Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Management (ACHSM)
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Hospital Preparedness Assessment Instruments in Chemical Incidents: A systematic literature review
No full textBackground: Chemical incidents are among the most frequent technological disasters that have occurred frequently in recent years. Among the organizations operating in disaster response, hospitals, as the primary unit of care, play the greatest and most critical role. Hence, providing appropriate measures that lead to minimizing the effects of these events is raised as one of the health system's priorities, so this study was carried out with the aim of systematic review on hospital preparedness instruments in chemical incidents
Methods: This systematic review was carried out according to the Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines . In this aim, through December 2020, 6 electronic databases were searched in MEDLINE (PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, ProQuest, Embase, and Cochrane) for the following key words: hospital, preparedness, chemical incidents, instrument.
Results: Out of 7794 articles that were screened, 13 articles meet the inclusion criteria for entering the process of final analysis. Most studies were cross-sectional, two were cohort, and three studies were conducted by a qualitative method. The result showed that none of the evaluated checklists and tools included all dimensions required for an appropriate hospital preparedness evaluation in chemical incidents.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this investigation, there is no comprehensive tool for assessing hospital preparedness in chemical incidents. The data of this survey can be employed as a guideline for policymakers and managers of medical centers for planning in dealing with chemical incidents
Towards an Inclusive Research Culture in Upcoming Health and Education Precincts in New South Wales, Australia: Implications for policy and practice : Health and Education Precincts in NSW
No full textAn inclusive research culture is vital towards the maturity of Health and Education Precincts into an active innovation ecosystem. To date, substantial investments have been made in 13 upcoming Health and Education Precincts in varying stages of development in the Greater Sydney region, New South Wales. The political commitment to create an innovative environment for teaching and a vibrant research culture is noticeable. However, it is unclear to what extent government policy engages the breadth of clinical personnel in teaching and research-related activities and contributes towards improving research culture. Based on a study conducted at the central river district of the Greater Sydney region, we argue that better engagement of clinical personnel in teaching/research-related activities and inclusion of research-related roles within the job description of clinical personnel can substantially drive a positive research culture and thereby contribute towards the overall development of Health and Education Precincts. Opportunities for continued education and training of clinical personnel and involvement in graduate research programs also substantially drives research culture. We argue that future policy and practice solutions for upcoming Health and Education Precincts need to foster an inclusive research culture and should be tailored to meet the needs of an innovative ecosystem. Future solutions will need to contribute towards improving research culture as well as the health and wellbeing of people in the region
Factors Associated with the Four-Visit ANC in Indonesia: A population-based study
No full textIntroduction: The number of maternal, neonatal and child mortality remains high in developing countries, including Indonesia. Antenatal care (ANC) coverage is an indicator of health-care use and access during pregnancy. Receiving at least four visits of ANC increases the chances of receiving appropriate maternal health interventions as one of the tracer indicators for universal health coverage in the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health Monitoring Framework (SDG indicator 3.8.1). The study aims to investigate the distribution and the factors associated with the four-visit ANC across urban and rural areas in Indonesia.
Methods: We used data from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey, a large-scale nationally representative cross-sectional survey of women aged 15–49 years old (n=15,288). The use of ANC for the MNCH system is the dependent variable. The determinants are individual characteristics, family factors, and community factors.
Results: Age, parity, household income, and distance from health facilities are significant factors associated with the four-visit ANC, as the first step in achieving continuum of care for MNCH. Urban women who had been pregnant 1–2 times or 3–4 times were 6.475 (95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) = 4.750–9.306) and 3.109 (95% CI = 2.268–4.262) times more likely to have at least four ANC visits than those who had been pregnant five times or more.
Conclusion: Developing a health system, human resources, health facilities, and infrastructure are crucial for overcoming maternal and child health problems, especially in rural areas to make ANC universally affordable and accessible
Aggression As a Predictor of General Well-Being Among Public Health Workers
No full textSocial atrocities and discrimination make sanitary workers vulnerable to aggression which in turn disrupts their well-being. The issues concerning the psychological health of sanitary workers have been addressed less by researchers. The present study aimed to assess the level of aggression and general well-being among sanitary workers.
An aggression questionnaire, consisting of four dimensions, namely physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility was used. The PGI general well-being measure and personal profile sheet consisting of socio-demographic details was given to 150 sanitary workers who were selected through purposive sampling method.
The dimensions of aggression- anger and hostility were negatively correlated with the general well-being of the participants. Amongst the four dimensions of aggression, anger is found to be the predictor of general well-being
Value-Based Pricing in Malaysia’s Healthcare: A stakeholder analysis
No full textBackground: High pharmaceutical price is a dilemma. Value-based pricing (VBP) is suggested to be the potential solution to this problem. However, in Malaysia, VBP does not receive favorable response from the industry players. Therefore, in this study we would like to examine the position of various stakeholders on this issue.
Methods: The PolicyMaker tool is used to evaluate the position and interest of the various stakeholders. Next, we assess the factors that might contribute to the policy success or failure using Kingdon's multiple stream approach
Results: We found that VBP received positive response from the stakeholders with some request for amendments. There was unanimity among the stakeholders about introducing medications that do not improve patient outcomes is counterproductive, therefore the problem has been articulated adequately. The policy was sufficiently explained with the publication of the guidelines. Continuous engagement between the government and the private sector plays a major role. Strong political will also contributed to the success.
Conclusion: Our findings showed that VBP implementation is successful due to strategic engagement and strong support from the government and the private sectors
Mind Over Body Connection: Aging expectations and subjective health and well-being among older adults
No full textBackground: There is credible evidence that a person's beliefs about the aging process are linked to and influence a variety of health outcomes.
Purpose: This study determined whether aging expectations predict health-related quality of life. Furthermore, the study determined whether engagement in healthy lifestyles mediates the relationship between these variables.
Methods: A descriptive-correlational study. This study enlisted a total of 95 respondents aged 60 to 85 years old in a large metropolitan area. Data were analyzed using linear regression and mediation analysis.
Results: Aging expectations and engagement in healthy lifestyles are a significant predictor of health-related quality of life (p< 0.05). Moreover, engagement in healthy lifestyles is found to be a significant mediator between the variables.
Conclusion: Older adults who have positive aging expectations and engage in health promotion activities are more likely to report better health. Therefore, programs that promote a positive aging expectation and engagement in health-promoting activities should be implemented
Role of Social Distancing, Hand Hygiene and Wearing Mask in Controlling COVID-19 Pandemic: A review
No full textBACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) continues to spread all over world and is outpacing the resources and capacity of health care systems. This rapidly spreading COVID-19 infection is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has been challenging the medical community and keeping the whole world in great threat to an unprecedented degree.
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review article is to describe details of social distancing, hand hygiene and wearing face masks including there role in controlling the current COVID-19 pandemic.
METHOD: We conducted an electronic search of Google Scholar, Scopus, Medline and PubMed databases for articles between June to September 2021.
RESULTS: The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus is transmitted from person to person by respiratory droplets or contact with an infected person. There are no established medications and vaccine available until now to restrain the transmission of the COVID-19 infection. Currently, social distancing, hand hygiene and wearing a mask are key steps to lower the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in COVID-19 pandemic. As this infection is highly contagious via a respiratory pathway through coughing, sneezing and contact with an infected surface, the spread can be reduced by the proper practice of social distancing, hand hygiene or frequent hand washing and wearing mask. These universal precautions should be done as COVID-19 patients may be asymptomatic.
CONCLUSION: Social distancing, hand washing and wearing face masks are cheap and widely acceptable methods for the prevention of the COVID-19 infection. The goal of this review paper is to discuss social distancing, hand hygiene and face mask information, including its role in managing the current COVID-19 pandemi
Ethical Conflicts Among the Leading Medical and Healthcare Leaders
No full textToday, the whole world is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. In these circumstances, medical professionals are being viewed as the frontline warriors who are risking their lives for the sake of helping, caring, and curing these patients. However, in these difficult times, there are few medical professionals and health care providers who are taking advantage of this situation and taking advantage of distressed and distraught patients at will. A conflict between professional and personal ethical values makes them depressed and puzzled. It is tough for them to maintain a good image of their profession and business. The objectives of this study are to review the ethical conflict amid the ongoing Covid pandemic and post-Covid pandemic (vaccination period) in the context of medical professionals and health care providers. The paper is designed based on a literature review. Almost fifty-two research papers, articles, survey reports, and newspapers were studied in the context of ethics in business/profession. After reviewing moral distress is ongoing and post-pandemic period, the researchers have tried to present the medical professionals and health care providers' critical situation to give priority to their professional ethics or personal interest
Adoption and Usage Intention of Consumers Towards Telemedicine Among People During Pandemic Times
No full textOBJECTIVE: As COVID-19 engulfed the world, people are shifting to a new way of life with social distancing and self isolation, especially in developing countries. In such a scenario, online retailing has gone through a sea change with a new wave of increased demand and where the healthcare sector has also adjusted with the augmented transition from physical shops to e-commerce. The current study aims to assess the adoption and usage intention of consumers towards telemedicine among people during pandemic times.
METHOD: The adoption of telemedicine by consumers depends upon some factors such as reliability, affordability, convenience, authenticity, offers and discount; which could enhance the intention to adopt and continual use by consumers. A modified version of ‘Technology Acceptance Model’ is incorporated in this study to validate the concept of adoption of telemedicine in cities of North India.
RESULTS: The study has found the positive and significant relationship between the factors of adoption and the intention to adopt telemedicine. Also, the ‘Effect of COVID-19’ plays a moderating role between the different factors of adoption and the intention to adopt telemedicine.
CONCLUSION: The adoption of telemedicine by people is significantly associated with different internal and external factors. The intention to adopt telemedicine is the construct that strongly influences the actual usage of telemedicine in developing countries. The scope of this study is restricted to the Northern region of India. A future study can be undertaken in relation to the global perspective of consumers
Convergence of Comorbidity and COVID-19 Infection to Fatality: An investigation based on health assessment and vaccination among older adults in Kerala, India
No full textOBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of age, comorbidity, and vaccination in the fatality of older COVID-19 patients in the state of Kerala, India.
METHODS: A cross sectional study, adopting a mixed method approach was used and conducted among the older population in Kerala. To study the health profile of study participants 405 older people were surveyed and 102 people were interviewed in-depth at their households between June to November 2020. The results of the study were triangulated with elderly COVID-19 fatality data available from the citizen-science dashboards of the research team and Department of Health, Kerala. Vaccination data was retrieved from the Co-WIN government website (cowin.gov.in) to study its impact. The data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 22.0.
RESULTS: Age is a predictor of COVID-19 fatality. Diabetes, hypertension, CAD, CKD and COPD are the significant predictors of elderly COVID-19 fatality in Kerala. The current comorbidity profile of the total older population matches with the comorbidities of the COVID-19 elderly death cases. CFR and IFR have declined even when the CMR is high in the second wave of COVID-19 with more deaths. This is attributable to vaccination even though there exists a lesser chance for breakthrough infection.
CONCLUSIONS: Age and comorbidities can predict potential fatality among older COVID-19 patients. Timely and accurate health data and better knowledge of high-risk factors such as comorbidity can easily guide the healthcare system and authorities to efficient prevention and treatment methodologies. Knowledge on prevailing NCDs can drive early preparedness before it converges with an epidemic like the present zoonotic disease. Vaccination is an effective tool in preventing infection compared to the unvaccinated even though the chance for breakthrough infection is there, particularly, in people with comorbidities