130 research outputs found
In Cyprus, the Troika should be promoting health reforms towards universal coverage, not derailing them
No full textLast November, the Troika agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cyprus, which also made special reference to the country’s health sector. Ahead of Presidential elections in Cyprus on Sunday, Jonathan Cylus, Irene Papanicolas and Mamas Theodorou argue that some of the key recommendations of the Memorandum, such as eliminating access to healthcare at reduced rates, and increasing some fees, threaten to undermine efforts towards Cyprus’s goal of universal health coverage
Contributions, co-pays and computers: health system reform in Cyprus
No full textCyprus’ new health system, which has been in the planning stages for well over a decade, is expected to come into effect in 2016. While discussions are still ongoing regarding important elements of the reform, the new health system will lead to sweeping changes in areas such as coverage, financing, co-payments, provider payments, and data collection. In this article, we review some of these and discuss challenges for implementation
Physicians' perceptions and adherence to guidelines for the management of hypertension: A national, multicentre, prospective study
No full textBackground. The aim of the current study was to investigate physicians' perceptions and adherence to the European guidelines for the management of hypertension. Methods. This is a national, multicentre, prospective, observational study, conducted between November 2007 and June 2008, in Cyprus. Consecutive hypertensive patients have been recruited by a random sample of physicians. The physicians' recommendations for every single patient have been recorded and compared with the 2007 ESH/ESC guidelines. Results. Of the total of 654 patients, 477 (72.9%) were correctly advised by their physician to receive antihypertensive treatment to control their blood pressure, while 396 (60.5%) correctly got advices to adopt only lifestyle changes. The overall adherence of physicians to the European guidelines (overall agreement rate) was 70.4% (k = 0.258, P < 0.001). Of the total of 68 physicians, 65 (95.6%) reported that they were aware of some guidelines. There was no statistically significant effect of specific physicians' characteristics on the overall adherence to guidelines, but there was in the percentage of patients achieving medication guidelines. Conclusions. The study demonstrated that although Cypriot physicians declared that they were aware of the clinical guidelines for the management of hypertension, more than one-fourth of high risk hypertensive patients remained untreated and 40% of low risk patients received inappropriate medication. © 2012 Mamas Theodorou et al
Burnout syndrome in Cypriot physiotherapists: a national survey
No full textAbstract Background Burnout in the healthcare workers is formally defined as a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion caused by long-term involvement in situations that are emotionally demanding. Methods Using a random stratified sampling method and taking into account geographical location, specialty and type of employment, 172 physiotherapists working both in the private and public sectors completed an anonymous questionnaire that included several aspects related to burnout; the MBI scale, questions related to occupational stress, and questions pertaining to self image. Results Almost half (46%) of the 172 participants believed that their job is stressful. Approximately 57% of the physiotherapists who worked in the public sector and 40% of those who worked in the private sector (p = 0.038) reported that their job is stressful. In total, 21.1% of participants met Maslach's criteria for burnout. The point prevalence of burnout was as follows: (1) 13.8% of those who worked in the public sector and 25.5% of those in the private sector (2) 22.2% of males and 20% of females (3) 21.6% who were married, 18% who were single and 33.3% who were separated. Gender was found to be associated with the level of personal accomplishment (chi-squared test; p = 0.049), as 17.8% of men compared with 24.3% of women reported high personal accomplishment. The number of years of working as a physiotherapist correlated negatively (r = -0.229, p = 0.004) with the total depersonalization score. Regression analysis showed that the perception that the job is stressful (p Conclusions Burnout levels in physiotherapists in Cyprus ranged from low to moderate.</p
Can Privatising Selected Services Benefit the Public Healthcare System?: The Greek Case
No full textThe evaluation of empirical data concerning private physician consultations in public hospitals in Greece suggests that privatisation of selected public services can increase patients' freedom of choice and also improve efficiency and quality of services, thus strengthening the supply side in a mixed healthcare system. The 2001 NHS health reform in Greece provides financial incentives to public hospital physicians to consult patients `privately' at the outpatient clinics, while remaining restrained by certain provisions regarding fees. Competition between public and private hospitals is centrally regulated, and in this case cumulative data show success for the public sector. At the same time, patient satisfaction with the new arrangement measured in this study was very high. It could be argued that, under certain conditions, attracting private funds into a public health system constitutes an opportunity to reinforce the public provision of the system.Health-care-services, Pharmacoeconomics
The System of The Provision of Oral Healthcare in the Republic of Cyprus and the Effect of the Economic Crisis
No full textPurpose: To investigate recent developments in the provision of oral healthcare in Cyprus and the population's oral health, with special reference to the impact of the recent economic crisis. Research design: cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: Data from oral health surveys in Cyprus over the last 30 years were reviewed and analysed together with policy documents. Information regarding oral health behaviour, dental visits and the consequences of the economic crisis on the latter was also obtained with the help of self-completed questionnaires by patients and dentists.
Results: Although the overall level of oral health in Cyprus can be considered satisfactory, there were statistically significant variations between districts and different socioeconomic and ethnic groups. Beyond these variations, it seemed that the three-year economic crisis (2013–2016) had negatively affected the behaviour of the population in seeking dental care, reducing the frequency of visits to the dentist, and avoiding costly dental work, especially among those from the lower socioeconomic strata. This change in citizens' behaviour led to a statistically significant decrease in dentists' income in the private sector. Conclusions: The economic crisis brought about new difficulties and challenges for both the public and the private sectors of oral healthcare, and into the implementation of a new National Health System
Ικανοποίηση ασθενών από τις υπηρεσίες των εξωτερικών ιατρείων στα δημόσια νοσοκομεία της Κύπρου
No full textOBJECTIVE :Measurement of the level of patient satisfaction with the services provided by the outpatient clinics in four Cyprus public hospitals. METHOD Completion of a structured questionnaire with 58 questions using the interview method and collected in ballots. The study sample comprised 761 patients selected as they were exiting the waiting rooms of the outpatient departments of each hospital, using a systematic random sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. RESULTS Of the users of the outpatient services 61.8% were satisfied with the services they had received. The level of satisfaction was higher the greater the age (p<0.01) and the better the reported health status of the respondant (p<0.001). Important parameters for satisfaction according to the majority of patients were courtesy and professionalism of the outpatient clinic staff and cleanliness of the premises. The questionnaire item with the highest positive evaluation concerned the respect of the physician for the patient, with a mean value of 4.27 on a scale of 1-5, with 5 representing the highest level of satisfaction. However, components of the outpatient services perceived as problematic were responsiveness and accessibility. The lowest mean value, 2.59, was recorded for difficulty in finding a parking place and for the long waiting time between the request for an appointment and the actual visit. Apart from the dissatisfaction with the long waiting time, it was found that waiting time was associated with overall satisfaction with the services provided (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The overall user evaluation of the outpatient services of the four Cyprus hospitals was quite good, although there appear to be problems for which corrective measures need to be taken in order to provide patients with high quality services
The Impact of Peripheral Artery Disease on Health Related Quality of Life: Comparison with the Impact of Coronary Artery Disease
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