Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Management (ACHSM)
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Health as An Economic Dimension: A comparative study of India and China
No full textIn modern era, human resource is a crucial factor for economic development. Several studies reveal that rapid economic growth of developed countries has been linked with investment in human capital. Efficient and proper management of the workforce is an important factor in development of a country. The importance of human capital formation is now fully recognized because healthy and skilled people, along with physical capital, help in capital formation and raising economic growth. Therefore, large scale investment in human capital is required for the full and optimum use of natural resources. Improvement in the health of masses increases their productive capacity and leads to quantitative improvement in human capital. This paper examines the role of health facilities in human capital formation as well as in economic development. The current study analyzes the trends of current health expenditure as percent of GDP in India and China. An effort has been made to compare the impact of health expenditure on value added per worker in agriculture and its allied sectors in India and China by employing multiple regression model using data from 2000 to 2017. Findings reveal that independent variable (current health expenditure) explains the variation in dependent variable (value added per worker) to an extent of 37.9% and 56.9% in India and China, respectively
Infodemic Monikers in Social Media During COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textSocial media is a common platform that enables its users to share opinions, personal experiences, perspectives with one another instantaneously, globally. It has played a paramount role during pandemics such as COVID-19 and unveiled itself as a crucial means to communicate between the sources and the individuals. However, it also has become a place to disseminate misinformation and fake news rapidly. Infodemic, a plethora of information, some authentic some not makes it even harder to general people to receive factual and trustworthy information when required, has grown to be a major risk to public health and social media is developing as a trendy platform for this infodemic. This commentary aims to explore how social media has affected the current situation. We also aim to share our insight to control this misinformation. This commentary contributes to evolving knowledge to counter fake news or health-related information shared over various social media platforms
Covid-19: Moving towards the new normal
No full textSince the last issue when we first spoke of the impact of Covid-19 we continue to be focused on addressing the challenges this virus has on health systems, nation states, communities, and people. The approach of countries and health systems has been variable as has the political interventions and interpretations of policy with some unfortunately placing parochial populism ahead of evidence and common sense.....
Impact of Language Barriers on Access to Healthcare Services by Immigrant Patients: A systematic review
No full textBackground: Research has demonstrated lower access to healthcare services by immigrant patients in comparison to native people. Cultural and linguistic differences have been considered as main factors that impede this access and as barriers to creating an effective relationship between immigrant patients and health professionals.
Objective: The aim of this study was to better understand and synthesize the available evidence regarding the impact of immigrant patients’ language proficiency on access to health care. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed to identify studies published between January 2000 and January 2019 that examined the impact of language proficiency on access to and use of health services by immigrant patients. Only articles in English were included. Cross-referencing of the identified articles was also performed.
Results: A total of 140 publications was identified through online databases. In all 24 studies were reviewed, and the results were reported using four interrelated themes identified from the articles. These reports consistently showed a clear association between inadequate language ability and underuse of health care services, ineffective communication, and increased use of emergency care by immigrant patients. Identifying factors that can influence access to care, applying immigrant-friendly solutions such as provision of professional interpreters, and encouraging culturally and linguistically sensitive education may improve the quality of care and increase access to care. One study recommended utilisation of communication technologies such as telemedicine to bridge the communication gap and increase accessibility of healthcare services by immigrant patients.
Conclusions: All included studies indicated that language barriers hindered access to healthcare services. The data resulting from this study can update policy and practical solutions for language barriers on access to care by immigrant patients and provide an agenda for further investigations. 
Quality Management of Inpatient Medication Administration in Hong Kong Public Hospitals
No full textMedicine maladministration can result in various side effects to patients, including serious complications, extended medical care, incapacity and death. In Hong Kong public hospitals, the pattern of medication error consists of prescribing error usually made by physicians, dispensing error resulted from pharmacists and dispensers, drug administration error caused by nurses and patient-care workers and technology-related error associated with technology used in the drug administration process. Medication Administration Record (MAR) and ward stock are the usual inpatient medication system within Hospital Authority public hospitals before the development of the electronic system, while the Inpatient Medication Order Entry (IPMOE) functions to provide real-time accessibility in patients’ medication profiles by different professions and health units. However, several factors are related with medication errors. For instance, the ambiguous handwriting orders in the MAR prescribed by physicians affect the transcription by pharmacists and the administration procedures in ward by nurses. Administering medicines in ward stock before pharmacists vetting increase the chance of making errors. Poor interface issues between users and system, and the computer over-reliance are also contributed in resultant technology-related errors. In order to reduce the occurrence of medication incidents, implementation of Automated Pharmacy Distribution Systems helps moving towards a closed loop medication management system. Modifying technologies in barcode assisted medication administration and enhancing the IPMOE with a pop-up message could help intercepting drug administration errors to patients.. The elimination of the potential risks arising from the prescribing, dispensing and drug administration processes brings the achievement of medication safety in Hong Kong public hospitals
Care Burden in Informal Caregivers of Hemodialysis Patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis study
No full textBackground: Correct assessment of care burden in informal care providers to hemodialysis patients such as family members has a crucial role in promoting their physical and mental health, so this study was conducted to determine care burden in informal caregivers of hemodialysis patients.
Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed based on the systematic review meta-analysis and reporting system. To access relevant studies in the field, databases of Medline via PubMed, SCOPUS, ProQuest, SID, Embase and Magiran databases were searched with keywords assigned and using AND & OR operators until 1th August, 2019. After eliminating duplicates and primary and secondary screening of the articles, finally 8 studies entered the meta-analysis process. Cochran test and I2 index were used to determine the heterogeneity of the studies. Random Effects Model was used to estimate pooled mean. Egger's tests were used to evaluate diffusion bias.
Results: The level of care burden in informal caregivers of hemodialysis patients varied from 1.7 to 54.01 in 8 studies with a sample size of 651. The majority of caregivers were spouses of patients and their mean age ranged from 32 to 51 years. Based on the cumulative graph, the mean total effect for care burden index in caregivers of hemodialysis patients in the studies was estimated to be 8.918 (14.3-454.381) with 95% confidence interval based on random effect model.
Conclusion: Considering the care burden in caregivers of hemodialysis patients and its adverse effects, it is recommended to pay more attention to the health of caregivers as hidden patients and appropriate strategies should be considered to improve their quality of life
The Roles of Village Health Volunteers: COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Thailand
No full textTaiwan and Thailand have effectively responded to the COVID-19 pandemic more so than more advanced health systems. Both countries have an effective focus on primary healthcare and multi- sectoral collaboration with effective and open communication of powerful health messages. In the case of Thailand, the central role of village health volunteers has also made a significant contribution. The lessons from recent experiences need to be further evaluated to consolidate the lessons learned in anticipation of meeting continuing and future challenges
Designing an Empowerment Model for Iranian Health Centre Managers: A comprehensive study
No full textOBJECTIVES: Empowering managers plays a crucial role in developing the capabilities and competencies of individuals to improve the continuous performance of health center organizations. The purpose of this study is to design a model of empowerment of health center managers in Iran during 2018-2019.
DESIGN: In this applied, exploratory and cross-sectional study, human resource empowerment components were extracted by reviewing the literature and interviewing subject specialists. Then, the conceptual model of the research was designed and the questionnaire was formulated and validated. Data were collected by filling out a questionnaire from a total of 416 managers of health centers selected by stratified random sampling. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis.
RESULTS: In the final model of empowerment of health center managers, five factors were identified as effective factors. The standardized regression coefficients among the contextual, self-efficacy, managerial, organizational-value, and psychological factors with empowerment were 0.98, 0.95, 0.92, 0.90, and 0.76, respectively. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicate the suitability of the final model of health center managers’ empowerment.
CONCLUSIONS: Due to the influence of contextual, self-efficacy, managerial, organizational-value, and psychological factors in the model approved in this study, the health system senior managers can have a systemic approach to issues. In addition, they can improve managers’ abilities by employing a continuous self-assessment system in health centers, applying the proposed model, improving administrative infrastructure and working environment, paying attention to organizational culture, reward system, participatory management, information sharing, continuous training, and modeling
Improvement of Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme in Hong Kong
No full textElderly Health Care Voucher Scheme is a financial support provided by the government to the elderly for having more choices in selecting private primary health care services. It has been launched for more than ten years (including pilot scheme). The success of the voucher depends on its effectiveness so that Hong Kong elderly can benefit from it. The aim of this article is to analyse whether the voucher scheme has achieved its goals and what improvement can be made. The scheme is successful in encouraging the elderly to use private primary care, considering that the participation rate of the scheme is high, and elderly could use private health care services to supplement public health care services. Yet, the amount of the subsidy is insufficient to support the needs of the elderly and the providers of the voucher are not enough for Hong Kong elderly. Also, it is found that private health care services give the old generation an impression of expensiveness and unreliable even with the support of the Health Care Voucher. To improve the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme and solve the problems, the government should increase the amount of the voucher, set standards for regular monitoring, cooperate with private health care providers and invite more providers. Ultimately, the elderly would enjoy greater flexibility in choosing medical services in meeting their needs and the scheme can effectively achieve its purpose