scholarly journals Rural Healthcare Enterprises in the Vortex of COVID-19: The Impact of Public Policies on the Internal and External Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Apostolopoulos ◽  
Sotiris Apostolopoulos ◽  
Ilias Makris ◽  
Stavros Stavroyiannis

The public policies implemented in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the community have created issues both in the internal and the external environments of the Greek rural healthcare enterprises. This study aimed to investigate the full extent of the issues (internal and external) caused by the public policies. Regarding the external factors, we examined the state, the local authorities, the financial institutions, the social stakeholders and the citizens. Regarding the internal factors, we focused on turnover, liquidity, working conditions, internal changes related to patient care and the implementation of protective measures. A qualitative research was conducted among twelve rural healthcare business owners in the form of semi-structured interviews. The research was conducted in the fall of 2020 during the second phase of COVID-19. The research showed that these enterprises were severely impacted by the government’s public policies. Local authorities were not involved due to lack of competence. The business owners were unwilling to support their enterprises via bank lending. During the first phase of COVID-19, citizens postponed nonessential medical examinations, causing a reduction in these enterprises’ turnover. As a result, in the following periods, these enterprises faced liquidity problems. However, they developed social objectives and implemented protective measures for their employees and patients. The present study contributes to the mapping of the factors affecting the internal and external environments of rural healthcare enterprises along with the public policies developed in times of prolonged crisis. These kinds of data are crucial to the business world and government officials voting on social policies. One cannot rule out the possibility of a new financial or health crisis; the findings of this study can prove to be a useful tool in the process of decision making.

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Galhano Lopes ◽  
M Bragança Pereira ◽  
M Machado Gil ◽  
S Duarte ◽  
A Moreira ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Travel from Portugal to other countries has increased in the past 5 years. A pre-travel health consultation is advised to all travellers to raise awareness and reduce travel-related risk. We describe the experience of a pre-travel consultation centre in the public health service. Methods A retrospective observational study about consultations in an international vaccination centre between 2014-2018. Variables included were: sex, age, destination, purpose, referral, and prescriptions. Descriptive analyses were performed for all variables. Results Between 2014 and 2018, there were 1,546 consultations. Regarding individual characteristics, 54% were female, and 80% had between 15 and 64 years of age. There was no referral in 66% of the consultations, followed by 16% from general practitioners in the Primary Care Centres Group. The leading destination was Africa (54%), in a downward trend (74% in 2015 and 32% in 2018) followed by Asia (18%) with an upward trend (12% to 28% in the same period). The primary purpose was tourism (83%), followed by work (9%). In total, 3,287 vaccines were prescribed with typhoid fever vaccine accounting for 26%, hepatitis A vaccine 22%, and yellow fever vaccine 15%. Mefloquine was the primary therapeutic drug prescribed for destinations with risk for malaria (41%). Regarding destinations with low risk for malaria, in 42% of the consultations, personal protective measures were the only recommendation. Conclusions Our data show that pre-travel consultations seem to be valued and actively asked for by travellers, but medical referral is still insufficient. Regarding health promotion and prevention of diseases, tracking trends in the most common destinations allows to optimize the information provided in the consultation, effectively capacitating the traveller to recognize and act on the most common travel-related health risks. In further studies, a post-travel follow-up should be carried out to determine the impact of the consultation. Key messages Pre-travel consultation is an actively sought-after service by the community, but awareness should be promoted in the medical community. Pre-travel consultation can have an important role in the health literacy of travellers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Chua ◽  
Yahaya Ahmad

Back lanes are ubiquitously found in every city as they are a required component according to the by-laws. The intention of back lane is to serve as a service road and consequently society tends to neglect and had led to a forgotten public space due to its lack of maintenance. Thus, this has discouraged the pedestrian movement as it is unsafe because the laneway is mainly hidden from public eye. Therefore, it became a space for undesirable activities to be taken place especially for hoodlums. In line with the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Master Plan 2015-2025, that gives emphasise to revitalise forgotten spaces, this research looks into the issues of back lanes in Petaling Street with the aims to unlock its potentials. The study adopted a qualitative approach through 2 phases. The first phase is through literature review to study and understand its historical background follows by site observation through photographs and recording of the site existing conditions. The second phase is through interviews with urban planning experts and business owners to discuss the historical value, issues and parameters to revitalize the back lane. The outcome of the research divulges that revitalization of back lane and shifting the front façade to the back lane or adapting to a double façade are able to greet the public with new urban social spaces and that tenants are able to utilize and give it a new meaning.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002085232096321
Author(s):  
Yoann Queyroi ◽  
David Carassus ◽  
Christophe Maurel ◽  
Christophe Favoreu ◽  
Pierre Marin

This article explores public innovations implemented by local authorities, which consider them as a key means of improving their performance in response to a restrictive context. The authors thus propose to grasp the impacts of these innovations in terms of perceived performance from a global and multidimensional point of view. Based on a quantitative study conducted among French local authorities, this research first presents the results obtained from a theoretical point of view, providing insight into the multiple impacts of implementing innovations within the public sector. Then, at the managerial level, the study identifies specific impacts for each type of public innovation, the aim being to structure the innovation portfolio of public organisations. Points for practitioners An increasing number of innovations are being introduced in the public sector. However, the impact of these innovations on public performance is often not assessed. That is why by focusing our research on French local authorities, we guide managers both in analysing this influence by distinguishing several types of innovation and performance, and in building a portfolio of innovations in line with the internal resources of their local authority, as well as the public service provided in response to the needs of the territory.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
Владимир Морозов ◽  
Vladimir Morozov ◽  
Александра Панова ◽  
Alyeksandra Panova

This article examines the place of the municipal enterprises in the service of the local community in general, and in the rendering of municipal services in particular. The methods of services rendering by individual municipal authority or enterprise and the directly by local authorities are compared. These models vary considerably in efficiency and organizational support. These differences allow get answer to the question of the expediency of involving the municipal enterprises to the rendering of municipal services. The author defines the criteria, which allow assessing the place of municipal enterprises in considered sphere and getting answer to the question of the expediency of involving of municipal enterprises in the economy of the territory. The research also focuses on ways to improve efficiency, accountability and transparency of the management of municipal enterprises. A significant part of the impact and mechanism of direct responsibility to the people must be supported with the help of supervision of municipal services, otherwise there is a great temptation to start uncontrolled expansion and implement investments in new assets without appropriate investments in other municipal spheres. The activity of local authorities satisfies these criteria better than the performance of individual municipal enterprises. The financial independence of the last mentioned more contributes to attempts to build empires and unjustified costs. Municipal enterprises do not have unique advantages; their existence creates or contributes to the creation of problems in the sphere of decision-making, and also leads to unnecessary costs for the local authorities and population. Their abolishment would increase the efficiency, accountability and transparency of the public sector.


Author(s):  
Koichiro Aitani ◽  
Vrushali Kedar Sathaye

  The High Line, an abandoned elevated railway structure on Lower Manhattan's West-side, converted into the public park is among the most innovative urban renovation projects. The meatpacking district with industrial taste, transformed to one of the most fashionable areas in New York would not be realized without the impact of this unique Urban Park, the high Line. The story of how it came to be is a remarkable one: two young citizens with no prior experience in planning and development collaborated with their neighbors, elected officials, artists, local business owners, and leaders of burgeoning movements in horticulture and landscape architecture to create a park celebrated worldwide as a model for creatively designed, socially vibrant, ecologically sound public space. 5 millions of visitors are counted annually. The research will clarify the process of the High Line’s execution, its mechanism of urban transform, and impact to the neighborhood chronologically, and will discuss and theorize this urban regeneration as an outcome of catalytic effect of Urban Green Space.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hang Su ◽  
Yafang Cheng ◽  
Ulrich Poeschl

The public and scientific discourse on how to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic is often focused on the impact of individual protective measures, in particular on immunization by vaccination. In view of changing virus variants and conditions, however, it seems not clear if vaccination or any other single protective measure alone may suffice to contain the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we investigate the effectiveness and synergies of vaccination and different non-pharmaceutical interventions such as universal masking (surgical, N95/FFP2), distancing & ventilation, contact reduction, and testing & isolation as a function of compliance in the population. We find that it would be difficult to contain SARS-CoV-2 transmission by any individual measure as currently available under realistic conditions. Instead, we show how multiple synergetic measures can be and have to be combined to decrease and keep the effective reproduction number (Re) below unity, even for virus variants with increased basic reproduction number (R0). We suggest that the presented approach and results can be used to design and communicate efficient strategies for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic, depending on R0 as well as the efficacy and compliance achieved with each protective measure. At vaccination rates around 70%, the combination and synergies of universal masking, distancing & ventilation, and testing & isolation with moderate compliances around 30% appear well suited to keep Re below 1 and prevent or suppress infection waves. Higher compliance or additional measures like contact reductions (confinement/lockdown) are required to effectively and swiftly break intense waves of infection. For schools, we find that the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 can be contained by 2-3 tests per week combined with distancing & ventilation and masking.


Intersections ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulderico Daniele ◽  
Stefano Pasta ◽  
Greta Persico

Roma migration from Eastern countries has been one of the main topics of public debate in Italy in the last decade. Roma people have been depicted as the biggest threat to citizens’ safety, especially in the biggest cities, and have become the target of special securitarian measures that revive old stereotypes. At the same time, thanks to various European bodies, Roma people have also became the targets of ad hoc inclusionary policies, such as the National Strategy for Inclusion. The deconstruction of the camp system for nomads was one of the basic targets of all the interventions. This article describes what happened to Roma migrants during the last ten years – from the ‘Nomad Emergency’ of 2007 until the present-day dismantling of the nomad camp system. It focuses on Roma migrants who live in the two Italian cities where most of the Romanian Roma have settled since the beginning of the 21st century: Milan and Rome. The paper analyzes the public policies that were implemented by national and local authorities, and highlights some of the strategies that Roma migrants use to cope with the dismantling of the nomad camp system.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Suharyono Suharyono

Implementation Governor Rules Number 34 Year 2010 a bout on the Description of Duties and Functions of the Regional Technical Implementation Unit in the Region of Banten Province in Technical Implementation Unit of the Department of Management of Regional Assets and Assets of Serang regency Suharyono,  Regional autonomy provides local authorities to make the norm of about regional organizations. Peraturan Gubernur No. 34 Tahun 2010 on Duties and Functions of the Office of Technical Implementation Unit Banten Provincial structured as public policies that govern the work system UPT UPT organization in order to run effectively. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of public policy on the effectiveness of the organization at the Technical Implementation Unit Office of Financial Management and Asset Serang District. This research is using qualitative approach. The object of this research is the UPT Office of Financial Management and Asset Serang district, Banten Province. Based on the interview with the Head Unit, Head of Sub Division of Administration, staff and staff PKB and BBNKB Other revenues can be concluded that the public policy that t Peraturan Gubernur No. 34 Tahun 2010 on Duties and Functions of the Office of Technical Implementation Unit Banten Provincial UPT has been run by the Department of Finance and Asset Management Serang regency well. Order Unit Office of Financial Management and Asset Serang regency in implementing public policies impact on the ongoing activities of organiasi effectively.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 136-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niall Caldwell ◽  
Kathryn Nicholson

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the practice of casting celebrity performers in London West End theatres. The paper uses the literature on celebrity to explore the impact that casting a celebrity has on the London theatre audience. Design/methodology/approach – The pervasiveness of celebrity culture forms the background and starting point for this research. In the first phase, theatre managers, directors and producers were interviewed to explore their views on the practice of celebrity casting. In the second phase, an audience survey was conducted. The approach taken is exploratory and is intended to illuminate the conditions under which a successful celebrity-focused strategy can be constructed. Findings – A distinction between fame and celebrity was drawn by both theatre professionals and audiences, with celebrity status being seen as something that is created by media exposure and being in the public eye. This is in contrast to fame, which is earned by being famous for something, or some achievement. Theatre audiences are more likely to be attracted by celebrities who have theatrical expertise and not by someone known simply through film, television or the all-pervasive gossip columns. Celebrities with a background in theatre and film were seen to strongly draw audiences to the theatre, as opposed to those with a background in reality TV shows, search-for-a-star shows or for being half of a famous couple. Originality/value – The paper is focused on the theatre and makes an original contribution to the current discussion of the power wielded by celebrities. It is the first empirical research on this aspect of the theatre business. Its contribution lies in understanding audience members’ interpretation and understanding of celebrity to ascertain the extent to which they perceive celebrities as credible to perform theatre. This is based on a differentiation between their mediated fame and expertise. It is helpful and useful information for producers when deciding whether or not to cast a celebrity and to which audiences that the celebrity might appeal.


Author(s):  
Giovanni Lanza

AbstractThe article explores the complexity of the ecosystems that develop around data supported policy making. This complexity, which can be traced back to the multiplicity of actors involved, the roles they assume in the different steps of the decision making process, and the nature of the relationships they establish, takes on new connotations following the rising use of data for public policies. In fact, issues related to data ownership and the ability to collect, manage, and translate data into useful information for policy makers require the involvement of several actors, generating ecosystems where co-creation strategies are confronted with the limits of action of the public administrations within broader social and decisional networks. Based on this background, the article aims to provide, through the analysis of the direct experiences conducted by the pilot cities involved in the PoliVisu project, an overview of the opportunities and challenges related to the impact of data in the evolution of decision making networks and ecosystems in the data shake era.


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