scholarly journals Hospital management practices in county-level hospitals in rural China and international comparison

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Hu ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
Winnie Yip

Abstract Background Although management is important in healthcare, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have little experience measuring the competence of hospital management. While improving hospital management is the main focus of hospital reform in China, few studies have empirically documented the baseline situation to inform policy design. Methods We assessed the management practices of county-level hospitals in Guizhou in southwest China during 2015. We used the Development World Management Survey (D-WMS) instrument to interview 273 managers in 139 hospitals. We scored the management practices of the sampled hospitals, overall and in four dimensions (operations, monitoring, targets, personnel management) and three processes (implementation, usage, monitoring). We then converted the scores to the WMS scale and compared these with data from two other LMICs and seven high-income countries (HICs). Results On a scale of 1 (‘worst practice’) to 5 (‘best practice’), the mean (SD) hospital D-WMS scores were 2.57 (0.46) overall; 2.71 (0.48), 2.64 (0.58), 2.40 (0.64), and 2.56 (0.40) for operation, monitoring, target, and personnel, respectively; and 2.43 (0.48), 2.62 (0.48), and 2.66 (0.47) for implementation, usage, and monitoring, respectively. After conversion to WMS scores, China ranked seventh of 10 countries, after six HICs and higher than one HIC and two other LMICs (Brazil and India). China ranked higher than the two LMICs in each of the four dimensional scores. Conclusions Chinese county-level hospitals should improve their low quality of management by prioritizing target-setting and process implementation, particularly in personnel management. Meanwhile, modern management training should be given to most clinical managers.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Hu ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
Winnie Yip

Abstract Background: Although management is important in healthcare, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have little experience measuring the competence of hospital management. While improving hospital management is the main focus of hospital reform in China, few studies have empirically documented the baseline situation to inform policy design.Methods: We assessed the management practices of county-level hospitals in Guizhou in southwest China during 2015. We used the Development World Management Survey (D-WMS) instrument to interview 273 managers in 139 hospitals. We scored the management practices of the sampled hospitals, overall and in four dimensions (operations, monitoring, targets, personnel management) and three processes (implementation, usage, monitoring). We then converted the scores to the WMS scale and compared these with data from two other LMICs and seven high-income countries (HICs). Results: On a scale of 1 (‘worst practice’) to 5 (‘best practice’), the mean (SD) hospital D-WMS scores were 2.57 (0.46) overall; 2.71 (0.48), 2.64 (0.58), 2.40 (0.64), and 2.56 (0.40) for operation, monitoring, target, and personnel, respectively; and 2.43 (0.48), 2.62 (0.48), and 2.66 (0.47) for implementation, usage, and monitoring, respectively. After conversion to WMS scores, China ranked seventh of 10 countries, after six HICs and higher than one HIC and two other LMICs (Brazil and India). China ranked higher than the two LMICs in each of the four dimensional scores. Conclusions: Chinese county-level hospitals should improve their low quality of management by prioritizing target-setting and process implementation, particularly in personnel management. Meanwhile, modern management training should be given to most clinical managers.


Author(s):  
Bill Fulford

AbstractThis chapter outlines how the contributions to this Part illustrate the role of a culturally enriched model of values-based practice in linking science with people. Chapters 25, “A Cross-Cultural Values-Based Approach to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dissociative (Conversion) Disorders,” 26, “Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder or Neuroenhancement of Socially Accepted Modesty? The Case of Ms. Suzuki,” 27, “Nontraditional Religion, Hyper-religiosity, and Psychopathology: The Story of Ivan from Bulgaria,” and 28, “Journey into Genes: Cultural Values and the (Near) Future of Genetic Counselling in Mental Health” explore the three principles of values-based practice defining its relationship with evidence-based practice. Chapters 29, “Policy-Making Indabas to Prevent “Not Listening”: An Added Recommendation from the Life Esidimeni Tragedy,” 30, “Covert Treatment in a Cross-Cultural Setting,” and 31, “Discouragement Towards Seeking Health Care of Older People in Rural China: The Influence of Culture and Structural Constraints” then give examples of the rich resources of the wider values tool kit for linking science with people (the African indaba, transcultural ethics, and anthropology). The concluding chapter, the autobiographical chapter 32, “Discovering Myself, a Journey of Rediscovery,” illustrates the role of cultural values (particularly of the positive StAR values) in recovery. A cross-cutting theme of the contributions to this Part is the importance of the cultural and other values impacting on psychiatric diagnostic assessment in supporting best practice in person-centered mental health care.


Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 478
Author(s):  
Marcus Strang ◽  
Paola Leardini ◽  
Arianna Brambilla ◽  
Eugenia Gasparri

The uptake of buildings employing cross-laminated timber (CLT) assemblies and designed to Passivhaus standard has accelerated internationally over the past two decades due to several factors including responses to the climate crisis by decarbonising the building stock. Structural CLT technology and the Passivhaus certification both show measurable benefits in reducing energy consumption, while contributing to durability and indoor comfort. However, there is a general lack of evidence to support a fast uptake of these technologies in Australia. This paper responds to the compelling need of providing quantitative data and adoption strategies; it explores their combined application as a potential pathway for climate-appropriate design of energy-efficient and durable mass timber envelope solutions for subtropical and tropical Australian climates. Hygrothermal risk assessments of interstitial condensation and mould growth of CLT wall assemblies inform best-practice design of mass timber buildings in hot and humid climates. This research found that the durability of mass timber buildings located in hot and humid climates may benefit from implementing the Passivhaus standard to manage interior conditions. The findings also suggested that climate-specific design of the wall assembly is critical for mass timber buildings, in conjunction with excellent stormwater management practices during construction and corrosion protection for metallic fasteners.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-107
Author(s):  
Christopher Dowrick

SummaryThis article updates previous evidence on the role of primary care in the management of depression and related disorders, unexplained physical symptoms, and severe and enduring mental illness. Regarding depression and related disorders, there is now evidence for the benefits of non-medical interventions and collaborative care, providing alternatives to the simplistic over prescription of antidepressant medication. For severe and enduring illness, the emphasis in primary care is now on the effective management of comorbid physical health problems. The article also summarises best practice for the primary care assessment and management of dementia, including the need for holistic review of care quality and the potential benefits of collaborative care. Finally, it notes the growing emphasis on primary mental healthcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).


Author(s):  
Mark M.J. Wilson ◽  
Peter Tatham ◽  
John Payne ◽  
Cécile L’Hermitte ◽  
Michael Shapland

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges inherent in planning and responding to disaster events in a multi-agency context where numerous governmental and non-governmental actors and agencies are involved in the planning and response phases. In particular, the authors examine a situation where a lead agency has recently been delegated the responsibility for emergency relief logistics and how it might determine and implement best practice. Design/methodology/approach Adopting an iterative inductive approach, the authors gather data and insights from academic literature, emergency management policies, frameworks and documents and exploratory in-depth interviews with 12 key informants who have considerable experience with the challenges of logistic preparation and response to disasters in a developed country context. The data and context are limited to developed counties, especially the state of Queensland, Australia. Findings The authors discuss the challenge of achieving coordinated supply chain management where mandated/lead response agencies are required to meet stakeholder and local community expectations and outcomes. From these findings, the authors offer 11 practical recommendations to assist the delivery of best practice in emergency logistics. Originality/value Humanitarian logistics is usually examined from a low/middle-income country perspective, yet an efficient and effective disaster response is no less important for developed economies. In this respect, the authors offer a fresh examination of the challenges of delivering best practice for emergency logistics in order to achieve expected community outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirali Shalwani ◽  
Brian Lines

PurposeThe Project Management Body of Knowledge recommends the use of issue logs as a best practice to minimize the potential project cost and schedule growth. Although the broader topic of project control has been widely studied in the construction literature, the specific application of issue logs has remained relatively understudied. This study aims to analyze the extent and consistency with which construction teams utilize issue logs and the corresponding project performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA dataset of 5,635 individual issues was gathered from the final issue logs of 881 small building projects delivered via the design–bid–build method. Differences between groups were determined using the Kruskal–Wallis H test with post hoc testing via the Mann–Whitney U test with pairwise comparison.FindingsThe results showed that, on average, project teams who used issue logs to a greater extent achieved a 3.1 to 4.3% reduction in cost growth and a 5.3 to 12.3% reduction in schedule growth. This result shows that issue logs can be used to improve construction project performance in the areas of cost and schedule.Originality/valueThis result provides a contribution to practitioners, wherein project teams should be encouraged to establish their issue management practices early in the project schedule to encourage greater issue log usage for the remainder of the project.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Klump ◽  
Tim Brown ◽  
Rohan Clarke ◽  
Robert Glasgow ◽  
Steve Micklethwaite ◽  
...  

<p>Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), commonly known as drones, provide sensing capabilities that address the critical scale-gap between ground- and satellite-based observations. Their versatility allows researchers to deliver near-real-time information for society.</p><p>Key to delivering RPA information is the capacity to enable researchers to systematically collect, process, manage and share RPA-borne sensor data. Importantly, this should allow vertical integration across scales and horizontal integration across different RPA deployments. However, as an emerging technology, the best practice and standards are still developing and the large data volumes collected during RPA missions can be challenging.</p><p>Australia’s Scalable Drone Cloud (ASDC) aims to coordinate and standardise how scientists from across earth, environmental and agricultural research manage, process and analyse data collected by RPA-borne sensors, by establishing best practices in managing 3D-geospatial data and aligned with the FAIR data principles.</p><p>The ASDC is building a cloud-native platform for research drone data management and analytics, driven by exemplar data management practices, data-processing pipelines, and search and discovery of drone data. The aim of the platform is to integrate sensing capabilities with easy-to-use storage, processing, visualisation and data analysis tools (including computer vision / deep learning techniques) to establish a national ecosystem for drone data management.</p><p>The ASDC is a partnership of the Monash Drone Discovery Platform, CSIRO and key National Collaborative Research Infrastructure (NCRIS) capabilities including the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF), Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), and AuScope.</p><p>This presentation outlines the roadmap and first proof-of-concept implementation of the ASDC.</p>


2018 ◽  
pp. 1749-1768
Author(s):  
Renu Agarwal ◽  
Christopher Bajada ◽  
Paul J. Brown ◽  
Roy Green

This chapter explores the management strategies adopted by manufacturing firms operating in high versus low cost economies and investigates the reasons for differences in the management practice choices. The study reported in this chapter identifies a subset of countries that have either high or low labour costs, with USA, Sweden, and Japan being high, and India, China, and Brazil being low labour cost economies. The high labour cost manufacturing firms are found to have better management practices. In this chapter, the authors find that Australia and New Zealand manufacturing firms face relatively high labour cost but lag behind world best practice in management performance. The chapter concludes by highlighting the need for improvement in management capability for Australian and New Zealand manufacturing firms if they are to experience a reinvigoration of productivity, competitiveness, and long-term growth.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1524-1548
Author(s):  
Burcu Kümbül Güler

With the rise of social entrepreneurship, social enterprises have gained popularity as socially innovative organizations which try to balance their economic and social missions. In the competitive environment of social economy, good management and investment in human resources have become requirements of social enterprises for their survival. Among the management practices, human resources management acts as a tool for gaining competitive advantage and it builds mutual trust between the staff and the organization. Emphasizing the significance and challenges of human resources management, this chapter explains human resources main practices—recruitment, career management, training, and compensation and performance management—in social entrepreneurship.


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