The Association of Health Professionals

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Paul

Community health is by definition multidisciplinary, and the assumption that there is mutual respect and co-operation within these disciplines is integral to its philosophy. Many members of a community health 'team' are, however, also professionals, and as such expect to enjoy the traditional prestige and autonomy which is associated with professionalism. Nevertheless, this might be problematic, as there are ideological differences between professionalism and community health values, which is exacerbated by the number of different professions involved. The issue is further complicated by the use of modern management techniques in the public sector by contemporary governments, where the philosophies which inform these techniques can be inherently incompatible with professionalism and community health values. A degree of compromise by professionals and management must be reached if they are to coexist and function effectively in community health. The sociology of the professions and the ideologies of professionalism, community health and the organisational structures encountered in community health are reviewed here. It is suggested that greater awareness of these ideologies and their practical implications may result in more flexibility in the association of occupations which constitute community health.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babak Hemmatian ◽  
Sze Yu Yu Chan ◽  
Steven A. Sloman

A label’s entrenchment, its degree of use by members of a community, affects its perceived explanatory value even if the label provides no substantive information (Hemmatian & Sloman, 2018). In three experiments, we show that laypersons and mental health professionals see entrenched psychiatric and non-psychiatric diagnostic labels as better explanations than non-entrenched labels even if they are circular. Using scenarios involving experts who discuss unfamiliar diagnostic categories, we show that this preference is not due to violations of conversational norms, lack of reflectiveness or attentiveness, and the characters’ familiarity or unfamiliarity with the label. In Experiment 1, whether a label provided novel symptom information or not had no impact on lay responses, while its entrenchment enhanced ratings of explanation quality. The effect persisted in Experiment 2 for causally incoherent categories and regardless of direct provision of mechanistic information. The effect of entrenchment was partly related to induced causal beliefs about the category, even when participants were informed there is no causal relation. Most participants in both experiments did not report any effect of entrenchment and the effect was present for those who did not. In Experiment 3, mental health professionals showed the effect using diagnoses that were mere shorthands for symptoms, despite a tendency to rate all explanations as unsatisfactory. The data suggest that bringing experts’ attention to the manipulation eliminates the effect. We discuss practical implications for mental health disciplines and potential ways to mitigate the impact of entrenchment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojingyuan Xu ◽  
Chunyan Zhao ◽  
Meirong Wang ◽  
Xiaolei Chen ◽  
Shuang Shao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In an era of an increasingly ageing society, part of healthcare for older adults can be provided in patients’ homes, and the need for home health care services (HHCSs) is increasing. This study sought to determine whether a gap exists between the views of community health professionals and the caregivers of disabled older adults towards HHCSs in Beijing, China. Methods A cross-sectional study with two comparative questionnaire surveys was conducted in Beijing, China. One survey was administered to the caregivers of disabled older adults, and the other was administered to health professionals in community health service institutions (CHSIs). T-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to explore potential differences between the views of caregivers and community health professionals towards HHCSs. Results We received 370 valid questionnaires from caregivers and 224 questionnaires from health professionals. Of the 370 caregivers, 314 (84.9%) were willing to apply for HHCSs for the older adults, but only 20.5% (N = 76) received HHCSs. Over 80% of the caregivers accepted out-of-pocket costs less than 100 yuan per visit. Caregivers’ demands on home nursing services were significantly higher than those of health guidance services (Z = − 7.725, P < 0.001). Most of the 224 health professionals chose “health professionals’ personal safety cannot be guaranteed” as a problem limiting the provision of HHCSs (N = 151, 40.8%). The health professionals’ attitudes towards home nursing services were significantly less positive than those towards health guidance services (Z = − 10.081, P < 0.001). For home nursing services, health professionals’ attitude scores were lower than the caregivers’ demand scores (Z = − 4.960, P < 0.001), while for health guidance services, health professionals’ attitude scores were higher than the caregivers’ demand scores (Z = − 8.373, P < 0.001). Conclusions Gaps exist between the views of caregivers and health professionals on HHCSs. Compared to health professionals with a higher willingness to provide health guidance services, caregivers need home nursing services. Feasible policies should be implemented to safeguard the rights and interests of health professionals, and qualified health professionals should be trained for HHCSs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. S8-S16
Author(s):  
Eleanor L Stevenson ◽  
Cheng Ching-Yu ◽  
Chang Chia-Hao ◽  
Kevin R McEleny

Male-factor infertility is a common but stigmatised issue, and men often do not receive the emotional support and the information they need. This study sought to understand awareness of male fertility issues compared to female fertility among the UK general male public, and also what were perceived as being the optimum methods for providing support for affected men, emotionally and through information. Men feel that male infertility is not discussed by the public as much as female infertility. Lifestyle issues that affect male fertility are not well understood, and men affected by infertility desire more support, including online, from health professionals and through peer support. Health professionals, including those in public health, could offer evidence-based programmes to reduce stigma and increase public knowledge about infertility, as well as offer emotional support to men with infertility problems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 354-373
Author(s):  
Nicolai Volland

AbstractRed Guard newspapers and pamphlets (wenge xiaobao) were a key source for early research on the Cultural Revolution, but they have rarely been analysed in their own right. How did these publications regard their status and function within the larger information ecosystem of the People's Republic, and what is their role in the history of the modern Chinese public sphere? This article focuses on a particular subset of Red Guard papers, namely those published by radical groups within the PRC's press and publication system. These newspapers critiqued the pre-Cultural Revolution press and reflected upon the possible futures of a new, revolutionary Chinese press. Short-lived as these experiments were, they constitute a test case to re-examine the functioning of the public in a decidedly “uncivil” polity. Ultimately, they point to the ambiguous potential of the public for both consensus and conflict, liberation and repression, which characterizes the press in 20th-century China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Leslie ◽  
Jean Moore ◽  
Chris Robertson ◽  
Douglas Bilton ◽  
Kristine Hirschkorn ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Fundamentally, the goal of health professional regulatory regimes is to ensure the highest quality of care to the public. Part of that task is to control what health professionals do, or their scope of practice. Ideally, this involves the application of evidence-based professional standards of practice to the tasks for which health professional have received training. There are different jurisdictional approaches to achieving these goals. Methods Using a comparative case study approach and similar systems policy analysis design, we present and discuss four different regulatory approaches from the US, Canada, Australia and the UK. For each case, we highlight the jurisdictional differences in how these countries regulate health professional scopes of practice in the interest of the public. Our comparative Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis is based on archival research carried out by the authors wherein we describe the evolution of the institutional arrangements for form of regulatory approach, with specific reference to scope of practice. Results/conclusions Our comparative examination finds that the different regulatory approaches in these countries have emerged in response to similar challenges. In some cases, ‘tasks’ or ‘activities’ are the basis of regulation, whereas in other contexts protected ‘titles’ are regulated, and in some cases both. From our results and the jurisdiction-specific SWOT analyses, we have conceptualized a synthesized table of leading practices related to regulating scopes of practice mapped to specific regulatory principles. We discuss the implications for how these different approaches achieve positive outcomes for the public, but also for health professionals and the system more broadly in terms of workforce optimization.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleksiy Osiyevskyy ◽  
Vladyslav Biloshapka

Purpose The authors review the concept of building relationships with Shapeholders,: a broad group of players that have no financial stake in the company yet can substantively influence it. The process for doing this is the subject of a new book by Mark Kennedy, Shapeholders: Business success in the age of social activism. Design/methodology/approach The authors examine Mark Kennedy’s framework for managing the firm’s shapeholders, a model composed of seven basic steps (7A’s): Align with a purpose, Anticipate, Assess, Avert, Acquiesce, Advance common interests, and Assemble to win. Findings Managing corporate reputation in alliance with enlightened shapeholders is a potential defense against self-aggrandizing schemes to wantonly maximize shareholder value in the short run. Practical implications Managing shapeholders is part of the messy democratic process that works when power is apportioned fairly among those affected by a firm’s decisions, and this process underpins the winning business models of true market leaders. Social implications Stakeholders previously discredited as mere “mosquitos” have gained new power, particularly when their legitimate concerns and unfair treatment resonate with the interests of a significant segment of the public and influential shapeholders. Originality/value Shapeholders can create enormous opportunities for smart managers capable of effectively engaging with them.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Perkiö ◽  
R Harrison ◽  
M Grivna ◽  
D Tao ◽  
C Evashwich

Abstract Education is a key to creating solidary among the professionals who advance public health’s interdisciplinary mission. Our assumption is that if all those who work in public health shared core knowledge and the skills for interdisciplinary interaction, collaboration across disciplines, venues, and countries would be facilitated. Evaluation of education is an essential element of pedagogy to ensure quality and consistency across boundaries, as articulated by the UNESCO education standards. Our study examined the evaluation studies done by programs that educate public health professionals. We searched the peer reviewed literature published in English between 2000-2017 pertaining to the education of the public health workforce at a degree-granting level. The 2442 articles found covered ten health professions disciplines and had lead authors representing all continents. Only 86 articles focused on evaluation. The majority of the papers examined either a single course, a discipline-specific curriculum or a teaching method. No consistent methodologies could be discerned. Methods ranged from sophisticated regression analyses and trends tracked over time to descriptions of focus groups and interviews of small samples. We found that evaluations were primarily discipline-specific, lacked rigorous methodology in many instances, and that relatively few examined competencies or career expectations. The public health workforce enjoys a diversity of disciplines but must be able to come together to share diverse knowledge and skills. Evaluation is critical to achieving a workforce that is well trained in the competencies pertinent to collaboration. This study informs the pedagogical challenges that must be confronted going forward, starting with a commitment to shared core competencies and to consistent and rigorous evaluation of the education related to training public health professionals. Key messages Rigorous evaluation is not sufficiently used to enhance the quality of public health education. More frequent use of rigorous evaluation in public health education would enhance the quality of public health workforce, and enable cross-disciplinary and international collaboration for solidarity.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shweta Banerjee

PurposeThere are ethical, legal, social and economic arguments surrounding the subject of autonomous vehicles. This paper aims to discuss some of the arguments to communicate one of the current issues in the rising field of artificial intelligence.Design/methodology/approachMaking use of widely available literature that the author has read and summarised showcasing her viewpoints, the author shows that technology is progressing every day. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are at the forefront of technological advancement today. The manufacture and innovation of new machines have revolutionised our lives and resulted in a world where we are becoming increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence.FindingsTechnology might appear to be getting out of hand, but it can be effectively used to transform lives and convenience.Research limitations/implicationsFrom robotics to autonomous vehicles, countless technologies have and will continue to make the lives of individuals much easier. But, with these advancements also comes something called “future shock”.Practical implicationsFuture shock is the state of being unable to keep up with rapid social or technological change. As a result, the topic of artificial intelligence, and thus autonomous cars, is highly debated.Social implicationsThe study will be of interest to researchers, academics and the public in general. It will encourage further thinking.Originality/valueThis is an original piece of writing informed by reading several current pieces. The study has not been submitted elsewhere.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Osman ◽  
Amanda J. Heath ◽  
Ragnar Löfstedt

Public regulators (such as European Food Safety Authority, European Medicines Agency, and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) are placing increasing demands on scientists to make uncertainties about their evidence transparent to the public. The stated goal is utilitarian, to inform and empower the public and ensure the accountability of policy and decision-making around the use of scientific evidence. However, it is questionable what constitutes uncertainty around the evidence on any given topic, and, while the goal is laudable, we argue the drive to increase transparency on uncertainty of the scientific process specifically does more harm than good, and may not serve the interests of those intended. While highlighting some of the practical implications of making uncertainties transparent using current guidelines, the aim is to discuss what could be done to make it worthwhile for both public and scientists.


Author(s):  
Catalin Ratiu ◽  
Beverlee B. Anderson

Purpose – There are many different conceptualizations to sustainable development and these different approaches may have led to confusion amongst the public. The purpose of this paper is to explore the identities of the term and how the confused identity may be leading to problems for sustainable development efforts. Design/methodology/approach – The design is exploratory, using both secondary and primary data to understand the different sustainable development concepts. Findings – There is no consistent understanding or use of the term “sustainable development” among various groups. Research limitations/implications – Future research should include a larger sample that is more representative of people from different backgrounds and geographical areas. Practical implications – The public is generally willing to support only projects that it understands. Without a clear understanding of sustainable development, the public will be less inclined to support these efforts. Originality/value – This study examines the perceptions and understandings of the term by the general public representing different generations.


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