Implementation of Therapeutic Virtual Reality Into Psychiatric Care: Clinicians' and Service Managers' Perspectives

Objectives: Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a highly promising tool for assessing and treating a range of mental illnesses. However, little is known about the perspectives of key stakeholders in mental healthcare, whose support will be critical for its successful implementation into routine clinical practise. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of staff working in the private mental health sector around the use of therapeutic VR, including potential implementation barriers and facilitators.Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with cross-disciplinary clinicians (n = 14) and service managers (n = 5), aged 28–70 years working in a major private mental health hospital in Victoria, Australia. Transcripts were analysed using general inductive coding to allow themes to naturally emerge.Results: Three major themes were identified: clinical factors (four subthemes), organisational factors (five subthemes), and professional factors (three subthemes). The themes encompassed enabling factors and potential barriers that need to be addressed for successful implementation of VR. Clinical factors highlighted the influence of knowledge or perceptions about appropriate clinical applications, therapeutic efficacy, safety and ethical concerns, and patient engagement. Organisational factors emphasised the importance of service contexts, including having a strong business case, stakeholder planning, recruitment of local opinion leaders to champion change, and an understanding of resourcing challenges. Professional factors highlighted the need for education and training for staff, and the influence of staff attitudes towards technology and perceived usability of VR.Conclusions: In addition to enabling factors, potential implementation barriers of therapeutic VR were identified, including resourcing constraints, safety and ethical concerns, negative staff attitudes towards technology and VR system limitations. Future dissemination should focus on addressing knowledge and skills gaps and attitudinal barriers through development of clinical guidelines, training programs, and implementation resources (e.g., adoption decision tools, consultation opportunities).

Customer fairness perceptions in augmented reality-based online services

PurposeAn increasing number of retailers is trying to stimulate customers by embedding augmented reality (AR) features such as video try-on into the online shopping experience. As such AR-based online services require customers to actively participate in the service provision, this paper aims at investigating fairness perceptions and customer responses associated with AR-enabled customer participation.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual framework of this study is based on equity theory. To compare customer responses after an in-store service encounter as opposed to AR-enabled customer participation involving video try-on, this study contains a between-subject online experiment. The effective sample comprises N = 215 participants.FindingsThe data analysis demonstrates that AR-enabled customer participation leads to significantly lower levels of distributive, procedural and price fairness as well as lower engagement intentions than in-store service encounters. Simultaneously, participants in the video try-on scenario report higher negative word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions than in the in-store scenario.Research limitations/implicationsThe extra mile customers go when using AR-based online services is reflected in less favorable fairness evaluations.Practical implicationsService managers should design AR applications in a manner that requires minimum customer participation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to service research by linking AR-enabled customer participation to evaluations of distributive, procedural and price fairness and their outcomes. This is vital to fully exploit the potential of AR in services.

A STUDY OF EFFICIENCY MANAGEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND PUBLIC HOSPITAL SERVICES

<p>There is increasing policy interest in ensuring that resources are used efficiently within New Zealand public hospitals which are under increasing constraint. This thesis presents a narrative based on a qualitative analysis of the impact of the regular provision of efficiency management information on manager behaviour and achievements based on a single exploratory case study research of 11 senior service managers in New Zealand’s largest public hospital. How performance information is currently used by service managers is unknown. The research questions seek to understand to what extent managers’ use the information, what behaviours and actions result, if these managers know what they need to learn to improve performance, and what barriers impede their actions. A qualitative research design was used to collect data from hospital service managers over a six month period. A model for a three stage information response was re-developed from existing processes and applied to the service managers who all received the hospital’s routine monthly performance information; while some participants also received specific efficiency related information. In each of the months, the participant’s perceptions of the performance information and the management of service improvement was obtained. The methodological approach is inductive using both observational and ethnographic approaches to collect qualitative data from regular surveys and interviews with participants. The findings appear to show enhanced collaboration in performance improvement discussions by managers who are provided with the specific performance information than is seen in those managers provided with the routine hospital management information. The enhanced collaboration appears to lead to greater improvements in service efficiency. The qualitative data provides a rich supplementary database of the participant managers’ experience of using performance management information, and from applying a formal Thematic Analysis (TA), management themes are identified to define the experience of the hospital service managers in using performance information. The TA provides a deeper understanding of the use of performance information by hospital service managers. The four themes were identified as: (1) direct leadership, (2) operational feedback; (3) performance signal; and (4) management development. These provide contextual meaning to purposeful management response and performance improvement.</p>

A STUDY OF EFFICIENCY MANAGEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND PUBLIC HOSPITAL SERVICES

<p>There is increasing policy interest in ensuring that resources are used efficiently within New Zealand public hospitals which are under increasing constraint. This thesis presents a narrative based on a qualitative analysis of the impact of the regular provision of efficiency management information on manager behaviour and achievements based on a single exploratory case study research of 11 senior service managers in New Zealand’s largest public hospital. How performance information is currently used by service managers is unknown. The research questions seek to understand to what extent managers’ use the information, what behaviours and actions result, if these managers know what they need to learn to improve performance, and what barriers impede their actions. A qualitative research design was used to collect data from hospital service managers over a six month period. A model for a three stage information response was re-developed from existing processes and applied to the service managers who all received the hospital’s routine monthly performance information; while some participants also received specific efficiency related information. In each of the months, the participant’s perceptions of the performance information and the management of service improvement was obtained. The methodological approach is inductive using both observational and ethnographic approaches to collect qualitative data from regular surveys and interviews with participants. The findings appear to show enhanced collaboration in performance improvement discussions by managers who are provided with the specific performance information than is seen in those managers provided with the routine hospital management information. The enhanced collaboration appears to lead to greater improvements in service efficiency. The qualitative data provides a rich supplementary database of the participant managers’ experience of using performance management information, and from applying a formal Thematic Analysis (TA), management themes are identified to define the experience of the hospital service managers in using performance information. The TA provides a deeper understanding of the use of performance information by hospital service managers. The four themes were identified as: (1) direct leadership, (2) operational feedback; (3) performance signal; and (4) management development. These provide contextual meaning to purposeful management response and performance improvement.</p>

The Service-Profit Chain: Reflections, Revisions, and Reimaginations

Over the past 25 years, the service–profit chain (SPC) has become a prominent guidepost for service managers and researchers. In this article, we reflect on and synthesize published research to clarify what researchers have learned about the SPC and what remains less well understood. Based on an in-depth discussion of the field, we present a revised SPC and propose multiple areas in which further research would be worthwhile, such as internal service quality as specific systems of human resource management practices, both employee and customer well-being as additional mediators, different targets of employee and customer loyalty, contingencies, and non-linear and feedback effects. We conclude by reimagining the SPC, and we discuss digital and artificial-intelligence–driven changes to the SPC’s structure. Finally, based on the insights we discuss, we inform scholars of the current state of SPC research and provide a detailed agenda for future research.

Integrated solution model to support competitiveness and relevance of vocational education in the era of technological disruption

The aspect of relevance becomes an indicator of the success of vocational education. In order for vocational school graduates to be able to compete in the era of technological disruption, Vocational Schools are required to be able to produce graduates who have the alignment of competencies possessed by each graduate with the competencies needed in the world of work. To achieve the relevance of vocational education, the development of an integrated solution model for the preparation of vocational education graduates needs to be based on the need for ICT-assisted career services. In this study, survey design was used to examine the mapping of student/graduate needs, career service managers, and graduate users and development design to design an integrated solution model for the preparation of vocational education graduates. The results of mapping the needs of students/graduates, career service managers, and users are used as the basis for developing an integrated solution model for preparing vocational education graduates. It is hoped that this model can be used to optimize career services for students and vocational school graduates in Indonesia in the era of technological disruption.

Predicting delays in service operations

Delays constitute a key challenge in the management of service operations, causing substantial quality and cost issues. Delays in one service event can cause delays in another service event and so on, which creates challenges in the management of complex services. Assuming a lower-triangular matrix formalism, we develop a novel approach to modelling such chains of delays in complex service operations such as health care and software development. This approach can enable service managers to identify, understand, predict and control delays. Our research provides a novel theoretical contribution to the literature on service delays.

Protocol for Automated Content Analysis of Corpus to Determine Informatics Competencies amongst Health Service Managers

Background: Competencies have emerged as being important to develop health professionals, including managers in healthcare. Professional institutions adopted specific competency frameworks to guide designing professional development opportunities for health service managers, in particularly managers working in the area of health informatics. The fast-growing nature of healthcare settings means that the required competencies continue to evolve. Objective: The aim of this protocol is to outline a reflexive thematic analysis process, including using an automated content analysis approach, and identify what is missing in existing health service management competency empirical studies in relation to health informatics competencies. Methods: A rapid literature review has been performed using a PRISMA approach for eligibility screening, with 185 publications meeting the inclusion criteria. The Leximancer natural language processing software was used to transform a large corpus of literature from natural language into semantic themes and concepts. A reflexive thematic analysis was then undertaken using the text mining automated content analysis approach to identify predominant concepts and the co-occurrence between them. Results: A search strategy was developed using three primary electronic databases: 1) Scopus; 2) ProQuest; and 3) the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); and five secondary electronic databases: 1) Web of Science 2) PubMed; 3) ACM Digital Library; 4) Open Access Theses and Dissertations Database, and 5) Google Scholar. The initial search undertaken on 10 November 2020 resulted in 1,212 publications. The results of the reflexive thematic analysis will be submitted for publication by November 2021. Conclusions: New understanding and knowledge in the area of health management competencies, specifically relating to informatics will be developed. Health informatics competencies will be defined for Australian health service managers. Further, this study helps inform the discourse regarding automated content analysis for the healthcare and informatics industry, healthcare organisations and university course requirements.

Asymptotic Analysis for Systems with Deferred Abandonment

This short paper concerns the analysis of the M/M/k queueing system with customer abandonment. In this system, service managers provide a finite buffer space, which is a waiting area that prevents customers from abandoning the system. Abandonment of the system can occur from reneging (exiting from the queue while waiting), and/or balking (leaving the system without waiting). We derive an analytical expression to represent the impact of the buffer space capacity on the delay probability and the abandonment probability for a system with deferred abandonment. The result indicates the provision of the buffer space in a large system could only increase the delay probability while the abandonment probability remains unchanged. Despite the benevolent intentions of service managers, providing a buffer space may exacerbate the performance of larger systems.

Logic model for mental health interventions: the recovery College Model in Quebec, Canada

The Recovery College (RC) model represents a worldwide innovation in health systems. First appeared in England and now established in five continents, the RC model proposes a mental health educational approach in the community, emphasizingco-production, co-learning, and equity between theoretical/clinic knowledge and experiential knowledge (1-3). All participants(individuals with or without mental health challenges, their relatives, mental health professionals, health and education service providers, citizens) have access to mental health, recovery, and well-being training(4). Both participants and trainers collectively learn and reflect on their mental health attitudes, behaviors, and practices. This article reports on the co-construction process followed by Quebec's RC team, the first to have developed a RC logic model. The logic model conception followed six steps/strategies: 1) Participant observations, 2) Analysis of administrative documents, 3) Informal interviews and meetings with stakeholders (trainers, health service managers, and partner organizations) to better understand the implicit assumptions of the intervention, 4) Review of the literature related to the recovery college model, 5) Co-construction of causal links between resources, activities, and outcomes, 6) Validation and synthesis of the logic model. Finally, the logic model was disseminated, highlighting the relationships between the strategic resources needed for the key activities of the intervention to produce the expected outcomes.