characterize these models and identify areas of innovation that have led to effective provision of care for the poor. Methods An environmental scan of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted to select exemplars of innovation. A case series of organizations was then purposively sampled to maximize variation. These cases were examined using content analysis and constant comparison to characterize their strategies, focusing on business processes. Results After an initial sample of 46 studies, 10 case studies of exemplars were developed spanning different geography, disease areas and health service delivery models. These ten organizations had innovations in their marketing, financing, and operating strategies. These included approaches such a social marketing, cross-subsidy, high-volume, low cost models, and process reengineering. They tended to have a narrow clinical focus, which facilitates standardizing processes of care, and experimentation with novel delivery models. Despite being well-known, information on the social impact of these organizations was variable, with more data on availability and affordability and less on quality of care. Conclusions These private sector organizations demonstrate a range of innovations in health service delivery that have

  15. Overcoming Language Barriers in Health Care: Costs and Benefits of Interpreter Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Elizabeth A.; Shepard, Donald S.; Suaya, Jose A.; Stone, Esta-Lee

    2004-01-01

    Objectives. We assessed the impact of interpreter services on the cost and the utilization of health care services among patients with limited English proficiency. Methods. We measured the change in delivery and cost of care provided to patients enrolled in a health maintenance organization before and after interpreter services were implemented. Results. Compared with English-speaking patients, patients who used the interpreter services received significantly more recommended preventive services, made more office visits, and had more prescriptions written and filled. The estimated cost of providing interpreter services was $279 per person per year. Conclusions. Providing interpreter services is a financially viable method for enhancing delivery of health care to patients with limited English proficiency. PMID:15117713

  16. The promise of multimedia technology for STI/HIV prevention: frameworks for understanding improved facilitator delivery and participant learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Maria R; Epperson, Matthew W; Gilbert, Louisa; Goddard, Dawn; Hunt, Timothy; Sarfo, Bright; El-Bassel, Nabila

    2012-10-01

    There is increasing excitement about multimedia sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV prevention interventions, yet there has been limited discussion of how use of multimedia technology may improve STI/HIV prevention efforts. The purpose of this paper is to describe the mechanisms through which multimedia technology may work to improve the delivery and uptake of intervention material. We present conceptual frameworks describing how multimedia technology may improve intervention delivery by increasing standardization and fidelity to the intervention material and the participant's ability to learn by improving attention, cognition, emotional engagement, skills-building, and uptake of sensitive material about sexual and drug risks. In addition, we describe how the non-multimedia behavioral STI/HIV prevention intervention, Project WORTH, was adapted into a multimedia format for women involved in the criminal justice system and provide examples of how multimedia activities can more effectively target key mediators of behavioral change in this intervention.

  17. Introduction and Overview: Prevention Services--From Optimistic Promise to Widespread, Effective Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weissberg, Roger P.; Kuster, Carol Bartels; Gullotta, Thomas P.

    This opening chapter provides an overview of the book, "Healthy Children 2010: Establishing Preventive Services." The article describes the purpose of the work, which is to provide strategies to establish and successfully implement effective prevention services in key socializing settings that powerfully affect the growth an development…

  18. More Hands in Complex ART Delivery? Experiences from the Expert ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    for delivery of Hiv prevention, treatment, care and support—including the .... levels (health centre IV and III) of care in support of the 3 by 5 initiative, the need to ... two years of expert-clients' service, a one-day evaluation workshop was held by ... depth interviews and FGD data was collected using a topic guide to augment.

  19. Scientific foundation of in-service training for prevention of peer violence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavlović Miroslav V.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyzes the compatibility of the continuous in-service teacher training for prevention of peer violence and modern scientific knowledge in this area. The first part of the paper summarizes the results of 12 systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the effectiveness of the studies of antibullying programs published since 2000. which relate to the effects of uni-modal and multi-modal programs, and the efficacy of interventions used in anti-bullying programs. The second part of the paper analyses the approved programs of in-service teacher training, in which priority is given to the prevention of violence, abuse and negligence. We analyzed 39 programs of continuous in-service teacher training, and focused on the empirical bases of the programs (researches which confirm the effectiveness of a program and the contents of the training (the level of preventive activity, modality, field, and interventions. The results of the analysis of the programs of continuous in-service training for peer violence prevention are discussed in the context of modern scientific knowledge of effectiveness of anti-bullying programs and of professional development of teachers and counsellors.

  20. Spatial service delivery system for smart licensing & enforcement management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wahap, N. A.; Ismail, N. M.; Nor, N. M.; Ahmad, N.; Omar, M. F.; Termizi, A. A. A.; Zainal, D.; Noordin, N. M.; Mansor, S.

    2016-06-01

    Spatial information has introduced a new sense of urgency for a better understanding of the public needs in term of what, when and where they need services and through which devices, platform or physical locations they need them. The objective of this project is to value- add existing license management process for business premises which comes under the responsibility of Local Authority (PBT). Manipulation of geospatial and tracing technology via mobile platform allows enforcement officers to work in real-time, use a standardized system, improve service delivery, and optimize operation management. This paper will augment the scope and capabilities of proposed concept namely, Smart Licensing/Enforcement Management (SLEm). It will review the current licensing and enforcement practice of selected PBT in comparison to the enhanced method. As a result, the new enhanced system is expected to offer a total solution for licensing/enforcement management whilst increasing efficiency and transparency for smart city management and governance.

  1. Medical students, clinical preventive services, and shared decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keefe, Carole W; Thompson, Margaret E; Noel, Mary Margaret

    2002-11-01

    Improving access to preventive care requires addressing patient, provider, and systems barriers. Patients often lack knowledge or are skeptical about the importance of prevention. Physicians feel that they have too little time, are not trained to deliver preventive services, and are concerned about the effectiveness of prevention. We have implemented an educational module in the required family practice clerkship (1) to enhance medical student learning about common clinical preventive services and (2) to teach students how to inform and involve patients in shared decision making about those services. Students are asked to examine available evidence-based information for preventive screening services. They are encouraged to look at the recommendations of various organizations and use such resources as reports from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to determine recommendations they want to be knowledgeable about in talking with their patients. For learning shared decision making, students are trained to use a model adapted from Braddock and colleagues(1) to discuss specific screening services and to engage patients in the process of making informed decisions about what is best for their own health. The shared decision making is presented and modeled by faculty, discussed in small groups, and students practice using Web-based cases and simulations. The students are evaluated using formative and summative performance-based assessments as they interact with simulated patients about (1) screening for high blood cholesterol and other lipid abnormalities, (2) screening for colorectal cancer, (3) screening for prostate cancer, and (4) screening for breast cancer. The final student evaluation is a ten-minute, videotaped discussion with a simulated patient about screening for colorectal cancer that is graded against a checklist that focuses primarily on the elements of shared decision making. Our medical students appear quite willing to accept shared decision making as

  2. Proposal of a service delivery integration index of home care for older persons: application in several European cities.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Henrard, J.C.; Ankri, J.; Frijters, D.; Carpenter, I.; Topinkova, E.; Garms-Homolova, V.; Finne-Soveri, H.; Wergeland Sorbye, L.; Jonsson, P.V.; Ljunggren, G.; Schroll, M.; Wagner, C.; Bernabei, R.

    2006-01-01

    PURPOSE: To propose an integration index of home care delivery to older persons, to study its validity and to apply it to home care services of European cities. THEORY: Home care delivery integration was based on two dimensions referring to process-centred integration and organisational structure

  3. Comparing two service delivery models for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT of HIV during transition from single-dose nevirapine to multi-drug antiretroviral regimens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mugwaneza Placidie

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT of HIV has been eliminated from the developed world with the introduction of multi-drug antiretroviral (md-ARV regimens for the prevention of MTCT (PMTCT; but remains the major cause of HIV infection among sub-Saharan African children. This study compares two service delivery models of PMTCT interventions and documents the lessons learned and the challenges encountered during the transition from single-dose nevirapine (sd-nvp to md-ARV regimens in a resource-limited setting. Methods Program data collected from 32 clinical sites was used to describe trends and compare the performance (uptake of HIV testing, CD4 screening and ARV regimens initiated during pregnancy of sites providing PMTCT as a stand-alone service (stand-alone site versus sites providing PMTCT as well as antiretroviral therapy (ART (full package site. CD4 cell count screening, enrolment into ART services and the initiation of md-ARV regimens during pregnancy, including dual (zidovudine [AZT] +sd-nvp prophylaxis and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART were analysed. Results From July 2006 to December 2008, 1,622 pregnant women tested HIV positive (HIV+ during antenatal care (ANC. CD4 cell count screening during pregnancy increased from 60% to 70%, and the initiation of md-ARV regimens increased from 35.5% to 97% during this period. In 2008, women attending ANC at full package sites were 30% more likely to undergo CD4 cell count assessment during pregnancy than women attending stand-alone sites (relative risk (RR = 1.3; 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.1-1.4. Enrolment of HIV+ pregnant women in ART services was almost twice as likely at full package sites than at stand-alone sites (RR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.5-2.3. However, no significant differences were detected between the two models of care in providing md-ARV (RR = 0.9; 95% CI: 0.9-1.0. Conclusions All sites successfully transitioned from sd-nvp to md-ARV regimens for PMTCT

  4. Developing an intervention to prevent acute kidney injury: using the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) service improvement approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Jo; Xu, Gang; Carr, Sue

    2015-03-01

    In the UK, recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for acute kidney injury point to the need for interventions to help prevent this condition. Effective medicines management is of prime importance in reducing the risk of AKI. Part of this challenge is to increase patients' awareness of their medicines and the possible need to temporarily withhold certain medications when acutely unwell. The objectives were to use a service improvement approach (the Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle) to develop an intervention and to evaluate current delivery of acute kidney injury management and to test and generate new ideas relating to patients' needs. A postal feedback form sent to a random sample of over 200 patients with chronic kidney disease. The feedback form collected information on: what patients know about acute kidney injury and managing medicines; where patients get their information from; whether patients want more information and where from; and what patients feel about self-managing their medicines. Completed feedback forms were received from 113 participants. Of these, 92% said they had received no advice, 77% of respondents wanted more advice but only 17% said they would feel comfortable to stop their own medication without medical consent. The PDSA cycle offered a very useful framework to evaluate the current service delivery and to test and generate new ideas for the development of an AKI intervention. Our findings highlighted that the current service is limited and more robust research is needed. © 2014 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

  5. A rapid assessment of service deliveries at Anganwadi Centres in Ranchi district of Jharkhand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shamim Haider

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Proper functioning of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs are important for better service delivery which will lead to healthy mother and child , and ultimately better development of human resources in order to build a healthy and productive nation. Objectives: To assess the functioning of AWCs. 2 To measure the quantitative gap in coverage of beneficiaries. 3 To find out bottlenecks in proper service delivery of AWCs. Methods: Randomly selected 50 AWCs in Ranchi district were surveyed during July 2012 to September 2012. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from Anganwadi workers (AWWs. Existing records at AWCs were also accessed to collect data.  Statistical analysis: Frequency distribution and chi - square test were done. Results: 3941(>73% out of 5387 eligible children aged 6-71 months were enrolled at AWCs and 3870(97.45% enrolled children were availing food under Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP. Growth charts were available and properly maintained at all AWCs however; regular health check-up of all children was done in only 5(10% AWCs. Pre-School Education (PSE materials, mainly in form of charts and posters were available at 47(94% AWCs. More than 90% pregnant & lactating women were enrolled at AWCs and almost all centres were providing maternal health services like Ante natal care (ANC and Tetanus Toxoid (TT to them. Only 955 (33% out of 2859 eligible adolescent girls were enrolled in AWCs. Iron-Folic Acid (IFA supplementations to pregnant women were available at 25 (50% AWCs. Conclusions:  Though coverage and supplementary nutrition of children is good; poor coverage, lack of health education and supplementary nutrition of adolescent girls is a matter of concern. Low honorarium, excess workload and poor infrastructure of AWCs are main impediment in proper service delivery.

  6. A rapid assessment of service deliveries at Anganwadi Centres in Ranchi district of Jharkhand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shamim Haider

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Proper functioning of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs are important for better service delivery which will lead to healthy mother and child , and ultimately better development of human resources in order to build a healthy and productive nation. Objectives: To assess the functioning of AWCs. 2 To measure the quantitative gap in coverage of beneficiaries. 3 To find out bottlenecks in proper service delivery of AWCs. Methods: Randomly selected 50 AWCs in Ranchi district were surveyed during July 2012 to September 2012. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from Anganwadi workers (AWWs. Existing records at AWCs were also accessed to collect data.  Statistical analysis: Frequency distribution and chi - square test were done. Results: 3941(>73% out of 5387 eligible children aged 6-71 months were enrolled at AWCs and 3870(97.45% enrolled children were availing food under Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP. Growth charts were available and properly maintained at all AWCs however; regular health check-up of all children was done in only 5(10% AWCs. Pre-School Education (PSE materials, mainly in form of charts and posters were available at 47(94% AWCs. More than 90% pregnant & lactating women were enrolled at AWCs and almost all centres were providing maternal health services like Ante natal care (ANC and Tetanus Toxoid (TT to them. Only 955 (33% out of 2859 eligible adolescent girls were enrolled in AWCs. Iron-Folic Acid (IFA supplementations to pregnant women were available at 25 (50% AWCs. Conclusions:  Though coverage and supplementary nutrition of children is good; poor coverage, lack of health education and supplementary nutrition of adolescent girls is a matter of concern. Low honorarium, excess workload and poor infrastructure of AWCs are main impediment in proper service delivery.

  7. Institutional Delivery Service Utilization among Women from Rural Districts of Wolaita and Dawro Zones, Southern Ethiopia; a Community Based Cross-Sectional Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihiretu Alemayehu Arba

    Full Text Available The highest number of maternal deaths occur during labour, delivery and the first day after delivery highlighting the critical need for good quality care during this period. Therefore, for the strategies of institutional delivery to be effective, it is essential to understand the factors that influence individual and household factors to utilize skilled birth attendance and institutions for delivery. This study was aimed to assess factors affecting the utilization of institutional delivery service of women in rural districts of Wolaita and Dawro Zones.A community based cross-sectional study was done among mothers who gave birth within the past one year preceding the survey in Wolaita and Dawro Zones, from February 01 -April 30, 2015 by using a three stage sampling technique. Initially, 6 districts were selected randomly from the total of 17 eligible districts. Then, 2 kebele from each district was selected randomly cumulating a total of 12 clusters. Finally, study participants were selected from each cluster by using systematic sampling technique. Accordingly, 957 mothers were included in the survey. Data was collected by using a pretested interviewer administered structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was prepared by including socio-demographic variables and variables of maternal health service utilization factors. Data was entered using Epi-data version 1.4.4.0 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were applied to identify candidate and predictor variables respectively.Only 38% of study participants delivered the index child at health facility. Husband's educational status, wealth index, average distance from nearest health facility, wanted pregnancy, agreement to follow post-natal care, problem faced during delivery, birth order, preference of health professional for ante-natal care and maternity care were predictors of institutional delivery.The use of institutional delivery service is

  8. Institutional Delivery Service Utilization among Women from Rural Districts of Wolaita and Dawro Zones, Southern Ethiopia; a Community Based Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arba, Mihiretu Alemayehu; Darebo, Tadele Dana; Koyira, Mengistu Meskele

    2016-01-01

    The highest number of maternal deaths occur during labour, delivery and the first day after delivery highlighting the critical need for good quality care during this period. Therefore, for the strategies of institutional delivery to be effective, it is essential to understand the factors that influence individual and household factors to utilize skilled birth attendance and institutions for delivery. This study was aimed to assess factors affecting the utilization of institutional delivery service of women in rural districts of Wolaita and Dawro Zones. A community based cross-sectional study was done among mothers who gave birth within the past one year preceding the survey in Wolaita and Dawro Zones, from February 01 -April 30, 2015 by using a three stage sampling technique. Initially, 6 districts were selected randomly from the total of 17 eligible districts. Then, 2 kebele from each district was selected randomly cumulating a total of 12 clusters. Finally, study participants were selected from each cluster by using systematic sampling technique. Accordingly, 957 mothers were included in the survey. Data was collected by using a pretested interviewer administered structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was prepared by including socio-demographic variables and variables of maternal health service utilization factors. Data was entered using Epi-data version 1.4.4.0 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were applied to identify candidate and predictor variables respectively. Only 38% of study participants delivered the index child at health facility. Husband's educational status, wealth index, average distance from nearest health facility, wanted pregnancy, agreement to follow post-natal care, problem faced during delivery, birth order, preference of health professional for ante-natal care and maternity care were predictors of institutional delivery. The use of institutional delivery service is low in the study

  9. Local government energy action in the UK: from service delivery to community leadership

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wade, Joanne; Pearson, Amanda; Knowland, Rachael [Impetus Consulting (United Kingdom); Flanagan, Brooke [Energy Saving Trust (United Kingdom)

    2007-07-01

    In October 2006 the UK government published a new Local Government White Paper. This policy statement set the framework for the role of local government in the coming years.The White Paper is one stage in the latest wave of local government reform in the UK. This reform has aimed to refocus attention away from delivery of specific services and towards community leadership, particularly with reference to sustainable development. Climate change is given some emphasis within the White Paper, and should become one of the indicators against which local government performance is measured.This paper examines energy action in local authorities in the past few years, in a situation where most, but not all, were still strongly focused on service delivery. By contrasting this with the results achieved in authorities that have taken a community leadership role, the paper examines the potential of the White Paper. It addresses the following questions: does local government have the capacity to deliver increased local action on climate change? Does the UK policy framework support and encourage development and deployment of this capacity? And do the national and regional bodies that provide support for local authorities need to change the services they offer in light of recent policy developments?.

  10. Clinical preventive services in Guatemala: a cross-sectional survey of internal medicine physicians.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan E Corral

    Full Text Available Guatemala is currently undergoing an epidemiologic transition. Preventive services are key to reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases, and smoking counseling and cessation are among the most cost-effective and wide-reaching strategies. Internal medicine physicians are fundamental to providing such services, and their knowledge is a cornerstone of non-communicable disease control.A national cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2011 to evaluate knowledge of clinical preventive services for non-communicable diseases. Interns, residents, and attending physicians of the internal medicine departments of all teaching hospitals in Guatemala completed a self-administered questionnaire. Participants' responses were contrasted with the Guatemalan Ministry of Health (MoH prevention guidelines and the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF recommendations. Analysis compared knowledge of recommendations within and between hospitals.In response to simulated patient scenarios, all services were recommended by more than half of physicians regardless of MoH or USPSTF recommendations. Prioritization was adequate according to the MoH guidelines but not including other potentially effective services (e.g. colorectal cancer and lipid disorder screenings. With the exception of colorectal and prostate cancer screening, less frequently recommended by interns, there was no difference in recommendation rates by level.Guatemalan internal medicine physicians' knowledge on preventive services recommendations for non-communicable diseases is limited, and prioritization did not reflect cost-effectiveness. Based on these data we recommend that preventive medicine training be strengthened and development of evidence-based guidelines for low-middle income countries be a priority.

  11. Does co-creation impact public service delivery? The importance of state and governance traditions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voorberg, Willem; Bekkers, Victor; Flemig, Sophie; Timeus, Krista; Tõnurist, Piret; Tummers, L.G.

    2017-01-01

    Co-creation in public service delivery requires partnerships between citizens and civil servants. The authors argue that whether or not these partnerships will be successful depends on state and governance traditions (for example a tradition of authority sharing or consultation). These traditions

  12. Addressing service delivery in rural areas through deployment of information and communication technology platforms

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Foko, Thato E

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available deployment of ICT Platforms in the rural areas. The contribution of ICT Platform adds to the important notion of access which enhances service delivery. This is seen through the Technology Acceptance Models used in this paper. The main research methodology...

  13. Folic Acid for the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects : US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Calonge, Ned; Petitti, Diana B.; DeWitt, Thomas G.; Dietrich, Allen J.; Gregory, Kimberly D.; Grossman, David; Isham, George; LeFevre, Michael L.; Leipzig, Rosanne M.; Marion, Lucy N.; Melnyk, Bernadette; Moyer, Virginia A.; Ockene, Judith K.; Sawaya, George F.; Schwartz, J. Sanford; Wilt, Timothy

    2009-01-01

    Description: In 1996, the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that all women planning or capable of pregnancy take a multivitamin supplement containing folic acid for the prevention of neural tube defects. This recommendation is an update of the 1996 USPSTF recommendation.

  14. Impact of Affirmative Action on Quality of Service Delivery in the Public Service Sector of Kenya: A Comparative Case Study of the Ministry of State in the Office of the President and Ministry of Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilonzo, Evans Mbuthi; Ikamari, Lawrence

    2015-01-01

    This study was carried out to determine the impact of affirmative action policy on the quality service delivery in the public service sector of Kenya. The study was carried out on the premise that there is a relationship between affirmative Action implementation and the quality of service delivery in the public service sector of Kenya. A lot of…

  15. Personalizing Knowledge Delivery Services for Emerging Knowledge Processes (EKPs): A Conceptual Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majchrzak, Ann; Chellappa, Ramnath K.; Cooper, Lynne P.; Hars, Alexander

    2003-01-01

    The contents include: 1) What do most KMS in use today assume?; 2) Assumptions are violated when KMS is used by EKP workers - Why?; 3) Current State of KMS for EKPs are inadequate; 4) What would an "adequate" KMS for EKPs look like?; 5) "User-as-Consumer" Analogue: Ecommerce/Eem ployee Services; 6) Why is an ideal KMS for EKPs hard to achieve?; 7) So, what type of KMS design would work?; 8) Human-Based KMS for EKP - Proposal Call Managers at R&DLAB; 9) Proposal Call Managers (PCMs); 10) Specific PCM tasks; 11) Why is a R&DLAB PCM a human metaphor for a KMS for EKP?; 12) Data Collection; 13) Finding #1; 14) Finding #2; 15) Finding #3; 16) Factors affecting How/when; 17) Finding #4; 18) Finding #5; 19) Implication#l for a KMS for EKP: From System to Service; 20) Implication #2: From technology or human-centric to Mixed Mode; 21) Implication #3: From Simple User Profiles to Dynamic Delivery Profiles; 22) Implication #4: Maintaining a trustworthy environment; 23) Implication #5: Constructing a dynamic delivery profile; 24) Implications for Research: Model; and 25) Example Research Qs on KMS Support for EKPs.

  16. Please understand when I cry out in pain: women's accounts of maternity services during labour and delivery in Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbey Mercy

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study was undertaken to investigate women's accounts of interactions with health care providers during labour and delivery and to assess the implications for acceptability and utilisation of maternity services in Ghana. Methods Twenty-one individual in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted with women of reproductive age who had delivered in the past five years in the Greater Accra Region. The study investigated women's perceptions and experiences of care in terms of factors that influenced place of delivery, satisfaction with services, expectations of care and whether they would recommend services. Results One component of care which appeared to be of great importance to women was staff attitudes. This factor had considerable influence on acceptability and utilisation of services. Otherwise, a successful labour outcome and non-medical factors such as cost, perceived quality of care and proximity of services were important. Our findings indicate that women expect humane, professional and courteous treatment from health professionals and a reasonable standard of physical environment. Women will consciously change their place of delivery and recommendations to others if they experience degrading and unacceptable behaviour. Conclusion The findings suggest that inter-personal aspects of care are key to women's expectations, which in turn govern satisfaction. Service improvements which address this aspect of care are likely to have an impact on health seeking behaviour and utilisation. Our findings suggest that user-views are important and warrant further investigation. The views of providers should also be investigated to identify channels by which service improvements, taking into account women's views, could be operationalised. We also recommend that interventions to improve delivery care should not only be directed to the health professional, but also to general health system improvements.

  17. Expansion in the private sector provision of institutional delivery services and horizontal equity: evidence from Nepal and Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hotchkiss, David R; Godha, Deepali; Do, Mai

    2014-07-01

    Wealth-related inequity in the use of maternal healthcare services continues to be a substantial problem in most low- and middle-income countries. One strategic approach to increase the use of appropriate maternal healthcare services is to encourage the expansion of the role of the private sector. However, critics of such an approach argue that increasing the role of the private sector will lead to increased inequity in the use of maternal healthcare services. This article explores this issue in two South Asian countries that have traditionally had high rates of maternal mortality-Nepal and Bangladesh. The study is based on multiple rounds of nationally representative household survey data collected in Nepal and Bangladesh from 1996 to 2011. The methodology involves estimating a concentration index for each survey to assess changes in wealth-related inequity in the use of institutional delivery assistance over time. The results of the study suggest that the expansion of private sector supply of institutional-based delivery services in Nepal and Bangladesh has not led to increased horizontal inequity. In fact, in both countries, inequity was shown to have decreased over the study period. The study findings also suggest that the provision of government delivery services to the poor protects against increased wealth-related inequity in service use. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

  18. An experiment framework to identify community functional components driving ecosystem processes and services delivery.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dias, A.; Berg, M.P.; de Bello, F.; van Oosten, A.R.; Bila, K.; Moretti, M.

    2013-01-01

    There is a growing consensus that the distribution of species trait values in a community can greatly determine ecosystem processes and services delivery. Two distinct components of community trait composition are hypothesized to chiefly affect ecosystem processes: (i) the average trait value of the

  19. Service readiness, health facility management practices, and delivery care utilization in five states of Nigeria: a cross-sectional analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gage, Anastasia J; Ilombu, Onyebuchi; Akinyemi, Akanni Ibukun

    2016-10-06

    Existing studies of delivery care in Nigeria have identified socioeconomic and cultural factors as the primary determinants of health facility delivery. However, no study has investigated the association between supply-side factors and health facility delivery. Our study analyzed the role of supply-side factors, particularly health facility readiness and management practices for provision of quality maternal health services. Using linked data from the 2005 and 2009 health facility and household surveys in the five states in which the Community Participation for Action in the Social Sector (COMPASS) project was implemented, indices of health service readiness and management were developed based on World Health Organization guidelines. Multilevel logistic regression models were run to determine the association between these indices and health facility delivery among 2710 women aged 15-49 years whose last child was born within the five years preceding the surveys and who lived in 51 COMPASS LGAs. The health facility delivery rate increased from 25.4 % in 2005 to 44.1 % in 2009. Basic amenities for antenatal care provision, readiness to deliver basic emergency obstetric and newborn care, and management practices supportive of quality maternal health services were suboptimal in health facilities surveyed and did not change significantly between 2005 and 2009. The LGA mean index of basic amenities for antenatal care provision was more positively associated with the odds of health facility delivery in 2009 than in 2005, and in rural than in urban areas. The LGA mean index of management practices was associated with significantly lower odds of health facility delivery in rural than in urban areas. The LGA mean index of facility readiness to deliver basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care declined slightly from 5.16 in 2005 to 3.98 in 2009 and was unrelated to the odds of health facility delivery. Supply-side factors appeared to play a role in health facility delivery

  20. Prevention of preterm delivery in twin gestations (PREDICT): a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial on the effect of vaginal micronized progesterone

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rode, L; Klein, K; Nicolaides, K H

    2011-01-01

    Studies on high-risk singleton gestations have shown a preventive effect of progesterone treatment on preterm delivery. This study was conducted to investigate the preventive effect of vaginal micronized progesterone in a large population of twin gestations....

  1. User involvement in service delivery predicts outcomes of assistive technology use: A cross-sectional study in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borg Johan

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Knowledge about the relation between user involvement in the provision of assistive technology and outcomes of assistive technology use is a prerequisite for the development of efficient service delivery strategies. However, current knowledge is limited, particularly from low-income countries where affordability is an issue. The objective was therefore to explore the relation between outcomes of assistive technology use and user involvement in the service delivery process in Bangladesh. Methods Using structured interviews, data from 136 users of hearing aids and 149 users of manual wheelchairs were collected. Outcomes were measured using the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA, which was adapted for wheelchair users. Predictors of user involvement included preference, measurement and training. Results Users reported outcomes comparable to those found in other high- and low-income countries. User involvement increased the likelihood for reporting better outcomes except for measurement among hearing aid users. Conclusions The findings support the provision of assistive technology as a strategy to improve the participation of people with disabilities in society. They also support current policies and guidelines for user-involvement in the service delivery process. Simplified strategies for provision of hearing aids may be explored.

  2. Service provider perceptions of telerehabilitation as an additional service delivery option within an Australian neurosurgical and orthopaedic physiotherapy screening clinic: A qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cottrell, Michelle A; Hill, Anne J; O'Leary, Shaun P; Raymer, Maree E; Russell, Trevor G

    2017-12-01

    The Neurosurgical & Orthopaedic Physiotherapy Screening Clinic and Multidisciplinary Service (N/OPSC&MDS) originated as a complementary, non-surgical pathway for patients referred to public neurosurgical and orthopaedic specialist services. Patient access to the N/OPSC&MDS could potentially be improved with the implementation of telerehabilitation as an additional method of service delivery. To evaluate service provider's views on (1) current barriers to patients' accessing N/OPSC & MD services, and (2) the implementation of telerehabilitation within the N/OPSC&MDS. Qualitative descriptive study design. Healthcare providers (n = 26) were recruited from six N/OPSC&MD services located throughout Queensland, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore service providers' views with respect to existing barriers to patients accessing the N/OPSC&MDS, and if telerehabilitation could be feasibly adopted to address current barriers. Template analysis resulted in six themes: (1) barriers to some patients' accessing current N/OPSC&MD services are complex & multifaceted; (2) telerehabilitation could improve patient access to appropriate management for their musculoskeletal condition; (3) telerehabilitation may have limitations when compared to face-to-face healthcare; (4) the delivery of telerehabilitation needs to be flexible; (5) perceived barriers, and (6) facilitators to the successful implementation of telerehabilitation within the N/OPSC&MDS. This study represents a critical step in determining the readiness of service providers for the implementation of telerehabilitation within the N/OPSC&MDS. Although cautious, service providers are overall accepting of the implementation of telerehabilitation, acknowledging that it could eliminate several current barriers, subsequently achieving more equitable access to the service. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Human factors that derail extension services delivery in developing countries: implications for policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.N. Ajani

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines human factors derailing extension services delivery in developing countries. Poor management of rewards and incentives; quality of work life; poor assessment system; limited quality of human resource; inadequate extension support training materials; inconsistencies of government programmes; inadequate staff training and poor extension programme evaluation were viewed as major constraints. Considering the role of extension to agricultural development, the paper recommends that efforts should be made by the various stakeholders in agricultural extension services to improve the capability of human resources involved in extension services and highlights the need for government agricultural programmes to be consistent to enable the beneficiaries of such programmes derive the benefits that will boost productivity in agriculture.

  4. Magnitude and factors associated with institutional delivery service utilization among childbearing mothers in Cheha district, Gurage zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia: a community based cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habte, Feleke; Demissie, Meaza

    2015-11-17

    Ethiopia is one of the six countries that contributes' to more than 50 % of worldwide maternal deaths. While it is revealed that delivery attended by skilled provider at health facility reduced maternal deaths, more than half of all births in Ethiopia takes place at home. According to EDHS 2011 report nine women in every ten deliver at home in Ethiopia. The situation is much worse in southern region. The aim of our study is to measure the prevalence and to identify factors associated with institutional delivery service utilization among childbearing mothers in Cheha District, SNNPR, Ethiopia. A community based cross sectional survey was conducted in Cheha District from Dec 22, 2012 to Jan 11, 2013. Multistage sampling method was employed and 816 women who gave birth within the past 2 years and lived in Cheha district for minimum of one year prior to the survey were involved in the study. Data was entered and analyzed using Epi Info Version 7 and SPSS Version 16. Frequencies and binary logistic regression were done. Factors affecting institutional delivery were determined using multivariate logistic regression. A total of 31 % of women gave birth to their last child at health facility. Place of residence, ability to afford for the whole process to get delivery service at health facility, traveling time that takes to reach to health institution which provides delivery service, husband's attitude towards institutional delivery, counseling about where to deliver during ANC visit and place of birth of the 2(nd) youngest child were found to have statistically significant association with institutional delivery. Institutional delivery is low in the study area. Access to health service was found to be the most important predictor of institutional delivery among others. Accessing health facility within reasonable travel time; providing health education and BCC services to husbands and the community at large on importance of using health institution for delivery service

  5. Quasi-Experimental Study of the Effectiveness of an Integrated Service Delivery Network for the Frail Elderly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tourigny, Andre; Durand, Pierre J.; Bonin, Lucie; Hebert, Rejean; Rochette, Louis

    2004-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a new, integrated service delivery (ISD) network of health and social services for frail elderly living in a semi-urban community. A quasi-experimental study was conducted from 1997 to 2000, with measures taken before implementation (T0) and every 12 months after implementation for a 3-year…

  6. Towards comprehensive early abortion service delivery in high income countries: insights for improving universal access to abortion in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Dawson

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Improving access to safe abortion is an essential strategy in the provision of universal access to reproductive health care. Australians are largely supportive of the provision of abortion and its decriminalization. However, the lack of data and the complex legal and service delivery situation impacts upon access for women seeking an early termination of pregnancy. There are no systematic reviews from a health services perspective to help direct health planners and policy makers to improve access comprehensive medical and early surgical abortion in high income countries. This review therefore aims to identify quality studies of abortion services to provide insight into how access to services can be improved in Australia. Methods We undertook a structured search of six bibliographic databases and hand-searching to ascertain peer reviewed primary research in English between 2005 and 2015. Qualitative and quantitative study designs were deemed suitable for inclusion. A deductive content analysis methodology was employed to analyse selected manuscripts based upon a framework we developed to examine access to early abortion services. Results This review identified the dimensions of access to surgical and medical abortion at clinic or hospital-outpatient based abortion services, as well as new service delivery approaches utilising a remote telemedicine approach. A range of factors, mostly from studies in the United Kingdom and United States of America were found to facilitate improved access to abortion, in particular, flexible service delivery approaches that provide women with cost effective options and technology based services. Standards, recommendations and targets were also identified that provided services and providers with guidance regarding the quality of abortion care. Conclusions Key insights for service delivery in Australia include the: establishment of standards, provision of choice of procedure, improved provider

  7. Utilization of clean and safe delivery service package of health services extension program and associated factors in rural kebeles of Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayou, Negalign Berhanu; Gacho, Yohannes Haile Michael

    2013-07-01

    In Ethiopia, 94% of births take place at home unattended by trained persons. The government introduced an innovative strategy, Health Services Extension Program in 2003. Clean and safe delivery service is a component of maternal and child healthcare package of the program. However, little is known about the status of uptake of the service. This study thus aimed to assess utilization of clean and safe delivery service and associated factors in rural kebeles of Kafa Zone, Ethiopia. A community based cross sectional survey was conducted in rural kebeles of Kefa Zone from January 21(st) to February 25(th), 2009 using a sample of 229 mothers. Kafa Zone is located 465 kilometres away from Addis Ababa to southwest of Ethiopia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS for windows version 16. OR and 95% CI were calculated. Phistory of abortion, knowledge of danger signs and antenatal care attendance. Educating women and improving their knowledge about danger signs of pregnancy and labor is recommended. Health extension workers should consider antenatal care visits as opportunities for this purpose.

  8. PACS and diagnostic imaging service delivery-A UK perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutton, Laurence N.

    2011-01-01

    This review sets out the current position with regard to the implementation of PACS throughout the United Kingdom and the impact this has had on improving patient care. In December 2007 England had implemented full hospital-wide PACS in all hospitals: a major achievement in the relatively short time period of three years. The different approaches used by each country of the UK to achieve full national PACS are described in addition to the current issues with the sharing of images and reports across different healthcare organisations with regard to technical solutions, clinical safety and governance. The review gives insight into the changing methods of service delivery to address increasing demand pressures on diagnostic imaging services and how the national PACS implementation, specifically in England, has made a significant contribution to measures to improve efficiencies. The role of Teleradiology is discussed in the context of supporting local patient services rather than undermining them and the concept of cross-healthcare reporting 'Grids' is described. Finally, in the summary it is recognised that the vast wealth of knowledge accumulated during the national implementations has placed the UK in a strong position to facilitate full national data sharing across all healthcare organisations to improve patient care.

  9. Health service delivery models for the provision of antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lazarus, Jeffrey V; Safreed-Harmon, Kelly; Nicholson, Joey

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: In response to the lack of evidence-based guidance for how to continue scaling up antiretroviral therapy (ART) in ways that make optimal use of limited resources, to assess comparative studies of ART service delivery models implemented in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: A systematic lite...

  10. Decision making at the frontline: Exploring coping with moral conflicts during public service delivery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vink, E.; Tummers, L.G.; Bekkers, V.J.J.M.; Musheno, M.

    2015-01-01

    Moral conflicts, where a person is confronted with two or more clashing values, norms or responsibilities, are common in public service delivery. Choosing one is realized at the cost of the other(s). Frontline professionals, such as physicians and police officers, often experience clashes over the

  11. Where to go in the near future: diverging perspectives on online public service delivery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Deursen, Alexander Johannes Aloysius Maria; Wimmer, Maria A.; Scholl, Jochen; Grönlund, Åke

    2007-01-01

    Although the electronic government is under heavy development, a clear vision doesn’t seem to exist. In this study 20 interviews among leaders in the field of e-government in the Netherlands resulted in different perspectives on the future of electronic public service delivery. The interviews

  12. Association Between Employee Dental Claims, Health Risks, Workplace Productivity, and Preventive Services Compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, Wayne N; Chen, Chin-Yu; Li, Xingquan; Schultz, Alyssa B

    2017-08-01

    This study examined differences in health risks and workplace outcomes among employees who utilized preventive dental services compared with other employees. A retrospective observational study of employees of a large financial services corporation, with data from health risk appraisal questionnaires, medical claims, pharmacy claims, and dental claims. Employees with no dental claims were significantly more likely to have a variety of health risk factors (such as obesity and tobacco use), health conditions (such as diabetes), absenteeism, and lost on-the-job productivity, and were significantly less likely to be compliant with clinical preventive services compared with those with preventive dental claims. Employees with preventive dental claims had fewer health risks and medical conditions and better health and productivity measures. Study employees underutilized free dental care; employers should incorporate preventive dental care awareness into their worksite wellness programs.

  13. Predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with utilization of institutional delivery services: A community-based cross-sectional study in far-western Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freidoony, Leila; Ranabhat, Chhabi Lal; Kim, Chun-Bae; Kim, Chang-Soo; Ahn, Dong-Won; Doh, Young Ah

    2018-01-01

    Use of institutional delivery services can be effective in reducing maternal and infant mortality. In Nepal, however, the majority of women deliver at home. Using Andersen's behavioral model of use of health care services, this cross-sectional study aimed to identify factors associated with use of institutional delivery services in four villages and one municipality in Kailali district, Nepal. Mothers (N = 500) who had given birth in the 5 years preceding the survey (conducted between January and February 2015) were randomly selected by cluster sampling and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Bivariate analyses and multivariate hierarchical logistic regression analyses were performed. Among the women surveyed, 65.6% had used institutional delivery services for their last delivery, a higher proportion than the national average. Primiparity, having a secondary or higher education level, living in the Durgauli village, having husbands with occupations other than agriculture or professional/technical jobs, and having attended four or more antenatal care (ANC) visits had significantly increased use of institutional deliveries. Also, belonging to the richest 20% of the community and having experienced pregnancy complications were marginally significantly associated. These findings demonstrate the need for improving mother's education, encouraging them to attend ANC visits and addressing disparities between different regions.

  14. Attitudinal orientation of first level managers for improvement of municipal service delivery: Experience of training intervention in Kolkata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uttam Kumar Roy

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses a program of attitudinal orientation courses provided for functionaries of a large municipal corporation in India. Almost 450 Assistant Managers from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation took part in the training, which was held at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI of the Government of West Bengal, India. Under the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, Indian Municipalities/Corporations (Urban Local Bodies are empowered and entrusted to perform planning, development and governance for the city/ town and to provide services to the citizens. The change in outlook towards the local government reflected in the Act has highlighted the need for greater awareness and a better attitude amongst municipal staff as well as elected representatives towards service delivery. Good governance can be achieved through the overall performance of officials of an organization, provided they possess the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes and competencies. For historical reasons, knowledge, skills and attitudes amongst officials of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs in India have been traditionally of a low standard. Willingness to perform better in the role of municipal service delivery is not common. Therein lies the need for training for improvement in service delivery, especially for organizations like large municipal corporations and municipalities.

  15. Obstacles to preventive care for individuals with disability: Implications for nurse practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marrocco, Anna; Krouse, Helene J

    2017-05-01

    Individuals with disabilities have been identified as a population with a significantly lower usage of preventive services. Nurse practitioners (NPs) provide a key access point in the healthcare delivery system for preventive services for vulnerable populations such as those with disabilities. It is essential to understand existing barriers that prohibit access to effective preventive care for this vulnerable population. Systematic search and review of Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medline, PubMed, Google Scholar, and government reports and World Health Organizations reports. Twenty-six articles were included in the review. This literature review confirmed previous notions that people with disabilities are receiving much fewer preventive services than the general population. The studies reviewed identified four major barriers that contributed to the lack of preventive care. These barriers included physical environment and system, transportation, provider knowledge and attitude, and financial. Recognition of the obstacles that this subpopulation faces in accessing preventive care services is the first step to effectively remedying this problem. Preventive services have been identified as one of the cornerstones to improving health and quality of life. By understanding the circumstances that restrict those with disabilities from accessing preventive services, NPs can provide meaningful and effective solutions. ©2017 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

  16. Morphological analysis: a method for selecting ICT applications in South African government service delivery

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Plauché, M

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available by trial and error, as every attempt counts signi?cantly. 6. Wicked problems do not have an enumerable (or an exhaustively describable) set of potential solutions, nor is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated... scheduled clinical visits. Access to information about entitled services alone has been found to improve the delivery of health and social services to resource-poor popula- tions (Pandey, Sehgal, Riboud, Levine, & Goyal, 2007). In South Africa, however...

  17. Impact of free delivery policy on utilization of maternal health services in county referral hospitals in Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Njuguna, John; Kamau, Njoroge; Muruka, Charles

    2017-06-21

    Kenya has a high maternal mortality rate. Provision of skilled delivery plays a major role in reducing maternal mortality. Cost is a hindrance to the utilization of skilled delivery. The Government of Kenya introduced a policy of free delivery services in government facilities beginning June 2013. We sought to determine the impact of this intervention on facility based deliveries in Kenya. We compared deliveries and antenatal attendance in 47 county referral hospitals and 30 low cost private hospitals not participating in the free delivery policy for 2013 and 2014 respectively. The data was extracted from the Kenya Health Information System. Multiple regression was done to assess factors influencing increase in number of deliveries among the county referral hospitals. The number of deliveries and antenatal attendance increased by 26.8% and 16.2% in county referral hospitals and decreased by 11.9% and 5.4% respectively in low cost private hospitals. Increase in deliveries among county referral hospitals was influenced by population size of county and type of county referral hospital. Counties with level 5 hospitals recorded more deliveries compared to those with level 4 hospitals. This intervention increased the number of facility based deliveries. Policy makers may consider incorporating low cost private hospitals so as to increase the coverage of this intervention.

  18. Service-Learning in Higher Education: Focus on Eating Disorder Prevention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roofe, Nina; Brinegar, Jennifer; Seymour, Gayle

    2015-01-01

    Interdisciplinary service-learning projects are mutually beneficial for communities and students. This service-learning project focused on eating disorder prevention and involved students majoring in nutrition, art, and psychology at a public Southern university. The nutrition majors completed the Eating Attitudes Test before and after the…

  19. Using attachment theory to inform the design and delivery of mental health services: a systematic review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucci, Sandra; Roberts, Nicola H; Danquah, Adam N; Berry, Katherine

    2015-03-01

    The aim of this review was to propose and describe the design and delivery of an attachment-informed general mental health service. We systematically searched the PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Web of Knowledge, COPAC, CINAHL, and Science Direct databases from 1960 to 2013. We also searched reference lists of relevant papers and directly contacted authors in the field. Literature describing attachment theory and its applicability in designing and delivering general mental health services was synthesized using thematic analysis. Papers published in English, books or chapters in edited books that described applying attachment theory in designing and delivering mental health services for adults and adolescents were included in the review. Of the 1,105 articles identified, 14 met inclusion criteria for the review. Eight key themes, and four subthemes, were extracted and organized to reflect the experience of a service user moving through the mental health system. Key themes extracted were as follows: service policy and evaluation; referrals; assessment and formulation; intervention; support for staff; support for carers; moving on; and potential service benefits. Papers reviewed suggested that service users with severe mental health problems have attachment needs that should be met in general mental health services. Attachment theory provides a useful framework to inform the design and delivery of general mental health services. The resource implications for services are discussed, as are limitations of the review and recommendations for future research. Attachment theory should be used to inform the design and delivery of general mental health services. Mental health services should evaluate the extent to which they meet service users' attachment needs. Attachment-informed mental health services should assess outcomes, including cost-effectiveness over time. Papers included in this review focus on long-stay residential care or secure services and there is a limited experimental

  20. Building Service Delivery Networks: Partnership Evolution Among Children's Behavioral Health Agencies in Response to New Funding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bunger, Alicia C; Doogan, Nathan J; Cao, Yiwen

    2014-12-01

    Meeting the complex needs of youth with behavioral health problems requires a coordinated network of community-based agencies. Although fiscal scarcity or retrenchment can limit coordinated services, munificence can stimulate service delivery partnerships as agencies expand programs, hire staff, and spend more time coordinating services. This study examines the 2-year evolution of referral and staff expertise sharing networks in response to substantial new funding for services within a regional network of children's mental health organizations. Quantitative network survey data were collected from directors of 22 nonprofit organizations that receive funding from a county government-based behavioral health service fund. Both referral and staff expertise sharing networks changed over time, but results of a stochastic actor-oriented model of network dynamics suggest the nature of this change varies for these networks. Agencies with higher numbers of referral and staff expertise sharing partners tend to maintain these ties and/or develop new relationships over the 2 years. Agencies tend to refer to agencies they trust, but trust was not associated with staff expertise sharing ties. However, agencies maintain or form staff expertise sharing ties with referral partners, or with organizations that provide similar services. In addition, agencies tend to reciprocate staff expertise sharing, but not referrals. Findings suggest that during periods of resource munificence and service expansion, behavioral health organizations build service delivery partnerships in complex ways that build upon prior collaborative history and coordinate services among similar types of providers. Referral partnerships can pave the way for future information sharing relationships.

  1. Determinants of institutional delivery service utilization among pastorals of Liben Zone, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia, 2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zepro NB

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Nejimu Biza Zepro,1 Ahmed Tahir Ahmed2 1College of Health Sciences, Samara University, Samara, Afar, Ethiopia; 2College of Health Science, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Somali, Ethiopia Abstract: Maternal health service utilizations are poorly equipped, inaccessible, negligible, and not well documented in the pastoral society. This research describes a quantitative and qualitative study on the determinants of institutional delivery among pastoralists of Liben Zone with special emphasis on Filtu and Deka Suftu woredas of Somali Region, Ethiopia. The study was funded by the project “Fostering health care for refugees and pastoral communities in Somali Region, Ethiopia”. This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted during November 2015. Interviews through a questionnaire and focus group discussions were used to collect the data. Proportional to size allocation followed by systematic sampling technique was used to identify the study units. The major determinants of institutional delivery in the study area were as follows: being apparently healthy, lack of knowledge, long waiting time, poor quality services, cultural beliefs, religious misconception, partner decision, and long travel. Around one-third (133, 34.5% of the women had visited at least once for their pregnancy. More than half (78, 58.6% of the women had visited health facilities due to health problems and only 27 (19.9% women had attended the recommended four antenatal care visits. Majority (268, 69.6% of the pregnant women preferred to give birth at home. Women who attended antenatal care were two times more likely to deliver at health facilities (AOR, 95% confidence interval [CI] =2.38, 1.065–4.96. Women whose family members preferred health facilities had 14 times more probability to give birth in health institutions (AOR, 95% CI =13.79, 5.28–35.8. Women living in proximity to a health facility were 13 times more likely to give birth at health facilities than women

  2. Innovation in Evaluating the Impact of Integrated Service-Delivery: The Integra Indexes of HIV and Reproductive Health Integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayhew, Susannah H; Ploubidis, George B; Sloggett, Andy; Church, Kathryn; Obure, Carol D; Birdthistle, Isolde; Sweeney, Sedona; Warren, Charlotte E; Watts, Charlotte; Vassall, Anna

    2016-01-01

    The body of knowledge on evaluating complex interventions for integrated healthcare lacks both common definitions of 'integrated service delivery' and standard measures of impact. Using multiple data sources in combination with statistical modelling the aim of this study is to develop a measure of HIV-reproductive health (HIV-RH) service integration that can be used to assess the degree of service integration, and the degree to which integration may have health benefits to clients, or reduce service costs. Data were drawn from the Integra Initiative's client flow (8,263 clients in Swaziland and 25,539 in Kenya) and costing tools implemented between 2008-2012 in 40 clinics providing RH services in Kenya and Swaziland. We used latent variable measurement models to derive dimensions of HIV-RH integration using these data, which quantified the extent and type of integration between HIV and RH services in Kenya and Swaziland. The modelling produced two clear and uncorrelated dimensions of integration at facility level leading to the development of two sub-indexes: a Structural Integration Index (integrated physical and human resource infrastructure) and a Functional Integration Index (integrated delivery of services to clients). The findings highlight the importance of multi-dimensional assessments of integration, suggesting that structural integration is not sufficient to achieve the integrated delivery of care to clients--i.e. "functional integration". These Indexes are an important methodological contribution for evaluating complex multi-service interventions. They help address the need to broaden traditional evaluations of integrated HIV-RH care through the incorporation of a functional integration measure, to avoid misleading conclusions on its 'impact' on health outcomes. This is particularly important for decision-makers seeking to promote integration in resource constrained environments.

  3. Innovation in Evaluating the Impact of Integrated Service-Delivery: The Integra Indexes of HIV and Reproductive Health Integration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susannah H Mayhew

    Full Text Available The body of knowledge on evaluating complex interventions for integrated healthcare lacks both common definitions of 'integrated service delivery' and standard measures of impact. Using multiple data sources in combination with statistical modelling the aim of this study is to develop a measure of HIV-reproductive health (HIV-RH service integration that can be used to assess the degree of service integration, and the degree to which integration may have health benefits to clients, or reduce service costs.Data were drawn from the Integra Initiative's client flow (8,263 clients in Swaziland and 25,539 in Kenya and costing tools implemented between 2008-2012 in 40 clinics providing RH services in Kenya and Swaziland. We used latent variable measurement models to derive dimensions of HIV-RH integration using these data, which quantified the extent and type of integration between HIV and RH services in Kenya and Swaziland. The modelling produced two clear and uncorrelated dimensions of integration at facility level leading to the development of two sub-indexes: a Structural Integration Index (integrated physical and human resource infrastructure and a Functional Integration Index (integrated delivery of services to clients. The findings highlight the importance of multi-dimensional assessments of integration, suggesting that structural integration is not sufficient to achieve the integrated delivery of care to clients--i.e. "functional integration".These Indexes are an important methodological contribution for evaluating complex multi-service interventions. They help address the need to broaden traditional evaluations of integrated HIV-RH care through the incorporation of a functional integration measure, to avoid misleading conclusions on its 'impact' on health outcomes. This is particularly important for decision-makers seeking to promote integration in resource constrained environments.

  4. Constraints in animal health service delivery and sustainable improvement alternatives in North Gondar, Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassen Kebede

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Poor livestock health services remain one of the main constraints to livestock production in many developing countries, including Ethiopia. A study was carried out in 11 districts of North Gondar, from December 2011 to September 2012, with the objective of identifying the existing status and constraints of animal health service delivery, and thus recommending possible alternatives for its sustainable improvement. Data were collected by using pre-tested questionnaires and focus group discussion. Findings revealed that 46.34% of the responding farmers had taken their animals to government veterinary clinics after initially trying treatments with local medication. More than 90.00% of the clinical cases were diagnosed solely on clinical signs or even history alone. The antibacterial drugs found in veterinary clinics were procaine penicillin (with or without streptomycin, oxytetracycline and sulphonamides, whilst albendazole, tetramisole and ivermectin were the only anthelmintics. A thermometer was the only clinical aid available in all clinics, whilst only nine (45.00% clinics had a refrigerator. In the private sector, almost 95.00% were retail veterinary pharmacies and only 41.20% fulfilled the requirement criteria set. Professionals working in the government indicated the following problems: lack of incentives (70.00%, poor management and lack of awareness (60.00% and inadequate budget (40.00%. For farmers, the most frequent problems were failure of private practitioners to adhere to ethical procedures (74.00% and lack of knowledge of animal diseases and physical distance from the service centre (50.00%. Of all responding farmers, 58.54% preferred the government service, 21.14% liked both services equally and 20.33% preferred the private service. Farmers’ indiscriminate use of drugs from the black market (23.00% was also mentioned as a problem by private practitioners. Sustainable improvement of animal health service delivery needs increased

  5. Constraints in animal health service delivery and sustainable improvement alternatives in North Gondar, Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kebede, Hassen; Melaku, Achenef; Kebede, Elias

    2014-11-12

    Poor livestock health services remain one of the main constraints to livestock production in many developing countries, including Ethiopia. A study was carried out in 11 districts of North Gondar, from December 2011 to September 2012, with the objective of identifying the existing status and constraints of animal health service delivery, and thus recommending possible alternatives for its sustainable improvement. Data were collected by using pre-tested questionnaires and focus group discussion. Findings revealed that 46.34% of the responding farmers had taken their animals to government veterinary clinics after initially trying treatments with local medication. More than 90.00% of the clinical cases were diagnosed solely on clinical signs or even history alone. The antibacterial drugs found in veterinary clinics were procaine penicillin (with or without streptomycin), oxytetracycline and sulphonamides, whilst albendazole, tetramisole and ivermectin were the only anthelmintics. A thermometer was the only clinical aid available in all clinics, whilst only nine (45.00%) clinics had a refrigerator. In the private sector, almost 95.00% were retail veterinary pharmacies and only 41.20% fulfilled the requirement criteria set. Professionals working in the government indicated the following problems: lack of incentives (70.00%), poor management and lack of awareness (60.00%) and inadequate budget (40.00%). For farmers, the most frequent problems were failure of private practitioners to adhere to ethical procedures (74.00%) and lack of knowledge of animal diseases and physical distance from the service centre (50.00%). Of all responding farmers, 58.54% preferred the government service, 21.14% liked both services equally and 20.33% preferred the private service. Farmers' indiscriminate use of drugs from the black market (23.00%) was also mentioned as a problem by private practitioners. Sustainable improvement of animal health service delivery needs increased awareness for all

  6. Operational Criteria for the Design of Front-Office Processes in Multi-Channel Service Delivery Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Sousa, Rui; Amorim, Marlene

    2010-01-01

    This paper identifies relevant operational factors that affect the design of front-office processes in Multi-Channel Service Delivery Systems. Based on two in-depth case studies in banking and telecommunications, we distinguish four operational factors: i) characteristics of the inputs and outputs of the service activities; ii) characteristics of the transformation taking place; iii) the expected utilization; iv) the economics of developing the activities in the channels. Building on these re...

  7. Availability of human immunodeficiency virus prevention services in secondary schools in Kabarole District, Uganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jane Namuddu

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess the level of availability of HIV prevention strategies in secondary schools in Kabarole district, Uganda in order to inform the design of interventions to strengthen HIV Prevention and psychosocial support. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in eight secondary schools in Kabarole district to establish available HIV prevention and psychosocial support services. Questionnaires were administered to 355 students 12-24 years old. In addition, 20 Key Informant interviews were held with education service providers. Quantitative data was analyzed using Epi-data and qualitative data were analyzed by thematic content analysis. Seven of the eight schools had at least one HIV prevention strategy. Two teachers in each of the five schools had been trained in HIV prevention. No school had a nurse trained in HIV prevention, care and support. Education service providers had limited knowledge of HIV prevention support and care of students living with HIV. We found out that students had knowledge on how one can acquire HIV. HIV prevention services reported by students in schools included: talks from teachers and guests (19%, drama with HIV prevention related messages (16%, peer education clubs (15%, workshops and seminars on HIV (8%, sensitization about HIV/AIDS (7%, guidance and counseling (6%, talking compounds- (5%, abstinence talks (6%, keeping students busy in sports (4%, straight talk (4%. Sixty three percent reported receiving HIV reading materials from various sources. Preventing HIV infection among students in schools is still demanding with limited interventions for students. Efforts to support school interventions should focus on including HIV Prevention in the school curriculum, working with peer educators as well as education service providers who spend much of the time with the students while at school.

  8. The Internet of Things in bridging the gap in municipal service delivery in South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dlodlo, N

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available There continues to be high expectations of the government from the citizens of South Africa to improve the delivery of services , and hence the need to come up with comprehensive measures to alleviate the problem. This paper proposes the adoption...

  9. Stigma as experienced by women accessing prevention of parent to child transmission of HIV services in Karnataka, India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahangdale, Lisa; Banandur, Pradeep; Sreenivas, Amita; Turan, Janet; Washington, Reynold; Cohen, Craig R.

    2010-01-01

    In Karnataka, India only one-third of HIV-infected pregnant women received antiretroviral prophylaxis at delivery in 2007 through the state government’s prevention of parent-to-child HIV transmission (PPTCT) program. The current qualitative study explored the role of HIV-associated stigma as a barrier to accessing PPTCT services in the rural northern Karnataka district of Bagalkot using in depth interviews and focus group discussions with HIV-infected women who had participated in the PPTCT program, male and female family members, and HIV service providers. Participants discussed personal experiences, community perceptions of HIV, and decision-making related to accessing PPTCT services. They described stigma towards HIV-infected individuals from multiple sources: healthcare workers, community members, family and self. Stigma-related behaviors were based on fears of HIV transmission through personal contact and moral judgment. Experience and/or fears of discrimination led pregnant women to avoid using PPTCT interventions. Government, cultural and historical factors are described as the roots of much the stigma-related behavior in this setting. Based on these formative data, PPTCT program planners should consider further research and interventions aimed at diminishing institutional and interpersonal HIV-associated stigma experienced by pregnant women. PMID:20635247

  10. A review of the literature: the economic impact of preventive dental hygiene services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharon, Stull C; Connolly, Irene M; Murphree, Kellie R

    2005-01-01

    The contributions of dental hygiene as a discipline of prevention, the inception of systemic fluoride in community water systems, the continual research conducted by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), and the success of dental sealants have all contributed to the decrease in incidences of dental diseases. The prevalence of employer-based dental insurance must also be recognized as contributing to a substantial paradigm shift on the utilization of oral health preventive services. This review of the economic impact of oral health preventive services on the consumer and the private dental practice suggests that these services have had a significant impact. Dentistry's challenge remains to extend these considerable gains in oral health status to the 150 million U.S. citizens who do not have access to oral health care services identified in the 2000 Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. Utilizing preventive, therapeutic, and educational aspects of dental hygiene services, reaching communities without fluoridation of the public water supply, and incorporating mass pediatric dental sealant programs analogous to immunization programs would improve the oral health status of underserved populations.

  11. How well are we doing? Families of adolescents or young adults with cerebral palsy share their perceptions of service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darrah, J; Magil-Evans, J; Adkins, R

    2002-07-10

    The satisfaction of families of adolescents and young adults with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy with the service delivery they had experienced in the areas of health, education, recreation, employment, housing and transportation was examined. Common themes across the six service areas were identified. Forty-nine adolescents (13-15 years) and 39 young adults (19-23 years) and their families rated their satisfaction with services and then participated in semi-structured interviews to discuss their experiences. Using a constant comparative method of analysis, common themes were identified from the transcribed interviews. Four themes were identified and named: caring and supportive people; fighting and fatigue; communication/information; and disability awareness. Families continue to experience dissatisfaction and frustration with service delivery in the six areas examined. Both bureaucratic structure and attitudes of service providers contribute to their dissatisfaction.

  12. Skilled delivery care service utilization in Ethiopia: analysis of rural-urban differentials based on national demographic and health survey (DHS) data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fekadu, Melaku; Regassa, Nigatu

    2014-12-01

    Despite the slight progress made on Antenatal Care (ANC) utilization, skilled delivery care service utilization in Ethiopia is still far-below any acceptable standards. Only 10% of women receive assistance from skilled birth attendants either at home or at health institutions, and as a result the country is recording a high maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 676 per 100,000 live births (EDHS, 2011). Hence, this study aimed at identifying the rural-urban differentials in the predictors of skilled delivery care service utilization in Ethiopia. The study used the recent Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS 2011) data. Women who had at least one birth in the five years preceding the survey were included in this study. The data were analyzed using univariate (percentage), bivariate (chi-square) and multivariate (Bayesian logistic regression). The results showed that of the total 6,641 women, only 15.6% received skilled delivery care services either at home or at health institution. Rural women were at greater disadvantage to receive the service. Only 4.5% women in rural areas received assistance from skilled birth attendants (SBAs) compared to 64.1 % of their urban counter parts. Through Bayesian logistic regression analysis, place of residence, ANC utilization, women's education, age and birth order were identified as key predictors of service utilization. The findings highlight the need for coordinated effort from government and stakeholders to improve women's education, as well as strengthen community participation. Furthermore, the study recommended the need to scale up the quality of ANC and family planning services backed by improved and equitable access, availability and quality of skilled delivery care services.

  13. Assessment of pharmacists' delivery of public health services in rural and urban areas in Iowa and North Dakota.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, David M; Strand, Mark; Undem, Teri; Anderson, Gabrielle; Clarens, Andrea; Liu, Xiyuan

    2016-01-01

    The profession of pharmacy is expanding its involvement in public health, but few studies have examined pharmacists' delivery of public health services. To assess Iowa and North Dakota pharmacists' practices, frequency of public health service delivery, level of involvement in achieving the essential services of public health, and barriers to expansion of public health services in rural and urban areas. This study implemented an on-line survey sent to all pharmacists currently practicing pharmacy in Iowa and North Dakota. Overall, 602 valid responses were analyzed, 297 in rural areas and 305 in urban areas. Three practice settings (chain stores [169, 28.2%], independent community pharmacies [162, 27.0%], and hospital pharmacies [156, 26.0%]) comprised 81.2% of the sample. Both chain and independent community pharmacists were more commonly located in rural areas than in urban areas (PDakota. These findings should be interpreted to be primarily due to differences in the role of the rural pharmacist and the quest for certain opportunities that rural pharmacists are seeking.

  14. Recommendations of the IOM clinical preventive services for women committee: implications for obstetricians and gynecologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gee, Rebekah E; Brindis, Claire D; Diaz, Angela; Garcia, Francisco; Gregory, Kimberly; Peck, Magda G; Reece, E Albert

    2011-12-01

    In July 2011, in response to language in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tasked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to develop a report on the clinical preventive services necessary for women. The committee proposed eight new clinical preventive service recommendations aimed at closing significant gaps in preventive healthcare. This article reviews the process, findings, and the implications for obstetrician gynecologists and other primary care clinicians. Obstetricians and gynecologists play a major role in delivering primary care to women and many of the services recommended by the Committee are part of the core set of obstetrics and gynecology services. The women's health amendment to the ACA (Federal Register, 2010) requires that new private health plans cover - with no cost-sharing requirements - preventive healthcare services for women. Congress requested that a review be conducted to ascertain whether there were any additional needed preventive services specific to women's health that should be included. The IOM Committee on Preventive Services for Women recommended eight clinical measures specific to women's health that should be considered for coverage without co-payment. The US Department of HHS reviewed and adopted these recommendations, and, as a result, new health plans will need to include these services as part of insurance policies with plan years beginning on or after 1 August 2012. The authors discuss the implications of the IOM recommendations on practicing clinicians and on their potential impact on women's health and well being.

  15. Intravaginal rings as delivery systems for microbicides and multipurpose prevention technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thurman AR

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Andrea Ries Thurman, Meredith R Clark, Jennifer Hurlburt, Gustavo F Doncel CONRAD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA Abstract: There is a renewed interest in delivering pharmaceutical products via intravaginal rings (IVRs. IVRs are flexible torus-shaped drug delivery systems that can be easily inserted and removed by the woman and that provide both sustained and controlled drug release, lasting for several weeks to several months. In terms of women's health care products, it has been established that IVRs effectively deliver contraceptive steroids and steroids for the treatment of postmenopausal vaginal atrophy. A novel application for IVRs is the delivery of antiretroviral drugs for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV genital infection. Microbicides are antiviral drugs delivered topically for HIV prevention. Recent reviews of microbicide IVRs have focused on technologies in development and optimizing ring design. IVRs have several advantages, including the ability to deliver sustained drug doses for long periods of time while bypassing first pass metabolism in the gut. IVRs are discreet, woman-controlled, and do not require a trained provider for placement or fitting. Previous data support that women and their male sexual partners find IVRs highly acceptable. Multipurpose prevention technology (MPT products provide protection against unintended/mistimed pregnancy and reproductive tract infections, including HIV. Several MPT IVRs are currently in development. Early clinical testing of new microbicide and MPT IVRs will require a focus on safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Specifically, IVRs will have to deliver tissue concentrations of drugs that are pharmacodynamically active, do not cause mucosal alterations or inflammation, and do not change the resident microbiota. The emergence of resistance to antiretrovirals will need to be investigated. IVRs should not

  16. Improving Service Delivery: Investigating the Role of Information Sharing, Job Characteristics, and Employee Satisfaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bontis, Nick; Richards, David; Serenko, Alexander

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model designed to investigate the impact of job characteristics, employee satisfaction, and information sharing on two key indicators of quality service delivery, such as worker perceptions of their efficiency and customer focus. Design/methodology/approach: During the project, 9,060…

  17. The delivery of medical services in a retail shopping mall: a strategy for growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayden, K R

    1989-01-01

    The successful medical practice of the future will continually search for growth strategies. This writer believes the location of a primary care medical clinic in a retail shopping mall, with a full menu of primary services, is one strategy for growth. It is an effective method of health care delivery to a community.

  18. The Feasibility of Embedding Data Collection into the Routine Service Delivery of a Multi-Component Program for High-Risk Young People

    OpenAIRE

    Knight, Alice; Havard, Alys; Shakeshaft, Anthony; Maple, Myfanwy; Snijder, Mieke; Shakeshaft, Bernie

    2017-01-01

    Background: There is little evidence about how to improve outcomes for high-risk young people, of whom Indigenous young people are disproportionately represented, due to few evaluation studies of interventions. One way to increase the evidence is to have researchers and service providers collaborate to embed evaluation into the routine delivery of services, so program delivery and evaluation occur simultaneously. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating best-evidence meas...

  19. Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV data ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-08-21

    Aug 21, 2014 ... service delivery in the public health sector of South Africa .... professional nurse in charge of the PMTCT programme at ... 1. antenatal care (ANC) clients pre-test counselled for HIV ..... CD4, Cluster of differentiation; NVP, Nevirapine; PMTCT, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV; DHIS, District.

  20. Skilled delivery service utilization and its association with the establishment of Women's Health Development Army in Yeky district, South West Ethiopia: a multilevel analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negero, Melese Girmaye; Mitike, Yifru Berhan; Worku, Abebaw Gebeyehu; Abota, Tafesse Lamaro

    2018-01-30

    Because of the unacceptably high maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, the government of Ethiopia has established health extension program with a community-based network involving health extension workers (HEWs) and a community level women organization which is known as "Women's Health Development Army" (WHDA). Currently, the HEWs and WHDA network is the approach preferred by the government to register pregnant women and encourage them to link in the healthcare system. However, its association with skilled delivery service utilization is not well known. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to February 2015. Within 380 clusters of WHDA, a total of 748 reproductive-age women who gave birth in 1 year preceding the study, were included using multistage sampling technique. The data were entered into EPI info version 7 statistical software and exported to STATA version 11 for analysis. Multilevel analysis technique was applied to check for an association of selected variables with a utilization of skilled delivery service. About 45% of women have received skilled delivery care. A significant heterogeneity was observed between "Women's Health Development Teams (clusters)" for skilled delivery care service utilization which explains about 62% of the total variation. Individual-level predictors including urban residence [AOR (95% CI) 35.10 (4.62, 266.52)], previous exposure of complications [AOR (95% CI) 3.81 (1.60, 9.08)], at least four ANC visits [AOR (95% CI) 7.44 (1.48, 37.42)] and preference of skilled personnel [AOR (95% CI) 8.11 (2.61, 25.15)] were significantly associated with skilled delivery service use. Among cluster level variables, the distance of clusters within 2 km radius from the nearest health facility was significantly associated [AOR (95% CI) 6.03 (1.92, 18.93)] with skilled delivery service utilization. In this study, significant variation among clusters of WHDA was observed. Both individual and cluster level

  1. Medicaid Primary Care Physician Fees and the Use of Preventive Services among Medicaid Enrollees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atherly, Adam; Mortensen, Karoline

    2014-01-01

    Objective The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) increases Medicaid physician fees for preventive care up to Medicare rates for 2013 and 2014. The purpose of this paper was to model the relationship between Medicaid preventive care payment rates and the use of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)–recommended preventive care use among Medicaid enrollees. Data Sources/Study Session We used data from the 2003 and 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a national probability sample of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population, linked to Kaiser state Medicaid benefits data, including the state Medicaid-to-Medicare physician fee ratio in 2003 and 2008. Study Design Probit models were used to estimate the probability that eligible individuals received one of five USPSF-recommended preventive services. A difference-in-difference model was used to separate out the effect of changes in the Medicaid payment rate and other factors. Data Collection/Extraction Methods Data were linked using state identifiers. Principal Findings Although Medicaid enrollees had a lower rate of use of the five preventive services in univariate analysis, neither Medicaid enrollment nor changes in Medicaid payment rates had statistically significant effects on meeting screening recommendations for the five screenings. The results were robust to a number of different sensitivity tests. Individual and state characteristics were significant. Conclusions Our results suggest that although temporary changes in primary care provider payments for preventive services for Medicaid enrollees may have other desirable effects, they are unlikely to substantially increase the use of these selected USPSTF-recommended preventive care services among Medicaid enrollees. PMID:24628495

  2. Compliance With Legal Age Restrictions on Adolescent Alcohol Sales for Alcohol Home Delivery Services (AHDS)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Hoof, Joris Jasper; van den Wildenberg, Esther; de Bruijn, Dorien

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Alcohol availability is an important predictor of alcohol use in adolescents and its negative consequences. Within this study, we zoomed in on availability through alcohol home delivery services (AHDS) by measuring compliance with the legal age limit in this sector. Methods: Two methods

  3. How a North Carolina program boosted preventive oral health services for low-income children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozier, R Gary; Stearns, Sally C; Pahel, Bhavna T; Quinonez, Rocio B; Park, Jeongyoung

    2010-12-01

    Dental caries (tooth decay), the most common chronic disease affecting young children, is exacerbated by limited access to preventive dental services for low-income children. To address this problem, North Carolina implemented a program to reimburse physicians for up to six preventive oral health visits for Medicaid-enrolled children younger than age three. Analysis of physician and dentist Medicaid claims from the period 2000-2006 shows that the program greatly increased preventive oral health services. By 2006 approximately 30 percent of well-child visits for children ages six months up to three years included these services. However, additional strategies are needed to ensure preventive oral health care for more low-income children.

  4. Socio-cultural and service delivery dimensions of maternal mortality in rural central India: a qualitative exploration using a human rights lens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tej Ram Jat

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Despite the avoidable nature of maternal mortality, unacceptably high numbers of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Considering its preventability, maternal mortality is being increasingly recognised as a human rights issue. Integration of a human rights perspective in maternal health programmes could contribute positively in eliminating avertable maternal deaths. This study was conducted to explore socio-cultural and service delivery–related dimensions of maternal deaths in rural central India using a human rights lens. Design: Social autopsies were conducted for 22 maternal deaths during 2011 in Khargone district in central India. The data were analysed using the matic analysis. The factors associated with maternal deaths were classified by using the ‘three delays’ framework and were examined by using a human rights lens. Results: All 22 women tried to access medical assistance, but various factors delayed their access to appropriate care. The underestimation of the severity of complications by family members, gender inequity, and perceptions of low-quality delivery services delayed decisions to seek care. Transportation problems and care seeking at multiple facilities delayed reaching appropriate health facilities. Negligence by health staff and unavailability of blood and emergency obstetric care services delayed receiving adequate care after reaching a health facility. Conclusions: The study highlighted various socio-cultural and service delivery–related factors which are violating women's human rights and resulting in maternal deaths in rural central India. This study highlights that, despite the health system's conscious effort to improve maternal health, normative elements of a human rights approach to maternal health (i.e. availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services were not upheld. The data and analysis suggest that the deceased women and their relatives were

  5. A case study using the United Republic of Tanzania: costing nationwide HPV vaccine delivery using the WHO Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Costing Tool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hutubessy Raymond

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose, methods, data sources and assumptions behind the World Health Organization (WHO Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Costing (C4P tool that was developed to assist low- and middle-income countries (LMICs with planning and costing their nationwide human papillomavirus (HPV vaccination program are presented. Tanzania is presented as a case study where the WHO C4P tool was used to cost and plan the roll-out of HPV vaccines nationwide as part of the national comprehensive cervical cancer prevention and control strategy. Methods The WHO C4P tool focuses on estimating the incremental costs to the health system of vaccinating adolescent girls through school-, health facility- and/or outreach-based strategies. No costs to the user (school girls, parents or caregivers are included. Both financial (or costs to the Ministry of Health and economic costs are estimated. The cost components for service delivery include training, vaccination (health personnel time and transport, stationery for tally sheets and vaccination cards, and so on, social mobilization/IEC (information, education and communication, supervision, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E. The costs of all the resources used for HPV vaccination are totaled and shown with and without the estimated cost of the vaccine. The total cost is also divided by the number of doses administered and number of fully immunized girls (FIGs to estimate the cost per dose and cost per FIG. Results Over five years (2011 to 2015, the cost of establishing an HPV vaccine program that delivers three doses of vaccine to girls at schools via phased national introduction (three regions in year 1, ten regions in year 2 and all 26 regions in years 3 to 5 in Tanzania is estimated to be US$9.2 million (excluding vaccine costs and US$31.5 million (with vaccine assuming a vaccine price of US$5 (GAVI 2011, formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations. This is equivalent to a

  6. 75 FR 13550 - Office of Clinical and Preventive Services: National HIV Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-22

    ... services, reducing stigma, and making testing routine. This open competition seeks to expand fiscal... physical and mental health of the American people. Dated: March 12, 2010. Yvette Roubideaux, Director... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Indian Health Service Office of Clinical and Preventive...

  7. 20 CFR 669.310 - What are the basic components of an NFJP service delivery strategy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... include: (a) A customer-centered case management approach; (b) The provision of workforce investment... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the basic components of an NFJP service delivery strategy? 669.310 Section 669.310 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING...

  8. Determination of Route Delivery in the Logistic Service Provider (LSP) by Reviewing the Performance of Street in The City of Malang

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agustin, I. W.; Sumantri, Y.

    2017-03-01

    Malang as the National Activity Centre (PKN) led to increased economic growth and increased the demand for goods both primary and tertiary goods. Demand of goods which is increasing and also diversing will certainly have an impact on the process of transportation of goods involving a freight forwarder. Shipping of goods is part of the supply chain, which handles the flow of goods, distribution and delivery service or commonly called the courier. Fulfilling the request of goods would require Logistics Service Provider (LSP) that distribute goods from point of origin to destination. Delays in the distribution of goods will slow(DOWN) economic growth in Malang, therefore focused studies on the movement of goods which includes the election of the delivery route is needed. The purpose of this study is to get the delivery route for LSP by identifying its patterns of freight transport movement and to analyze the network performance of the road that is passed by freight transportation. Data collection techniques in this research are interviews, questionnaires and observations of moving-car and traffic counting to get the volume of traffic. The study used road’s performance analysis to get the level of service (LOS) of roads which are used by the freight transportation of LSP and Dijkstra’s algorithm analysis to determine the delivery routes. The results showed that the Level of Service of the roads (LOS) is at the level of D to F which indicates that the chosen roads experience instability of traffic flow even reach a critical condition. Therefore by considering delivery routes selection both of existing condition and analysis result as well as the condition of the road network in Malang, then given alternative is by deliverying goods on the chosen routes but not at peak hour.

  9. Improving access to optometry services for people at risk of preventable sight loss: a qualitative study in five UK locations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leamon, S; Hayden, C; Lee, H; Trudinger, D; Appelbee, E; Hurrell, D-L; Richardson, I

    2014-12-01

    Reducing preventable sight loss is an increasing priority for public health and health care providers. We examined the factors affecting people's use of optometry services in population groups at increased risk of sight loss. This is a qualitative study in five UK locations. In England, participants were from the Pakistani and Black Caribbean communities; in Scotland from the Pakistani community; and in Northern Ireland and Wales from white socio-economically deprived communities. Thirty-four focus groups were conducted (n = 289). The study included people who attend optometry services and people not engaged with services. Barriers to access included limited awareness of eye health and eye disease, concern about the cost of spectacles and the appropriateness of optometry in a commercial setting. Attendance at the optometrist was primarily symptom led. A positive previous experience or continuing relationship with the optometrist helped to alleviate the barriers and promote attendance. Addressing the disparity between the broader messages about eye health and the current perception of the function of optometry could help improve access to services. Uptake may be improved through the co-production of interventions that better resonate with local communities. Non-retail service delivery options should be explored. © The Author 2014, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.

  10. 45 CFR 61.9 - Reporting civil judgments related to the delivery of a health care item or service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Reporting civil judgments related to the delivery of a health care item or service. 61.9 Section 61.9 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION HEALTHCARE INTEGRITY AND PROTECTION DATA BANK FOR FINAL ADVERSE INFORMATION...

  11. Long-term effects of adolescent marijuana use prevention on adult mental health services utilization: the midwestern prevention project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riggs, Nathaniel R; Pentz, Mary Ann

    2009-01-01

    Evaluated were effects of a drug abuse(1) prevention program, previously shown to prevent marijuana use in adolescence, on adulthood mental health service use. Analyses were conducted on 961 6th (41%) and 7th (59%) grade participants randomly assigned to intervention or control groups at baseline in 1984. These participants were followed-up through 2003 representing 15 waves of data collection. Eighty-five percent of participants were Caucasian and 56% were female. The hypothesis was that direct program effects on early adulthood mental health service use would be mediated by program effects on high school marijuana use trajectories. Structural equation models, imputing for missing data, demonstrated that MPP (Midwestern Prevention Project) program effects on mental health were mediated by the marijuana use growth curve intercept. Findings support the role of early adolescent drug use prevention programs in impacting later mental health problems. The study's limitations are noted.

  12. Health service delivery models for the provision of antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazarus, Jeffrey V; Safreed-Harmon, Kelly; Nicholson, Joey; Jaffar, Shabbar

    2014-10-01

    In response to the lack of evidence-based guidance for how to continue scaling up antiretroviral therapy (ART) in ways that make optimal use of limited resources, to assess comparative studies of ART service delivery models implemented in sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic literature search and analysis of studies that compared two or more methods of ART service delivery using either CD4 count or viral load as a primary outcome. Most studies identified in this review were small and non-randomised, with low statistical power. Four of the 30 articles identified by this review conclude that nurse management of ART compares favourably to physician management. Seven provide evidence of the viability of managing ART at lower levels within the health system, and one indicates that vertical and integrated ART programmes can achieve similar outcomes. Five articles show that community/home-based ART management can be as effective as facility-based ART management. Five of seven articles investigating community support link it to better clinical outcomes. The results of four studies suggest that directly observed therapy may not be an important component of ART programmes. Given that the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy represents the most sweeping change in healthcare delivery in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, it is surprising to not find more evidence from comparative studies to inform implementation strategies. The studies reported on a wide range of service delivery models, making it difficult to draw conclusions about some models. The strongest evidence was related to the feasibility of decentralisation and task-shifting, both of which appear to be effective strategies. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Improving consistency and quality of service delivery: implications for the addiction treatment field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knott, Anne Marie; Corredoira, Rafael; Kimberly, John

    2008-09-01

    Addiction treatment providers face serious problems in delivering consistent, high-quality services over time. Among those providers with multiple treatment sites, there is also intersite variability. This is a serious problem in the addiction field, likely to be made worse as new technologies are introduced and/or as there is industry consolidation (Corredoira, R., Kimberly, J. (2006) Industry evolution through consolidation: Implications for addiction treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 31, 255-265.). Although serious, these problems in managing and monitoring to assure consistent service quality have been faced by many other industries. Here, we review evidence from research in other industries regarding three different forms of management (vertical integration, franchising, and licensing) across a chain of individual service providers. We show how each management form affects the level, consistency, and improvement of service delivery over time. In addition, we discuss how such performance advantages affect customer demand as well as regulatory endorsement of the consolidated firm and its approach.

  14. Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleijn, David; Winfree, Rachael; Bartomeus, Ignasi; Carvalheiro, Luísa G; Henry, Mickaël; Isaacs, Rufus; Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Kremen, Claire; M'Gonigle, Leithen K; Rader, Romina; Ricketts, Taylor H; Williams, Neal M; Lee Adamson, Nancy; Ascher, John S; Báldi, András; Batáry, Péter; Benjamin, Faye; Biesmeijer, Jacobus C; Blitzer, Eleanor J; Bommarco, Riccardo; Brand, Mariëtte R; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Button, Lindsey; Cariveau, Daniel P; Chifflet, Rémy; Colville, Jonathan F; Danforth, Bryan N; Elle, Elizabeth; Garratt, Michael P.D.; Herzog, Felix; Holzschuh, Andrea; Howlett, Brad G; Jauker, Frank; Jha, Shalene; Knop, Eva; Krewenka, Kristin M; Le Féon, Violette; Mandelik, Yael; May, Emily A; Park, Mia G; Pisanty, Gideon; Reemer, Menno; Riedinger, Verena; Rollin, Orianne; Rundlöf, Maj; Sardiñas, Hillary S; Scheper, Jeroen; Sciligo, Amber R; Smith, Henrik G; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Thorp, Robbin; Tscharntke, Teja; Verhulst, Jort; Viana, Blandina F; Vaissière, Bernard E; Veldtman, Ruan; Westphal, Catrin; Potts, Simon G

    2015-01-01

    There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species. Across crops, years and biogeographical regions, crop-visiting wild bee communities are dominated by a small number of common species, and threatened species are rarely observed on crops. Dominant crop pollinators persist under agricultural expansion and many are easily enhanced by simple conservation measures, suggesting that cost-effective management strategies to promote crop pollination should target a different set of species than management strategies to promote threatened bees. Conserving the biological diversity of bees therefore requires more than just ecosystem-service-based arguments. PMID:26079893

  15. Systems modelling and simulation in health service design, delivery and decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitt, Martin; Monks, Thomas; Crowe, Sonya; Vasilakis, Christos

    2016-01-01

    The ever increasing pressures to ensure the most efficient and effective use of limited health service resources will, over time, encourage policy makers to turn to system modelling solutions. Such techniques have been available for decades, but despite ample research which demonstrates potential, their application in health services to date is limited. This article surveys the breadth of approaches available to support delivery and design across many areas and levels of healthcare planning. A case study in emergency stroke care is presented as an exemplar of an impactful application of health system modelling. This is followed by a discussion of the key issues surrounding the application of these methods in health, what barriers need to be overcome to ensure more effective implementation, as well as likely developments in the future. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  16. Integration and transformation of rural service delivery: The role of management information and decision support systems

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mashiri, M

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with two main themes: 1) the integration and transformation of rural service delivery; and 2) role of management information and decision support systems in this process. Referring specifically to the types of rural areas, conditions...

  17. Institutional delivery service utilization and associated factors among mothers who gave birth in the last 12 months in Sekela District, north west of Ethiopia: a community-based cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teferra, Alemayehu Shimeka; Alemu, Fekadu Mazengia; Woldeyohannes, Solomon Meseret

    2012-07-31

    Reduction of maternal mortality is a global priority particularly in developing countries including Ethiopia where maternal mortality ratio is one of the highest in the world. The key to reducing maternal mortality ratio and improving maternal health is increasing attendance by skilled health personnel throughout pregnancy and delivery. However, delivery service is significantly lower in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess factors affecting institutional delivery service utilization among mothers who gave birth in the last 12 months in Sekela District, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among mothers with birth in the last 12 months during August, 2010. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 371 participants. A pre tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Bivariate and multivariate data analysis was performed using SPSS version 16.0 software. The study indicated that 12.1% of the mothers delivered in health facilities. Of 87.9% mothers who gave birth at home, 80.0% of them were assisted by family members and relatives. The common reasons for home delivery were closer attention from family members and relatives (60.9%), home delivery is usual practice (57.7%), unexpected labour (33.4%), not being sick or no problem at the time of delivery (21.6%) and family influence (14.4%). Being urban resident (AOR [95% CI] = 4.6 [1.91, 10.9]), ANC visit during last pregnancy (AOR [95% CI] = 4.26 [1.1, 16.4]), maternal education level (AOR [95%CI] =11.98 [3.36, 41.4]) and knowledge of mothers on pregnancy and delivery services (AOR [95% CI] = 2.97[1.1, 8.6]) had significant associations with institutional delivery service utilization. Very low institutional delivery service utilization was observed in the study area. Majority of the births at home were assisted by family members and relatives. ANC visit and lack of knowledge on pregnancy and delivery services were found to

  18. 78 FR 63208 - UPDATE-Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-23

    ... of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force). The in-person Task Force meeting is being replaced by... CDC's ability to complete the necessary scientific and logistical support for the meeting. The Task...

  19. Screening for Syphilis Infection in Pregnancy : US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Calonge, Ned; Petitti, Diana B.; DeWitt, Thomas G.; Dietrich, Allen; Gregory, Kimberly D.; Grossman, David; Isham, George; LeFevre, Michael L.; Leipzig, Rosanne; Marion, Lucy N.; Melnyk, Bernadette; Moyer, Virginia A.; Ockene, Judith K.; Sawaya, George F.; Schwartz, J. Sanford; Wilt, Timothy

    2009-01-01

    Description: Update of the 2004 U. S. Preventive Services Task Force statement about screening for syphilis in pregnancy. Methods: The U. S. Preventive Services Task Force did a targeted literature search for evidence on the benefits of screening, the harms of screening, and the harms of treatment

  20. Promoting prevention with economic arguments – The case of Finnish occupational health services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suhonen Aki

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Both social and ethical arguments have been used to support preventive occupational health services (OHS. During the 1990s it became more common to support political argumentation for occupational health and safety by converting the consequences of ill health at work into monetary units. In addition, OHS has been promoted as a profitable investment for companies, and this aspect has been used by OHS providers in their marketing. Our intention was to study whether preventive occupational health services positively influence a company's economic performance. Methods We combined the financial statements provided by Statistics Finland and employers' reimbursement applications for occupational health services (OHS costs to the Social Insurance Institution. The data covered the years 1997, 1999 and 2001 and over 6000 companies. We applied linear regression analysis to assess whether preventive OHS had had a positive influence on the companies' economic performance after two or four years. Results Resources invested in preventive OHS were not positively related to a company's economic performance. In fact, the total cost of preventive OHS per turnover was negatively correlated to economic performance. Conclusion Even if OHS has no effect on the economic performance of companies, it may have other effects more specific to OHS. Therefore, we recommend that the evaluation of prevention in OHS should move towards outcome measures, such as sickness absence, disability pension and productivity, when applicable, both in occupational health service research and in practice at workplaces.

  1. The effect of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) on health service delivery in mission facilities in Ghana: a retrospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aryeetey, Genevieve Cecilia; Nonvignon, Justice; Amissah, Caroline; Buckle, Gilbert; Aikins, Moses

    2016-06-07

    In 2004, Ghana began implementation of a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to minimize out-of-pocket expenditure at the point of use of service. The implementation of the scheme was accompanied by increased access and use of health care services. Evidence suggests most health facilities are faced with management challenges in the delivery of services. The study aimed to assess the effect of the introduction of the NHIS on health service delivery in mission health facilities in Ghana. We conceptualised the effect of NHIS on facilities using service delivery indicators such as outpatient and inpatient turn out, estimation of general service readiness, revenue and expenditure, claims processing and availability of essential medicines. We collected data from 38 mission facilities, grouped into the three ecological zones; southern, middle and northern. Structured questionnaires and exit interviews were used to collect data for the periods 2003 and 2010. The data was analysed in SPSS and MS Excel. The facilities displayed high readiness to deliver services. There were significant increases in outpatient and inpatient attendance, revenue, expenditure and improved access to medicines. Generally, facilities reported increased readiness to deliver services. However, challenging issues around high rates of non-reimbursement of NHIS claims due to errors in claims processing, lack of feedback regarding errors, and lack of clarity on claims reporting procedures were reported. The implementation of the NHIS saw improvement and expansion of services resulting in benefits to the facilities as well as constraints. The constraints could be minimized if claims processing is improved at the facility level and delays in reimbursements also reduced.

  2. Magnitude of institutional delivery service utilization and associated factors among women in pastoral community of Awash Fentale district Afar Regional State, Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assefa, Luelseged; Alemayehu, Mussie; Debie, Ayal

    2018-03-02

    Reduction of maternal mortality is a global priority particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia where maternal mortality ratio is one of the highest in the world. Most deliveries in developing countries occur at home without skilled birth attendants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess institutional delivery service utilization and associated factors among women in pastoral community of Awash Fentale district, Ethiopia. Overall, 35.2% of women delivered at health facilities. Women who had good knowledge AOR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.32, 4.87), Ante Natal Care (ANC) follow up (AOR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.55, 6.63), resided in a place where distance to reach at the nearby health facilities takes delivery place (AOR = 1.9; 95% CI 1.49, 5.07) were more likely to deliver at health facility. Therefore, strengthening ANC services, improving maternal knowledge, involving husbands in decision of delivery place and expanding health facilities in the community would enhance institutional delivery.

  3. 75 FR 78997 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Health Resources and Services Administration (CDC/HRSA...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Health Resources and Services Administration (CDC/HRSA) Advisory Committee... and other committee management activities, for both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and...

  4. Medicare annual preventive care visits: use increased among fee-for-service patients, but many do not participate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Sukyung; Lesser, Lenard I; Lauderdale, Diane S; Johns, Nicole E; Palaniappan, Latha P; Luft, Harold S

    2015-01-01

    Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare coverage expanded in 2011 to fully cover annual preventive care visits. We assessed the impact of coverage expansion, using 2007-13 data from primary care patients of Medicare-eligible age at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (204,388 patient-years), which serves people in four counties near San Francisco, California. We compared trends in preventive visits and recommended preventive services among Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO) patients as well as non-Medicare patients ages 65-75 who were covered by private fee-for-service and private HMO plans. Among Medicare fee-for-service patients, the annual use of preventive visits rose from 1.4 percent before the implementation of the ACA to 27.5 percent afterward. This increase was significantly larger than was seen for patients in the other insurance groups. Nevertheless, rates of annual preventive care visit use among Medicare fee-for-service patients remained 10-20 percentage points lower than was the case for people with private coverage (43-44 percent) or those in a Medicare HMO (53 percent). ACA policy changes led to increased preventive service use by Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, which suggests that Medicare coverage expansion is an effective way to increase seniors' use of preventive services. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  5. Assessment of pharmacists’ delivery of public health services in rural and urban areas in Iowa and North Dakota

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, David M.; Strand, Mark; Undem, Teri; Anderson, Gabrielle; Clarens, Andrea; Liu, Xiyuan

    2016-01-01

    Background: The profession of pharmacy is expanding its involvement in public health, but few studies have examined pharmacists’ delivery of public health services. Objective: To assess Iowa and North Dakota pharmacists’ practices, frequency of public health service delivery, level of involvement in achieving the essential services of public health, and barriers to expansion of public health services in rural and urban areas. Methods: This study implemented an on-line survey sent to all pharmacists currently practicing pharmacy in Iowa and North Dakota. Results: Overall, 602 valid responses were analyzed, 297 in rural areas and 305 in urban areas. Three practice settings (chain stores [169, 28.2%], independent community pharmacies [162, 27.0%], and hospital pharmacies [156, 26.0%]) comprised 81.2% of the sample. Both chain and independent community pharmacists were more commonly located in rural areas than in urban areas (PDakota. These findings should be interpreted to be primarily due to differences in the role of the rural pharmacist and the quest for certain opportunities that rural pharmacists are seeking. PMID:28042356

  6. Coherent detection passive optical access network enabling converged delivery of broadcast and dedicated broadband services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Osadchiy, Alexey Vladimirovich; Prince, Kamau; Guerrero Gonzalez, Neil

    2011-01-01

    We propose a passive optical network architecture based on coherent detection for converged delivery of broadcast services from a dedicated remote broadcast server and user-specific services from a local central office. We experimentally demonstrate this architecture with mixed traffic types....... The broadcast channels were transmitted over 78 km of single mode fiber to a central office where they were multiplexed with the unicast channels for further fiber transmission over 34-km to reach the access network. Successful detection of all channels is demonstrated....

  7. Roles of Social Movement Organizations for Securing Workers' Safety in Korea: A Case Study of Abolition of the 30-Minute Delivery Guarantee Program in Pizza Delivery Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Ji-Eun; Kim, Myoung-Hee

    2016-07-01

    Many restaurants in Korea maintain quick-delivery service programs to satisfy customers. This service allows delivery workers limited time to deliver, which frequently put them in danger. Most of the workers are young, work part-time, and are rarely organized into trade unions. In this article, through a case study of the social movement to abolish the 30-minute delivery guarantee program of pizza companies in Korea, we argue that social movements involving social movement organizations (SMOs) and individual citizens could serve as a means to rectify this problem. We show how the SMOs developed and expanded the movement using a framing perspective and how the general public became involved through social media. Data was collected via online searching. Interview scripts from key players of SMOs and unofficial documents they provided were also reviewed. Three SMOs primarily led the movement, successfully forming a frame that emphasized social responsibility. SMOs also utilized social media to link their standing frame with unmobilized citizens and to expand the movement. We identified contributing factors and limitations of the movement and drew lessons that could be applied to other sectors where workers are in vulnerable positions. © The Author(s) 2016.

  8. Analysis of the project parameters of the fixed price projects in the IT services delivery organization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miroslav Kral

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The success rate of IS/IT projects is low. Thus, in response, a large variety of methods and approaches to managing IS/IT projects has been developed over the years. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationships between the project parameters of fixed-price projects that take place within an IT service delivery organization. There is some evidence that simply using traditional project parameters (such as project duration, costs, reserves, and so on isn't enough to increase the success of projects; rather, new approaches and methods, including our applied systems approach, should also be considered. This paper aims to highlight issues from the perspective of an IT services delivery organization from the CEE region. The output of the paper should be a contribution to the project management of IS/IT projects and to systems research, as well.

  9. 20 CFR 662.270 - How are the costs of providing services through the One-Stop delivery system and the operating...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... through the One-Stop delivery system and the operating costs of the system to be funded? 662.270 Section... and the operating costs of the system to be funded? The MOU must describe the particular funding arrangements for services and operating costs of the One-Stop delivery system. Each partner must contribute a...

  10. Determining Factors for Utilization of Preventive Health Services among Adults with Disabilities in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kung, Pei-Tseng; Tsai, Wen-Chen; Li, Ya-Hsin

    2012-01-01

    Taiwan has provided free health checks for adults since 1995. However, very little previous research has explored the use of preventive health services by physically and mentally disabled adults. The present study aimed to understand this use of preventive health services and the factors that influence it. Research participants included disabled…

  11. Local government energy action in the UK: from service delivery to community leadership. Volume 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wade, Joanne; Pearson, Amanda; Knowland, Rachael [Impetus Consulting (United Kingdom); Flanagan, Brooke [Energy Saving Trust (United Kingdom)

    2007-07-01

    In October 2006 the UK government published a new Local Government White Paper. This policy statement set the framework for the role of local government in the coming years.The White Paper is one stage in the latest wave of local government reform in the UK. This reform has aimed to refocus attention away from delivery of specific services and towards community leadership, particularly with reference to sustainable development. Climate change is given some emphasis within the White Paper, and should become one of the indicators against which local government performance is measured.This paper examines energy action in local authorities in the past few years, in a situation where most, but not all, were still strongly focused on service delivery. By contrasting this with the results achieved in authorities that have taken a community leadership role, the paper examines the potential of the White Paper. It addresses the following questions: does local government have the capacity to deliver increased local action on climate change? Does the UK policy framework support and encourage development and deployment of this capacity? And do the national and regional bodies that provide support for local authorities need to change the services they offer in light of recent policy developments?.

  12. Local government energy action in the UK: from service delivery to community leadership. Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wade, Joanne; Pearson, Amanda; Knowland, Rachael; Flanagan, Brooke

    2007-01-01

    In October 2006 the UK government published a new Local Government White Paper. This policy statement set the framework for the role of local government in the coming years.The White Paper is one stage in the latest wave of local government reform in the UK. This reform has aimed to refocus attention away from delivery of specific services and towards community leadership, particularly with reference to sustainable development. Climate change is given some emphasis within the White Paper, and should become one of the indicators against which local government performance is measured.This paper examines energy action in local authorities in the past few years, in a situation where most, but not all, were still strongly focused on service delivery. By contrasting this with the results achieved in authorities that have taken a community leadership role, the paper examines the potential of the White Paper. It addresses the following questions: does local government have the capacity to deliver increased local action on climate change? Does the UK policy framework support and encourage development and deployment of this capacity? And do the national and regional bodies that provide support for local authorities need to change the services they offer in light of recent policy developments?

  13. Incorporating Multifaceted Mental Health Prevention Services in Community Sectors-of-Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gewirtz, Abigail H.; August, Gerald J.

    2008-01-01

    This article proposes a framework for embedding prevention services into community sectors-of-care. Community sectors-of-care include both formal and grassroot organizations distributed throughout a community that provide various resources and services to at-risk children and their families. Though the child population served by these…

  14. Voluntary medical male circumcision scale-up in Nyanza, Kenya: evaluating technical efficiency and productivity of service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omondi Aduda, Dickens S; Ouma, Collins; Onyango, Rosebella; Onyango, Mathews; Bertrand, Jane

    2015-01-01

    Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) service delivery is complex and resource-intensive. In Kenya's context there is still paucity of information on resource use vis-à-vis outputs as programs scale up. Knowledge of technical efficiency, productivity and potential sources of constraints is desirable to improve decision-making. To evaluate technical efficiency and productivity of VMMC service delivery in Nyanza in 2011/2012 using data envelopment analysis. Comparative process evaluation of facilities providing VMMC in Nyanza in 2011/2012 using output orientated data envelopment analysis. Twenty one facilities were evaluated. Only 1 of 7 variables considered (total elapsed operation time) significantly improved from 32.8 minutes (SD 8.8) in 2011 to 30 minutes (SD 6.6) in 2012 (95%CI = 0.0350-5.2488; p = 0.047). Mean scale technical efficiency significantly improved from 91% (SD 19.8) in 2011 to 99% (SD 4.0) in 2012 particularly among outreach compared to fixed service delivery facilities (CI -31.47959-4.698508; p = 0.005). Increase in mean VRS technical efficiency from 84% (SD 25.3) in 2011 and 89% (SD 25.1) in 2012 was not statistically significant. Benchmark facilities were #119 and #125 in 2011 and #103 in 2012. Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) at fixed facilities declined by 2.5% but gained by 4.9% at outreach ones by 2012. Total factor productivity improved by 83% (p = 0.032) in 2012, largely due to progress in technological efficiency by 79% (p = 0.008). Significant improvement in scale technical efficiency among outreach facilities in 2012 was attributable to accelerated activities. However, ongoing pure technical inefficiency requires concerted attention. Technological progress was the key driver of service productivity growth in Nyanza. Incorporating service-quality dimensions and using stepwise-multiple criteria in performance evaluation enhances comprehensiveness and validity. These findings highlight site-level resource use and sources of

  15. Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Scale-Up in Nyanza, Kenya: Evaluating Technical Efficiency and Productivity of Service Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omondi Aduda, Dickens S.; Ouma, Collins; Onyango, Rosebella; Onyango, Mathews; Bertrand, Jane

    2015-01-01

    Background Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) service delivery is complex and resource-intensive. In Kenya’s context there is still paucity of information on resource use vis-à-vis outputs as programs scale up. Knowledge of technical efficiency, productivity and potential sources of constraints is desirable to improve decision-making. Objective To evaluate technical efficiency and productivity of VMMC service delivery in Nyanza in 2011/2012 using data envelopment analysis. Design Comparative process evaluation of facilities providing VMMC in Nyanza in 2011/2012 using output orientated data envelopment analysis. Results Twenty one facilities were evaluated. Only 1 of 7 variables considered (total elapsed operation time) significantly improved from 32.8 minutes (SD 8.8) in 2011 to 30 minutes (SD 6.6) in 2012 (95%CI = 0.0350–5.2488; p = 0.047). Mean scale technical efficiency significantly improved from 91% (SD 19.8) in 2011 to 99% (SD 4.0) in 2012 particularly among outreach compared to fixed service delivery facilities (CI -31.47959–4.698508; p = 0.005). Increase in mean VRS technical efficiency from 84% (SD 25.3) in 2011 and 89% (SD 25.1) in 2012 was not statistically significant. Benchmark facilities were #119 and #125 in 2011 and #103 in 2012. Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) at fixed facilities declined by 2.5% but gained by 4.9% at outreach ones by 2012. Total factor productivity improved by 83% (p = 0.032) in 2012, largely due to progress in technological efficiency by 79% (p = 0.008). Conclusions Significant improvement in scale technical efficiency among outreach facilities in 2012 was attributable to accelerated activities. However, ongoing pure technical inefficiency requires concerted attention. Technological progress was the key driver of service productivity growth in Nyanza. Incorporating service-quality dimensions and using stepwise-multiple criteria in performance evaluation enhances comprehensiveness and validity. These findings

  16. Use of previous maternal health services has a limited role in reattendance for skilled institutional delivery: cross-sectional survey in Northwest Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kebede B

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Bekana Kebede,1 Abebaw Gebeyehu,2 Gashaw Andargie11Department of Health Services Management, 2Department of Reproductive Health, Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, EthiopiaBackground: Maternal mortality rates are unacceptably high in Ethiopia. Institutional delivery with skilled care of the mother is one of the interventions proven to reduce the risk of complications that can cause maternal and neonatal mortality. Quality of service given during antenatal visits and childbirth are important measures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of skilled institutional delivery and its repeat use during a subsequent pregnancy and to identify any reasons why women avoid institutional delivery.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2012 in Chilga Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia. Data were collected from women who gave birth during the year preceding the survey. Information was entered and cleaned using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Multivariate and binary logistic regression was used to identify the relative effect of each explanatory variable on the outcome.Results: A total of 402 (84.2% women gave birth at home. Previous experience of skilled institutional delivery had a limited role in subsequent acceptance or use of institutional delivery. Most mothers who had previously had institutional delivery gave birth at home. Although 111 (40.8% women visited the health facility during their pregnancy only because of illness, 184 (38.8% did not know when to visit for antenatal care. In multivariate analysis, lower maternal education, being a rural resident, previous use of institutional delivery, remoteness of the health facility, and multiparity were factors significantly associated with less likelihood of institutional delivery. Number of months pregnant at the time of the first antenatal visit had no role in increasing the likelihood of institutional delivery.Conclusion: The

  17. Equity and financing for sexual and reproductive health service delivery: current innovations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montagu, Dominic; Graff, Maura

    2009-07-01

    National and international decisions on financing for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services have profound effects on the type, unit costs and distribution of SRH commodities and services produced, and on their availability and consumption. Much international and national funding is politically driven and is doing little for equity and quality improvement. Financing remains a significant challenge in most developing countries and demands creative responses. While no "one-size-fits-all" solution exists, there are numerous ongoing examples of successful innovations, many of which are focusing on resource pooling and on purchasing or subsidising SRH services. In this article we have used interviews, grey literature and presentations made at a range of recent public fora to identify new and innovative ways of financing SRH services so as to increase equity in developing countries. Because SRH services are often of low value as a personal good but high value as a public good, we summarise the issues from a societal perspective, highlighting the importance of financing and policy decisions for SRH services. We provide a structured overview of what novel approaches to financing appear to have positive effects in a range of developing countries. Targeting, government payment mechanisms, subsidy delivery and co-financing for sustainability are highlighted as showing particular promise. Examples are used throughout the article to illustrate innovative strategies.

  18. Decision making under the tree: gender perspectives on decentralization reforms in service delivery in rural Tanzania

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Masanyiwa, Z.S.

    2014-01-01

    In recent decades, decentralization has been upheld by governments, donors and policy makers in many developing countries as a means of improving people’s participation and public services delivery. In 1996, the government of Tanzania embarked on major local government reforms reflecting the

  19. The role of insulin-like growth factor in prediction and prevention of preterm delivery

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    Bogavac Mirjana

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aim. Prediction and prevention of preterm delivery remain great challenge. It is important to include in everyday medical practice determination of certain markers that could help identifying pregnant women with preterm delivery. Insulin like growth factor (IGF is involved in the control mechanism of fetal and placental growth and development. The aim of this study was to examine the presence of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1 in cervicovaginal secretion of pregnant women with symptoms of preterm labor, but with apparently intact fetal membranes and to point out a possible application of the strip test for detection of phIGFBP-1 in diagnosis of preterm premature rupture of total membranes (PPROM in everyday medical practice. Methods. The study was performed at the Department for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Center of Vojvodina between October 2008 and May 2009. The study included 54 pregnant women between 20-35 weeks of gestation (WG, divided into two groups: the study group (16 pregnant women with symptoms of preterm delivery that gave birth before 37 WG and the control group (38 pregnant women with the normal course of pregnancy that gave birth on term. In cervicovaginal secretion of the examined pregnant women the level of IGFBP-1 was determined by the immunochromatographic assay with monoclonal antibodies 6303 as a detecting antibody (Actim PROM test, Medix Biochemica, Kauniainen, Finland. Results. Gestational age (GA at delivery in the study group was 32.6 WG and in the control group it was 38.4 WG. Weight of newborns in the study group was 2,021 g and in the control group 3,430 g. IGFBP test was positive in 15 women (93.75% of the study group, while in the control group it was positive only in 1 woman (2.63%. Conclusion. Test on phIGFBP-1 in cervicovaginal mucus was positive in 93.75% women with preterm delivery, suggesting that this test could be used in diagnosis of silent rupture of fetal

  20. Organisation and delivery of imaging services: The contributions of ethics and political economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durand-Zaleski, I.

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this discussion is to explore how theories from other disciplines can contribute to the debate on organisation and delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic exposures. The first part explores how theories of justice suggest that health services should be provided; the second part explores how stakeholders in the field of public health and health care incorporate their own strategies in the deployment of health technologies and health-care programmes. (authors)

  1. A Study on the Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Employee Service Delivery at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges’s Front Office Department at Kinabalu Park, Kundasang, Sabah, Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alaska Adrian Kalasa

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is focused on the customer service delivery by staff of front office department of Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, at Kinabalu Park, Kundasang, and Sabah, Malaysia. It will look into the attitude, skills and knowledge of the staff on customer service delivery and its effect on customer satisfaction. There are gaps that were identified from the findings; the front line staff has English language issues. The low rating for knowledge and skills in their work area are a concern. As a three (3 Orchid rated lodges operation the standard and quality should not be compromised. There is a positive relationship of customer satisfaction and employee service delivery. Rating of poor service delivery has been noted in the survey in anticipating guests need with 1% below expectation, Speed and efficiency of check-in process with 1% rated below expectation, welcoming and greeting with 11% below expectation. This includes courtesy, helpfulness of staff and grooming all rated 4% in below expectation.

  2. Estimating the Size and Cost of the STD Prevention Services Safety Net.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gift, Thomas L; Haderxhanaj, Laura T; Torrone, Elizabeth A; Behl, Ajay S; Romaguera, Raul A; Leichliter, Jami S

    2015-01-01

    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is expected to reduce the number of uninsured people in the United States during the next eight years, but more than 10% are expected to remain uninsured. Uninsured people are one of the main populations using publicly funded safety net sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention services. Estimating the proportion of the uninsured population expected to need STD services could help identify the potential demand for safety net STD services and improve program planning. In 2013, an estimated 8.27 million people met the criteria for being in need of STD services. In 2023, 4.70 million uninsured people are expected to meet the criteria for being in need of STD services. As an example, the cost in 2014 U.S. dollars of providing chlamydia screening to these people was an estimated $271.1 million in 2013 and is estimated to be $153.8 million in 2023. A substantial need will continue to exist for safety net STD prevention services in coming years.

  3. Institutional delivery service utilization and associated factors among mothers who gave birth in the last 12 months in Sekela District, North West of Ethiopia: A community - based cross sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teferra Alemayehu

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Reduction of maternal mortality is a global priority particularly in developing countries including Ethiopia where maternal mortality ratio is one of the highest in the world. The key to reducing maternal mortality ratio and improving maternal health is increasing attendance by skilled health personnel throughout pregnancy and delivery. However, delivery service is significantly lower in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess factors affecting institutional delivery service utilization among mothers who gave birth in the last 12 months in Sekela District, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Methods Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among mothers with birth in the last 12 months during August, 2010. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 371 participants. A pre tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Bivariate and multivariate data analysis was performed using SPSS version 16.0 software. Results The study indicated that 12.1% of the mothers delivered in health facilities. Of 87.9% mothers who gave birth at home, 80.0% of them were assisted by family members and relatives. The common reasons for home delivery were closer attention from family members and relatives (60.9%, home delivery is usual practice (57.7%, unexpected labour (33.4%, not being sick or no problem at the time of delivery (21.6% and family influence (14.4%. Being urban resident (AOR [95% CI] = 4.6 [1.91, 10.9], ANC visit during last pregnancy (AOR [95% CI] = 4.26 [1.1, 16.4], maternal education level (AOR [95%CI] =11.98 [3.36, 41.4] and knowledge of mothers on pregnancy and delivery services (AOR [95% CI] = 2.97[1.1, 8.6] had significant associations with institutional delivery service utilization. Conclusions Very low institutional delivery service utilization was observed in the study area. Majority of the births at home were assisted by family members and relatives. ANC visit and lack of

  4. Client perspective assessment of women?s satisfaction towards labour and delivery care service in public health facilities at Arba Minch town and the surrounding district, Gamo Gofa zone, south Ethiopia

    OpenAIRE

    Dewana, Zeritu; Fikadu, Teshale; G/ Mariam, Abebe; Abdulahi, Misra

    2016-01-01

    Background A woman?s satisfaction with labour and delivery care service has a good effect on her health and subsequent utilization of the services. Thus knowledge about women?s satisfaction on labour and delivery care used to enhances the services utilization. The objective of this study was to assess the satisfaction of women?s towards labour and delivery care service and identify factors associated it at public health facilities in Arba Minch town and the surrounding district, Gamo Gofa zon...

  5. The Chinese community patient’s life satisfaction, assessment of community medical service, and trust in community health delivery system

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Although the Chinese government put a lot of effort into promoting the community patient’s life satisfaction, there still lacked the holistic and systematic approaches to promote the community patient’s life satisfaction in various regions of China. On the basis of the literature, it was found that both the community patient’s assessment of community medical service and trust in community health delivery system were important considerations when the community patient comprehensively evaluated community medical service to generate life satisfaction. So this study was set up to test whether and to what extent the community patient’s assessments of various major aspects of community medical service/various major aspects of the community patient’s trust in community health delivery system influenced life satisfaction in whole China/in various regions of China. Methods In order to explore the situation of China’s community health delivery system before 2009 and provide a reference for China’s community health delivery system reform, the data that could comprehensively and accurately reflect the community patient’s life satisfaction, assessment of community medical service, and trust in community health delivery system in various regions of China was needed, so this study collaborated with the National Bureau of Statistics of China to carry out a large-scale 2008 national community resident household survey (N = 3,306) for the first time in China. And the specified ordered probit models were established to analyze the dataset from this household survey. Results Among major aspects of community medical service, the medical cost (particularly in developed regions), the doctor-patient communication (particularly in developed regions), the medical facility and hospital environment (particularly in developed regions), and the medical treatment process (particularly in underdeveloped regions) were all key considerations (ppatient’s life

  6. Reduced frequency and severity of residential fires following delivery of fire prevention education by on-duty fire fighters: cluster randomized controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clare, Joseph; Garis, Len; Plecas, Darryl; Jennings, Charles

    2012-04-01

    In 2008, Surrey Fire Services, British Columbia, commenced a firefighter-delivered, door-to-door fire-prevention education and smoke alarm examination/installation initiative with the intention of reducing the frequency and severity of residential structure fires in the City of Surrey. High-risk zones within the city were identified and 18,473 home visits were undertaken across seven temporal delivery cohorts (13.8% of non-apartment dwellings in the city). The frequency and severity of fires pre- and post- the home visit intervention was examined in comparison to randomized high-risk cluster controls. Overall, the frequency of fires was found to have reduced in the city overall, however, the reduction in the intervention cohorts was significantly larger than for controls. Furthermore, when fires did occur within the intervention cohorts, smoke detectors were activated more frequently and the fires were confined to the object of origin more often post-home visits. No equivalent pattern was observed for the cluster control. On-duty fire fighters can reduce the frequency and severity of residential fires through targeted, door-to-door distribution of fire prevention education in high-risk areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. The Where and How for Reaching Transgender Women and Men Who Have Sex with Men with HIV Prevention Services in Guatemala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, William M; Miller, William C; Barrington, Clare; Weir, Sharon S; Chen, Sanny Y; Emch, Michael E; Pettifor, Audrey E; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela

    2017-12-01

    This study aims to describe the transgender women and men who have sex with men (MSM) missed through venue-based sampling and illustrate how data on venues can be used to prioritize service delivery. Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) and time-location sampling (TLS) were used concurrently in 2010 for behavioral surveillance among MSM and transgender women in Guatemala City. RDS recruits who did not frequent venues (n = 106) were compared to TLS recruits (n = 609). TLS participants recruited at different types of venues were compared. RDS recruits who did not frequent venues were less educated, less likely to identify as gay, more likely to have concurrent partners and female sexual partners. Participants recruited at NGOs, saunas, hotels, streets and parks had more partners, were more likely to receive money for sex or have concurrent partners. Prevention programs for MSM and transgender women should characterize social venues and people that frequent them and improve service coverage through venues and social networks.

  8. The impact of a prevention delivery system on perceived social capital: the PROSPER project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chilenski, Sarah M; Ang, Patricia M; Greenberg, Mark T; Feinberg, Mark E; Spoth, Richard

    2014-04-01

    The current study examined the impact of the PROSPER delivery system for evidence-based prevention programs on multiple indicators of social capital in a rural and semi-rural community sample. Utilizing a randomized blocked design, 317 individuals in 28 communities across two states were interviewed at three time points over the course of 2.5 years. Bridging, linking, and the public life skills forms of social capital were assessed via community members' and leaders' reports on the perceptions of school functioning and the Cooperative Extension System, collaboration among organizations, communication and collaboration around youth problems, and other measures. Longitudinal mixed model results indicate significant improvements in some aspects of bridging and linking social capital in PROSPER intervention communities. Given the strength of the longitudinal and randomized research design, results advance prevention science by suggesting that community collaborative prevention initiatives can significantly impact community social capital in a rural and semi-rural sample. Future research should further investigate changes in social capital in different contexts and how changes in social capital relate to other intervention effects.

  9. Understanding tradeoffs in the supplier selection process : The role of flexibility, delivery, and value-added services/support

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rhee, van der B.; Verma, R.; Plaschka, G.

    2009-01-01

    In this study, we present, based on econometric choice modeling framework, how manufacturing managers/executives trade-off between cost, delivery, flexibility, and service features in the supplier selection process for commodity raw materials, given acceptable quality. Empirical data for this study

  10. Barriers and facilitators to institutional delivery in rural areas of Chitwan district, Nepal: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Rajani; Rehfuess, Eva A; Paudel, Deepak; Maskey, Mahesh K; Delius, Maria

    2018-06-20

    Giving birth assisted by skilled care in a health facility plays a vital role in preventing maternal deaths. In Nepal, delivery services are free and a cash incentive is provided to women giving birth at a health facility. Nevertheless, about half of women still deliver at home. This study explores socio-cultural and health service-related barriers to and facilitators of institutional delivery. Six village development committees in hill and plain areas were selected in Chitwan district. We conducted a total of 10 focus group discussions and 12 in-depth-interviews with relevant stakeholder groups, including mothers, husbands, mothers-in-law, traditional birth attendants, female community health volunteers, health service providers and district health managers. Data were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis. Three main themes played a role in deciding the place of delivery, i.e. socio-cultural norms and values; access to birthing facilities; and perceptions regarding the quality of health services. Factors encouraging an institutional delivery included complications during labour, supportive husbands and mothers-in-law, the availability of an ambulance, having birthing centres nearby, locally sufficient financial incentives and/or material incentives, the 24-h availability of midwives and friendly health service providers. Socio-cultural barriers to institutional deliveries were deeply held beliefs about childbirth being a normal life event, the wish to be cared for by family members, greater freedom of movement at home, a warm environment, the possibility to obtain appropriate "hot" foods, and shyness of young women and their position in the family hierarchy. Accessibility and quality of health services also presented barriers, including lack of road and transportation, insufficient financial incentives, poor infrastructure and equipment at birthing centres and the young age and perceived incompetence of midwives. Despite much progress in recent years, this

  11. Admission and Preventive Load Control for Delivery of Multicast and Broadcast Services via S-UMTS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelou, E.; Koutsokeras, N.; Andrikopoulos, I.; Mertzanis, I.; Karaliopoulos, M.; Henrio, P.

    2003-07-01

    An Admission Control strategy is proposed for unidirectional satellite systems delivering multicast and broadcast services to mobile users. In such systems, both the radio interface and the targeted services impose particular requirements on the RRM task. We briefly discuss the RRM requirements that stem from the services point of view and from the features of the SATIN access scheme that differentiate it from the conventional T-UMTS radio interface. The main functional entities of RRM and the alternative modes of operation are outlined and the proposed Admission Control algorithm is described in detail. The results from the simulation study that demonstrate its performance for a number of different scenarios are finally presented and conclusions derived.

  12. Marriage, Cohabitation, and Men's Use of Preventive Health Care Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... from the 2011–2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), selected measures of preventive health care service use ... any gender and age. Data source and methods NHIS is a multipurpose health survey conducted continuously throughout ...

  13. Determination of Appropriate Service Delivery Level for Quantitative Attributes of Household Toilets in Rural Settlements of India from Users' Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashid, Mohammad; Pandit, Debapratim

    2018-04-01

    Improvement of quality of sanitation services in rural settlements is an important development goal in developing countries including India and accordingly several strategies are adopted which promote the demand and use of household toilets through creating awareness and providing subsidies to poor people for construction of household toilets with service-level standards specified from experts' perspective. In many cases, users are unsatisfied with the quality of toilets constructed using subsidies and the same remain unused. Users' satisfaction depends on their perceptions of service quality of individual attributes and overall service quality of the household toilets, which is an important determinant of sustainability and sustained use of toilets. This study aims to assess and benchmark the appropriate service delivery level for quantitative attributes of rural household toilets based on user perception. The service quality is determined with the help of level of service (LOS) scales developed using successive interval scaling technique, the zone of tolerance (ZOT), and users satisfaction level (USL) which relates service delivery levels with user satisfaction directly. The study finds that the service quality of most of the attributes of household toilets constructed using subsidies is perceived as poor. The results also suggest that most of the users expect to have a toilet with the service level of attributes ranging between LOS A and LOS B.

  14. Summary of Guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control for Flexible Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lawrence Hookey

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: High-quality processes to ensure infection prevention and control in the delivery of safe endoscopy services are essential. In 2010, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG developed a Canadian guideline for the reprocessing of flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy equipment.

  15. Sociocultural determinants of home delivery in Ethiopia: a qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaba M

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Mirgissa Kaba,1 Tesfaye Bulto,2 Zergu Tafesse,2 Wassie Lingerh,2 Ismael Ali2 1Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, 2Integrated Family Health Program, John Snow, Inc., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Background: Maternal health remains a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Despite the government’s measures to ensure institutional delivery assisted by skilled attendants, home delivery remains high, estimated at over 80% of all pregnant women.Objective: The study aims to identify determinants that sustain home delivery in Ethiopia.Methods: A total of 48 women who delivered their most recent child at home, 56 women who delivered their most recent child in a health facility, 55 husbands of women who delivered within 1 year preceding the study, and 23 opinion leaders in selected districts of Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region, and Tigray regions were involved in the study. Key informant interview, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions were conducted to collect data using checklists developed for this purpose. Data reduction and analysis were facilitated by Maxqda qualitative data analysis software version 11.Results: Findings show that pregnancy and delivery is a normal and natural life event. Research participants unanimously argue that such a life event should not be linked with health problems. Home is considered a natural space for delivery and most women aspire to deliver at home where rituals during labor and after delivery are considered enjoyable. Even those who delivered in health facilities appreciate events in connection to home delivery. Efforts are underway to create home-like environments in health facilities, but health facilities are not yet recognized as a natural place of delivery. The positive tendency to deliver at home is further facilitated by poor service delivery at the facility level. Perceived poor competence of providers and limited

  16. Service-Learning. National Dropout Prevention Center/Network Newsletter. Volume 22, Number 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duckenfield, Marty, Ed.

    2011-01-01

    The "National Dropout Prevention Newsletter" is published quarterly by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Dropouts and Democracy (Robert Shumer); (2) 2011 NDPN Crystal Star Winners; (3) Service-Learning as Dropout Intervention and More (Michael VanKeulen); and (4) Teacher…

  17. Assessment of the management factors that influence the development of preventive care in the New South Wales public dental service

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    Masoe AV

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Angela V Masoe,1 Anthony S Blinkhorn,2 Jane Taylor,1 Fiona A Blinkhorn1 1Faculty of Health and Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Oral Health, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2Department of Population Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Background: Oral diseases, particularly dental caries, remain one of the most common chronic health problems for adolescents, and are a major public health concern. Public dental services in New South Wales, Australia offer free clinical care and preventive advice to all adolescents under 18 years of age, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This care is provided by dental therapists and oral health therapists (therapists. It is incumbent upon clinical directors (CDs and health service managers (HSMs to ensure that the appropriate clinical preventive care is offered by clinicians to all their patients. The aims of this study were to 1 explore CDs’ and HSMs’ perceptions of the factors that could support the delivery of preventive care to adolescents, and to 2 record the strategies they have utilized to help therapists provide preventive care to adolescents. Subjects and methods: In-depth, semistructured interviews were undertaken with 19 CDs and HSMs from across NSW local health districts. A framework matrix was used to systematically code data and enable key themes to be identified for analysis. Results: The 19 CDs and HSMs reported that fiscal accountability and meeting performance targets impacted on the levels and types of preventive care provided by therapists. Participants suggested that professional clinical structures for continuous quality improvement should be implemented and monitored, and that an adequate workforce mix and more resources for preventive dental care activities would enhance therapists’ ability to provide appropriate levels of preventive care. CDs and HSMs stated that capitalizing on the strengths of visiting pediatric

  18. Strengthening malaria service delivery through supportive supervision and community mobilization in an endemic Indian setting: an evaluation of nested delivery models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Ashis; Friedman, Jed; Kandpal, Eeshani; Ramana, Gandham N V; Gupta, Rudra Kumar Das; Pradhan, Madan M; Govindaraj, Ramesh

    2014-12-08

    Malaria continues to be a prominent global public health challenge. This study tested the effectiveness of two service delivery models for reducing the malaria burden, e.g. supportive supervision of community health workers (CHW) and community mobilization in promoting appropriate health-seeking behaviour for febrile illnesses in Odisha, India. The study population comprised 120 villages from two purposively chosen malaria-endemic districts, with 40 villages randomly assigned to each of the two treatment arms, one with both supportive supervision and community mobilization and one with community mobilization alone, as well as an observational control arm. Outcome measures included changes in the utilization of bed nets and timely care-seeking for fever from a trained provider compared to the control group. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. Significant improvements were observed in the reported utilization of bed nets in both intervention arms (84.5% in arm A and 82.4% in arm B versus 78.6% in the control arm; p skilled provider within 24 hours than fever cases from the control arm (50.1%). In particular, women from the combined interventions arm were more likely to have received timely treatment from a skilled provider (61.6% vs. 47.2%; p = 0.028). A community-based intervention combining the supportive supervision of community health workers with intensive community mobilization and can be effective in improving care-seeking and preventive behaviour and may be used to strengthen the national malaria control programme.

  19. Accounting for costs, QALYs, and capacity constraints: using discrete-event simulation to evaluate alternative service delivery and organizational scenarios for hospital-based glaucoma services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crane, Glenis J; Kymes, Steven M; Hiller, Janet E; Casson, Robert; Martin, Adam; Karnon, Jonathan D

    2013-11-01

    Decision-analytic models are routinely used as a framework for cost-effectiveness analyses of health care services and technologies; however, these models mostly ignore resource constraints. In this study, we use a discrete-event simulation model to inform a cost-effectiveness analysis of alternative options for the organization and delivery of clinical services in the ophthalmology department of a public hospital. The model is novel, given that it represents both disease outcomes and resource constraints in a routine clinical setting. A 5-year discrete-event simulation model representing glaucoma patient services at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) was implemented and calibrated to patient-level data. The data were sourced from routinely collected waiting and appointment lists, patient record data, and the published literature. Patient-level costs and quality-adjusted life years were estimated for a range of alternative scenarios, including combinations of alternate follow-up times, booking cycles, and treatment pathways. The model shows that a) extending booking cycle length from 4 to 6 months, b) extending follow-up visit times by 2 to 3 months, and c) using laser in preference to medication are more cost-effective than current practice at the RAH eye clinic. The current simulation model provides a useful tool for informing improvements in the organization and delivery of glaucoma services at a local level (e.g., within a hospital), on the basis of expected effects on costs and health outcomes while accounting for current capacity constraints. Our model may be adapted to represent glaucoma services at other hospitals, whereas the general modeling approach could be applied to many other clinical service areas.

  20. From public to private and back again: sustaining a high service-delivery level during transition of management authority: a Cambodia case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Bart; Thomé, Jean-Marc; Overtoom, Rob; Sam, Sam Oeun; Indermühle, Lorenz; Price, Neil

    2010-05-01

    Contracting non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has been shown to increase health service delivery output considerably over relatively short time frames in low-income countries, especially when applying performance-related pay as a stimulus. A key concern is how to manage the transition back to government-operated systems while maintaining health service delivery output levels. In this paper we describe and analyse the transition from NGO-managed to government-managed health services over a 3-year period in a health district in Cambodia with a focus on the level of health service delivery. Data are derived from four sources, including cross-sectional surveys and health management and financial information systems. The transition was achieved by focusing on all the building blocks of the health care system and ensuring an acceptable financial remuneration for the staff members of contracted health facilities. The latter was attained through performance subsidies derived from financial commitment by the central government, and revenue from user fees. Performance management had a crucial role in the gradual handover of responsibilities. Not all responsibilities were handed back to government over the case study period-notably the development of performance indicators and targets and the performance monitoring.

  1. Integration of TB-HIV services at an ANC facility in Frances Baard District, Northern Cape, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, J A; Heunis, C; Kigozi, G; Osoba, T; van der Walt, M

    2015-03-21

    Integrated tuberculosis-human immunodeficiency virus (TB-HIV) service delivery as part of maternal health services, including antenatal care (ANC), is widely recommended. This study assessed the implementation of collaborative TB-HIV service delivery at a hospital-based ANC service unit. A record review of a random sample of 308 pregnant women attending the ANC service between April 2011 and February 2012 was conducted. Data were extracted from registers and patient case notes. Outcomes included the proportion of women who underwent HIV counselling and testing (HCT), CD4 count testing, antiretroviral treatment (ART), cotrimoxazole preventive treatment (CPT), TB screening and isoniazid preventive treatment (IPT). Analysis measured variations in patient characteristics associated with service delivery. All women underwent HCT; 80% of those who tested HIV-positive were screened for TB. Most (85.9%) of the HIV-positive women received a CD4 count. However, only 12.9% of eligible women received ART prophylaxis onsite, only 35.7% were referred for initiation of ART, only 42.3% commenced IPT and none received CPT or further investigations for TB. HIV-negative women had 2.6 higher odds (95%CI 1.3-5.3) of receiving TB screening than their HIV-positive counterparts. Although the identification of HIV-positive women and TB suspects was adequate, implementation of other TB-HIV collaborative activities was sub-optimal.

  2. Integration of social media with healthcare big data for improved service delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sibulela Mgudlwa

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: In the last decade, social media users across the world have crossed 1 billion, making it one of the fastest growing sources of big data. Also, people needing healthcare continue to increase in every society. Through accessibility, communication and interaction between health practitioners and patients, this type of ever-growing, social media subscriber–based platform can be of significant use in improving healthcare delivery to society. However, users encounter serious challenges in their attempts to make use of social media and big data for health-related services. The challenges are primarily caused by factors such as integration, complexity, security and privacy. The challenges are mainly owing to the sensitive nature of the healthcare environment, as a result of personalisation and privacy of information.   Objectives: The objectives of the study were to examine and gain a better understanding of the complexities that are associated with the use of social media and healthcare big data, through influencing factors, and to develop a framework that can be used to improve health-related services to the patients.   Methods: The interpretivist approach was employed, within which qualitative data were collected. This included documents and existing literature in the areas of social media and healthcare big data. To have a good spread of both previous and current state of events within the phenomena being studied, literature published between 2006 and 2016 were gathered. The data were interpretively analysed.   Results: Based on the analysis of the data, factors of influence were found, which were used to develop a model. The model illustrates how the factors of influence can enable and at the same time constrain the use of social media for healthcare services. The factors were interpreted from which a framework was developed. The framework is intended to guide integration of social media with healthcare big data through which

  3. Who benefits from removing user fees for facility-based delivery services? Evidence on socioeconomic differences from Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKinnon, Britt; Harper, Sam; Kaufman, Jay S

    2015-06-01

    Coverage of skilled delivery care has been increasing across most low-income countries; however, it remains far from universal and is very unequally distributed according to socioeconomic position. In an effort to increase coverage of skilled delivery care and reduce socioeconomic inequalities, governments of several countries in sub-Saharan Africa have recently adopted policies that remove user fees for facility-based delivery services. There is little rigorous evidence of the impact of these policies and few studies have examined effects on socioeconomic inequalities. This study investigates the impact of recent delivery fee exemption policies in Ghana, Senegal, and Sierra Leone on socioeconomic differences in the use of facility-based delivery services. Using Demographic and Health Survey data from nine sub-Saharan African countries, we evaluated the user fee policy changes using a difference-in-differences approach that accounts for underlying common secular trends and time invariant differences among countries, and allows for differential effects of the policy by socioeconomic position. Removing user fees was consistent with meaningful increases in facility deliveries across all categories of household wealth and maternal education. We found little evidence of differential effects of removing user fees across quartiles of household wealth, with increases of 5.4 facility deliveries per hundred live births (95% CI: 2.1, 8.8) among women in the poorest quartile and 6.8 per hundred live births (95% CI: 4.0, 9.7) for women in the richest quartile. However, our results suggest that educated women benefited more from removing user fees compared to women with no education. For women with at least some secondary education, the estimated effect was 8.6 facility deliveries per hundred live births (95% CI: 5.4, 11.9), but only 4.6 per hundred live births (95% CI: 2.2, 7.0) for women with no education (heterogeneity p-value = 0.04). Thus, while removing fees at the point

  4. Issues affecting therapist workforce and service delivery in the disability sector in rural and remote New South Wales, Australia: perspectives of policy-makers, managers and senior therapists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veitch, Craig; Dew, Angela; Bulkeley, Kim; Lincoln, Michelle; Bundy, Anita; Gallego, Gisselle; Griffiths, Scott

    2012-01-01

    The disability sector encompasses a broad range of conditions and needs, including children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people with acquired disabilities, and irreversible physical injuries. Allied health professionals (therapists), in the disability sector, work within government and funded or charitable non-government agencies, schools, communities, and private practice. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study of therapist workforce and service delivery in the disability sector in rural and remote New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The aim was to investigate issues of importance to policy-makers, managers and therapists providing services to people with disabilities in rural and remote areas. The project gathered information via semi-structured interviews with individuals and small groups. Head office and regional office policy-makers, along with managers and senior therapists in western NSW were invited to participate. Participants included 12 policy-makers, 28 managers and 10 senior therapists from NSW government agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in providing services and support to people with disabilities in the region. Information was synthesised prior to using constant comparative analysis within and across data sets to identify issues. Five broad themes resonated across participants' roles, locations and service settings: (1) challenges to implementing policy in rural and remote NSW; (2) the impact of geographic distribution of workforce and clients; (3) workforce issues - recruitment, support, workloads, retention; (4) equity and access issues for rural clients; and (5) the important role of the NGO sector in rural service delivery and support. Although commitment to providing best practice services was universal, policy-related information transfer between organisations and employees was inconsistent. Participants raised some workforce and service delivery issues that are similar to

  5. ASSESSMENT OF E-COMMERCE USAGE FOR EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA BANKING SECTOR

    OpenAIRE

    Soneye Gbolade Michael

    2017-01-01

    This study assessed the extent of e-commerce usage for effective service delivery in Nigeria banking sector. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The study covered 64 microfinance banks in Oyo State, South-West, Nigeria. The population was made up of 1275 staffs from the 64 microfinance banks. The sample size consisted of 28 microfinance banks of which 280 staffs were purposively selected. A 28-item st...

  6. Human Trafficking in Ethiopia: A Scoping Review to Identify Gaps in Service Delivery, Research, and Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Dana C; Choi, Kristen R; Munro-Kramer, Michelle L; Lori, Jody R

    2017-12-01

    The purpose of this review is to integrate evidence on human trafficking in Ethiopia and identify gaps and recommendations for service delivery, research and training, and policy. A scoping literature review approach was used to systematically search nursing, medical, psychological, law, and international databases and synthesize information on a complex, understudied topic. The search yielded 826 articles, and 39 met the predetermined criteria for inclusion in the review. Trafficking in Ethiopia has occurred internally and externally in the form of adult and child labor and sex trafficking. There were also some reports of organ trafficking and other closely related human rights violations, such as child marriage, child soldiering, and exploitative intercountry adoption. Risk factors for trafficking included push factors (poverty, political instability, economic problems, and gender discrimination) and pull factors (demand for cheap labor). Trafficking was associated with poor health and economic outcomes for victims. Key recommendations for service delivery, research and training, and policy are identified, including establishing comprehensive services for survivor rehabilitation and reintegration, conducting quantitative health outcomes research, and reforming policy around migration and trafficking. Implementing the recommendations identified by this review will allow policy makers, researchers, and practitioners to take meaningful steps toward confronting human trafficking in Ethiopia.

  7. Auditing Information System : Delivery Product Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purwoko Purwoko

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of the research is to ensure the securities of information system asset and to ensure if informa-tion system support the operational and data collected was valid. Research method that used in this research were library studies and field studies. Field studies such an observation, questioner, and inter-view. the expected result are founding the weakness of security management control, operational man-agement control, input control, and output control of risk happened in the company. Conclusion of this research are the system on the company work good and there’s no potential risk happened and make an impact to the delivery process of information system.Index Terms - Auditing Information system, Delivery product process.

  8. Access to Employee Wellness Programs and Use of Preventive Care Services Among U.S. Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isehunwa, Oluwaseyi O; Carlton, Erik L; Wang, Yang; Jiang, Yu; Kedia, Satish; Chang, Cyril F; Fijabi, Daniel; Bhuyan, Soumitra S

    2017-12-01

    There is little research at the national level on access to employee wellness programs and the use of preventive care services. This study examined the use of seven preventive care services among U.S working adults with access to employee wellness programs. The study population comprised 17,699 working adults aged ≥18 years, obtained from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey. Multivariate logistic regression models examined the relationship between access to employee wellness programs and use of seven preventive care services: influenza vaccination, blood pressure check, diabetes check, cholesterol check, Pap smear test, mammogram, and colon cancer screening. Data analysis began in Fall 2016. Overall, 46.6% of working adults reported having access to employee wellness programs in 2015. Working adults with access to employee wellness programs had higher odds of receiving influenza vaccination (OR=1.57, 95% CI=1.43, 1.72, pemployee wellness programs and the use of Pap smear test and colon cancer screening services. Using a nationally representative sample of individuals, this study found a positive association between access to employee wellness programs and the use of preventive care services. The results support favorable policies to encourage implementing wellness programs in all worksites, especially those with employees. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Local sustained-release delivery systems of the antibiofilm agent thiazolidinedione-8 for prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shenderovich, Julia; Feldman, Mark; Kirmayer, David; Al-Quntar, Abed; Steinberg, Doron; Lavy, Eran; Friedman, Michael

    2015-05-15

    Thiazolidinedione-8 (TZD-8) is an anti-quorum-sensing molecule that has the potential to effectively prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections, a major healthcare challenge. Sustained-release drug-delivery systems can enhance drugs' therapeutic potential, by maintaining their therapeutic level and reducing their side effects. Varnishes for sustained release of TZD-8 based on ethylcellulose or ammonio methacrylate copolymer type A (Eudragit(®) RL) were developed. The main factors affecting release rate were found to be film thickness and presence of a hydrophilic or swellable polymer in the matrix. The release mechanism of ethylcellulose-based systems matched the Higuchi model. Selected varnishes were retained on catheters for at least 8 days. Sustained-release delivery systems of TZD-8 were active against Candida albicans biofilms. The present study demonstrates promising results en route to developing applications for the prevention of catheter-associated infections. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Pretreatment with Pancaspase Inhibitor (Z-VAD-FMK Delays but Does Not Prevent Intraperitoneal Heat-Killed Group B Streptococcus-Induced Preterm Delivery in a Pregnant Mouse Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ozlem Equils

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Caspases and apoptosis are thought to play a role in infection-associated preterm-delivery. We have shown that in vitro treatment with pancaspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK protects trophoblasts from microbial antigen-induced apoptosis. Objective. To examine whether in vivo administration of Z-VAD-FMK would prevent infection-induced preterm-delivery. Methods. We injected 14.5 day-pregnant-mice with heat-killed group B streptococcus (HK-GBS. Apoptosis within placentas and membranes was assessed by TUNEL staining. Calpain expression and caspase-3 activation were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Preterm-delivery was defined as expulsion of a fetus within 48 hours after injection. Results. Intrauterine (i.u. or intraperitoneal (i.p. HK-GBS injection led to preterm-delivery and induced apoptosis in placentas and membranes at 14 hours. The expression of calpain, a caspase-independent inducer of apoptosis, was increased in placenta. Treatment with the specific caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK (i.p. prior to HK-GBS (i.p. delayed but did not prevent preterm-delivery. Conclusion. Caspase-dependent apoptosis appears to play a role in the timing but not the occurrence of GBS-induced preterm delivery in the mouse.

  11. A Study to Assess the Role of Educational Intervention in Improving the Delivery of Routine Immunization Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bhatia M

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Immunization has been regarded as the most cost-effective intervention for child health promotion. Even after improvements, the developing countries are still struggling with low coverage rates, immunization failure, high rates of adverse events following immunization (AEFI etc. The present study was conducted to assess the role of educational intervention in improving immunization delivery services. Methodology: It was a pre-post intervention observational study carried out in immunization clinics of two tertiary care hospitals. The data from pre and post educational intervention assessment was compared and analyzed using SPSS 10.0. Results: At both clinics there was 40% and 45% increase in cleaning of the spoon used for administration of vitamin A. Post-intervention there was 40% increase in use of hub cutter at both the centres. After intervention, there was 30% and 35% increase in the delivery of four key messages by staff nurse. Conclusion: Unlike Doctors, the health staff is not motivated for regular touch with the theory part of their work field and continued knowledge up-gradation. This strategy of periodic re-orientation of the topic in the form of educational intervention may help in improving service delivery to the beneficiaries. Further research is required in this aspect.

  12. Costs along the service cascades for HIV testing and counselling and prevention of mother-to-child transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bautista-Arredondo, Sergio; Sosa-Rubí, Sandra G.; Opuni, Marjorie; Contreras-Loya, David; Kwan, Ada; Chaumont, Claire; Chompolola, Abson; Condo, Jeanine; Galárraga, Omar; Martinson, Neil; Masiye, Felix; Nsanzimana, Sabin; Ochoa-Moreno, Ivan; Wamai, Richard; Wang’ombe, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    Objective: We estimate facility-level average annual costs per client along the HIV testing and counselling (HTC) and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) service cascades. Design: Data collected covered the period 2011–2012 in 230 HTC and 212 PMTCT facilities in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia. Methods: Input quantities and unit prices were collected, as were output data. Annual economic costs were estimated from the service providers’ perspective using micro-costing. Average annual costs per client in 2013 United States dollars (US$) were estimated along the service cascades. Results: For HTC, average cost per client tested ranged from US$5 (SD US$7) in Rwanda to US$31 (SD US$24) in South Africa, whereas average cost per client diagnosed as HIV-positive ranged from US$122 (SD US$119) in Zambia to US$1367 (SD US$2093) in Rwanda. For PMTCT, average cost per client tested ranged from US$18 (SD US$20) in Rwanda to US$89 (SD US$56) in South Africa; average cost per client diagnosed as HIV-positive ranged from US$567 (SD US$417) in Zambia to US$2021 (SD US$3210) in Rwanda; average cost per client on antiretroviral prophylaxis ranged from US$704 (SD US$610) in South Africa to US$2314 (SD US$3204) in Rwanda; and average cost per infant on nevirapine ranged from US$888 (SD US$884) in South Africa to US$2359 (SD US$3257) in Rwanda. Conclusion: We found important differences in unit costs along the HTC and PMTCT service cascades within and between countries suggesting that more efficient delivery of these services is possible. PMID:27753679

  13. Pharmacist and physician perspectives on diabetes service delivery within community pharmacies in Indonesia: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wibowo, Yosi; Sunderland, Bruce; Hughes, Jeffery

    2016-05-01

    To explore perspectives of physicians and pharmacists on diabetes service delivery within community pharmacies in Indonesia. In depth interviews were conducted with 10 physicians and 10 community pharmacists in Surabaya, Indonesia, using a semi-structured interview guide. Nvivo version 9 was used to facilitate thematic content analysis to identify barriers/facilitators for community pharmacists to provide diabetes services. The identified themes indicating barriers/facilitators for diabetes service delivery within Indonesian community pharmacies included: (1) pharmacist factors - i.e. positive views (facilitator) and perceived lack of competence (barrier); (2) pharmacist-physician relationships - i.e. physicians' lack of support and accessibility (barriers); (3) pharmacist-patient relationships - i.e. perceived patients' lack of support and accessibility (barriers); (4) pharmacy environment - i.e. business orientation (barrier), lack of staff and poor pharmacist availability (barriers), and availability of supporting resources, such as counselling areas/rooms, procedures/protocols and IT systems for labelling and patient records (facilitators); and (5) external environment - i.e. a health system to support pharmacist roles, remuneration, marketing and professional assistance (facilitators). Issues related to the pharmacist-physician-patient relationships, pharmacy environment and external environment need to be addressed before Indonesian community pharmacists can provide additional pharmacy services for type 2 diabetes patients. Collaboration between the Government, Ikatan Apoteker Indonesia (Indonesian Pharmacists Association) and Ikatan Dokter Indonesia (Indonesian Medical Association) is required to improve the pharmacy professional environment and facilities. © 2015 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

  14. Public Service Delivery in Hybrid Organisations : public management reform and horizontalisation as main challenges for public leaders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuitert, L.; Volker, L.

    2016-01-01

    The public sector has been subject to some major movements the last 15 years. In public service delivery a trend called socialisation, leading to the displacement between public and private, is most crucial. A withdrawing government and privatization led to increased collaboration between public and

  15. Social impact bonds and their application to preventive health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzgerald, John L

    2013-05-01

    Although preventive health in Australia has been acknowledged as central to national health and wellbeing, efforts to reform the delivery of preventive health have to date produced limited results. The financing of preventive health at a national level is based on outcome- or performance-based funding mechanisms; however, delivery of interventions and activities at a state level have not been subjected to outcome-based funding processes. A new financing tool being applied in the area of social services (social impact bonds) has emerged as a possible model for application in the prevention arena. This paper explores key issues in the consideration of this funding model in the prevention arena. When preventive health is conceptualised as a merit good, the role of government is clarified and outcome measures fully articulated, social impact bonds may be a viable funding option to supplement core public health activities. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC? The complexities of outcome monitoring in preventive health are well understood.Likewise, the problem of linking funding to outcomes from preventive health practice has also been debated at length in health policy. However, not much is known about the application of social impact bonds into the preventive health arena.WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD? This paper discusses the limitations and opportunities facing the application of the social impact bond financing model in the preventive health arena. This has not been undertaken previously.WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS? Social impact bonds have received significant recent attention from federal and state government treasury departments as potential financing tools for government. Health policy practitioners are watching this space very closely to see the outcomes of a New South Wales trial. Health promotion practitioners and primary care practitioners who deliver preventive services will need to keep abreast of this issue as it will have significant impact on their

  16. Antenatal care service quality increases the odds of utilizing institutional delivery in Bahir Dar city administration, North Western Ethiopia: A prospective follow up study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ejigu Tafere, Tadese; Afework, Mesganaw Fanthahun; Yalew, Alemayehu Worku

    2018-01-01

    In Ethiopia, more than 62% of pregnant women attend antenatal care at least once, yet only about one in four women give birth at health facility. This gap has fueled the need to investigate on the quality of ANC services at public health facilities and its link with the use of institutional delivery. To assess the linkage between ANC quality and the use of institutional delivery among pregnant women attending ANC at public health facilities of BDR City Administration. A facility based prospective follow up study was conducted. and nine hundred seventy pregnant women with gestational age ≤ 16 weeks who came for their first ANC visit were enrolled.Women were followed from their first ANC visit until delivery. Longitudinal data was collected during consultation with ANC providers using structured observation checklist. ANC service was considered as acceptable quality if women received ≥75th percentile of the essential ANC services. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) was carried out to control cluster effect among women who received ANC in the same facility. Among 823 pregnant women who completed follow up, only about one third (27.6%) received acceptable quality of ANC services. In one health facility syphilis test was not done at all for the last two years. The odds of giving birth at health institution among pregnant women who received acceptable ANC quality service was about 3.38 times higher than among pregnant women who received unacceptable ANC quality service (AOR = 3.38, 95% CI: 1.67, 6.83). In this study the quality of ANC service provision in public health facilities was compromised/low. Provision of quality ANC service had a great role in promoting institutional delivery. Therefore the local authorities at each level of health sector or the nongovernmental organizations working to improve maternal health need to provide training on focused antenatal care protocol for ANC providers.

  17. College Teaching and Community Outreaching: Service Learning in an Obesity Prevention Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himelein, Melissa; Passman, Liz; Phillips, Jessica M.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Service learning can enrich students' knowledge, skills and commitment to occupational goals while positively affecting communities. Undergraduate students in a course on obesity engaged in service learning by assisting with a family-based obesity prevention program, Getting Into Fitness Together (GIFT). Purpose: The impact of GIFT on…

  18. Preventable Admissions on a General Medicine Service: Prevalence, Causes and Comparison with AHRQ Prevention Quality Indicators-A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Krishna K; Vakharia, Nirav; Pile, James; Howell, Erik H; Rothberg, Michael B

    2016-06-01

    Rates of preventable admissions will soon be publicly reported and used in calculating performance-based payments. The current method of assessing preventable admissions, the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Preventable Quality Indicators (PQI) rate, is drawn from claims data and was originally designed to assess population-level access to care. To identify the prevalence and causes of preventable admissions by attending physician review and to compare its performance with the PQI tool in identifying preventable admissions. Cross-sectional survey. General medicine service at an academic medical center. Consecutive inpatient admissions from December 1-15, 2013. Survey of inpatient attending physicians regarding the preventability of the admissions, primary contributing factors and feasibility of prevention. For the same patients, the PQI tool was applied to determine the claims-derived preventable admission rate. Physicians rated all 322 admissions and classified 122 (38 %) as preventable, of which 31 (25 %) were readmissions. Readmissions were more likely to be rated preventable than other admissions (49 % vs. 35 %, p = 0.04). Application of the AHRQ PQI methodology identified 75 (23 %) preventable admissions. Thirty-one admissions (10 %) were classified as preventable by both methods, and the majority of admissions considered preventable by the AHRQ PQI method (44/78) were not considered preventable by physician assessment (K = 0.04). Of the preventable admissions, physicians assigned patient factors in 54 (44 %), clinician factors in 36 (30 %) and system factors in 32 (26 %). A large proportion of admissions to a general medicine service appeared preventable, but AHRQ's PQI tool was unable to identify these admissions. Before initiation of the PQI rate for use in pay-for-performance programs, further study is warranted.

  19. Opportunities and barriers in service delivery through mobile phones (mHealth) for Severe Mental Illnesses in Rajasthan, India: A multi-site study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Nikhil; Singh, Harful; Koolwal, Ghanshyam Das; Kumar, Sunil; Gupta, Aditya

    2015-04-01

    Widespread use of mobile technology holds a lot of promise for mental health service delivery in regions where mental health resources are scarce and the treatment gap is large. The felt needs of the clients, and the patterns and barriers of mobile usage must be understood before some intervention can be planned. The study presented in this paper was designed to fill this gap in the region of Rajasthan, India. The study was conducted in three tertiary care hospitals. Clients utilizing services for Severe Mental Illnesses (SMIs) were the participants of the study. Information about ownership, usage patterns and barriers to accessing mobile technology and felt needs in terms of mental health services that could be delivered through mobile phones were sought from the participants. The typical respondents in all three centres were middle-aged, married, Hindu males belonging to lower socio-economic strata from rural background. Seventy two to 92% of participants had access to mobile phone. The most preferred mode of service delivery was through calls. Helpline for crisis resolution and telephonic follow-up of stable patients emerged as the most felt need of the participants. Barriers to mobile phones usage included affordability, lack of necessity, poor signal. In conclusion, the study shows that the access to mobile phones amongst clients receiving services for SMI is widespread and offers new opportunities in service delivery in the region. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Stuttering Intervention in Three Service Delivery Models (Direct, Hybrid, and Telepractice): Two Case Studies

    OpenAIRE

    VALENTINE, DANIEL T.

    2015-01-01

    This study assessed outcomes in stuttering intervention across three service delivery models: direct, hybrid, and telepractice for two 11-year old children who stutter. The goal of the study was to investigate whether short-term goals were maintained through the telepractice sessions. The Stuttering Severity Instrument, Fourth Edition (SSI-4) was administered to each child before and after each intervention period and weekly fluency samples (percentage of stuttered syllables in a monologue) w...