scholarly journals Strategies to Upgrade Animal Health Delivery in Village Poultry Systems: Perspectives of Stakeholders From Northern Ghana and Central Zones in Tanzania

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolapo Enahoro ◽  
Alessandra Galiè ◽  
Yakubu Abukari ◽  
Gaspar H. Chiwanga ◽  
Terra R. Kelly ◽  
...  

Village chicken production holds much potential for the alleviation of malnutrition and poverty in rural communities in Africa. Owing to their subsistence nature, however, such systems are rife with infectious poultry diseases such as Newcastle disease (ND). Strategies common for the management of ND and other poultry diseases in intensive production systems, including vaccination and biosecurity measures, have seen limited success in the village production systems. New approaches are needed that can successfully deliver animal health inputs and services for the effective management of poultry health challenges in low-input systems. Our study utilized focus group discussions with men and women farmers as well as other poultry value chain actors such as input suppliers, live bird traders and processed poultry meat retailers, to investigate potential options for delivery of animal health care to village poultry systems in northern Ghana and central Tanzania. ND was commonly reported as a major disease constraint in the study sites of the two countries, with resulting fatalities particularly impactful on men and women producers and on traders. We therefore also conducted interviews that focused specifically on the gender component of village chicken production. The key health related challenges prioritized by women and men participants included limited access to, and poor quality of, vaccines and veterinary drugs, a shortage of veterinary officers, and insufficient knowledge and training of farmers on flock management practices. Women, more than men, emphasized the difficulties of accessing poultry health services. Our assessments suggest that for poultry health care delivery in the studied communities to be effective, there is need to improve the supply of good quality drugs and vaccines in rural areas, respond to the needs of both men and women, and recognize the different incentives for farmers, traders and other value chain actors. Community-based approaches and increased use of ICT technology such as mobile phones have much to offer in this regard.

1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-52
Author(s):  
Mohammad Taleb Hossain ◽  
Md Mosharaf Hossain Miazi ◽  
Abdul Ghani

This study was conducted to observe the socio-economical status, living standard and health management practices of the people of the Bede community of Bangladesh. Bedes living in the Savar area of Dhaka district was selected for a case study. To conduct the study, data were obtained through a questionnairebased survey of 700 respondents about their social and economical status, professional practices, standard of living and literacy status, health management and treatment methods used. It has been observed that these mostly nomadic people of the Bede community have a weak socio-economic condition, large family size {(9-16 member family (58.22%); 17-24 member family (22.20%)}, intense smoking habit and a low level of literacy (80.00% people are illiterate). They practice ethno-medicine and snake-charming as their main professional business to earn a living. In offering health care services to people, they use medicaments prepared from various plant and animal parts and minerals and apply various ethno-treatment techniques, like spiritual, physical, mystical and psychological techniques to treat various ailments. Although they practice their age-old traditional system of medicine as their profession to treat others, they have been found to depend largely on Allopathic, Homeopathic and modern Traditional medicines for treating their own illness, particularly when they suffer from  diarrhoea, dysentery, small pox, orthopedic problems, and even snake-bite, which is supposed to be their own specialty. Bedes live below the poverty line.  Key words: Bede community; Social life; Health practices; Economic statusDOI: 10.3329/sjps.v2i2.5823Stamford Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.2(2) 2009: 42-47


Author(s):  
Himani Tiwari ◽  
Sanjay Kumar ◽  
D. V. Singh ◽  
Rajshree Rath ◽  
Kalpana Tyagi

The study was conducted purposively to ascertain the milking and health care management practices followed by dairy farmers in Udham Singh Nagar district, the data were collected using a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire from 200 randomly selected dairy farmers. The present study revealed that, majority of the farmers 90.50 per cent practiced twice milking in their animals. The results showed that majority of farmers around 84.00 per cent followed knuckling method while only 7.00 per cent of the farmers were adopting full hand milking method. Wet hand milking was found to be a common practice adopted by majority of farmers 85.50 per cent. About 60.00 per cent farmers used incomplete milking as a method for drying their animals and checked their animals for mastitis only when it was required. Around 51.00 per cent of respondents consulted a veterinarian for the treatment of their sick animals. It was observed that only 55.00 per cent respondents practiced deworming at regular interval for their milch animals. Majority of the dairy farmers 98.00 per cent never practiced disinfection in their animal sheds. Finally regarding disposal of placenta majority of the farmers, 65.00 per cent were disposing the placenta by burial in soil while, the remaining 35.00 per cent were throwing the placenta along with the garbage. As far as, heath care practices is concerned majority of dairy farmers 85.00 per cent told that animal health care services either in the form of veterinary hospital, dispensary etc were available. About 91.50 per cent dairy farmers practiced regular vaccination of their animals against diseases like Foot and Mouth disease and Haemorrhagic Septicaemia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Peltokorpi ◽  
Miika Linna ◽  
Tomi Malmström ◽  
Paulus Torkki ◽  
Paul Martin Lillrank

Purpose – The focused factory is one of the concepts that decision-makers have adopted for improving health care delivery. However, disorganized definitions of focus have led to findings that cannot be utilized systematically. The purpose of this paper is to discuss strategic options to focus health care operations. Design/methodology/approach – First the literature on focus in health care is reviewed revealing conceptual challenges. Second, a definition of focus in terms of demand and requisite variety is defined, and the mechanisms of focus are explicated. A classification of five focus strategies that follow the original idea to reduce variety in products and markets is presented. Finally, the paper examines managerial possibilities linked to the focus strategies. Findings – The paper proposes a framework of five customer-oriented focus strategies which aim at reducing variety in different characteristics of care pathways: population; urgency and severity; illnesses and symptoms; care practices and processes; and care outcomes. Research limitations/implications – Empirical research is needed to evaluate the costs and benefits of the five strategies and about system-level effects of focused units on competition and coordination. Practical implications – Focus is an enabling condition that needs to be exploited using specific demand and supply management practices. It is essential to understand how focus mechanisms differ between strategies, and to select focus that fits with organization’s strategy and key performance indicators. Originality/value – Compared to previous more resource-oriented approaches, this study provides theoretically solid and practically relevant customer-oriented framework for focusing in health care.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Karimi ◽  
Ann Dadich ◽  
Liz Fulop ◽  
Sandra G. Leggat ◽  
Jiri Rada ◽  
...  

Objective The aim of the present study was to develop a positive organisational scholarship in health care approach to health management, informed by health managers and health professionals’ experiences of brilliance in health care delivery. Methods A sample of postgraduate students with professional and/or management experience within a health service was invited to share their experiences of brilliant health services via online discussions and a survey running on the SurveyMonkey platform. A lexical analysis of student contributions was conducted using the individual as the unit of analysis. Results Using lexical analysis, the examination of themes in the concept map, the relationships between themes and the relationships between concepts identified ‘care’ as the most important concept in recognising brilliance in health care, followed by the concepts of ‘staff’ and ‘patient’. Conclusions The research presents empirical material to support the emergence of an evidence-based health professional perspective of brilliance in health management. The findings support other studies that have drawn on both quantitative and qualitative materials to explore brilliance in health care. Pockets of brilliance have been previously identified as catalysts for changing health care systems. Both quality, seen as driven from the outside, and excellence, driven from within individuals, are necessary to produce brilliance. What is known about the topic? The quest for brilliance in health care is not easy but essential to reinvigorating and energising health professionals to pursue the highest possible standards of health care delivery. What does this paper add? Using an innovative methodology, the present study identified the key drivers that health care professionals believe are vital to moving in the direction of identifying brilliant performance. What are the implications for practitioners? This work presents evidence on the perceptions of leadership and management practices associated with brilliant health management. Lessons learned from exceptionally well-delivered services contain different templates for change than those dealing with failures, errors, misconduct and the resulting negativity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fayez A. Quereshy ◽  
Joseph Milner

Purpose: In Ontario, health care spending has grown to 45% of total government expenditures. In a public health care system, changes in demographics and the emergence of innovative technologies challenge our ability to adapt to evolving patient needs. To maintain a high standard of clinical effectiveness, there is a need to identify opportunities to improve health care delivery. This study was structured to meet the following objectives: to understand the operating room (OR) inventory practices at a tertiary academic hospital, to mathematically model this process to ascertain service levels based on changes in inventory and demand, and to define the appropriate level of reusable inventory for open and laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed OR throughput for all cases of colorectal cancer from January 1, 2010, to January 31, 2011. The process flow of OR instrumentation was studied to understand delays in the provision of inventory. Combining total surgeries performed with surgeon-specific instrument preferences generated daily instrument demand. We fitted parametric demand distributions for two instrument sets for major colon resections. Markovian models were used to estimate the distribution of available inventory and the likelihood of insufficient instruments on any given day. Results: We reviewed 1,458 cases, 39.5% of which involved major open surgery, whereas 26.2% involved laparoscopic surgery. Demand for open and laparoscopic instrument sets was observed to fit binomial (20, 0.15) and Poisson (1.41) distributions, respectively. On the basis of these curves, we estimated the probability distribution of the in-stock inventory and, subsequently, the probability that demand would exceed supply on any given day ( Table 1 ). In particular, with 10 open and six laparoscopic sets currently owned by the institution, the probabilities that there would be insufficient inventory were 3.02% and 2.17%, respectively. [Table: see text] Conclusion: This analysis will guide purchasing decisions based on desired service levels and forecasted changes in demand. Furthermore, by ensuring that demand is being serviced, this analysis will help to curb loss of revenue, decrease wait times, and limit potential patient morbidity. Strategic purchasing can also reduce excessive inventory and therefore minimize shrinkage and obsolescence and increase working capital and institutional flexibility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9706
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Voutzourakis ◽  
Alexandros Stefanakis ◽  
Sokratis Stergiadis ◽  
Leonidas Rempelos ◽  
Nikolaos Tzanidakis ◽  
...  

Due to increasing demand, many traditional, grazing-based Mediterranean sheep production systems have introduced intensified feeding regimes, increased investments in infrastructure and drug use to increase milk yields. However, compared to bovine milk production systems, there is limited knowledge about the impact of these intensification practices on animal welfare and health and on the quality of dairy products. The aim of this study was therefore to quantify the effects of management practices and environmental conditions background on udder health, parasitism and milk quantity and quality in Cretan traditional production systems. Milk yields were higher in semi-intensive production systems while concentrations of several nutritionally desirable compounds such as omega-3 fatty acids were found to be higher in milk from extensive systems. Antibiotic and anthelmintic use was relatively low in both extensive and semi-intensive production systems. There was no substantial difference in parasitic burden, somatic cell counts, and microbiological parameters assessed in milk. Recording of flock health parameters showed that animal health and welfare was high in both extensive and semi-intensively managed flocks, and that overall, the health status of extensively managed ewes was slightly better. In contrast, environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) had a substantial effect on parasitism and milk quality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 4181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilli Scheiterle ◽  
Regina Birner

Maize is one of the most important cereal crops produced and consumed in West Africa, but yields are far under their potential and the production gap leads to growing import bills. After the structural adjustment program, fertilizer subsidies again became a popular intervention to increase yields in most African countries. Ghana introduced fertilizer subsidies in 2008, with high government expenses. This study assesses the competitiveness of Ghanaian maize production and the significance of socio-economic and management variables in determining high yields in northern Ghana. Household survey data and secondary data were applied in a Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to test private and social profitability of the fertilizer subsidy policy. Additionally, a probit model is used to determine the characteristics that contribute to higher yields. The results suggest that production systems with Ghana’s above-average yields of 1.5 Mt/ha are profitable at household level and contribute to its economic growth, whereas production systems below this threshold report negative social profits and depend on government intervention. However, fertilizers did not increase the likelihood of a household to fall in the category of high-output production system, whereas the use of improved seeds and herbicides does. In conclusion, the analysis highlights the importance of additional measures, especially the use of supporting inputs as well as management practices, to increased maize productivity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-111
Author(s):  
Sunday O Aguora

Effective and efficient biomedical wastes management is vital in the health care delivery system, safe environment and public health could possibly be achieved through the standard practices of the biomedical waste procedures with safety measures in place. The study was aimed to evaluate the practices and the level of awareness of health workers towards biomedical waste management in selected hospitals in Abuja. Data were collected by structured questionnaire and on- the-spot observation. Three private and three public hospitals that provided health care services in Abuja were surveyed. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Chi-square (χ2) test was used to determine the level of significance set at p<0.05. The male health workers were 220 (55.00%) and the female were 180 (45.00%) in the survey. The nurses were the highest number of respondents in the study with frequency percentage of 117(28.75%) followed by the laboratory scientists 96 (24.00%), Pharmacists 71 (17.75%, Doctors 64(16.00%) and other health care workers 54 (13.50%). The practices of handling biomedical waste among health workers was a significant factor of biomedical waste management (p<0.05). The awareness on safety measures among health workers was a significant factor of biomedical waste management (p<0.05). Improvement in the aspects of training retraining of health workers will go a long way to fill the lapses in the biomedical waste’s management practices. Government should establish policies and laws to enforce strict compliance in accordance with WHO stipulations.


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