scholarly journals Concepts and Applications of Action Research in Improving the Performance of the Health System: A Guide for Managers

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-285
Author(s):  
Saber Azami Aghdash ◽  
Ahmad Mousavi ◽  
Salar Mohammaddokht ◽  
Hojatolah Gharaee
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Health System ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
System A ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Taking Action ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Research Studies

Background and Objectives Action research has become popular in health system research and problem solving. The aim of this study was to introduce the concepts and applications of action research in health system. Material and Methods This study reviewed the related documents and literatures in Persian and English Language by comprensive search in web-based resources. Results This study compares the Simmons model and other methods and provides a successful model for the use of pilot research in the health system. Conclusion This study recommends utilization of action research in solving health system problems in practice and also for learning in environment. Extended Abstract Background and Objectives Many experts believed that classic research methods have not been sufficient to help solve numerous problems faced by the health system. Thus, researchers have developed a new approach to this problem called "action research."The results of various studies in different countries have confirmed positive effects of this type of study in improving the performance of the health system. The aim of this study was to introduce the concepts and applications of action research in improving the performance of the health system. Material and Methods The present study is a revie of the existing documents and literature. Relevant books and websites were searched through to find various approaches and methods of action research. In order to review action research studies conducted in the field of health and other sectors, valid Persian and English electronic references were reviewed by using the keywords "action research", "health system" and "health" in 2020. At first, definitions and key concepts of action research in the health system were discussed, then the model introduced by Simmons in 1995 for action research, as a comprehensive model, was described and examples of action research studies conducted worldwide, were provided. Results In action research, the researcher with the participation of stakeholders identifies the problems in the system and collects information to solve the problems. Then, in accordance with the conditions of the organization and the solutions provided, the researcher tries to improve the performance. Finally, the results of interventions are evaluated. For this reason, action research is known as a method to improve performance and quality. The Simmons model includes subject identification, data collection, planning, implementation, evaluation and feedback. By summarizing the information obtained, the following steps can be suggested for conducting successful action research in health system: determining the subject of the research, describing the current situation, collecting information, analyzing and interpreting data, selecting and implementing a new solution, collecting information, evaluating the impact of the new action and determining its validity, revising and presenting the final report. Action research includes looking (gathering information and describing the current situation), thinking (discovering what is happening, interpreting it and explaining why and how) and acting (planning, implementing and evaluating). FOCUS PDCA is a proposed model for action research. This model includes 9 steps: finding a problem, organizing the research team, clarifying the process, understanding the causes of change, selecting an item to improve, planning, doing, checking and acting. Conclusion One of the most important reasons for the success of and attention to action research is the inadequacy of traditional research in answering basic questions and problems in the field of health, and the reason for this inefficiency is the gap between traditional research and the needs of the health system, a weakness that can be properly addressed by action research. Finally, it is recommended that if health managers are looking to promote standards and improve the health system in practice and in their specific situation, it is better to continue action research. Since action research is one of the most practical and basic types of research that provides realprospects to promote standards and improve the health system by analyzing the existing issues and problems and taking action to solve them. Practical implications of research Action research is one of the most central and basic types of research that provides the ground for raising standards and improving the health system by analyzing existing issues and problems and taking action to address them. Ethical considerations In selecting sources, extracting and also in reporting the content of sources and studies, the principle of fidelity and ethical principles have been observed. Conflict of interest The authors of the article declare that there is no conflict of interest for the authors of the article. Acknowledgement The authors of the article thank the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences for approving and financially supporting this study in the form of project number IR.TBZMED.REC.1397.154.

scholarly journals Application of action research in the field of healthcare: a scoping review protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Mary Casey ◽  
David Coghlan ◽  
Áine Carroll ◽  
Diarmuid Stokes ◽  
Kinley Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
Research Studies

Background: Traditional research approaches are increasingly challenged in healthcare contexts as they produce abstract thinking rather than practical application. In this regard, action research is a growing area of popularity and interest, essentially because of its dual focus on theory and action. However, there is a need for action researchers not only to justify their research approach but also to demonstrate the quality of their empirical studies. Therefore, the authors set out to examine the current status of the quality of extant action research studies in healthcare to encourage improved scholarship in this area. The aim of this scoping review is to identify, explore and map the literature regarding the application of action research in either individual, group or organisational domains in any healthcare context. Methods: The systematic scoping review will search the literature within the databases of CINAHL, PubMed and ABI/Inform within the recent five-year period to investigate the scientific evidence of the quality of action research studies in healthcare contexts. The review will be guided by Arksey and O'Malley’s five mandatory steps, which have been updated and published online by the Joanna Briggs Institute. The review will follow the PRISMA-ScR framework guidelines to ensure the standard of the methodological and reporting approaches are exemplary. Conclusion: This paper outlines the protocol for an exploratory scoping review to systematically and comprehensively map out the evidence as to whether action research studies demonstrate explicitly how the essential factors of a comprehensive framework of action research are upheld. The review will summarise the evidence on the quality of current action research studies in healthcare. It is anticipated that the findings will inform future action researchers in designing studies to ensure the quality of the studies is upheld.

scholarly journals Country-Wide Resilience Model for the Health System: A Case Study on Iran, under Coronavirus Outbreak

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazanin Pilevari ◽  
Mahyar Valeh Shiva
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Health Information System ◽  
National Health System ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Interpretive Structural Modeling ◽  
System A ◽  
The Impact

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has had many destructive impacts on socio-economic and health systems. The health systems of countries could be supportive in crisis management, but they also are affected by the impact of the crisis, consequently, their operational level has declined. This study pursued resilience in an overall national health system under pandemic stress. Methods: Based on WHO building blocks, by interviewing informants of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, in Tehran-Iran, early 2021 a rich picture of the current situation depicted, the resilience model was extracted via a mixed method of Soft System Methodology (SSM) and total interpretive structural modeling (TISM). Dynamic capabilities were applied for the orchestration of the Iranian health system. Results: Particular functional and structural suggestions applicable for designing a ubiquitous resilience model for the country-wide health system are presented in this study. The variables of crisis sensing, opportunity seizing, and reconfiguration are the cornerstones of health system resilience. Conclusion: Well-suited health technology assessment (HTA) and health information system (HIS) play significant roles in the overall strengthening of the health system. All reforms for resilience will have a lasting result when the capabilities created by the resilience model are learned and reused in a dynamic cycle.

Measures for the management of SARS-CoV-2 in Venezuela: An analysis from the data

2020 ◽  
Vol 128 (S2) ◽  
pp. S237-S288
Author(s):  
Victoria Castro ◽  
Julio Castro
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
African Continent ◽  
The Real ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
System A ◽  
National Life ◽  
The Impact

Since March 13, 2020, the COVID-19 virus has been detected in Venezuela. The country had a situation before the pandemic, where the notorious thing was a very important weakness of the health system, a compromised situation of hyperinflation and economic precariousness in the last four years, and a tense political situation. Although the growth of cases in the first wave was not as intense as in other countries in the region (probably related to their economic precariousness), the impact it has had on hospitals and national life has been very important. What is striking about the State’s management has been a few policies that are not very transparent, not very cohesive, and very dispersed, which has made it difficult to interpret and analyze the real impact on the epidemic. It is likely that the difficulty in obtaining gasoline and an extremely reduced economy in recent years have been a negative incentive for the transmission of the virus in the population as has been seen in the African continent at this time. Despite this, vulnerability persists, the capacity for improvement and the preparation of hospitals has not been substantially modified yet. It is estimated that the number of cases may increase significantly and that consecutive waves may be repeated and increase the impact that the virus has had in other latitudes.

scholarly journals Application of action research in the field of healthcare: a scoping review protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Mary Casey ◽  
David Coghlan ◽  
Áine Carroll ◽  
Diarmuid Stokes ◽  
Kinley Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
Research Studies

Background: Traditional research approaches are increasingly challenged in healthcare contexts as they produce abstract thinking rather than practical application. In this regard, action research is a growing area of popularity and interest, essentially because of its dual focus on theory and action. However, there is a need for action researchers not only to justify their research approach but also to demonstrate the quality of their empirical studies. Therefore, the authors set out to examine the current status of the quality of extant action research studies in healthcare to encourage improved scholarship in this area. The aim of this scoping review is to identify, explore and map the literature regarding the application of action research in either individual, group or organisational domains in any healthcare context. Methods: The systematic scoping review will search the literature within the databases of CINAHL, PubMed and ABI/Inform within the recent five-year period to investigate the scientific evidence of the quality of action research studies in healthcare contexts. The review will be guided by Arksey and O'Malley’s five mandatory steps, which have been updated and published online by the Joanna Briggs Institute. The review will follow the PRISMA-ScR framework guidelines to ensure the standard of the methodological and reporting approaches are exemplary. Conclusion: This paper outlines the protocol for an exploratory scoping review to systematically and comprehensively map out the evidence as to whether action research studies demonstrate explicitly how the essential factors of a comprehensive framework of action research are upheld. The review will summarise the evidence on the quality of current action research studies in healthcare. It is anticipated that the findings will inform future action researchers in designing studies to ensure the quality of the studies is upheld.

scholarly journals A novel epidemiological model for COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Gaspari
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Course ◽  
Adaptive Method ◽  
Epidemiological Model ◽  
Critical Conditions ◽  
Infected People ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
System A ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Official Data

COVID-19 is characterized by a large number of asymptomatic and mild cases that are difficult to detect; most of them remain unknown, still having an important role in the transmission of the disease, this makes the pandemic difficult to control. The purpose of this research is to develop an epidemiological model that allows to estimate the number of unknown/asymptomatic cases in a given area. The SEIAMPR system, a novel simulation based model for COVID-19 is designed and implemented in Python. The intuition of the model is simple: about 80% of COVID-19 infected people evolve as asymptomatic or with a mild clinical course, many of them remain unknown to the authorities, some of them including those in critical conditions are eventually detected and classified as positive cases. The simulator reproduces this process using an adaptive method integrated with official data. The simulator has been used for modelling the outbreak in 21 regions in Italy. The positive effects of lockdown policies are demonstrated: unknown active cases 12 days after the lockdown (March the 21th) ranged from 284101 to 374038, e.g. many more than all the official cases in Italy, reducing to 10213/20949 the reopening day. The number of unknown active cases at the beginning of June in the Lombardia region ranged from 6813 to 13390 demanding particular attention. SEIAMPR is simple to tune and integrate with official data, it emerges as an up-and-coming tool for reporting the effect of lockdown measures, the impact of the disease on the population, and the remaining unknown active cases for evaluating the timing of exit strategies.

The Impact of the Implementation of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) Program in an Entire Health System: A Natural Experiment in Alberta, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (9) ◽  
pp. 2691-2700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaina AlBalawi ◽  
Leah Gramlich ◽  
Gregg Nelson ◽  
Peter Senior ◽  
Erik Youngson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Enhanced Recovery ◽  
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery ◽  
System A ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of dental procedures performed by the Brazilian Unified Health System: a syndemic perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Ramos da Cunha ◽  
Sofia Rafaela Maito Velasco ◽  
Fernando Neves Hugo ◽  
José Leopoldo Ferreira Antunes
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The North ◽  
Unified Health System ◽  
System A ◽  
Dental Procedures ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Study Hypothesis

ABSTRACT: Objectives: This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of dental care procedures performed by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) nationally and by regions. Considering that the most underprivileged population disproportionately suffers with the reduction in dental care provision, the study hypothesis suggests the presence of a syndemic nature. Methodology: The SUS Outpatient Information System (SIA-SUS) was assessed to gather data on dental care activities and procedures performed between April and July 2018, 2019, and 2020 by dentists registered in the SUS. The 30 most frequent activities and procedures performed by dentists were selected and classified into three categories (urgent dental care, nonemergency dental care, and case-dependent urgency procedures), based on the guidance for dental care during the pandemic published by the American Dental Association. Results: Results demonstrated a reduction in the provision of dental care of all categories during the pandemic. Urgency dental consultations and procedures in primary and specialized dental care services decreased by 42.5 and 44.1%, respectively, between 2020 and 2019. Non-urgent procedures decreased by 92.3%. Although decreases in dental care activities and procedures were reported in all Brazilian regions, the largest relative decreases in urgent procedures – that should have been maintained during the pandemic – occurred in the North and Northeast regions, which are the poorest regions of the country. Conclusions: These results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has a syndemic behavior. Further investigation into the pandemic-syndemic impacts on oral disease burden is necessary.

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