17 research outputs found
Six Questions Colleges Should Ask Themselves regarding Accessibility and Procurement
No full textThe author shares six questions for institutions of higher education considering their legal responsibilities for considering accessibility in their procurement activities
Response to Setting the record straight on obstetric gaps
No full textWe write in reply to the letter ‘Setting the Record Straight on Obstetric Gaps’.2 We thank the author for his reply to our previously published short commentary ‘Changes in out‐of‐pocket charges associated with obstetric care provided under Medicare in Australia’ (ANZJOG 2018; 58; 362–365). Overwhelmingly what ‘Setting the Record Straight on Obstetric Gaps’ highlights is the lack of transparency regarding the setting of fees that are charged to women, and the influence of ministerial decisions and lobbying on the fees that are paid from the woman's purse at the end of a private specialist consultation.No Full Tex
What factors do allied health take into account when making resource allocation decisions?
No full textBackground: Allied health comprises multiple professional groups including dietetics, medical radiation practitioners, occupational therapists, optometrists and psychologists. Different to medical and nursing, Allied health are often organized in discipline specific departments and allocate budgets within these to provide services to a range of clinical areas. Little is known of how managers of allied health go about allocating these resources, the factors they consider when making these decisions, and the sources of information they rely upon. The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors that allied health consider when making resource allocation decisions and the sources of information they are based upon. Methods: Four forums were conducted each consisting of case studies, a large group discussion and two hypothetical scenarios to elicit data. A thematic content analysis commenced during post-forum discussions of key factors by forum facilitators. These factors were then presented to an expert working party for further discussion and refinement. Transcripts were generated of all data recordings and a detailed thematic analysis was undertaken by one author to ensure coded data matched the initial thematic analysis. Results: Twelve factors affecting the decision-making of allied health managers and clinicians were identified. One of these factors was disendorsed by the expert working party. The 11 remaining factors can be considered to be key decision-making principles that should be consistently applied to resource allocation. These principles were clustered into three overarching themes of readiness, impact and appropriateness. Conclusion: Understanding these principles now means further research can be completed to more effectively integrate research evidence into health policy and service delivery, create partnerships among policy-makers, managers, service providers and researchers, and to provide support to answer difficult questions that policy-makers, managers and service providers face. © 2018 The Author(s). **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Jennifer Martin” is provided in this record*
Right Versus Privilege: An Evaluation of the Affordable Care Act through Discourse Analysis
No full textabstract: Since its inception, the Affordable Care Act has prompted many different genres of discourse within governmental, media, business, and cultural realms. The narratives common in each realm, as well as the means by which they are shared, influence the everyday consumer and overall image of the act (Fairclough 1995, 2003). These discourses shape a sense of what is possible. Through critical discourse analysis, focusing on both how the authors felt constrained by the message they must deliver and the way in which established discourses shape what is possible to imagine about health care in the future. In particular, I want to focus on how the federal government shaped the discourse on the Affordable Care Act around the concept of human rights and implied privilege and how this shaped the way in which the act was perceived by the general public
Response to: The “Cascade of interventions”: does it really exist?
No full text[Extract] To the Editor, We write in reply to the letter The "Cascade of interventions": Does it really exist? We thank the author for their reply to our previously published manuscript "A cascade of interventions: A classification tree analysis of the determinants of primary cesareans in Australian public hospitals". The findings of our study show that the top two reasons for primary cesareans in Queensland public hospitals— abnormal fetal heart rate and inadequate contractions— were strongly associated with artificial rupture of membranes, induction of labor, and epidural analgesia
What Factors Do Allied Health Take Into Account When Making Resource Allocation Decisions?
No full textAbstract
Background: Allied health comprises multiple professional groups including dietetics, medical radiation practitioners,
occupational therapists, optometrists and psychologists. Different to medical and nursing, Allied health are often
organized in discipline specific departments and allocate budgets within these to provide services to a range of clinical
areas. Little is known of how managers of allied health go about allocating these resources, the factors they consider
when making these decisions, and the sources of information they rely upon. The purpose of this study was to identify
the key factors that allied health consider when making resource allocation decisions and the sources of information
they are based upon.
Methods: Four forums were conducted each consisting of case studies, a large group discussion and two hypothetical
scenarios to elicit data. A thematic content analysis commenced during post-forum discussions of key factors by
forum facilitators. These factors were then presented to an expert working party for further discussion and refinement.
Transcripts were generated of all data recordings and a detailed thematic analysis was undertaken by one author to
ensure coded data matched the initial thematic analysis.
Results: Twelve factors affecting the decision-making of allied health managers and clinicians were identified. One
of these factors was disendorsed by the expert working party. The 11 remaining factors can be considered to be key
decision-making principles that should be consistently applied to resource allocation. These principles were clustered
into three overarching themes of readiness, impact and appropriateness.
Conclusion: Understanding these principles now means further research can be completed to more effectively integrate
research evidence into health policy and service delivery, create partnerships among policy-makers, managers, service
providers and researchers, and to provide support to answer difficult questions that policy-makers, managers and
service providers face
The integration of yoga into occupational therapy practice for people with multiple sclerosis
No full text2020 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of this study was to fill a research gap, by providing initial insight into the use of yoga in occupational therapy practice (OT) for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). More specifically, this study aimed to answer how and why occupational therapists (OTs) integrate yoga into clinical practice for PwMS. Eight OTs, residing across the United States, completed an online survey and semi-structured telephone interview. Telephone interviews were transcribed verbatim and inductively open coded. Themes, answering the questions of how and why OTs use yoga for PwMS, emerged through thematic data analysis including: (1) OT and yoga are a natural and complementary fit; (2) holistic benefits for clients beyond therapy; (3) leveraging personal ties to yoga; and (4) use of yoga is dependent on client factors and clinical environment. Since OTs use activities to promote health and well-being, yoga may be appropriate for PwMS because its use is context- and client-centered and allows for shared engagement in a meaningful activity for clients and therapists. Furthermore, as yoga and OT together are a natural and complementary fit, OTs use of yoga may be holistically beneficial to PwMS during and after being discharged from occupational therapy. Future research needs to establish the efficacy of integrating yoga into clinical OT practice as well as qualitatively assess PwMS' experience of engaging in yoga during occupational therapy
What Factors Do Allied Health Take Into Account When Making Resource Allocation Decisions?
No full textBackground
Allied health comprises multiple professional groups including dietetics, medical radiation practitioners, occupational therapists, optometrists and psychologists. Different to medical and nursing, Allied health are often organized in discipline specific departments and allocate budgets within these to provide services to a range of clinical areas. Little is known of how managers of allied health go about allocating these resources, the factors they consider when making these decisions, and the sources of information they rely upon. The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors that allied health consider when making resource allocation decisions and the sources of information they are based upon.
Methods
Four forums were conducted each consisting of case studies, a large group discussion and two hypothetical scenarios to elicit data. A thematic content analysis commenced during post-forum discussions of key factors by forum facilitators. These factors were then presented to an expert working party for further discussion and refinement. Transcripts were generated of all data recordings and a detailed thematic analysis was undertaken by one author to ensure coded data matched the initial thematic analysis.
Results
Twelve factors affecting the decision-making of allied health managers and clinicians were identified. One of these factors was disendorsed by the expert working party. The 11 remaining factors can be considered to be key decision-making principles that should be consistently applied to resource allocation. These principles were clustered into three overarching themes of readiness, impact and appropriateness.
Conclusion
Understanding these principles now means further research can be completed to more effectively integrate research evidence into health policy and service delivery, create partnerships among policy-makers, managers, service providers and researchers, and to provide support to answer difficult questions that policy-makers, managers and service providers face
City-size bias in knowledge on the effects of urban nature on people and biodiversity
No full textThe evidence base for the benefits of urban nature for people and biodiversity is strong. However, cities are diverse and the social and environmental contexts of cities are likely to influence the observed effects of urban nature, and the application of evidence to differing contexts. To explore biases in the evidence base for the effects of urban nature, we text-matched city names in the abstracts and affiliations of 14 786 journal articles, from separate searches for articles on urban biodiversity, the health and wellbeing impacts of urban nature, and on urban ecosystem services. City names were found in 51% of article abstracts and 92% of affiliations. Most large cities were studied many times over, while only a small proportion of small cities were studied once or twice. Almost half the cities studied also had an author with an affiliation from that city. Most studies were from large developed cities, with relatively few studies from Africa and South America in particular. These biases mean the evidence base for the effects of urban nature on people and on biodiversity does not adequately represent the lived experience of the 41% of the world’s urban population who live in small cities, nor the residents of the many rapidly urbanising areas of the developing world. Care should be taken when extrapolating research findings from large global cities to smaller cities and cities in the developing world. Future research should encourage research design focussed on answering research questions rather than city selection by convenience, disentangle the role of city size from measures of urban intensity (such as population density or impervious surface cover), avoid gross urban-rural dualisms, and better contextualise existing research across social and environmental contexts
City-size bias in knowledge on the effects of urban nature on people and biodiversity
No full textThe evidence base for the benefits of urban nature for people and biodiversity is strong. However, cities are diverse and the social and environmental contexts of cities are likely to influence the observed effects of urban nature, and the application of evidence to differing contexts. To explore biases in the evidence base for the effects of urban nature, we text-matched city names in the abstracts and affiliations of 14 786 journal articles, from separate searches for articles on urban biodiversity, the health and wellbeing impacts of urban nature, and on urban ecosystem services. City names were found in 51% of article abstracts and 92% of affiliations. Most large cities were studied many times over, while only a small proportion of small cities were studied once or twice. Almost half the cities studied also had an author with an affiliation from that city. Most studies were from large developed cities, with relatively few studies from Africa and South America in particular. These biases mean the evidence base for the effects of urban nature on people and on biodiversity does not adequately represent the lived experience of the 41% of the world’s urban population who live in small cities, nor the residents of the many rapidly urbanising areas of the developing world. Care should be taken when extrapolating research findings from large global cities to smaller cities and cities in the developing world. Future research should encourage research design focussed on answering research questions rather than city selection by convenience, disentangle the role of city size from measures of urban intensity (such as population density or impervious surface cover), avoid gross urban-rural dualisms, and better contextualise existing research across social and environmental contexts
