scholarly journals Refusals to perform ritual circumcision: a qualitative study of doctors’ professional and ethical reasoning

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liv Astrid Litleskare ◽  
Mette Tolås Strander ◽  
Reidun Førde ◽  
Morten Magelssen

Abstract Background Ritual circumcision of infant boys is controversial in Norway, as in many other countries. The procedure became a part of Norwegian public health services in 2015. A new law opened for conscientious objection to the procedure. We have studied physicians’ refusals to perform ritual circumcision as an issue of professional ethics. Method Qualitative interview study with 10 urologists who refused to perform ritual circumcision from six Norwegian public hospitals. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analysed with systematic text condensation, a qualitative analysis framework. Results The physicians are unanimous in grounding their opposition to the procedure in professional standards and norms, based on fundamental tenets of professional ethics. While there is homogeneity in the group when it comes to this reasoning, there are significant variations as to how deeply the matter touches the urologists on a personal level. About half of them connect their stance to their personal integrity, and state that performing the procedure would go against their conscience and lead to pangs of conscience. Conclusions It is argued that professional moral norms sometimes might become more or less ‘integrated’ in the professional’s core moral values and moral identity. If this is the case, then the distinction between conscience-based and professional refusals to certain healthcare services cannot be drawn as sharply as it has been.

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiral Sheth

The new challenges of globalisation have made it essential to achieve and sustain a high level of efficiency in the provision of healthcare. Even though the Government of Maharashtra clearly views assuring efficiency and providing public health services to the people as an important policy objective, data reveals that the amount of resources spent on public healthcare especially public hospitals is very meagre as compared to the needs of the population. This study attempts to understand the shift from public to the private health sector by the users of health services in the city of Mumbai. This changing trend towards increasing use of private hospitals for healthcare services was analysed to understand the specific reasons behind the privatisation of health services in this metropolitan city. Using primary survey, the analysis revealed that majority of the users preferred private hospital services due to various reasons like cleanliness, better infrastructure, efficient and competent doctors and other staff. The results also indicated significant inefficiencies in the functioning of the public hospitals as noted from the responses of the users.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bui Nhat Vuong

Human resources in the medical sector play a very important role in public service activities to perform tasks as prescribed by law to serve the interests of the people and society. In this way, the service of medical doctors also has a direct effect on the public services and healthcare services of Vietnam. This research analyzes factors affecting doctors’ satisfaction and loyalty from a survey of 228 doctors working in public hospitals in Vietnam. The study was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative tools to examine the hypotheses of the survey. Cronbach’s Alpha analysis, Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were employed to test the relationship among the fac-tors in the research model. The results indicated that the influential factors on the satisfaction of a doctor’s job include the following, listed in diminishing importance order: (1) Income, (2) Relationship with col-leagues, (3) Quality of medical examination and treatment, (4) Hospital resources, (5) Autonomy at work, (6) Training and promotion opportunities. Besides, when doctors are satisfied with their job, they tend to be loyal to the organization. The study proposes several policy implications for medical sector managers to increase the doctors’ satisfaction and loyalty in public health services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ditte Roth Hulgaard ◽  
Charlotte Ulrikka Rask ◽  
Mette Bech Risor ◽  
Gitte Dehlholm

Background:Functional disorders, defined as disorders with no clear medical explanation, are common and impose a significant burden on youths, their families, healthcare services and society as a whole. Currently, the literature describes resistance among patients and their families towards psychological symptom explanations and treatments. More knowledge about the thoughts and understandings of youths with functional disorders and their parents is needed. The aim of this study was to explore the illness perceptions of youths with severe functional disorders and their parents.Methods:A qualitative interview study using interpretative phenomenological analyses. The study included 11 youths aged 11–15 years with functional disorders and their parents, where interviews were performed at the point of referral from a somatic to a psychiatric treatment setting.Results:Analyses identified three main themes. Themes 1(Ascribing identity to the disorder) and 2 (Monocausal explanations) explore key elements of the participants’ illness perceptions, and theme 3 (Mutable illness perceptions) explores how illness perceptions are influenced by experiences from healthcare encounters.Conclusions:The label ‘functional disorder’ was poorly integrated in the illness perceptions of the youths and their parents. Participants used a monocausal and typically physical explanation rather than a multicausal biopsychosocial explanation for their symptoms.


1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean G. Hall ◽  
Bonnie A. Nelson

As communication teachers attempting to bridge the gap between school and industry, we need to give students a true understanding of what it means to be a professional. We may be spending too much time trying to get them to write and speak like professionals without also imbuing them with sufficient understanding of their responsibilities to behave as professionals. Students need to be practiced in the communication and decision-making situations they will encounter in their workplaces. These decisions involve ethical reasoning as well as technical problem solving. Teaching students to appreciate the consequences of their recommendations, through the use of fault-trees and cost/benefit analyses in realistic simulations, effectively bridges the gap between the classroom and boardroom. A sample situation is explained and analyzed for its use in any technical communications class.


Author(s):  
Ahmad Chusyairi ◽  
Pelsri Ramadar Noor Saputra

In Indonesia, public health services at the city or district level are carried out by regional public hospitals or “puskesmas” (health care centers), especially in Banyuwangi regency, East Java, Indonesia that has 45 health care centers spread throughout the villages. This research focused on the deaths of babies caused by diarrhea diseases, which are the second leading cause of death among children younger than 5 years globally. All of the health care centers need to be divided into 3 groups to find out which health care centers have the least, most moderate, and many diarrhea sufferers. Fuzzy C-Means algorithm is used to overcome this problem. The result from this research shown that 2 health care centers have the smallest member of diarrhea sufferers, 14 health care centers have a medium member of diarrhea sufferers, and the rest have a large number of diarrhea sufferers. From the result of this study, it can be a reference for the health department center in dealing with diarrheal diseases, accordingly, the infant mortality rate due to diarrheal diseases can be lowered to health care centers that have high diarrhea sufferers.


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.


Author(s):  
Segufta Dilshad ◽  
Afsana Akhtar ◽  
S. S. M. Sadrul Huda ◽  
Nandeeta Samad

The service quality measurement of healthcare services is always a big concern for the hospitals, patient rights activists, regulators, and general patients. This study deals with quality assessment of healthcare facilities concerning the private and public health facilities of Dhaka, Bangladesh. This study follows the survey research approach. Using the purposive sampling method, the individuals have been selected from households who have received healthcare services from public or private hospitals of Dhaka city in last year. The study collected data among 410 respondents. Standard statistical software (i.e., SPSS and STATA) have been used to analyze the data. This study confirms existing evidence that Bangladeshi patients have a growing concern with lower level of satisfaction in public healthcare services. The respondents faced multi-dimensional problems, characterized by a low level of overall service quality, interpersonal service quality, and technical or treatment-related quality at public hospitals. Further research is recommended to analyze the issues further.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramiro Z Dela Cruz ◽  
Ruth A Ortega-Dela Cruz

Background/Aims Public hospitals are the primary means of healthcare delivery in developing countries. Given the pressing need for efficient health services, it is imperative to know the extent to which a country's public healthcare institutions meet an ever increasing public demand. This study aimed to assess the state of hospital facilities among public health care institutions in a developing country. Methods Descriptive research methods were used, including needs analysis along with management and client satisfaction surveys, in order to analyse information on issues that related to the management of hospital facilities in the Philippines. Various members of the hospital community were selected to assess different aspects of hospital management. Results The results of this study show that most concerns stemmed from the lack of financial resources, materials, equipment and technological innovations; insufficient knowledge, skills and human resources; and problems that related to processes and methodologies. Conclusions Public hospitals are in dire need of facility upkeep to maintain their operations. This has become a more pressing concern because of the very limited resources at the disposal of public hospitals. This study also highlighted the crucial role played by the national government in finding effective and efficient ways to address these issues and concerns to ensure successful delivery of healthcare services in the country.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S608-S608
Author(s):  
Margaret E Newman McCort ◽  
Yanmeng Feng ◽  
Haojie Huang ◽  
Jonathan Lio ◽  
Renslow Sherer

Abstract Background 357 million people between the ages of 19 and 49 are infected each year with a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Wuhan, China is a unique setting for STI intervention as it has over 900,000 college students, a population at high risk for contracting HIV. Cultural attitudes toward premarital sex and homosexuality and poor sexual education are barriers to lowering STI rates. Additionally, 90% of Chinese healthcare is provided at large public hospitals with minimal privacy. Anonymous STI screening outside of the public hospital setting is highly desired by young adults and MSM populations. Methods Study investigators partnered with dating app Blued to advertise a nontraditional testing site where high-risk individuals were offered anonymous STI/HIV screening. With the assistance of the regional CDC and a community-based organization (CBO), rapid STI results were provided in a convenient and nonjudgmental setting. Information on sexual behavior and knowledge of STIs was surveyed for future public health interventions. Results Of 200 individuals screened for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, 51 (25.5%) had a positive test result. Over 10% of rectal and pharyngeal tests were positive, compared with 1% of urine tests. 3/200 (1.5%) of had positive rapid HIV test results; all were connected to treatment. Among 41 (20.5%) who learned about the study through Blued, STI prevalence was higher (31.7% vs. 23.9%, P = 0.3), compared with participants recruited through advertisement by the CBO. Most (67.5%) identified as MSM. Survey data confirmed low underlying knowledge of STI transmission and risk factors, especially regarding pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Conclusion A discreet screening service at a nontraditional site, facilitated through dating application and social media advertisement, was well received by young adult and MSM communities in Wuhan, China. Triple-site STI screening found a significant number of infections among this population and should be routinely offered by public health services. The use of real-time, convenient diagnostic testing presents an opportunity to lower HIV incidence in Wuhan, a city with a large at-risk population. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


Author(s):  
S. M. A. Hanifi ◽  
Aazia Hossain ◽  
Asiful Haidar Chowdhury ◽  
Shahidul Hoque ◽  
Mohammad Abdus Selim ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The government of Bangladesh initiated community clinics (CC) to extend the reach of public health services and these facilities were planned to be run through community participation. However, utilisation of CC services is still very low. Evidence indicates community score card is an effective tool to increase utilisation of services from health facility through regular interface meeting between service providers and beneficiary. We investigated whether community scorecards (CSC) improve utilisation of health services provided by CCs in rural area of Bangladesh. Methods This study was conducted from December 2017 to November 2018. Three intervention and three control CCs were selected from Chakaria, a rural sub-district of Bangladesh. CSC was introduced with the Community Groups and Community Support Groups in intervention CCs between January to October 2018. Data were collected through observation of CCs during operational hours, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and from DHIS2. Utilisation of CC services was compared between intervention and control areas, pre and post CSC intervention. Results Post CSC intervention, community awareness about CC services, utilisation of clinic operational hours, and accountability of healthcare providers have increased in the intervention CCs. Utilisation of primary healthcare services including family planning services, antenatal care, postnatal care and basic health services have significantly improved in intervention CCs. Conclusion CSC is an effective tool to increase the service utilization provided by CCs by ensuring community awareness and participation, and service providers’ accountability. Policy makers and concerned authorities may take necessary steps to integrate community scorecard in the health system by incorporating it in CCs.


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