scholarly journals Evaluating the quality of the learning outcome in healthcare sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 611-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Cervai ◽  
Federica Polo

Purpose – This paper aims to present the Expero4care model. Considering the growing need for a training evaluation model that does not simply fix processes, the Expero4care model represents the first attempt of a “quality model” dedicated to the learning outcomes of healthcare trainings. Design/Methodology/Approach – Created as development of the Expero model (Cervai et al., 2013), the Expero4care model has been tailored for workplace learning in the healthcare sector and tested in six organizations across Europe. The model has been validated through the review of an international team of experts and its approval as QualiCert standard. Findings – Expero4care allows the evaluation of the quality of learning outcomes focusing on competences, impact in the workplace, transferability, participation and credits. The evaluation process involves different categories of stakeholders (learners, trainers, colleagues, managers, internal or external bodies that can benefit the training’s results, i.e. final users of the service, such as patients and citizens), and it is based on a systematic data collection and comparison among expectations and perceptions. The implementation of the Expero4care model gives the opportunity to start a continuous improvement process of the trainings in the healthcare service. Research limitations/implications – Expero4care has been tested in both university courses and organizational trainings dedicated to professionals in the healthcare sector. The initial sample is not wide enough to cover all the countries and the types of trainings, so a larger implementation is needed to validate its appropriateness. Social Implication – Expero4care is the first model created specifically for organizations providing training in the healthcare sector. The implementation of the Expero4care model – adaptable to different kind of organizations and trainings – means that it is possible to highlight the value of the training considering its impact on the workplace and on the citizens. Originality/value – As the most commonly used tools to assess the quality of trainings consist of questionnaires submitted to participants at the end of the training and considering that quality models have not been utilized to analyse learning outcomes in healthcare, Expero4care represents the first quality model dedicated to training in healthcare service.

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruiting Xu ◽  
Zhigeng Fang ◽  
Jinyu Sun

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find out a scientific method to evaluate quality of complex products, whose quality is different from general products. Design/methodology/approach – Based on interval grey number theory, reliability analysis method and stochastic network theory, authors have established grey success tree analysis-graph evaluation and review technique (GSTA-GERT) model in this paper. Findings – Comparing complex products and general products, authors have found that complex products have two characters, i.e. quality of manufacture and quality of service. Furthermore, this paper has proved the GSTA-GERT model is a scientific and reasonable approach to estimate quality of complex products from the sight of manufacture-service network. Originality/value – This paper has established GSTA-GERT model, which surmounts the defect of traditional estimation method, such as lacking logic analysis in the method of analytic hierarchy process.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prachi Verma ◽  
Satinder Kumar ◽  
Sanjeev K. Sharma

PurposeThis article initially aims to explore the factors of every quality construct of the 5Qs model of service quality and, second, identify the significant factors affecting the total quality of e-healthcare services and its association with consumer satisfaction using a multidimensional hierarchical 5Qs model of e-healthcare service quality.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaire-oriented research was performed at three public hospitals of Punjab and Chandigarh. In total, 53 variables were covered in all quality constructs for data collection from the designated public hospitals. The respondents who agreed to have knowledge regarding e-Healthcare services and were availing these services were included in the study. The analysis comprised structural equation modeling technique using AMOS 21.FindingsThe outcomes suggest that the 5Qs model is more comprehensive and can be used to evaluate service quality perceptions using e-Healthcare services. The research identified 11 sub-dimensions for the five quality constructs of the 5Qs model, representing total quality, which is primary to consumer satisfaction. “Overall objectivity” and “technical objectivity” defined the quality of object. The quality of process of e-Healthcare services was characterized by “functionality,” “timeliness” and “responsiveness.” Quality of infrastructure was defined by “technical infrastructure,” “physical infrastructure,” “manpower skills” and “organizational infrastructure.” “Manner of interaction” and “timely interaction” defined the quality of interaction. The atmosphere was represented by only one factor. The results also suggest that quality of infrastructure, quality of interaction and quality of atmosphere play the most significant role in total quality leading to consumer satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretical implications: The multidimensional hierarchical model will help the researchers study the e-Healthcare service quality in a more organized manner, and the outcomes of this study can be linked with that of future studies for more generalized application in other public hospitals. The sub-dimensions of each quality construct of the 5Qs model can be applied in private hospitals, and the hierarchical model can be tested in different industries to measure service quality perceptions of the consumerPractical implicationsThe outcomes of the study can be applied in various public sector hospitals to redesign the e-Healthcare services based on consumers' perception for better consumer satisfaction and quality services. This paper identifies the role of each quality construct in e-Healthcare services for improvement in the total quality, which in turn will lead to higher satisfaction for the consumers.Originality/valueIn this study, the original 5Qs model has been used for the first time in a new instrument to understand better and design quality e-Healthcare services. The paper explores the sub-factors of each quality construct and its significance in measuring the total quality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-22
Author(s):  
Claudine Kearney ◽  
Padraic Dunne ◽  
William J. Wales

PurposeAmong healthcare professionals, burnout is one of the key challenges affecting organizational outcomes, employee productivity and quality of care. The knowledge of burnout and its root causes and primary contributors continues to grow yet remains limited. In many environments, an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been shown to dramatically improve organizational outcomes and performance. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate critical research areas at the intersection of organizational EO and employee burnout within the healthcare sector.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model which considers how EO has the potential to provide an operational context that may negate, lessen or delay the negative effects of burnout among healthcare professionals, is advanced as a useful focal point to foster research exploring connections between organizational orientation and employee well-being.FindingsInsights into how an opportunity-embracing EO characteristic of high-tech firms may shape how stress is experienced and address burnout when applied to healthcare organizations. A decrease in burnout stands to improve quality of care as well as the satisfaction of staff and patients alike, including a greater sense of autonomy, engagement, motivation and passion.Originality/valueThis research agenda proposes new insights and the need for additional research into how the manifestation of organizational EO may contribute to the field of medicine, influence burnout and enhance the well-being among healthcare professionals.


Kybernetes ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
He‐Yau Kang ◽  
Amy H.I. Lee

PurposeMost industries have become increasingly competitive nowadays, and a good supply chain relationship is essential for a company to survive and to acquire reasonable profit. Therefore, supplier selection is very important. The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel model for evaluating the performance of suppliers.Design/methodology/approachA supplier performance evaluation model based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is constructed. DEA is applied first to evaluate quantitative factors, and the results are transformed into pairwise comparison values for AHP analysis. Qualitative factors are also evaluated through AHP analysis, and a final ranking of suppliers can be obtained by combining the quantitative and qualitative results.FindingsThe proposed model can be applied to evaluate and select the most appropriate integrated circuit packaging company for outsourcing. With the incorporation of experts' opinions and the consideration of qualitative and quantitative factors, the model can provide a both subjective and objective supplier performance ranking.Practical implicationsThe proposed model can be tailored and applied to supplier evaluation and selection in other industries.Originality/valueAlthough many models are available for supplier evaluation, this paper considers both the subjective and objective performance characteristics simultaneously in the evaluation process.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debajani Sahoo ◽  
Tathagata Ghosh

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the motives that enforce consumers to find out the major determinants that frame healthscape in private healthcare service that leads to their satisfaction in a developing country like India. Design/methodology/approach – The generic motive dimensions are identified using an exploratory factor analysis. Next the reliability and validity of the factors are established followed by regression analysis using SPSS 20.0 s/w. Findings – This paper identifies six healthscape motives in the private healthcare sector named as service personnel conduct and cleanliness, service delivery and facilities, ambience, location and look, appealing decoration, and upgraded safety service, out of which only service delivery, ambience, location, and decorations contribute the most to build customer satisfaction as per their significance value. Research limitations/implications – The various dimensions of healthcare motives should be viewed as the levers of improving hospitals’ service quality in the minds of its present and future customers. This finding can offer valuable insight to the forthcoming as well as existing developer who are planning to have their healthcare service presence in India. Practical implications – This study suggests some important strategic guidelines for service positioning and market segmentation of healthcare services as per customer requirements. In the recent past, availing services from hospitals were purely utilitarian in nature. Customers were more inclined to get proper and timely services and cared more about the service quality of the healthcare service provider. Originality/value – This paper is among the few works done on understanding private healthcare service delivery process in India and customer satisfaction level from those Hospitals. This study addresses the gap by identifying a set of dimensions that are relevant to customers for a unique healthcare experience.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-715
Author(s):  
Justine Virlée ◽  
Allard C.R. van Riel ◽  
Wafa Hammedi

Purpose This study aims to develop a better understanding of how online health community (OHC) members with different health literacy (HL) levels benefit from their participation, through the analysis and comparison of their resource integration (RI) processes. It investigates through a RI lens how the vulnerability of community members – captured as their level of HL – affects the benefits they derive from participation. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to investigate the effects of healthcare service users’ vulnerability. Data were collected about their profiles and levels of HL. Furthermore, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted. Findings The study demonstrates how low levels of HL act as a barrier to the integration of available online health resources. Participation in OHCs appears less beneficial for vulnerable users. Three types of benefits were identified at the individual level, namely, psychological quality-of-life, physical quality-of-life and learning. Benefits identified at the community level were: content generation and participation in the development of the community. Originality/value This study has implications for the understanding of how service users’ activities affect their own outcomes and how the vulnerability of users could be anticipated and considered in the design of the community.


foresight ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina A. Makarova ◽  
Anna Sokolova

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify ways for improvement of the foresight evaluation framework on the basis of analysis and systematisation of accumulated experience in the field of project management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a detailed literature review devoted to an evaluation of foresight and traditional projects. The approaches to project evaluation in the field of project management were investigated, and the main steps of traditional project evaluation process were determined. The most commonly applied steps of foresight evaluation were identified by the analysis of recent foresight evaluation projects. The comparison of evaluation frameworks for foresight projects and traditional projects allows to provide recommendations for foresight evaluation framework improvement. Findings – The paper identifies several lessons for foresight evaluation from project management. The elements which can enrich foresight evaluation framework are the following: the development of an evaluation model; the extensive use of quantitative methods; the elaboration of evaluation scales; the inclusion of economic indicators into evaluation; and the provision of more openness and transparency for evaluation results. Originality/value – Given the importance of foresight evaluation procedures and the lack of a commonly applied methodological approach, the value of this paper consists in identifying a foresight evaluation framework and enriching it with elements of project management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shradha Gupta ◽  
Sahil Kapil ◽  
Monica Sharma

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implementation of lean methodology to reduce the turnaround time (TAT) of a clinical laboratory in a super speciality hospital. Delays in report delivery lead to delayed diagnosis increased waiting time and decreased customer satisfaction. The reduction in TAT will lead to increased patient satisfaction, quality of care, employee satisfaction and ultimately the hospital’s revenue. Design/methodology/approach The generic causes resulting in increasing TAT of clinical laboratories were identified using lean tools and techniques such as value stream mapping (VSM), Gemba, Pareto Analysis and Root Cause Analysis. VSM was used as a tool to analyze the current state of the process and further VSM was used to design the future state with suggestions for process improvements. Findings This study identified 12 major non-value added factors for the hematology laboratory and 5 major non-value added factors for the biochemistry lab which were acting as bottlenecks resulting in limiting throughput. A four-month research study by the authors together with hospital quality department and laboratory staff members led to reduction of the average TAT from 180 to 95minutes in the hematology lab and from 268 to 208 minutes in the biochemistry lab. Practical implications Very few improvement initiatives in Indian healthcare are based on industrial engineering tools and techniques, which might be due to a lack of interaction between healthcare and engineering. The study provides a positive outcome in terms of improving the efficiency of services in hospitals and identifies a scope for lean in the Indian healthcare sector. Social implications Applying lean in the Indian healthcare sector gives its own potential solution to the problem caused, due to a wide gap between lean accessibility and lean implementation. Lean helped in changing the mindset of an organization toward providing the highest quality of services with faster delivery at an optimal cost. Originality/value This paper is an effort to reduce the gap between healthcare and industrial engineering and enhancing the use of lean practices in Indian healthcare. The study is motivated toward implementing lean methodology successfully in services.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 953-976
Author(s):  
Christian Vidal-Castro ◽  
Alejandra Andrea Segura Navarrete ◽  
Victor Menendez-Dominguez ◽  
Claudia Martinez-Araneda

Purpose This paper aims to address the need to ensure the quality of metadata records describing learning resources. We propose improvements to a metadata-quality model, specifically for the compliance sub-feature of the functionality feature. Compliance is defined as adherence level of the learning object metadata content to the metadata standard used for its specification. The paper proposes metrics to assess the compliance, which are applied to a set of learning objects, showing their applicability and usefulness in activities related to resources management. Design/methodology/approach The methodology considers a first stage of metrics refinement to obtain the indicator of the sub-feature compliance. The next stage is the proposal evaluation, where it is determined if metrics can be used as a conformity indicator of learning object metadata with a standard (metadata compliance). The usefulness of this indicator in the information retrieval area is approached through an assessment of learning objects where the quality level of its metadata and the ranking in which they are retrieved by a repository are correlated. Findings This study confirmed that the best results for metrics of standardization, completeness, congruence, coherence, correctness and understandability, which determine the compliance indicator, were obtained for learning objects whose metadata were better labelled. Moreover, it was found that the learning objects with the highest level of compliance indicator have better positions in the ranking when a repository retrieves them through an exact search based on metadata. Research limitations/implications In this study, only a sub-feature of the quality model is detailed, specifically the compliance of learning object standard. Another limitation was the size of the learning objects set used in the experiment. Practical implications This proposal is independent from any metadata standard and can be applied to improve processes associated with the management of learning objects in a repository-like retrieval and recommendation. Originality/value The originality and value of this proposal are related to quality of learning object metadata considered from a holistic point of view through six metrics. These metrics quantify both technical and pedagogical aspects through automatic evaluation and supported by experts. In addition, the applicability of the indicator in recovery systems is shown, by example to be incorporated as an additional criterion in the learning object ranking.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Shalini Rahul Tiwari ◽  
Rakesh Chopra

Subject area Social Entrepreneurship/management of non-profit organizations (and non-government organizations). Study level/applicability Undergraduate/MBA/Executive MBA. Case overview PUKAR is a niche non-government organization (NGO) working on a unique concept of “Right to Research”. It has several themes aimed at democratizing research and broadening access to knowledge among the disenfranchised or the weakly institutionalized groups. The resulting output is disseminated through media such as lectures, Web site, books and newsletters, thus initiating local, national and global debates about future of these groups. PUKAR conceptualizes all projects around this philosophy, which are supported by few specialized funding organizations. Funding organizations, on the other hand, are trying to support many causes aimed at improving the quality of life of citizens of various countries. Thus, PUKAR's growth is constrained by limited funds. Nevertheless, PUKAR has been able to create transformation in the lives of youth who carry out these projects. PUKAR, therefore, faces a continuous challenge of conceptualizing proposals that are meaningful and impactful for the society and to stay true to its core philosophy. Expected learning outcomes The expected learning outcomes include: to understand the nature of challenges (both strategic and operational) faced by a niche NGO; to analyze how the strategy of an NGO evolves with time; to analyze the impediments of growth for a niche NGO; and to analyze the strategic options for growth and sustenance of an NGO. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.


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