Christos Ntais, Polidefkis Stavrou, John Fanourgiakis, Michael A. Talias, Nikolaos Kontodimopoulos
{"title":"Sustainable medical tourism in the global competitive environment: The case of Cyprus","authors":"Christos Ntais, Polidefkis Stavrou, John Fanourgiakis, Michael A. Talias, Nikolaos Kontodimopoulos","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3843","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3843","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of Cypriot medical tourism experts regarding the phenomenon of medical tourism, as well as to emphasise the benefits and opportunities for Cyprus to become a highly competitive global healthcare destination.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A Delphi study was conducted in Cyprus, with the participation of 20 experts in the field of medical tourism. At first, 20 experts took part in semi-structured interviews. Based on their feedback provided during that phase, a structured questionnaire was drawn up and completed, addressing a wide variety of medical tourism-related issues, such as benefits and losses from the development of medical tourism in Cyprus, advantages and disadvantages of Cyprus in attracting international patients, the key elements of a medium- to long-term strategic plan for the development of medical tourism in Cyprus, the role of the public and private sector and the importance of international accreditation of private and public hospitals.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Cyprus appears to have some very favourable qualities when it comes to its listing as a competitive destination for medical travellers. Undeniably, the growth of medical tourism improves all sectors of the economy and society, but the healthcare industry is the one that benefits most. On the opposite end, medical tourism could potentially impact the access of local people to healthcare services. No clear answers were given by the expert respondents on the need for international accreditation of healthcare providers in Cyprus.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The competent authorities should promote Cyprus to international markets as a medical tourism destination of choice, upgrading the quality of healthcare services it provides having due regard in parallel to any potential impacts to the access of local population to the healthcare system.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 6","pages":"1757-1765"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141890465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing over-the-counter headache medicine counselling: Lessons from Germany and implications for Taiwan","authors":"Lien-Chung Wei","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3842","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3842","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 6","pages":"1755-1756"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141890463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jan Struhar, Taylor Walters, Kristen Gracz, Mansi Sheth, Andrea Fernandez, Courtney Lopez, Tiago S. Jesus
{"title":"Implementing a real-time patient experience feedback in inpatient rehabilitation: Process evaluation informed by the normalisation process theory","authors":"Jan Struhar, Taylor Walters, Kristen Gracz, Mansi Sheth, Andrea Fernandez, Courtney Lopez, Tiago S. Jesus","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3832","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3832","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Purpose</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Near real-time patient experience feedback (NRTPEF) can enable a patient-centric, immediate service recovery but has not been widely used in inpatient rehabilitation. We 1) assess the utility, feasibility, and acceptability of implementing a new NRTPEF, perceived by patients and providers; and 2) understand how the NRTPEF became embedded into routine provider practices.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Mixed methods process evaluation of the 8-month implementation of an innovative NRTPEF in an inpatient rehabilitation unit, using interviews and focus groups with all the service-unit leaders and interviews with a randomised sample of patients. Beyond descriptive statistics and content analysis, the Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) informed a framework analysis.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Patients and service-unit leaders perceived high utility in the NRTPEF (median: 9 for both; 0–10 scale) and qualitative comments emphasised the value of providing/obtaining timely feedback. The system was found feasible and acceptable for patients (median: 9.5), but with an improvement margin for providers (median: 7.3). Suggestions include strengthening the data-relay format. Even in the pilot form, providers found the NRTPEF became embedded into practice (median 10; average: 8.6). The analysis based on the NPT shows how providers saw differential value, engaged with, and used the patient feedback into reconfigured practices.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>An innovative NRTPEF was found useful, feasible and acceptable, but with refinement opportunities before scale-up.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 6","pages":"1737-1754"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3832","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141879605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tobacco control policies and the multidimensional context of tobacco use by gender: The case of Türkiye","authors":"Ebru Caglayan-Akay, Merve Ertok-Onurlu, Fulden Komuryakan","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3835","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3835","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study aims to determine the indicators of tobacco use in Türkiye within a multidimensional context as socio-demographic, physical, behavioural, and psychological as a response to the tobacco control policies.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Turkish Health Survey data in 2014 and 2019 are employed within a probit model approach and the differences in tobacco are decomposed use by gender in order to reveal the gender differences. The samples in 2014 (total <i>n</i> = 19,129; males = 8 721, females = 10,408) and 2019 (total <i>n</i> = 17,084; males = 7 784, females = 9300) were restricted to 15-year-old and above.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The findings indicate that being in the 30–49 age cohort, having lower education, and being married increase the likelihood of tobacco use. Future policies and campaigns should specifically target the single, pre-obese, employed males who consume alcohol. For females, the gender-specific policies should aim to reduce the prevalence of smoking, especially among separated or widows, obese, and out of the labour force. The contribution of mental health indicators on tobacco use has declined over the 5 years, which could be a result of the supportive free health services in Türkiye. The findings provide evidence for a significant and increasing gender difference in tobacco use in Türkiye along with reporting that the most significant contributors to gender differences in tobacco use are alcohol consumption and education level.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Even though the Ministry of Health and the government have been implementing anti-tobacco policies, legislations, and campaigns for years, the tobacco use prevalence has remained high and even increased in Türkiye.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 5","pages":"1584-1602"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141876319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adopting a stance of vulnerability in healthcare evaluation: Amplifying the patient voice","authors":"Steve Gulati, Christiane Shrimpton, Josip Stosic","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3839","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3839","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper argues that one aspect of re-imagining evaluation in health planning and management is for leaders and clinicians to develop comfort with vulnerability when engaging in service evaluations. Starting with an exploration of how the service user voice is traditionally expressed in healthcare evaluation, the paper then proceeds to explore the particular role and challenges faced by clinician-evaluators, including their role as ‘privileged interlocutors’ in conversations with service users. The tensions in reconciling the role of the clinician as an expert, with the related but different skills needed for effective discourse in qualitative evaluation are explored, and it is asserted that it is important for clinicians and leaders to be comfortable in showing and working with vulnerability when evaluating healthcare interventions. Clinicians are already skilled in holding discourse with service users, and extending the communication repertoire to include the management of emotion and expression of vulnerability is achievable and rewarding. The paper concludes that the ability to hold a vulnerable stance when conducting evaluation can have benefits in reducing defensiveness, encouraging a truer sense of enquiry and amplifying the service user voice.</p>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 6","pages":"1729-1736"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3839","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141876317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"COVID-19 vaccination in low and middle-income countries: Creating a sustainable roadmap for promoting public health intervention","authors":"Rasaq Kayode Oladapo, Onyinyechi Patience Obidiro, Afeez Babatunde Oyetola, Adekunle Olajide, Mariam Olaitan Oladapo, Usen Stephanie Lawrence, Mohammed Mehedi Hasan, Zarmina Islam, Abdulhafeez Ayodele Mustapha, Eze Osuagwu-Nwogu, Shamas Ghazanfar, Modinat Aderonke Olaleye, Igbalajobi Monisola, Bakare Ibraheem, Abiola Abidemi Afolayan, Akinrinde Barakat, Mary Omotola Adewole","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3834","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3834","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global public health threat ravaging the health systems. In low and middle-income countries (LMICs), COVID-19 and several other challenges concurrently worsen the health outcome indicators. Interestingly, vaccines have been identified as the most reliable and cost-effective public health intervention, and the governments in LMICs have instituted an array of plans to ensure every eligible person gets vaccinated. However, there is still considerable apathy around the use of the available COVID-19 vaccines in LMICs which is impeding the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we explore the multiple interrelated factors behind low COVID-19 vaccination coverage in LMICs. It is therefore recommended that the governments in LMICs embrace multicomponent and wide-ranging strategies. This should involve utilising community-based approaches such as community pharmacy-led vaccination to promote community access to COVID-19 vaccines and to revive trust in national health authorities by offering population-specific, target-driven, transparent, and timely communication to the community who they serve about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine. Communication strategies should be tailored to reflect diverse political orientations as this can enhance vaccine acceptance. Additionally, local political parties and representative should be engaged in broad alliances to facilitate community mobilisation and support for vaccination campaigns. Also, relevant Nongovernmental Organisations and Community-based Organisations should institute programs at the grassroots that incorporate the gatekeepers to the community aimed at influencing population behaviour regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Besides, the public health department in the ministry of health in LMICs should create more awareness, through social and mass media, particularly in the rural, semi-urban, and slum communities about the pivotal role of vaccination. Thus, we opined that these strategies will help LMICs achieve the COVID-19 vaccination target and further reposition the healthcare systems, and promote other public health interventions now and in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 5","pages":"1612-1625"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3834","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141876318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Factors associated with patients' experience of access to their multidisciplinary primary health care clinic: A multilevel analysis","authors":"Mylaine Breton, Isabelle Gaboury, Catherine Lamoureux-Lamarche, Véronique Deslauriers, Christine Beaulieu, Élisabeth Martin, Djamal Berbiche","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3831","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3831","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Understanding patients' experiences accessing primary health care (PHC) is necessary to improve service organisation. This study aims to examine individual, organisational, and contextual factors associated with patients' experience of accessing the multidisciplinary PHC clinic to which they are attached.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This cross-sectional study builds on survey data collected in multidisciplinary PHC clinics located in 14 regions in the province of Quebec (Canada). Between September 2022 and June 2023, an online questionnaire was sent to patients with an email contact and attached to a family physician. Two patient-reported experience measures were assessed: (1) difficulty obtaining an appointment with their regular family physician or nurse practitioner and (2) perceived unmet healthcare needs. A self-reported online questionnaire based on the advanced access model was also sent to PHC professionals and administrative staff to assess the use of advanced access strategies in their practice. Multilevel logistic regression models were fit. Stratified analyses were conducted according to the number of consultations received.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Findings</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In total, 122,397 patients and 847 family physicians, 97 nurse practitioners and 347 administrative staff nested into 104 clinics answered the survey. In the overall sample, having a chronic disorder was the only individual factor associated with the patient experience of access. Organizational factors including estimation of demand and supply, use of a referral algorithm, and strategies to optimise consultations were associated with a better access experience. Patients from medium size clinics compared to small clinics had better experiences of care for both outcomes. Stratified analysis indicated similar results for patients who consulted at the clinic 1–5 times in the last 12 months as observed in the overall sample.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study indicates that enhancing organizational processes can improve patients' access experiences.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 6","pages":"1712-1728"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3831","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141789477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The World Health Organisation Global Code of Practice and migration of health workers from Zimbabwe","authors":"Abel Chikanda","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3837","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3837","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The migration of health workers remains one of the most pressing challenges facing many countries in the global South. This short communication seeks to reignite debate on the effectiveness of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Code as a tool for managing the migration of health workers from the South. While the WHO Code was somewhat effective in reducing the migration of health workers from countries such as Zimbabwe during the first five years of its implementation, demand for health workers in the UK after Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rate of migration of health workers from countries facing critical shortages. Clearly, new solutions are needed that strike a balance between the right of health workers in the South to migrate and the right of citizens in the region to a stable supply of health workers.</p>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 5","pages":"1658-1664"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3837","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141789478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria Kaneva, Sofia Malyutina, Victoria Moiseenko, Alexander Kudryavtsev
{"title":"Seasonal differences in participation and time spent in physical activity in Russia: The Know Your Heart survey","authors":"Maria Kaneva, Sofia Malyutina, Victoria Moiseenko, Alexander Kudryavtsev","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3826","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3826","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study aimed to assess the levels and investigate socioeconomic, demographic, and health-related predictors of winter and summer physical activity (PA) in Russia using the data from the Know Your Heart population survey conducted in Novosibirsk and Arkhangelsk (2015–2018; <i>n</i> = 5068; aged 35–69 years). Employing a series of probit, Tobit, and the Cragg models, we separated the predictors of the probability of participating in leisure-time PA from the predictors of time spent in PA. Our study showed that financial constraints limited males' participation in winter PA (probability of participation decreased by 12 percentage points) and females' engagement in winter and summer PA (decrease in the number of hours of practicing PA by approximately 1 h a week). Education, self-reported health, smoking, and cues to action had different impacts on both probability and time spent in PA in winter and summer. We also found significant gender differences in participation and time spent in PA across seasons. Older age, poor health, and smoking were greater obstacles to PA for males compared to females both in winter and summer. However, males were more likely to follow physician's advice to lose weight and take up physical exercise. Information campaigns that promote physical activities, including those that are free of charge, are needed to help limit barriers to PA for people with low socioeconomic status and individuals with little or no exercise experience. Also, making sports more accessible to citizens by providing free and low-cost sports facilities can increase their participation and time spent in PA, improving individual health and productivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 5","pages":"1530-1550"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141761666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trends in resource allocation for primary health care in rural China: Concentration curve and decomposition analysis","authors":"Huiwen Li, Beibei Yuan, Suhang Song, Qingyue Meng, Ichiro Kawachi","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3828","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3828","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Since 2009, China has made large investments in strengthening the primary healthcare system. This study aimed to examine the trends in the number and distribution of health resources in rural China following the health system reform and to decompose the sources of inequalities. Data were collected from standardized reports compiled by each county in rural China and compiled by the National Health Commission and Bureau of Statistics. From the findings of this empirical study, resource allocation per capita for primary health care (PHC) improved gradually from 2008 to 2014. The distribution of beds across counties (ranked by level of economic development) was relatively equitable. However, the concentration curve analysis indicated that the distribution of primary care professionals remained skewed in favour of wealthier and more urbanised counties. Economic status was proved to be a major contributor to the inequality of health human resource. China's primary care reforms resulted in simultaneously improved supply of PHC resources as well as pro-rich inequality in distribution of the workforce. To advance equality in health resource allocation, greater attention should be paid to the substantial inequality of economic status within counties.</p>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 5","pages":"1551-1561"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141761667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}