Investigating the level of functional preparedness of selected Tehran hospitals in the face of biological events: a focus on COVID-19

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmail Heidaranlu ◽  
Asghar Tavan ◽  
Mohsen Aminizadeh
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Military Hospital ◽  
Ministry Of Health ◽  
American Hospital ◽  
American Hospital Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Average Percentage ◽  
Hospital Preparedness ◽  
The Face ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the functional readiness of selected hospitals in Tehran in the face of biological events focusing on the Coronavirus. Design/methodology/approach The current study is a cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study, with the research population consisting of four hospitals in Tehran (Ministry of Health, Social Security, Azad and Military University). This study used data collection tools, standardized functional preparedness tools for hospitals using a biological approach and a standardized checklist of biological event preparations for the American Hospital Association. Interviews with the incident and disaster committee director and observation of each hospital’s existing documents, were used to collect data, which was then analyzed using SPSS-16 software. Findings According to the results, the average percentage of total hospital preparedness in biological events is 36.9%. With 53.3%, the selected military hospital has the most preparation, whereas the Ministry of Health has the lowest preparation with 28.3%. Surge capacity management and communication had the most remarkable preparedness rate of 68.75% (adequate preparedness), biological consultants, meeting management and post-disaster recovery had the lowest preparedness rate of 0% (extremely weak preparedness). Practical implications The average functional preparedness of selected hospitals in Tehran was assessed at an insufficient level in this study. Given the recurrence of disease waves, these results are helpful in increasing hospital preparedness for impending events. Improving preparedness in most areas, especially in post-disaster recovery seems necessary. Originality/value Given the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to assess hospitals’ readiness to increase capacity and respond to this scourge. Few studies have been done in this field in the world. This study investigates this issue in the capital of Iran. The finding of this study suggest authorities’ attention to this issue and the creation of severe and prompt solutions and measures and the use of military hospital experiences to improve biological threat preparedness.

Accountable care organizations: a strategy for future success?

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-121
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Harrison ◽  
Aaron Spaulding ◽  
Debra A. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Accountable Care Organizations ◽  
Accountable Care ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
American Hospital ◽  
American Hospital Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Annual Survey ◽  
Final Rule

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the community dynamics and organizational characteristics of US hospitals that participate in accountable care organizations (ACO). Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from the 2015 American Hospital Association annual survey and the 2015 medicare final rule standardizing file. The study evaluated 785 hospitals which operate ACO in contrast to 1,446 hospitals without an ACO. Findings In total, 89 percent of hospitals using ACO’s are located in urban communities and 87 percent are not-for-profit. Hospitals with a higher case mix index are more likely to have an ACO. Practical implications ACOs allow healthcare organizations to expand their geographic markets, achieve greater efficiencies, and enhance the development of new clinical services. They also shift the focus of care from acute care hospitalization to the full continuum of care. Originality/value This research found ACOs with hospital and physician networks are an effective mechanism to control healthcare costs and reduce medical errors.

Social repair and structural inequity: implications for disaster recovery practice

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Aijazi
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vulnerability Reduction ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Future Risk ◽  
Structural Inequities ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose – This paper introduces a model of social repair to the language of disaster recovery that potentially provides a new way of conceptualizing reconstruction and recovery processes by drawing attention to the dismantling of structural inequities that inhibit post-disaster recovery. Design/methodology/approach – The paper first engages with the current discourse of vulnerability reduction and resilience building as embedded within a distinct politics of post-disaster recovery. The concept of social repair is then explored as found within post-conflict and reconciliation literature. For application within the context of natural disasters, the concept of social repair is modified to have evaluative and effectiveness significance for disaster recovery. A short case example is presented from post-flood Pakistan to deepen our understanding of the potential application and usage of a social repair orientation to disaster recovery. Findings – The paper recommends that the evaluative goals of post-disaster recovery projects should be framed in the language of social repair. This means that social relationships (broadly defined) must be restored and transformed as a result of any disaster recovery intervention, and relationship mapping exercises should be conducted with affected communities prior to planning recovery interventions. Originality/value – Current discourses of disaster recovery are rooted within the conceptual framings of reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience. While both theoretical constructs have made important contributions to the disaster recovery enterprise, they have been unable to draw sufficient attention to pre-existing structural inequities. As disaster recovery and reconstruction projects influence the ways communities negotiate and manage future risk, it is important that interventions do not lead to worsened states of inequity.

scholarly journals COPING STRATEGIES WITH MUTUAL COOPERATION AND USE OF LOCAL RESOURCES ON DISASTER BY NEPALESE RURAL PEOPLE: A CASE FROM NUWAKOT DISTRICT, NEPAL

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Dipendra Dhakal ◽  
Keiko Yoshino
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Social Unit ◽  
Mutual Cooperation ◽  
Environmental Disasters ◽  
Central Nepal ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
The Face ◽  
Post Disaster

Nepal is vulnerable to environmental disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, floods and hurricanes. These disasters disproportionately affect rural life. Disaster risks are often approached in a purely technical and physical manner, but people’s behaviour in the face of natural hazards and disasters is influenced by various factors such as historical, economic, political and socio-cultural factors. This case uses a post-disaster resilience assessment focusing on cooperation during the recovery after a severe earthquake that hit central Nepal in 2015 which impacted rural communities. This paper analyses the people’s behaviour and its basic logic at post-earthquake recovery from a socio-cultural aspect focusing on the gaun, the basic minimal informal social unit. Special consideration was made to the ethnic heterogeneity of the communities studied. For the purpose of this study, key informants interview (KII), group discussion and transect walk were used. This study finds that gaun based local resources are traditional and primary resources for people’s daily life but the ward and VDC based resources are newly formed. Various forms of cooperation were observed regardless ethnicity at the gaun level. This study further reveals that local people’s activities towards the post-disaster recovery can be described in three periods. They are: emergent, resilient, reconstruction periods. On the basis of the study of these periods for post-disaster recovery, a very good social relationship among gaun people at emergency was realized.

Consequences of post-disaster policies and relocation approaches: two communities from rural China

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Chen ◽  
Lulu He ◽  
Dan Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Displaced People ◽  
Questionnaire Surveys ◽  
Post Disaster

PurposePost-disaster population resettlement is a complicated process, during which the restoration of livelihood and lifestyle plays a critical role in achieving a successful resettlement outcome. This paper attempts to examine how recovery policies and relocation approaches influence people's livelihood recovery and perception of wellbeing. It specifically investigates the role of farmland in producing a livelihood and maintaining a rural lifestyle among displaced people.Design/methodology/approachThrough face-to-face questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews with rural residents displaced from their villages after the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China, this study presents both quantitative and qualitative evidence to investigate how post-disaster policies and particularly the availability of farmland influence people's recovery and their satisfaction with the post-resettlement life.FindingsData suggest that availability of farmland, in spite of the size, makes big differences in post-disaster recovery because farmland provides resettled people with not only a livelihood to secure basic living but also a guarantee to maintain a rural lifestyle.Research limitations/implicationsMore samples are needed for analyzing factors that significantly influence disaster-displaced farmers' recovery and wellbeing post resettlement.Practical implicationsThis study can be used as an important reference for making plans for post-disaster recovery and population resettlement programs in other disaster-prone countries across the world.Originality/valueLand-based relocation is proposed as a desirable approach to addressing challenges of livelihood restoration amongst the resettled population in rural areas of developing countries.

The impact of social media on disaster relief effort – recovery coordination for Hurricane Harvey

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bidyut Hazarika ◽  
Alan Rea ◽  
Reza Mousavi ◽  
Kuanchin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Disaster Relief ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disaster Event ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Relief Organizations ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose This study aims to investigate patterns of social media posting occurring during the initial post-disaster recovery period. In addition, the study investigates the antecedents of user engagement with Twitter posts or “tweets.” Design/methodology/approach This study uses Hurricane Harvey as the research focus because of its $125bn in damage and the recovery effort associated with it. Analyzing nearly 38,000 tweets related to 2017’s Hurricane Harvey and specifically focuses on rescuers who became to be known as the “Cajun Navy.” Findings The popularity of the tweet significantly influences social media engagement; disaster relief organizations first should seek out alliances and partnerships with those who already are well-known or influential in social media. In addition, by regularly monitoring and participating in social media, such as encouraging retweets and mentions even when not responding to a disaster, agencies will gain social media followers and influence when these are most needed. Research limitations/implications By analyzing patterns of social media posts during and after Hurricane Harvey, this study attempts to quantify social media’s effectiveness during this disaster, in particular with a focus on what characteristics of Harvey-related Twitter posts most influenced user engagement. Practical implications Findings underscore the need for agencies to strengthen their social media presence and use it in all three phases of disaster conceptualization. Beyond managing communication with other agencies and the community, which alone is critical for an agency’s impact, social media offers the world as a potential audience for agencies that can deftly leverage it. Originality/value Social media has revolutionized not only communication but also inter-connectivity as people have normalized its use. Its ubiquity and efficiency have seen its incorporation into the critical area of emergency management, both during and after disasters. The main objective of this paper is to investigate and evaluate the usefulness of social media in disaster recovery efforts, focusing on its advantages in relation to a recent disaster event.

Reconstruction of heritage in Bhaktapur, Nepal: examining tensions and negotiations between the “local” and the “global”

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanicka Arora
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Risk Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Built Heritage ◽  
2015 Gorkha Earthquake ◽  
Post Disaster

PurposeCultural heritage, specifically built heritage – including monuments, urban ensembles, religious and palatial complexes – has emerged as a central focus of tensions and negotiations within the post-disaster recovery landscape in Nepal following the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. This not only reflects a growing recognition of heritage within international disaster risk management frameworks, but also responds to the critical role played by heritage at national, regional and local levels. The paper aims to examine the entangled realities of “local” and “global” operating in ongoing reconstruction of built heritage in Bhaktapur, Nepal.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is an account of reconstruction practices observed in Bhaktapur between 2018 and 2020. It is based on data collected by layering ethnographic methods with textual and historical analysis. In seeking to analyse manifestations of global and local, the author presents reflections from fieldwork carried over seven months in Bhaktapur and describes the micro-politics enacted out between researcher, heritage custodians, translators, intermediaries and participants.FindingsReconstruction of built heritage in Bhaktapur negotiates between developmentalist-paradigms of post-disaster recovery, heritage conservation discourses as well as religious and quotidian practices of care. It is simultaneously informed by global institutions and policy and local politics and aspirations that operate in constant tension and negotiation.Originality/valueThe current study responds to the call for reframing research agendas and practices set out in the Disaster Studies Manifesto by critically engaging with ideas of local and global. The study builds on the growing body of research linking heritage with disaster risk management.

Factors affecting successful transition between post-disaster recovery phases: a case study of 2010 floods in Sindh, Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rizwan Akbar Ali ◽  
Sandeeka Mannakkara ◽  
Suzanne Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Successful Transition ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose This paper aims to describe an in-depth study conducted on transition of recovery into subsequent recovery phases after the 2010 super floods in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The objectives of this research were to examine the post-disaster activities after the floods and highlight the critical areas hindering the transition into an effective recovery phase. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach based on literature reviews with semi-structured interviews with disaster management stakeholders were applied as the primary source of data. Findings The study found that long-term recovery was the most neglected phase of post-disaster recovery (PDR). The factors hindering successful transition following short-term recovery activities are lack of following: community-level involvement, local administration and community capacity, disaster governance, different stakeholders and coordination, information and knowledge management. Research limitations/implications This paper examines the long-term disaster recovery after the 2010 super floods in three districts of Sindh. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to investigate the factors in other areas for different types of disasters. Practical implications These findings are critical to planning future post-disaster recoveries in the region. It also provides a basis to investigate other types of disasters. Originality/value The transition of recovery into long-term phase has never been investigated before. The recovery phase is an opportune time to incorporate strategies for building back better, resilience, mitigation and preparedness. A PDR that does not incorporate these strategies in the long-term leaves affected communities in more vulnerable conditions for future disasters.

Value in the middle: cultivating middle managers in healthcare organizations

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 1149-1162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Belasen ◽  
Ariel R. Belasen
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Succession Planning ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
American Hospital ◽  
American Hospital Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Value ◽  
And Performance

Purpose Senior executives in healthcare organizations increasingly display preference for a closer handling of operational levels, bypassing middle managers, and de-emphasizing the need to cultivate the next cadre of leaders, creating the potential for leadership and performance gaps. The authors argue that middle managers are a vital resource for healthcare organizations and review the benefits for including them in leadership development and succession planning programs. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Current theories and common practices in addition to data collected from government sources (e.g. BLS), business and industry surveys and reports (e.g. Moody’s, Witt/Kieffer, Deloitte, American Hospital Association) are used to classify the roles, skills, and strategic value of middle managers in healthcare organizations. Findings The combination of a greater executive span with less hierarchical depth creates a dual effect of devaluing middle management, and a decrease in middle managers’ autonomy. Healthcare middle managers who stay away or lay low further trigger perceptions of low expectations leading to low morale and high levels of stress. Others become hypereffective or develop exit strategies. Major problems are: rising turnover costs; and insufficient attention to succession planning, internal promotion, and leadership development. Practical implications The outcomes of this study are useful for management development, particularly at times of change. Practitioners and researchers can have a better understanding of the value of middle managers and their development needs as well as the factors and dynamics that can influence their motivation and affect retention. Originality/value Understanding and implementing the ideas developed in this paper by healthcare organizations and other companies can lead to a drastic change in the current perceptions of the importance of middle managers and should lead to long-term retention, well-being, and extrinsic benefits for both the company and its employees.

Critical success factors for post-disaster infrastructure recovery

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 685-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao Liu ◽  
Eric Scheepbouwer ◽  
Sonia Giovinazzi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Critical Success Factors ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to synthesise critical success factors (CSFs) for advancing post-disaster infrastructure recovery and underpinning recovery authorities in decision making when facing future disasters. Design/methodology/approach The seismic recovery after the Canterbury (NZ) earthquake sequence in 2010-2011 was selected as a case study for identifying CSFs for an efficient recovery of infrastructure post-disaster. A combination of research approaches, including archival study, observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted for collecting data and evidences by engaging with participants involved at various tiers in the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The CSFs are evaluated and analysed by tracking the decision-making process, examining resultant consequences and foreseeing onwards challenges. Findings Six salient CSFs for strengthening infrastructure recovery management after disasters are identified. Furthermore, the study shows how each of these CSFs have been incorporated into the decision-making process in support of the post-disaster recovery and what difficulties encountered in the recovery process when implementing. Practical implications The proposed CSFs provide a future reference and guidance to be drawn on by decision makers when project-managing post-disaster recovery operations. Originality/value The value of the paper is that it bridges the gap between managerial contexts and technical aspects of post-disaster recovery process in an effort to rapidly and efficiently rebuild municipal infrastructure.

The changing role of the institution in health care

1970 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 625-631
Author(s):  
Edwin L. Crosby
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Fee For Service ◽  
American Hospital ◽  
American Hospital Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Straight Line ◽  
Solo Practice ◽  
Organizational Pattern ◽  
Heath Care

✓ The dramatic changes in institutional health care since Harvey Cushing's era are reviewed by the director of the American Hospital Association, and predictions made concerning the even greater changes in the years ahead. The author sees the hospital's role in health care as growing rather than diminishing and urges the medical profession to actively shape its future. He calls outmoded the concept of the hospital as a set of walls but believes its influence must spread into all segments of heath care. Its role as the guarantor of the quality of care must likewise be spread, and he believes that the traditional fee-for-service solo practice will not be acceptable to the large purchasers of health care except in those instances where there is a close physical and organizational tie to the central institution, the hospital. He asks in view of the importance of the hospital, that those who work in it and for it should look to see if the traditional organizational pattern of our voluntary hospital can meet the demands to be placed upon it by such sophisticated purchasers as Blue Cross, insurance, and government. He foresees increasing adoption of the straight-line organization in the hospital rather than the orthodox triad of governing board, medical staff, and administration.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document