Current status of quality of care for public hospitals in Korea : Comprehensive comparison with private hospitals

Objective: This ecological study aims to perform a comprehensive comparison and evaluation of the quality of care in public and private hospitals according to hospital type.Methods: Thisstudy compared and analyzed the results of the National Quality Assessment Program (NQAP) of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) and Incentive Scheme for Quality Evaluation of Hospital Services. The NQAP results published on the HIRA website, as of the end of May 2021, and the internal data of HIRA for the 2020 Incentive Scheme for Quality Evaluation of Hospital Services were used as data collection sources.Results: The NQAP analysisrevealed that the overall average scores were higher for public rather than private hospitals, while the Incentive Scheme for Quality Evaluation of Hospital Services analysis reported that the proportion of higher grades (i.e., grades 1 and 2) was higher in public hospitals. Therefore, it was revealed that public hospital quality levels were notlowerthan that of private hospitals.However, itis necessary to improve the quality levelsin terms ofthe quality distribution.Conclusions: The quality levels of public hospitals are notlowerthan that of private hospitals. However,the high average quality level, we identified certain areas that required improvement in their quality level throughout the distribution. Currently, public hospitals that are particularly located in the lower ranks should strive to achieve the average quality level demonstrated by same level private hospitals, thereby, achieving progressive quality levels and minimizing the between institutions. Thus, furtherresearch should focus on identifying the trends of differencesin quality levels, and they should determine the causes by controlling for the characteristics of medical institutions.

Impact Of Government Incentives Policy On Workers' Productivity

This study examined the impact of government incentive policy on workers` productivity in Taraba State (a study of Takum L.G.A). Survey research design was adopted, while data were obtained through primary source. The population of the study was 300 and the sample size is 171 by using Taro Yamane statistical method, Data were presented in frequency tables and percentages were used to analyze the data. Formulated hypotheses on the other hand were tested using Pearson product moment correlation, aided by the statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS)version 23.0. The findings revealed that good incentive polices motivate workers, in that motivated workers are happy workers and happy workers are productive workers. The study further revealed that a monetary incentive is essential in getting workers to perform better. Therefore, the study recommends that management of Takum L.G.A should Endeavour to improve the workers remuneration in order to motivate employees to put more effort in their services. In addition, it also recommends that the management of Takum L.G.A should identify a non-financial incentive scheme that will motivate workers to perform more tasks. Lastly, it recommends that, the government of Takum L.G.A should constantly review and introduce new incentive policy that will aid to motivate employees for higher productivity.

Payment mechanism for institutional births in Nepal

Background Since the Millennium Development Goal era, there have been several efforts to increase institutional births using demand side financing. Since 2005, Government of Nepal has implemented Maternity Incentive Scheme (MIS) to reduce out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) for institutional birth. We aim to assess OOPE among women who had institutional births and coverage of MIS in Nepal. Method We conducted a prospective cohort study in 12 hospitals of Nepal for a period of 18 months. All women who were admitted in the hospital for delivery and consented were enrolled into the study. Research nurses conducted pre-discharge interviews with women on costs paid for medical services and non-medical services. We analysed the out of pocket expenditure by mode of delivery, duration of stay and hospitals. We also analysed the coverage of maternal incentive scheme in these hospitals. Results Among the women (n-21,697) reporting OOPE, the average expenditure per birth was 41.5 USD with 36 % attributing to transportation cost. The median OOPE was highest in Bheri hospital (60.3 USD) in comparison with other hospitals. The OOPE increased by 1.5 USD (1.2, 1.8) with each additional day stay in the hospital. There was a difference in the OOPE by mode of delivery, duration of hospital-stay and hospital of birth. The median OOPE was high among the caesarean birth with 43.3 USD in comparison with vaginal birth, 32.6 USD. The median OOPE was 44.7 USD, if the women stayed for 7 days and 33.5 USD if the women stayed for 24 h. The OOPE increased by 1.5 USD with each additional day of hospital stay after 24 h. The coverage of maternal incentive was 96.5 % among the women enrolled in the study. Conclusions Families still make out of pocket expenditure for institutional birth with a large proportion attributed to hospital care. OOPE for institutional births varied by duration of stay and mode of birth. Given the near universal coverage of incentive scheme, there is a need to review the amount of re-imbursement done to women based on duration of stay and mode of birth.

Vaccination Diffusion and Incentive: Empirical Analysis of the US State of Michigan

Vaccination is the only way to reach herd immunity and help people return to normal life. However, vaccination rollouts may not be as fast as expected in some regions due to individuals' vaccination hesitation. For this reason, in Detroit, Michigan, the city government has offered a $50 prepaid card to people who entice city residents to visit vaccination sites. This study examined vaccination rates in the US using Detroit, Michigan, as the setting. It sought to address two issues. First, we analyzed the vaccination diffusion process to predict whether any region would reach a vaccination completion level that ensures herd immunity. Second, we examined a natural experiment involving a vaccination incentive scheme in Detroit and discovered its causal inference. We collected weekly vaccination data and demographic Census data from the state of Michigan and employed the Bass model to study vaccination diffusion. Also, we used a synthetic control method to evaluate the causal inference of a vaccination incentive scheme utilized in Detroit. The results showed that many Michigan counties—as well as the city of Detroit—would not reach herd immunity given the progress of vaccination efforts. Also, we found that Detroit's incentive scheme indeed increased the weekly vaccination rate by 44.19% for the first dose (from 0.86 to 1.25%) but was ineffective in augmenting the rate of the second dose. The implications are valuable for policy makers to implement vaccination incentive schemes to boost vaccination rates in geographical areas where such rates remain inadequate for achieving herd immunity.

TEACHER TEAM-BASED INCENTIVES: EVIDENCE FROM A NATURAL EXPERIMENT IN A CHINESE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Using a natural experiment, we examine the causal effect of a team incentive scheme on teachers in a Chinese middle school that intended to help the school’s students improve in their weak subjects. The scheme was successful, the average treatment effect is positively significant in math and total scores. The most improvement observed in top students’ weak subjects. The top students weak in math, English and social science improved in those subjects by 0.12, 0.10, 0.16 standard deviations, respectively. Students at the bottom 20% of the testing distribution also improved in Chinese and math.

The Impact of Transparency and Decision Risk on Human–Automation Teaming Outcomes

Objective Examine the effects of decision risk and automation transparency on the accuracy and timeliness of operator decisions, automation verification rates, and subjective workload. Background Decision aids typically benefit performance, but can provide incorrect advice due to contextual factors, creating the potential for automation disuse or misuse. Decision aids can reduce an operator’s manual problem evaluation, and it can also be strategic for operators to minimize verifying automated advice in order to manage workload. Method Participants assigned the optimal unmanned vehicle to complete missions. A decision aid provided advice but was not always reliable. Two levels of decision aid transparency were manipulated between participants. The risk associated with each decision was manipulated using a financial incentive scheme. Participants could use a calculator to verify automated advice; however, this resulted in a financial penalty. Results For high- compared with low-risk decisions, participants were more likely to reject incorrect automated advice and were more likely to verify automation and reported higher workload. Increased transparency did not lead to more accurate decisions and did not impact workload but decreased automation verification and eliminated the increased decision time associated with high decision risk. Conclusion Increased automation transparency was beneficial in that it decreased automation verification and decreased decision time. The increased workload and automation verification for high-risk missions is not necessarily problematic given the improved automation correct rejection rate. Application The findings have potential application to the design of interfaces to improve human–automation teaming, and for anticipating the impact of decision risk on operator behavior.