1,721,699 research outputs found
Supply chain management in health services: an overview
No full textPurpose This paper seeks to concentrate on the question whether any parallels can be found between the industrial sector and health care services with respect to the developments that have taken place in the area of Supply Chain Management. Starting from an analysis of existing literature, it is intended that different modes of Supply Chain integration will be discussed. Also, in doing so, it is intended that the lessons learned from the studies presented in this special issue will be summarized and placed into the perspective of future research that can be considered as necessary. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopted an exploratory, qualitative approach based on an analysis of existing literature in the area of Supply Chain Management in Health Services. Additionally, material from the case studies presented in this special issue is used to assess the current body of knowledge regarding Supply Chain Management in Health Services. Findings Starting from a classification of existing research, five main research areas with respect to Supply Chain Management in a health care setting are defined. Additionally, it is concluded that next to studies with a mono‐disciplinary focus, an interdisciplinary focus on Supply Chain Management issues in health services seems to be necessary. Originality/value This paper contributes to both the supply chain management literature and literature in the area of healthcare management by identifying some important research areas which are linked to both fields. This paper helps both academics and managers to gain a better understanding of the complexity of supply chain management in health services
Development of a mental health-related structural stigma measurement framework in the healthcare system setting: A modified Delphi study.
Get PDFIntroductionThere is a worldwide dearth in literature on the nature, causes, and consequences of structural stigma in mental healthcare. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring key components for measuring structural stigma in healthcare system settings.MethodsWe used a modified Delphi method consisting of 3 rounds with global experts (stigma researchers, persons with lived experiences of mental health conditions (PWLEs), and policymakers). In the first round, indicators identified through a literature review (n = 39 studies) were appraised through expert consultation workshops with 22 panellists, including 54.5% women, 41% PWLEs, and 68.2% from low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). Round 2 (n = 53 panellists; 51% women, 8.3% PWLEs, and 56.6% from LMICs) involved ranking indicators through an online survey, and Round 3 (n = 58 panellists; 46% women, 21.7% PWLEs, and 60.4% from LMICs) involved re-ranking the results from Round 2. Smith's salience index was calculated to measure consensus and Kendall's coefficient of concordance to determine the degree of agreement. Narrative opinions and feedback from panellists during all three Delphi rounds were also sought.ResultsA list of indicators within five core measurement domains was identified in Round 1. Round 2 results were heterogeneous as indicated by the low to moderate salience of most indicators. Round 3 resulted in 4-5 indicators in each domain, that were ranked as highly salient by the expert panellists. Experts also provided narrative feedback on the definition of structural stigma, barriers to its measurement, domain-specific comments, and indicators-specific comments.ConclusionThe framework aids in defining mental health-related structural stigma in healthcare and framing it in terms of inequities within healthcare system structures. These structures result in negative experiences of PWLEs and limit their access to quality healthcare. This conceptualization, informed by PWLE and stakeholders in LMICs, makes it easier to measure structural stigma and monitor changes in diverse healthcare settings around the world
Tree-child Network Containment
No full textInterest in phylogenetic trees for histories of species and DNA has spawned many problems, one of which is TreeContainment; a problem that asks whether a tree is contained within a network. The TreeContainment problem is proven to be NP-hard for general trees and networks, however it is solvable in polynomial time for networks that meet the tree-child restriction. An algorithm to solve TreeContainment for binary tree-child networks has been created previously with quadratic running time (van Iersel, Semple, Steel, 2010). Janssen and Murakami have recently created a new algorithm that solves a larger problem NetworkContainment, for semi-binary tree-child networks (Janssen, Murakami, 2019). This new algorithm uses tree-child sequences introduced by Linz and Semple, but there has not been an implementation of it until now. In this paper I show an implementation (using Python) of this algorithm, in which I have made a modification that increases its speed on networks with large indegrees. Furthermore I have proven in this paper that the output of this algorithm remains correct under this modification, and that the running time of the modified algorithm is now linear without requiring a constant maximum indegree at all.Applied Physic
Treewidth based algorithms for Tree Containment in phylogenetics
No full textTreeContainment is a well-known problem within phylogenetics, which asks whether a binary phylogenetic tree is embedded in a binary phylogenetic network. For this problem, Jones, Weller and van Iersel (2022) have created an algorithm that uses dynamic programming on tree-decompositions to achieve a running time that is exponential in the tree-width parameter instead of in the number of reticulations. However, due to the implicit formulations of two crucial steps in this algorithm, this running time cannot be achieved in practice without finding ways to generate the required structures explicitly. This paper provides two new sub-algorithms that can do that. To further improve the performance of the algorithm, I introduce a number of criteria and other methods that can be used to reduce the number of structures generated. Additionally, I describe a way to manipulate the nice tree-decompositions to create a more favorable order of bags for the dynamic programming. These sub-algorithms and improvements are used by two new algorithms TWITCH and PITCH, whose implementations are compared to a brute force algorithm and a new branching cherry-picking algorithm named BOTCH. The latter has an FPT running time that is exponential in the number of vertices that have only reticulations as children. The comparisons show that the implementations of the dynamic programming algorithms TWITCH and PITCH are slower in practice than the brute force algorithm, despite their numerous improvements. Of the four new implementations, BOTCH has the best test results and it is shown to be fast in practice. Applied Mathematic
Empower child protection craftsmanship: An ecological system perspective on the balancing act of child protection in the Netherlands
No full textAn ecological system perspective on how child protection craftsmanship has integrated an empowerment based approach and what challenges they face while working with it
Understanding and Balancing Generalist-Specialist Approaches in Dementia Research and Care Practice, Qualitative Research with 44 Dementia Professors in The Netherlands
Get PDFDementia is one of the leading causes of death and disability among citizens and a societal challenge because of aging worldwide. As dementia has physical, psychological, social, material, and economic impacts, both research and care practice require many disciplines to develop and implement diagnostics, medical and psychosocial interventions, and support, crossing all domains of housing, public services, care, and cure. Notwithstanding large research efforts, much knowledge about mechanisms, interventions, and needs’ based care pathways is still lacking. To cope with these challenges in research and practice, this paper is the first to question how generalist and specialist orientations can be unfolded. In the Netherlands, all dementia professors (N = 44) at eight Dutch academic centers have been interviewed. Qualitative analyses revealed three subgroups of dementia professors, one with a generalist orientation, one adhering to specialist approaches, and a third group that pleas for mixed orientations, with some differences between research and care practice. Each group has arguments for its generalist/specialist vision, but the synthesis suggests a paradigm of personalized and integrated dementia care, aimed at the individual in his own living environment. Sustainable strategies to cope with dementia require (inter)national programs and strong collaboration to build multi- and interdisciplinarity within and between research and practice
One for All, All for One: A Mixed Methods Case Study into the Role Organisational and Personal Interests Play on Cooperation in Dutch Integrated Dementia Care Networks
Get PDFIntroduction: Cooperation is key to provide integrated dementia care. However, different kinds of (personal and organisational) interests will affect collaboration in integrated dementia care (IDC) networks. Hence, it is crucial to understand how interests influence relations in IDC-networks in order to shape future policies. Methods: A sequential mixed methods single case study design was used, in three phases: a Social Network Analysis (SNA) based on data from questionnaires (n = 24–26), explorative interviews with network partners (n = 14) and a focus group with network coordinators (n = 7) to explore the conceptual generalisability of the single case of the IDC-network. Results: The SNA revealed that highly connected organisations were often established care organisations that deliver case management, while smaller care organisations or welfare organisations tend to be less connected. Care-related, strategic, and financial interests influence participation of organisations in the IDC-network, while personal intrinsic motivations determine a representative’s contribution to the network. Especially conflicting interests strongly influence the network structure. Discussion and conclusion: We conclude that conflicting interests in IDC-networks stand in the way of reaching the collective goal of an IDC-network, i.e., optimising the wellbeing of people with dementia and their informal caregivers in the region. Thus, IDC-networks should act to manage, resolve and prevent disputes arising from conflicting interests
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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