What do we know about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on hospices? A collaborative multi-stakeholder knowledge synthesis

Background: Prior to undertaking a study looking at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic upon lived experiences of hospice services in the West Midlands, we sought to identify the range of issues that hospice service users and providers faced between March 2020 and July 2021, and to provide a report that can be accessed and understood by all interested stakeholders. Methods: We undertook a collaborative multi-stakeholder approach for scoping the range of potential issues and synthesising knowledge. This involved a review of available literature; a focus group with hospice stakeholders; and a collaborative knowledge exchange panel. Results: The literature on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospices remains limited, but it is developing a picture of a service that has had to rapidly adapt the way it provides care and support to its service users, during a period when it faced many fundamental challenges to established ways of providing these services. Conclusions: The impacts of many of the changes on hospices have not been fully assessed. It is also not known what the effects upon the quality of care and support are for those with life-limiting conditions and those that care for them. We found that the pandemic has presented a new normative and service context in which quality of care and life itself was valued that is, as yet, poorly understood.

Corporate governance and corporate internet reporting in sub-Saharan Africa:the case of Kenya and Tanzania

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate corporate internet reporting (CIR) by Kenyan and Tanzanian listed companies and whether the level of CIR is related to corporate governance structures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collect data over a four-year period from companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Dar es Salaam Securities Exchange. Panel data models (random effects) are used for the analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that the level of CIR in both countries is high, but the highest in Kenya. The authors find that CIR increases with foreign ownership, audit committee independence and financial expertise but decreases with domestic ownership concentration. They also show that the effects of ownership concentration are moderated by country-specific factors. Overall, the results demonstrate that effective governance structures may lead to higher levels CIR in sub-Saharan Africans.Originality/valueThis study extends, as well as contributes to the existing literature by the examining the corporate governance-disclosure nexus relating to CIR in sub-Saharan Africa. These findings have policy implications for African countries looking to attract foreign investment.

Idle No More and Black Lives Matter: An Exchange (Panel Discussion)

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