International Journal of Health Planning and Management最新文献

This study examines the Nigerian government's efforts to provide Universal Health Care (UHC) and reduce out-of-pocket spending through the Basic Health Care Provision Funds (BHCPF) scheme. The study gathered insights into the degree of UHC accomplishment through the implementation of the BHCPF using qualitative and quantitative secondary data analysis approaches, which combined a series of interviews with Statista data. The findings show that BHCPF implementation must be better aligned with the needs of healthcare recipients, particularly at the local government level, with poor infrastructure, insufficient funding, a lack of workforce, limited medicine, low awareness, and reachability identified as key factors making the scheme inaccessible. For immediate improvement, supported by Statista data, the study recommended telemedicine to address some of the challenges of reachability/accessibility because it represents an advantageous approach, given its significant contribution to the expansion of healthcare accessibility and the mitigation of health inequities in under-resourced countries around the world. Furthermore, the Public-Private Partnership method backed by desk-based research method was deemed ideal for addressing health care infrastructure provisioning challenge. Overall, this study demonstrates, on the one hand, the difficulty in improving access to care at the local government level, given the multifaceted and complex nature of the barriers to care for low-income people; and on the other, the urgent need for more holistic collective action to improve quality healthcare services for all in Nigeria.

The objective of this paper is to explore how an emergency department in Argentina collected patient experience perspectives using varied tools to inform improvement activities. A case report of a mixed-methods assessment of patient experiences to inform quality improvement in an Emergency Department in Argentina. This study was conducted from July 2022 to December 2023 at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Data collection was based on different resources: (a) Net Promoter Score Survey; (b) Buyer Persona, defined as a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers; (c) Empathy Maps, a tool which aids in understanding another person's perspective and empathises with the thoughts, feelings, needs, and behaviours; (d) Customer Journey Map, a visual representation that outlines the various stages and touchpoints a customer goes through when interacting with service. Data was analysed following an iterative process (plan→act→observe→reflect). Its analysis served to understand and improve the design, development, and implementation plans. The results helped to model the patient's journey pattern and understand users' profiles. Therefore, we used the information to support the organisation's improvement process. For example, although wait time is a major driver in this setting, provider and staff communication is critically important. Excellent communication and perceived empathy mitigate long waits, overcrowded environments, and other challenges (such as infrastructure and comfort). This case example can guide the future efforts of healthcare managers and key stakeholders in making decisions about how a service can use empathy-based tools to improve the patient experience.

Every year there are approximately 3 million new outpatient specialist clinic appointments at local hospital networks in Victoria, Australia. Growing daily demand for these services leads to high-volume waiting lists and therefore long appointment delays for patients. This phenomenon emphasises the importance of providing analytics and tools to assist with waiting list management in outpatient specialist clinics. In this paper, we developed a novel Next Available Appointment (NAA) tool, to assist clinicians to manage delayed-appointment risk and improve the patient experience by aligning the expected and actual day of the appointment. The NAA uses simulation to determine the earliest available week for a patient appointment on or after the timeframe requested by the clinician, considering the current waiting list and future planned clinician availability. It was validated using 3 years of historical waiting list information across several scenarios chosen to capture operational diversity. As a practical example, a scenario chosen for implementation within the clinic's operational setting achieved a simulated reduction in overdue appointments from 41% to 25% (i.e., a reduction of 47,000 overdue appointments over 3 years). We also provided early details on the implementation of the tool currently underway.

The practice of healthcare management is essential for the efficient operation of health services, encompassing leadership, management, and direction within healthcare organisations. 'Health management' extends beyond healthcare management by integrating principles of public health and health policy. As health management is commonly practised but not cohesively recognised, the European Health Management Association (EHMA) conducted this study to develop a cohesive definition of health management. Developed through a qualitative methodology comprising focus group discussions and validation through quantitative expert interviews, this study proposed a holistic definition of health management, incorporating social, environmental and economic determinants of health, cross-sector collaboration, and the 'One Health' approach. The publication of this unified definition has important implications for professional training, policy development, and health outcomes. It provides a foundational framework for curricula, informs precise policy formulation, and promotes excellence through health service delivery that reflects efficiency, sustainability, and equity.

Aim: To examine the prevalence and associated factors of long-acting and permanent methods of family planning (LAPMs) in women of reproductive age.

Background: LAPMs reduce the rate of unwanted pregnancy. Understanding the prevalence and associated factors of LAPMs is the key to preventing unwanted pregnancies.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis study, data from seven studies involving 1187 women, conducted between 2013 and 2022, were analysed by searching EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest databases. PRISMA 2020 guidelines were followed in this study. Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Evaluation tools were used to evaluate the quality of the studies.

Results: The prevalence of LAPMs in women of reproductive age was 27.3%. Women with secondary education or higher, with three or more children, and who do not want to have more children use long-acting and permanent methods more.

Conclusions: Our results can guide the development of strategies to be applied to prevent unintended pregnancies and to increase the use of LAPMs in women of reproductive age.

This study examined the relationship between the Chinese Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) programme and health inequality among older adults in China and explored potential explanatory factors. Overall, the LTCI was found to improve the health of Chinese older adults. However, it was also associated with widening health inequality among older residents across income classes and between urban and rural areas. The mechanism analysis found that LTCI significantly reduced out-of-pocket medical costs for high-income older adults and urban residents, while its effects on the low- and middle-income older adults and rural residents were not significant. The heterogeneous effects of LTCI on out-of-pocket medical costs for different groups contribute to widening health inequalities across income classes and between urban and rural areas. Further analyses showed that in the low- and middle-income and rural resident groups, out-of-pocket medical costs were significantly reduced only for individuals covered by LTCI who reported access to formal care services. This implies that formal care accessibility is critical, and additional analyses affirmed that the LTCI programme was associated with widened inequalities in formal care accessibility across income classes and between urban and rural areas. The current LTCI programme appears to exacerbate disparities in access to formal care, undermining its effectiveness for low- and middle-income and rural older adults. This finding calls for efforts to optimise the implementation of the LTCI programme including allocating care resources to address inequalities.

Poverty as a phenomenon is multidimensional, and its incidence and causes constitute constant debate in the literature of the phenomenon. A crisis such as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the resultant lockdowns may increase poverty prevalence among citizens and, particularly, certain demographic characteristics in Nigeria. Hence, this study's general objectives were to interrogate the incidence of multidimensional poverty due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the South-eastern States of Nigeria, using the roles of educational level, marital status, and employment status of citizens as predictors. The ³⁶ methodology of analysing multidimensional poverty index (MPI) was used in the study, and logistic regression is utilised to assess the determinant of multidimensional poverty. Additionally, an interstate online survey of 1057 participants (using a questionnaire) from five states was employed. The results indicated the prevalence and dynamics of COVID-19 multidimensional poverty in the study area, with 46.55% constituting the severe poor, 16.84% the poor, 6.71% the near poor, and 29.90% the none poor. There were no major significant differences between the states. Significant predictors of COVID-19-related poverty in the study were the secondary school educational status and the employment dynamics of respondents. The implication of the result of the study suggests the application of effective palliative measures towards the vulnerable groups, which contributes to poverty reduction.

Future hospitals must be able to adapt in many ways to the changing demands on their roles and functions within evolving healthcare delivery infrastructures. These include changing population structures and needs, new models of healthcare provision, technological advances, and innovations in design, all while enhancing their environmental sustainability. This article sets out the issues that those determining healthcare policy and designing future hospitals must consider if they are to become and remain fit for purpose within the wider health and social care system. It also examines the need for, and challenges to, strategic healthcare planning, creating future hospitals that are sustainable, net-zero carbon organisations, and ensuring resilience in the face of a range of potential shocks. Future hospitals play a crucial role in healthcare worldwide, regardless of the country's income level. Hospitals cannot be viewed without broader health system changes, infrastructure, community and cultural factors, staffing and other considerations. We anticipate that future hospitals will enhance population health in all settings and support the move towards more consumer-centric healthcare. We urge clinical and policy planners to consider the factors discussed carefully to maximise the benefits.

The research relevance is determined by the need for rational use of limited resources in the healthcare sector and the importance of implementing the results of scientific research into medical practice to improve the quality of medical care. The study aims to identify key criteria and develop a system for evaluating clinical trials to prioritise the most promising areas based on their practical applicability in healthcare. The expert evaluation method of 17 research projects in the field of clinical medicine funded by government grants, involving 37 experts, was used to achieve the objective. The experts conducted the assessment using a multi-criteria system, including 4 categories and about 20 individual indicators. The results showed that 58.8% of the projects required a change in the composition of the teams, and in 70.6% of cases, third-party organisations were involved for methodological support. About 41.2% of applications had a solid scientific basis, but the demand for the results of 17.6% of projects decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For 23.5% of projects, the proposed topics were of low public demand. Only 47.1% of the projects demonstrated interest in addressing national health issues. In 17.2% of fundamental projects, assessing the economic efficiency was difficult. In 23.5% of cases, projects could have been financed from other sources. The timeframe of 3 years was assessed as insufficient for 76.5% of highly specialised projects. Based on the analysis, recommendations for improving processes to increase the practical significance of research are formulated. The study contributes to developing an evaluation methodology and improving the efficiency of grant funding in medicine.

The healthcare industry is widely regarded as a key driver of economic growth and social development in the 21st century. This study employed multi-source data alongside hybrid analytical techniques, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), hotspot analysis, and clustering analysis, to explore the development factors and spatial patterns of the ethnic medicine and healthcare industry (EMH) in Yunnan Province, China. The results indicate that the first five principal components account for 79.80% of the total variance, providing significant insights into the industry's competitive drivers. Using the Porter Diamond Model (PDM), spatial clustering of the EMH sector across Yunnan reveals a distinct pattern of 'one ring, two points, three areas, and multiple clusters.' The analysis further shows that industrial competitiveness is highly correlated with to the spatial distribution of regional factors, suggesting the need for a targeted development strategy: 'central innovation, western optimization, eastern enhancement, northern strengthening, and southern expansion.' These findings provide valuable recommendations for policymakers aiming to enhance the traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) sector's contribution to regional economic development and healthcare modernisation in many parts of the world.