scholarly journals AMORE Project: Integrated knowledge translation and geospatial analysis to improve travel times to health services (accessibility) and health equity in Cali, Colombia: a proof of concept using mixed-methods research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Gabriel CUERVO ◽  
Daniel Cuervo ◽  
Janet Hatcher-Roberts ◽  
Eliana Martínez Herrera ◽  
Luis Fernando Pinilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Situational Analysis ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
The Impact

Addressing accessibility to health services requires intersectoral multi-stakeholder action. There is not a lot of knowledge about the effects of traffic congestion on accessibility. The availability of new data allows putting forward simple metrics that all stakeholders can manage. This proof-of-concept reveals accessibility using a platform with intuitive heatmaps/choropleths, dials, and graphs. It uses filters and shows accessibility according to socio-demographic characteristics. It is dynamic, reflecting the impact of changes in traffic congestion. The platform (AMORE Platform) provides a situational analysis that can be updated as conditions or data changes. The Platform reveals and quantifies inequities of accessibility and allows maximizing accessibility by optimizing the location for new services. The proof-of-concept uses two scenarios (1) urgent care in a tertiary hospital; and (2) frequent care (hemodialysis and radiotherapy). The data generation component will be complemented with a participatory action research assessment with project collaborators involving different stakeholders (e.g., authorities, service providers and users, organized civil society and academia) who will use the platform and could determine its value and potential in service planning, urbanism, and intersectoral and multistakeholder collaboration. The platform can be updated and modified to cover other services within and beyond the health sector. The proof-of-concept is done in Cali, Colombia's third most populous city, with inputs from a broad range of stakeholders.

scholarly journals Study protocol for a longitudinal study evaluating the impact of rape on women’s health and their use of health services in South Africa

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e017296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naeemah Abrahams ◽  
Soraya Seedat ◽  
Carl Lombard ◽  
Andre P Kengne ◽  
Bronwyn Myers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionSouth Africa is a country known for its high levels of HIV infection and sexual violence. Although the interface between gender-based violence, HIV and mental health has been described, there are substantial gaps in knowledge of the medium-term and long-term health impact. The 2010 Global Burden of Disease study excluded many health outcomes associated with rape and other forms of gender-based violence because systematic reviews revealed huge gaps in data and poor evidence of health effects. This study aims to describe the incidence and attributable burden of physical and mental health problems (including HIV acquisition) in adult women over a 2-year postrape period, through comparison with a cohort of women who have not been raped. The study will substantially advance our understanding of the impact of rape and will generate robust data to assist in the development of postrape health services and the delivery of evidence-based care.Methods and analysisThis longitudinal study seeks to recruit 1008 rape-exposed and 1008 rape non-exposed women. Women were recruited from health services, and assessments were carried out at baseline, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months. Outcome measures include exposure to risk factors; mental health status; cardio-metabolic risks; and biomarkers for HIV, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy and stress. The primary analysis will be to compare HIV incidence in the two groups using log-rank tests. Appropriate models to predict health outcomes over time will also be applied.Ethics and disseminationThe South African Medical Research Council’s Ethics Committee approved the study. As rape is a key element of the study, the safety and protection of participants guides the research process. We will adopt a research uptake strategy to ensure dissemination to policy makers, service providers and advocacy groups. Peer-reviewed journal articles will be published.

scholarly journals Generating bespoke value and impact evidence to inform a thought leadership approach to service engagement at The University of Sunderland

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Grieves
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Management ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Data Visualisation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Service Engagement ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Thought Leadership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share how the maturing value and impact model at The University of Sunderland is enabling the author to generate evidence and articulate the insights. The author draws from that evidence to inform and underpin the strategic service planning, resourcing and reporting. Design/methodology/approach The author will demonstrate how impactful articulation of these insights through data visualisation is enabling the author to employ thought leadership in the relationship management with stakeholders by increasing their understanding of the benefit of engagement with the service offers and demonstrating value for money and the value and impact of the role in achieving institutional objectives. The paper will give an overview of the key techniques of the model and will then demonstrate its practical applications using the following examples: how the model is underpinning the approaches to thought leadership in relationship management by enabling the author to effectively generate and articulate evidence to inform strategic faculty action plans; how the model has enabled the authors to develop a new graphical approach to annual reporting. By combining the variety of data sets generated by the model, the author is able to articulate the outputs and impacts of cross-service holistic service offers and clearly demonstrate how institutional strategic objectives are fulfilled. Findings The author will discuss the key findings including: the importance of embedding the model at the heart of the service culture – both in terms of involving staff in data generation and of developing an evidence-based culture of service planning; the benefit of meaningful data, analysis and insights in helping to inform and underpin strategic conversations and relationship management; the transferability of the model across service settings; the agility of a snapshot approach in enabling the authors to evidence and inform current strategic service priorities; the impact of a “rounded narrative” technique in articulating powerful human insights which demonstrate engagement, impact and value; and the importance of creative data-visualisation techniques in communicating the insights for maximum impact with the customers and stakeholders. Research limitations/implications This case study demonstrates the approach taken to fulfil a specific strategic need at one UK HE institution. Therefore, the readers are encouraged to consider the approach within that context. Originality/value This paper shares how a strategic approach to capturing and communicating value and impact evidence can contribute to thought leadership in articulating library impact.

National standards: improving patient rights and safety of health services

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa O’Farrell ◽  
Michael Byrne ◽  
Linda Moore
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Patient Rights ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Standards ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – Regulation is increasingly being used in healthcare to influence the behaviour of healthcare organisations. Since 2006, a key change in Ireland has been the introduction of national regulatory standards in mental health services under new legislation. Little empirical evidence, however, exists on the effects of regulation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceived impact of standards at patient level as well as on professional and organisational practice in services. Design/methodology/approach – An anonymous online survey methodology using a self-devised questionnaire instrument was employed. A national cohort of service managers and multi-disciplinary mental health professionals were asked their views on the introduction of standards. Findings – A total of 185 individuals responded to the survey, yielding a response rate of 38 per cent. Substantial improvements were reported to have taken place across services with the most notable changes being improved safeguarding of patients’ rights and increased safety of care. Additionally, major changes were reported in professional working with new topics being discussed at management meetings and new functions being incorporated into certain professionals’ roles. Practical implications – Standards can change behaviour at several levels across healthcare organisations, although professional groups differ in their views on the degree of this impact. Originality value – To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the impact of national regulatory standards in healthcare in Ireland. This study lends support to the use of standards to enhance patient rights and the safety of services. The results provide useful direction for policy makers, regulators, and service providers.

Obtaining and Using Client Feedback in Community Health Services

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Gwyneth Jolley ◽  
Libby Kalucy ◽  
Joanne McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Community Health Services ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Client Feedback

Client feedback is an important component of two primary health care strategies: participation and evaluation. Workers need feedback from clients to ensure that their practice meets the criterion of providing affordable, accessible and appropriate services to enhance the health of their communities. Telephone interviews were conducted with thirty staff and thirty clients from women's and community health services in South Australia, to identify current practice in obtaining and using feedback from users of one-to-one services and group health promotion and community development activities. Factors which encourage feedback to be given and used include: trust and effective communications between all stakeholders; and supportive organisational philosophies, culture and practices. Client feedback is more likely to be used when given in written form. Collection and use of feedback are discouraged by inappropriate methods and timing, rapid organisational change, and clients' lack of awareness of, or confidence in, giving feedback about the services they receive. Verbal feedback, although preferred by many clients, is less likely to be recorded and used in service planning and evaluation. Client feedback is a valuable tool to reinforce the notion of partnership and power sharing between clients and health care workers. Staff at all levels should be engaged in obtaining feedback and the information gained should be disseminated throughout the agency in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of services. The challenge is now for service providers and users to adopt new, and support currently successful, ways of obtaining and using feedback so that service providers and users are engaged in working in partnership to ensure the needs of the community are best met.

scholarly journals The Impact of Stakeholders on Health Services Development: An Empirical Investigation on the Surgical Department at King Fahd General Hospital, Saudi Arabia

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Ala’Eddin Mohammad Khalaf Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
General Hospital ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Jeddah City ◽  
Health Service Providers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health Service Development

The current research investigates the stakeholders influencing health services development at King Fahd General Hospital KFGH in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. This study proposes and tests a six factors model that influences health services development. These factors include government regulations, competitors, suppliers, patients, public, and health service providers as independent variables; the dependent variable is health services development. In order to explore this issue, a quantitative method was used to collect primary data through a questionnaire, which was administered in KFGH in Jeddah city in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The researches targeted 141 surgeons in this research as a sample because of the small population. A purposive sample was used to choose the participants in this research. The research retrieves 130 valid questionnaires; representing 92%.The results confirm significant differences in the influence of these factors on health service development. The research concludes that there is a significant influence of governmental regulations, competitors, suppliers, patients, public, and health service providers on health services development. The research recommends enhancing the awareness of stakeholder factors by studying the effects of governmental regulations, competitors, suppliers, patients, public, and health service providers. The last is adopting and updating medical and non-medical technology to maintain health service development.

Traditional Anishinabe Healing in a Clinical Setting: The Development of an Aboriginal Interdisciplinary Approach to Community-based Aboriginal Mental Health Care

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Marion A. Maar ◽  
Marjory Shawande
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Traditional Healing ◽  
The Impact

Traditional medicine has been practiced by Aboriginal people for thousands of years at the community level. It is still practiced today outside of the mainstream health system by many Aboriginal people. However, providing this type of care in a clinical, health centre setting and in co-operation with western treatment methods is new, and requires a merging of traditional Aboriginal and western medical world views in order to develop protocols for service delivery that ensure the integrity of both systems. The groundwork required to ensure the safety of clients, providers, and organizations within the new integrated system is still largely undocumented. To address this gap, we studied factors that support the successful integration of traditional Aboriginal healing and western mental health care approaches, and document the experiences of clients and providers. To accomplish this we contextualize 10 years of experience of traditional healing services development with in-depth interviews and focus groups with 17 community service providers and 23 clients. We found that the development of traditional healing protocols, inter-professional education for providers and community members and a focus on client access to traditional Anishinabe health services provide the basis for the integration of western and traditional healing practices in the model under study. Our findings show integrated care resulted in positive experiences for clients and providers. We conclude that traditional healing approaches can be successfully integrated with clinical mental health services. Further research is necessary to improve our understanding of client experiences with this integrated  approach and the impact on wholistic health and well-being.

scholarly journals Assessing whether medical language is a barrier to receiving healthcare services in Bangladesh: an exploratory study

BJGP Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. bjgpopen18X101641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Badrul Alam Bhuiyan ◽  
Ishrat Jahan Urmi ◽  
Mahbub Elahi Chowdhury ◽  
Tajrian Rahman ◽  
Abu Syed Hasan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
English Language ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Medical Language ◽  
Health Service Providers ◽  
Prior Consent ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundIn many global settings, medical language acts as a barrier to accessing and using health services. However, this issue remained unexplored in Bangladesh, where the non-native English language is commonly used for health care.AimTo examine whether medical language is an obstacle for obtaining health services in Bangladesh and to provide policy recommendations.Design & settingAn exploratory study was undertaken to identify the impact of medical language on general practice. Data were collected online from Bangladeshi people between July–November 2014.MethodA semi-structured questionnaire was developed through Google Forms for data collection. The snowball technique was applied to obtain data purposively from 50 participants. With prior consent, the questionnaire along with the online link was sent to responders by email. When responders clicked on the 'submit' option of the questionnaire, responses were stored online automatically in the pre-built system. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS (version 22). Textual data analyses (especially of suggestions of the responders) were conducted using a thematic approach.ResultsAmong study participants, 44% (n = 22) said that English language was the choice for writing prescriptions by health service providers in Bangladesh, and 26% said that a mixture of Bengali and English was used. Around 30% of the study participants could not understand medical language used by doctors (this includes those who were not sure or preferred not to say). Among responders, 78% said that medical language was affecting the treatment process and 48% were of the opinion that it was acting as a barrier in receiving health services.ConclusionMedical language is acting as a barrier in the health services of Bangladesh. Tailored interventions must be developed and implemented to overcome medical language barriers in health services in order to strengthen the health system.

scholarly journals Impact of NHS 111 Online on the NHS 111 telephone service and urgent care system: a mixed-methods study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  
pp. 1-148
Author(s):  
Janette Turner ◽  
Emma Knowles ◽  
Rebecca Simpson ◽  
Fiona Sampson ◽  
Simon Dixon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Telephone Service ◽  
Online Service ◽  
Implementation Phase ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Care System

Background The NHS emergency and urgent care system is under pressure as demand for services increases each year. NHS 111 is a telephone triage service designed to provide advice and signposting to appropriate services for people with urgent health-care problems. A new service, NHS 111 Online, has been introduced across England as a digital alternative that can be accessed using a website or a smartphone application. The effects and usefulness of this service are unknown. Objectives To explore the impact of NHS 111 Online on the related telephone service and urgent care system activity and the experiences of people who use those services. Design and methods A mixed-methods design of five related work packages comprising an evidence review; a quantitative before-and-after time series analysis of changes in call activity (18/38 sites); a descriptive comparison of telephone and online services with qualitative survey (telephone, n = 795; online, n = 3728) and interview (32 participants) studies of service users; a qualitative interview study (16 participants) of staff; and a cost–consequences analysis. Results The online service had little impact on the number of triaged calls to the NHS 111 telephone service. For every 1000 online contacts, triaged telephone calls increased by 1.3% (1.013, 95% confidence interval 0.996 to 1.029; p = 0.127). Recommendations to attend emergency and urgent care services increased between 6.7% and 4.2%. NHS 111 Online users were less satisfied than users of the telephone service (50% vs. 71%; p < 0.001), and less likely to recommend to others (57% vs. 69%; p < 0.001) and to report full compliance with the advice given (67.5% vs. 88%; p < 0.001). Online users were less likely to report contacting emergency services and more likely to report not making any contact with a health service (31% vs. 16%; p < 0.001) within 7 days of contact. Thirty-five per cent of online users reported that they did not want to use the telephone service, whereas others preferred its convenience and speed. NHS 111 telephone staff reported no discernible increase or decrease in their workload during the first year of operation of NHS 111 Online. If online and telephone services operate in parallel, then the annual costs will be higher unless ≥ 38% of telephone contacts move to online contacts. Conclusions There is some evidence that the new service has the potential to create new demand. The service has expanded significantly, so it is important to find ways of promoting the right balance in numbers of people who use the online service instead of the telephone service if it is to be effective. There is a clear need and preference by some people for an online service. Better information about when to use this service and improvements to questioning may encourage more uptake. Limitations The lack of control arm means that impact could have been an effect of other factors. This work took place during the early implementation phase, so findings may change as the service expands. Future work Further development of the online triage process to make it more ‘user friendly’ and to enable users to trust the advice given online could improve use and increase satisfaction. Better understanding of the characteristics of the telephone and online populations could help identify who is most likely to benefit and could improve information about when to use the service. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN51801112. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research programme and will be published in full in Health Services and Delivery Research; Vol. 9, No. 21. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

scholarly journals The Impacts of Cost Sharing in Health Services in Geita Distrct, Tanzania

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-24
Author(s):  
Robert Ngelela Shole
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Cost Sharing ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Service Provision ◽  
The Impact

A study on the impact of cost sharing in health services was carried out in Geita District focussing on health service provision. A sample size of 96 respondents includes 24 health workers and 72 households’ heads. Household heads were chosen to represent the community receiving health services. Health workers were chosen to represent health service providers who are providing health services in the study area. A cross sectional research design was adopted involving administration of structured questionnaires to both primary and secondary partners, complemented by relevant documentation. Statistical Package for Social services (SPSS) software was employed in data coding and analysis. The study revealed that the aim of cost sharing on health service is good. But the nature of the Tanzanians of being poor among the poorer and poor government procedure for sensitizing its policies before implementation impend the target and objectives of cost sharing on health service. More than 67% people earn less than 50,000 per month and more than 10% do not attend hospital services if they become sick. Also, more than 58% of people are not aware about cost sharing on health service. The study makes the following recommendations to improve health service provision under cost sharing policy. The spirit of working very hard in production activities should be done by all Tanzanians to reduce poverty. The government should educate its people at all levels such as villages, wards, division, district, region and national to make them aware on any policy like cost sharing on health service. Capacity building should be done to health workers to follow all the guidelines and conditions of cost sharing on health service provision.

Research assessment in a National Health Service organisation: a process for learning and accountability

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Allbutt ◽  
Stewart Irvine
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
National Health ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Healthcare Organisation ◽  
Health Board ◽  
Services Research ◽  
Research Outcomes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

This paper describes the only known research assessment exercise to be undertaken by a health board. There is a growing imperative to evidence the impact of national health services, but no formal mechanism exists to quality-rate research or assess its effect on practice. This study describes how one healthcare organisation adapted a research impact framework along with impact dimensions and impact indicators to better identify research outcomes and account for research funding.<br />We know that research findings rarely impact on practice in a linear manner, that their effects are difficult to measure, and that they need adaptation within practice and professional contexts before use. We found that while links to practice and professional settings within our health board were strong, researchers tended not to plan for specific outcomes or impacts at project conception. Hence, although influence on practice and policy did occur, this seemed to be the result of extempore processes. This is despite an increasing emphasis in the health service on accountability in an era of severe financial constraint. Most of our successful research outcomes arose when researchers engaged in active dissemination with different audiences including end users and opinion/senior leaders.<br />The findings of this research assessment are helping us to better consider dissemination and knowledge translation strategies at the outset of projects. Being able to evidence specific research outcomes to senior managers and board members is enabling us to continue our modest investment in health services research.<br />key messages<br /><ol><li>The ‘impact agenda’ dominates public policy in the UK</li><br /><li>Research must account for its support but in health boards there is no external, formal quality-rating process</li><br /><li>We conducted an assessment of a selection of our research to establish that our projects are achieving a wide range of benefits</li><br /><li>Research assessment provided organisational learning and helped to demonstrate accountability</li></ol>

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