Access control system operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, L.D.

1981-06-01

An automated method for the control and monitoring of personnel movement throughout the site was developed under contract to the Department of Energy by Allied-General Nuclear Services (AGNS) at the Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant (BNFP). These automated features provide strict enforcement of personnel access policy without routine patrol officer involvement. Identification methods include identification by employee ID number, identification by voice verification and identification by physical security officer verification. The ability to grant each level of access authority is distributed over the organization to prevent any single individual at any level in the organization from being capable of issuing an authorization for entry into sensitive areas. Each access event is recorded. As access events occur, the inventory of both the entered and the exited control area is updated so that a current inventory is always available for display. The system has been operated since 1979 in a development mode and many revisions have been implemented in hardware and software as areas were added to the system. Recent changes have involved the installation of backup systems and other features required to achieve a high reliability. The access control system and recent operating experience are described

Globus Identity, Access, and Data Management: Platform Services for Collaborative Science

Science.gov (United States)

Ananthakrishnan, R.; Foster, I.; Wagner, R.

2016-12-01

Globus is software-as-a-service for research data management, developed at, and operated by, the University of Chicago. Globus, accessible at www.globus.org, provides high speed, secure file transfer; file sharing directly from existing storage systems; and data publication to institutional repositories. 40,000 registered users have used Globus to transfer tens of billions of files totaling hundreds of petabytes between more than 10,000 storage systems within campuses and national laboratories in the US and internationally. Web, command line, and REST interfaces support both interactive use and integration into applications and infrastructures. An important component of the Globus system is its foundational identity and access management (IAM) platform service, Globus Auth. Both Globus research data management and other applications use Globus Auth for brokering authentication and authorization interactions between end-users, identity providers, resource servers (services), and a range of clients, including web, mobile, and desktop applications, and other services. Compliant with important standards such as OAuth, OpenID, and SAML, Globus Auth provides mechanisms required for an extensible, integrated ecosystem of services and clients for the research and education community. It underpins projects such as the US National Science Foundation's XSEDE system, NCAR's Research Data Archive, and the DOE Systems Biology Knowledge Base. Current work is extending Globus services to be compliant with FEDRAMP standards for security assessment, authorization, and monitoring for cloud services. We will present Globus IAM solutions and give examples of Globus use in various projects for federated access to resources. We will also describe how Globus Auth and Globus research data management capabilities enable rapid development and low-cost operations of secure data sharing platforms that leverage Globus services and integrate them with local policy and security.

[Health services access survey for Colombian households].

Science.gov (United States)

Arrivillaga, Marcela; Aristizabal, Juan Carlos; Pérez, Mauricio; Estrada, Victoria Eugenia

The aim of this study was to design and validate a health services access survey for households in Colombia to provide a methodological tool that allows the country to accumulate evidence of real-life access conditions experienced by the Colombian population. A validation study with experts and a pilot study were performed. It was conducted in the municipality of Jamundi, located in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Probabilistic, multistage and stratified cluster sampling was carried out. The final sample was 215 households. The survey was composed of 63 questions divided into five modules: socio-demographic profile of the head of the household or adult informant, household socioeconomic profile, access to preventive services, access to curative and rehabilitative services and household out of pocket expenditure. In descriptive terms, the promotion of preventive services only reached 44%; the use of these services was always highest among children younger than one year old and up to the age of ten. The perceived need for emergency medical care and hospitalisation was between 82% and 85%, but 36% perceived the quality of care to be low or very low. Delays were experienced in medical visits with GPs and specialists. The designed survey is valid, relevant and representative of access to health services in Colombia. Empirically, the pilot showed institutional weaknesses in a municipality of the country, indicating that health coverage does not in practice mean real and effective access to health services. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Remote information service access system based on a client-server-service model

Science.gov (United States)

Konrad, A.M.

1996-08-06

A local host computing system, a remote host computing system as connected by a network, and service functionalities: a human interface service functionality, a starter service functionality, and a desired utility service functionality, and a Client-Server-Service (CSS) model is imposed on each service functionality. In one embodiment, this results in nine logical components and three physical components (a local host, a remote host, and an intervening network), where two of the logical components are integrated into one Remote Object Client component, and that Remote Object Client component and the other seven logical components are deployed among the local host and remote host in a manner which eases compatibility and upgrade problems, and provides an illusion to a user that a desired utility service supported on a remote host resides locally on the user`s local host, thereby providing ease of use and minimal software maintenance for users of that remote service. 16 figs.

A Flexible Component based Access Control Architecture for OPeNDAP Services

Science.gov (United States)

Kershaw, Philip; Ananthakrishnan, Rachana; Cinquini, Luca; Lawrence, Bryan; Pascoe, Stephen; Siebenlist, Frank

2010-05-01

Network data access services such as OPeNDAP enable widespread access to data across user communities. However, without ready means to restrict access to data for such services, data providers and data owners are constrained from making their data more widely available. Even with such capability, the range of different security technologies available can make interoperability between services and user client tools a challenge. OPeNDAP is a key data access service in the infrastructure under development to support the CMIP5 (Couple Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5). The work is being carried out as part of an international collaboration including the US Earth System Grid and Curator projects and the EU funded IS-ENES and Metafor projects. This infrastructure will bring together Petabytes of climate model data and associated metadata from over twenty modelling centres around the world in a federation with a core archive mirrored at three data centres. A security system is needed to meet the requirements of organisations responsible for model data including the ability to restrict data access to registered users, keep them up to date with changes to data and services, audit access and protect finite computing resources. Individual organisations have existing tools and services such as OPeNDAP with which users in the climate research community are already familiar. The security system should overlay access control in a way which maintains the usability and ease of access to these services. The BADC (British Atmospheric Data Centre) has been working in collaboration with the Earth System Grid development team and partner organisations to develop the security architecture. OpenID and MyProxy were selected at an early stage in the ESG project to provide single sign-on capability across the federation of participating organisations. Building on the existing OPeNDAP specification an architecture based on pluggable server side components has been developed at the BADC

Discussion on data access services of WAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Aigui; Wang Lu; Wu Wenjing; Chen Gang

2007-01-01

Traditional storage system has been unable to meet the demand of computing. WAN storage systems face many problems since the complexity of WAN. This paper in-depth discusses on data interoperability, data prediction, active data service and semantic-based data access according to the characteristics of high energy physics applications. To eliminate isolated island, improve performance and simplify usage, it will be better to meet the demands of high energy physics applications. (authors)

[Stigma: Barrier to Access to Mental Health Services].

Science.gov (United States)

Campo-Arias, Adalberto; Oviedo, Heidi Celina; Herazo, Edwin

2014-01-01

The perceived stigma represents a sociocultural barrier to access mental health services and prevents individuals who meet criteria for a mental disorder the possibility of receiving comprehensive and integred care. To update institutional mechanisms by which stigma related to mental disorders, perceived and perpetrated, acts as a barrier to mental health access. Stigma as a barrier to access to mental health services is due to a reduction in service requests, the allocation of limited resources to mental health, the systematic process of impoverishment of the people who suffer a mental disorder, increased risk of crime, and implications in contact with the legal system, and the invisibility of the vulnerability of these people. Structured awareness and education programs are needed to promote awareness about mental disorders, promote community-based psychosocial rehabilitation, and reintegration into productive life process. In Colombia, the frequency and variables associated with the stigma of mental disorders needs to be studied. This knowledge will enable the implementation of measures to promote the social and labor inclusion of people who meet the criteria for mental disorders. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. All rights reserved.

Geographic Disparities in Access to Agencies Providing Income-Related Social Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Scott R; Monuteaux, Michael C; Fleegler, Eric W

2015-10-01

Geographic location is an important factor in understanding disparities in access to health-care and social services. The objective of this cross-sectional study is to evaluate disparities in the geographic distribution of income-related social service agencies relative to populations in need within Boston. Agency locations were obtained from a comprehensive database of social services in Boston. Geographic information systems mapped the spatial relationship of the agencies to the population using point density estimation and was compared to census population data. A multivariate logistic regression was conducted to evaluate factors associated with categories of income-related agency density. Median agency density within census block groups ranged from 0 to 8 agencies per square mile per 100 population below the federal poverty level (FPL). Thirty percent (n = 31,810) of persons living below the FPL have no access to income-related social services within 0.5 miles, and 77 % of persons living below FPL (n = 83,022) have access to 2 or fewer agencies. 27.0 % of Blacks, 30.1 % of Hispanics, and 41.0 % of non-Hispanic Whites with incomes below FPL have zero access. In conclusion, some neighborhoods in Boston with a high concentration of low-income populations have limited access to income-related social service agencies.

Correlates of Strengthening Lessons from HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care Services in Ethiopia Perceived Access and Implications for Health System.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bereket Yakob

Full Text Available Access to healthcare is an important public health concept and has been traditionally measured by using population level parameters, such as availability, distribution and proximity of the health facilities in relation to the population. However, client based factors such as their expectations, experiences and perceptions which impact their evaluations of health care access were not well studied and integrated into health policy frameworks and implementation programs.This study aimed to investigate factors associated with perceived access to HIV/AIDS Treatment and care services in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia.A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 492 people living with HIV, with 411 using ART and 81 using pre-ART services accessed at six public sector health facilities from November 2014 to March 2015. Data were analyzed using the ologit function of STATA. The variables explored consisted of socio-demographic and health characteristics, type of health facility, type of care, distance, waiting time, healthcare responsiveness, transportation convenience, satisfaction with service, quality of care, financial fairness, out of pocket expenses and HIV disclosure.Of the 492 participants, 294 (59.8% were females and 198 (40.2% were males, with a mean age of 38.8 years. 23.0% and 12.2% believed they had 'good' or 'very good' access respectively, and 64.8% indicated lower ratings. In the multivariate analysis, distance from the health facility, type of care, HIV clinical stage, out of pocket expenses, employment status, type of care, HIV disclosure and perceived transportation score were not associated with the perceived access (PA. With a unit increment in satisfaction, perceived quality of care, health system responsiveness, transportation convenience and perceived financial fairness scores, the odds of providing higher rating of PA increased by 29.0% (p<0.001, 6.0%(p<0.01, 100.0% (p<0.001, 9.0% (p<0.05 and 6.0% (p<0.05 respectively.Perceived quality of

H1DS: A new web-based data access system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pretty, D.G., E-mail: david.pretty@anu.edu.au; Blackwell, B.D.

2014-05-15

Highlights: • We present H1DS, a new RESTful web service for accessing fusion data. • We examine the scalability and extensibility of H1DS. • We present a fast and user friendly web browser client for the H1DS web service. • A summary relational database is presented as an application of the H1DS API. - Abstract: A new data access system, H1DS, has been developed and deployed for the H-1 Heliac at the Australian Plasma Fusion Research Facility. The data system provides access to fusion data via a RESTful web service. With the URL acting as the API to the data system, H1DS provides a scalable and extensible framework which is intuitive to new users, and allows access from any internet connected device. The H1DS framework, originally designed to work with MDSplus, has a modular design which can be extended to provide access to alternative data storage systems.

H1DS: A new web-based data access system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pretty, D.G.; Blackwell, B.D.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We present H1DS, a new RESTful web service for accessing fusion data. • We examine the scalability and extensibility of H1DS. • We present a fast and user friendly web browser client for the H1DS web service. • A summary relational database is presented as an application of the H1DS API. - Abstract: A new data access system, H1DS, has been developed and deployed for the H-1 Heliac at the Australian Plasma Fusion Research Facility. The data system provides access to fusion data via a RESTful web service. With the URL acting as the API to the data system, H1DS provides a scalable and extensible framework which is intuitive to new users, and allows access from any internet connected device. The H1DS framework, originally designed to work with MDSplus, has a modular design which can be extended to provide access to alternative data storage systems

ACCESS TO A COMPUTER SYSTEM. BETWEEN LEGAL PROVISIONS AND TECHNICAL REALITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maxim DOBRINOIU

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, on a rise of cybersecurity incidents and a very complex IT&C environment, the national legal systems must adapt in order to properly address the new and modern forms of criminality in cyberspace. The illegal access to a computer system remains one of the most important cyber-related crimes due to its popularity but also from the perspective as being a door opened to computer data and sometimes a vehicle for other tech crimes. In the same time, the information society services slightly changed the IT paradigm and represent the new interface between users and systems. Is true that services rely on computer systems, but accessing services goes now beyond the simple accessing computer systems as commonly understood by most of the legislations. The article intends to explain other sides of the access related to computer systems and services, with the purpose to advance possible legal solutions to certain case scenarios.

Access to primary health care services for Indigenous peoples: A framework synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-09-30

Indigenous peoples often find it difficult to access appropriate mainstream primary health care services. Securing access to primary health care services requires more than just services that are situated within easy reach. Ensuring the accessibility of health care for Indigenous peoples who are often faced with a vast array of additional barriers including experiences of discrimination and racism, can be complex. This framework synthesis aimed to identify issues that hindered Indigenous peoples from accessing primary health care and then explore how, if at all, these were addressed by Indigenous health care services. To be included in this framework synthesis papers must have presented findings focused on access to (factors relating to Indigenous peoples, their families and their communities) or accessibility of Indigenous primary health care services. Findings were imported into NVivo and a framework analysis undertaken whereby findings were coded to and then thematically analysed using Levesque and colleague's accessibility framework. Issues relating to the cultural and social determinants of health such as unemployment and low levels of education influenced whether Indigenous patients, their families and communities were able to access health care. Indigenous health care services addressed these issues in a number of ways including the provision of transport to and from appointments, a reduction in health care costs for people on low incomes and close consultation with, if not the direct involvement of, community members in identifying and then addressing health care needs. Indigenous health care services appear to be best placed to overcome both the social and cultural determinants of health which hamper Indigenous peoples from accessing health care. Findings of this synthesis also suggest that Levesque and colleague's accessibility framework should be broadened to include factors related to the health care system such as funding.

Socioeconomic inequalities in the access to and quality of health care services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Pereira Nunes

2014-12-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE To assess the inequalities in access, utilization, and quality of health care services according to the socioeconomic status. METHODS This population-based cross-sectional study evaluated 2,927 individuals aged ≥ 20 years living in Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, in 2012. The associations between socioeconomic indicators and the following outcomes were evaluated: lack of access to health services, utilization of services, waiting period (in days for assistance, and waiting time (in hours in lines. We used Poisson regression for the crude and adjusted analyses. RESULTS The lack of access to health services was reported by 6.5% of the individuals who sought health care. The prevalence of use of health care services in the 30 days prior to the interview was 29.3%. Of these, 26.4% waited five days or more to receive care and 32.1% waited at least an hour in lines. Approximately 50.0% of the health care services were funded through the Unified Health System. The use of health care services was similar across socioeconomic groups. The lack of access to health care services and waiting time in lines were higher among individuals of lower economic status, even after adjusting for health care needs. The waiting period to receive care was higher among those with higher socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS Although no differences were observed in the use of health care services across socioeconomic groups, inequalities were evident in the access to and quality of these services.

Spatial Access to Emergency Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A GIS-Based Analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gavin Tansley

Full Text Available Injury is a leading cause of the global disease burden, accounting for 10 percent of all deaths worldwide. Despite 90 percent of these deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries (LMICs, the majority of trauma research and infrastructure development has taken place in high-income settings. Furthermore, although accessible services are of central importance to a mature trauma system, there remains a paucity of literature describing the spatial accessibility of emergency services in LMICs. Using data from the Service Provision Assessment component of the Demographic and Health Surveys of Namibia and Haiti we defined the capabilities of healthcare facilities in each country in terms of their preparedness to provide emergency services. A Geographic Information System-based network analysis method was used to define 5- 10- and 50-kilometer catchment areas for all facilities capable of providing 24-hour care, higher-level resuscitative services or tertiary care. The proportion of a country's population with access to each level of service was obtained by amalgamating the catchment areas with a population layer. A significant proportion of the population of both countries had poor spatial access to lower level services with 25% of the population of Haiti and 51% of the population of Namibia living further than 50 kilometers from a facility capable of providing 24-hour care. Spatial access to tertiary care was considerably lower with 51% of Haitians and 72% of Namibians having no access to these higher-level services within 50 kilometers. These results demonstrate a significant disparity in potential spatial access to emergency services in two LMICs compared to analogous estimates from high-income settings, and suggest that strengthening the capabilities of existing facilities may improve the equity of emergency services in these countries. Routine collection of georeferenced patient and facility data in LMICs will be important to understanding

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System /TDRSS/ telecommunication services

Science.gov (United States)

Deerkoski, L. F.

1975-01-01

The TDRSS and tracking services define the telecommunication performance of the TDRSS between the RF interface with user spacecraft and the data interface with NASCOM at the ground terminal. Attention is given to system constraints, forward link services, multiple-access signal design parameters, S-band single access signal design parameters, multiple-access return link services, and single-access return link services.

A JEE RESTful service to access Conditions Data in ATLAS

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00081940; Gallas, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Usage of Conditions Data in ATLAS is extensive for offline reconstruction and analysis (e.g.: alignment, calibration, data quality). The system is based on the LCG Conditions Database infrastructure, with read and write access via an ad hoc C++ API (COOL), a system which was developed before Run 1 data taking began. The infrastructure dictates that the data is organized into separate schemata (assigned to subsystems/groups storing distinct and independent sets of conditions), making it difficult to access information from several schemata at the same time. We have thus created PL/SQL functions containing queries to provide content extraction at multi-schema level. The PL/SQL API has been exposed to external clients by means of a Java application providing DB access via RESTful services, deployed inside an application server (JBoss WildFly). The services allow navigation over multiple schemata via simple URLs. The data can be retrieved either in XML or JSON formats, via simple clients (like curl or Web browser...

A JEE RESTful service to access Conditions Data in ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Formica, Andrea; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

Usage of Conditions Data in ATLAS is extensive for offline reconstruction and analysis (for example: alignment, calibration, data quality). The system is based on the LCG Conditions Database infrastructure, with read and write access via an ad hoc C++ API (COOL), a system which was developed before Run 1 data taking began. The infrastructure dictates that the data is organized into separate schemas (assigned to subsystems/groups storing distinct and independent sets of conditions), making it difficult to access information from several schemas at the same time. We have thus created PL/SQL functions containing queries to provide content extraction at multi-schema level. The PL/SQL API has been exposed to external clients by means of an intermediate java application server (JBoss), where an application delivering access to the DB via RESTful services has been deployed. The services allow navigation over multiple schema content, via simple URLs. The queried data can be retrieved either in XML or JSON formats, vi...

A JEE RESTful service to access Conditions Data in ATLAS

Science.gov (United States)

Formica, Andrea; Gallas, E. J.

2015-12-01

Usage of condition data in ATLAS is extensive for offline reconstruction and analysis (e.g. alignment, calibration, data quality). The system is based on the LCG Conditions Database infrastructure, with read and write access via an ad hoc C++ API (COOL), a system which was developed before Run 1 data taking began. The infrastructure dictates that the data is organized into separate schemas (assigned to subsystems/groups storing distinct and independent sets of conditions), making it difficult to access information from several schemas at the same time. We have thus created PL/SQL functions containing queries to provide content extraction at multi-schema level. The PL/SQL API has been exposed to external clients by means of a Java application providing DB access via REST services, deployed inside an application server (JBoss WildFly). The services allow navigation over multiple schemas via simple URLs. The data can be retrieved either in XML or JSON formats, via simple clients (like curl or Web browsers).

Role Based Access Control system in the ATLAS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valsan, M L; Dumitru, I; Darlea, G L; Bujor, F; Dobson, M; Miotto, G Lehmann; Schlenker, S; Avolio, G; Scannicchio, D A; Filimonov, V; Khomoutnikov, V; Zaytsev, A S; Korol, A A; Bogdantchikov, A; Caramarcu, C; Ballestrero, S; Twomey, M

2011-01-01

The complexity of the ATLAS experiment motivated the deployment of an integrated Access Control System in order to guarantee safe and optimal access for a large number of users to the various software and hardware resources. Such an integrated system was foreseen since the design of the infrastructure and is now central to the operations model. In order to cope with the ever growing needs of restricting access to all resources used within the experiment, the Roles Based Access Control (RBAC) previously developed has been extended and improved. The paper starts with a short presentation of the RBAC design, implementation and the changes made to the system to allow the management and usage of roles to control access to the vast and diverse set of resources. The RBAC implementation uses a directory service based on Lightweight Directory Access Protocol to store the users (∼3000), roles (∼320), groups (∼80) and access policies. The information is kept in sync with various other databases and directory services: human resources, central CERN IT, CERN Active Directory and the Access Control Database used by DCS. The paper concludes with a detailed description of the integration across all areas of the system.

Poor access to basic services | IDRC - International Development ...

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

2015-10-28

Oct 28, 2015 ... Poor access to basic services can foster competition and fuel conflict between groups. ... Make clean water, sanitation, electricity, and other services accessible ... Poverty, inequality, and violence in urban India: Towards more ...

Creating a Front Porch in Systems of Care: Improving Access to Behavioral Health Services for Diverse Children and Families

Science.gov (United States)

Callejas, Linda M.; Hernandez, Mario; Nesman, Teresa; Mowery, Debra

2010-01-01

Despite recognition of the central role that service accessibility (and availability) should assume within a system of care, the definition proposed in the feature article of this special issue does not identify specific factors that systems of care must take into account in order to serve diverse children with serious emotional disturbance and…

Spatial Accessibility to Health Care Services: Identifying under-Serviced Neighbourhoods in Canadian Urban Areas.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tayyab Ikram Shah

Full Text Available Urban environments can influence many aspects of health and well-being and access to health care is one of them. Access to primary health care (PHC in urban settings is a pressing research and policy issue in Canada. Most research on access to healthcare is focused on national and provincial levels in Canada; there is a need to advance current understanding to local scales such as neighbourhoods.This study examines spatial accessibility to family physicians using the Three-Step Floating Catchment Area (3SFCA method to identify neighbourhoods with poor geographical access to PHC services and their spatial patterning across 14 Canadian urban settings. An index of spatial access to PHC services, representing an accessibility score (physicians-per-1000 population, was calculated for neighborhoods using a 3km road network distance. Information about primary health care providers (this definition does not include mobile services such as health buses or nurse practitioners or less distributed services such as emergency rooms used in this research was gathered from publicly available and routinely updated sources (i.e. provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons. An integrated geocoding approach was used to establish PHC locations.The results found that the three methods, Simple Ratio, Neighbourhood Simple Ratio, and 3SFCA that produce City level access scores are positively correlated with each other. Comparative analyses were performed both within and across urban settings to examine disparities in distributions of PHC services. It is found that neighbourhoods with poor accessibility scores in the main urban settings across Canada have further disadvantages in relation to population high health care needs.The results of this study show substantial variations in geographical accessibility to PHC services both within and among urban areas. This research enhances our understanding of spatial accessibility to health care services at the neighbourhood

Religious institutions and the politics of access to basic services in displacement contexts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauterbach, Karen

This paper provides a study of religious institutions as service providers in contexts of crises and displacement. Religious institutions, as well as other non-state institutions, provide access to a vast range of resources and services (such as food, housing, clothes, counseling, money, and access...... to networks). In contexts of displacement access to basic services is formally regulated by one’s status (e.g. as refugee or national citizen) and by physical location (e.g. in settlements/camps or urban areas). The paper discusses what role religious institutions play when access to services provided...... by the state or the international humanitarian system is limited or non-existent and what kind of relations of exchange that is at stake. Empirically the project deals with Congolese churches in Kampala, Uganda of which many pastors and members have refugee status. The paper analyses the range and categories...

Access to health services in six Colombian cities: limitations and consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julián Vargas J

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: To understand the characteristics of access to the General System of Social Security in health (SGSS, from the perspective of doctors, nurses, administrators and users. Methodology: based on the grounded theory we present a study in six cities in Colombia: Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Bogota, Leticia, Medellín and Pasto, for which interviews were conducted in-depth with health professionals involved in service delivery and focus groups with service users. Results: The findings indicate that insurance has become an end in itself, and being affiliated to SGSSS does not guarantee effective access to services. The dominance of the market, the financial profitability of insurers, imposed cost-containment mechanisms over the right to health. There are limitations from the rules, benefit plans that create geographical, economic and cultural barriers from the various actors involved in the chain of decisions. Additionally, display individual and institutional ethical shortcomings, clientelism and corruption in the management of resources, coupled with poverty and geographical dispersion of communities, mean that further limiting access to health services.

Multiple wireless protocol advertising system, enabling automatic access selection and local services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Houben, S.A.; Baken, N.; Herve, P.; Smets, R.

2006-01-01

We examined efficiency within wireless access options for mobile devices and discovered that a classic pitfall is revisited. As with the proliferation of services in incumbents’ portfolios, leading to a number of coexisting so-called ‘stove-pipes’, we see an isomorphic phenomenon evolving in

A novel IPTV program multiplex access system to EPON

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xian; Liu, Deming; He, Wei; Lu, Xi

2007-11-01

With the rapid development of high speed networks, such as Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON), traffic patterns in access networks have evolved from traditional text-oriented service to the mixed text-, voice- and video- based services, leading to so called "Triple Play". For supporting IPTV service in EPON access network infrastructure, in this article we propose a novel IPTV program multiplex access system to EPON, which enables multiple IPTV program source servers to seamlessly access to IPTV service access port of optical line terminal (OLT) in EPON. There are two multiplex schemes, namely static multiplex scheme and dynamic multiplex scheme, in implementing the program multiplexing. Static multiplex scheme is to multiplex all the IPTV programs and forward them to the OLT, regardless of the need of end-users. While dynamic multiplex scheme can dynamically multiplex and forward IPTV programs according to what the end-users actually demand and those watched by no end-user would not be multiplexed. By comparing these two schemes, a reduced traffic of EPON can be achieved by using dynamic multiplex scheme, especially when most end-users are watching the same few IPTV programs. Both schemes are implemented in our system, with their hardware and software designs described.

Perceived barriers to access available health services among men ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be highly affected with the HIV infection worldwide. Studies have shown that the organization of healthcare systems and how the MSM perceive it play a major role in granting or denying them access to healthcare services. Little is known in Tanzania regarding ...

Efficient medium access control protocol for geostationary satellite systems

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王丽娜; 顾学迈

2004-01-01

This paper proposes an efficient medium access control (MAC) protocol based on multifrequency-time division multiple access (MF-TDMA) for geostationary satellite systems deploying multiple spot-beams and onboard processing,which uses a method of random reservation access with movable boundaries to dynamically request the transmission slots and can transmit different types of traffic. The simulation results have shown that our designed MAC protocol can achieve a high bandwidth utilization, while providing the required quality of service (QoS) for each class of service.

Access to specialty mental health services among women in California.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimerling, Rachel; Baumrind, Nikki

2005-06-01

The Anderson behavioral model was used to investigate racial and ethnic disparities in access to specialty mental health services among women in California as well as factors that might account for such disparities. The study was a cross-sectional examination of a probability sample of 3,750 California women. The main indicators of access to services were perceived need, service seeking, and service use. Multivariate models were constructed that accounted for need and enabling and demographic variables. Significant racial and ethnic variations in access to specialty mental health services were observed. African-American, Hispanic, and Asian women were significantly less likely to use specialty mental health services than white women. Multivariate analyses showed that Hispanic and Asian women were less likely than white women to report perceived need, even after frequent mental distress had been taken into account. Among women with perceived need, African-American and Asian women were less likely than white women to seek mental health services after differences in insurance status had been taken into account. Among women who sought services, Hispanic women were less likely than white women to obtain services after adjustment for the effects of poverty. Need and enabling factors did not entirely account for the observed disparities in access to services. Additional research is needed to identify gender- and culture-specific models for access to mental health services in order to decrease disparities in access. Factors such as perceived need and decisions to seek services are important factors that should be emphasized in future studies.

CDC STATE System Tobacco Legislation - Youth Access

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1995-2018. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System. Legislation—Youth Access. The STATE...

Exploring the interaction of activity limitations with context, systems, community and personal factors in accessing public health care services: A presentation of South African case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Mji, Gubela; Braathen, Stine H; Vergunst, Richard; Scheffler, Elsje; Kritzinger, Janis; Mannan, Hasheem; Schneider, Marguerite; Swartz, Leslie; Visagie, Surona

2017-02-08

There are many factors that influence access to public health services, such as the context people live in, the existing health services, and personal, cultural and community factors. People with disabilities (activity limitations), through their experience of health services, may offer a particular understanding of the performance of the health services, thus exposing health system limitations more clearly than perhaps any other health service user. This article explores how activity limitations interact with factors related to context, systems, community and personal factors in accessing public health care services in South Africa. We present four case studies of people with disabilities from four low-resource diverse contexts in South Africa (rural, semi-rural, farming community and peri-urban) to highlight challenges of access to health services experienced by people with activity limitations in a variety of contexts. One case study of a person with disabilities was chosen from each study setting to build evidence using an intensive qualitative case study methodology to elucidate individual and household experiences of challenges experienced by people with activity limitations when attempting to access public health services. In-depth interviews were used to collect data, using an interview guide. The analysis was conducted in the form of a thematic analysis using the interview topics as a starting point. First, these four case studies demonstrate that equitable access to health services for people with activity limitations is influenced by a complex interplay of a variety of factors for a single individual in a particular context. Secondly, that while problems with access to public health services are experienced by everyone, people with activity limitations are affected in particular ways making them particularly vulnerable in using public health services. The revitalisation of primary health care and the introduction of national health

User Management with LDAP(Light weight Directory Access Protocolfor access to technology and Information Services in Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Teodoro Mejía Viteri

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This research aims to conduct an analysis of management services information and users with LDAP (Lightweight / Simplified Directory Access Protocol, their interaction with other technology services company, allowing it to be accessed through a single user and password. This study allowed us to collect information through a literature review on the LDAP service and its ability to interact with your user directory Open source technology services; also with Windows Server and Active Directory service is used by companies for their ease of management and access resources on Windows clients; is intended to provide an alternative for the implementation of each of the services required by public and private companies with tools free use and access to services for management and administration can be done by integrating or synchronizing with the directory LDAP.

Dynamic RACH Partition for Massive Access of Differentiated M2M Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinghe Du

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In machine-to-machine (M2M networks, a key challenge is to overcome the overload problem caused by random access requests from massive machine-type communication (MTC devices. When differentiated services coexist, such as delay-sensitive and delay-tolerant services, the problem becomes more complicated and challenging. This is because delay-sensitive services often use more aggressive policies, and thus, delay-tolerant services get much fewer chances to access the network. To conquer the problem, we propose an efficient mechanism for massive access control over differentiated M2M services, including delay-sensitive and delay-tolerant services. Specifically, based on the traffic loads of the two types of services, the proposed scheme dynamically partitions and allocates the random access channel (RACH resource to each type of services. The RACH partition strategy is thoroughly optimized to increase the access performances of M2M networks. Analyses and simulation demonstrate the effectiveness of our design. The proposed scheme can outperform the baseline access class barring (ACB scheme, which ignores service types in access control, in terms of access success probability and the average access delay.

Access to dialysis services: A systematic mapping review based on geographical information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoseini, Benyamin; Bagheri, Nasser; Kiani, Behzad; Azizi, Amirabbas; Tabesh, Hamed; Tara, Mahmood

2018-05-07

Equitable access to healthcare services constitutes one of the leading priorities of healthcare provision and access to dialysis services (ADS) has an essential impact on patients depending on renal dialysis. The many existing GIS-based ADS evaluations include various spatial and non-spatial factors affecting ADS. We systematically mapped and reviewed the available literature with reference to this area identifying gaps in current GIS-based ADS measurements and developing recommendations for future studies. A threestep, systematic mapping review of the available GIS-related evidence in PubMed, Embase, Web of science, Scopus, Science Direct and IEEE Xplore was performed in May 2016 and the information collected updated October 2017 by two independent selection processes. The quality of the studies was assessed using an informal, mixed-approach scoring system. Out of 1119 literature references identified, 36 were identified and used for final review after removal of duplicates, study screenings and applying inclusion/exclusion criteria. Given the contents of the selected studies, three study groups were identified and 41 factors with potential effects on ADS determined. These studies mainly addressed the potential and/or spatial aspects of ADS. Our systematic mapping review of the evidence revealed that current GIS-based measures of ADS tend to calculate potential ADS instead of a realized one. It was also noted that listed factors affecting ADS were mainly nonspatial bringing forth the hypothesis that designing an integrated ADS index could possibly produce better ADS score than those currently advocated. Some primary and secondary research suggestions are made and a list of recommendations offered.

Access to dialysis services: A systematic mapping review based on geographical information systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benyamin Hoseini

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Equitable access to healthcare services constitutes one of the leading priorities of healthcare provision and access to dialysis services (ADS has an essential impact on patients depending on renal dialysis. The many existing GIS-based ADS evaluations include various spatial and non-spatial factors affecting ADS. We systematically mapped and reviewed the available literature with reference to this area identifying gaps in current GIS-based ADS measurements and developing recommendations for future studies. A threestep, systematic mapping review of the available GIS-related evidence in PubMed, Embase, Web of science, Scopus, Science Direct and IEEE Xplore was performed in May 2016 and the information collected updated October 2017 by two independent selection processes. The quality of the studies was assessed using an informal, mixed-approach scoring system. Out of 1119 literature references identified, 36 were identified and used for final review after removal of duplicates, study screenings and applying inclusion/exclusion criteria. Given the contents of the selected studies, three study groups were identified and 41 factors with potential effects on ADS determined. These studies mainly addressed the potential and/or spatial aspects of ADS. Our systematic mapping review of the evidence revealed that current GIS-based measures of ADS tend to calculate potential ADS instead of a realized one. It was also noted that listed factors affecting ADS were mainly nonspatial bringing forth the hypothesis that designing an integrated ADS index could possibly produce better ADS score than those currently advocated. Some primary and secondary research suggestions are made and a list of recommendations offered.

CDC STATE System Tobacco Legislation - Youth Access

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1995-2016. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System. Legislation—Youth Access. The STATE...

47 CFR 61.26 - Tariffing of competitive interstate switched exchange access services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... switched exchange access services that prices those services above the higher of: (1) The rate charged for... equivalent of the ILEC interstate exchange access services typically associated with following rate elements... switched exchange access services shall mean the composite, per-minute rate for these services, including...

Evaluating accessibility to Bangkok Metro Systems using multi-dimensional criteria across user groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duangporn Prasertsubpakij

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Metro systems act as fast and efficient transport systems for many modern metropolises; however, enhancing higher usage of such systems often conflicts with providing suitable accessibility options. The traditional approach of metro accessibility studies seems to be an ineffective measure to gage sustainable access in which the equal rights of all users are taken into account. Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR transportation has increasingly relied on the role of two mass rapid transport systems publicly called “BTS Skytrain” and “MRT Subway”, due to limited availability of land and massive road congestion; however, access to such transit arguably treats some vulnerable groups, especially women, the elderly and disabled people unfairly. This study constructs a multi-dimensional assessment of accessibility considerations to scrutinize how user groups access metro services based on BMR empirical case. 600 individual passengers at various stations were asked to rate the questionnaire that simultaneously considers accessibility aspects of spatial, feeder connectivity, temporal, comfort/safety, psychosocial and other dimensions. It was interestingly found by user disaggregated accessibility model that the lower the accessibility perceptions—related uncomfortable and unsafe environment conditions, the greater the equitable access to services, as illustrated by MRT — Hua Lumphong and MRT — Petchaburi stations. The study suggests that, to balance the access priorities of groups on services, policy actions should emphasize acceptably safe access for individuals, cost efficient feeder services connecting the metro lines, socioeconomic influences and time allocation. Insightful discussions on integrated approach balancing different dimensions of accessibility and recommendations would contribute to accessibility-based knowledge and potential propensity to use the public transits towards transport sustainability.

Improving access to urologists through an electronic consultation service

Science.gov (United States)

Witherspoon, Luke; Liddy, Clare; Afkham, Amir; Keely, Erin; Mahoney, John

2017-01-01

Introduction Access to specialist services is limited by wait times and geographic availability. Champlain Building Access to Specialist Advice (BASE) has been implemented in our service region to facilitate access to specialists by primary care providers (PCPs). Through a secure web-based system, PCPs are able to send eConsults instead of requesting a formal in-office consultation. Methods Urology eConsults completed through the Champlain BASE service from March 2013 to January 2015 were analyzed. Each consult was characterized in regard to the type of question asked by the referring physician and the clinical content of the referral. Using the mandatory close-out surveys, we analyzed rates of referral avoidance, physician satisfaction, and overall impact on patient care. Results Of 190 eConsultations, 70% were completed in less than 10 minutes. The most common clinical questions related to the interpretation of imaging reports (16%) and tests to choose for investigating a condition (15%). The most common diagnoses were hematuria (13%) and renal mass (8%). In 35% of cases, referral to a urologist had originally been contemplated and was avoided. In 8% of cases, a PCP did not believe a consultation was initially needed, but a referral was ultimately initiated after the eConsultation. Conclusions Our study shows that although certain clinical presentations still require a formal in-person urological consultation, eConsultations can potentially reduce unnecessary clinic visits while identifying patients who may benefit from early urological consultation. Through both these mechanisms, we may improve timely access to urologists. PMID:28798830

Health service access and utilization among Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Science.gov (United States)

Doocy, Shannon; Lyles, Emily; Akhu-Zaheya, Laila; Burton, Ann; Burnham, Gilbert

2016-07-14

The influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan presents an immense burden to the Jordanian health system. Changing lifestyles and aging populations are shifting the global disease burden towards increased non-infectious diseases including chronic conditions, co-morbidities, and injuries which are more complicated and costly to manage. The strain placed on health systems threatens the ability to ensure the health needs of both refugees and host country populations are adequately addressed. In light of the increasing challenges facing host governments and humanitarian actors to meet health needs of Syrian refugees and affected host communities, this study was undertaken to assess utilization of health services among Syrian refugees in non-camp settings. A survey of Syrian refugees in Jordan was undertaken in June 2014 to characterize health seeking behaviors and issues related to accessing care. A cluster design with probability proportional to size sampling was used to attain a nationally representative sample of 1550 non-camp Syrian refugee households. Differences in household characteristics by geographic region, facility type, and sector utilized were examined using chi-square and t-test methods. Care-seeking was high with 86.1 % of households reporting an adult sought medical care the last time it was needed. Approximately half (51.5 %) of services were sought from public sector facilities, 38.7 % in private facilities, and 9.8 % in charity/NGO facilities. Among adult care seekers, 87.4 % were prescribed medication during the most recent visit, 89.8 % of which obtained the medication. Overall, 51.8 % of households reported out-of-pocket expenditures for the consultation or medications at the most recent visit (mean US$39.9, median US$4.2). Despite high levels of care-seeking, cost was an important barrier to health service access for Syrian refugees in Jordan. The cessation of free access to health care since the time of the survey is likely to have worsened

Remote access to information sources in National and university library: development of service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gorazd Vodeb

2006-01-01

Full Text Available National and University Library established remote access to information sources in september 2004. The article describes implementation and development of the service. Library wanted to offer information sources to users wherever and whenever they would need them. First main evaluation criteria for software selection were integration with existing authentication system and second no need for intervention user side. The EZproxy software from Useful Utilities was chosen. Key step to implementation was establishing communication between software applications EZproxy and COBISS library automation system. Library needed to obtain licence agreements from publishers. Promotion campaign aimed to notify large number of users. Only users of National & University Library were able to use the service. Other users and libraries of Ljubljana University requested to authenticate by credentials of their library. Remote access service was developed further in order to enable authentication for other libraries. We needed to establish authentication and authorisation system and also upgrade and install the communication command procedure on different servers. The data about service usage are presented.

Gender Differences in Access to Extension Services and Agricultural Productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Ragasa, Catherine; Berhane, Guush; Tadesse, Fanaye; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum

2013-01-01

Purpose: This article contributes new empirical evidence and nuanced analysis on the gender difference in access to extension services and how this translates to observed differences in technology adoption and agricultural productivity. Approach: It looks at the case of Ethiopia, where substantial investments in the extension system have been…

Rural adolescents' access to adolescent friendly health services.

Science.gov (United States)

Secor-Turner, Molly A; Randall, Brandy A; Brennan, Alison L; Anderson, Melinda K; Gross, Dean A

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess rural North Dakota adolescents' experiences in accessing adolescent-friendly health services and to examine the relationship between rural adolescents' communication with health care providers and risk behaviors. Data are from the Rural Adolescent Health Survey (RAHS), an anonymous survey of 14- to 19-year-olds (n = 322) attending secondary schools in four frontier counties of North Dakota. Descriptive statistics were used to assess participants' access to adolescent-friendly health services characterized as accessible, acceptable, and appropriate. Logistic regressions were used to examine whether participant-reported risk behaviors predicted communication with health care providers about individual health risk behaviors. Rural adolescents reported high access to acceptable primary health care services but low levels of effective health care services. Participant report of engaging in high-risk behaviors was associated with having received information from health care providers about the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. These findings reveal missed opportunities for primary care providers in rural settings to provide fundamental health promotion to adolescents. Copyright © 2014 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improved Specimen-Referral System and Increased Access to Quality Laboratory Services in Ethiopia: The Role of the Public-Private Partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Kebede, Yenew; Fonjungo, Peter N; Tibesso, Gudeta; Shrivastava, Ritu; Nkengasong, John N; Kenyon, Thomas; Kebede, Amha; Gadde, Renuka; Ayana, Gonfa

2016-04-15

Nonstandardized specimen-transport logistics, lack of laboratory personnel to transport specimens, lack of standard specimen containers, and long turnaround time (TAT) hindered access to quality laboratory services. The objective of the Becton, Dickinson, and Company (BD)-US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) was to support country-specific programs to develop integrated laboratory systems, services, and quality improvement strategies, with an emphasis on strengthening the specimen-referral system (SRS). In 2007, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) joined with the BD-PEPFAR PPP to strengthen laboratory systems. A joint planning and assessment committee identified gaps in the SRS for prioritization and intervention and piloted the system in Addis Ababa and Amhara Region. The PPP established standardized, streamlined specimen logistics, using the Ethiopian Postal Service Enterprise to support a laboratory network in which 554 facilities referred specimens to 160 laboratories. The PPP supported procuring 400 standard specimen containers and the training of 586 laboratory personnel and 81 postal workers. The average TAT was reduced from 7 days (range, 2-14 days) to 2 days (range, 1-3 days) in Addis Ababa and from 10 days (range, 6-21 days) to 5 days (range, 2-6 days) in Amhara Region. This study highlights the feasibility and untapped potential of PPPs to strengthen laboratory systems. This planned and structured approach to improving specimen referral enhanced access to quality laboratory services. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

The impact of health service variables on healthcare access in a low resourced urban setting in the Western Cape, South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elsje Scheffler

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Health care access is complex and multi-faceted and, as a basic right, equitable access and services should be available to all user groups. Objectives: The aim of this article is to explore how service delivery impacts on access to healthcare for vulnerable groups in an urban primary health care setting in South Africa. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study design was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled participants and analysed through thematic content analysis. Results: Service delivery factors are presented against five dimensions of access according to the ACCESS Framework. From a supplier perspective, the organisation of care in the study setting resulted in available, accessible, affordable and adequate services as measured against the DistrictHealth System policies and guidelines. However, service providers experienced significant barriers in provision of services, which impacted on the quality of care, resulting in poor client and provider satisfaction and ultimately compromising acceptability of service delivery. Although users found services to be accessible, the organisation of services presented them with challenges in the domains of availability, affordability and adequacy, resulting in unmet needs, low levels of satisfaction and loss of trust. These challenges fuelled perceptions of unacceptable services. Conclusion: Well developed systems and organisation of services can create accessible, affordable and available primary healthcare services, but do not automatically translate into adequate and acceptable services. Focussing attention on how services are delivered might restore the balance between supply (services and demand (user needs and promote universal and equitable access.

CDC STATE System E-Cigarette Legislation - Youth Access

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1995-2018. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System. E-Cigarette Legislation—Youth Access....

The Critical Role of Institutional Services in Open Access Advocacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Neugebauer

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the development of the Open Access movement in scholarly communication, with particular attention to some of the rhetorical strategies and policy mechanisms used to promote it to scholars and scientists. Despite the majority of journal publishers’ acceptance of author self-archiving practices, and the minimal time commitment required by authors to successfully self-archive their work in disciplinary or institutional repositories, the majority of authors still by and large avoid participation. The paper reviews the strategies and arguments used for increasing author participation in open access, including the role of open access mandates. We recommend a service-oriented approach towards increasing participation in open access, rather than rhetoric that speculates on the benefits that open access will have on text/data mining innovation. In advocating for open access participation, we recommend focusing on its most universal and tangible purpose: increasing public open (gratis access to the published results of publicly funded research. Researchers require strong institutional support to understand the copyright climate of open access self-archiving, user-friendly interfaces and useful metrics, such as repository usage statistics. We recommend that mandates and well-crafted and responsive author support services at universities will ultimately be required to ensure the growth of open access. We describe the mediated deposit service that was developed to support author self-archiving in Spectrum: Concordia University Research Repository. By comparing the number of deposits of non-thesis materials (e.g. articles and conference presentations that were accomplished through the staff-mediated deposit service to the number of deposits that were author-initiated, we demonstrate the relative significance of this service to the growth of the repository.

Living large: the experiences of large-bodied women when accessing general practice services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Russell N

2013-09-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Numerous studies report high levels of stigma and discrimination experienced by obese/overweight women within the health care system and society at large. Despite general practice being the most utilised point of access for health care services, there is very little international or national exploration of the experiences of large-bodied women (LBW accessing these services. The aim of this study was to explore LBW's experiences of accessing general practice services in New Zealand. METHODS: This is a qualitative, descriptive, feminist study. Local advertising for participants resulted in eight self-identified, large-bodied women being interviewed. A post-structural feminist lens was applied to the data during thematic analysis. FINDINGS: The women in this study provided examples of verbal insults, inappropriate humour, negative body language, unmet health care needs and breaches of dignity from health care providers in general practice. Seven themes were identified: early experiences of body perception, confronting social stereotypes, contending with feminine beauty ideals, perceptions of health, pursuing health, respecting the whole person, and feeling safe to access care. CONCLUSION: Pressure for body size vigilance has, in effect, excluded the women in this study from the very locations of health that they are 'encouraged' to attend-including socialising and exercising in public, screening opportunities that require bodily exposure, and accessing first point of care health services.

Patients’ Online Access to Their Primary Care Electronic Health Records and Linked Online Services: Implications for Research and Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Freda Mold

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Online access to medical records and linked services, including requesting repeat prescriptions and booking appointments, enables patients to personalize their access to care. However, online access creates opportunities and challenges for both health professionals and their patients, in practices and in research. The challenges for practice are the impact of online services on workload and the quality and safety of health care. Health professionals are concerned about the impact on workload, especially from email or other online enquiry systems, as well as risks to privacy. Patients report how online access provides a convenient means through which to access their health provider and may offer greater satisfaction if they get a timely response from a clinician. Online access and services may also result in unforeseen consequences and may change the nature of the patient-clinician interaction. Research challenges include: (1 Ensuring privacy, including how to control inappropriate carer and guardian access to medical records; (2 Whether online access to records improves patient safety and health outcomes; (3 Whether record access increases disparities across social classes and between genders; and (4 Improving efficiency. The challenges for practice are: (1 How to incorporate online access into clinical workflow; (2 The need for a business model to fund the additional time taken. Creating a sustainable business model for a safe, private, informative, more equitable online service is needed if online access to records is to be provided outside of pay-for-service systems.

CDC STATE System E-Cigarette Legislation - Youth Access

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1995-2017. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System. E-Cigarette Legislation—Youth Access....

Income-Related Inequalities in Access to Dental Care Services in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishide, Akemi; Fujita, Misuzu; Sato, Yasunori; Nagashima, Kengo; Takahashi, Sho; Hata, Akira

2017-05-12

Background : This study aimed to evaluate whether income-related inequalities in access to dental care services exist in Japan. Methods : The subjects included beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Chiba City, Japan, who had been enrolled from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015. The presence or absence of dental visits and number of days spent on dental care services during the year were calculated using insurance claims submitted. Equivalent household income was calculated using individual income data from 1 January to 31 December 2013, declared for taxation. Results : Of the 216,211 enrolled subjects, 50.3% had dental care during the year. Among those with dental visits, the average number of days (standard deviation) spent on dental care services per year was 7.7 (7.1). Low income was associated with a decreased rate of dental care utilization regardless of age and sex. However, there was a significant inverse linear association between the number of days spent on dental care services and income levels for both sexes. Conclusions : There were income-related inequalities in access to dental care services, regardless of the age group or sex, within the Japanese universal health insurance system.

Access Answers: A Digest of LISTSERVS of Interest to Access Services

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Fred W.

2011-01-01

This article presents a digest of LISTSERVS of interest to access services for the period of April to June 2011. It presents questions and answers from Interlibrary Loan (ILL) people, CIRCPLUS, and OFFCAMP.

EQUITABLE ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICE IN BANYUWANGI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lusi Herawati Sunyoto Usman Mark Zuidgeest

2012-06-01

as indicators. Flowmap tool is used to analyze catchment area of each health facility using different transport modes choice:becak and public transport for poor group and motorcycle and car for non-poor group with different travel time within 30, 60 and more than 60 minutes. It is concluded that there was an accessibility difference between poor and non-poor group. The accessibility to the health facilities of poor group was lower than non-poor group. This condition occurred because the government policy of equitable access to health service facility did not pay attention to accessibility of poor group.

NASA Alternate Access to Station Service Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Michelle D.; Crumbly, Chris

2001-01-01

The evolving nature of the NASA space enterprise compels the agency to develop new and innovative space systems concepts. NASA, working with increasingly strained budgets and a declining manpower base, is attempting to transform from operational activities to procurement of commercial services. NASA's current generation reusable launch vehicle, the Shuttle, is in transition from a government owned and operated entity to a commercial venture to reduce the civil servant necessities for that program. NASA foresees its second generation launch vehicles being designed and operated by industry for commercial and government services. The "service" concept is a pioneering effort by NASA. The purpose the "service" is not only to reduce the civil servant overhead but will free up government resources for further research - and enable industry to develop a space business case so that industry can sustain itself beyond government programs. In addition, NASA desires a decreased responsibility thereby decreasing liability. The Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program is implementing NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to enable industry to develop the launch vehicles of the future. The Alternate Access to Station (AAS) project office within this program is chartered with enabling industry to demonstrate an alternate access capability for the International Space Station (ISS). The project will not accomplish this by traditional government procurement methods, not by integrating the space system within the project office, or by providing the only source of business for the new capability. The project funds will ultimately be used to purchase a service to take re-supply cargo to the ISS, much the same as any business might purchase a service from FedEx to deliver a package to its customer. In the near term, the project will fund risk mitigation efforts for enabling technologies. AAS is in some ways a precursor to the 2nd Generation RLV. By accomplishing ISS resupply

NASA Alternate Access to Station Service Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, M. D.; Crumbly, C.

2002-01-01

The evolving nature of the NASA space enterprise compels the agency to develop new and innovative space systems concepts. NASA, working with increasingly strained budgets and a declining manpower base, is attempting to transform from operational activities to procurement of commercial services. NASA's current generation reusable launch vehicle, the Shuttle, is in transition from a government owned and operated entity to a commercial venture to reduce the civil servant necessities for that program. NASA foresees its second generation launch vehicles being designed and operated by industry for commercial and government services. The "service" concept is a pioneering effort by NASA. The purpose the "service" is not only to reduce the civil servant overhead but will free up government resources for further research and enable industry to develop a space business case so that industry can sustain itself beyond government programs. In addition, NASA desires a decreased responsibility thereby decreasing liability. The Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program is implementing NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to enable industry to develop the launch vehicles of the future. The Alternate Access to Station (AAS) project office within this program is chartered with enabling industry to demonstrate an alternate access capability for the International Space Station (ISS). The project will not accomplish this by traditional government procurement methods, not by integrating the space system within the project office, or by providing the only source of business for the new capability. The project funds will ultimately be used to purchase a service to take re-supply cargo to the ISS, much the same as any business might purchase a service from FedEx to deliver a package to its customer. In the near term, the project will fund risk mitigation efforts for enabling technologies. AAS is in some ways a precursor to the 2nd Generation RLV. By accomplishing ISS resupply

Perspectives of resettled African refugees on accessing medicines and pharmacy services in Queensland, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellamy, Kim; Ostini, Remo; Martini, Nataly; Kairuz, Therese

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to explore the barriers to accessing medicines and pharmacy services among refugees in Queensland, Australia, from the perspectives of resettled African refugees. A generic qualitative approach was used in this study. Resettled African refugees were recruited via a purposive snowball sampling method. The researcher collected data from different African refugee communities, specifically those from Sudanese, Congolese and Somalian communities. Participants were invited by a community health leader to participate in the study; a community health leader is a trained member of the refugee community who acts as a 'health information conduit' between refugees and the health system. Invitations were done either face-to-face, telephonically or by email. The focus groups were digitally recorded in English and transcribed verbatim by the researcher. Transcripts were entered into NVIVO© 11 and the data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Four focus groups were conducted between October and November 2014 in the city of Brisbane with African refugees, one with five Somali refugees, one with five Congolese refugees, one with three refugee community health leaders from South Sudan, Liberia and Eritrea and one with three refugee community health leaders from Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan. Eleven sub-themes emerged through the coding process, which resulted in four overarching themes: health system differences, navigating the Australian health system, communication barriers and health care-seeking behaviour. With regard to accessing medicines and pharmacy services, this study has shown that there is a gap between resettled refugees' expectations of health services and the reality of the Australian health system. Access barriers identified included language barriers, issues with the Translating and Interpreter Service, a lack of professional communication and cultural beliefs affecting health care-seeking behaviour. This exploratory study has

Perceived Barriers in Accessing the Reproductive Health Care Services in Odisha

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madhulika Sahoo

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The utilization of Reproductive, Maternal, and Newborn and Child health (RMNCH services is often influenced by the socio-cultural, financial, access, political barriers acting at the community, family and individual level. Yet, very little attention has been given, either by policy makers or researchers for minimizing their effect. Aim and objective: To examine the demand and supply side barriers in accessing the maternity services and to understand the perception on maternal healthcare services. Material & Methods: The study was carried out in four districts of Odisha state, with a well representative sample of 1194 women, who delivered a child in last 2 years. Quantitative and qualitative study design was followed to collect the data. Results: The supply side barriers such as physical access and facilities were faced by the service providers. The demand side barriers such as socio-cultural, financial and access barriers were faced by the service receivers in order to avail the services. Conclusions: In order to overcome the barriers faced by the women of Odisha it is important to improve the access to services so that they get them easily. Some of the imperative actions such as strengthening community mobilization through inter-personal communication, dialogue with the key influencers in the community as well as continuous engagement with and sensitization of the service providers

Perceived Barriers in Accessing the Reproductive Health Care Services in Odisha

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madhulika Sahoo

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The utilization of Reproductive, Maternal, and Newborn and Child health (RMNCH services is often influenced by the socio-cultural, financial, access, political barriers acting at the community, family and individual level. Yet, very little attention has been given, either by policy makers or researchers for minimizing their effect. Aim and objective: To examine the demand and supply side barriers in accessing the maternity services and to understand the perception on maternal healthcare services. Material & Methods: The study was carried out in four districts of Odisha state, with a well representative sample of 1194 women, who delivered a child in last 2 years. Quantitative and qualitative study design was followed to collect the data. Results: The supply side barriers such as physical access and facilities were faced by the service providers. The demand side barriers such as socio-cultural, financial and access barriers were faced by the service receivers in order to avail the services. Conclusions: In order to overcome the barriers faced by the women of Odisha it is important to improve the access to services so that they get them easily. Some of the imperative actions such as strengthening community mobilization through inter-personal communication, dialogue with the key influencers in the community as well as continuous engagement with and sensitization of the service providers

Access to abortion: what women want from abortion services.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiebe, Ellen R; Sandhu, Supna

2008-04-01

Whether Canadian physicians can refuse to refer women for abortion and whether private clinics can charge for abortions are matters of controversy. We sought to identify barriers to access for women seeking therapeutic abortion and to have them identify what they considered to be most important about access to abortion services. Women presenting for abortion over a two-month period at two free-standing abortion clinics, one publicly funded and the other private, were invited to participate in the study. Phase I of the study involved administration of a questionnaire seeking information about demographics, perceived barriers to access to abortion, and what the women wanted from abortion services. Phase II involved semi-structured interviews of a convenience sample of women to record their responses to questions about access. Responses from Phase I questionnaires were compared between the two clinics, and qualitative analysis was performed on the interview responses. Of 423 eligible women, 402 completed questionnaires, and of 45 women approached, 39 completed interviews satisfactorily. Women received information about abortion services from their physicians (60.0%), the Internet (14.8%), a telephone directory (7.8%), friends or family (5.3%), or other sources (12.3%). Many had negative experiences in gaining access. The most important issue regarding access was the long wait time; the second most important issue was difficulty in making appointments. In the private clinic, 85% of the women said they were willing to pay for shorter wait times, compared with 43.5% in the public clinic. Physicians who failed to refer patients for abortion or provide information about obtaining an abortion caused distress and impeded access for a significant minority of women requesting an abortion. Management of abortion services should be prioritized to reflect what women want: particularly decreased wait times for abortion and greater ease and convenience in booking appointments

Multimedia services in intelligent environments advances in recommender systems

CERN Document Server

Virvou, Maria; Jain, Lakhmi

2013-01-01

Multimedia services are now commonly used in various activities in the daily lives of humans. Related application areas include services that allow access to large depositories of information, digital libraries, e-learning and e-education, e-government and e-governance, e-commerce and e-auctions, e-entertainment, e-health and e-medicine, and e-legal services, as well as their mobile counterparts (i.e., m-services). Despite the tremendous growth of multimedia services over the recent years, there is an increasing demand for their further development. This demand is driven by the ever-increasing desire of society for easy accessibility to information in friendly, personalized and adaptive environments. In this book at hand, we examine recent Advances in Recommender Systems. Recommender systems are crucial in multimedia services, as they aim at protecting the service users from information overload. The book includes nine chapters, which present various recent research results in recommender systems. This resear...

Development of Wearable Systems for Ubiquitous Healthcare Service Provisioning

OpenAIRE

Ogunduyile, O.O.; Olugbara, O.O.; Lall, M.

2013-01-01

This paper reports on the development of a wearable system using wireless biomedical sensors for ubiquitous healthcare service provisioning. The prototype system is developed to address current healthcare challenges such as increasing cost of services, inability to access diverse services, low quality services and increasing population of elderly as experienced globally. The biomedical sensors proactively collect physiological data of remote patients to recommend diagnostic services. The prot...

Making Spatial Statistics Service Accessible On Cloud Platform

OpenAIRE

Mu, X.; Wu, J.; Li, T; Zhong, Y.; Gao, X.

2014-01-01

Web service can bring together applications running on diverse platforms, users can access and share various data, information and models more effectively and conveniently from certain web service platform. Cloud computing emerges as a paradigm of Internet computing in which dynamical, scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as services. With the rampant growth of massive data and restriction of net, traditional web services platforms have some prominent problems existi...

Multiple access protocol for supporting multimedia services in wireless ATM networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Hong; Dittmann, Lars; Gliese, Ulrik Bo

1999-01-01

The furture broadband wireless asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks must provide seamless extension of multimedia services from the wireline ATM networks. This requires an effecient wireless access protocol to fulfill varying Quality-og-Service (QoS) requirements for multimedia applications....... In this paper, we propose a multiple access protocol using centralized and distributed channel access control techniques to provide QoS guarantees for multimedia services by taking advantage of the characteristics of different kinds of ATM traffics. Multimedia traffic, including constant bit rate (CBR...

Service Class Resource Management For Green Wireless-Optical Broadband Access NetworksWOBAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SRUTHY.S

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract-Broadband access networks have become an essential part of worldwide communication systems because of the exponential growth of broadband services such as video on demand high definition TV internet protocol TV and video conferencing. Exponential growth in the volume of wireless data boosted by the growing popularity of mobile devices such as smartphone and tablets has forced the telecommunication industries to rethink the way networks are currently designed and to focus on the development of high-capacity mobile broadband networks. In response to this challenge researchers have been working toward the development of an integrated wireless optical broadband access network. Two major candidate technologies which are currently known for their high capacity as well as quality of service QoS for multimedia traffic are passive optical networks PON and fourth generation 4G wireless networks. PON is a wired access technology well known for its cost efficiency and high capacity whereas 4G is a wireless broadband access technology which has achieved broad market acceptance because of its ease of deployment ability to offer mobility and its cost efficiency. Integration of PON and 4G technologies in the form of wireless-optical broadband access networks offers advantages such as extension of networks in rural areas support for mobile broadband services and quick deployment of broadband networks. These two technologies however have different design architectures for handling broadband services that require quality of service. For example 4G networks use traffic classification for supporting different QoS demands whereas the PON architecture has no such mechanism to differentiate between types of traffic. These two technologies also differ in their power saving mechanisms. Propose a service class mapping for the integrated PON-4G network which is based on the MG1 queuing model and class-based power saving mechanism which significantly improves the

3PAC: Enforcing Access Policies for Web Services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Bemmel, J.; Wegdam, M.; Lagerberg, K.

Web Services fail to deliver on the promise of ubiquitous deployment and seamless interoperability due to the lack of a uniform, standards-based approach to all aspects of security. In particular, the enforcement of access policies in a Service Oriented Architecture is not addressed adequately. We

SIDECACHE: Information access, management and dissemination framework for web services.

Science.gov (United States)

Doderer, Mark S; Burkhardt, Cory; Robbins, Kay A

2011-06-14

Many bioinformatics algorithms and data sets are deployed using web services so that the results can be explored via the Internet and easily integrated into other tools and services. These services often include data from other sites that is accessed either dynamically or through file downloads. Developers of these services face several problems because of the dynamic nature of the information from the upstream services. Many publicly available repositories of bioinformatics data frequently update their information. When such an update occurs, the developers of the downstream service may also need to update. For file downloads, this process is typically performed manually followed by web service restart. Requests for information obtained by dynamic access of upstream sources is sometimes subject to rate restrictions. SideCache provides a framework for deploying web services that integrate information extracted from other databases and from web sources that are periodically updated. This situation occurs frequently in biotechnology where new information is being continuously generated and the latest information is important. SideCache provides several types of services including proxy access and rate control, local caching, and automatic web service updating. We have used the SideCache framework to automate the deployment and updating of a number of bioinformatics web services and tools that extract information from remote primary sources such as NCBI, NCIBI, and Ensembl. The SideCache framework also has been used to share research results through the use of a SideCache derived web service.

Big Data Discovery and Access Services through NOAA OneStop

Science.gov (United States)

Casey, K. S.; Neufeld, D.; Ritchey, N. A.; Relph, J.; Fischman, D.; Baldwin, R.

2017-12-01

The NOAA OneStop Project was created as a pathfinder effort to to improve the discovery of, access to, and usability of NOAA's vast and diverse collection of big data. OneStop is led by the NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), and is seen as a key NESDIS contribution to NOAA's open data and data stewardship efforts. OneStop consists of an entire framework of services, from storage and interoperable access services at the base, through metadata and catalog services in the middle, to a modern user interface experience at the top. Importantly, it is an open framework where external tools and services can connect at whichever level is most appropriate. Since the beta release of the OneStop user interface at the 2016 Fall AGU meeting, significant progress has been made improving and modernizing many NOAA data collections to optimize their use within the framework. In addition, OneStop has made progress implementing robust metadata management and catalog systems at the collection and granule level and improving the user experience with the web interface. This progress will be summarized and the results of extensive user testing including professional usability studies will be reviewed. Key big data technologies supporting the framework will be presented and a community input sought on the future directions of the OneStop Project.

Accessing the SEED genome databases via Web services API: tools for programmers.

Science.gov (United States)

Disz, Terry; Akhter, Sajia; Cuevas, Daniel; Olson, Robert; Overbeek, Ross; Vonstein, Veronika; Stevens, Rick; Edwards, Robert A

2010-06-14

The SEED integrates many publicly available genome sequences into a single resource. The database contains accurate and up-to-date annotations based on the subsystems concept that leverages clustering between genomes and other clues to accurately and efficiently annotate microbial genomes. The backend is used as the foundation for many genome annotation tools, such as the Rapid Annotation using Subsystems Technology (RAST) server for whole genome annotation, the metagenomics RAST server for random community genome annotations, and the annotation clearinghouse for exchanging annotations from different resources. In addition to a web user interface, the SEED also provides Web services based API for programmatic access to the data in the SEED, allowing the development of third-party tools and mash-ups. The currently exposed Web services encompass over forty different methods for accessing data related to microbial genome annotations. The Web services provide comprehensive access to the database back end, allowing any programmer access to the most consistent and accurate genome annotations available. The Web services are deployed using a platform independent service-oriented approach that allows the user to choose the most suitable programming platform for their application. Example code demonstrate that Web services can be used to access the SEED using common bioinformatics programming languages such as Perl, Python, and Java. We present a novel approach to access the SEED database. Using Web services, a robust API for access to genomics data is provided, without requiring large volume downloads all at once. The API ensures timely access to the most current datasets available, including the new genomes as soon as they come online.

47 CFR 54.621 - Access to advanced telecommunications and information services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Access to advanced telecommunications and information services. 54.621 Section 54.621 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED... § 54.621 Access to advanced telecommunications and information services. (a) Twenty-five percent of the...

Increasing Access to Tuberculosis Services in Ethiopia: Findings From a Patient-Pathway Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fekadu, Lelisa; Hanson, Christy; Osberg, Mike; Makayova, Julia; Mingkwan, Pia; Chin, Daniel

2017-11-06

In Ethiopia, extensive scale-up of the availability of health extension workers (HEWs) at the community level has been credited with increased identification and referral of patients with presumptive tuberculosis, which has contributed to increased tuberculosis case notification and better treatment outcomes. However, nearly 30% of Ethiopia's estimated 191000 patients with tuberculosis remained unnotified in 2015. A better understanding of patient care-seeking practices may inform future government action to reach all patients with tuberculosis. A patient-pathway analysis was completed to assess the alignment between patient care initiation and the availability of diagnostic and treatment services at the national level. More than one third of patients initiated care with HEWs, who refer patients to health centers for diagnosis. An additional one third of patients initiated care at health centers. Of those health centers, >80% had microscopy services, but few had access to Xpert. Despite an extensive microscopy and radiography network at middle levels of the health system, a quarter of all notified patients with tuberculosis had no bacteriological confirmation of disease. While 30% of patients reported receiving some form of care from the private sector, private-sector facilities, especially pharmacies, were not widely accessed for tuberculosis diagnosis. The availability of HEWs can increase access to tuberculosis diagnostic and treatment support services, particularly for rural populations. Continued strengthening of referral systems from HEWs and health posts are needed to enable consistent and timely access to Xpert as an initial diagnostic test and to drug resistance screening. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Factors that help injecting drug users to access and benefit from services: A qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

sheard Laura

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background International research shows that injecting drug users (IDUs can encounter many barriers when they try to access drug treatment and other services. However, the existing literature is mostly quantitative and does not consider the kinds of factors that injectors themselves identify as enabling them to access and benefit from services. Responding to this gap in knowledge, our paper explores IDUs' own suggestions for improving service engagement and their reports of other factors enabling them to seek help. Methods Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 75 current illicit drug injectors in three geographically diverse areas of West Yorkshire, England. Recruitment was through needle exchange programmes, with additional snowball sampling to ensure inclusivity of gender, ethnicity and primary drug injected. Transcribed data were analysed thematically using Framework. Results Although participants were often satisfied with current access to services, they made three broad suggestions for improving engagement. These were: providing more services (more providers and more forms of support; better operation of existing services (including better communication systems and more flexibility around individual needs; and staffing-related improvements (particularly, less judgemental and more understanding staff attitudes. Other factors identified as important enablers of help seeking were: having supporting relationships (particularly with family members; personal circumstances/life events (especially becoming a parent; and an injector's state of mind (such as feeling motivated and positive. Conclusion A range of practical suggestions for improving IDUs' access to drug treatment and other services are identified.

EnviroAtlas - Accessibility Characteristics in the Conterminous U.S. Web Service

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This EnviroAtlas web service includes maps that illustrate factors affecting transit accessibility, and indicators of accessibility. Accessibility measures how...

[How do immigrant women access health services in the Basque Country? Perceptions of health professionals].

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Urdiales, Iratxe; Goicolea, Isabel

2017-09-12

To determine the perception of health professionals working in alternative health centres on the barriers and facilitators in the access by immigrant women to general public health services and sexual and reproductive health in the Basque Country. Basque Country. Analysis of qualitative content based on 11 individual interviews. Health professionals working in alternative health centres of Primary Care and sexual and reproductive health. Data collection was performed between September and December 2015 in four alternative health centres. After transcription, the units of meaning, codes and categories were identified. Four categories emerged from the analysis, which represented how the characteristics of immigrant women (Tell me how you are and I will tell you how to access), the attitude of the administrative and health staff ("When they are already taken care of"), the functioning of the health system (Inflexible, passive and needs-responsive health system), and health policies ("If you do not meet the requirements, you do not go in. The law is the law") influence access to health services of immigrant women. This study shows that there are a considerable number of barriers and few facilitators to the access by immigrant women to public health and sexual and reproductive health services in the Basque Country. The alternative health centres were presented as favouring the improvement of the health of the immigrant population and in their access. Copyright © 2017. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.

A Study of Children's Geographic Access to Health Services (Health Care Centers and Clinical Laboratories in Kermanshah City, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sohyla Reshadat

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background Given that the protection of children's health is of special importance due to their special age and physical conditions, the present study aimed to investigate the condition of children's Geographic access to health services (Health Centers and Clinical Laboratories in Kermanshah city, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this applied study, the research approach was descriptive-analytic using quantitative models in Geographic information system (GIS environment. The statistical population was the whole population of young girls aged 0-14 years old in Kermanshah, Iran. Moreover, to evaluate the spatial deployment pattern of health services and the correct and true access of this groupto such services, all data and information were collected through the Iranian Statistics Center and evaluated using the Arc-GIS Software. The latest published population statistics on the Population and Housing Census in 2011 were considered the basis for the analyses. Results: The results of the present study demonstrated that more than 40% and 60% of the young girls aged 0-14 years old in Kermanshah were deprived of proper access to health centers and clinical laboratories, respectively. In terms of the status of children’s access in the Second Scenario (access to health services by vehicles and during 5, 10, and 15 minutes, about 5.53%, 93.1% and 15.1% lacked access to health centers, respectively. In addition, in terms of the status of children’s access to clinical laboratories during 5, 10, and 15 minutes, 17.26%, 65.4% and 51% lacked access to clinical laboratories, respectively. Conclusion: The access of young girls aged 0-14 years old to health services in Kermanshah was undesirable in the access to health services through walking. Additionally, the access of this groupto health services in the access to health services by vehicles was far better than the first one.

The value of Web-based library services at Cedars-Sinai Health System.

Science.gov (United States)

Halub, L P

1999-07-01

Cedars-Sinai Medical Library/Information Center has maintained Web-based services since 1995 on the Cedars-Sinai Health System network. In that time, the librarians have found the provision of Web-based services to be a very worthwhile endeavor. Library users value the services that they access from their desktops because the services save time. They also appreciate being able to access services at their convenience, without restriction by the library's hours of operation. The library values its Web site because it brings increased visibility within the health system, and it enables library staff to expand services when budget restrictions have forced reduced hours of operation. In creating and maintaining the information center Web site, the librarians have learned the following lessons: consider the design carefully; offer what services you can, but weigh the advantages of providing the services against the time required to maintain them; make the content as accessible as possible; promote your Web site; and make friends in other departments, especially information services.

Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) promotes sustained access to digital research data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Berchum, M.; Kraaikamp, Emilie

2015-01-01

Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) promotes sustained access to digital research data. For this purpose, DANS encourages researchers to archive and reuse data in a sustained form. In the online archiving system EASY research data is stored in a permanent and sustainable manner, according

PKI-based secure mobile access to electronic health services and data.

Science.gov (United States)

Kambourakis, G; Maglogiannis, I; Rouskas, A

2005-01-01

Recent research works examine the potential employment of public-key cryptography schemes in e-health environments. In such systems, where a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is established beforehand, Attribute Certificates (ACs) and public key enabled protocols like TLS, can provide the appropriate mechanisms to effectively support authentication, authorization and confidentiality services. In other words, mutual trust and secure communications between all the stakeholders, namely physicians, patients and e-health service providers, can be successfully established and maintained. Furthermore, as the recently introduced mobile devices with access to computer-based patient record systems are expanding, the need of physicians and nurses to interact increasingly with such systems arises. Considering public key infrastructure requirements for mobile online health networks, this paper discusses the potential use of Attribute Certificates (ACs) in an anticipated trust model. Typical trust interactions among doctors, patients and e-health providers are presented, indicating that resourceful security mechanisms and trust control can be obtained and implemented. The application of attribute certificates to support medical mobile service provision along with the utilization of the de-facto TLS protocol to offer competent confidentiality and authorization services is also presented and evaluated through experimentation, using both the 802.11 WLAN and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks.

Accessibility of Catering Service Venues and Adolescent Drinking in Beijing, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Shijun; Du, Songming; Ren, Zhoupeng; Zhao, Jing; Chambers, Christina; Wang, Jinfeng; Ma, Guansheng

2015-06-26

This study assessed the association between accessibility of catering service venues and adolescents' alcohol use over the previous 30 days. The data were collected from cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2014, 2223 students at 27 high schools in Chaoyang and Xicheng districts, Beijing using self-administered questionnaires to collect the adolescents information on socio-demographic characteristics and recent alcohol experiences. The accessibility of, and proximity to, catering service venues were summarized by weights, which were calculated by multiplication of the type-weight and the distance-weight. All sampled schools were categorized into three subgroups (low, middle, and high geographic density) based on the tertile of nearby catering service venues, and a multi-level logistic regression analysis was performed to explore variance between the school levels. Considering the setting characteristics, the catering service venues weighted value was found to account for 8.6% of the school level variance of adolescent alcohol use. The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of drinking over the past 30-days among adolescents with medium and high accessibility of catering service venues were 1.17 (0.86, 1.57) and 1.47 (1.06, 2.02), respectively (p catering service venues around schools in China. Results suggest that the greater accessibility of catering service venues around schools is associated with a growing risk of recent drinking.

Index of Access: a new innovative and dynamic tool for rural health service and workforce planning.

Science.gov (United States)

McGrail, Matthew R; Russell, Deborah J; Humphreys, John S

2017-10-01

Objective Improving access to primary health care (PHC) remains a key issue for rural residents and health service planners. This study aims to show that how access to PHC services is measured has important implications for rural health service and workforce planning. Methods A more sophisticated tool to measure access to PHC services is proposed, which can help health service planners overcome the shortcomings of existing measures and long-standing access barriers to PHC. Critically, the proposed Index of Access captures key components of access and uses a floating catchment approach to better define service areas and population accessibility levels. Moreover, as demonstrated through a case study, the Index of Access enables modelling of the effects of workforce supply variations. Results Hypothetical increases in supply are modelled for a range of regional centres, medium and small rural towns, with resulting changes of access scores valuable to informing health service and workforce planning decisions. Conclusions The availability and application of a specific 'fit-for-purpose' access measure enables a more accurate empirical basis for service planning and allocation of health resources. This measure has great potential for improved identification of PHC access inequities and guiding redistribution of PHC services to correct such inequities. What is known about the topic? Resource allocation and health service planning decisions for rural and remote health settings are currently based on either simple measures of access (e.g. provider-to-population ratios) or proxy measures of access (e.g. standard geographical classifications). Both approaches have substantial limitations for informing rural health service planning and decision making. What does this paper add? The adoption of a new improved tool to measure access to PHC services, the Index of Access, is proposed to assist health service and workforce planning. Its usefulness for health service planning is

The Role of the Access Services Manager in the Virtual Library

Science.gov (United States)

Jetton, Lora Lennertz; Bailey, Alberta S.

2010-01-01

This article updates a previous article published in 1992 that described the role of the access services manager in policy formation. Since that time, the access services department and mission has matured and evolved to a prominent position within the library organization. Technological changes and innovation in the marketplace of wired and…

Barriers to Accessing Eye Care Services in the Federal Capital ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was carried out to determine the barriers to accessing eye care services in the Federal ... 153(61.7%), others were high cost of services, lack of money, non-availability of eye care services, long ... Barrier studies are being conducted.

[Sociological aspects of health service access points].

Science.gov (United States)

Lecarpentier, Mariana

The work of health service access points highlights the process of exclusion through marginalisation, the phenomenon of precarity and anthropological tensions between hospitality and inhospitality or between the desirable and undesirable. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Access to diagnostics in primary care and the impact on a primary care led health service.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O'Riordan, M

2015-02-01

We undertook a postal survey of GPs to establish their current access to radiological and endoscopic tests. More than one fifth of GPs do not have direct access to abdominal (n = 42, 21.4%) or pelvic (n = 49, 24.6%) ultrasound in the public system. Where access is available public patients have an average 14 week waiting period. In stark contrast in the private system virtually all GPs have direct access (n = 159, 99.2% and n = 156, 98.8% respectively for abdominal and pelvic ultrasound) with an average wait of just over four days. Direct access to CT scan in the public system is available to the minority of GPs, e.g. n = 31, 18.4% for chest scan, in the public system; even where available, there is an average 12 week wait for this. In comparison 151 (88.6%) GPs have access to CT chest scanning in the private sector with an average waiting time of 5.4 working days. Such limited access to diagnostics impacts on the delivery of a quality service.

US National Geothermal Data System: Web feature services and system operations

Science.gov (United States)

Richard, Stephen; Clark, Ryan; Allison, M. Lee; Anderson, Arlene

2013-04-01

The US National Geothermal Data System is being developed with support from the US Department of Energy to reduce risk in geothermal energy development by providing online access to the body of geothermal data available in the US. The system is being implemented using Open Geospatial Consortium web services for catalog search (CSW), map browsing (WMS), and data access (WFS). The catalog now includes 2427 registered resources, mostly individual documents accessible via URL. 173 WMS and WFS services are registered, hosted by 4 NGDS system nodes, as well as 6 other state geological surveys. Simple feature schema for interchange formats have been developed by an informal community process in which draft content models are developed based on the information actually available in most data provider's internal datasets. A template pattern is used for the content models so that commonly used content items have the same name and data type across models. Models are documented in Excel workbooks and posted for community review with a deadline for comment; at the end of the comment period a technical working group reviews and discusses comments and votes on adoption. When adopted, an XML schema is implemented for the content model. Our approach has been to keep the focus of each interchange schema narrow, such that simple-feature (flat file) XML schema are sufficient to implement the content model. Keeping individual interchange formats simple, and allowing flexibility to introduce new content models as needed have both assisted in adoption of the service architecture. One problem that remains to be solved is that off-the-shelf server packages (GeoServer, ArcGIS server) do not permit configuration of a normative schema location to be bound with XML namespaces in instance documents. Such configuration is possible with GeoServer using a more complex deployment process. XML interchange format schema versions are indicated by the namespace URI; because of the schema location

Autonomous Preference-Aware Information Services Integration for High Response in Integrated Faded Information Field Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xiaodong; Mori, Kinji

The market and users' requirements have been rapidly changing and diversified. Under these heterogeneous and dynamic situations, not only the system structure itself, but also the accessible information services would be changed constantly. To cope with the continuously changing conditions of service provision and utilization, Faded Information Field (FIF) has been proposed, which is a agent-based distributed information service system architecture. In the case of a mono-service request, the system is designed to improve users' access time and preserve load balancing through the information structure. However, with interdependent requests of multi-service increasing, adaptability and timeliness have to be assured by the system. In this paper, the relationship that exists among the correlated services and the users' preferences for separate and integrated services is clarified. Based on these factors, the autonomous preference-aware information services integration technology to provide one-stop service for users multi-service requests is proposed. As compared to the conventional system, we show that proposed technology is able to reduce the total access time.

Accessibility of Catering Service Venues and Adolescent Drinking in Beijing, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shijun Lu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study assessed the association between accessibility of catering service venues and adolescents’ alcohol use over the previous 30 days. The data were collected from cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2014, 2223 students at 27 high schools in Chaoyang and Xicheng districts, Beijing using self-administered questionnaires to collect the adolescents information on socio-demographic characteristics and recent alcohol experiences. The accessibility of, and proximity to, catering service venues were summarized by weights, which were calculated by multiplication of the type-weight and the distance-weight. All sampled schools were categorized into three subgroups (low, middle, and high geographic density based on the tertile of nearby catering service venues, and a multi-level logistic regression analysis was performed to explore variance between the school levels. Considering the setting characteristics, the catering service venues weighted value was found to account for 8.6% of the school level variance of adolescent alcohol use. The odds ratios (OR and 95% confidence intervals (CI of drinking over the past 30-days among adolescents with medium and high accessibility of catering service venues were 1.17 (0.86, 1.57 and 1.47 (1.06, 2.02, respectively (p < 0.001 for trend test. This study addressed a gap in the adolescent drinking influence by the catering service venues around schools in China. Results suggest that the greater accessibility of catering service venues around schools is associated with a growing risk of recent drinking.

Developing Distributed System With Service Resource Oriented Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hermawan Hermawan

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Service Oriented Architecture is a design paradigm in software engineering with which a distributed system is built for an enterprise. This paradigm aims at providing the system as a service through a protocol in web service technology, namely Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP. However, SOA is service level agreements of webservice. For this reason, this reasearch aims at combining SOA with Resource Oriented Architecture in order to expand scalability of services. This combination creates Sevice Resource Oriented Architecture (SROA with which a distributed system is developed that integrates services within project management software. Following this design, the software is developed according to a framework of Agile Model Driven Development which can reduce complexities of the whole process of software development.

Barriers to Accessing Good Eye Care Services in Nigeria: A Focus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Certain forms of blindness can be prevented if the right steps and treatments are applied at the right times, but this is not always possible due to the challenges patients face in accessing eye care services. The aim of this study was to explore and identify the barriers in accessing good eye care services in Anambra State ...

Data Access System for Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Whitenack, T.; Zaslavsky, I.; Valentine, D.; Djokic, D.

2007-12-01

As part of the CUAHSI HIS (Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc., Hydrologic Information System), the CUAHSI HIS team has developed Data Access System for Hydrology or DASH. DASH is based on commercial off the shelf technology, which has been developed in conjunction with a commercial partner, ESRI. DASH is a web-based user interface, developed in ASP.NET developed using ESRI ArcGIS Server 9.2 that represents a mapping, querying and data retrieval interface over observation and GIS databases, and web services. This is the front end application for the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System Server. The HIS Server is a software stack that organizes observation databases, geographic data layers, data importing and management tools, and online user interfaces such as the DASH application, into a flexible multi- tier application for serving both national-level and locally-maintained observation data. The user interface of the DASH web application allows online users to query observation networks by location and attributes, selecting stations in a user-specified area where a particular variable was measured during a given time interval. Once one or more stations and variables are selected, the user can retrieve and download the observation data for further off-line analysis. The DASH application is highly configurable. The mapping interface can be configured to display map services from multiple sources in multiple formats, including ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS, and WMS. The observation network data is configured in an XML file where you specify the network's web service location and its corresponding map layer. Upon initial deployment, two national level observation networks (USGS NWIS daily values and USGS NWIS Instantaneous values) are already pre-configured. There is also an optional login page which can be used to restrict access as well as providing a alternative to immediate downloads. For large request, users would be notified via

A study of HIV positive undocumented African migrants' access to health services in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Whyte, James; Whyte, Maria D; Hires, Kimberly

2015-01-01

Newly immigrated persons, whatever their origin, tend to fall in the lower socioeconomic levels. In fact, failure of an asylum application renders one destitute in a large proportion of cases, often resulting in a profound lack of access to basic necessities. With over a third of HIV positive failed asylum seekers reporting no income, and the remainder reporting highly limited resources, poverty is a reality for the vast majority. The purpose of the study was to determine the basic social processes that guide HIV positive undocumented migrant's efforts to gain health services in the UK. The study used the Grounded Theory Approach. Theoretical saturation occurred after 16 participants were included in the study. The data included reflections of the prominent factors related to the establishment of a safe and productive life and the ability of individuals to remain within the UK. The data reflected heavily upon the ability of migrants to enter the medical care system during their asylum period, and on an emerging pattern of service denial after loss on immigration appeal. The findings of this study are notable in that they have demonstrated sequence of events along a timeline related to the interaction between the asylum process and access to health-related services. The results reflect that African migrants maintain a degree of formal access to health services during the period that they possess legal access to services and informal access after the failure of their asylum claim. The purpose of this paper is to examine the basic social processes that characterize efforts to gain access to health services among HIV positive undocumented African migrants to the UK. The most recent estimates indicate that there are a total of 618,000 migrants who lack legal status within the UK. Other studies have placed the number of undocumented migrants within the UK in the range of 525,000-950,000. More than 442,000 are thought to dwell in the London metropolitan area. Even in

Universal access, cost recovery, and payment services

OpenAIRE

Sujit Chakravorti; Jeffery W. Gunther; Robert R. Moore

2005-01-01

We suggest a subtle, yet far- reaching, tension in the objectives specified by the Monetary Control Act of 1980 (MCA) for the Federal Reserve’s role in providing retail payment services, such as check processing. Specifically, we argue that the requirement of an overall cost-revenue match, coupled with the goal of ensuring equitable access on a universal basis, partially shifted the burden of cost recovery from high-cost to low-cost service points during the MCA’s early years, thereby allowin...

Exploring inequalities in access to and use of maternal health services in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silal Sheetal P

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background South Africa’s maternal mortality rate (625 deaths/100,000 live births is high for a middle-income country, although over 90% of pregnant women utilize maternal health services. Alongside HIV/AIDS, barriers to Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care currently impede the country’s Millenium Development Goals (MDGs of reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. While health system barriers to obstetric care have been well documented, “patient-oriented” barriers have been neglected. This article explores affordability, availability and acceptability barriers to obstetric care in South Africa from the perspectives of women who had recently used, or attempted to use, these services. Methods A mixed-method study design combined 1,231 quantitative exit interviews with sixteen qualitative in-depth interviews with women (over 18 in two urban and two rural health sub-districts in South Africa. Between June 2008 and September 2009, information was collected on use of, and access to, obstetric services, and socioeconomic and demographic details. Regression analysis was used to test associations between descriptors of the affordability, availability and acceptability of services, and demographic and socioeconomic predictor variables. Qualitative interviews were coded deductively and inductively using ATLAS ti.6. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated into an analysis of access to obstetric services and related barriers. Results Access to obstetric services was impeded by affordability, availability and acceptability barriers. These were unequally distributed, with differences between socioeconomic groups and geographic areas being most important. Rural women faced the greatest barriers, including longest travel times, highest costs associated with delivery, and lowest levels of service acceptability, relative to urban residents. Negative provider-patient interactions, including staff inattentiveness, turning

Propagation Characteristics in an Underground Shopping Area for 5GHz-band Wireless Access Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Itokawa, Kiyohiko; Kita, Naoki; Sato, Akio; Matsue, Hideaki; Mori, Daisuke; Watanabe, Hironobu

5-GHz band wireless access systems, such as the RLAN (Radio Local Area Network) system of IEEE802.11a, HiperLAN/2, HiSWANa and AWA, are developed and provide transmission rates over 20 Mbps for indoor use. Those 5-GHz access systems are expected to extend service areas from the office to the so-called “hot-spot" in public areas. Underground shopping malls are one of the anticipated service areas for such a nomadic wireless access service. Broadband propagation characteristics are required for radio zone design in an underground mall environment despite previous results obtained by narrow band measurements. This paper presents results of an experimental study on the propagation characteristics for broadband wireless access systems in an underground mall environment. First, broadband propagation path loss is measured and formulated considering human body shadowing. A ray trace simulation is used to clarify the basic propagation mechanism in such a closed environment. Next, a distance dependency of the delay spread during a crowded time period, rush hour, is found to be at most 65 nsec, which is under the permitted maximum value of the present 5-GHz systems. Finally, above propagation characteristics support the result of transmission test carried out by using AWA equipment.

Changing access to mental health care and social support when people living with HIV/AIDS become service providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Alan Tai-Wai; Wales, Joshua; Wong, Josephine Pui-Hing; Owino, Maureen; Perreault, Yvette; Miao, Andrew; Maseko, Precious; Guiang, Charlie

2015-01-01

As people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) achieve more stable health, many have taken on active peer support and professional roles within AIDS service organizations. Although the increased engagement has been associated with many improved health outcomes, emerging program and research evidence have identified new challenges associated with such transition. This paper reports on the results of a qualitative interpretive study that explored the effect of this role transition on PHA service providers' access to mental health support and self care. A total of 27 PHA service providers of diverse ethno-racial backgrounds took part in the study. Results show that while role transition often improves access to financial and health-care benefits, it also leads to new stress from workload demands, emotional triggers from client's narratives, feeling of burnout from over-immersion in HIV at both personal and professional levels, and diminished self care. Barriers to seeking support included: concerns regarding confidentiality; self-imposed and enacted stigma associated with accessing mental health services; and boundary issues resulting from changes in relationships with peers and other service providers. Evolving support mechanisms included: new formal and informal peer support networks amongst colleagues or other PHA service providers to address both personal and professional challenges, and having access to professional support offered through the workplace. The findings suggest the need for increased organizational recognition of HIV support work as a form of emotional labor that places complex demands on PHA service providers. Increased access to employer-provided mental health services, supportive workplace policies, and adequate job-specific training will contribute to reduced work-related stress. Community level strategies that support expansion of social networks amongst PHA service providers would reduce isolation. Systemic policies to increase access to insurance

The Design of Passive Optical Networking+Ethernet over Coaxial Cable Access Networking and Video-on-Demand Services Carrying

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Wei

2013-07-01

Video on demand is a very attractive service used for entertainment, education, and other purposes. The design of passive optical networking+Ethernet over coaxial cable accessing and a home gateway system is proposed. The network integrates the passive optical networking and Ethernet over coaxial cable to provide high dedicated bandwidth for the metropolitan video-on-demand services. Using digital video broadcasting, IP television protocol, unicasting, and broadcasting mechanisms maximizes the system throughput. The home gateway finishes radio frequency signal receiving and provides three kinds of interfaces for high-definition video, voice, and data, which achieves triple-play and wire/wireless access synchronously.

Data Access Services that Make Remote Sensing Data Easier to Use

Science.gov (United States)

Lynnes, Christopher

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews some of the processes that NASA uses to make the remote sensing data easy to use over the World Wide Web. This work involves much research into data formats, geolocation structures and quality indicators, often to be followed by coding a preprocessing program. Only then are the data usable within the analysis tool of choice. The Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center is deploying a variety of data access services that are designed to dramatically shorten the time consumed in the data preparation step. On-the-fly conversion to the standard network Common Data Form (netCDF) format with Climate-Forecast (CF) conventions imposes a standard coordinate system framework that makes data instantly readable through several tools, such as the Integrated Data Viewer, Gridded Analysis and Display System, Panoply and Ferret. A similar benefit is achieved by serving data through the Open Source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol (OPeNDAP), which also provides subsetting. The Data Quality Screening Service goes a step further in filtering out data points based on quality control flags, based on science team recommendations or user-specified criteria. Further still is the Giovanni online analysis system which goes beyond handling formatting and quality to provide visualization and basic statistics of the data. This general approach of automating the preparation steps has the important added benefit of enabling use of the data by non-human users (i.e., computer programs), which often make sub-optimal use of the available data due to the need to hard-code data preparation on the client side.

7 CFR 1755.500 - RUS standard for service installations at customers access locations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false RUS standard for service installations at customers... customers access locations. (a) Sections 1755.501 through 1755.510 cover service installations at permanent or mobile home customer access locations. Sections 1755.501 through 1755.510 do not cover service...

The tsunami service bus, an integration platform for heterogeneous sensor systems

Science.gov (United States)

Haener, R.; Waechter, J.; Kriegel, U.; Fleischer, J.; Mueller, S.

2009-04-01

1. INTRODUCTION Early warning systems are long living and evolving: New sensor-systems and -types may be developed and deployed, sensors will be replaced or redeployed on other locations and the functionality of analyzing software will be improved. To ensure a continuous operability of those systems their architecture must be evolution-enabled. From a computer science point of view an evolution-enabled architecture must fulfill following criteria: • Encapsulation of and functionality on data in standardized services. Access to proprietary sensor data is only possible via these services. • Loose coupling of system constituents which easily can be achieved by implementing standardized interfaces. • Location transparency of services what means that services can be provided everywhere. • Separation of concerns that means breaking a system into distinct features which overlap in functionality as little as possible. A Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as e. g. realized in the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) and the advantages of functional integration on the basis of services described below adopt these criteria best. 2. SENSOR INTEGRATION Integration of data from (distributed) data sources is just a standard task in computer science. From few well known solution patterns, taking into account performance and security requirements of early warning systems only functional integration should be considered. Precondition for this is that systems are realized compliant to SOA patterns. Functionality is realized in form of dedicated components communicating via a service infrastructure. These components provide their functionality in form of services via standardized and published interfaces which could be used to access data maintained in - and functionality provided by dedicated components. Functional integration replaces the tight coupling at data level by a dependency on loosely coupled services. If the interfaces of the service providing

Expanding Access to Pro-Poor Energy Services in Nigeria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eleri, Ewah Otu; Ugwu, Okechukwu; Onuvae, Precious

2012-10-15

Nigeria experiences a remarkable paradox -- the abundance of energy resources and widespread energy poverty. Only about 40% of the population has access to the country’s grid electricity. About 72% of the population depends on traditional fuelwood for cooking. Despite this, government financing of energy services that benefits majority of Nigeria’s population has been grossly inadequate. Private sector investments and donor support have not fared better. This paper examines the current level of energy poverty in Nigeria. It analyses the level of government, private sector and donor funding for energy services that benefit the poor. It further reviews international best practices in expanding access for pro poor energy services. The paper finds a significant decline in political interest for expanding electricity services to rural areas. Even though ambitious policy reforms have commenced, agreed programmes are not implemented effectively. Not only are investments in rural electrification in decline, there is no history of annual budgeting for cooking energy programmes. The paper recommends a number of action points for expanding access to energy services that benefit the poor. These include the development and launching of a new national rural electrification strategy; establishment of a national cooking energy programme; and the development of clear policy incentives to support private sector investment in energy services for the poor. It calls on the Nigerian Central Bank of Nigeria to set aside 10% of the existing power intervention fund for pro poor energy financing; and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to establish a clear framework for the utilization of the Consumer Assistance Fund. Other recommendations include the use of a proportion of the Ecological Fund to finance cooking energy; establishment of a donor’s platform on pro poor energy; and the mobilization of civil society in providing community-level energy services.

[Role and mission of health service access points].

Science.gov (United States)

Vinot, Anne-Laure; Rein, Lucile; Parigot, Chantal; Lambert, Fanny; Billon, Louise; Blanc, Myriam

Part of the health and social care landscape since 1998, health service access points (in French, permanences d'accès aux soins de santé) were set up in response to a health and social care problem. The objective is to help disadvantaged people integrate the healthcare pathway. The ultimate aim is to ensure everyone has access to the appropriate care at a fair price. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Accessibility, equity and efficiency. Challenges for Transport and Public Services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geurs, Karst Teunis; Patuelli, Roberto; Dentinho, T.

2016-01-01

In this book, leading researchers from around the world show the importance of accessibility in contemporary issues such as rural depopulation, investments in public services and public transport, and transport infrastructure investments in Europe. The trade-offs between accessibility, economic

Secure external access to CERN's services to replace VPN

CERN Multimedia

2005-01-01

CERN has recently experienced several computer security incidents caused by people opening VPN connections and (unknown to them) allowing malicious software to enter CERN. VPN should be used to connect to CERN only in extreme and exceptional circumstances and it is formally discouraged as a general solution. If incidents continue, the availability of the service will need to be reviewed. Recommended methods of connecting to CERN from the Internet for common functionalities such as e-mail, access to CERN web or file servers and interactive sessions on CERN systems are described at http://cern.ch/security/vpn

An Introduction to Services Accessible on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Giguere, Marlene

1992-01-01

Provides an overview of the INTERNET and INTERNET services of interest to libraries, including electronic mail, bulletin boards, electronic publishing, online public access catalogs and databases, and downloaded texts and software. (16 references) (MES)

Access to HIV community services by vulnerable populations: evidence from an enhanced HIV/AIDS surveillance system.

Science.gov (United States)

Madden, H C E; Phillips-Howard, P A; Hargreaves, S C; Downing, J; Bellis, M A; Vivancos, R; Morley, C; Syed, Q; Cook, P A

2011-05-01

HIV disproportionately affects vulnerable populations such as black and minority ethnic groups, men who have sex with men (MSM) and migrants, in many countries including those in the UK. Community organisations in the UK are charitable non-governmental organisations with a proportion of the workforce who volunteer, and provide invaluable additional support for people living with HIV (PLWHIV). Information on their contribution to HIV care in vulnerable groups is relatively sparse. Data generated from an enhanced HIV surveillance system in North West England, UK, was utilised for this study. We aimed to determine the characteristics of individuals who chose to access community services in addition to clinical services (1375 out of 4195 records of PLWHIV in clinical services). Demographic information, risk factors including residency status, uniquely gathered in this region, and deprivation scores were examined. Multivariate logistic regression modelling was conducted to predict the relative effect of patient characteristics on attendance at community services. Attendance at community services was highest in those living in the most, compared with least, deprived areas (p<0.001), and was most evident in MSM and heterosexuals. Compared to white UK nationals attendance was significantly higher in non-UK nationals of uncertain residency status (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 21.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.48-45.83; p<0.001), refugees (AOR = 5.75, 95% CI 3.3-10.03; p<0.001), migrant workers (AOR = 5.48, 95% CI 2.22-13.51; p<0.001) and temporary visitors (AOR = 3.44, 95% CI 1.68-7.05; p<0.001). Community services, initially established predominantly to support MSM, have responded to the changing demography of HIV and reach the most vulnerable members of society. Consequent to their support of migrant populations, community services are vital for the management of HIV in black and minority groups. Paradoxically, this coincides with increasing funding pressures on these

Consumers’ experiences of back pain in rural Western Australia: access to information and services, and self-management behaviours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Briggs Andrew M

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Coordinated, interdisciplinary services, supported by self-management underpin effective management for chronic low back pain (CLBP. However, a combination of system, provider and consumer-based barriers exist which limit the implementation of such models into practice, particularly in rural areas where unique access issues exist. In order to improve health service delivery for consumers with CLBP, policymakers and service providers require a more in depth understanding of these issues. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore barriers experienced by consumers in rural settings in Western Australia (WA to accessing information and services and implementing effective self-management behaviours for CLBP. Methods Fourteen consumers with a history of CLBP from three rural sites in WA participated. Maximum variation sampling was employed to ensure a range of experiences were captured. An interviewer, blinded to quantitative pain history data, conducted semi-structured telephone interviews using a standardised schedule to explore individuals’ access to information and services for CLBP, and self-management behaviours. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive analysis techniques were used to derive and refine key themes. Results Five key themes were identified that affected individuals’ experiences of managing CLBP in a rural setting, including: 1 poor access to information and services in rural settings; 2 inadequate knowledge and skills among local practitioners; 3 feelings of isolation and frustration; 4 psychological burden associated with CLBP; and 5 competing lifestyle demands hindering effective self-management for CLBP. Conclusions Consumers in rural WA experienced difficulties in knowing where to access relevant information for CLBP and expressed frustration with the lack of service delivery options to access interdisciplinary and specialist services for CLBP. Competing

Inequitable access to substance abuse treatment services in Cape Town, South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louw Johann

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite high levels of substance use disorders in Cape Town, substance abuse treatment utilization is low among people from disadvantaged communities in Cape Town, South Africa. To improve substance abuse treatment utilization, it is important to identify any potential barriers to treatment initiation so that interventions to reduce these barriers can be implemented. To date, substance abuse research has not examined the factors associated with substance abuse treatment utilization within developing countries. Using the Behavioural Model of Health Services Utilization as an analytic framework, this study aimed to redress this gap by examining whether access to substance abuse treatment is equitable and the profile of variables associated with treatment utilization for people from poor communities in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods This study used a case-control design to compare 434 individuals with substance use disorders from disadvantaged communities who had accessed treatment with 555 controls who had not accessed treatment on a range of predisposing, treatment need and enabling/restricting variables thought to be associated with treatment utilization. A hierarchical logistic regression was conducted to assess the unique contribution that the need for treatment, predisposing and enabling/restricting variable blocks made on substance abuse treatment utilization. Results Findings revealed that non-need enabling/restricting variables accounted for almost equal proportions of the variance in service utilization as the need for treatment variables. These enabling/restricting variables also attenuated the influence of the treatment need and predisposing variables domains on chances of treatment utilization. Several enabling/restricting variables emerged as powerful partial predictors of utilization including competing financial priorities, geographic access barriers and awareness of treatment services. Perceived severity of

Living conditions and access to health services by Bolivian immigrants in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Silveira, Cássio; Carneiro Junior, Nivaldo; Ribeiro, Manoel Carlos Sampaio de Almeida; Barata, Rita de Cássia Barradas

2013-10-01

Bolivian immigrants in Brazil experience serious social problems: precarious work conditions, lack of documents and insufficient access to health services. The study aimed to investigate inequalities in living conditions and access to health services among Bolivian immigrants living in the central area of São Paulo, Brazil, using a cross-sectional design and semi-structured interviews with 183 adults. According to the data, the immigrants tend to remain in Brazil, thus resulting in an aging process in the group. Per capita income increases the longer the immigrants stay in the country. The majority have secondary schooling. Work status does not vary according to time since arrival in Brazil. The immigrants work and live in garment sweatshops and speak their original languages. Social networks are based on ties with family and friends. Access to health services shows increasing inclusion in primary care. The authors conclude that the immigrants' social exclusion is decreasing due to greater access to documentation, work (although precarious), and the supply of health services from the public primary care system.

Living conditions and access to health services by Bolivian immigrants in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cássio Silveira

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Bolivian immigrants in Brazil experience serious social problems: precarious work conditions, lack of documents and insufficient access to health services. The study aimed to investigate inequalities in living conditions and access to health services among Bolivian immigrants living in the central area of São Paulo, Brazil, using a cross-sectional design and semi-structured interviews with 183 adults. According to the data, the immigrants tend to remain in Brazil, thus resulting in an aging process in the group. Per capita income increases the longer the immigrants stay in the country. The majority have secondary schooling. Work status does not vary according to time since arrival in Brazil. The immigrants work and live in garment sweatshops and speak their original languages. Social networks are based on ties with family and friends. Access to health services shows increasing inclusion in primary care. The authors conclude that the immigrants' social exclusion is decreasing due to greater access to documentation, work (although precarious, and the supply of health services from the public primary care system.

Young people with depression and their experience accessing an enhanced primary care service for youth with emerging mental health problems: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

McCann, Terence V; Lubman, Dan I

2012-08-01

Despite the emergence of mental health problems during adolescence and early adulthood, many young people encounter difficulties accessing appropriate services. In response to this gap, the Australian Government recently established new enhanced primary care services (headspace) that target young people with emerging mental health problems. In this study, we examine the experience of young people with depression accessing one of these services, with a focus on understanding how they access the service and the difficulties they encounter in the process. Individual, in-depth, audio-recorded interviews were used to collect data. Twenty-six young people with depression were recruited from a headspace site in Melbourne, Australia. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the data. Four overlapping themes were identified in the data. First, school counsellors as access mediators, highlights the prominent role school counsellors have in facilitating student access to the service. Second, location as an access facilitator and inhibitor. Although the service is accessible by public transport, it is less so to those who do not live near public transport. Third, encountering barriers accessing the service initially. Two main service access barriers were experienced: unfamiliarity with the service, and delays in obtaining initial appointments for ongoing therapy. Finally, the service's funding model acts as an access facilitator and barrier. While the model provides a low or no cost services initially, it limits the number of funded sessions, and this can be problematic. Young people have contrasting experiences accessing the service. School counsellors have an influential role in facilitating access, and its close proximity to public transport enhances access. The service needs to become more prominent in young people's consciousness, while the appointment system would benefit from providing more timely appointments with therapists. The service's funding

Access to health services by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons: systematic literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Alencar Albuquerque, Grayce; de Lima Garcia, Cintia; da Silva Quirino, Glauberto; Alves, Maria Juscinaide Henrique; Belém, Jameson Moreira; dos Santos Figueiredo, Francisco Winter; da Silva Paiva, Laércio; do Nascimento, Vânia Barbosa; da Silva Maciel, Érika; Valenti, Vitor Engrácia; de Abreu, Luiz Carlos; Adami, Fernando

2016-01-14

The relationship between users and health services is considered essential to strengthen the quality of care. However, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender population suffer from prejudice and discrimination in access and use of these services. This study aimed to identify the difficulties associated with homosexuality in access and utilization of health services. A systematic review conducted using PubMed, Cochrane, SciELO, and LILACS, considering the period from 2004 to 2014. The studies were evaluated according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criterias. Were included manuscripts written in English or Portuguese, articles examining the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender population's access to health services and original articles with full text available online. The electronic databases search resulted in 667 studies, of which 14 met all inclusion criteria. Quantitative articles were predominant, showing the country of United States of America to be the largest producer of research on the topic. The studies reveal that the homosexual population have difficulties of access to health services as a result of heteronormative attitudes imposed by health professionals. The discriminatory attendance implies in human rights violations in access to health services. The non-heterosexual orientation was a determinant factor in the difficulties of accessing health care. A lot must still be achieved to ensure access to health services for sexual minorities, through the adoption of holistic and welcoming attitudes. The results of this study highlight the need for larger discussions about the theme, through new research and debates, with the aim of enhancing professionals and services for the health care of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons.

Semantically optiMize the dAta seRvice operaTion (SMART) system for better data discovery and access

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, C.; Huang, T.; Armstrong, E. M.; Moroni, D. F.; Liu, K.; Gui, Z.

2013-12-01

Abstract: We present a Semantically optiMize the dAta seRvice operaTion (SMART) system for better data discovery and access across the NASA data systems, Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) Clearinghouse and Data.gov to facilitate scientists to select Earth observation data that fit better their needs in four aspects: 1. Integrating and interfacing the SMART system to include the functionality of a) semantic reasoning based on Jena, an open source semantic reasoning engine, b) semantic similarity calculation, c) recommendation based on spatiotemporal, semantic, and user workflow patterns, and d) ranking results based on similarity between search terms and data ontology. 2. Collaborating with data user communities to a) capture science data ontology and record relevant ontology triple stores, b) analyze and mine user search and download patterns, c) integrate SMART into metadata-centric discovery system for community-wide usage and feedback, and d) customizing data discovery, search and access user interface to include the ranked results, recommendation components, and semantic based navigations. 3. Laying the groundwork to interface the SMART system with other data search and discovery systems as an open source data search and discovery solution. The SMART systems leverages NASA, GEO, FGDC data discovery, search and access for the Earth science community by enabling scientists to readily discover and access data appropriate to their endeavors, increasing the efficiency of data exploration and decreasing the time that scientists must spend on searching, downloading, and processing the datasets most applicable to their research. By incorporating the SMART system, it is a likely aim that the time being devoted to discovering the most applicable dataset will be substantially reduced, thereby reducing the number of user inquiries and likewise reducing the time and resources expended by a data center in addressing user inquiries. Keywords: EarthCube; ECHO

Perspectives on providing good access to dental services for elderly people: patient selection, dentists' responsibility and budget management.

Science.gov (United States)

Grytten, Jostein; Holst, Dorthe

2013-06-01

To suggest a model for organizing and financing dental services for elderly people so that they have good access to services. There are few studies on how dental services for elderly people should be organized and financed. This is surprising if we take into consideration the fact that the proportion of elderly people is growing faster than any other group in the population, and that elderly people have more dental diseases and poorer access to dental services than the rest of the adult population. In several countries, dental services are characterized by private providers who often operate in a market with competition and free price-setting. Private dentists have no community responsibility, and they are free to choose which patients they treat. Literature review and critical reasoning. In order to avoid patient selection, a patient list system for elderly people is recommended, with per capita remuneration for the patients that the dentist is given responsibility for. The patient list system means that the dentist assumes responsibility for a well-defined list of elderly people. Our model will lead to greater security in the dentist/patient relationship, and patients with great treatment needs will be ensured access to dental services. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S and The Gerodontology Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Socioeconomic inequalities in the access to and quality of health care services

OpenAIRE

Nunes, Bruno Pereira; Thumé, Elaine; Tomasi, Elaine; Duro, Suele Manjourany Silva; Facchini, Luiz Augusto

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE To assess the inequalities in access, utilization, and quality of health care services according to the socioeconomic status. METHODS This population-based cross-sectional study evaluated 2,927 individuals aged ≥ 20 years living in Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, in 2012. The associations between socioeconomic indicators and the following outcomes were evaluated: lack of access to health services, utilization of services, waiting period (in days) for assistance, and waiting time (in...

SAM: Secure Access of Media Independent Information Service with User Anonymity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Guangsong

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Seamless handover across different access technologies is very important in the future wireless networks. To optimize vertical handover in heterogeneous networks, IEEE 802.21 standard defines Media Independent Handover (MIH services. The MIH services can be a new target to attackers, which will be the main concern for equipment vendors and service providers. In this paper, we focus specifically on security of Media Independent Information Service (MIIS and present a new access authentication scheme with user anonymity for MIIS. The protocol can be used to establish a secure channel between the mobile node and the information server. Security and performance of the protocol are also analyzed in this paper.

Broadband and scalable mobile satellite communication system for future access networks

Science.gov (United States)

Ohata, Kohei; Kobayashi, Kiyoshi; Nakahira, Katsuya; Ueba, Masazumi

2005-07-01

Due to the recent market trends, NTT has begun research into next generation satellite communication systems, such as broadband and scalable mobile communication systems. One service application objective is to provide broadband Internet access for transportation systems, temporal broadband access networks and telemetries to remote areas. While these are niche markets the total amount of capacity should be significant. We set a 1-Gb/s total transmission capacity as our goal. Our key concern is the system cost, which means that the system should be unified system with diversified services and not tailored for each application. As satellites account for a large portion of the total system cost, we set the target satellite size as a small, one-ton class dry mass with a 2-kW class payload power. In addition to the payload power and weight, the mobile satellite's frequency band is extremely limited. Therefore, we need to develop innovative technologies that will reduce the weight and maximize spectrum and power efficiency. Another challenge is the need for the system to handle up to 50 dB and a wide data rate range of other applications. This paper describes the key communication system technologies; the frequency reuse strategy, multiplexing scheme, resource allocation scheme, and QoS management algorithm to ensure excellent spectrum efficiency and support a variety of services and quality requirements in the mobile environment.

Web services for distributed and interoperable hydro-information systems

Science.gov (United States)

Horak, J.; Orlik, A.; Stromsky, J.

2008-03-01

Web services support the integration and interoperability of Web-based applications and enable machine-to-machine interaction. The concepts of web services and open distributed architecture were applied to the development of T-DSS, the prototype customised for web based hydro-information systems. T-DSS provides mapping services, database related services and access to remote components, with special emphasis placed on the output flexibility (e.g. multilingualism), where SOAP web services are mainly used for communication. The remote components are represented above all by remote data and mapping services (e.g. meteorological predictions), modelling and analytical systems (currently HEC-HMS, MODFLOW and additional utilities), which support decision making in water management.

Barriers to accessing low vision services.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Tamara L; Simpson, John A; Lamoureux, Ecosse L; Keeffe, Jill E

2003-07-01

To investigate barriers to accessing low vision services in Australia. Adults with a vision impairment (vision difficulties, duration of vision loss and satisfaction with vision and also examined issues of awareness of low vision services and referral to services. Focus groups were also conducted with vision impaired (Vision Australia Foundation. The discussions were recorded and transcribed. The questionnaire revealed that referral to low vision services was associated with a greater degree of vision loss (p = 0.002) and a greater self-perception of low vision (p = 0.005) but that referral was not associated with satisfaction (p = 0.144) or difficulties related to vision (p = 0.169). Participants with mild and moderate vision impairment each reported similar levels of difficulties with daily activities and satisfaction with their vision (p > 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the level of difficulties experienced with daily activities between those with mild-moderate and severe vision impairment (p low vision services related to awareness of services among the general public and eye care professionals, understanding of low vision and the services available, acceptance of low vision, the referral process, and transport. In addition to the expected difficulties with lack of awareness of services by people with low vision, many people do not understand what the services provide and do not identify themselves as having low vision. Knowledge of these barriers, from the perspective of people with low vision, can now be used to guide the development and content of future health-promotion campaigns.

Support Services for Remote Users of Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalin, Sally W.

1991-01-01

Discusses the needs of remote users of online public access catalogs (OPACs). User expectations are discussed; problems encountered by remote-access users are examined, including technical problems and searching problems; support services are described, including instruction, print guides, and online help; and differences from the needs of…

Improving the Accessibility and Efficiency of Point-of-Care Diagnostics Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Lean and Agile Supply Chain Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuupiel, Desmond; Bawontuo, Vitalis; Mashamba-Thompson, Tivani P

2017-11-29

Access to point-of-care (POC) diagnostics services is essential for ensuring rapid disease diagnosis, management, control, and surveillance. POC testing services can improve access to healthcare especially where healthcare infrastructure is weak and access to quality and timely medical care is a challenge. Improving the accessibility and efficiency of POC diagnostics services, particularly in resource-limited settings, may be a promising route to improving healthcare outcomes. In this review, the accessibility of POC testing is defined as the distance/proximity to the nearest healthcare facility for POC diagnostics service. This review provides an overview of the impact of POC diagnostics on healthcare outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and factors contributing to the accessibility of POC testing services in LMICs, focusing on characteristics of the supply chain management and quality systems management, characteristics of the geographical location, health infrastructure, and an enabling policy framework for POC diagnostics services. Barriers and challenges related to the accessibility of POC diagnostics in LMICs were also discussed. Bearing in mind the reported barriers and challenges as well as the disease epidemiology in LMICs, we propose a lean and agile supply chain management framework for improving the accessibility and efficiency of POC diagnostics services in these settings.

Improving the Accessibility and Efficiency of Point-of-Care Diagnostics Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Lean and Agile Supply Chain Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desmond Kuupiel

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Access to point-of-care (POC diagnostics services is essential for ensuring rapid disease diagnosis, management, control, and surveillance. POC testing services can improve access to healthcare especially where healthcare infrastructure is weak and access to quality and timely medical care is a challenge. Improving the accessibility and efficiency of POC diagnostics services, particularly in resource-limited settings, may be a promising route to improving healthcare outcomes. In this review, the accessibility of POC testing is defined as the distance/proximity to the nearest healthcare facility for POC diagnostics service. This review provides an overview of the impact of POC diagnostics on healthcare outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs and factors contributing to the accessibility of POC testing services in LMICs, focusing on characteristics of the supply chain management and quality systems management, characteristics of the geographical location, health infrastructure, and an enabling policy framework for POC diagnostics services. Barriers and challenges related to the accessibility of POC diagnostics in LMICs were also discussed. Bearing in mind the reported barriers and challenges as well as the disease epidemiology in LMICs, we propose a lean and agile supply chain management framework for improving the accessibility and efficiency of POC diagnostics services in these settings.

[Perceptions and experiences of access to health services and their utilization among the immigrant population].

Science.gov (United States)

Bas-Sarmiento, Pilar; Fernández-Gutiérrez, Martina; Albar-Marín, M A Jesús; García-Ramírez, Manuel

2015-01-01

To identify and describe the needs and problems of the immigrant population related to access and utilization of health services. A descriptive, qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted using focus groups. The study area was the county of Campo de Gibraltar (Spain), which represents the gateway to Europe for immigration from Africa. The final sample size (51 immigrants from 11 countries) was determined by theoretical saturation. A narrative analysis was conducted with QSR NVivo9 software. Immigrants' discourse showed four categories of analysis: response to a health problem, system access, knowledge of social and health resources, and health literacy needs. Responses to health problems and the route of access to the health care system differed according to some sociodemographic characteristics (nationality/culture of origin, length of residence, and economic status). In general, immigrants primarily used emergency services, hampering health promotion and prevention. The health literacy needs identified concerned language proficiency and the functioning of the health system. There is a need to promote interventions to enhance health literacy among immigrants. These interventions should take into account diversity and length of residence, and should be based on an action-participation methodology. Copyright © 2014 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Young people with depression and their experience accessing an enhanced primary care service for youth with emerging mental health problems: a qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McCann Terence V

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the emergence of mental health problems during adolescence and early adulthood, many young people encounter difficulties accessing appropriate services. In response to this gap, the Australian Government recently established new enhanced primary care services (headspace that target young people with emerging mental health problems. In this study, we examine the experience of young people with depression accessing one of these services, with a focus on understanding how they access the service and the difficulties they encounter in the process. Method Individual, in-depth, audio-recorded interviews were used to collect data. Twenty-six young people with depression were recruited from a headspace site in Melbourne, Australia. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Four overlapping themes were identified in the data. First, school counsellors as access mediators, highlights the prominent role school counsellors have in facilitating student access to the service. Second, location as an access facilitator and inhibitor. Although the service is accessible by public transport, it is less so to those who do not live near public transport. Third, encountering barriers accessing the service initially. Two main service access barriers were experienced: unfamiliarity with the service, and delays in obtaining initial appointments for ongoing therapy. Finally, the service’s funding model acts as an access facilitator and barrier. While the model provides a low or no cost services initially, it limits the number of funded sessions, and this can be problematic. Conclusions Young people have contrasting experiences accessing the service. School counsellors have an influential role in facilitating access, and its close proximity to public transport enhances access. The service needs to become more prominent in young people’s consciousness, while the appointment system would benefit from

The social service divide: service availability and accessibility in rural versus urban counties and impact on child welfare outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Belanger, Kathleen; Stone, Warren

2008-01-01

An empirical study of 75 counties in a state found that social services are more available and accessible in urban versus rural counties, signaling a need for public policy addressing service allocation. The study also found a relationship between the accessibility of intensive family preservation services and reentry into foster care, a child welfare outcome. Implications for achieving outcomes affecting safety, permanence, and well-being of children are discussed.

Applying Service-Oriented Architecture to Archiving Data in Control and Monitoring Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nogiec, J. M. [Fermilab; Trombly-Freytag, K. [Fermilab

2017-01-01

Current trends in the architecture of software systems focus our attention on building systems using a set of loosely coupled components, each providing a specific functionality known as service. It is not much different in control and monitoring systems, where a functionally distinct sub-system can be identified and independently designed, implemented, deployed and maintained. One functionality that renders itself perfectly to becoming a service is archiving the history of the system state. The design of such a service and our experience of using it are the topic of this article. The service is built with responsibility segregation in mind, therefore, it provides for reducing data processing on the data viewer side and separation of data access and modification operations. The service architecture and the details concerning its data store design are discussed. An implementation of a service client capable of archiving EPICS process variables (PV) and LabVIEW shared variables is presented. Data access tools, including a browser-based data viewer and a mobile viewer, are also presented.

Accessibility to tuberculosis control services and tuberculosis programme performance in southern Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mesay Hailu Dangisso

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Despite the expansion of health services and community-based interventions in Ethiopia, limited evidence exists about the distribution of and access to health facilities and their relationship with the performance of tuberculosis (TB control programmes. We aim to assess the geographical distribution of and physical accessibility to TB control services and their relationship with TB case notification rates (CNRs and treatment outcome in the Sidama Zone, southern Ethiopia. Design: We carried out an ecological study to assess physical accessibility to TB control facilities and the association of physical accessibility with TB CNRs and treatment outcome. We collected smear-positive pulmonary TB (PTB cases treated during 2003–2012 from unit TB registers and TB service data such as availability of basic supplies for TB control and geographic locations of health services. We used ArcGIS 10.2 to measure the distance from each enumeration location to the nearest TB control facilities. A linear regression analysis was employed to assess factors associated with TB CNRs and treatment outcome. Results: Over a decade the health service coverage (the health facility–to-population ratio increased by 36% and the accessibility to TB control facilities also improved. Thus, the mean distance from TB control services was 7.6 km in 2003 (ranging from 1.8 to 25.5 km between kebeles (the smallest administrative units and had decreased to 3.2 km in 2012 (ranging from 1.5 to 12.4 km. In multivariate linear regression, as distance from TB diagnostic facilities (b-estimate=−0.25, p<0.001 and altitude (b-estimate=−0.31, p<0.001 increased, the CNRs of TB decreased, whereas a higher population density was associated with increased TB CNRs. Similarly, distance to TB control facilities (b-estimate=−0.27, p<0.001 and altitude (b-estimate=−0.30, p<0.001 were inversely associated with treatment success (proportion of treatment completed or cured cases

Access to eye health services among indigenous Australians: an area level analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelaher Margaret

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This project is a community-level study of equity of access to eye health services for Indigenous Australians. Methods The project used data on eye health services from multiple sources including Medicare Australia, inpatient and outpatient data and the National Indigenous Eye Health Survey. The analysis focused on the extent to which access to eye health services varied at an area level according to the proportion of the population that was Indigenous (very low = 0-1.0%, low = 1.1-3.0%, low medium = 3.1-6.0%, high medium = 6.1-10.0%, high = 10.1-20.0%, very high = 20 + %. The analysis of health service utilisation also took into account age, remoteness and the Socioeconomic Indices for Areas (SEIFA. Results The rate of eye exams provided in areas with very high Indigenous populations was two-thirds of the rate of eye exams for areas with very low indigenous populations. The cataract surgery rates in areas with high medium to very high Indigenous populations were less than half that reference areas. In over a third of communities with very high Indigenous populations the cataract surgery rate fell below the World Health Organization (WHO guidelines compared to a cataract surgery rate of 3% in areas with very low Indigenous populations. Conclusions There remain serious disparities in access to eye health service in areas with high Indigenous populations. Addressing disparities requires a co-ordinated approach to improving Indigenous people’s access to eye health services. More extensive take-up of existing Medicare provisions is an important step in this process. Along with improving access to health services, community education concerning the importance of eye health and the effectiveness of treatment might reduce reluctance to seek help.

Mental health beliefs and barriers to accessing mental health services in youth aging out of foster care.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakai, Christina; Mackie, Thomas I; Shetgiri, Rashmi; Franzen, Sara; Partap, Anu; Flores, Glenn; Leslie, Laurel K

2014-01-01

To examine the perspectives of youth on factors that influence mental health service use after aging out of foster care. Focus groups were conducted with youth with a history of mental health needs and previous service use who had aged out of foster care. Questions were informed by the Health Belief Model and addressed 4 domains: youth perceptions of the "threat of mental health problems," treatment benefits versus barriers to accessing mental health services, self-efficacy, and "cues to action." Data were analyzed using a modified grounded-theory approach. Youth (N = 28) reported ongoing mental health problems affecting their functioning; however, they articulated variable levels of reliance on formal mental health treatment versus their own ability to resolve these problems without treatment. Past mental health service experiences influenced whether youth viewed treatment options as beneficial. Youth identified limited self-efficacy and insufficient psychosocial supports "cueing action" during their transition out of foster care. Barriers to accessing mental health services included difficulties obtaining health insurance, finding a mental health provider, scheduling appointments, and transportation. Youths' perceptions of their mental health needs, self-efficacy, psychosocial supports during transition, and access barriers influence mental health service use after aging out of foster care. Results suggest that strategies are needed to 1) help youth and clinicians negotiate shared understanding of mental health treatment needs and options, 2) incorporate mental health into transition planning, and 3) address insurance and other systemic barriers to accessing mental health services after aging out of foster care. Copyright © 2014 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Method and system for a network mapping service

Science.gov (United States)

Bynum, Leo

2017-10-17

A method and system of publishing a map includes providing access to a plurality of map data files or mapping services between at least one publisher and at least one subscriber; defining a map in a map context comprising parameters and descriptors to substantially duplicate a map by reference to mutually accessible data or mapping services, publishing a map to a channel in a table file on server; accessing the channel by at least one subscriber, transmitting the mapping context from the server to the at least one subscriber, executing the map context by the at least one subscriber, and generating the map on a display software associated with the at least one subscriber by reconstituting the map from the references and other data in the mapping context.

Estimation and Evaluation of Future Demand and Supply of Healthcare Services Based on a Patient Access Area Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shunsuke Doi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Accessibility to healthcare service providers, the quantity, and the quality of them are important for national health. In this study, we focused on geographic accessibility to estimate and evaluate future demand and supply of healthcare services. We constructed a simulation model called the patient access area model (PAAM, which simulates patients’ access time to healthcare service institutions using a geographic information system (GIS. Using this model, to evaluate the balance of future healthcare services demand and supply in small areas, we estimated the number of inpatients every five years in each area and compared it with the number of hospital beds within a one-hour drive from each area. In an experiment with the Tokyo metropolitan area as a target area, when we assumed hospital bed availability to be 80%, it was predicted that over 78,000 inpatients would not receive inpatient care in 2030. However, this number would decrease if we lowered the rate of inpatient care by 10% and the average length of the hospital stay. Using this model, recommendations can be made regarding what action should be undertaken and by when to prevent a dramatic increase in healthcare demand. This method can help plan the geographical resource allocation in healthcare services for healthcare policy.

Middle Tier Services Accessing the Chandra X-Ray Center Data Archive

Science.gov (United States)

Patz, A.; Harbo, P.; Moran, J.; van Stone, D.; Zografou, P.

The Chandra Data Archive team at the Chandra X-ray Center has developed middle tier services that are used by both our search and retrieval applications to uniformly access our data repository. Accessible through an HTTP URL interface, these services can be called by our J2EE web application (WebChaser) and our Java Swing application (Chaser), as well as any other HTTP client. Programs can call the services to retrieve observation data such as a single FITS file, a proposal abstract or a detailed report of observation parameters. Having a central interface to the archive, shared by client applications, facilitates code reusability and easier maintenance. These middle tier services have been written in Java and packaged into a single J2EE application called the Search and Retrieval (SR) Services. The package consists of a web application front-end and an Enterprise Java Beans back-end. This paper describes the design and use of the SR Services.

[Gender, equality, and health services access: an empirical approximation].

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez Gómez, Elsa

2002-01-01

This piece describes the conceptual framework and the objectives that guided a research initiative in the Region of the Americas that was called "Gender, Equity, and Access to Health Services" and that was sponsored in 2001 by the Pan American Health Organization. The piece does not summarize the results of the six projects that were carried under the initiative, whose analyses have not all been completed. Instead, the piece discusses some of the foundations of the initiative and provides a general introduction to the country studies that were done. The six studies were done in Barbados/Jamaica, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The primary objective of the initiative was to stimulate the use of existing quantitative information in the countries, with the goal of starting a process of systematically documenting two things: 1) the unfair, unnecessary, and avoidable inequalities between men and women in their access to health care and 2) the linkages between those inequalities and other socioeconomic factors. The concept of gender equity that guided this examination of health care was not the usual one calling for the equal distribution of resources. Rather, it was the notion that resources should be allocated differentially, according to the particular needs of men and of women, and that persons should pay for health services according to their economic ability rather than their risk level. The starting point for the initiative was the premise that gender inequities in utilizing and paying for health care result from gender differences in the macroeconomic and microeconomic distribution of resources. The piece concludes that achieving equity in health care access will require a better understanding of the gender needs and gender barriers that are linked to social structures and health systems.

Evaluation of Patients' Satisfaction with Services Accessed under ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The evaluation of patient satisfaction provides an indicator of quality of care and contributes to strategies towards improvement of healthcare delivery. Objective: To assess patient satisfaction with services accessed under the National Health Insurance Scheme at a tertiary health facility in North central, Nigeria.

The NASA Astrophysics Data System Free Access to the Astronomical Literature On-Line and through Email

CERN Document Server

Eichhorn, G; Grant, C S; Kurtz, M J; Murray, S S

2001-01-01

The Astrophysics Data System (ADS) provides access to the astronomical literature through the World Wide Web. It is a NASA funded project and access to all the ADS services is free to everybody world-wide.The ADS Abstract Service allows the searching of four databases with abstracts in Astronomy, Instrumentation, Physics/Geophysics, and the LANL Preprints with a total of over 2.2 million references. The system also provides access to reference and citation information, links to on-line data, electronic journal articles, and other on-line information. The ADS Article Service contains the articles for most of the astronomical literature back to volume 1. It contains the scanned pages of all the major journals (Astrophysical Journal, Astronomical Journal, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and Solar Physics), as well as most smaller journals back to volume 1. The ADS can be accessed through any web browser without signup or login. Alternatively an email interface is ...

Quantitative analysis of access strategies to remote information in network services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Schwefel, Hans-Peter; Hansen, Martin Bøgsted

2006-01-01

Remote access to dynamically changing information elements is a required functionality for various network services, including routing and instances of context-sensitive networking. Three fundamentally different strategies for such access are investigated in this paper: (1) a reactive approach in...

Accessibility, affordability and use of health services in an urban area in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Stellenberg, Ethelwynn L

2015-03-10

Inequalities in healthcare between population groups of South Africa existed during the apartheid era and continue to exist both between and within many population groups. Accessibility and affordability of healthcare is a human right. The aim of the study was to explore and describe accessibility, affordability and the use of health services by the mixed race (coloured) population in the Western Cape, South Africa. A cross-sectional descriptive, non-experimental study with a quantitative approach was applied. A purposive convenient sample of 353 participants (0.6%) was drawn from a population of 63 004 economically-active people who lived in the residential areas as defined for the purpose of the study. All social classes were represented. The hypothesis set was that there is a positive relationship between accessibility, affordability and the use of health services. A pilot study was conducted which also supported the reliability and validity of the study. Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Stellenbosch and informed consent from respondents. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The hypothesis was accepted. The statistical association between affordability (p = < 0.01), accessibility (p = < 0.01) and the use of health services was found to be significant using the Chi-square (χ²) test. The study has shown how affordability and accessibility may influence the use of healthcare services. Accessibility is not only the distance an individual must travel to reach the health service point but more so the utilisation of these services. Continuous Quality Management should be a priority in healthcare services, which should be user-friendly.

Accessibility to primary health care services in the state of Goiás

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Pires Ribeiro

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate accessibility to primary health care services in the state of Goiás. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted based on secondary data from the National Program to Improve Access to and Quality of Primary Health Care. The study sample was composed of health professionals from 1,216 primary health care units. Results showed that 68.5% of the health units miss a screening room, thus considerably damaging prompt decision-making by professionals. The lack of medical offices in 2% of the sites hinders the primary health care services accessibility in Goiás. As regards opening hours and work shifts, 86% of the units are open five days a week in eight-hour shifts, which does not favor accessibility for users. This study confirms the lack of accessibility to health services and the need for additional investments to strengthen primary health care.

Poverty, Access to Health Care Services and Human Capital ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

FIRST LADY

socio-economic development because it is essential for a virile labour force ... Poverty and access to health care services are major development problems ..... including preventive, curative and palliative intervention, whether directed to.

Defense Hotline Allegations Concerning the Biometric Identification System for Access Omnibus Contract

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2008-01-01

.... According to the Strategic Services Sourcing (S3) performance work statement the purpose of the BISA is to provide a biometric base access control system that can operate in a hostile environment...

The NASA Reanalysis Ensemble Service - Advanced Capabilities for Integrated Reanalysis Access and Intercomparison

Science.gov (United States)

Tamkin, G.; Schnase, J. L.; Duffy, D.; Li, J.; Strong, S.; Thompson, J. H.

2017-12-01

NASA's efforts to advance climate analytics-as-a-service are making new capabilities available to the research community: (1) A full-featured Reanalysis Ensemble Service (RES) comprising monthly means data from multiple reanalysis data sets, accessible through an enhanced set of extraction, analytic, arithmetic, and intercomparison operations. The operations are made accessible through NASA's climate data analytics Web services and our client-side Climate Data Services Python library, CDSlib; (2) A cloud-based, high-performance Virtual Real-Time Analytics Testbed supporting a select set of climate variables. This near real-time capability enables advanced technologies like Spark and Hadoop-based MapReduce analytics over native NetCDF files; and (3) A WPS-compliant Web service interface to our climate data analytics service that will enable greater interoperability with next-generation systems such as ESGF. The Reanalysis Ensemble Service includes the following: - New API that supports full temporal, spatial, and grid-based resolution services with sample queries - A Docker-ready RES application to deploy across platforms - Extended capabilities that enable single- and multiple reanalysis area average, vertical average, re-gridding, standard deviation, and ensemble averages - Convenient, one-stop shopping for commonly used data products from multiple reanalyses including basic sub-setting and arithmetic operations (e.g., avg, sum, max, min, var, count, anomaly) - Full support for the MERRA-2 reanalysis dataset in addition to, ECMWF ERA-Interim, NCEP CFSR, JMA JRA-55 and NOAA/ESRL 20CR… - A Jupyter notebook-based distribution mechanism designed for client use cases that combines CDSlib documentation with interactive scenarios and personalized project management - Supporting analytic services for NASA GMAO Forward Processing datasets - Basic uncertainty quantification services that combine heterogeneous ensemble products with comparative observational products (e

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

Performance Issues Related to Web Service Usage for Remote Data Access

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pais, V. F.; Stancalie, V.; Mihailescu, F. A.; Totolici, M. C.

2008-01-01

Web services are starting to be widely used in applications for remotely accessing data. This is of special interest for research based on small and medium scale fusion devices, since scientists participating remotely to experiments are accessing large amounts of data over the Internet. Recent tests were conducted to see how the new network traffic, generated by the use of web services, can be integrated in the existing infrastructure and what would be the impact over existing applications, especially those used in a remote participation scenario

Dementia and the Deaf community: knowledge and service access.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson-Coleman, Emma; Keady, John; Young, Alys

2014-01-01

This study concerns culturally Deaf people in the United Kingdom who use British Sign Language (BSL). Its objective was to explore how Deaf people's knowledge about dementia and access to services is mediated by their minoritised cultural-linguistic status. Twenty-six members of the Deaf community participated in one of three Deaf-led focus groups in BSL corresponding with the sample of: Deaf people over the age of 60 without dementia; Deaf people aged 18-60 working professional roles unconnected with dementia services; ordinary members of the Deaf community aged 18-60. Data were subjected to a thematic content analysis. Participants' concerns about their poor levels of knowledge and understanding of dementia were augmented by their awareness that without sustained social contact in BSL opportunities for earlier recognition of dementia would be lost. Although primary care services were identified as the first port of call for dementia-related concerns, there was widespread mistrust of their effectiveness because of failures in communication and cultural competence. Confirmed diagnosis of dementia was not viewed as a gateway to services and support because Deaf organisations, dementia-related organisations and mainstream adult services were perceived to be ill-equipped to respond to the needs of Deaf people with dementia. Locating problems of late diagnosis within the Deaf community's poor awareness and knowledge of dementia fails to recognise the structural barriers Deaf people face in timely access to services and accurate recognition of dementia-related changes.

Design mobile satellite system architecture as an integral part of the cellular access digital network

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, E. S. K.; Marinho, J. A.; Russell, J. E., Sr.

1988-01-01

The Cellular Access Digital Network (CADN) is the access vehicle through which cellular technology is brought into the mainstream of the evolving integrated telecommunications network. Beyond the integrated end-to-end digital access and per call network services provisioning of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the CADN engenders the added capability of mobility freedom via wireless access. One key element of the CADN network architecture is the standard user to network interface that is independent of RF transmission technology. Since the Mobile Satellite System (MSS) is envisioned to not only complement but also enhance the capabilities of the terrestrial cellular telecommunications network, compatibility and interoperability between terrestrial cellular and mobile satellite systems are vitally important to provide an integrated moving telecommunications network of the future. From a network standpoint, there exist very strong commonalities between the terrestrial cellular system and the mobile satellite system. Therefore, the MSS architecture should be designed as an integral part of the CADN. This paper describes the concept of the CADN, the functional architecture of the MSS, and the user-network interface signaling protocols.

Development of Patient Status-Based Dynamic Access System for Medical Information Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Won Jeong

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Recently, the hospital information system environment using IT communication technology and utilization of medical information has been increasing. In the medical field, the medical information system only supports the transfer of patient information to medical staff through an electronic health record, without information about patient status. Hence, it needs a method of real-time monitoring for the patient. Also, in this environment, a secure method in approaching healthcare through various smart devices is required. Therefore, in this paper, in order to classify the status of the patients, we propose a dynamic approach of the medical information system in a hospital information environment using the dynamic access control method. Also, we applied the symmetric method of AES (Advanced Encryption Standard. This was the best encryption algorithm for sending and receiving biological information. We can define usefulness as the dynamic access application service based on the final result of the proposed system. The proposed system is expected to provide a new solution for a convenient medical information system.

Patients’ online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic interpretative review

Science.gov (United States)

de Lusignan, Simon; Mold, Freda; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Gronlund, Toto Anne; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Barker, Fiona; Ellis, Beverley; Koczan, Phil; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; McCarthy, Mary; Jones, Simon; Rafi, Imran

2014-01-01

Objectives To investigate the effect of providing patients online access to their electronic health record (EHR) and linked transactional services on the provision, quality and safety of healthcare. The objectives are also to identify and understand: barriers and facilitators for providing online access to their records and services for primary care workers; and their association with organisational/IT system issues. Setting Primary care. Participants A total of 143 studies were included. 17 were experimental in design and subject to risk of bias assessment, which is reported in a separate paper. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria have also been published elsewhere in the protocol. Primary and secondary outcome measures Our primary outcome measure was change in quality or safety as a result of implementation or utilisation of online records/transactional services. Results No studies reported changes in health outcomes; though eight detected medication errors and seven reported improved uptake of preventative care. Professional concerns over privacy were reported in 14 studies. 18 studies reported concern over potential increased workload; with some showing an increase workload in email or online messaging; telephone contact remaining unchanged, and face-to face contact staying the same or falling. Owing to heterogeneity in reporting overall workload change was hard to predict. 10 studies reported how online access offered convenience, primarily for more advantaged patients, who were largely highly satisfied with the process when clinician responses were prompt. Conclusions Patient online access and services offer increased convenience and satisfaction. However, professionals were concerned about impact on workload and risk to privacy. Studies correcting medication errors may improve patient safety. There may need to be a redesign of the business process to engage health professionals in online access and of the EHR to make it friendlier and provide equity of

Return Migrants’ Experience of Access to Care in Corrupt Healthcare Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Handlos, Line Neerup; Olwig, Karen Fog; Bygbjerg, Ib Christian

2016-01-01

unstudied, even though return migrants may be particularly vulnerable to problems related to corruption due to their period of absence from their country of origin. This article investigates how corruption in the healthcare sector affects access to healthcare for refugees who repatriated to Bosnia......Equal and universal access to healthcare services is a core priority for a just health system. A key societal determinant seen to create inequality in access to healthcare is corruption in the healthcare system. How return migrants’ access to healthcare is affected by corruption is largely......, a country with a high level of corruption, from Denmark, a country with a low level of corruption. The study is based on 18 semi-structured interviews with 33 refugees who returned after long-term residence in Denmark. We found that the returned refugees faced greater problems with corruption than...

NASA Access Mechanism - Graphical user interface information retrieval system

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Judy F.; Generous, Curtis; Duncan, Denise

1993-01-01

Access to online information sources of aerospace, scientific, and engineering data, a mission focus for NASA's Scientific and Technical Information Program, has always been limited by factors such as telecommunications, query language syntax, lack of standardization in the information, and the lack of adequate tools to assist in searching. Today, the NASA STI Program's NASA Access Mechanism (NAM) prototype offers a solution to these problems by providing the user with a set of tools that provide a graphical interface to remote, heterogeneous, and distributed information in a manner adaptable to both casual and expert users. Additionally, the NAM provides access to many Internet-based services such as Electronic Mail, the Wide Area Information Servers system, Peer Locating tools, and electronic bulletin boards.

NASA access mechanism: Graphical user interface information retrieval system

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Judy; Generous, Curtis; Duncan, Denise

1993-01-01

Access to online information sources of aerospace, scientific, and engineering data, a mission focus for NASA's Scientific and Technical Information Program, has always been limited to factors such as telecommunications, query language syntax, lack of standardization in the information, and the lack of adequate tools to assist in searching. Today, the NASA STI Program's NASA Access Mechanism (NAM) prototype offers a solution to these problems by providing the user with a set of tools that provide a graphical interface to remote, heterogeneous, and distributed information in a manner adaptable to both casual and expert users. Additionally, the NAM provides access to many Internet-based services such as Electronic Mail, the Wide Area Information Servers system, Peer Locating tools, and electronic bulletin boards.

News from ESO Archive Services: Next Generation Request Handler and Data Access Delegation

Science.gov (United States)

Fourniol, N.; Lockhart, J.; Suchar, D.; Tacconi-Garman, L. E.; Moins, C.; Bierwirth, T.; Eglitis, P.; Vuong, M.; Micol, A.; Delmotte, N.; Vera, I.; Dobrzycki, A.; Forchì, V.; Lange, U.; Sogni, F.

2012-09-01

We present the new ESO Archive services which improve the electronic data access via the Download Manager and also provide PIs with the option to delegate data access to their collaborators via the Data Access Control.

Service time analysis of secondary packet transmission with opportunistic channel access

KAUST Repository

Usman, Muneer; Yang, Hongchuan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2014-01-01

Cognitive radio transceiver can opportunistically access the underutilized channels of primary systems for new wireless services. The secondary transmission may be interrupted by the primary user's transmission. To facilitate the delay analysis of such secondary packet transmission, we study the resulting extended delivery time for a fixed-size secondary packet that includes both transmission time and waiting time. In particular we derive the exact distribution functions of extended delivery time of secondary transmission for both continuous sensing and periodic sensing cases. Selected numerical results are presented for illustrating the mathematical formulation.

Service time analysis of secondary packet transmission with opportunistic channel access

KAUST Repository

Usman, Muneer

2014-09-01

Cognitive radio transceiver can opportunistically access the underutilized channels of primary systems for new wireless services. The secondary transmission may be interrupted by the primary user\\'s transmission. To facilitate the delay analysis of such secondary packet transmission, we study the resulting extended delivery time for a fixed-size secondary packet that includes both transmission time and waiting time. In particular we derive the exact distribution functions of extended delivery time of secondary transmission for both continuous sensing and periodic sensing cases. Selected numerical results are presented for illustrating the mathematical formulation.

[Indigenous peoples' access to health services in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, Silvana Cardoso; Esperidião, Monique Azevedo

2017-06-12

This study aimed to evaluate indigenous peoples' access to medium and high-complexity health services in the municipality of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, through the Casa de Saúde Indígena or Indigenous Peoples' Clinic (CASAI Cuiabá). A single case study with a qualitative approach was conducted at CASAI Cuiabá. Data were obtained from observation of the work routines at CASAI Cuiabá, semi-structured interviews with health professionals and administrators from the Cuiabá Special Indigenous Health District (DSEI) and CASAI Cuiabá, and document analysis. Data analysis used a matrix derived from the theoretical and logical model of accessibility, validated by the Delphi method with a group of experts on indigenous peoples' health. Despite advances achieved by CASAI in improving indigenous peoples' access, there are persistent social, organizational, cultural, and geographic barriers in access to medium and high-complexity health services in Cuiabá. The study highlights the need for specific strategies to improve access to health services by indigenous peoples in Mato Grosso State.

Access to fertility services by transgender persons: an Ethics Committee opinion.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-01

This statement explores the ethical considerations surrounding the provision of fertility services to transgender individuals and concludes that denial of access to fertility services is not justified. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language and technology literacy barriers to accessing government services

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Barnard, E

2003-01-01

Full Text Available of field experiments are done to gain an improved understanding of the extent to which citizens’ exposure to technology and home language affect their ability to access electronic services. These experiments will influence technology development...

Factors affecting access to healthcare services by intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannah, Chona T; Lê, Quynh

2012-10-01

Access to health care services is vital for every migrant's health and wellbeing. However, migrants' cultural health beliefs and views can hinder their ability to access available services. This study examined factors affecting access to healthcare services for intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania, Australia. A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews was employed to investigate the factors affecting access to healthcare services for 30 intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania. The study used grounded theory and thematic analysis for its data analysis. Nvivo v8 (www.qsrinternational.com) was also used to assist the data coding process and analysis. Five influencing factors were identified: (1) language or communication barriers; (2) area of origin in the Philippines; (3) cultural barriers; (4) length of stay in Tasmania; and (5) expectations of healthcare services before and after migration. Factors affecting intermarried Filipino women in accessing healthcare services are shaped by their socio-demographic and cultural background. The insights gained from this study are useful to health policy-makers, healthcare professionals and to intermarried female migrants. The factors identified can serve as a guide to improve healthcare access for Filipino women and other migrants.

Accessibility, affordability and use of health services in an urban area in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ethelwynn L. Stellenberg

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Inequalities in healthcare between population groups of South Africa existed during the apartheid era and continue to exist both between and within many population groups. Accessibility and affordability of healthcare is a human right. Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore and describe accessibility, affordability and the use of health services by the mixed race (coloured population in the Western Cape, South Africa. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive, non-experimental study with a quantitative approach was applied. A purposive convenient sample of 353 participants (0.6% was drawn from a population of 63 004 economically-active people who lived in the residential areas as defined for the purpose of the study. All social classes were represented. The hypothesis set was that there is a positive relationship between accessibility, affordability and the use of health services. A pilot study was conducted which also supported the reliability and validity of the study. Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Stellenbosch and informed consent from respondents. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: The hypothesis was accepted. The statistical association between affordability (p = < 0.01, accessibility (p = < 0.01 and the use of health services was found to be significant using the Chi-square (χ² test. Conclusion: The study has shown how affordability and accessibility may influence the use of healthcare services. Accessibility is not only the distance an individual must travel to reach the health service point but more so the utilisation of these services. Continuous Quality Management should be a priority in healthcare services, which should be user-friendly.

Adolescent health care: improving access by school-based service.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzales, C; Mulligan, D; Kaufman, A; Davis, S; Hunt, K; Kalishman, N; Wallerstein, N

1985-10-01

Participants in this discussion of the potential of school-based health care services for adolescents included family medicine physicians, school health coordinators, a school nurse, and a community worker. It was noted that health care for adolescents tends to be either inaccessible or underutilized, largely because of a lack of sensitivity to adolescent culture and values. An ideal service for adolescents would offer immediate services for crises, strict confidentiality, ready access to prescribed medications, a sliding-scale scheme, and a staff that is tolerant of divergent values and life-styles. School-based pilot adolescent clinics have been established by the University of New Mexico's Department of Family, Community, and Emergency Medicine to test the community-oriented health care model. On-site clinics provide urgent medical care, family planning, pregnancy testing, psychological counseling, alcohol and drug counseling, and classroom health education. Experience with these programs has demonstrated the necessity for an alliance among the health team and the school administration, parents, and students. Financial, ethical, and political factors can serve as constraints to school-based programs. In some cases, school administrators have been resistant to the provision of contraception to students on school grounds and parents have been unwilling to accept the adolescent's right to confidentiality. These problems in part stem from having 2 separate systems, each with its own values, orientation, and responsibilities, housed in 1 facility. In addition, there have been problems generating awareness of the school-based clinic among students. Health education theater groups, peer counseling, and student-run community services have been effective, however, in increasing student participation. It has been helpful to mold clinic services to meet the needs identified by teenagers themselves. There is an interest not only in curative services, but in services focused

Introduction to the special section: Designing a better user experience for self-service systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Geest, Thea; Ramey, J.; Rosenbaum, S.; van Velsen, Lex Stefan

2013-01-01

June 2013 issue of IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication features a special section on 'Designing a Better User Experience for Self-Service Systems'. Self-service systems offers the users the benefit of 24/7 access to an ever-growing range of services and perhaps also a strong sense of

An Intelligent System Proposal for Improving the Safety and Accessibility of Public Transit by Highway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmelo R. García

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The development of public transit systems that are accessible and safe for everyone, including people with special needs, is an objective that is justified from the civic and economic points of view. Unfortunately, public transit services are conceived for people who do not have reduced physical or cognitive abilities. In this paper, we present an intelligent public transit system by highway with the goal of facilitating access and improving the safety of public transit for persons with special needs. The system is deployed using components that are commonly available in transport infrastructure, e.g., sensors, mobile communications systems, and positioning systems. In addition, the system can operate in non-urban transport contexts, e.g., isolated rural areas, where the availability of basic infrastructure, such as electricity and communications infrastructures, is not always guaranteed. To construct the system, the principles and techniques of Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence have been employed. To illustrate the utility of the system, two cases of services rendered by the system are described: the first case involves a surveillance system to guarantee accessibility at bus stops; the second case involves a route assistant for blind people.

IAACaaS: IoT Application-Scoped Access Control as a Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Álvaro Alonso

2017-10-01

Full Text Available access control is a key element when guaranteeing the security of online services. However, devices that make the Internet of Things have some special requirements that foster new approaches to access control mechanisms. Their low computing capabilities impose limitations that make traditional paradigms not directly applicable to sensors and actuators. In this paper, we propose a dynamic, scalable, IoT-ready model that is based on the OAuth 2.0 protocol and that allows the complete delegation of authorization, so that an as a service access control mechanism is provided. Multiple tenants are also supported by means of application-scoped authorization policies, whose roles and permissions are fine-grained enough to provide the desired flexibility of configuration. Besides, OAuth 2.0 ensures interoperability with the rest of the Internet, yet preserving the computing constraints of IoT devices, because its tokens provide all the necessary information to perform authorization. The proposed model has been fully implemented in an open-source solution and also deeply validated in the scope of FIWARE, a European project with thousands of users, the goal of which is to provide a framework for developing smart applications and services for the future Internet. We provide the details of the deployed infrastructure and offer the analysis of a sample smart city setup that takes advantage of the model. We conclude that the proposed solution enables a new access control as a service paradigm that satisfies the special requirements of IoT devices in terms of performance, scalability and interoperability.

Telemental health technology in deaf and general mental-health services: access and use.

Science.gov (United States)

Austen, Sally; McGrath, Melissa

2006-01-01

Long-distance travel to provide mental health services for deaf people has implications for efficiency, safety, and equality of service. However, uptake of Telemental Health (TMH) has been slow in both deaf and general mental health services. A quantitative study was used to investigate access to TMH and whether staff confidence, experience, or demographics affect TMH use. It was concluded that staff in neither deaf mental health services nor general mental health services had adequate knowledge of or access to TMH. Staff expressed concerns over TMH's appropriateness in their work. Previous use of videoconferencing was assosciated significantly with confidence, but previous use of videophones was not. Neither staff in deaf services nor deaf staff were more experienced with or more confident about videoconferencing, whereas, within deaf services, deaf staff were significantly more confident about videophone use. Training implications are discussed.

Barriers to accessing abortion services and perspectives on using mifepristone and misoprostol at home in Great Britain.

Science.gov (United States)

Aiken, Abigail R A; Guthrie, Katherine A; Schellekens, Marlies; Trussell, James; Gomperts, Rebecca

2018-02-01

To examine reasons for seeking abortion services outside the formal healthcare system in Great Britain, where abortion is legally available. We conducted a mixed-methods study among women resident in England, Scotland, and Wales who requested at-home medication abortion through online telemedicine initiative Women on Web (WoW) between November 22, 2016, and March 22, 2017. We examined the demographics and circumstances of all women requesting early medication abortion and conducted a content analysis of a sample of their anonymized emails to the service to explore their reasons for seeking help. Over a 4-month period, 519 women contacted WoW seeking medication abortion. These women were diverse with respect to age, parity, and circumstance. One hundred eighty women reported 209 reasons for seeking abortion outside the formal healthcare setting. Among all reasons, 49% were access barriers, including long waiting times, distance to clinic, work or childcare commitments, lack of eligibility for free NHS services, and prior negative experiences of abortion care; 30% were privacy concerns, including lack of confidentiality of services, perceived or experienced stigma, and preferring the privacy and comfort of using pills at home; and 18% were controlling circumstances, including partner violence and partner/family control. Despite the presence of abortion services in Great Britain, a diverse group of women still experiences logistical and personal barriers to accessing care through the formal healthcare system, or prefer the privacy of conducting their abortions in their own homes. Health services commissioning bodies could address existing barriers if supported by policy frameworks. The presence of multiple barriers to accessing abortion care in Great Britain highlights the need for future guidelines to recommend a more woman-centered approach to service provision. Reducing the number of clinic visits and designing services to meet the needs of those living in

5 CFR 293.504 - Composition of, and access to, the Employee Medical File System.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Employee Medical File System. 293.504 Section 293.504 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PERSONNEL RECORDS Employee Medical File System Records § 293.504 Composition of, and access to, the Employee Medical File System. (a) All employee occupational medical records...

Impact of universal medical insurance system on the accessibility of medical service supply and affordability of patients in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhiguo; Ren, Jing; Zhang, Jie; Pan, Xiaoyun; Zhang, Liang; Jin, Si

2018-01-01

Background China’s universal medical insurance system (UMIS) is designed to promote social fairness through improving access to medical services and reducing out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for all Chinese. However, it is still not known whether UMIS has a significant impact on the accessibility of medical service supply and the affordability, as well as the seeking-care choice, of patients in China. Methods Segmented time-series regression analysis, as a powerful statistical method of interrupted time series design, was used to estimate the changes in the quantity and quality of medical service supply before and after the implementation of UMIS. The rates of catastrophic payments and seeking-care choices for UMIS beneficiaries were selected to measure the affordability and medical service flow of patients after the implementation of UMIS. Results China’s UMIS was established in 2008. After that, the trending increase of the expenditure of the UMIS was higher than that of increase in revenue compared to previous years. Up to 2014, the UMIS had covered 97.5% of the entire population in China. After introduction of the UMIS, there were significant increases in licensed physicians, nurses, and hospital beds per 1000 individuals. In addition, hospital outpatient visits and inpatient visits per year increased compared to the pre-UMIS period. The average fatality rate of inpatients in the overall hospital and general hospital and the average fatality rate due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in general hospitals was significantly decreased. In contrast, no significant and prospective changes were observed in rural physicians per 1000 individuals, inpatient visits and inpatient fatality rate in the community centers and township hospitals compared to the pre-UMIS period. After 2008, the rates of catastrophic payments for UMIS inpatients at different income levels were declining at three levels of hospitals. Whichever income level, the rate of catastrophic payments for

A multisite audit to assess how women with complex social factors access and engage with maternity services.

Science.gov (United States)

Rayment-Jones, Hannah; Butler, Eleanor; Miller, Chelsie; Nay, Christine; O'Dowd, Jennifer

2017-09-01

to audit women with socially complex lives' documented access to and engagement with antenatal care provided by three inner city, UK maternity services in relation to birth and neonatal outcomes, and referral processes. women living socially complex lives, including young mothers, recently arrived immigrants, non-English speaking, and those experiencing domestic violence, poor mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, and poverty experience high rates of morbidity, mortality and poor birth outcomes. This is associated with late access to and poor engagement with antenatal care. data was collected from three separate NHS trusts data management systems for a total of 182 women living socially complex lives, between January and December 2015. Data was presented by individual trust and compared to standards derived from NICE guidelines, local trust policy and national statistic using Excel and SPSS Version 22. Tests of correlation were carried out to minimise risks of confounding factors in characteristic differences. non-English speaking women were much less likely to have accessed care within the recommended timeframes, with over 70% of the sample not booked for maternity care by 12 weeks gestation. On average 89% primiparous women across all samples had less than the recommended number of antenatal appointments. No sample met the audit criteria in terms of number of antenatal appointments attended. Data held on the perinatal data management systems for a number of outcomes and processes was largely incomplete and appeared unreliable. this data forms a baseline against which to assess the impact of future service developments aimed at improving access and engagement with services for women living with complex social factors. The audit identified issues with the completeness and reliability of data on the perinatal data management system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Poverty, food security and universal access to sexual and reproductive health services: a call for cross-movement advocacy against neoliberal globalisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundari Ravindran, T K

2014-05-01

Universal access to sexual and reproductive health services is one of the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development of 1994. The Millennium Development Goals were intended above all to end poverty. Universal access to health and health services are among the goals being considered for the post-2015 agenda, replacing or augmenting the MDGs. Yet we are not only far from reaching any of these goals but also appear to have lost our way somewhere along the line. Poverty and lack of food security have, through their multiple linkages to health and access to health care, deterred progress towards universal access to health services, including for sexual and reproductive health needs. A more insidious influence is neoliberal globalisation. This paper describes neoliberal globalisation and the economic policies it has engendered, the ways in which it influences poverty and food security, and the often unequal impact it has had on women as compared to men. It explores the effects of neoliberal economic policies on health, health systems, and universal access to health care services, and the implications for access to sexual and reproductive health. To be an advocate for universal access to health and health care is to become an advocate against neoliberal globalisation. Copyright © 2014 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cloud-based Web Services for Near-Real-Time Web access to NPP Satellite Imagery and other Data

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, J. D.; Valente, E. G.

2010-12-01

We are building a scalable, cloud computing-based infrastructure for Web access to near-real-time data products synthesized from the U.S. National Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) and other geospatial and meteorological data. Given recent and ongoing changes in the the NPP and NPOESS programs (now Joint Polar Satellite System), the need for timely delivery of NPP data is urgent. We propose an alternative to a traditional, centralized ground segment, using distributed Direct Broadcast facilities linked to industry-standard Web services by a streamlined processing chain running in a scalable cloud computing environment. Our processing chain, currently implemented on Amazon.com's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), retrieves raw data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and synthesizes data products such as Sea-Surface Temperature, Vegetation Indices, etc. The cloud computing approach lets us grow and shrink computing resources to meet large and rapid fluctuations (twice daily) in both end-user demand and data availability from polar-orbiting sensors. Early prototypes have delivered various data products to end-users with latencies between 6 and 32 minutes. We have begun to replicate machine instances in the cloud, so as to reduce latency and maintain near-real time data access regardless of increased data input rates or user demand -- all at quite moderate monthly costs. Our service-based approach (in which users invoke software processes on a Web-accessible server) facilitates access into datasets of arbitrary size and resolution, and allows users to request and receive tailored and composite (e.g., false-color multiband) products on demand. To facilitate broad impact and adoption of our technology, we have emphasized open, industry-standard software interfaces and open source software. Through our work, we envision the widespread establishment of similar, derived, or interoperable systems for

A Service Differentiated MAC Protocol for OFDM/TDMA Wireless Systems

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WANG Ying; ZHANG Ping

2005-01-01

This paper proposes a Service Differentiated-Dynamic Slotted Multiple Access (SD-DSMA) protocol with QoS guarantee. The Media Access Control (MAC) frame format is variable according to the traffic of uplink and downlink and the traffic of control and data. In addition, the services are divided into two categories, Guaranteed Bandwidth (GB) and Best Effort (BE). Uplink control message slots are designed for the GB users to reduce contention. Taking into consideration the techniques in physical layer, a two-Dimensional Radio Resource Allocation (2-D RRA) method is proposed. The 2-D RRA is an efficient way to allocate radio resources for multi-cell, multi-user OFDM/TDMA system as it takes into consideration both the channel condition and the co-channel interference. The piggyback mechanism and fair scheduling algorithm are adopted for GB services, and the max C/I scheduling algorithm is used for BE services. The simulation results show that the proposed MAC protocol has better performance in terms of delay, probability of successful access request.

GP preferences for information systems: conjoint analysis of speed, reliability, access and users.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyatt, Jeremy C; Batley, Richard P; Keen, Justin

2010-10-01

To elicit the preferences and trade-offs of UK general practitioners about key features of health information systems, to help inform the design of such systems in future. A stated choice study to uncover implicit preferences based on a binary choice between scenarios presented in random order. were all 303 general practice members of the UK Internet service provider, Medix who were approached by email to participate. The main outcome measure was the number of seconds delay in system response that general practitioners were willing to trade off for each key system feature: the reliability of the system, the sites from which the system could be accessed and which staff are able to view patient data. Doctors valued speed of response most in information systems but would be prepared to wait 28 seconds to access a system in exchange for improved reliability from 95% to 99%, a further 2 seconds for an improvement to 99.9% and 27 seconds for access to data from anywhere including their own home compared with one place in a single health care premises. However, they would require a system that was 14 seconds faster to compensate for allowing social care as well as National Health Service staff to read patient data. These results provide important new evidence about which system characteristics doctors value highly, and hence which characteristics designers need to focus on when large scale health information systems are planned. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Health Seeking Behavior and Family Planning Services Accessibility in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niniek Lely Pratiwi

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Background: The MDG target to increase maternal health will be achieved when 50% of maternal deaths can be prevented through improvment the coverage of K1, K4, to make sure that midwife stay in the village improve the delivery by health workers in health facilities, increase coverage long-term contraceptive methods participant as well as family and community empowerment in health. Methods: This study is a further analysis of Riskesdas in 2010 to assess how big the accessibility of services in family planning in Indonesia. Results: Women of 3–4 children in rural greater and prevalence (27.1% compared to women who live in urban areas (25.0%. The main reason of not using contraception mostly because they want to have children 27.0% in urban, 28.2% rural whereas, the second reason is the fear of side effects 23.1% in urban, 16.5% rural. There is 10% of respondent did not use contraceptives, because they did not need it. Health seeking behavior of pregnant women with family planning work status has a significant relationship (prevalence ratio 1.073. The jobless mothers has better access to family planning services compared to working mother. Conclusions: Accessibility of family planning services is inadequate, because not all rural ‘Poskesdes’ equipped with infrastructure and family planning devices, a lack of knowledge of family planning in rural areas. Health seeking behavior of family planning services is mostly to the midwives, the scond is to community health centers and than polindes, ‘poskesdes’ as the ranks third.

Spatial accessibility to basic public health services in South Sudan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter M. Macharia

2017-05-01

Full Text Available At independence in 2011, South Sudan’s health sector was almost non-existent. The first national health strategic plan aimed to achieve an integrated health facility network that would mean that 70% of the population were within 5 km of a health service provider. Publically available data on functioning and closed health facilities, population distribution, road networks, land use and elevation were used to compute the fraction of the population within 1 hour walking distance of the nearest public health facility offering curative services. This metric was summarised for each of the 78 counties in South Sudan and compared with simpler metrics of the proportion of the population within 5 km of a health facility. In 2016, it is estimated that there were 1747 public health facilities, out of which 294 were non-functional in part due to the on-going civil conflict. Access to a service provider was poor with only 25.7% of the population living within one-hour walking time to a facility and 28.6% of the population within 5 km. These metrics, when applied sub-nationally, identified the same high priority, most vulnerable counties. Simple metrics based upon population distribution and location of facilities might be as valuable as more complex models of health access, where attribute data on travel routes are imperfect or incomplete and sparse. Disparities exist in South Sudan among counties and those with the poorest health access should be targeted for priority expansion of clinical services.

Distributed data discovery, access and visualization services to Improve Data Interoperability across different data holdings

Science.gov (United States)

Palanisamy, G.; Krassovski, M.; Devarakonda, R.; Santhana Vannan, S.

2012-12-01

The current climate debate is highlighting the importance of free, open, and authoritative sources of high quality climate data that are available for peer review and for collaborative purposes. It is increasingly important to allow various organizations around the world to share climate data in an open manner, and to enable them to perform dynamic processing of climate data. This advanced access to data can be enabled via Web-based services, using common "community agreed" standards without having to change their internal structure used to describe the data. The modern scientific community has become diverse and increasingly complex in nature. To meet the demands of such diverse user community, the modern data supplier has to provide data and other related information through searchable, data and process oriented tool. This can be accomplished by setting up on-line, Web-based system with a relational database as a back end. The following common features of the web data access/search systems will be outlined in the proposed presentation: - A flexible data discovery - Data in commonly used format (e.g., CSV, NetCDF) - Preparing metadata in standard formats (FGDC, ISO19115, EML, DIF etc.) - Data subseting capabilities and ability to narrow down to individual data elements - Standards based data access protocols and mechanisms (SOAP, REST, OpenDAP, OGC etc.) - Integration of services across different data systems (discovery to access, visualizations and subseting) This presentation will also include specific examples of integration of various data systems that are developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's - Climate Change Science Institute, their ability to communicate between each other to enable better data interoperability and data integration. References: [1] Devarakonda, Ranjeet, and Harold Shanafield. "Drupal: Collaborative framework for science research." Collaboration Technologies and Systems (CTS), 2011 International Conference on. IEEE, 2011. [2

Barriers and facilitators of access to maternal services for women with disabilities: scoping review protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Mheta, Doreen; Mashamba-Thompson, Tivani P

2017-05-16

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasises the increasing equitable coverage of quality health care and provision of integrated services as means of reducing maternal mortality. Despite so much effort being placed on improved access to maternity health care, studies show that women with disabilities are being systemically excluded from the mainstream maternal health services. The proposed scoping review aims to map literature on the barriers and facilitators of access to maternal services for women with disabilities. The search strategy for this scoping review study will involve electronic databases including Pubmed, MEDLINE via EBSCOhost, CINAHL Plus with full text via EBSCOhost, Africa-Wide Info via EBSCOhost, JSTOR and Proquest Health and Medical Complete. Articles will also be searched through the "Cited by" search as well as citations included in the reference lists of included articles. A two-stage mapping strategy would be conducted. Stage 1 would be to screen studies through examining their titles. Furthermore, we will screen abstracts of the identified studies descriptively and by focus and method as stipulated by the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In stage 2, we will extract data from the included studies. A parallel screening and data extraction will be undertaken by two reviewers. We will access the quality of the included studies using the mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT). We will use NVIVO version 10 to extract the relevant outcomes and thematic analysis of the studies. We anticipate to find relevant studies reporting evidence on the barriers and facilitators of access to maternal health services in Sub-Saharan Africa. The evidence obtained from the included studies when summarised will help guide future research. The study findings will be disseminated electronically and in print. In addition, it will be presented at conferences related to sexual reproductive health, maternal health care and reproductive health.

Patients' online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic interpretative review.

Science.gov (United States)

de Lusignan, Simon; Mold, Freda; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Gronlund, Toto Anne; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Barker, Fiona; Ellis, Beverley; Koczan, Phil; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; McCarthy, Mary; Jones, Simon; Rafi, Imran

2014-09-08

To investigate the effect of providing patients online access to their electronic health record (EHR) and linked transactional services on the provision, quality and safety of healthcare. The objectives are also to identify and understand: barriers and facilitators for providing online access to their records and services for primary care workers; and their association with organisational/IT system issues. Primary care. A total of 143 studies were included. 17 were experimental in design and subject to risk of bias assessment, which is reported in a separate paper. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria have also been published elsewhere in the protocol. Our primary outcome measure was change in quality or safety as a result of implementation or utilisation of online records/transactional services. No studies reported changes in health outcomes; though eight detected medication errors and seven reported improved uptake of preventative care. Professional concerns over privacy were reported in 14 studies. 18 studies reported concern over potential increased workload; with some showing an increase workload in email or online messaging; telephone contact remaining unchanged, and face-to face contact staying the same or falling. Owing to heterogeneity in reporting overall workload change was hard to predict. 10 studies reported how online access offered convenience, primarily for more advantaged patients, who were largely highly satisfied with the process when clinician responses were prompt. Patient online access and services offer increased convenience and satisfaction. However, professionals were concerned about impact on workload and risk to privacy. Studies correcting medication errors may improve patient safety. There may need to be a redesign of the business process to engage health professionals in online access and of the EHR to make it friendlier and provide equity of access to a wider group of patients. A1 SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO

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.

Using Technology to Improve Access to Mental Health Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortelyou-Ward, Kendall; Rotarius, Timothy; Honrado, Jed C

Mental ill-health is a public health threat that is prevalent throughout the United States. Tens of millions of Americans have been diagnosed along the continuum of mental ill-health, and many more millions of family members and friends are indirectly affected by the pervasiveness of mental ill-health. Issues such as access and the societal stigma related to mental health issues serve as deterrents to patients receiving their necessary care. However, technological advances have shown the potential to increase access to mental health services for many patients.

A comparison of Frequency Domain Multiple Access (FDMA) and Time Domain Multiple Access (TDMA) approaches to satellite service for low data rate Earth stations

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, G.

1983-01-01

A technological and economic assessment is made of providing low data rate service to small earth stations by satellite at Ka-band. Various Frequency Domain Multiple Access (FDMA) and Time Domain Multiple Access (TDMA) scenarios are examined and compared on the basis of cost to the end user. Very small stations (1 to 2 meters in diameter) are found not to be viable alternatives to available terrestrial services. However, medium size (3 to 5 meters) earth stations appear to be very competitive if a minimum throughput of about 1.5 Mbs is maintained. This constrains the use of such terminals to large users and shared use by smaller users. No advantage was found to the use of FDMA. TDMA had a slight advantage from a total system viewpoint and a very significant advantage in the space segment (about 1/3 the required payload weight for an equivalent capacity).

Priorities and realities: addressing the rich-poor gaps in health status and service access in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Utomo Budi

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Over the past four decades, the Indonesian health care system has greatly expanded and the health of Indonesian people has improved although the rich-poor gap in health status and service access remains an issue. The government has been trying to address these gaps and intensify efforts to improve the health of the poor following the economic crisis in 1998. Methods This paper examines trends and levels in socio-economic inequity of health and identifies critical factors constraining efforts to improve the health of the poor. Quantitative data were taken from the Indonesian Demographic Health Surveys and the National Socio-Economic Surveys, and qualitative data were obtained from interviews with individuals and groups representing relevant stakeholders. Results The health of the population has improved as indicated by child mortality decline and the increase in community access to health services. However, the continuing prevalence of malnourished children and the persisting socio-economic inequity of health suggest that efforts to improve the health of the poor have not yet been effective. Factors identified at institution and policy levels that have constrained improvements in health care access and outcomes for the poor include: the high cost of electing formal governance leaders; confused leadership roles in the health sector; lack of health inequity indicators; the generally weak capacity in the health care system, especially in planning and budgeting; and the leakage and limited coverage of programs for the poor. Conclusions Despite the government's efforts to improve the health of the poor, the rich-poor gap in health status and service access continues. Factors at institutional and policy levels are critical in contributing to the lack of efficiency and effectiveness for health programs that address the poor.

On board processing for future satellite communications systems: Comparison of FDM, TDM and hybrid accessing schemes

Science.gov (United States)

Berk, G.; Jean, P. N.; Rotholz, E.

1982-01-01

Several satellite uplink and downlink accessing schemes for customer premises service are compared. Four conceptual system designs are presented: satellite-routed frequency division multiple access (FDMA), satellite-switched time division multiple access (TDMA), processor-routed TDMA, and frequency-routed TDMA, operating in the 30/20 GHz band. The designs are compared on the basis of estimated satellite weight, system capacity, power consumption, and cost. The systems are analyzed for fixed multibeam coverage of the continental United States. Analysis shows that the system capacity is limited by the available satellite resources and by the terminal size and cost.

A mobile network-based multimedia teleconference system for homecare services.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhaomin; He, Aiguo; Wei, Daming

2008-03-01

Because most research and development for homecare services have focused on providing connections between home and service centers, the goal of the present work is to develop techniques and create realtime communications to connect service centers and homecare workers in mobile environments. A key technical issue for this research is how to overcome the limitation of bandwidth in mobile media and networks. An effort has been made to balance performance of communication and basic demands in telehealth through optimized system design and technical implementation. Implementations using third generation (3G) Freedom Of Mobile multimedia Access (FOMA) and Personal Handyphone System (PHS) were developed and evaluated. We conclude that the system we developed based on 3G FOMA provides sufficient and satisfactory functions for use in homecare services.

Inequities in access to and use of drinking water services in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Science.gov (United States)

Soares, Luiz Carlos Rangel; Griesinger, Marilena O; Dachs, J Norberto W; Bittner, Marta A; Tavares, Sonia

2002-01-01

To identify and evaluate inequities in access to drinking water services as reflected in household per capita expenditure on water, and to determine what proportion of household expenditures is spent on water in 11 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Using data from multi-purpose household surveys (such as the Living Standards Measurement Survey Study) conducted in 11 countries from 1995 to 1999, the availability of drinking water as well as total and per capita household expenditures on drinking water were analyzed in light of socioeconomic parameters, such as urban vs. rural setting, household income, type and regularity of water supply service, time spent obtaining water in homes not served by running water, and type of water-purifying treatment, if any. Access to drinking water as well as total and per capita household expenditures on drinking water show an association with household income, economic conditions of the household, and location. The access of the rural population to drinking water services is much more restricted than that of the urban population for groups having similar income. The proportion of families having a household water supply system is comparable in the higher-income rural population and the lower-income urban population. Families without a household water supply system spend a considerable amount of time getting water. For poorer families, this implies additional costs. Low-income families that lack a household water supply spend as much money on water as do families with better income. Access to household water disinfection methods is very limited among poor families due to its relatively high cost, which results in poorer drinking water quality in the lower-income population. Multi-purpose household surveys conducted from the consumer's point of view are important tools for research on equity and health, especially when studying unequal access to, use of, and expenditures on drinking water. It is recommended that countries

Accessibility to Specialized Public Oral Health Services from the Perspective of Brazilian Users

Science.gov (United States)

de Castro, Ricardo Dias; Rangel, Marianne de Lucena; da Silva, Marcos André Azevedo; de Lucena, Brunna Thaís Lucwu; Cavalcanti, Alessandro Leite; Bonan, Paulo Rogério Ferreti; Oliveira, Julyana de Araújo

2016-01-01

The Specialized Dental Clinics (SDCs) represent the first government initiative in Latin America aimed at providing specialized oral health services. This study sought to evaluate the organizational accessibility to specialized oral health care services in Brazil and to understand the factors that may be associated with accessibility from the user’s perspective. This epidemiological, cross-sectional and quantitative study was conducted by means of interviews with individuals who sought specialized public oral health services in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil, and consisted of a sample of 590 individuals. Users expressed a favorable view of the classification and resolutive nature of specialized services offered by Brazilian public health. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed weak points highlighting the difficulty involved in obtaining such treatments leading to unfavorable evaluations. In the resolutive nature item, difficulty in accessing the location, queues and lack of materials and equipment were highlighted as statistically significant unfavorable aspects. While many of the users considered the service to be resolutive, weaknesses were mentioned that need to be detected to promote improvements and to prevent other health models adopted worldwide from reproducing the same flaws. PMID:27775584

Publicly announced access recommendations and consumers’ service time choices with uncertain congestion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Han, Q.; Benedict, G.C.; Dellaert, W.; van Raaij, W.F.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2014-01-01

This article investigates consumers' anticipation of other consumers' service time choices in capacity-constrained services and how this is affected by publicly announced access recommendations. Empirical results from an experiment with simulated congestion experiences show that the impact of

Publicly announced access recommendations and consumers' service time choices with uncertain congestion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Han, Q.; Dellaert, B.G.C.; Raaij, W.F.V.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2014-01-01

This article investigates consumers' anticipation of other consumers' service time choices in capacity-constrained services and how this is affected by publicly announced access recommendations. Empirical results from an experiment with simulated congestion experiences show that the impact of

Socioeconomic disparities in home health care service access and utilization: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodridge, Donna; Hawranik, Pamela; Duncan, Vicky; Turner, Hollie

2012-10-01

Home health care services are expanding at a rapid pace in order to meet the needs of the growing population of older adults and those with chronic illnesses. Because of current restrictions on home health care as an insured service in some countries, individuals may be required to pay for some or all of their home care services out of pocket. These payments may potentially limit access to needed home care services for persons in the lowest socioeconomic strata. Previous research demonstrates a clear socioeconomic gradient in access to acute and primary care services, where those most in need of services are the most disadvantaged and under-serviced. There has been little attention paid thus far, however, to the way in which socioeconomic status may affect the receipt of home health care services. To determine what is known from existing literature about socioeconomic disparities in home health care access and utilization. A scoping review was used to map the extent and nature of the literature in this area. A search of the databases CINAHL, Medline, SocIndex and Sociological Abstracts as well as Dissertations International. A total of 206 potentially relevant articles were published between 2000 and April 2011. Two reviewers independently reviewed the articles, leaving 15 research articles to be included in the scoping review. The majority of articles reported secondary analyses of administrative datasets related to utilization of home health care. Several studies examined access and utilization using qualitative approaches. The distinction between professional and supportive home care services was not always clear in the articles. Individual and composite measures of socioeconomic status were reported, with the most frequently used indicator being income. Several studies used more complex composite ecological indicators of socieconomic status. There was general agreement that utilization of home health services favored persons with greater economic disadvantage

Barriers in access to home care services among ethnic minority and Dutch elderly--a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Suurmond, Jeanine; Rosenmöller, Doenja L; El Mesbahi, Hakima; Lamkaddem, Majda; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise

2016-02-01

Ethnic minority elderly have a high prevalence of functional limitations and chronic conditions compared to Dutch elderly. However, their use of home care services is low compared to Dutch elderly. Explore the barriers to access to home care services for Turkish, Moroccan Surinamese and ethnic Dutch elderly. Qualitative semi-structured group interviews and individual interviews. The Netherlands. Seven group interviews (n=50) followed by individual interviews (n=5) were conducted, in the preferred language of the participants. Results were ordered and reported according to a framework of access to health care services. This framework describes five dimensions of accessibility to generate access to health care services, from the perspective of the users: ability to perceive health needs, ability to seek health care, ability to reach, ability to pay and ability to engage. This study shows that while barriers are common among all groups, several specific barriers in access to home care services exist for ethnic minority elderly. Language and communication barriers as well as limited networks and a preference for informal care seem to mutually enforce each other, resulting in many barriers during the navigation process to home care. In order to provide equal access to home care for all who need it, the language and communication barriers should be tackled by home care services and home care nurses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors determining access to oral health services among children aged less than 12 years in Peru.

Science.gov (United States)

Azañedo, Diego; Hernández-Vásquez, Akram; Casas-Bendezú, Mixsi; Gutiérrez, César; Agudelo-Suárez, Andrés A; Cortés, Sandra

2017-01-01

Background: Understanding problems of access to oral health services requires knowledge of factors that determine access. This study aimed to evaluate factors that determine access to oral health services among children aged Encuesta Demográfica y de Salud Familiar - ENDES). Children's access to oral health services within the previous 6 months was used as the dependent variable (i.e. Yes/No), and the Andersen and col model was used to select independent variables. Predisposing (e.g., language spoken by  tutor or guardian, wealth level, caregivers' educational level, area of residence, natural region of residence, age, and sex) and enabling factors (e.g. type of health insurance) were considered. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and multivariate analysis was performed using generalized linear models (Poisson family). Results: Of all the children, 51% were males, 56% were aged oral health services among children aged oral health services.

Disparities in mobile phone access and maternal health service utilization in Nigeria: a population-based survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, Larissa; Omoni, Adetayo; Akerele, Akunle; Ibrahim, Yisa; Ekanem, Ekpenyong

2015-05-01

Mobile communication technologies may reduce maternal health disparities related to cost, distance, and infrastructure. However, the ability of mHealth initiatives to accelerate maternal health goals requires in part that women with the greatest health needs have access to mobile phones. This study examined if women with limited mobile phone access have differential odds of maternal knowledge and health service utilization as compared to female mobile phone users who are currently eligible to participate in maternal mHealth programs. Using household survey data from Nigeria, multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the odds of maternal knowledge and service utilization by mobile phone strata. Findings showed that in settings with unequal access to mobile phones, mHealth interventions may not reach women who have the poorest maternal knowledge and care-seeking as these women often lacked mobile connectivity. As compared to mobile users, women without mobile phone access had significantly lower odds of antenatal care utilization (OR=0.48, 95%CI: 0.36-0.64), skilled delivery (OR=0.56, 95%CI: 0.45-0.70), and modern contraceptive use (OR=0.50, 95%CI: 0.33-0.76) after adjusting for demographic characteristics. They also had significantly lower knowledge of maternal danger signs (OR=0.69, 95%CI: 0.53-0.90) and knowledge of antenatal (OR=0.46, 95%CI: 0.36-0.59) and skilled delivery care benefits (OR=0.62, 95%CI: 0.47-0.82). No differences were observed by mobile phone strata in uptake of emergency obstetric care, postnatal services, or breastfeeding. As maternal mHealth strategies are increasingly utilized, more efforts are needed to improve women's access to mobile phones and minimize potential health inequities brought on by health systems and technological barriers in access to care. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of access to contraceptive services on injectable use and demand for family planning in Malawi.

Science.gov (United States)

Skiles, Martha Priedeman; Cunningham, Marc; Inglis, Andrew; Wilkes, Becky; Hatch, Ben; Bock, Ariella; Barden-O'Fallon, Janine

2015-03-01

Previous studies have identified positive relationships between geographic proximity to family planning services and contraceptive use, but have not accounted for the effect of contraceptive supply reliability or the diminishing influence of facility access with increasing distance. Kernel density estimation was used to geographically link Malawi women's use of injectable contraceptives and demand for birth spacing or limiting, as drawn from the 2010 Demographic and Health Survey, with contraceptive logistics data from family planning service delivery points. Linear probability models were run to identify associations between access to injectable services-measured by distance alone and by distance combined with supply reliability-and injectable use and family planning demand among rural and urban populations. Access to services was an important predictor of injectable use. The probability of injectable use among rural women with the most access by both measures was 7‒8 percentage points higher than among rural dwellers with the least access. The probability of wanting to space or limit births among urban women who had access to the most reliable supplies was 18 percentage points higher than among their counterparts with the least access. Product availability in the local service environment plays a critical role in women's demand for and use of contraceptive methods. Use of kernel density estimation in creating facility service environments provides a refined approach to linking women with services and accounts for both distance to facilities and supply reliability. Urban and rural differences should be considered when seeking to improve contraceptive access.

Equity of access to reproductive health services among youths in resource-limited suburban communities of Mandalay City, Myanmar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thin Zaw Phyu Phyu

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Inequity of accessibility to and utilization of reproductive health (RH services among youths is a global concern, especially in resource-limited areas. The level of inequity also varies by cultural and socio-economic contexts. To tailor RH services to the needs of youths, relevant solutions are required. This study aimed to assess baseline information on access to and utilization of RH services and unmet needs among youths living in resource-limited, suburban communities of Mandalay City, Myanmar. Methods A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in all resource-limited, suburban communities of Mandalay City, Myanmar. A total of 444 randomly selected youths aged between 15 and 24 years were interviewed for three main outcomes, namely accessibility to and utilization of RH services and youth's unmet needs for these services. Factors associated with these outcomes were determined using multivariate logistic regression. Results Although geographical accessibility was high (79.3%, financial accessibility was low (19.1% resulting in a low overall accessibility (34.5% to RH services. Two-thirds of youths used some kind of RH services at least once in the past. Levels of unmet needs for sexual RH information, family planning, maternal care and HIV testing were 62.6%, 31.9%, 38.7% and 56.2%, respectively. Youths living in the south or south-western suburbs, having a deceased parent, never being married or never exposed to mass media were less likely to access RH services. Being a young adult, current student, working as a waste recycler, having ever experienced a sexual relationship, ever being married, ever exposed to mass media, having a high knowledge of RH services and providers or a high level of accessibility to RH services significantly increased the likelihood of utilization of those services. In addition to youths’ socio-demographic characteristics, exposure to mass media, norm of peer exposure and knowledge

Radiological information systems: improvements in service, economy, and quality control?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gross-Fengels, W.; Weber, M.

1997-01-01

By means of complete service control and standardized accounting processes, radiological information systems clearly contribute to improved results. They provide the prerequisites for the establishment of expanded networks and allow comprisons with comparable institutions. The quality of patient care can be improved since, for example, the production time from referral to finished result becomes shorter. Direct access to patient and findings data from several positions is possible. Preliminary results can be viewed immediately. The patient's history is accessible to authorized users at all times. The exact reproducibility and assignment of services leads to more clarity. By means of the information available form RIS, rapid adaptive processes can be undertaken. The system assists the to fulfill the requirements of health regulations. The above-mentioned relationships demonstrate that the EDP systems are well accepted by physicians, medical assistants, and administrators and represent an indispensable aid for solving problems. (orig.) [de

Infrastructure Gap in South Asia: Inequality of Access to Infrastructure Services

OpenAIRE

Biller, Dan; Andrés, Luis; Herrera Dappe, Matías

2014-01-01

The South Asia region is home to the largest pool of individuals living under the poverty line, coupled with a fast-growing population. The importance of access to basic infrastructure services on welfare and the quality of life is clear. Yet the South Asia region's rates of access to infrastructure (sanitation, electricity, telecom, and transport) are closer to those of Sub-Saharan Africa...

Health service utilization and access to medicines among Syrian refugee children in Jordan.

Science.gov (United States)

Doocy, Shannon; Lyles, Emily; Akhu-Zaheya, Laila; Burton, Ann; Weiss, William

2016-01-01

With over one million Syrian refugee children in the region, we undertook this study to characterize care-seeking behaviors and health service utilization for child refugees with the aim of informing humanitarian programming for non-camp settings in Jordan. A survey of Syrian refugees living outside of camps in Jordan was conducted using a 125 × 12 cluster design with probability proportional to size sampling to obtain a representative sample. The questionnaire focused on access to health services, including a module on care seeking for children. Care seeking was high with 90.9% of households with a child less than 18 years seeking medical care the last time it was needed. Households most often sought care for children in the public sector (54.6%), followed by private (36.5%) and charity sectors (8.9%). Among child care seekers, 88.6% were prescribed medication during the most recent visit, 90.6% of which obtained the medication. Overall, 49.4% of households reported out-of-pocket expenditures for either the consultation or prescribed medications at the most recent visit (mean $US21.1 and median $US0). Syrian refugees had good access to care for their sick children at the time of the survey; however, this has likely deteriorated since the survey because of the withdrawal of free access for refugees. The number of refugees in Jordan and relative accessibility of care has resulted in a large burden on the health system; the Jordanian government will require additional support if current levels of health access are to be maintained for Syrian refugees. © 2016 The Authors. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sexual stigma, criminalization, investment, and access to HIV services among men who have sex with men worldwide.

Science.gov (United States)

Arreola, Sonya; Santos, Glenn-Milo; Beck, Jack; Sundararaj, Mohan; Wilson, Patrick A; Hebert, Pato; Makofane, Keletso; Do, Tri D; Ayala, George

2015-02-01

Globally, HIV disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM). This study explored associations between access to HIV services and (1) individual-level perceived sexual stigma; (2) country-level criminalization of homosexuality; and (3) country-level investment in HIV services for MSM. 3,340 MSM completed an online survey assessing access to HIV services. MSM from over 115 countries were categorized according to criminalization of homosexuality policy and investment in HIV services targeting MSM. Lower access to condoms, lubricants, and HIV testing were each associated with greater perceived sexual stigma, existence of homosexuality criminalization policies, and less investment in HIV services. Lower access to HIV treatment was associated with greater perceived sexual stigma and criminalization. Criminalization of homosexuality and low investment in HIV services were both associated with greater perceived sexual stigma. Efforts to prevent and treat HIV among MSM should be coupled with structural interventions to reduce stigma, overturn homosexuality criminalization policies, and increase investment in MSM-specific HIV services.

ARCAS (ACACIA Regional Climate-data Access System) -- a Web Access System for Climate Model Data Access, Visualization and Comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Hakkarinen, C.; Brown, D.; Callahan, J.; hankin, S.; de Koningh, M.; Middleton-Link, D.; Wigley, T.

2001-05-01

A Web-based access system to climate model output data sets for intercomparison and analysis has been produced, using the NOAA-PMEL developed Live Access Server software as host server and Ferret as the data serving and visualization engine. Called ARCAS ("ACACIA Regional Climate-data Access System"), and publicly accessible at http://dataserver.ucar.edu/arcas, the site currently serves climate model outputs from runs of the NCAR Climate System Model for the 21st century, for Business as Usual and Stabilization of Greenhouse Gas Emission scenarios. Users can select, download, and graphically display single variables or comparisons of two variables from either or both of the CSM model runs, averaged for monthly, seasonal, or annual time resolutions. The time length of the averaging period, and the geographical domain for download and display, are fully selectable by the user. A variety of arithmetic operations on the data variables can be computed "on-the-fly", as defined by the user. Expansions of the user-selectable options for defining analysis options, and for accessing other DOD-compatible ("Distributed Ocean Data System-compatible") data sets, residing at locations other than the NCAR hardware server on which ARCAS operates, are planned for this year. These expansions are designed to allow users quick and easy-to-operate web-based access to the largest possible selection of climate model output data sets available throughout the world.

The data and system Nikkei Telecom "Industry/Technology Information Service"

Science.gov (United States)

Kurata, Shizuya; Sueyoshi, Yukio

Nihoh Keizai Shimbun started supplying "Industry/Technology Information Service" from July 1989 as a part of Nikkei Telecom Package, which is online information service using personal computers for its terminals. Previously Nikkei's database service mainly covered such areas as economy, corporations and markets. On the other hand, the new "Industry/Technology Information Service" (main data covers industry by industry information-semi macro) is attracting a good deal of attention as it is the first to supply science and technology related database which has not been touched before. Moreover it is attracting attention technically as it has an access by gateway system to JOIS which is the first class science technology file in Japan. This report introduces data and system of "Industry/Technology Information Service" briefly.

Influence of socio-demographic factors on distances travelled to access HIV services: enhanced surveillance of HIV patients in north west England

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tocque Karen

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Patient choice and access to health care is compromised by many barriers including travel distance. Individuals with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV can seek free specialist care in Britain, without a referral, providing flexible access to care services. Willingness to travel beyond local services for preferred care has funding and service implications. Data from an enhanced HIV surveillance system were used to explore geodemographic and clinical factors associated with accessing treatment services. Methods We extracted data on the location, type and frequency of care services utilized by HIV positive persons (n = 3983 accessing treatment in north west England between January 1st 2005 and June 30th 2006. Individuals were allocated a deprivation score and grouped by urban/rural residence, and distance to care services was calculated. Analysis identified independent predictors of distance travelled (general linear modelling and, for those bypassing their nearest clinic, the probability of accessing a specialist service (logistic regression, SPSS ver 14. Inter-relationships between variables and distance travelled were visualised using detrended correspondence analysis (PC-ORD ver 4.1. Results HIV infected persons travelled an average of 4.8 km (95% confidence intervals (CI 4.6–4.9 per trip and had on average 6 visits (95% CI 5.9–6.2 annually for care. Longer trips were made by males (4.8 km vs 4.5 km, white people (6.2 km, the young (>15 years, 6.8 km and elderly (60+ years, 6.3 km, those on multiple therapy (5.3 km vs 4.0 km, and the more affluent living in rural areas (16.1 km, P Conclusion Distance travelled, and type of HIV services used, were associated with socioeconomic status, even after accounting for ethnicity, route of infection and age. Thus despite offering an 'equitable' service, travel costs may advantage those with higher income.

Design of a control system for self-shielded irradiators with remote access capability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iyengar, R.D.; Verma, P.B.; Prasad, V.V.S.S.; George, Jain R.; Das, Tripti; Deshmukh, D.K.

2001-01-01

With self-shielded irradiators like Gamma chambers, and Blood irradiators are being sold by BRIT to customers both within and outside the country, it has become necessary to improve the quality of service without increasing the overheads. The recent advances in the field of communications and information technology can be exploited for improving the quality of service to the customers. A state of the art control system with remote accessibility has been designed for these irradiators enhancing their performance. This will provide an easy access to these units wherever they might be located, through the Internet. With this technology it will now be possible to attend to the needs of the customers, as regards fault rectification, error debugging, system software update, performance testing, data acquisition etc. This will not only reduce the downtime of these irradiators but also reduce the overheads. (author)

Improving patient access to videofluoroscopy services: Role of the practitioner-led clinic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Newman, Roger D., E-mail: Roger.Newman@lthtr.nhs.uk [Dept. of Speech and Language Therapy, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, Sharoe Green lane, Fulwood, Preston PR2 9HT (United Kingdom); University of Salford (United Kingdom); Nightingale, Julie [University of Salford (United Kingdom)

2011-11-15

Quality Issue: Although costly and time consuming, videofluoroscopic swallowing (VFS) examinations are the gold standard for imaging of oro-pharyngeal dysphagia, and demand is likely to increase with an ageing population. Traditional radiologist-led VFS services in the UK are gradually being replaced by practitioner-led clinics undertaken jointly by speech and language therapists and radiographers. This article explores the impact on patient access of a practitioner-led VFS clinic at a large teaching hospital. Initial Assessment: Specific information pertaining to VFS patient waiting times and service quality was collected for a twelve month period both pre- and post-clinic formation. Choice of Solution: Additional capacity was achieved with the introduction of the practitioner-led clinic, with overall patient access improving by 111%. Mean waiting times for in-patients reduced by 75%, many of whom had the procedure on the same day as referral, with out-patients waiting times reducing by 62.5%. Evaluation: The data demonstrates that patient access and report turnaround times are significantly improved, with no adverse effects as measured by inadequate studies, incorrect reports, complaints and documented radiation dose levels. Lessons Learnt: Practitioner-led VFS services can be recommended as a safe and efficient method of improving service provision.

Improving patient access to videofluoroscopy services: Role of the practitioner-led clinic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newman, Roger D.; Nightingale, Julie

2011-01-01

Quality Issue: Although costly and time consuming, videofluoroscopic swallowing (VFS) examinations are the gold standard for imaging of oro-pharyngeal dysphagia, and demand is likely to increase with an ageing population. Traditional radiologist-led VFS services in the UK are gradually being replaced by practitioner-led clinics undertaken jointly by speech and language therapists and radiographers. This article explores the impact on patient access of a practitioner-led VFS clinic at a large teaching hospital. Initial Assessment: Specific information pertaining to VFS patient waiting times and service quality was collected for a twelve month period both pre- and post-clinic formation. Choice of Solution: Additional capacity was achieved with the introduction of the practitioner-led clinic, with overall patient access improving by 111%. Mean waiting times for in-patients reduced by 75%, many of whom had the procedure on the same day as referral, with out-patients waiting times reducing by 62.5%. Evaluation: The data demonstrates that patient access and report turnaround times are significantly improved, with no adverse effects as measured by inadequate studies, incorrect reports, complaints and documented radiation dose levels. Lessons Learnt: Practitioner-led VFS services can be recommended as a safe and efficient method of improving service provision.

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.

Addressing geographic access barriers to emergency care services: a national ecologic study of hospitals in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocha, Thiago Augusto Hernandes; da Silva, Núbia Cristina; Amaral, Pedro Vasconcelos; Barbosa, Allan Claudius Queiroz; Rocha, João Victor Muniz; Alvares, Viviane; de Almeida, Dante Grapiuna; Thumé, Elaine; Thomaz, Erika Bárbara Abreu Fonseca; de Sousa Queiroz, Rejane Christine; de Souza, Marta Rovery; Lein, Adriana; Lopes, Daniel Paulino; Staton, Catherine A; Vissoci, João Ricardo Nickenig; Facchini, Luiz Augusto

2017-08-22

Unequal distribution of emergency care services is a critical barrier to be overcome to assure access to emergency and surgical care. Considering this context it was objective of the present work analyze geographic access barriers to emergency care services in Brazil. A secondary aim of the study is to define possible roles to be assumed by small hospitals in the Brazilian healthcare network to overcome geographic access challenges. The present work can be classified as a cross-sectional ecological study. To carry out the present study, data of all 5843 Brazilian hospitals were categorized among high complexity centers and small hospitals. The geographical access barriers were identified through the use of two-step floating catchment area method. Once concluded the previous step an evaluation using the Getis-Ord-Gi method was performed to identify spatial clusters of municipalities with limited access to high complexity centers but well covered by well-equipped small hospitals. The analysis of accessibility index of high complexity centers highlighted large portions of the country with nearly zero hospital beds by inhabitant. In contrast, it was possible observe a group of 1595 municipalities with high accessibility to small hospitals, simultaneously with a low coverage of high complexity centers. Among the 1595 municipalities with good accessibility to small hospitals, 74% (1183) were covered by small hospitals with at least 60% of minimum emergency service requirements. The spatial clusters analysis aggregated 589 municipalities with high values related to minimum emergency service requirements. Small hospitals in these 589 cities could promote the equity in access to emergency services benefiting more than eight million people. There is a spatial disequilibrium within the country with prominent gaps in the health care network for emergency services. Taking this challenge into consideration, small hospitals could be a possible solution and foster equity in access

Accessibility of services for early infant diagnosis of Human ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Accessibility of services for early infant diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. ... infants who received a virological test within the first 2 months of life in sub-Saharan Africa varied from 3 to 58%, far below the 80% recommended level by the World Health Organization.

MICROSOFT CLOUD SERVICES IN DISTANCE LEARNING SYSTEM “KHERSON VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Kravtsov

2014-07-01

Full Text Available E-learning with using spreadsheets requires the implementation of Excel-documents into the distance learning system. Simple and convenient solution of the problem of Excel-documents implementation is the use of cloud services. Using cloud services, you can access to information resources of any level and any type with division of the rights of various groups of users to resources, using only an Internet connection and a Web browser. Subject of research is the Microsoft cloud services. The purpose of research is development and implementation of software module «ExcelReader» to use Excel spreadsheets on the Web pages of distance learning systems. In this paper we solve the following tasks: 1 analyze the known software solutions to display Excel-documents in the WEB-based applications; 2 select an efficient software technology of processing Excel-documents; 3 design the access system and use of Web services of processing Excel-documents in distance learning system; 4 develop software module «ExcelReader» for correct display and edit Excel-documents on Web pages in distance learning; 5 implement software module «ExcelReader» in the distance learning system “Kherson Virtual University”. Processes of creating, editing and implementation of MS Office documents into electronic resources of distance learning systems were modeled. In particular, the software module «ExcelReader» for usage Excel spreadsheets on Web pages of distance learning system “Kherson Virtual University” using "cloud" service Excel Web App from Microsoft was developed and implemented in the educational process.

Evidence for Policy Making: Health Services Access and Regional Disparities in Kerman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mina Anjomshoa

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: Health indices, regarding to their role in the development of society, are one of the most important indices at national level. Success of national development programs is largely dependent on the establishment of appropriate goals at the health sector, among which access to healthcare facilities is an essential requirement. The aim of this study was to examine the disparities in health services access across the Kerman province. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Study sample included the cities of Kerman province, ranked based on 15 health indices. Data was collected from statistical yearbook. The indices were weighted using Shannon entropy, then using the TOPSIS technique and the result were classified into three categories in terms of the level of development across towns. Results: The findings showed distinct regional disparities in health services across Kerman province and the significant difference was observed between the cities in terms of development. Shannon entropy introduced the number of pharmacologist per 10 thousand people as the most important indicator and the number of rural active health center per 1000 people as the less important indicator. According to TOPSIS, Kerman town (0.719 and Fahraj (0.1151 ranked the first and last in terms of access to health services respectively. Conclusion: There are significant differences between cities of Kerman province in terms of access to health care facilities and services. Therefore, it is recommended that officials and policy-makers determine resource allocation priorities according to the degree of development for a balanced and equitable distribution of health care facilities.

[Determining Factors in the Access to Mental Health Services by the Adult Colombian Population].

Science.gov (United States)

González, Lina María; Peñaloza, Rolando Enrique; Matallana, María Alexandra; Gil, Fabián; Gómez-Restrepo, Carlos; Landaeta, Angela Patricia Vega

2016-12-01

Access to mental health services by people with mental disorders has traditionally been limited, and is associated with attitudinal, social, and structural variables. To analyse the factors that determine access to mental health services by the adult population (18-44 years old) in Colombia, from the results obtained in the 2015 National Mental Health Survey. Analysis of variables of access to attention in mental health care for adults. The reasons for not consulting were classified as barriers of behavioural supply and demand. To analyse the factors associated with access to mental health services in the Colombian adult population, the use of health services in the last 12 months for emotional, nervous or mental health problems was taken into account, as well as associated variables such as demographic characteristics, occupational activity, affiliation to social security, and health status variables. The relationships between these variables were estimated using bivariate multinomial logistic regression models. Rural residence, being married, and having a chronic disease were associated with the decision to consult or not to consult the doctor. Further studies should be conducted to evaluate the situation as regards mental health care access, as well as to determine the potential factors associated with these limitations. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

The LHC access system LACS and LASS

CERN Document Server

Ninin, P

2005-01-01

The LHC complex is divided into a number of zones with different levels of access controls.Inside the interlocked areas, the personnel protection is ensured by the LHC Access System.The system is made of two parts:the LHC Access Safety System and the LHC Access Control System. During machine operation,the LHC Access Safety System ensures the collective protection of the personnel against the radiation hazards arising from the operation of the accelerator by interlocking the LHC key safety elements. When the beams are off, the LHC Access Control System regulates the access to the accelerator and its many subsystems.It allows a remote, local or automatic operation of the access control equipment which verifies and identifies all users entering the controlled areas.The global architecture of the LHC Access System is now designed and is being validated to ensure that it meets the safety requirements for operation of the LHC.A pilot installation will be tested in the summer 2005 to validate the concept with the us...

Addressing access barriers to services for mothers at risk for perinatal mood disorders: A social work perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, Robert H; Brownstein-Evans, Carol; Rouland Polmanteer, Rebecca S

2016-01-01

This article identifies variables at the micro/individual, mezzo/partner/spouse and family, and macro/health care-system levels that inhibit mothers at risk for perinatal mood disorders from accessing health and mental health care services. Specific recommendations are made for conducting thorough biopsychosocial assessments that address the mothers' micro-, mezzo-, and macro-level contexts. Finally, the authors provide suggestions for how to intervene at the various levels to remove access barriers for mothers living with perinatal mood disorders as well as their families.

Dynamic Spectrum Access for Internet of Things Service in Cognitive Radio-Enabled LPWANs.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Bongkyo

2017-12-05

In this paper, we focus on a dynamic spectrum access strategy for Internet of Things (IoT) applications in two types of radio systems: cellular networks and cognitive radio-enabled low power wide area networks (CR-LPWANs). The spectrum channel contention between the licensed cellular networks and the unlicensed CR-LPWANs, which work with them, only takes place within the cellular radio spectrum range. Our aim is to maximize the spectrum capacity for the unlicensed users while ensuring that it never interferes with the licensed network. Therefore, in this paper we propose a dynamic spectrum access strategy for CR-LPWANs operating in both licensed and unlicensed bands. The simulation and the numerical analysis by using a matrix geometric approach for the strategy are presented. Finally, we obtain the blocking probability of the licensed users, the mean dwell time of the unlicensed user, and the total carried traffic and combined service quality for the licensed and unlicensed users. The results show that the proposed strategy can maximize the spectrum capacity for the unlicensed users using IoT applications as well as keep the service quality of the licensed users independent of them.

"On the Sidelines": Access to Autism-Related Services in the West Bank

Science.gov (United States)

Dababnah, Sarah; Bulson, Kathleen

2015-01-01

We examined access to autism-related services among Palestinians (N = 24) raising children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the West Bank. Using qualitative methods, we identified five primary interview themes. Poor screening, diagnostic, and psychoeducational practices were prevalent, as parents reported service providers minimized parental…

ChEMBL web services: streamlining access to drug discovery data and utilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Mark; Nowotka, Michał; Papadatos, George; Dedman, Nathan; Gaulton, Anna; Atkinson, Francis; Bellis, Louisa; Overington, John P

2015-07-01

ChEMBL is now a well-established resource in the fields of drug discovery and medicinal chemistry research. The ChEMBL database curates and stores standardized bioactivity, molecule, target and drug data extracted from multiple sources, including the primary medicinal chemistry literature. Programmatic access to ChEMBL data has been improved by a recent update to the ChEMBL web services (version 2.0.x, https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/api/data/docs), which exposes significantly more data from the underlying database and introduces new functionality. To complement the data-focused services, a utility service (version 1.0.x, https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/api/utils/docs), which provides RESTful access to commonly used cheminformatics methods, has also been concurrently developed. The ChEMBL web services can be used together or independently to build applications and data processing workflows relevant to drug discovery and chemical biology. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

[The social value of teeth and access to dental health services].

Science.gov (United States)

Fonseca, Luciara Leão Viana; Nehmy, Rosa Maria Quadros; Mota, Joaquim Antônio César

2015-10-01

Oral healthcare provided by the Unified Health System (SUS) faces the challenge of attending the epidemiological profile of Brazil's adult population. Qualitative research using semi-structured interviews was conducted to understand the experiences, expectations and perception of SUS users to services in Diamantina, State of Minas Gerais, and content analysis was used to assess the data. Discussion of the results was based on dialogue between the symbolic interactionism of Goffman and Bourdieu's concept of habitus. The results show that the users did not give importance to dental care during childhood and adolescence because care was unknown to them. There was no offer of treatment besides dental extraction. Today, they value teeth and suffer the embarrassment caused by rotten teeth. However, access to dental restoration via SUS is not possible. For their children, they perceive better access to information and care, but for specialized procedures there are barriers. They express resignation both in relation to the poor state of the teeth and the difficulties of access to dental care, which can be understood by the constant exclusion experienced by them in the past, shaping their actions in the present. It was concluded that oral health in SUS should incorporate the social value and the aesthetic dimension of teeth as a social right.

Access control and personal identification systems

CERN Document Server

Bowers, Dan M

1988-01-01

Access Control and Personal Identification Systems provides an education in the field of access control and personal identification systems, which is essential in selecting the appropriate equipment, dealing intelligently with vendors in purchases of the equipment, and integrating the equipment into a total effective system. Access control devices and systems comprise an important part of almost every security system, but are seldom the sole source of security. In order for the goals of the total system to be met, the other portions of the security system must also be well planned and executed

Interactive, open source, travel time scenario modelling: tools to facilitate participation in health service access analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Rohan; Lassa, Jonatan

2017-04-18

Modelling travel time to services has become a common public health tool for planning service provision but the usefulness of these analyses is constrained by the availability of accurate input data and limitations inherent in the assumptions and parameterisation. This is particularly an issue in the developing world where access to basic data is limited and travel is often complex and multi-modal. Improving the accuracy and relevance in this context requires greater accessibility to, and flexibility in, travel time modelling tools to facilitate the incorporation of local knowledge and the rapid exploration of multiple travel scenarios. The aim of this work was to develop simple open source, adaptable, interactive travel time modelling tools to allow greater access to and participation in service access analysis. Described are three interconnected applications designed to reduce some of the barriers to the more wide-spread use of GIS analysis of service access and allow for complex spatial and temporal variations in service availability. These applications are an open source GIS tool-kit and two geo-simulation models. The development of these tools was guided by health service issues from a developing world context but they present a general approach to enabling greater access to and flexibility in health access modelling. The tools demonstrate a method that substantially simplifies the process for conducting travel time assessments and demonstrate a dynamic, interactive approach in an open source GIS format. In addition this paper provides examples from empirical experience where these tools have informed better policy and planning. Travel and health service access is complex and cannot be reduced to a few static modeled outputs. The approaches described in this paper use a unique set of tools to explore this complexity, promote discussion and build understanding with the goal of producing better planning outcomes. The accessible, flexible, interactive and

Using a service sector segmented approach to identify community stakeholders who can improve access to suicide prevention services for veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthieu, Monica M; Gardiner, Giovanina; Ziegemeier, Ellen; Buxton, Miranda

2014-04-01

Veterans in need of social services may access many different community agencies within the public and private sectors. Each of these settings has the potential to be a pipeline for attaining needed health, mental health, and benefits services; however, many service providers lack information on how to conceptualize where Veterans go for services within their local community. This article describes a conceptual framework for outreach that uses a service sector segmented approach. This framework was developed to aid recruitment of a provider-based sample of stakeholders (N = 70) for a study on improving access to the Department of Veterans Affairs and community-based suicide prevention services. Results indicate that although there are statistically significant differences in the percent of Veterans served by the different service sectors (F(9, 55) = 2.71, p = 0.04), exposure to suicidal Veterans and providers' referral behavior is consistent across the sectors. Challenges to using this framework include isolating the appropriate sectors for targeted outreach efforts. The service sector segmented approach holds promise for identifying and referring at-risk Veterans in need of services. Reprint & Copyright © 2014 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Urban settings do not ensure access to services: findings from the immunisation programme in Kampala Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Babirye, Juliet N; Engebretsen, Ingunn M S; Rutebemberwa, Elizeus; Kiguli, Juliet; Nuwaha, Fred

2014-03-06

Previous studies on vaccination coverage in developing countries focus on individual- and community-level barriers to routine vaccination mostly in rural settings. This paper examines health system barriers to childhood immunisation in urban Kampala Uganda. Mixed methods were employed with a survey among child caretakers, 9 focus group discussions (FGDs), and 9 key informant interviews (KIIs). Survey data underwent descriptive statistical analysis. Latent content analysis was used for qualitative data. Of the 821 respondents in the survey, 96% (785/821) were mothers with a mean age of 26 years (95% CI 24-27). Poor geographical access to immunisation facilities was reported in this urban setting by FGDs, KIIs and survey respondents (24%, 95% CI 21-27). This coupled with reports of few health workers providing immunisation services led to long queues and long waiting times at facilities. Consumers reported waiting for 3-6 hours before receipt of services although this was more common at public facilities. Only 33% (95% CI 30-37) of survey respondents were willing to wait for three or more hours before receipt of services. Although private-for-profit facilities were engaged in immunisation service provision their participation was low as only 30% (95% CI 27-34) of the survey respondents utilised these facilities. The low participation could be due to lack of financial support for immunisation activities at these facilities. This in turn could explain the rampant informal charges for services in this setting. Charges ranged from US$ 0.2 to US$4 and these were more commonly reported at private (70%, 95% CI 65-76) than at public (58%, 95% CI 54-63) facilities. There were intermittent availability of vaccines and transport for immunisation services at both private and public facilities. Complex health system barriers to childhood immunisation still exist in this urban setting; emphasizing that even in urban areas with great physical access, there are hard to reach people

A PRELIMINARY STUDY FOR DEVELOPING ACCESSIBLE MOOC SERVICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Iniesto

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The flexibility of the MOOC service allows students to learn at their own time, place and pace, enhancing continuous communication and interaction between all participants in knowledge and community building. This model especially benefits people with disabilities, which can improve therefore their level of employability and social inclusion, reaching a better quality of life. Unfortunately the access to MOOC platforms present severe barriers: there is a lack of accessibility on the learning resources, the communicating tools and personalized user interfaces. All these issues add extra difficulties such as the need to develop specific digital or even social skills for students with functional diversity. In this context, MOOCs are leading a revolutionary computer and mobile-based scenario along with social technologies that will emerge new kinds of learning applications that enhance communication and collaboration processes. For that reason, this paper describes the need for designing an information model and related specifications to support a new strategy for delivering accessible MOOC courses to learners with special needs, in terms of their preferences and context of use based on a particular application profile. This user profile’s design is based on standard metadata schemas, data that provides information about other data, regarding the achievement of accessibility from content to user preferences.

Evaluation of Public E-Services and Information Technology Accessibility in Different Social Groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramutė Naujikienė

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop an approach based on the social quality evaluation square model for evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. Componential view to the accessibility of e-services including IT means providing the possibility to research the influences of different life conditions to usage of the public e-services. The task of this empirical study is directed towards revealing the differences of e-inclusion and e-services accessibility for social groups of citizens of Lithuania, and to compare this accessibility data with other EU countries.Design/methodology/approach—the approach is based on the square model of social quality evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. The social division square model includes an assessment of quality according to the evaluation of socioeconomic security, social inclusion, social cohesion, and empowerment. Empowerment can be defined as consisting of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life.Findings—the results are demonstrated by the accessibility of public e-services data, which are evaluated by the quality of social group development according to IT applications. The hypothesis was confirmed that the e-government activities can be realized by properly selecting and installing technologies, and using technology facilities. E-services influence the capabilities of state officials to apply modern technology and increase the availability of e-services for social groups. Results consist of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life, to implementation of effective information technologies in the e-government activities and using of e-services. An important indicator is the implementation of e-services in the activity of citizens. It is submitted as the index of e-participation in dealing with the activities of citizens and the possibilities of authorities directly related with providing services

Evaluation of Public E-Services and Information Technology Accessibility in Different Social Groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramutė Naujikienė

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop an approach based on the social quality evaluation square model for evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. Componential view to the accessibility of e-services including IT means providing the possibility to research the influences of different life conditions to usage of the public e-services. The task of this empirical study is directed towards revealing the differences of e-inclusion and e-services accessibility for social groups of citizens of Lithuania, and to compare this accessibility data with other EU countries. Design/methodology/approach—the approach is based on the square model of social quality evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. The social division square model includes an assessment of quality according to the evaluation of socioeconomic security, social inclusion, social cohesion, and empowerment. Empowerment can be defined as consisting of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life. Findings—the results are demonstrated by the accessibility of public e-services data, which are evaluated by the quality of social group development according to IT applications. The hypothesis was confirmed that the e-government activities can be realized by properly selecting and installing technologies, and using technology facilities. E-services influence the capabilities of state officials to apply modern technology and increase the availability of e-services for social groups. Results consist of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life, to implementation of effective information technologies in the e-government activities and using of e-services. An important indicator is the implementation of e-services in the activity of citizens. It is submitted as the index of e-participation in dealing with the activities of citizens and the possibilities of authorities directly related with providing

Enhancing Access to Scientific Models through Standard Web Services, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to investigate the feasibility and value of the "Software as a Service" paradigm in facilitating access to Earth Science numerical models. We envision...

Inequities in accessibility to and utilisation of maternal health services in Ghana after user-fee exemption: a descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganle, John K; Parker, Michael; Fitzpatrick, Raymond; Otupiri, Easmon

2014-11-01

Inequities in accessibility to, and utilisation of maternal healthcare services impede progress towards attainment of the maternal health-related Millennium Development Goals. The objective of this study is to examine the extent to which maternal health services are utilised in Ghana, and whether inequities in accessibility to and utilization of services have been eliminated following the implementation of a user-fee exemption policy, that aims to reduce financial barriers to access, reduce inequities in access, and improve access to and use of birthing services. We analyzed data from the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey for inequities in access to and utilization of maternal health services. In measuring the inequities, frequency tables and cross-tabulations were used to compare rates of service utilization by region, residence and selected socio-demographic variables. Findings show marginal increases in accessibility to and utilisation of skilled antenatal, delivery and postnatal care services following the policy implementation (2003-2007). However, large gradients of inequities exist between geographic regions, urban and rural areas, and different socio-demographic, religious and ethnic groupings. More urban women (40%) than rural, 53% more women in the highest wealth quintile than women in the lowest, 38% more women in the best performing region (Central Region) than the worst (Upper East Region), and 48% more women with at least secondary education than those with no formal education, accessed and used all components of skilled maternal health services in the five years preceding the survey. Our findings raise questions about the potential equity and distributional benefits of Ghana's user-fee exemption policy, and the role of non-financial barriers or considerations. Exempting user-fees for maternal health services is a promising policy option for improving access to maternal health care, but might be insufficient on its own to secure equitable access to

Poverty, Access to Health Care Services and Human Capital ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper is aimed at examining the poverty profile of Nigeria and its consequences on access to health care services and human capital development in the country. It is a startling paradox that about two – thirds of Nigerians are poor despite living in a country with vast potential wealth. Apart from looking at the theoretical ...

Enhancing Access to Drought Information Using the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System

Science.gov (United States)

Schreuders, K. A.; Tarboton, D. G.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Sen Gupta, A.; Reeder, S.

2011-12-01

The National Drought Information System (NIDIS) Upper Colorado River Basin pilot study is investigating and establishing capabilities for better dissemination of drought information for early warning and management. As part of this study we are using and extending functionality from the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) Hydrologic Information System (HIS) to provide better access to drought-related data in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The CUAHSI HIS is a federated system for sharing hydrologic data. It is comprised of multiple data servers, referred to as HydroServers, that publish data in a standard XML format called Water Markup Language (WaterML), using web services referred to as WaterOneFlow web services. HydroServers can also publish geospatial data using Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web map, feature and coverage services and are capable of hosting web and map applications that combine geospatial datasets with observational data served via web services. HIS also includes a centralized metadata catalog that indexes data from registered HydroServers and a data access client referred to as HydroDesktop. For NIDIS, we have established a HydroServer to publish drought index values as well as the input data used in drought index calculations. Primary input data required for drought index calculation include streamflow, precipitation, reservoir storages, snow water equivalent, and soil moisture. We have developed procedures to redistribute the input data to the time and space scales chosen for drought index calculation, namely half monthly time intervals for HUC 10 subwatersheds. The spatial redistribution approaches used for each input parameter are dependent on the spatial linkages for that parameter, i.e., the redistribution procedure for streamflow is dependent on the upstream/downstream connectivity of the stream network, and the precipitation redistribution procedure is dependent on elevation to account

Geospatial Web Services in Real Estate Information System

Science.gov (United States)

Radulovic, Aleksandra; Sladic, Dubravka; Govedarica, Miro; Popovic, Dragana; Radovic, Jovana

2017-12-01

Since the data of cadastral records are of great importance for the economic development of the country, they must be well structured and organized. Records of real estate on the territory of Serbia met many problems in previous years. To prevent problems and to achieve efficient access, sharing and exchange of cadastral data on the principles of interoperability, domain model for real estate is created according to current standards in the field of spatial data. The resulting profile of the domain model for the Serbian real estate cadastre is based on the current legislation and on Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) which is specified in the ISO19152 standard. Above such organized data, and for their effective exchange, it is necessary to develop a model of services that must be provided by the institutions interested in the exchange of cadastral data. This is achieved by introducing a service-oriented architecture in the information system of real estate cadastre and with that ensures efficiency of the system. It is necessary to develop user services for download, review and use of the real estate data through the web. These services should be provided to all users who need access to cadastral data (natural and legal persons as well as state institutions) through e-government. It is also necessary to provide search, view and download of cadastral spatial data by specifying geospatial services. Considering that real estate contains geometric data for parcels and buildings it is necessary to establish set of geospatial services that would provide information and maps for the analysis of spatial data, and for forming a raster data. Besides the theme Cadastral parcels, INSPIRE directive specifies several themes that involve data on buildings and land use, for which data can be provided from real estate cadastre. In this paper, model of geospatial services in Serbia is defined. A case study of using these services to estimate which household is at risk of

Inequities in access to and use of drinking water services in Latin America and the Caribbean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soares Luiz Carlos Rangel

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To identify and evaluate inequities in access to drinking water services as reflected in household per capita expenditure on water, and to determine what proportion of household expenditures is spent on water in 11 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Methods. Using data from multi-purpose household surveys (such as the Living Standards Measurement Survey Study conducted in 11 countries from 1995 to 1999, the availability of drinking water as well as total and per capita household expenditures on drinking water were analyzed in light of socioeconomic parameters, such as urban vs. rural setting, household income, type and regularity of water supply service, time spent obtaining water in homes not served by running water, and type of water-purifying treatment, if any. Results. Access to drinking water as well as total and per capita household expenditures on drinking water show an association with household income, economic conditions of the household, and location. The access of the rural population to drinking water services is much more restricted than that of the urban population for groups having similar income. The proportion of families having a household water supply system is comparable in the higher-income rural population and the lower-income urban population. Families without a household water supply system spend a considerable amount of time getting water. For poorer families, this implies additional costs. Low-income families that lack a household water supply spend as much money on water as do families with better income. Access to household water disinfection methods is very limited among poor families due to its relatively high cost, which results in poorer drinking water quality in the lower-income population. Conclusions. Multi-purpose household surveys conducted from the consumer's point of view are important tools for research on equity and health, especially when studying unequal access to, use of, and

Pilot Evaluation of a Web-Based Intervention Targeting Sexual Health Service Access

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, K. E.; Newby, K.; Caley, M.; Danahay, A.; Kehal, I.

2016-01-01

Sexual health service access is fundamental to good sexual health, yet interventions designed to address this have rarely been implemented or evaluated. In this article, pilot evaluation findings for a targeted public health behavior change intervention, delivered via a website and web-app, aiming to increase uptake of sexual health services among…

Assessment of availability, accessibility, and affordability of magnetic resonance imaging services in Ghana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piersson, A.D.; Gorleku, P.N.

2017-01-01

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the availability, accessibility, and affordability of MRI services to patients in Ghana. Methods: A descriptive quantitative research method which involve the use of a structured email 3-page survey questionnaire was employed, and addressed to the MRI radiographer-in-charge for completion. Results: A response rate of 92% was achieved. Sixty-seven percent (8) of the facilities were located in the Greater Accra region of Ghana with most (6[75%]) being private health facilities. The Western, Eastern, Brong Ahafo, Upper East, and Upper West lacked MRI scanners. MRI scanners per million population was 0.5. The mean cost per MRI examination, was lower in the public (i.e. GHȻ 563–GHȻ 686, p < 0.05 for non-contrast MRI examinations) compared to the private (i.e. GHȻ 618–GHȻ 775, p < 0.05 also for non-contrast MRI examinations). Most facilities (9[75%]) accept card bearers of some private health insurance to access MRI services, but none accepts that of the public-funded health insurance. Conclusion: There is wide disparity in the distribution of MRI scanners nationwide, with most of them located in the Greater Accra region. With only 5 regions having MRI scanners, it does imply that close to 40% of the general population do not readily have access to MRI services. Government can achieve an increase in availability, accessibility, and affordability of MRI by providing more public health facilities with MRI scanners and reimbursing MRI services via the NHIS (National Health Insurance Scheme). - Highlights: • In Ghana, 67% of MRI centres were located in the Greater Accra region. • MRI scanners per million population was 0.5. • About 40% of the population do not readily have access to MRI. • Mean cost per MRI examination was lower in the public compared to private centres. • Payment for MRI services was either by cash or some private health insurance.

Streamlining On-Demand Access to Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Data Products for Weather Forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, J. D.; Tislin, D.

2017-12-01

Observations from the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) support National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters, whose Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) Data Delivery (DD) will access JPSS data products on demand from the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Product Distribution and Access (PDA) service. Based on the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Coverage Service, this on-demand service promises broad interoperability and frugal use of data networks by serving only the data that a user needs. But the volume, velocity, and variety of JPSS data products impose several challenges to such a service. It must be efficient to handle large volumes of complex, frequently updated data, and to fulfill many concurrent requests. It must offer flexible data handling and delivery, to work with a diverse and changing collection of data, and to tailor its outputs into products that users need, with minimal coordination between provider and user communities. It must support 24x7 operation, with no pauses in incoming data or user demand; and it must scale to rapid changes in data volume, variety, and demand as new satellites launch, more products come online, and users rely increasingly on the service. We are addressing these challenges in order to build an efficient and effective on-demand JPSS data service. For example, on-demand subsetting by many users at once may overload a server's processing capacity or its disk bandwidth - unless alleviated by spatial indexing, geolocation transforms, or pre-tiling and caching. Filtering by variable (/ band / layer) may also alleviate network loads, and provide fine-grained variable selection; to that end we are investigating how best to provide random access into the variety of spatiotemporal JPSS data products. Finally, producing tailored products (derivatives, aggregations) can boost flexibility for end users; but some tailoring operations may impose significant server loads

Differences in Experiences of Discrimination in Accessing Social Services Among Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Individuals by (Dis)Ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Kattari, Shanna K; Walls, N Eugene; Speer, Stephanie Rachel

2017-01-01

Transgender and gender nonconforming (GNC) individuals frequently experience discrimination and potentially a lack of respect from service providers, suggesting they have decreased access to professionals with cultural competency. Similarly, people with disabilities experience higher levels of discrimination in social services than their nondisabled counterparts. From an intersectional perspective, this study examines rates of discrimination in accessing social services faced by transgender and GNC people, comparing across ability. Data indicate that although transgender and GNC individuals of all abilities experience gender-based discrimination when accessing social services, those with disabilities experience higher levels of antitransgender discrimination in mental health centers, rape crisis centers, and domestic violence shelters.

Efficient Information Access for Location-Based Services in Mobile Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chi Keung

2009-01-01

The demand for pervasive access of location-related information (e.g., local traffic, restaurant locations, navigation maps, weather conditions, pollution index, etc.) fosters a tremendous application base of "Location Based Services (LBSs)". Without loss of generality, we model location-related information as "spatial objects" and the accesses…

Policy principles for expanding financial access: report of the CGD task force on access to financial services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Claessens, S.; Honohan, P.; Rojas-Suarez, L.

2009-01-01

Despite the rapid growth in finance worldwide over the past quarter-century — now interrupted by the global financial crisis — many low-income households and small firms remain excluded from access to many financial services, especially in developing countries. While traditionally seen by many

The Academic Publication Service AlmaDL Journals and the New Challenges of Open Access

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piero Grandesso

2018-03-01

Full Text Available AlmaDL Journals is an Open Access publishing service of the University of Bologna, Italy. After 5 years from the publication of the first paper in Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage about the service, we review the transformations and the growth it has experienced during this time span, with a look at the changes that have occurred in Open Access publishing that have driven and inspired the modifications adopted by AlmaDL Journals.

OGIS Access System

Data.gov (United States)

National Archives and Records Administration — The OGIS Access System (OAS) provides case management, stakeholder collaboration, and public communications activities including a web presence via a web portal.

mORCA: ubiquitous access to life science web services.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz-Del-Pino, Sergio; Trelles, Oswaldo; Falgueras, Juan

2018-01-16

Technical advances in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have produced an extraordinary increase in their use around the world and have become part of our daily lives. The possibility of carrying these devices in a pocket, particularly mobile phones, has enabled ubiquitous access to Internet resources. Furthermore, in the life sciences world there has been a vast proliferation of data types and services that finish as Web Services. This suggests the need for research into mobile clients to deal with life sciences applications for effective usage and exploitation. Analysing the current features in existing bioinformatics applications managing Web Services, we have devised, implemented, and deployed an easy-to-use web-based lightweight mobile client. This client is able to browse, select, compose parameters, invoke, and monitor the execution of Web Services stored in catalogues or central repositories. The client is also able to deal with huge amounts of data between external storage mounts. In addition, we also present a validation use case, which illustrates the usage of the application while executing, monitoring, and exploring the results of a registered workflow. The software its available in the Apple Store and Android Market and the source code is publicly available in Github. Mobile devices are becoming increasingly important in the scientific world due to their strong potential impact on scientific applications. Bioinformatics should not fall behind this trend. We present an original software client that deals with the intrinsic limitations of such devices and propose different guidelines to provide location-independent access to computational resources in bioinformatics and biomedicine. Its modular design makes it easily expandable with the inclusion of new repositories, tools, types of visualization, etc.

Location Based Services for Outdoor Ecological Learning System: Design and Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Hsiao, Hsien-Sheng; Lin, Chih-Cheng; Feng, Ruei-Ting; Li, Kun Jing

2010-01-01

This paper aimed to demonstrate how location-based services were implemented in ubiquitous outdoor ecological learning system. In an elementary school in northern Taiwan, two fifth grade classes on an ecology project were randomly selected: The experimental group could access the ecological learning system on hand-held devices while the control…

Addressing geographic access barriers to emergency care services: a national ecologic study of hospitals in Brazil

OpenAIRE

Rocha, Thiago Augusto Hernandes; da Silva, N?bia Cristina; Amaral, Pedro Vasconcelos; Barbosa, Allan Claudius Queiroz; Rocha, Jo?o Victor Muniz; Alvares, Viviane; de Almeida, Dante Grapiuna; Thum?, Elaine; Thomaz, Erika B?rbara Abreu Fonseca; de Sousa Queiroz, Rejane Christine; de Souza, Marta Rovery; Lein, Adriana; Lopes, Daniel Paulino; Staton, Catherine A.; Vissoci, Jo?o Ricardo Nickenig

2017-01-01

Background Unequal distribution of emergency care services is a critical barrier to be overcome to assure access to emergency and surgical care. Considering this context it was objective of the present work analyze geographic access barriers to emergency care services in Brazil. A secondary aim of the study is to define possible roles to be assumed by small hospitals in the Brazilian healthcare network to overcome geographic access challenges. Methods The present work can be classified as a c...

Access to health services in Western Newfoundland, Canada: Issues, barriers and recommendations emerging from a community-engaged research project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janelle Hippe

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Research indicates that people living in rural and remote areas of Canada face challenges to accessing health services. This article reports on a community-engaged research project conducted by investigators at Memorial University of Newfoundland in collaboration with the Rural Secretariat Regional Councils and Regional Partnership Planners for the Corner Brook–Rocky Harbour and Stephenville–Port aux Basques Rural Secretariat Regions of Newfoundland and Labrador. The aim of this research was to gather information on barriers to accessing health services, to identify solutions to health services’ access issues and to inform policy advice to government on enhancing access to health services. Data was collected through: (1 targeted distribution of a survey to communities throughout the region, and (2 informal ‘kitchen table’ discussions to discuss health services’ access issues. A total of 1049 surveys were collected and 10 kitchen table discussions were held. Overall, the main barriers to care listed in the survey included long wait times, services not available in the area and services not available at time required. Other barriers noted by survey respondents included transportation problems, financial concerns, no medical insurance coverage, distance to travel and weather conditions. Some respondents reported poorer access to maternal/child health and breast and cervical screening services and a lack of access to general practitioners, pharmacy services, dentists and nurse practitioners. Recommendations that emerged from this research included improving the recruitment of rural physicians, exploring the use of nurse practitioners, assisting individuals with travel costs,  developing specialist outreach services, increasing use of telehealth services and initiating additional rural and remote health research. Keywords: rural, remote, healthcare, health services, social determinants of health

System and Method for Providing a Climate Data Persistence Service

Science.gov (United States)

Schnase, John L. (Inventor); Ripley, III, William David (Inventor); Duffy, Daniel Q. (Inventor); Thompson, John H. (Inventor); Strong, Savannah L. (Inventor); McInerney, Mark (Inventor); Sinno, Scott (Inventor); Tamkin, Glenn S. (Inventor); Nadeau, Denis (Inventor)

2018-01-01

A system, method and computer-readable storage devices for providing a climate data persistence service. A system configured to provide the service can include a climate data server that performs data and metadata storage and management functions for climate data objects, a compute-storage platform that provides the resources needed to support a climate data server, provisioning software that allows climate data server instances to be deployed as virtual climate data servers in a cloud computing environment, and a service interface, wherein persistence service capabilities are invoked by software applications running on a client device. The climate data objects can be in various formats, such as International Organization for Standards (ISO) Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model Submission Information Packages, Archive Information Packages, and Dissemination Information Packages. The climate data server can enable scalable, federated storage, management, discovery, and access, and can be tailored for particular use cases.

Language Barriers Impact Access to Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

St Amant, Helaine G; Schrager, Sheree M; Peña-Ricardo, Carolina; Williams, Marian E; Vanderbilt, Douglas L

2018-02-01

Racial and ethnic disparities in accessing health care have been described in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a retrospective chart review of 152 children with ASD, children of parents whose primary language was English were significantly more likely to have both social skills and communication goals within their individualized education plan (IEP) compared to children of parents whose primary language was not English. Additionally, children of primary English speakers received significantly more hours of direct services from their state disability program. After controlling for demographic covariates, findings suggest that language barriers may negatively affect parents' abilities to access health care services for their child with ASD. Acculturation factors must therefore be considered when analyzing disparities in autism.

A Service-Oriented Approach to Crowdsensing for Accessible Smart Mobility Scenarios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Mirri

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This work presents an architecture to help designing and deploying smart mobility applications. The proposed solution builds on the experience already matured by the authors in different fields: crowdsourcing and sensing done by users to gather data related to urban barriers and facilities, computation of personalized paths for users with special needs, and integration of open data provided by bus companies to identify the actual accessibility features and estimate the real arrival time of vehicles at stops. In terms of functionality, the first “monolithic” prototype fulfilled the goal of composing the aforementioned pieces of information to support citizens with reduced mobility (users with disabilities and/or elderly people in their urban movements. In this paper, we describe a service-oriented architecture that exploits the microservices orchestration paradigm to enable the creation of new services and to make the management of the various data sources easier and more effective. The proposed platform exposes standardized interfaces to access data, implements common services to manage metadata associated with them, such as trustworthiness and provenance, and provides an orchestration language to create complex services, naturally mapping their internal workflow to code. The manuscript demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach by means of some case studies.

New capabilities in the HENP grand challenge storage access system and its application at RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernardo, L.; Gibbard, B.; Malon, D.; Nordberg, H.; Olson, D.; Porter, R.; Shoshani, A.; Sim, A.; Vaniachine, A.; Wenaus, T.; Wu, K.; Zimmerman, D.

2000-01-01

The High Energy and Nuclear Physics Data Access Grand Challenge project has developed an optimizing storage access software system that was prototyped at RHIC. It is currently undergoing integration with the STAR experiment in preparation for data taking that starts in mid-2000. The behavior and lessons learned in the RHIC Mock Data Challenge exercises are described as well as the observed performance under conditions designed to characterize scalability. Up to 250 simultaneous queries were tested and up to 10 million events across 7 event components were involved in these queries. The system coordinates the staging of ''bundles'' of files from the HPSS tape system, so that all the needed components of each event are in disk cache when accessed by the application software. The caching policy algorithm for the coordinated bundle staging is described in the paper. The initial prototype implementation interfaced to the Objectivity/DB. In this latest version, it evolved to work with arbitrary files and use CORBA interfaces to the tag database and file catalog services. The interface to the tag database and the MySQL-based file catalog services used by STAR are described along with the planned usage scenarios

The research of the availability at cloud service systems

Science.gov (United States)

Demydov, Ivan; Klymash, Mykhailo; Kharkhalis, Zenoviy; Strykhaliuk, Bohdan; Komada, Paweł; Shedreyeva, Indira; Targeusizova, Aliya; Iskakova, Aigul

2017-08-01

This paper is devoted to the numerical investigation of the availability at cloud service systems. In this paper criteria and constraints calculations were performed and obtained results were analyzed for synthesis purposes of distributed service platforms based on the cloud service-oriented architecture such as availability and system performance index variations by defined set of the main parameters. The method of synthesis has been numerically generalized considering the type of service workload in statistical form by Hurst parameter application for each integrated service that requires implementation within the service delivery platform, which is synthesized by structural matching of virtual machines using combination of elementary servicing components up to functionality into a best-of-breed solution. As a result of restrictions from Amdahl's Law the necessity of cloud-networks clustering was shown, which makes it possible to break the complex dynamic network into separate segments that simplifies access to the resources of virtual machines and, in general, to the "clouds" and respectively simplifies complex topological structure, enhancing the overall system performance. In overall, proposed approaches and obtained results numerically justifying and algorithmically describing the process of structural and functional synthesis of efficient distributed service platforms, which under process of their configuring and exploitation provides an opportunity to act on the dynamic environment in terms of comprehensive services range and nomadic users' workload pulsing.

Automated Computer Access Request System

Science.gov (United States)

Snook, Bryan E.

2010-01-01

The Automated Computer Access Request (AutoCAR) system is a Web-based account provisioning application that replaces the time-consuming paper-based computer-access request process at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Auto- CAR combines rules-based and role-based functionality in one application to provide a centralized system that is easily and widely accessible. The system features a work-flow engine that facilitates request routing, a user registration directory containing contact information and user metadata, an access request submission and tracking process, and a system administrator account management component. This provides full, end-to-end disposition approval chain accountability from the moment a request is submitted. By blending both rules-based and rolebased functionality, AutoCAR has the flexibility to route requests based on a user s nationality, JSC affiliation status, and other export-control requirements, while ensuring a user s request is addressed by either a primary or backup approver. All user accounts that are tracked in AutoCAR are recorded and mapped to the native operating system schema on the target platform where user accounts reside. This allows for future extensibility for supporting creation, deletion, and account management directly on the target platforms by way of AutoCAR. The system s directory-based lookup and day-today change analysis of directory information determines personnel moves, deletions, and additions, and automatically notifies a user via e-mail to revalidate his/her account access as a result of such changes. AutoCAR is a Microsoft classic active server page (ASP) application hosted on a Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS).

Some Programs Should Not Run on Laptops - Providing Programmatic Access to Applications Via Web Services

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, V.; Gupta, N.; Gupta, S.; Field, E.; Maechling, P.

2003-12-01

hosted these Web Services as a part of the SCEC Community Modeling Environment (SCEC/CME) ITR Project (http://www.scec.org/cme). We have implemented Web Services for several of the reasons sited previously. For example, we implemented a FORTRAN-based Earthquake Rupture Forecast (ERF) as a Web Service for use by client computers that don't support a FORTRAN runtime environment. We implemented a Generic Mapping Tool (GMT) Web Service for use by systems that don't have local access to GMT. We implemented a Hazard Map Calculator Web Service to execute Hazard calculations that are too computationally intensive to run on a local system. We implemented a Coordinate Conversion Web Service to enforce a standard and consistent method for converting between UTM and Lat/Lon. Our experience developing these services indicates both strengths and weakness in current Web Service technology. Client programs that utilize Web Services typically need network access, a significant disadvantage at times. Programs with simple input and output parameters were the easiest to implement as Web Services, while programs with complex parameter-types required a significant amount of additional development. We also noted that Web services are very data-oriented, and adapting object-oriented software into the Web Service model proved problematic. Also, the Web Service approach of converting data types into XML format for network transmission has significant inefficiencies for some data sets.

THE WAYS OF INCREASING OF QUALITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF PEDIATRIC MEDICAL SERVICE IN OUT-PATIENT CLINICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.A. Baranov

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The analysis of dynamics of official statistics rates (population size, morbidity, disability, and mortality, and results of special scientific studies (morbidity, physical development, make it possible to show basic tendencies of children’s health state changes in modern conditions. The result of pediatrists from out-patient clinics survey, questioning of parents and adolescents (12–17 years old, on the problem of children’s health service, are presented. Questionnaire poll was held in regions of Central, Privolzhskiy, and Siberian Federal Districts. The complex analysis of obtained results show low quality level and accessibility of prophylactic and treatment medical service in children. This data became the basis of main directions of work of controlling and public health service in the field of increasing of quality and accessibility of pediatric medical service in out-patient clinics.Key words: children, medical service, out-patient clinics, quality, accessibility.(Voprosy sovremennoi pediatrii — Current Pediatrics. 2009;8(4:5-9

National Geothermal Data System: an Exemplar of Open Access to Data

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, M. L.; Richard, S. M.; Blackman, H.; Anderson, A.

2013-12-01

The National Geothermal Data System's (NGDS - www.geothermaldata.org) formal launch in 2014 will provide open access to millions of datasets, sharing technical geothermal-relevant data across the geosciences to propel geothermal development and production. With information from all of the Department of Energy's sponsored development and research projects and geologic data from all 50 states, this free, interactive tool is opening new exploration opportunities and shortening project development by making data easily discoverable and accessible. We continue to populate our prototype functional data system with multiple data nodes and nationwide data online and available to the public. Data from state geological surveys and partners includes more than 5 million records online, including 1.48 million well headers (oil and gas, water, geothermal), 732,000 well logs, and 314,000 borehole temperatures and is growing rapidly. There are over 250 Web services and another 138 WMS (Web Map Services) registered in the system as of August, 2013. Companion projects run by Boise State University, Southern Methodist University, and USGS are adding millions of additional data records. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is managing the Geothermal Data Repository which will serve as a system node and clearinghouse for data from hundreds of DOE-funded geothermal projects. NGDS is built on the US Geoscience Information Network data integration framework, which is a joint undertaking of the USGS and the Association of American State Geologists (AASG). NGDS is fully compliant with the White House Executive Order of May 2013, requiring all federal agencies to make their data holdings publicly accessible online in open source, interoperable formats with common core and extensible metadata. The National Geothermal Data System is being designed, built, deployed, and populated primarily with grants from the US Department of Energy, Geothermal Technologies Office. To keep this operational

Centralized optical-frequency-comb-based RF carrier generator for DWDM fiber-wireless access systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pang, Xiaodan; Beltran, Marta; Sanchez, Jose

2014-01-01

In this paper, we report on a gigabit capacity fiber-wireless system that enables smooth integration between high-speed wireless networks and dense wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) access networks. By employing a centralized optical frequency comb, both the wireline and the wireless services...

Interactive access to LP DAAC satellite data archives through a combination of open-source and custom middleware web services

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Brian N.; Werpy, Jason; Friesz, Aaron M.; Impecoven, Kevin; Quenzer, Robert; Maiersperger, Tom; Meyer, David J.

2015-01-01

Current methods of searching for and retrieving data from satellite land remote sensing archives do not allow for interactive information extraction. Instead, Earth science data users are required to download files over low-bandwidth networks to local workstations and process data before science questions can be addressed. New methods of extracting information from data archives need to become more interactive to meet user demands for deriving increasingly complex information from rapidly expanding archives. Moving the tools required for processing data to computer systems of data providers, and away from systems of the data consumer, can improve turnaround times for data processing workflows. The implementation of middleware services was used to provide interactive access to archive data. The goal of this middleware services development is to enable Earth science data users to access remote sensing archives for immediate answers to science questions instead of links to large volumes of data to download and process. Exposing data and metadata to web-based services enables machine-driven queries and data interaction. Also, product quality information can be integrated to enable additional filtering and sub-setting. Only the reduced content required to complete an analysis is then transferred to the user.

A Comprehensive System for Monitoring Urban Accessibility in Smart Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Mora, Higinio; Gilart-Iglesias, Virgilio; Pérez-Del Hoyo, Raquel; Andújar-Montoya, María Dolores

2017-08-09

The present work discusses the possibilities offered by the evolution of Information and Communication Technologies with the aim of designing a system to dynamically obtain knowledge of accessibility issues in urban environments. This system is facilitated by technology to analyse the urban user experience and movement accessibility, which enabling accurate identification of urban barriers and monitoring its effectiveness over time. Therefore, the main purpose of the system is to meet the real needs and requirements of people with movement disabilities. The information obtained can be provided as a support service for decision-making to be used by city government, institutions, researchers, professionals and other individuals of society in general to improve the liveability and quality of the lives of citizens. The proposed system is a means of social awareness that makes the most vulnerable groups of citizens visible by involving them as active participants. To perform and implement the system, the latest communication and positioning technologies for smart sensing have been used, as well as the cloud computing paradigm. Finally, to validate the proposal, a case study has been presented using the university environment as a pre-deployment step in urban environments.

48 CFR 504.602-71 - Federal Procurement Data System-Public access to data.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Government procurement to the public. (b) Fee for direct hook-up. To the extent that a member of the public... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Federal Procurement Data... Procurement Data System—Public access to data. (a) The FPDS database. The General Services Administration...

A framework for improving access and customer service times in health care: application and analysis at the UCLA Medical Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Duda, Catherine; Rajaram, Kumar; Barz, Christiane; Rosenthal, J Thomas

2013-01-01

There has been an increasing emphasis on health care efficiency and costs and on improving quality in health care settings such as hospitals or clinics. However, there has not been sufficient work on methods of improving access and customer service times in health care settings. The study develops a framework for improving access and customer service time for health care settings. In the framework, the operational concept of the bottleneck is synthesized with queuing theory to improve access and reduce customer service times without reduction in clinical quality. The framework is applied at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center to determine the drivers for access and customer service times and then provides guidelines on how to improve these drivers. Validation using simulation techniques shows significant potential for reducing customer service times and increasing access at this institution. Finally, the study provides several practice implications that could be used to improve access and customer service times without reduction in clinical quality across a range of health care settings from large hospitals to small community clinics.

Applying human rights to improve access to reproductive health services.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Dorothy; Cook, Rebecca J

2012-10-01

Universal access to reproductive health is a target of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5B, and along with MDG 5A to reduce maternal mortality by three-quarters, progress is currently too slow for most countries to achieve these targets by 2015. Critical to success are increased and sustainable numbers of skilled healthcare workers and financing of essential medicines by governments, who have made political commitments in United Nations forums to renew their efforts to reduce maternal mortality. National essential medicine lists are not reflective of medicines available free or at cost in facilities or in the community. The WHO Essential Medicines List indicates medicines required for maternal and newborn health including the full range of contraceptives and emergency contraception, but there is no consistent monitoring of implementation of national lists through procurement and supply even for basic essential drugs. Health advocates are using human rights mechanisms to ensure governments honor their legal commitments to ensure access to services essential for reproductive health. Maternal mortality is recognized as a human rights violation by the United Nations and constitutional and human rights are being used, and could be used more effectively, to improve maternity services and to ensure access to drugs essential for reproductive health. Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Access to and use of infertility services in the United States: framing the challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Adashi, Eli Y; Dean, Laura A

2016-05-01

An overview of access to and use of general infertility and assisted reproductive technology (ART) services in the United States (U.S.) shows a declining trend for the ever-use of infertility services. Moreover, the use of ART services lags relative to other member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Access to and use of general infertility and ART services is primarily undermined by a severely constrained underwriting universe dominated by self-insured employers and by a finite number of state infertility insurance mandates. The contribution of traditional public and private payers to the underwriting of ART is limited. As compared with OECD member nations wherein the access to and underwriting of general infertility and ART services is universal, the current status quo in the U.S. can only be characterized as dismal. Further, the current state of affairs is socially unjust in that the right to build a family in the face of infertility appears to have become a function of economic prowess. Given the dominance of the self-insured employers as underwriters of general infertility and ART services, advocacy directed at this interest group is likely to prove most productive. Improving the state of underwriting of general infertility and ART services in the U.S. must be embraced as a central moral imperative and as an unwavering strategic goal of the professional societies entrusted with the reproductive health of women and men. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patients' online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic review in primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Mold, Freda; de Lusignan, Simon; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; Ellis, Beverley

2015-03-01

Online access to medical records by patients can potentially enhance provision of patient-centred care and improve satisfaction. However, online access and services may also prove to be an additional burden for the healthcare provider. To assess the impact of providing patients with access to their general practice electronic health records (EHR) and other EHR-linked online services on the provision, quality, and safety of health care. A systematic review was conducted that focused on all studies about online record access and transactional services in primary care. Data sources included MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EPOC, DARE, King's Fund, Nuffield Health, PsycINFO, OpenGrey (1999-2012). The literature was independently screened against detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria; independent dual data extraction was conducted, the risk of bias (RoB) assessed, and a narrative synthesis of the evidence conducted. A total of 176 studies were identified, 17 of which were randomised controlled trials, cohort, or cluster studies. Patients reported improved satisfaction with online access and services compared with standard provision, improved self-care, and better communication and engagement with clinicians. Safety improvements were patient-led through identifying medication errors and facilitating more use of preventive services. Provision of online record access and services resulted in a moderate increase of e-mail, no change on telephone contact, but there were variable effects on face-to-face contact. However, other tasks were necessary to sustain these services, which impacted on clinician time. There were no reports of harm or breaches in privacy. While the RoB scores suggest many of the studies were of low quality, patients using online services reported increased convenience and satisfaction. These services positively impacted on patient safety, although there were variations of record access and use by specific ethnic and socioeconomic groups

Patients’ online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic review in primary care

Science.gov (United States)

Mold, Freda; de Lusignan, Simon; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; Ellis, Beverley

2015-01-01

Background Online access to medical records by patients can potentially enhance provision of patient-centred care and improve satisfaction. However, online access and services may also prove to be an additional burden for the healthcare provider. Aim To assess the impact of providing patients with access to their general practice electronic health records (EHR) and other EHR-linked online services on the provision, quality, and safety of health care. Design and setting A systematic review was conducted that focused on all studies about online record access and transactional services in primary care. Method Data sources included MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EPOC, DARE, King’s Fund, Nuffield Health, PsycINFO, OpenGrey (1999–2012). The literature was independently screened against detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria; independent dual data extraction was conducted, the risk of bias (RoB) assessed, and a narrative synthesis of the evidence conducted. Results A total of 176 studies were identified, 17 of which were randomised controlled trials, cohort, or cluster studies. Patients reported improved satisfaction with online access and services compared with standard provision, improved self-care, and better communication and engagement with clinicians. Safety improvements were patient-led through identifying medication errors and facilitating more use of preventive services. Provision of online record access and services resulted in a moderate increase of e-mail, no change on telephone contact, but there were variable effects on face-to-face contact. However, other tasks were necessary to sustain these services, which impacted on clinician time. There were no reports of harm or breaches in privacy. Conclusion While the RoB scores suggest many of the studies were of low quality, patients using online services reported increased convenience and satisfaction. These services positively impacted on patient safety, although there were variations of

System and Method for Providing Web-Based Remote Application Service

OpenAIRE

Shuen-Tai Wang; Yu-Ching Lin; Hsi-Ya Chang

2017-01-01

With the development of virtualization technologies, a new type of service named cloud computing service is produced. Cloud users usually encounter the problem of how to use the virtualized platform easily over the web without requiring the plug-in or installation of special software. The object of this paper is to develop a system and a method enabling process interfacing within an automation scenario for accessing remote application by using the web browser. To meet this challenge, we have ...

Accessibility and spatial distribution of general practice services in an Australian city by levels of social disadvantage.

Science.gov (United States)

Hyndman, J C; Holman, C D

2001-12-01

The accessibility and spatial distribution of health services provided by the main source of primary medical care in Australia--the general practice surgery--was investigated by level of social disadvantage of local catchment areas. All 459 general practice surgeries in Perth, an Australian city of 1.2 million residents, were surveyed with a 94% response. Amount of service provision was measured using weekly doctor-hours, available from consulting rooms during opening hours, and associated nurse-hours of service. Access factors were defined as the distance to the nearest surgery, provision of Sunday and evening services, ease of making a same day appointment, bulk-billing, and whether the surgery offered a choice of gender of doctor. There were relatively more surgeries in disadvantaged areas and doctor-hours of service provision were also greater (41.0 h/1,000 most disadvantaged vs. 37.9 h/1000 least disadvantaged). Bulk-billing care, at no direct cost to the patient, was more likely to be provided in most disadvantaged areas compared with least disadvantaged areas (61 vs. 38%). However, populations living in the most disadvantaged areas were less likely to be able to see the local GP at short notice (91 vs. 95%), to have access to a local female GP (56 vs. 62%) or a local service in the evenings (42 vs. 51%). While the overall picture of accessibility was favourable, there was considerable variation in the type of services provided to different socioeconomic groups. Health care planners should investigate the reasons for these differences and advise Government to ensure that access factors affecting publicly funded services are equitably distributed.

Human rights and access to healthcare services for indigenous peoples in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Durojaye, Ebenezer

2017-09-20

In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the sustainable development goals (SDGs) to address among others poverty and inequality within and among countries of the world. In particular, the SDGs aim at ameliorating the position of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in societies. One of the over-arching goals of the SDGs is to ensure that no one is left behind in the realisation of their access to health care. African governments are obligated under international and regional human rights law to ensure access to healthcare services for everyone, including indigenous populations, on a non-discriminatory basis. This requires the governments to adopt appropriate measures that will remove barriers to healthcare services for disadvantaged and marginalised groups such as indigenous peoples.

Challenges Women with Disability Face in Accessing and Using Maternal Healthcare Services in Ghana: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Ganle, John Kuumuori; Otupiri, Easmon; Obeng, Bernard; Edusie, Anthony Kwaku; Ankomah, Augustine; Adanu, Richard

2016-01-01

Background While a number of studies have examined the factors affecting accessibility to and utilisation of healthcare services by persons with disability in general, there is little evidence about disabled women's access to maternal health services in low-income countries and few studies consult disabled women themselves to understand their experience of care and the challenges they face in accessing skilled maternal health services. The objective of this paper is to explore the challenges women with disabilities encounter in accessing and using institutional maternal healthcare services in Ghana. Methods and Findings A qualitative study was conducted in 27 rural and urban communities in the Bosomtwe and Central Gonja districts of Ghana with a total of 72 purposively sampled women with different physical, visual, and hearing impairments who were either lactating or pregnant at the time of this research. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to gather data. Attride-Stirling’s thematic network framework was used to analyse the data. Findings suggest that although women with disability do want to receive institutional maternal healthcare, their disability often made it difficult for such women to travel to access skilled care, as well as gain access to unfriendly physical health infrastructure. Other related access challenges include: healthcare providers’ insensitivity and lack of knowledge about the maternity care needs of women with disability, negative attitudes of service providers, the perception from able-bodied persons that women with disability should be asexual, and health information that lacks specificity in terms of addressing the special maternity care needs of women with disability. Conclusions Maternal healthcare services that are designed to address the needs of able-bodied women might lack the flexibility and responsiveness to meet the special maternity care needs of women with disability. More disability-related cultural competence and

Access Requirement Analysis of E-Governance Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Tai-Hoon

The strategic and contemporary importance of e-governance has been recognized across the world. In India too, various ministries of Govt. of India and State Governments have taken e-governance initiatives to provide e-services to citizens and the business they serve. To achieve the mission objectives, and make such e-governance initiatives successful it would be necessary to improve the trust and confidence of the stakeholders. It is assumed that the delivery of government services will share the same public network information that is being used in the community at large. In particular, the Internet will be the principal means by which public access to government and government services will be achieved. To provide the security measures main aim is to identify user's access requirement for the stakeholders and then according to the models of Nath's approach. Based on this analysis, the Govt. can also make standards of security based on the e-governance models. Thus there will be less human errors and bias. This analysis leads to the security architecture of the specific G2C application.

Managed Care for Children: Effect on Access to Care and Utilization of Health Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Szilagyi, Peter G.

1998-01-01

Reviews what is known about the effect of managed care on access to health services, as well as utilization of hospital care, emergency department visits, primary care services, and specialty pediatric services. The effect of managed care appears dependent on several factors and, thus, is likely to vary according to the population served. (SLD)

Systemic barriers accessing HIV treatment among people who inject drugs in Russia: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarang, Anya; Rhodes, Tim; Sheon, Nicolas

2013-10-01

Achieving 'universal access' to antiretroviral HIV treatment (ART) in lower income and transitional settings is a global target. Yet, access to ART is shaped by local social condition and is by no means universal. Qualitative studies are ideally suited to describing how access to ART is socially situated. We explored systemic barriers to accessing ART among people who inject drugs (PWID) in a Russian city (Ekaterinburg) with a large burden of HIV treatment demand. We undertook 42 in-depth qualitative interviews with people living with HIV with current or recent experience of injecting drug use. Accounts were analysed thematically, and supplemented here with an illustrative case study. Three core themes were identified: 'labyrinthine bureaucracy' governing access to ART; a 'system Catch 22' created by an expectation that access to ART was conditional upon treated drug use in a setting of limited drug treatment opportunity; and 'system verticalization', where a lack of integration across HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and drug treatment compromised access to ART. Taken together, we find that systemic factors play a key role in shaping access to ART with the potential adverse effects of reproducing treatment initiation delay and disengagement from treatment. We argue that meso-level systemic factors affecting access to ART for PWID interact with wider macro-level structural forces, including those related to drug treatment policy and the social marginalization of PWID. We note the urgent need for systemic and structural changes to improve access to ART for PWID in this setting, including to simplify bureaucratic procedures, foster integrated HIV, TB and drug treatment services, and advocate for drug treatment policy reform.

[Financing, organization, costs and services performance of the Argentinean health sub-systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Yavich, Natalia; Báscolo, Ernesto Pablo; Haggerty, Jeannie

2016-01-01

To analyze the relationship between health system financing and services organization models with costs and health services performance in each of Rosario's health sub-systems. The financing and organization models were characterized using secondary data. Costs were calculated using the WHO/SHA methodology. Healthcare quality was measured by a household survey (n=822). Public subsystem:Vertically integrated funding and primary healthcare as a leading strategy to provide services produced low costs and individual-oriented healthcare but with weak accessibility conditions and comprehensiveness. Private subsystem: Contractual integration and weak regulatory and coordination mechanisms produced effects opposed to those of the public sub-system. Social security: Contractual integration and strong regulatory and coordination mechanisms contributed to intermediate costs and overall high performance. Each subsystem financing and services organization model had a strong and heterogeneous influence on costs and health services performance.

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

Service Quality Management in the ITS Telecommunications Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomas Zelinka

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Guaranteed selected quality of telecommunication service and wide area coverage are typical requirements of the ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems applications. Extensive range of wireless data services with reasonable coverage is provided by public wireless services operators, however, mostly no guaranteed relevant range of quality and security is available. ITS services require cost-effectively solution which can be resolved by combination of the "core" public solution with the other public as well as private services where and when it is needed. Such approach requires implementation of the relevant flexible system architecture supported by the efficient decision processes. ITS specific service security requirements would not underestimated, as well. Special situation is identified in case of the C2I (Car to Infrastructure and C2C (Car to Car communication namely if the vehicle on board unit is interconnected with the vehicle CAN (Controlled Area Network based network. Such configurations significantly increase potential of dangerous intruders´ attacks. Probability of the critical hazards appearances grows if the ITS data are accessible in the wide area networks. That is also the main reason why relevant telecommunications security support is understood as one of the crucial part of the ITS telecommunications solution.

Access control system for ISABELLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potter, K.; Littenberg, L.

1977-01-01

An access system based on the one now in operation at the CERN ISR is recommended. Access doors would presumably be located at the entrances to the utility tunnels connecting the support buildings with the ring. Persons requesting access would insert an identity card into a scanner to activate the system. The request would be autologged, the keybank adjacent to the door would be unlocked and ISABELLE operations would be notified. The operator would then select the door, activating a TV-audio link. The person requesting entry would draw a key from the bank, show it and his film badge to the operator who would enable the door release

'It's the system working for the system': carers' experiences of learning disability services in Ireland.

Science.gov (United States)

Power, Andrew

2009-02-01

The aim of this article is to examine the experiences of families with young adults with learning disabilities trying to access services. The landscape of disability services for this group is made up of day care, special vocational training and respite places. It aims to identify the extent of an implementation gap between government rhetoric and the degree to which services are characterised as being non-supportive interactions on the ground. Using Ireland as a case study, during a time when the economy is booming and government rhetoric claims unparalleled developments in allocating resources and extra respite 'places', this article identifies the main challenges faced by family carers associated with accessing appropriate services for their disabled adult child, in their attempt to achieve greater independence. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study in which individual semistructured interviews were held with family carers (n = 25) and representatives from national carer organisations (n = 6) in Ireland. These were people caring for an adult (18-30 years) with a learning disability and their experiences were also useful in cross-checking the carer organisation interviews. The findings show that there is limited flexibility, choice and availability in meeting the preferences of the service-users, and throughout the study, services were characterised as being non-supportive interactions. This is not simply symptomatic of a lack of resources. Despite improved funding, supportive attitudes and flexibility are still crucial in meeting user requirements at the level of delivery; thus highlighting that often the system works for the system, not for the user.

A study of Iranian immigrants’ experiences of accessing Canadian health care services: a grounded theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dastjerdi Mahdieh

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Immigration is not a new phenomenon but, rather, has deep roots in human history. Documents from every era detail individuals who left their homelands and struggled to reestablish their lives in other countries. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the experience of Iranian immigrants who accessed Canadian health care services. Research with immigrants is useful for learning about strategies that newcomers develop to access health care services. Methods The research question guiding this study was, “What are the processes by which Iranian immigrants learn to access health care services in Canada?” To answer the question, a constructivist grounded theory approach was applied. Initially, unstructured interviews were conducted with 17 participants (11 women and six men who were adults (at least 18 years old and had immigrated to Canada within the past 15 years. Eight participants took part in a second interview, and four participants took part in a third interview. Results Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, “tackling the stumbling blocks of access” emerged as the core category. The basic social process (BSP, becoming self-sufficient, was a transitional process and had five stages: becoming a stranger; feeling helpless; navigating/seeking information; employing strategies; and becoming integrated and self-sufficient. We found that “tackling the stumbling blocks of access” was the main struggle throughout this journey. Some of the immigrants were able to overcome these challenges and became proficient in accessing health care services, but others were unable to make the necessary changes and thus stayed in earlier stages/phases of transition, and sometimes returned to their country of origin. Conclusion During the course of this journey a substantive grounded theory was developed that revealed the challenges and issues confronted by this particular group of immigrants. This process explains

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S): Open Access to a Climate Data Store

Science.gov (United States)

Thepaut, Jean-Noel; Dee, Dick

2016-04-01

customisable climate indicators for key economic sectors, such as energy, water management, agriculture, insurance, health… This talk will focus on the Climate Data Store facility, designed as a distributed system, providing improved access to existing datasets though a unified web interface. This service will accommodate the needs of the highly diverse set of users, from policy makers to expert practitioners and scientists.

Easy Access: Auditing the System Network

Science.gov (United States)

Wiech, Dean

2013-01-01

In today's electronic learning environment, access to appropriate systems and data is of the utmost importance to students, faculty, and staff. Without proper access to the school's internal systems, teachers could be prevented from logging on to an online learning system and students might be unable to submit course work to an online…

Mobile and Accessible Learning for MOOCs

Science.gov (United States)

Sharples, Mike; Kloos, Carlos Delgado; Dimitriadis, Yannis; Garlatti, Serge; Specht, Marcus

2015-01-01

Many modern web-based systems provide a "responsive" design that allows material and services to be accessed on mobile and desktop devices, with the aim of providing "ubiquitous access." Besides offering access to learning materials such as podcasts and videos across multiple locations, mobile, wearable and ubiquitous…

Access to health and human services for drug users: an urban/rural community systems perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivers, J E; Komaroff, E; Kibort, A C

1999-01-01

Publicly funded drug-user treatment programs in both urban and rural areas are under unprecedented pressure to adapt to multiple perspectives of their mission, reduced governmental funding, diminished entitlement program resources for clients, managed care reforms, and continuing unmet need for services. This article describe an ongoing health services research study that is investigating how these and related health and human service programs currently serve and cross-refer chronic drug users and how they perceive and are reacting to systemic pressures. Interim analysis on intra-agency diversity and managed care perceptions are reported.

Services procurement under the WTO’s agreement on government procurement: whither market access?

OpenAIRE

Shingal, Anirudh

2010-01-01

This paper studies the government procurement of services from foreign suppliers by conducting a statistical analysis of data submitted by Japan and Switzerland to the WTO's Committee on Government Procurement. Using several metrics, the paper examines if the WTO’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) has led to greater market access for foreign suppliers in services procurement. Our results indicate that despite the GPA, the proportions of services contracts awarded to foreigners have d...

National Geothermal Data System: Open Access to Geoscience Data, Maps, and Documents

Science.gov (United States)

Caudill, C. M.; Richard, S. M.; Musil, L.; Sonnenschein, A.; Good, J.

2014-12-01

The U.S. National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) provides free open access to millions of geoscience data records, publications, maps, and reports via distributed web services to propel geothermal research, development, and production. NGDS is built on the US Geoscience Information Network (USGIN) data integration framework, which is a joint undertaking of the USGS and the Association of American State Geologists (AASG), and is compliant with international standards and protocols. NGDS currently serves geoscience information from 60+ data providers in all 50 states. Free and open source software is used in this federated system where data owners maintain control of their data. This interactive online system makes geoscience data easily discoverable, accessible, and interoperable at no cost to users. The dynamic project site http://geothermaldata.org serves as the information source and gateway to the system, allowing data and applications discovery and availability of the system's data feed. It also provides access to NGDS specifications and the free and open source code base (on GitHub), a map-centric and library style search interface, other software applications utilizing NGDS services, NGDS tutorials (via YouTube and USGIN site), and user-created tools and scripts. The user-friendly map-centric web-based application has been created to support finding, visualizing, mapping, and acquisition of data based on topic, location, time, provider, or key words. Geographic datasets visualized through the map interface also allow users to inspect the details of individual GIS data points (e.g. wells, geologic units, etc.). In addition, the interface provides the information necessary for users to access the GIS data from third party software applications such as GoogleEarth, UDig, and ArcGIS. A redistributable, free and open source software package called GINstack (USGIN software stack) was also created to give data providers a simple way to release data using

ASME section XI - design and access requirements for in-service inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, D.D.

1982-01-01

The Owner of a nuclear power plant has the regulatory commitment to perform Section XI in-service inspection throughout the service life of a plant. In anticipation of what will be needed to perform adequately the required examinations and tests, sub-article IWA-1500 of Section XI not only requires that sufficient access be provided to accommodate equipment and inspection personnel but also requires that other provisions be considered such as: component surface preparations, material selections, shielding, removal and storage of hardware, handling equipment, and provisions for repairs and replacements. It is, therefore, the owner's and the architect engineer's responsibility to ensure that proper design and access provisions are incorporated to enable the owner to meet his commitments. Since the architect engineer usually has the prime responsibility for the implementation of design criteria, the owner must ensure that these provisions be considered in each phase of design and construction. The benefits of this can result in shorter outages, more meaningful examinations and tests and less radiation exposure of inspection personnel. This paper will address in detail those topics that affect design and access provisions which need to be considered during the design and construction of a nuclear power plant. (author)

'It's risky to walk in the city with syringes': understanding access to HIV/AIDS services for injecting drug users in the former Soviet Union countries of Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harmer Andrew

2011-07-01

accessibility because of multiple, complex, and interrelated barriers to HIV/AIDS service utilisation at the service delivery level. Factors external to, as well as within, the health sector are key to understanding the access deficit in the FSU where low or concentrated HIV/AIDS epidemics are prevalent. Funders of HIV/AIDS programmes need to consider how best to tackle key structural and systemic drivers of access including prohibitionist legislation on drugs use, limited transparency and low staff salaries within the health sector.

'It's risky to walk in the city with syringes': understanding access to HIV/AIDS services for injecting drug users in the former Soviet Union countries of Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Spicer, Neil

2011-07-13

greater accessibility because of multiple, complex, and interrelated barriers to HIV\\/AIDS service utilisation at the service delivery level. Factors external to, as well as within, the health sector are key to understanding the access deficit in the FSU where low or concentrated HIV\\/AIDS epidemics are prevalent. Funders of HIV\\/AIDS programmes need to consider how best to tackle key structural and systemic drivers of access including prohibitionist legislation on drugs use, limited transparency and low staff salaries within the health sector.

Access to oral health care services among adults with learning disabilities: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Naseem, Mustafa; Shah, Altaf H; Khiyani, Muhammad Faheem; Khurshid, Zohaib; Zafar, Muhammad Sohail; Gulzar, Shabnam; AlJameel, AlBandary H; Khalil, Hesham S

2016-01-01

The prevalence of oral diseases including dental caries and periodontal conditions is remarkably higher in people with disabilities. The provision of accessible oral health services for people with learning disabilities may be challenging. The objectives of the review were to identify barriers in accessing oral health care that persists within society, enabling or disabling people with learning disabilities. Using the Arksey O'Malley framework, a scoping review was conducted on PubMed/Medline, OVIDSP, and EMBASE. Studies were evaluated and short-listed based on the inclusion criteria, which consisted of: (1) study participants or population with learning disabilities, (2) aged 16 years or over, (3) reporting on access to oral health services, (4) published in the English language. Those that justified the inclusion criteria were carefully chosen after a blind peer-reviewed process when relevance and quality were debated. Nine studies were eventually included from searches. Tabulation of data was done under the heading of study type, outcomes, the year of publication and patient selection. The majority of studies provided a biomedical overview of access for adults with learning disabilities. The concept of access for people with disability is still ill-defined and obscure. Access to oral health care and needs of people with learning disabilities are complex and multi-facet.

REAL-TIME MONITORING SYSTEM USING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE INTEGRATED WITH SENSOR OBSERVATION SERVICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Witayangkurn

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV is an emerging technology being adapted for a wide range of applications. Real-time monitoring is essential to enhance the effectiveness of UAV applications. Sensor networks are networks constructed from various sensor nodes. International standard such as OGC's SOS (Sensor Observation Service makes it possible to share sensor data with other systems as well as to provide accessibility to globally distributed users. In this paper, we propose a system combining UAV technology and sensor network technology to use an UAV as a mobile node of sensor network so that the sensor data from UAV is published and shared real-time. A UAV can extend the observation range of a sensor network to remote areas where it is usually difficult to access such as disaster area. We constructed a UAV system using remote-controlled helicopter and various sensors such as GPS, gyrocompass, laser range finder, Digital camera and Thermometer. Furthermore, we extended the Sensor Observation Service (SOS and Sensor Service Grid (SSG to support mobile sensor nodes. Then, we conducted experiments of flying the helicopter over an area of the interest. During the flight, the system measured environmental data using its sensors and captured images of the ground. The data was sent to a SOS node as the ground station via Wi-Fi which was published using SSG to give real- time access to globally distributed users.

A network system of medical and welfare information service for the patients, their families, hospitals, local governments, and commercial companies in a medical service area.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumura, Kouji; Antoku, Yasuaki; Inoue, Reika; Kobayashi, Mariko; Hanada, Eisuke; Iwasaki, Yasutaka; Kumagai, Yasushi; Iwamoto, Haruya; Tsuchihashi, Saburo; Iwaki, Miho; Kira, Jun-ichi; Nose, Yoshiaki

2002-06-01

A service information system using the Internet, which connected the various people who are related to medical treatment and nursing welfare, was constructed. An intractable neurological disease patient who lives in the Onga district, Fukuoka, Japan, and the people who are related to the service were chosen as test users in an experimental model. The communicated service information was divided into open-use data (electronic bulletin board, welfare service, medical care service, and link to private company service home page) and closed-use data (the individual patient's hysterics). The open data server was installed in an Internet service provider The open data could be accessed not only by the patient, but also by the family, information center, companies, hospitals, and nursing commodity store related to patient's nursing and medical treatment. Closed data server was installed in an information center (public health center). Only patient and information center staff can access the closed data. Patients should search and collect the service information of various medical and welfare services by themselves. Therefore, services prepared for the patient are difficult to know, and they cannot be sufficiently utilized. With the use of this information system, all usable service information became accessible, and patients could easily use it. The electronic bulletin board system (BBS) was used by patients for knowing each other or each others' family, and was used as a device for exchange of wisdom. Also, the questions for the specialist, such as doctor, dentist, teacher, physical therapist, care manager, welfare office staff member, and public health nurse, and the answers were shown on the BBS. By arranging data file, a reference of various patients in question and answer, which appeared in this BBS, was made as "advisory hints" and was added to the open data. The advisory hints became the new service information for the patients and their family. This BBS discovered

Research and development of a NYNEX switched multi-megabit data service prototype system

Science.gov (United States)

Maman, K. H.; Haines, Robert; Chatterjee, Samir

1991-02-01

Switched Multi-megabit Data Service (SMDS) is a proposed high-speed packet-switched service which will support broadband applications such as Local Area Network (LAN) interconnections across a metropolitan area and beyond. This service is designed to take advantage of evolving Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) standards and technology which will provide customers with 45-mbps and 1 . 5-mbps access to high-speed public data communications networks. This paper will briefly discuss SMDS and review its architecture including the Subscriber Network Interface (SNI) and the SMDS Interface Protocol (SIP). It will review the fundamental features of SMDS such as address screening addressing scheme and access classes. Then it will describe the SMDS prototype system developed in-house by NYNEX Science Technology.

A cloud system for mobile medical services of traditional Chinese medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Nian-Ze; Lee, Chia-Ying; Hou, Mark C; Chen, Ying-Ling

2013-12-01

Many medical centers in Taiwan have started to provide Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) services for hospitalized patients. Due to the complexity of TCM modality and the increasing need for providing TCM services for patients in different wards at distantly separate locations within the hospital, it is getting difficult to manage the situation in the traditional way. A computerized system with mobile ability can therefore provide a practical solution to the challenge presented. The study tries to develop a cloud system equipped with mobile devices to integrate electronic medical records, facilitate communication between medical workers, and improve the quality of TCM services for the hospitalized patients in a medical center. The system developed in the study includes mobile devices carrying Android operation system and a PC as a cloud server. All the devices use the same TCM management system developed by the study. A website of database is set up for information sharing. The cloud system allows users to access and update patients' medical information, which is of great help to medical workers for verifying patients' identification and giving proper treatments to patients. The information then can be wirelessly transmitted between medical personnel through the cloud system. Several quantitative and qualitative evaluation indexes are developed to measure the effectiveness of the cloud system on the quality of the TCM service. The cloud system is tested and verified based on a sample of hospitalized patients receiving the acupuncture treatment at the Lukang Branch of Changhua Christian Hospital (CCH) in Taiwan. The result shows a great improvement in operating efficiency of the TCM service in that a significant saving in labor time can be attributable to the cloud system. In addition, the cloud system makes it easy to confirm patients' identity through taking a picture of the patient upon receiving any medical treatment. The result also shows that the cloud system

Are social franchises contributing to universal access to reproductive health services in low-income countries?

Science.gov (United States)

Sundari Ravindran, T K; Fonn, Sharon

2011-11-01

A social franchise in health is a network of for-profit private health practitioners linked through contracts to provide socially beneficial services under a common brand. The early 21st century has seen considerable donor enthusiasm for promoting social franchises for the provision of reproductive health services. Based on a compendium of descriptive information on 45 clinical social franchises, located in 27 countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, this paper examines their contribution to universal access to comprehensive reproductive health services. It finds that these franchises have not widened the range of reproductive health services, but have mainly focused on contraceptive services, and to a lesser extent, maternal health care and abortion. In many instances, coverage had not been extended to new areas. Measures taken to ensure sustainability ran counter to the objective of access for low-income groups. In almost two-thirds of the franchises, the full cost of all services had to be paid out of pocket and was unaffordable for low-income women. While standards and protocols for quality assurance were in place in all franchises, evidence on adherence to these was limited. Informal interviews with patients indicated satisfaction with services. However, factors such as difficulties in recruiting franchisees and significant attrition, franchisees' inability to attend training programmes, use of lay health workers to deliver services without support or supervision, and logistical problems with applying quality assurance tools, all raise concerns. The contribution of social franchises to universal access to reproductive health services appears to be uncertain. Continued investment in them for the provision of reproductive health services does not appear to be justified until and unless further evidence of their value is forthcoming. Copyright © 2011 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Email based remote access and surveillance system for smart home infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pooshkar Rajiv

2016-09-01

Full Text Available With the rapid rise of Internet of Things in public domain, people expect fast, reliable and on-demand home security via the Internet. However, existing remote home surveillance systems place a very rigid constraint on authentication and require customized hardware and software. In this paper we have proposed an ingenious and reliable internet based, home access system for smart homes that can be easily deployed on generic hardware. The proposed architecture uses popular email service providers to notify and update the user about the home access. It sends an email to the owner with the attached picture of the person who is at the door. It also incorporates a protected mechanism to give access of the door to a remote user by responding to that email. It essentially means that we can view and give access to the person at our door via sending and receiving an email. Furthermore, an image processing based mechanism has also been incorporated to provide access without email, to few selected personnel who are trusted by the owner. It works by capturing and comparing the visitor's image with the stored images in the database. Perceptual hashing or fingerprint matching algorithm is used for comparison purposes. Similarity percentage based on hamming distance was evaluated, and the similarity threshold for providing access was set. The simulations were performed in rigorous environment. The efficiency of the hashing algorithm was found to be 97% at the similarity threshold of 95%. The results validate that the average latency is only 155 ms with low standard deviation. The CPU utilization remained quite low with a minimum value of 10 MHz and a maximum value of 30 MHz when the payload size of the sent mail was increased to 1500 kB. Thus, the proposed system can be used for developing a larger low power infrastructure.

Questioning territorial cohesion: (Un)equal access to services of general interest

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Malý, Jiří

-, August 2016 (2016), s. 1-21 ISSN 1056-8190 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : territorial cohesion * services of general interest * accessibility * spatial justice * Czech Republic Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography Impact factor: 1.272, year: 2016 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pirs.12250/full

Lynx web services for annotations and systems analysis of multi-gene disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Sulakhe, Dinanath; Taylor, Andrew; Balasubramanian, Sandhya; Feng, Bo; Xie, Bingqing; Börnigen, Daniela; Dave, Utpal J; Foster, Ian T; Gilliam, T Conrad; Maltsev, Natalia

2014-07-01

Lynx is a web-based integrated systems biology platform that supports annotation and analysis of experimental data and generation of weighted hypotheses on molecular mechanisms contributing to human phenotypes and disorders of interest. Lynx has integrated multiple classes of biomedical data (genomic, proteomic, pathways, phenotypic, toxicogenomic, contextual and others) from various public databases as well as manually curated data from our group and collaborators (LynxKB). Lynx provides tools for gene list enrichment analysis using multiple functional annotations and network-based gene prioritization. Lynx provides access to the integrated database and the analytical tools via REST based Web Services (http://lynx.ci.uchicago.edu/webservices.html). This comprises data retrieval services for specific functional annotations, services to search across the complete LynxKB (powered by Lucene), and services to access the analytical tools built within the Lynx platform. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Improving Access to Behavioral Health Care for Remote Service Members and Their Families

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

video conferencing can help remote service members and dependents access needed care. These two promising avenues for improving access to care can...Corporation ISBN 978-0-8330-8872-7 www.rand.org Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are...RAND Corporation View document details Support RAND Browse Reports & Bookstore Make a charitable contribution Limited Electronic Distribution Rights

Accelerating access to energy services: Way forward

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Hafeezur Rehman

2017-03-01

Full Text Available As nearly a fifth of the world's population still lives without access to electricity and double that number with no access to modern cooking technologies, both public and private sector players have invested resources in developing infrastructure to address this energy gap. While there have been exceptional cases like China, Vietnam and Brazil, where the public sector led grid expansion achieved incredible gains in expanding access as to electricity, the general trend over the years in most developing countries has demonstrated that both public and private led approaches have been unsuccessful in independently yielding the desired acceleration and continuity to deliver universal energy access. Despite the inherent benefits of both public and private sector led initiatives, typical systemic inefficiencies and inadequate capacities in both approaches prevent them from fully addressing the principal objective of facilitating energy access for the poor in the long term. Also, even if required investments were adequately capitalized, with the current population growth rate continually outpacing the rate of interventions, the number of people who remained energy poor 15 years hence, would still be the same. Thus, not only is there is a need for providing energy access to the existing population mass, but an equal need to do it fast enough to truly reduce the number of energy poor across the globe. An alternative approach therefore needs to be explored that juxtaposes the social welfare objectives of public sector led initiatives with the enterprise development and growth objectives of the private sector, to support the creation of an enabling ecosystem and a viable value chain that successfully and effectively delivers energy solutions to the last mile. Such a pro-poor hybrid model will essentially address the inefficiencies and inadequacies of both public and private approaches and capitalize on their strengths through a complementary mix of social

Experiences Accessing Abortion Care in Alabama among Women Traveling for Services.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Kari; deMartelly, Victoria; Grossman, Daniel; Turan, Janet M

2016-01-01

In Alabama, more than one-half of reproductive-aged women live in counties without an abortion provider. State regulations require in-person counseling (or confirmed receipt of materials sent by certified mail) followed by a 48-hour waiting period. We explored the impact of this service and policy environment on experiences accessing abortion care for women traveling long distances to clinics. We conducted in-depth interviews with 25 women who traveled more than 30 miles to an Alabama clinic providing abortion care between July and September 2014. Women were interviewed by telephone at least 1 day after their consultation, procedure, or follow-up visit. We used content analysis methods to code and analyze interview transcripts. Almost all women found a clinic by searching online or talking to others in their social networks who had abortions. These strategies did not always direct women to the closest clinic, and some described searches that yielded inaccurate information. The majority of women did not believe an in-person consultation visit was necessary and found it to be burdensome because of the extra travel required and long waits at the clinic. Two-thirds of the women were unable to schedule their abortion 48 hours later owing to work schedules or because appointments were offered only once a week, and four women were delayed until their second trimester even though they sought services earlier in pregnancy. It is often difficult for women in communities without an abortion provider to find and access timely abortion care. Efforts are needed to make abortion more accessible and prevent further restrictions on services. Copyright © 2016 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Role of information systems in public health services.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartshorne, J E; Carstens, I L

1990-07-01

The purpose of this review is to establish a conceptual framework on the role of information systems in public health care. Information is indispensable for effective management and development of health services and therefore considered as an important operational asset or resource. A Health Information System is mainly required to support management and operations at four levels: namely transactional and functional; operational control; management planning and control; and strategic planning. To provide the necessary information needs of users at these levels of management in the health care system, a structured information system coupled with appropriate information technology is required. Adequate and relevant information is needed regarding population characteristics, resources available and expended, output and outcome of health care activities. Additionally information needs to be reliable, accurate, timely, easily accessible and presented in a compact and meaningful form. With a well-planned health information system health authorities would be in a position to provide a quality, cost-effective and efficient health service for as many people as need it, optimal utilisation of resources and to maintain and improve the community's health status.

An Optimal Mobile Service for Telecare Data Synchronization using a Role-based Access Control Model and Mobile Peer-to-Peer Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, Chih-Kun; Lin, Zheng-Hua

2015-09-01

The progress of information and communication technologies (ICT) has promoted the development of healthcare which has enabled the exchange of resources and services between organizations. Organizations want to integrate mobile devices into their hospital information systems (HIS) due to the convenience to employees who are then able to perform specific healthcare processes from any location. The collection and merage of healthcare data from discrete mobile devices are worth exploring possible ways for further use, especially in remote districts without public data network (PDN) to connect the HIS. In this study, we propose an optimal mobile service which automatically synchronizes the telecare file resources among discrete mobile devices. The proposed service enforces some technical methods. The role-based access control model defines the telecare file resources accessing mechanism; the symmetric data encryption method protects telecare file resources transmitted over a mobile peer-to-peer network. The multi-criteria decision analysis method, ELECTRE (Elimination Et Choice Translating Reality), evaluates multiple criteria of the candidates' mobile devices to determine a ranking order. This optimizes the synchronization of telecare file resources among discrete mobile devices. A prototype system is implemented to examine the proposed mobile service. The results of the experiment show that the proposed mobile service can automatically and effectively synchronize telecare file resources among discrete mobile devices. The contribution of this experiment is to provide an optimal mobile service that enhances the security of telecare file resource synchronization and strengthens an organization's mobility.

ICSW2AN : An Inter-vehicle Communication System Using Mobile Access Point over Wireless Wide Area Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Byun, Tae-Young

This paper presents a prototype of inter-vehicle communication system using mobile access point that internetworks wired or wireless LAN and wireless WAN anywhere. Implemented mobile access point can be equipped with various wireless WAN interfaces such as WCDMA and HSDPA. Mobile access point in the IP mechanism has to process connection setup procedure to one wireless WAN. To show the applicability of the mobile access point to inter-vehicle communication, a simplified V2I2V-based car communication system called ICSW2AN is implemented to evaluate major performance metrics by road test. In addition, results of road test for traffic information service are investigated in view of RTT, latency and server processing time. The experimental result indicates that V2I2V-based car communication system sufficiently can provide time-tolerant traffic information to moving vehicles while more than two mobile devices in restricted spaces such as car, train and ship access wireless Internet simultaneously.

Service user involvement in mental health system strengthening in a rural African setting: qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Abayneh, Sisay; Lempp, Heidi; Alem, Atalay; Alemayehu, Daniel; Eshetu, Tigist; Lund, Crick; Semrau, Maya; Thornicroft, Graham; Hanlon, Charlotte

2017-05-18

It is essential to involve service users in efforts to expand access to mental health care in integrated primary care settings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is little evidence from LMICs to guide this process. The aim of this study was to explore barriers to, and facilitators of, service user/caregiver involvement in rural Ethiopia to inform the development of a scalable approach. Thirty nine semi-structured interviews were carried out with purposively selected mental health service users (n = 13), caregivers (n = 10), heads of primary care facilities (n = 8) and policy makers/planners/service developers (n = 8). The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed in Amharic, and translated into English. Thematic analysis was applied. All groups of participants supported service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening. Potential benefits were identified as (i) improved appropriateness and quality of services, and (ii) greater protection against mistreatment and promotion of respect for service users. However, hardly any respondents had prior experience of service user involvement. Stigma was considered to be a pervasive barrier, operating within the health system, the local community and individuals. Competing priorities of service users included the need to obtain adequate individual care and to work for survival. Low recognition of the potential contribution of service users seemed linked to limited empowerment and mobilization of service users. Potential health system facilitators included a culture of community oversight of primary care services. All groups of respondents identified a need for awareness-raising and training to equip service users, caregivers, service providers and local community for involvement. Empowerment at the level of individual service users (information about mental health conditions, care and rights) and the group level (for advocacy and representation) were considered

Limited access to special education services for school-aged children with developmental delay.

Science.gov (United States)

Twardzik, Erica; Smit, Ellen; Hatfield, Bridget; Odden, Michelle C; Dixon-Ibarra, Alicia; MacDonald, Megan

2018-01-01

Current policy in Oregon limits eligibility of children diagnosed with developmental delay for school-based services. Due to eligibility definitions, children with developmental delay may face additional barriers transitioning from early intervention/early childhood special education into school-based special education services. Examine the relationship between enrollment in school-based special education programs given a change in primary disability diagnosis. Logistic regression models were fit for children who enrolled in early intervention/early childhood special education services with a primary disability diagnosis of developmental delay and changed primary disability diagnosis before third grade (n=5076). Odds of enrollment in future special education were greater in children with a change in primary disability diagnosis after the age of five in comparison to children that had a change in primary disability diagnosis before the age of five, while adjusting for demographic characteristics (adjusted odds ratio: 2.37, 95% CI 1.92, 2.92). Results suggest that children who are diagnosed with a developmental delay and exit early childhood special education due to maximum age of eligibility are more likely to enroll in special education compared to children without a gap in service access. Gaps in service access during early development are associated with the need for supportive services later on in life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Access to CERN from the Internet: termination of the VPN service

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

Due to the continued incidents and growing security risks from the service, access to CERN using the VPN (Virtual Private Network) service will be discontinued on Tuesday 29th January 2008. In addition, new registrations will no longer be accepted. Further information is linked from: http://cern.ch/security/vpn Users are requested to stop using VPN immediately and start using the recommended alternative methods for connecting to CERN from the Internet. These are outlined together with a set of FAQs at: http://cern.ch/security/Internet IT Department

Investigations on Evaluation of Some QoS Aspects of Service Oriented Computing System Based on Web Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subhash MEDHI

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Service Oriented Computing is a design paradigm that utilizes autonomous heterogeneous service applications as the fundamental elements to develop new composite functionalities at reduced cost and time. Web service is the standard way to implement the service oriented computing concepts in which business functions and resources are published, described, discovered, orchestrated and invoked using open standards and protocols. The web services emerged as an intelligent middleware web based technology for sharing business processes and resources amongst the disparate enterprises over the internet. Performance evaluation of service is an important criterion to be assessed by end users and service providers before adopting web services to deal with the challenging global markets. In this perspective, we propose to implement a composite ATM services using. Net technology to evaluate trustworthiness of web services in dealing with massive users. The uniqueness of our proposed system is the hierarchically designed parent and child services where the parent service authenticates a user to access resources and redirects the user’s query for executing child service for adequate solutions. The industry standard testing software tool, Mercury LoadRunner was deployed to test our proposed e-ATM system and record the performance metrics to analyse the quality aspects of the service. The outcome of the experiment will help in adoption and usage of the web services in diverse business enterprises. We present here the architecture, framework of testing, transaction status and reliability estimation of web services under massive stress of service users.

An Attribute-Based Access Control with Efficient and Secure Attribute Revocation for Cloud Data Sharing Service

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Nyamsuren Vaanchig; Wei Chen; Zhi-Guang Qin

2017-01-01

Nowadays, there is the tendency to outsource data to cloud storage servers for data sharing purposes. In fact, this makes access control for the outsourced data a challenging issue. Ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption (CP-ABE) is a promising cryptographic solution for this challenge. It gives the data owner (DO) direct control on access policy and enforces the access policy cryptographically. However, the practical application of CP-ABE in the data sharing service also has its own inherent challenge with regard to attribute revocation. To address this challenge, we proposed an attribute-revocable CP-ABE scheme by taking advantages of the over-encryption mechanism and CP-ABE scheme and by considering the semi-trusted cloud service provider (CSP) that participates in decryption processes to issue decryption tokens for authorized users. We further presented the security and performance analysis in order to assess the effectiveness of the scheme. As compared with the existing attribute-revocable CP-ABE schemes, our attribute-revocable scheme is reasonably efficient and more secure to enable attribute-based access control over the outsourced data in the cloud data sharing service.

An authentication scheme for secure access to healthcare services.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Muhammad Khurram; Kumari, Saru

2013-08-01

Last few decades have witnessed boom in the development of information and communication technologies. Health-sector has also been benefitted with this advancement. To ensure secure access to healthcare services some user authentication mechanisms have been proposed. In 2012, Wei et al. proposed a user authentication scheme for telecare medical information system (TMIS). Recently, Zhu pointed out offline password guessing attack on Wei et al.'s scheme and proposed an improved scheme. In this article, we analyze both of these schemes for their effectiveness in TMIS. We show that Wei et al.'s scheme and its improvement proposed by Zhu fail to achieve some important characteristics necessary for secure user authentication. We find that security problems of Wei et al.'s scheme stick with Zhu's scheme; like undetectable online password guessing attack, inefficacy of password change phase, traceability of user's stolen/lost smart card and denial-of-service threat. We also identify that Wei et al.'s scheme lacks forward secrecy and Zhu's scheme lacks session key between user and healthcare server. We therefore propose an authentication scheme for TMIS with forward secrecy which preserves the confidentiality of air messages even if master secret key of healthcare server is compromised. Our scheme retains advantages of Wei et al.'s scheme and Zhu's scheme, and offers additional security. The security analysis and comparison results show the enhanced suitability of our scheme for TMIS.

Domestic Violence Survivors' Access of Career Counseling Services: A Qualitative Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Chronister, Krista M.; Linville, Deanna; Kaag, Kristi Palmer

2008-01-01

The present study was a qualitative investigation of the impact of domestic violence on women's career development and the contextual barriers and supports that affect women's ability to access career counseling services. Our sample included 11 women who completed various stages of a community-based career counseling intervention program. The…

Pediatric vascular access

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donaldson, James S.

2006-01-01

Pediatric interventional radiologists are ideally suited to provide vascular access services to children because of inherent safety advantages and higher success from using image-guided techniques. The performance of vascular access procedures has become routine at many adult interventional radiology practices, but this service is not as widely developed at pediatric institutions. Although interventional radiologists at some children's hospitals offer full-service vascular access, there is little or none at others. Developing and maintaining a pediatric vascular access service is a challenge. Interventionalists skilled in performing such procedures are limited at pediatric institutions, and institutional support from clerical staff, nursing staff, and technologists might not be sufficiently available to fulfill the needs of such a service. There must also be a strong commitment by all members of the team to support such a demanding service. There is a slippery slope of expected services that becomes steeper and steeper as the vascular access service grows. This review is intended primarily as general education for pediatric radiologists learning vascular access techniques. Additionally, the pediatric or adult interventional radiologist seeking to expand services might find helpful tips. The article also provides education for the diagnostic radiologist who routinely interprets radiographs containing vascular access devices. (orig.)

Verifying Quality of Service of ARCnet Based ATOMOS Communication System for Integrated Ship Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, N.N.; Nielsen, Jens Frederik Dalsgaard; Schiøler, Henrik

point) layer. An important characteristic of the communication system is that the functionality and timing must be verifiable in order to satisfy requirements from classification companies like Lloyds and Norsk Veritas. By including Service Categories, Traffic Descriptors and Quality of Service concepts......As part of the ATOMOS project (Funded by EU, DG VII) a reliable communication system with predictable behaviour has been designed. The selected solution is a network based on redundant ARCnet segments extended with an EN50170 compliant fieldbus based layer on top of an ARCnet SAP (service access...

Verifying Quality of Service of ARCnet Based ATOMOS Communication System for Integrated Ship Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, N.N.; Nielsen, Jens Frederik Dalsgaard; Schiøler, Henrik

1999-01-01

point) layer. An important characteristic of the communication system is that the functionality and timing must be verifiable in order to satisfy requirements from classification companies like Lloyds and Norsk Veritas. By including Service Categories, Traffic Descriptors and Quality of Service concepts......As part of the ATOMOS project (Funded by EU, DG VII) a reliable communication system with predictable behaviour has been designed. The selected solution is a network based on redundant ARCnet segments extended with an EN50170 compliant fieldbus based layer on top of an ARCnet SAP (service access...

Analisis Quality of Service (QoS Jaringan Telekomunikasi High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA pada Teknologi 3.5G

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mey Fenny Wati Simanjuntak

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Sejak layanan teknologi 3G pertama kali diperkenalkan, permintaan akan layanan berbasis paket data dari tahun ke tahun mengalami peningkatan yang pesat. Menanggapi hal tersebut, para penyedian jaringan telekomunikasi terus berusaha untuk meningkatkan kemampuan jaringannya. Salah satu solusinya menerapkan teknologi High-Speed Downlink Packet Access yang direkomendasikan oleh 3GPP Release 5. Penelitian ini dikhususkan untuk menganalisis Quality of Service jaringan telekomunikasi High-Speed Downlink Packet Access di Kecamatan Tembalang Kota Semarang. Analisis Quality of Service jaringan telekomunikasi High-Speed Downlink Packet Access pada penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memberikan gambaran kualitas jaringan telekomunikasi High-Speed Downlink Packet Access dari sisi bandwidth, throughput, packet loss dan delay. Metode penelitian yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini yaitu penelitian kualitatif observatif, dimana akan dilakukan pengamatan tentang bagaimana QoS jaringan telekomunikasi High-Speed Downlink Packet Access pada teknologi 3.5G di Kecamatan Tembalang Kota Semarang. Proses pengamatan dalam menganalisis Quality of Service jaringan telekomunikasi High-Speed Downlink Packet Access di Kecamatan Tembalang Kota Semarang berdasarkan 4 parameter diantaranya bandwidth, throughput, packet loss dan delay. Aplikasi yang digunakan yaitu monitoring application Elnus Bandwidth Meter dan Axence NetTools Professional 4.0. Selain itu, Quality of Service jaringan telekomunikasi High- Speed Downlink Packet Access di Kecamatan Tembalang Kota Semarang diamati berdasarkan waktu yaitu harian, mingguan dan bulanan.

Demand and access to mental health services: a qualitative formative study in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Brenman, Natassia F; Luitel, Nagendra P; Mall, Sumaya; Jordans, Mark J D

2014-08-02

Nepal is experiencing a significant 'treatment gap' in mental health care. People with mental disorders do not always receive appropriate treatment due to a range of structural and individual issues, including stigma and poverty. The PRIME (Programme for Improving Mental Health Care) programme has developed a mental health care plan to address this issue in Nepal and four other low and middle income countries. This study aims to inform the development of this comprehensive care plan by investigating the perceptions of stakeholders at different levels of the care system in the district of Chitwan in southern Nepal: health professionals, lay workers and community members. It focuses specifically on issues of demand and access to care, and aims to identify barriers and potential solutions for reaching people with priority mental disorders. This qualitative study consisted of key informant interviews (33) and focus group discussions (83 participants in 9 groups) at community and health facility levels. Data were analysed using a framework analysis approach. As well as pragmatic barriers at the health facility level, mental health stigma and certain cultural norms were found to reduce access and demand for services. Respondents perceived the lack of awareness about mental health problems to be a major problem underlying this, even among those with high levels of education or status. They proposed strategies to improve awareness, such as channelling education through trusted and respected community figures, and responding to the need for openness or privacy in educational programmes, depending on the issue at hand. Adapting to local perceptions of stigmatised treatments emerged as another key strategy to improve demand. This study identifies barriers to accessing care in Nepal that reach beyond the health facility and into the social fabric of the community. Stakeholders in PRIME's integrated care plan advocate strategic awareness raising initiatives to improve the reach

An Item Bank to Measure Systems, Services, and Policies: Environmental Factors Affecting People With Disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Jin-Shei; Hammel, Joy; Jerousek, Sara; Goldsmith, Arielle; Miskovic, Ana; Baum, Carolyn; Wong, Alex W; Dashner, Jessica; Heinemann, Allen W

2016-12-01

To develop a measure of perceived systems, services, and policies facilitators (see Chapter 5 of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) for people with neurologic disabilities and to evaluate the effect of perceived systems, services, and policies facilitators on health-related quality of life. Qualitative approaches to develop and refine items. Confirmatory factor analysis including 1-factor confirmatory factor analysis and bifactor analysis to evaluate unidimensionality of items. Rasch analysis to identify misfitting items. Correlational and analysis of variance methods to evaluate construct validity. Community-dwelling individuals participated in telephone interviews or traveled to the academic medical centers where this research took place. Participants (N=571) had a diagnosis of spinal cord injury, stroke, or traumatic brain injury. They were 18 years or older and English speaking. Not applicable. An item bank to evaluate environmental access and support levels of services, systems, and policies for people with disabilities. We identified a general factor defined as "access and support levels of the services, systems, and policies at the level of community living" and 3 local factors defined as "health services," "community living," and "community resources." The systems, services, and policies measure correlated moderately with participation measures: Community Participation Indicators (CPI) - Involvement, CPI - Control over Participation, Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders - Ability to Participate, Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders - Satisfaction with Role Participation, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Ability to Participate, PROMIS Satisfaction with Role Participation, and PROMIS Isolation. The measure of systems, services, and policies facilitators contains items pertaining to health services, community living, and community resources. Investigators and clinicians can measure

LANSCE personnel access control system (PACS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sturrock, J.C.; Gallegos, F.R.; Hall, M.J.

1997-01-01

The Radiation Security System (RSS) at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) provides personnel protection from prompt radiation due to accelerated beam. The Personnel Access Control System (PACS) is a component of the RSS that is designed to prevent personnel access to areas where prompt radiation is a hazard. PACS was designed to replace several older personnel safety systems (PSS) with a single modem unified design. Lessons learned from the operation over the last 20 years were incorporated into a redundant sensor, single-point failure safe, fault tolerant, and tamper-resistant system that prevents access to the beam areas by controlling the access keys and beam stoppers. PACS uses a layered philosophy to the physical and electronic design. The most critical assemblies are battery backed up, relay logic circuits; less critical devices use Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) for timing functions and communications. Outside reviewers have reviewed the operational safety of the design. The design philosophy, lessons learned, hardware design, software design, operation, and limitations of the device are described

The responsibility of business enterprises to restore access to essential public service at resettlement sites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ploeg, Lidewij; Vanclay, Francis; Lourenço, Ivo; Hesselman, Marlies; Hallo de Wolf, Antenor; Toebes, Brigit

2017-01-01

This chapter examines the provision of essential public services in resettlement sites associated with project induced displacement. Restoring and improving access to essential public services in resettlement sites is an important aspect of livelihood restoration of affected peoples. Project

Internet-accessible real-time weather information system

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Desai, R.G.P.; Joseph, A.; Desa, E.; Mehra, P.; Desa, E.; Gouveia, A.D.

An internet-accessible real-time weather information system has been developed. This system provides real-time accessibility to weather information from a multitude of spatially distributed weather stations. The Internet connectivity also offers...

The Geodetic Seamless Archive Centers Service Layer: A System Architecture for Federating Geodesy Data Repositories

Science.gov (United States)

McWhirter, J.; Boler, F. M.; Bock, Y.; Jamason, P.; Squibb, M. B.; Noll, C. E.; Blewitt, G.; Kreemer, C. W.

2010-12-01

Three geodesy Archive Centers, Scripps Orbit and Permanent Array Center (SOPAC), NASA's Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS) and UNAVCO are engaged in a joint effort to define and develop a common Web Service Application Programming Interface (API) for accessing geodetic data holdings. This effort is funded by the NASA ROSES ACCESS Program to modernize the original GPS Seamless Archive Centers (GSAC) technology which was developed in the 1990s. A new web service interface, the GSAC-WS, is being developed to provide uniform and expanded mechanisms through which users can access our data repositories. In total, our respective archives hold tens of millions of files and contain a rich collection of site/station metadata. Though we serve similar user communities, we currently provide a range of different access methods, query services and metadata formats. This leads to a lack of consistency in the userís experience and a duplication of engineering efforts. The GSAC-WS API and its reference implementation in an underlying Java-based GSAC Service Layer (GSL) supports metadata and data queries into site/station oriented data archives. The general nature of this API makes it applicable to a broad range of data systems. The overall goals of this project include providing consistent and rich query interfaces for end users and client programs, the development of enabling technology to facilitate third party repositories in developing these web service capabilities and to enable the ability to perform data queries across a collection of federated GSAC-WS enabled repositories. A fundamental challenge faced in this project is to provide a common suite of query services across a heterogeneous collection of data yet enabling each repository to expose their specific metadata holdings. To address this challenge we are developing a "capabilities" based service where a repository can describe its specific query and metadata capabilities. Furthermore, the architecture of

Matrix Management in Practice in Access Services at the NCSU Libraries

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Colleen S.

2010-01-01

The former Associate Head of Access and Delivery Services of the North Carolina State University Libraries reports on successful use of matrix management techniques for the Circulation and Reserves unit of the department. Despite their having fallen out of favor in much of the management literature, matrix management principles are useful for…

Availability of software services for a hospital information system.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakamoto, N

1998-03-01

Hospital information systems (HISs) are becoming more important and covering more parts in daily hospital operations as order-entry systems become popular and electronic charts are introduced. Thus, HISs today need to be able to provide necessary services for hospital operations for a 24-h day, 365 days a year. The provision of services discussed here does not simply mean the availability of computers, in which all that matters is that the computer is functioning. It means the provision of necessary information for hospital operations by the computer software, and we will call it the availability of software services. HISs these days are mostly client-server systems. To increase availability of software services in these systems, it is not enough to just use system structures that are highly reliable in existing host-centred systems. Four main components which support availability of software services are network systems, client computers, server computers, and application software. In this paper, we suggest how to structure these four components to provide the minimum requested software services even if a part of the system stops to function. The network system should be double-protected in stratus using Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) as its base network. Client computers should be fat clients with as much application logic as possible, and reference information which do not require frequent updates (master files, for example) should be replicated in clients. It would be best if all server computers could be double-protected. However, if that is physically impossible, one database file should be made accessible by several server computers. Still, at least the basic patients' information and the latest clinical records should be double-protected physically. Application software should be tested carefully before introduction. Different versions of the application software should always be kept and managed in case the new version has problems. If a hospital

Open access and preservation of data on the coupled geosphere-biosphere system: the case of the H2020 Project ECOPOTENTIAL

Science.gov (United States)

Provenzale, Antonello; Nativi, Stefano

2016-04-01

The H2020 ECOPOTENTIAL Project addresses the entire chain of ecosystem-related services, by focusing on the interaction between the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems (geosphere-biosphere interactions), developing ecosystem data services with special emphasis on Copernicus services, implementing model output services to distribute the results of the modelling activities, and estimating current and future ecosystem services and benefits combining ecosystem functions (supply) with beneficiaries needs (demand). In ECOPOTENTIAL all data, model results and acquired knowledge will be made available on common and open platforms, coherent with the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) data sharing principles and fully interoperable with the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI). ECOPOTENTIAL will be conducted in the context of the implementation of the Copernicus EO Component and in synergy with the ESA Climate Change Initiative. The project activities will contribute to Copernicus and non-Copernicus contexts for ecosystems, and will create an Ecosystem Data Service for Copernicus (ECOPERNICUS), a new open-access, smart and user-friendly geospatial data/products retrieval portal and web coverage service using a dedicated online server. ECOPOTENTIAL will make data, scientific results, models and information accessible and available through a cloud-based open platform implementing virtual laboratories. The platform will be a major contribution to the GEOSS Common Infrastructure, reinforcing the GEOSS Data-CORE. By the end of the project, new prototype products and ecosystem services, based on improved access (notably via GEOSS) and long-term storage of ecosystem EO data and information in existing PAs, will be realized. In this contribution, we discuss the approach followed in the project for Open Data access and use. ECOPOTENTIAL introduced a set of architecture and interoperability principles to facilitate data (and the associated software) discovery

Inequities in access to HIV prevention services for transgender men: results of a global survey of men who have sex with men.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheim, Ayden I; Santos, Glenn-Milo; Arreola, Sonya; Makofane, Keletso; Do, Tri D; Hebert, Patrick; Thomann, Matthew; Ayala, George

2016-01-01

Free or low-cost HIV testing, condoms, and lubricants are foundational HIV prevention strategies, yet are often inaccessible for men who have sex with men (MSM). In the global context of stigma and poor healthcare access, transgender (trans) MSM may face additional barriers to HIV prevention services. Drawing on data from a global survey of MSM, we aimed to describe perceived access to prevention services among trans MSM, examine associations between stigma and access, and compare access between trans MSM and cisgender (non-transgender) MSM. The 2014 Global Men's Health and Rights online survey was open to MSM (inclusive of trans MSM) from any country and available in seven languages. Baseline data (n=3857) were collected from July to October 2014. Among trans MSM, correlations were calculated between perceived service accessibility and anti-transgender violence, healthcare provider stigma, and discrimination. Using a nested matched-pair study design, trans MSM were matched 4:1 to cisgender MSM on age group, region, and HIV status, and conditional logistic regression models compared perceived access to prevention services by transgender status. About 3.4% of respondents were trans men, of whom 69 were included in the present analysis. The average trans MSM participant was 26 to 35 years old (56.5%); lived in western Europe, North America, or Oceania (75.4%); and reported being HIV-negative (98.6%). HIV testing, condoms, and lubricants were accessible for 43.5, 53.6, and 26.1% of trans MSM, respectively. Ever having been arrested or convicted due to being trans and higher exposure to healthcare provider stigma in the past six months were associated with less access to some prevention services. Compared to matched cisgender controls, trans MSM reported significantly lower odds of perceived access to HIV testing (OR=0.57, 95% CI=0.33, 0.98) and condom-compatible lubricants (OR=0.54, 95% CI=0.30, 0.98). This first look at access to HIV prevention services for trans MSM

Access Control Management for SCADA Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Seng-Phil; Ahn, Gail-Joon; Xu, Wenjuan

The information technology revolution has transformed all aspects of our society including critical infrastructures and led a significant shift from their old and disparate business models based on proprietary and legacy environments to more open and consolidated ones. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems have been widely used not only for industrial processes but also for some experimental facilities. Due to the nature of open environments, managing SCADA systems should meet various security requirements since system administrators need to deal with a large number of entities and functions involved in critical infrastructures. In this paper, we identify necessary access control requirements in SCADA systems and articulate access control policies for the simulated SCADA systems. We also attempt to analyze and realize those requirements and policies in the context of role-based access control that is suitable for simplifying administrative tasks in large scale enterprises.

Demand access communications for TDRSS users

Science.gov (United States)

Zillig, David; Weinberg, Aaron; Mcomber, Robert

1994-01-01

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) has long been used to provide reliable low and high-data rate relay services between user spacecraft in Earth orbit and the ground. To date, these TDRSS services have been implemented via prior scheduling based upon estimates of user needs and mission event timelines. While this approach may be necessary for large users that require greater amounts of TDRSS resources, TDRSS can potentially offer the planned community of smaller science missions (e.g., the small explorer missions), and other emerging users, the unique opportunity for services on demand. In particular, innovative application of the existing TDRSS Multiple Access (MA) subsystem, with its phased array antenna, could be used to implement true demand access services without modification to either the TDRSS satellites or the user transponder, thereby introducing operational and performance benefits to both the user community and the Space Network. In this paper, candidate implementations of demand access service via the TDRSS MA subsystem are examined in detail. Both forward and return link services are addressed and a combination of qualitative and quantitative assessments are provided. The paper also identifies further areas for investigation in this ongoing activity that is being conducted by GSFC/Code 531 under the NASA Code O Advanced Systems Program.

Free data access: the experience of the Israel Meteorological Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avner Furshpan

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper illustrates the benefits of changing from a commercial to an open access to climate data policy in the Israel Meteorological Service (IMS. The former commercial policy failed to provide expected economical revenues and notably increased the work time devoted to the management of the commercial structure and involved processes. At the same time, many companies and institutions tended to use data freely available in the Internet in spite of their worse quality or resolution in order to avoid the fees required to obtain data provided by the IMS. Changing to a free access to these data now allows an optimum use of climatic information and a significant reduction of bureaucratic tasks, freeing resources for research and development of new products.

Exploring interoperability: The advancements and challenges of improving data discovery, access, and visualization of scientific data through the NOAA Earth Information System (NEIS). (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, J.; Lynge, J.; Hackathorn, E.; MacDermaid, C.; Pierce, R.; Smith, J.

2013-12-01

Interoperability is a complex subject and often leads to different definitions in different environments. An interoperable framework of web services can improve the user experience by providing an interface for interaction with data regardless of it's format or physical location. This in itself improves accessibility to data, fosters data exploration and use, and provides a framework for new tools and applications. With an interoperable system you have: -- Data ready for action. Services model facilitates agile response to events. Services can be combined or reused quickly, upgraded or modified independently. -- Any data available through an interoperable framework can be operated on or combined with other data. Integrating standardized formats and access. -- New and existing systems have access to wide variety of data. Any new data added is easily incorporated with minimal changes required. The possibilities are limitless. The NOAA Earth Information System (NEIS) at the Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) is continuing research into an interoperable framework of layered services designed to facilitate the discovery, access, integration, visualization, and understanding of all NOAA (past, present, and future) data. An underlying philosophy of NEIS is to take advantage of existing off-the-shelf technologies and standards to minimize development of custom code allowing everyone to take advantage of the framework to meet these goals above. This framework, while built by NOAA are not limited to NOAA data or applications. Any other data available through similar services or applications that understand these standards can work interchangeably. Two major challenges are under active research at ESRL are data discoverability and fast access to big data. This presentation will provide an update on development of NEIS, including these challenges, the findings, and recommendations on what is needed for an interoperable system, as well as ongoing research activities

Mental health of South Asian youth in Peel Region, Toronto, Canada: a qualitative study of determinants, coping strategies and service access

Science.gov (United States)

Multani, Amanpreet; Hynie, Michaela; Shakya, Yogendra; McKenzie, Kwame

2017-01-01

Objectives This qualitative study set out to understand the mental health challenges and service access barriers experienced by South Asian youth populations in the Peel Region of Toronto, Canada. Setting In-depth semistructured interviews were carried out with South Asian youth living in Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon), a suburb of Toronto, Canada, home to over 50% of Ontario’s South Asian population. Participants South Asian youth (n=10) engaged in thoughtful, candid dialogue about their mental health and service access barriers. Primary and secondary outcome measures Qualitative interview themes related to mental health stressors and mental health service access barriers experienced by youth living in Peel Region were assessed using thematic analysis. Results South Asian youth face many mental health stressors, from intergenerational and cultural conflict, academic pressure, relationship stress, financial stress and family difficulties. These stressors can contribute to mental health challenges, such as depression and anxiety and drug use, with marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes cited as the most popular substances. South Asian youth were only able to identify about a third (36%) of the mental health resources presented to them and did not feel well informed about mental health resources available in their neighbourhood. Conclusions They offered recommendations for improved youth support directed at parents, education system, South Asian community and mental health system. Institutions and bodies at all levels of the society have a role to play in ensuring the mental health of South Asian youth. PMID:29101148

Contextualising renal patient routines: Everyday space-time contexts, health service access, and wellbeing.

Science.gov (United States)

McQuoid, Julia; Jowsey, Tanisha; Talaulikar, Girish

2017-06-01

Stable routines are key to successful illness self-management for the growing number of people living with chronic illness around the world. Yet, the influence of chronically ill individuals' everyday contexts in supporting routines is poorly understood. This paper takes a space-time geographical approach to explore the everyday space-time contexts and routines of individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We ask: what is the relationship between renal patients' space-time contexts and their ability to establish and maintain stable routines, and, what role does health service access play in this regard? We draw from a qualitative case study of 26 individuals with CKD in Australia. Data comprised self-reported two day participant diaries and semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was guided by an inductive-deductive approach. We examined the embeddedness of routines within the space-time contexts of participants' everyday lives. We found that participants' everyday space-time contexts were highly complex, especially for those receiving dialysis and/or employed, making routines difficult to establish and vulnerable to disruption. Health service access helped shape participants' everyday space-time contexts, meaning that incidences of unpredictability in accessing health services set-off 'ripple effects' within participants' space-time contexts, disrupting routines and making everyday life negotiation more difficult. The ability to absorb ripple effects from unpredictable health services without disrupting routines varied by space-time context. Implications of these findings for the deployment of the concept of routine in health research, the framing of patient success in self-managing illness, and health services design are discussed. In conclusion, efforts to understand and support individuals in establishing and maintaining routines that support health and wellbeing can benefit from approaches that contextualise and de

‘Doing the hard yards’: carer and provider focus group perspectives of accessing Aboriginal childhood disability services

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Despite a high prevalence of disability, Aboriginal Australians access disability services in Australia less than non-Aboriginal Australians with a disability. The needs of Aboriginal children with disability are particularly poorly understood. They can endure long delays in treatment which can impact adversely on development. This study sought to ascertain the factors involved in accessing services and support for Aboriginal children with a disability. Methods Using the focus group method, two community forums, one for health and service providers and one for carers of Aboriginal children with a disability, were held at an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) in the Sydney, metropolitan area of New South Wales, Australia. Framework analysis was applied to qualitative data to elucidate key issues relevant to the dimensions of access framework. Independent coding consistency checks were performed and consensus of analysis verified by the entire research team, several of whom represented the local Aboriginal community. Results Seventeen health and social service providers representing local area government and non-government-funded health and social service organisations and five carers participated in two separate forums between September and October 2011. Lack of awareness of services and inadequate availability were prominent concerns in both groups despite geographic proximity to a major metropolitan area with significant health infrastructure. Carers noted racism, insufficient or non-existent services, and the need for an enhanced role of ACCHSs and AHWs in disability support services. Providers highlighted logistical barriers and cultural and historical issues that impacted on the effectiveness of mainstream services for Aboriginal people. Conclusions Despite dedicated disability services in an urban community, geographic proximity does not mitigate lack of awareness and availability of support. This paper has enumerated a number of

Universal access to ambulance does not increase overall demand for ambulance services in Queensland, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tippett, Vivienne C; Toloo, Ghasem Sam; Eeles, David; Ting, Joseph Y S; Aitken, Peter J; Fitzgerald, Gerard J

2013-02-01

To determine the impact of the introduction of universal access to ambulance services via the implementation of the Community Ambulance Cover (CAC) program in Queensland in 2003-04. The study involved a 10-year (2000-01 to 2009-10) retrospective analysis of routinely collected data reported by the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) and by the Council of Ambulance Authorities. The data were analysed for the impact of policy changes that resulted in universal access to ambulance services in Queensland. QAS is a statewide, publically funded ambulance service. In Queensland, ambulance utilisation rate (AUR) per 1000 persons grew by 41% over the decade or 3.9% per annum (10-year mean=149.8, 95% CI: 137.3-162.3). The AUR mean after CAC was significantly higher for urgent incidents than for non-urgent ones. However projection modelling demonstrates that URs after the introduction of CAC were significantly lower than the projected utilisation for the same period. The introduction of universal access under the Community Ambulance Cover program in Queensland has not had any significant independent long-term impact on demand overall. There has been a reduction in the long-term growth rate, which may have been contributed to by an 'appropriate use' public awareness program.

The transition to open-access storage in U.S. natural gas markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schell, L.S.; Schlesinger, B.

1990-01-01

In their traditional role as merchants, interstate natural gas pipelines in the U.S. sold natural gas at an aggregate price that incorporated all gathering, storage, transmission, and gas costs in a bundled service. As a result of movements toward deregulation, U.S. gas users now enjoy open-access transportation on most interstate pipeline systems as an unbundled service at a relatively unbundled price, allowing them to contract for their own gas supplies, separate and apart from the system sales gas of traditional pipeline supplier(s). Open-access storage has been slower than open-access transportation service in evolving; its limited availability is a major factor limiting the comparability of service between transportation gas and system sales gas. Open access to storage offers gas users an important tool in managing gas costs, timing of gas purchases, and deliverability imbalances

Intelligent urban public transportation for accessibility dedicated to people with disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Haiying; Hou, Kun-Mean; Zuo, Decheng; Li, Jian

2012-01-01

The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB) passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT) and green technologies (GT) concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line '2' in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France). The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor.

Intelligent Urban Public Transportation for Accessibility Dedicated to People with Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Haiying; Hou, Kun-Mean; Zuo, Decheng; Li, Jian

2012-01-01

The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB) passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT) and green technologies (GT) concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line ‘2’ in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France). The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor. PMID:23112622

Intelligent Urban Public Transportation for Accessibility Dedicated to People with Disabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Li

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT and green technologies (GT concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line ‘2’ in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France. The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor.

Computer access security code system

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Earl R., Jr. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A security code system for controlling access to computer and computer-controlled entry situations comprises a plurality of subsets of alpha-numeric characters disposed in random order in matrices of at least two dimensions forming theoretical rectangles, cubes, etc., such that when access is desired, at least one pair of previously unused character subsets not found in the same row or column of the matrix is chosen at random and transmitted by the computer. The proper response to gain access is transmittal of subsets which complete the rectangle, and/or a parallelepiped whose opposite corners were defined by first groups of code. Once used, subsets are not used again to absolutely defeat unauthorized access by eavesdropping, and the like.

Mental health need and access to mental health services by youths involved with child welfare: a national survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Barbara J; Phillips, Susan D; Wagner, H Ryan; Barth, Richard P; Kolko, David J; Campbell, Yvonne; Landsverk, John

2004-08-01

This study assessed the relationship between the need for and use of mental health services among a nationally representative sample of children who were investigated by child welfare agencies after reported maltreatment. Data were collected at study entry into the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and were weighted to provide population estimates. Nearly half (47.9%) of the youths aged 2 to 14 years (N = 3,803) with completed child welfare investigations had clinically significant emotional or behavioral problems. Youths with mental health need (defined by a clinical range score on the Child Behavior Checklist) were much more likely to receive mental health services than lower scoring youth; still, only one fourth of such youths received any specialty mental health care during the previous 12 months. Clinical need was related to receipt of mental health care across all age groups (odds ratio = 2.7-3.5). In addition, for young children (2-5 years), sexual abuse (versus neglect) increased access to mental health services. For latency-age youths, African-American race and living at home significantly reduced the likelihood of care. Adolescents living at home were also less likely to receive services, whereas having a parent with severe mental illness increased (odds ratio = 2.4) the likelihood of service use. Routine screening for mental health need and increasing access to mental health professionals for further evaluation and treatment should be a priority for children early in their contact with the child welfare system.

Access to healthcare for disabled persons. How are blind people reached by HIV services?

Science.gov (United States)

Saulo, Bryson; Walakira, Eddy; Darj, Elisabeth

2012-03-01

Disabled people are overlooked and marginalised globally. There is a lack of information on blind people and HIV-related services and it is unclear how HIV-services target blind people in a sub-Saharan urban setting. To explore how blind people are reached by HIV-services in Kampala, Uganda. A purposeful sample of blind people and seeing healthcare workers were interviewed, and data on their opinions and experiences were collected. The data were analysed by qualitative content analysis, with a focus on manifest content. Three categories emerged from the study, reaching for HIV information and knowledge, lack of services, and experiences of discrimination. General knowledge on HIV prevention/transmission methods was good; however, there was scepticism about condom use. Blind people mainly relied on others for accessing HIV information, and a lack of special services for blind people to be able to test for HIV was expressed. The health service for blind people was considered inadequate, unequal and discriminatory, and harassment by healthcare staff was expressed, but not sexual abuse. Concerns about disclosure of personal medical information were revealed. Access to HIV services and other healthcare related services for blind people is limited and the objectives of the National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS 2007-2012 have not been achieved. There is a need for alternative methods for sensitisation and voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for blind people. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

National Geothermal Data System (USA): an Exemplar of Open Access to Data

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, M. Lee; Richard, Stephen; Blackman, Harold; Anderson, Arlene; Patten, Kim

2014-05-01

The National Geothermal Data System's (NGDS - www.geothermaldata.org) formal launch in April, 2014 will provide open access to millions of data records, sharing -relevant geoscience and longer term to land use data to propel geothermal development and production. NGDS serves information from all of the U.S. Department of Energy's sponsored development and research projects and geologic data from all 50 states, using free and open source software. This interactive online system is opening new exploration opportunities and potentially shortening project development by making data easily discoverable, accessible, and interoperable. We continue to populate our prototype functional data system with multiple data nodes and nationwide data online and available to the public. Data from state geological surveys and partners includes more than 6 million records online, including 1.72 million well headers (oil and gas, water, geothermal), 670,000 well logs, and 497,000 borehole temperatures and is growing rapidly. There are over 312 interoperable Web services and another 106 WMS (Web Map Services) registered in the system as of January, 2014. Companion projects run by Southern Methodist University and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are adding millions of additional data records. The DOE Geothermal Data Repository, currently hosted on OpenEI, is a system node and clearinghouse for data from hundreds of U.S. DOE-funded geothermal projects. NGDS is built on the US Geoscience Information Network (USGIN) data integration framework, which is a joint undertaking of the USGS and the Association of American State Geologists (AASG). NGDS complies with the White House Executive Order of May 2013, requiring all federal agencies to make their data holdings publicly accessible online in open source, interoperable formats with common core and extensible metadata. The National Geothermal Data System is being designed, built, deployed, and populated primarily with support from the US

A pervasive health monitoring service system based on ubiquitous network technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chung-Chih; Lee, Ren-Guey; Hsiao, Chun-Chieh

2008-07-01

The phenomenon of aging society has derived problems such as shortage of medical resources and reduction of quality in healthcare services. This paper presents a system infrastructure for pervasive and long-term healthcare applications, i.e. a ubiquitous network composed of wireless local area network (WLAN) and cable television (CATV) network serving as a platform for monitoring physiological signals. Users can record vital signs including heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature anytime either at home or at frequently visited public places in order to create a personal health file. The whole system was formally implemented in December 2004. Analysis of 2000 questionnaires indicates that 85% of users were satisfied with the provided community-wide healthcare services. Among the services provided by our system, health consultation services offered by family doctors was rated the most important service by 17.9% of respondents, and was followed by control of one's own health condition (16.4% of respondents). Convenience of data access was rated most important by roughly 14.3% of respondents. We proposed and implemented a long-term healthcare system integrating WLAN and CATV networks in the form of a ubiquitous network providing a service platform for physiological monitoring. This system can classify the health levels of the resident according to the variation tendency of his or her physiological signal for important reference of health management.

Perceived barriers to accessing mental health services among black and minority ethnic (BME) communities: a qualitative study in Southeast England.

Science.gov (United States)

Memon, Anjum; Taylor, Katie; Mohebati, Lisa M; Sundin, Josefin; Cooper, Max; Scanlon, Thomas; de Visser, Richard

2016-11-16

In most developed countries, substantial disparities exist in access to mental health services for black and minority ethnic (BME) populations. We sought to determine perceived barriers to accessing mental health services among people from these backgrounds to inform the development of effective and culturally acceptable services to improve equity in healthcare. Qualitative study in Southeast England. 26 adults from BME backgrounds (13 men, 13 women; aged >18 years) were recruited to 2 focus groups. Participants were identified through the registers of the Black and Minority Ethnic Community Partnership centre and by visits to local community gatherings and were invited to take part by community development workers. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes about perceived barriers to accessing mental health services. Participants identified 2 broad themes that influenced access to mental health services. First, personal and environmental factors included inability to recognise and accept mental health problems, positive impact of social networks, reluctance to discuss psychological distress and seek help among men, cultural identity, negative perception of and social stigma against mental health and financial factors. Second, factors affecting the relationship between service user and healthcare provider included the impact of long waiting times for initial assessment, language barriers, poor communication between service users and providers, inadequate recognition or response to mental health needs, imbalance of power and authority between service users and providers, cultural naivety, insensitivity and discrimination towards the needs of BME service users and lack of awareness of different services among service users and providers. People from BME backgrounds require considerable mental health literacy and practical support to raise awareness of mental health conditions and combat stigma. There is a need for improving information about services

Product Service Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Departing from Product Development models based on physical artefacts. Moving towards integrated Product Development and System Operations models suited Product/Service-systems......Departing from Product Development models based on physical artefacts. Moving towards integrated Product Development and System Operations models suited Product/Service-systems...

Integrated social facility location planning for decision support: Accessibility studies provide support to facility location and integration of social service provision

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Green, Cheri A

2012-09-01

Full Text Available for two or more facilities to create an integrated plan for development Step 6 Costing of development plan Case Study Access norms and thresholds guidelines in accessibility analysis Appropriate norms/provision guidelines facilitate both service... access norms and threshold standards ?Test the relationship between service demand and the supply (service capacity) of the facility provision points within a defined catchment area ?Promote the ?right?sizing? of facilities relative to the demand...

INTEGRATIVE METHOD OF TEACHING INFORMATION MODELING IN PRACTICAL HEALTH SERVICE BASED ON MICROSOFT ACCESS QUERIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetlana A. Firsova

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: this article explores the pedagogical technology employed to teach medical students foundations of work with MICROSOFT ACCESS databases. The above technology is based on integrative approach to the information modeling in public health practice, drawing upon basic didactic concepts that pertain to objects and tools databases created in MICROSOFT ACCESS. The article examines successive steps in teaching the topic “Queries in MICROSOFT ACCESS” – from simple queries to complex ones. The main attention is paid to such components of methodological system, as the principles and teaching methods classified according to the degree of learners’ active cognitive activity. The most interesting is the diagram of the relationship of learning principles, teaching methods and specific types of requests. Materials and Methods: the authors used comparative analysis of literature, syllabi, curricula in medical informatics taught at leading medical universities in Russia. Results: the original technique of training in putting queries with databases of MICROSOFT ACCESS is presented for analysis of information models in practical health care. Discussion and Conclusions: it is argued that the proposed pedagogical technology will significantly improve the effectiveness of teaching the course “Medical Informatics”, that includes development and application of models to simulate the operation of certain facilities and services of the health system which, in turn, increases the level of information culture of practitioners.

Essays on the Impacts of Geography and Institutions on Access to Energy and Public Infrastructure Services

Science.gov (United States)

Archibong, Belinda

While previous literature has emphasized the importance of energy and public infrastructure services for economic development, questions surrounding the implications of unequal spatial distribution in access to these resources remain, particularly in the developing country context. This dissertation provides evidence on the nature, origins and implications of this distribution uniting three strands of research from the development and political economy, regional science and energy economics fields. The dissertation unites three papers on the nature of spatial inequality of access to energy and infrastructure with further implications for conflict risk , the historical institutional and biogeographical determinants of current distribution of access to energy and public infrastructure services and the response of households to fuel price changes over time. Chapter 2 uses a novel survey dataset to provide evidence for spatial clustering of public infrastructure non-functionality at schools by geopolitical zone in Nigeria with further implications for armed conflict risk in the region. Chapter 3 investigates the drivers of the results in chapter 2, exploiting variation in the spatial distribution of precolonial institutions and geography in the region, to provide evidence for the long-term impacts of these factors on current heterogeneity of access to public services. Chapter 4 addresses the policy implications of energy access, providing the first multi-year evidence on firewood demand elasticities in India, using the spatial variation in prices for estimation.

Research of user access control for networked manufacturing system

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHENG Xiao-lin; LEI Yu; CHEN De-ren

2006-01-01

An integrated user access control method was proposed to address the issues of security and management in networked manufacturing systems (NMS).Based on the analysis of the security issues in networked manufacturing system,an integrated user access control method composed of role-based access control (RBAC),task-based access control (TBAC),relationship-driven access control (RDAC)and coalition-based access control (CBAC) was proposed,including the hierarchical user relationship model,the reference model and the process model.The elements and their relationships were defined,and the expressions of constraints authorization were given.The extensible access control markup language (XACML) was used to implement this method.This method was used in the networked manufacturing system in the Shaoxing spinning region of China.The results show that the integrated user access control method can reduce the costs of system security maintenance and management.

A web service system supporting three-dimensional post-processing of medical images based on WADO protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Longjun; Xu, Lang; Ming, Xing; Liu, Qian

2015-02-01

Three-dimensional post-processing operations on the volume data generated by a series of CT or MR images had important significance on image reading and diagnosis. As a part of the DIOCM standard, WADO service defined how to access DICOM objects on the Web, but it didn't involve three-dimensional post-processing operations on the series images. This paper analyzed the technical features of three-dimensional post-processing operations on the volume data, and then designed and implemented a web service system for three-dimensional post-processing operations of medical images based on the WADO protocol. In order to improve the scalability of the proposed system, the business tasks and calculation operations were separated into two modules. As results, it was proved that the proposed system could support three-dimensional post-processing service of medical images for multiple clients at the same moment, which met the demand of accessing three-dimensional post-processing operations on the volume data on the web.

Quantitative analysis of access strategies to remoteinformation in network services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Schwefel, Hans-Peter; Hansen, Martin Bøgsted

2006-01-01

of analytic models to compute different performance metrics for these approaches, with special focus on the so-called mismatch probability. The results of the analytic models allow for design decisions on which strategy to implement for specific input parameters (change rate of the information element......Remote access to dynamically changing information elements is a required functionality for various network services, including routing and instances of context-sensitive networking. Three fundamentally different strategies for such access are investigated in this paper: (1) a reactive approach...... initiated by the requesting entity, and two versions of proactive approaches in which the entity that contains the information element actively propagates its changes to potential requesters, either (2) periodically or triggered by changes of the information element (3). This paper first develops a set...

Employee Self Service-based Human Resources Information System Development and Implementation. Case Study: BCP Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lestari Margatama

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Human Resources Information System is a Decision Support System that provides necessary information regarding human resources in an organization. Web-based e-HR is one of the best practical solution in human resources management that allows employees to focus more on their job instead of HR administration procedures. By implementing Employee Self Service (ESS it is expected that worker satisfaction can be improved and in turn will also improve employees’ performance. The web-based ESS is characterized by personalized information approach which offers personal and management services on information access and structured workflow process. The object covered in this research is HR administration of PT. BCP to create and implement ESS with system prototype development and UML modeling tool. The resulting system is designed to quickly access the information and company procedures to shorten the time for BCP’s employee administration and documentation