Capabilities of global high-level isolation units: A pre-workshop survey

Objective: To assess experience, physical infrastructure, and capabilities of high-level isolation units (HLIUs) planning to participate in a 2018 global HLIU workshop hosted by the US National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC). Design: An electronic survey elicited information on general HLIU organization, operating costs, staffing models, and infection control protocols of select global units. Setting and participants: The survey was distributed to site representatives of 22 HLIUs located in the United States, Europe, and Asia; 19 (86%) responded. Methods: Data were coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The mean annual reported budget for the 19 responding units was US$484,615. Most (89%) had treated a suspected or confirmed case of a high-consequence infectious disease. Reported composition of trained teams included a broad range of clinical and nonclinical roles. The mean number of HLIU beds was 6.37 (median, 4; range, 2–20) for adults and 4.23 (median, 2; range, 1–10) for children; however, capacity was dependent on pathogen. Conclusions: Responding HLIUs represent some of the most experienced HLIUs in the world. Variation in reported unit infrastructure, capabilities, and procedures demonstrate the variety of HLIU approaches. A number of technical questions unique to HLIUs remain unanswered related to physical design, infection prevention and control procedures, and staffing and training. These key areas represent potential focal points for future evidence and practice guidelines. These data are important considerations for hospitals considering the design and development of HLIUs, and there is a need for continued global HLIU collaboration to define best practices.

Pelvic and acetabular fracture care in England: current workload and future directions

Introduction Fractures of the pelvis and acetabulum (PAFs) are challenging injuries, requiring specialist surgical input. Since implementation of the major trauma network in England in 2012, little has been published regarding the available services, workforce organisation and burden of PAF workload. The aim of this study was to assess the recent trends in volume of PAF workload, evaluate the provision of specialist care, and identify variation in available resources, staffing and training opportunity. Methods Data on PAF volume, operative caseload, route of admission and time to surgery were requested from the Trauma Audit and Research Network. In order to evaluate current workforce provision and services, an online survey was distributed to individuals known to provide PAF care at each of the 22 major trauma centres (MTCs). Results From 2013 to 2019, 23,823 patients with PAF were admitted to MTCs in England, of whom 12,480 (52%) underwent operative intervention. On average, there are 3,971 MTC PAF admissions and 2,080 operative fixations each year. There has been an increase in admissions and cases treated operatively since 2013. Three-quarters (78%) of patients present directly to the MTC while 22% are referred from regional trauma units. Annually, there are on average 37 operatively managed PAF injuries per million population. Notwithstanding regional differences in case volume, the average number of annual PAF operative cases per surgeon in England is 30. There is significant variation in frequency of surgeon availability. There is also variation in rota organisation regarding consistent specialist surgeon availability. Conclusions This article describes the provision of PAF services since the reorganisation of trauma services in England. Future service development should take into account the current distribution of activity, future trends for increased volume and casemix, and the need for a PAF registry.

The Practices of Islamic Human Resource Management (IHRM) and Turnover Intention at an Islamic Religious Council of Malaysia

Turnover intention is intention of employees to leave their job that can be defined as a psychological opinion whether employees will remain with the organization (Yuan, Yu, Li & Ning, 2014). ). Similarly, turnover intention can be define as individual conscious and readiness to quit the organization (Lu, Tu, Li & Ho, 2016). High turnover intention will increase the cost for staffing and training new employees (Long, Thean, Ismail & Jusoh, 2012). Studies that tested the connection between turnover intention and actual turnover are limited and show different results to look the effectiveness of intentions as a reliable behavior (Cho & Lewis, 2012). There are several factors that can contribute to turnover intention among employee which are practices of human resources management (HRM); (Santhanam, Kamalanabhan, Dyaram & Ziegler, 2017), job satisfaction; (Saeed, Waseem, Sikander & Rizwan, 2014), leadership styles; (Azanza, Moriano, Molero & Mangin, 2015) and organization commitment; (Azanza, Moriano, Molero & Mangin, 2015). Keywords: Turnover Intention, Islamic Human Resources Management (iHRM), Islamic Staffing, Islamic Human Resources Management (iHRD), Islamic Performance Management, Islamic Compensation.

Critical Care

The concept of critical care in low-resource settings covers a very broad range of circumstances and settings from the ability to offer ventilation and inotropes through to an area with simply enhanced observations and/or nursing ratios. Low staffing and training levels on the general wards may necessitate admission of patients who simply require frequent observations and rapid recognition of deterioration; admission criteria may therefore be different to those in highly resourced settings. The chapter starts by describing the limits and challenges of providing critical care in low-resource settings and goes on to describe approaches to organ support. It then goes on to describe a pragmatic approach to caring for specific conditions in a low-resource critical care.

Social Media Strategies for Small and Medium Scale Enterprise in the Klang Valley Region of Malaysia

Despite the current widespread adoption and use of social media as a marketing tool, very little empirical research focusing on local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is available. This study examines the usage of social media by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. The study assesses the impacts of age, educational attainment, and industry characteristics to the utilization, perceived benefits and barriers of SMEs. Results of the study indicate that social media is used by most SMEs for customer acquisition and its benefits are developing new business opportunities, reduced cost of advertising, 24 hours accessibility and decreased travelling time. The results however indicate that there is a lack of allocation of resources mainly in staffing and training when adopting the social media. Results also indicate that manager's age and educational attainment had significant impacts on social media strategies. The results did not reveal any evidence of different industry sectors relevance towards social media strategies. Implications for research are discussed.

Comparative analysis of the development of innovative network companies in Ukraine and Poland

The level of development of the network companies functioning at national and international markets shows their capacity to create highly efficient products (services) from the viewpoint of technologies, consumer properties, and market requirements that would secure their competitive positions and financial and economic condition, and improve the innovativeness of the country. The integration with international markets and innovative development for the network structures depends on the development level of organizational, communicational, scientific-technological, and economic characteristics of the activity. Currently, Ukrainian innovative network structures do not lag behind the foreign ones by certain aspects and development directions. Therefore, finding the comparative characteristics of the development of Ukrainian and foreign innovative network companies will contribute to estimating the capacity by the nature of the strengths and weaknesses of these entities. The article systematizes the strengths and weaknesses (problems) of innovative development in the network interaction of participants of Ukrainian and Polish innovative network companies. The article proves that in comparison with the Polish ones, the Ukrainian network structures have a lower level of communication exchange of knowledge, development of interaction between the personnel of the participants, the management of the participants at all levels; less access to scientific laboratories for all network participants due to imperfect guidelines in the use of equipment; insufficient level of joint financing of costs for staffing and training of staff and coordination between members of the networks on cooperation with contractors, which affects the growth of technical and economic indicators. The article reveals that in comparison with Ukrainian innovation networks, Polish companies do not carry out projects for independent creation of intangible assets (technologies, programs), they just adapt the acquired ones. This aspect is a significant advantage of Ukrainian network structures that indicates a higher intellectualization and further prospects.

Do Agile Managed Information Systems Projects Fail Due to a Lack of Emotional Intelligence?

Agile development methodologies (ADM) have become a widely implemented project management approach in Information Systems (IS). Yet, along with its growing popularity, the amount of concerns raised in regard to human related challenges caused by applying ADM are rapidly increasing. Nevertheless, the extant scholarly literature has neglected to identify the primary origins and reasons of these challenges. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine if these human related challenges are related to a lack of Emotional Intelligence (EI) by means of a quantitative approach. From a sample of 194 agile practitioners, EI was found to be significantly correlated to human related challenges in agile teams in terms of anxiety, motivation, mutual trust and communication competence. Hence, these findings offer important new knowledge for IS-scholars, project managers and human resource practitioners, about the vital role of EI for staffing and training of agile managed IS-projects.

A provincial assessment of readiness for paediatric emergencies: What are the existing resource gaps in Alberta?

Objectives A large proportion of all emergency visits for paediatric patients across Canada are to general emergency departments (EDs). These centres may not be adequately equipped to provide optimal care for high acuity paediatric emergencies. The objective of this study was to determine paediatric readiness for general EDs and urgent care centres (UCCs) across Alberta and provide each centre with an overall weighted Paediatric Readiness Score (WPRS). Methods A paediatric readiness assessment consisting of 55-questions normalized on a 100-point scale was used to survey 107 general EDs, UCCs, and tertiary paediatric EDs in Alberta, Canada. It addresses six primary categories, including Coordination of Patient Care, Physician/Nurse Staffing and Training, Quality Improvement Activities, Patient Safety Initiatives, Policies and Procedures, and Equipment and Supplies. Descriptive statistics were used to present the WPRS score among different groups. Linear regression models were used to explore factors associated with the score. Results The overall response rate was 59.8%. The median overall WPRS (/100) for all general EDs and UCCs was 48.4 ([interquartile range {IQR}] 17.6). Factors that were correlated with overall score included high paediatric patient volume (24.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.52 to 38.04) and involvement in a simulation education outreach program (9.38, 95% CI: 1.11 to 17.66). Conclusion Based on this survey, the WPRS of EDs and UCCs across Alberta suggest a need to improve readiness to respond to high acuity paediatric emergencies in these settings.