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1 – 10 of over 8000This qualitative case study aims to identify and analyse the factors influencing the implementation and effectiveness of electronic health record systems (EHRS) in primary…
Abstract
Purpose
This qualitative case study aims to identify and analyse the factors influencing the implementation and effectiveness of electronic health record systems (EHRS) in primary health-care (PHC) facilities in Tanzania. This study aims to explore ways to optimize the use of EHRS for better health-care service delivery.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a qualitative case study design. Data were collected through interviews and focus groups conducted with health-care workers and information and communication technology officers at the PHC facilities in Tanzania. Purposive sampling and data source triangulation were used to address potential biases and limitations associated with the study’s small sample size.
Findings
This study identifies several key findings related to the implementation and effectiveness of EHRS in Tanzanian PHC facilities. The primary obstacles include inadequate technical infrastructure, poor internet connectivity and insufficient financial resources. The study suggests a comprehensive strategy for improving EHRS, emphasizing patient and health-care professional involvement in system design, investments in technical infrastructure and connectivity, data quality and accuracy and ongoing technical support and training.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by offering a nuanced understanding of the Tanzanian health-care context. It emphasizes the need for tailored solutions and strategies specific to the region’s challenges and opportunities. The study’s originality lies in its focus on EHRS in the Tanzanian context, providing valuable insights for future initiatives. A key policy implication underscores the importance of a supportive regulatory framework, dedicated resources and consistent stakeholder communication for successful EHRS implementation.
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Raja Nurul Waheeda Raja Zilan, Adi Irfan Che-Ani and Siti Rashidah Hanum Abd Wahab
This paper aims to review the elements of facilities condition index (FCI) as one of the most widely used metrics for describing the physical condition of facilities and as a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the elements of facilities condition index (FCI) as one of the most widely used metrics for describing the physical condition of facilities and as a measure of financial indicator related to maintenance activity. This research will benefit future studies that focus on implementation of FCI and encourage the best practice when assessing the physical condition to evaluate the performance of facilities as well as to plan for maintenance action to be taken and financial implication involved based on the findings from FCI.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 33 studies from 2012 to 2022 were identified and extracted from four academic databased, named Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Mendeley. These published studies were selected because it matches with the inclusion requirements for research question, “What are the elements of facilities condition index discussed in the literature from 2012 to 2022?”. To answer the research question, the studies in ATLAS.ti were grouped into five major themes based on the codes and categories found.
Findings
This paper presents the findings of a thematic analysis of the current literature discussed about FCI. A total of 33 studies from 2012 to 2022 were identified and extracted from four academic databased, named Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Mendeley. A themed review was conducted, and five themes were identified as elements of FCI, which are named as follows: “Condition Assessment”, “Deferred Maintenance”, “Facilities Performance”, “Financial and Fund Allocation” and “Decision Making”.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils the fundamental elements on current FCI practices as well as intended to highlight existing practices that are essential to evaluate facilities performance and planning for maintenance strategies.
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Mohammad A. Hassanain, Ali Al-Marzooq, Adel Alshibani and Mohammad Sharif Zami
This paper evaluates the factors influencing the utilization of the Internet of Things (IoT) for sustainable facilities management (SFM) practices in Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper evaluates the factors influencing the utilization of the Internet of Things (IoT) for sustainable facilities management (SFM) practices in Saudi Arabia.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed approach, combining a literature review, pilot-testing and questionnaire survey, was adopted to evaluate the factors. Twenty-seven factors were identified and grouped into four groups: technical, business and organizational, operational and security and privacy. The questionnaire was distributed to 30 facilities managers and 30 IoT specialists, totaling 60 practitioners, to determine the effect index of each factor. The practitioners' consensus on the ranking of the factors was then determined.
Findings
The study identifies the top-ranking factors as: “Difficulty in ensuring data security and protection,” “Difficulty in ensuring data privacy and confidentiality” and “Limited awareness and understanding of IoT benefits and capabilities.” These factors highlight the challenges to successful IoT implementation in the FM sector. The FM sector could benefit from utilizing IoT while maintaining the security, privacy and effectiveness of building operations by successfully addressing these concerns. A high level of consensus on the ranking of the factors was observed between facilities managers and IoT specialists. This was substantiated by a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient of 0.79.
Originality/value
This study enriches the literature by combining practical insights from facilities managers with technical expertise from IoT specialists on the factors impacting IoT implementation in the Saudi Arabian FM sector. Beyond academic contributions, it provides practical insights for industry professionals, fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing and guiding future research in this field.
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Oyindamola Alalade, Jamiu A. Dauda, Saheed O. Ajayi, Abdullahi B. Saka and Stanley Njuangang
This study aims to examine facility management practices in the Nigerian healthcare sector, exploring approaches and identifying challenges facing effective healthcare facilities…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine facility management practices in the Nigerian healthcare sector, exploring approaches and identifying challenges facing effective healthcare facilities management. The purpose is to contribute to the development of a framework for enhancing healthcare facility management efficiency in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a sequential in-depth exploratory qualitative research approach. The data collection involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 15 facility managers from diverse healthcare organisations in Nigeria. The qualitative data collected were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
The study reveals scheduled, unscheduled and mixed approaches as the three facility management approaches used in Nigeria. It also substantiates the underdeveloped nature of facility management in Nigeria's healthcare sector, exacerbated by challenges such as socioeconomic, operational, technological and regulatory challenges.
Practical implications
The study uncovers systemic issues affecting have attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and advocates for a comprehensive approach to enhance healthcare infrastructure, contributing to improved health outcomes and sustainable development.
Originality/value
This research uniquely uncovers the hidden challenges facing effective healthcare facility management in Nigeria, providing a foundation for stakeholders to formulate solutions and rescue the struggling state of healthcare facilities in the country.
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Chinedu Hillary Joseph, Mensah Prince Osiesi, Toyin Olanike Adaramoye and Abidemi Olufemi Arogundade
This study investigates the extent to which support facilities are available, accessible and satisfactory and the relationship between support facilities and academic adjustment…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the extent to which support facilities are available, accessible and satisfactory and the relationship between support facilities and academic adjustment among first-year university undergraduates.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted a survey research design. A simple random sampling technique was used to select six faculties at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria. Six hundred first-year students took part in the study. The Support Facilities and Academic Adjustment Questionnaire (SSAAQ) was adapted and used for data collection. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation and the t-test were used to analyse the data.
Findings
The study revealed that the extent of the availability of support facilities is low, accessibility is moderate while the extent of satisfaction is high in the study context. Significant positive relationship exist between support facilities and academic adjustment, in favour of female first-year undergraduates. The challenges faced by first-year undergraduates were highlighted.
Originality/value
Nigerian students are confronted with accessing important components of support facilities at tertiary institutions. These student face additional hurdles in accessing support facilities at universities because of their socioeconomic status but were not explicit in identifying the exact nature of the challenges they experience. There is dearth of literature regarding the extent of availability, accessibility, as well as the challenges encountered by first-year students and their satisfaction in accessing the university’s support facilities, vis-à-vis its relationship to their academic adjustment in the university amidst gender differences. This current study fills this gap in the literature.
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Austin Zygmunt, Kahiye Warsame, Richard G. Mather, Lori McKinnon, Anne Philipneri, Stone Li and Sandya Menon
The physical environment of correctional facilities promote infectious disease transmission and outbreaks. The purpose of this study is to compare the COVID-19 burden between the…
Abstract
Purpose
The physical environment of correctional facilities promote infectious disease transmission and outbreaks. The purpose of this study is to compare the COVID-19 burden between the correctional facility (incarcerated individuals and staff members) and non-correctional facility population in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
All individuals in Ontario with a laboratory confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 between 15 January 2020 and 31 December 2022 and entered into the provincial COVID-19 data were included. Cases were classified as a correctional facility case (living or working in a correctional facility) or a non-correctional facility case. COVID-19 vaccination status was obtained from the provincial COVID-19 vaccine registry. Statistics Canada census data were used to calculate COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates for incarcerated cases and the non-correctional facility population.
Findings
Between 15 January 2020 and 31 December 2022, there were 1,550,045 COVID-19 cases in Ontario of which 8,292 (0.53%) cases were reported in correctional (63.8% amongst incarcerated individuals, 18.6% amongst staff and 17.7% amongst an unknown classification) and 1,541,753 (99.47%) were non-correctional facility cases. Most cases in correctional facilities were men (83.8%) and aged 20–59 years (93.1%). COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates were generally higher among incarcerated individuals compared to the non-correctional facility population throughout the study period. COVID-19 incidence peaked in January 2022 for both the correctional facility population (21,543.8 per 100,000 population) and the non-correctional facility population (1915.1 per 100,000 population). The rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked for the correctional facility population aged 20–59 in March 2021 (70.7 per 100,000 population) and in April 2021 for the non-correctional facility population aged 20–59 (19.8 per 100,000 population). A greater percentage of incarcerated individuals (73.0%) were unvaccinated at time of their COVID-19 diagnosis compared to the non-correctional facility population (49.3%). Deaths amongst correctional facility cases were rare (0.1%, 6 / 8,292) compared to 1.0% of non-correctional facility cases (n = 15,787 / 1,541,753).
Originality/value
During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals incarcerated in correctional facilities in Ontario had higher COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates compared to the non-correctional facility population. These results support prioritizing incarcerated individuals for public health interventions to mitigate COVID-19 impacts in correctional facilities.
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Mehdi Zaferanieh, Mahmood Sadra and Toktam Basirat
This paper aims to propose a bi-level mixed integer linear location-allocation problem. The upper-level objective function is dedicated to minimizing the total distances covered…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a bi-level mixed integer linear location-allocation problem. The upper-level objective function is dedicated to minimizing the total distances covered by customers to meet the p-selected facilities and the fixed cost values for establishing these facilities. While in the lower level, a customer preference function evaluates the priority of customers in selecting facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The solution approach to the proposed model uses the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions to the lower-level problem where a set of p-selected facilities are introduced as the selection of the upper-level decision maker. The bi-level model reduces to a single-level model with some added binary variables.
Findings
Sensitivity analysis of the proposed bi-level model concerning variations of such different parameters as customers’ preferences and the number of selected facilities have been provided, using some numerical examples. Also, locating a recreational facility in Mazandaran province, Iran, has been provided to evaluate the reliability of the proposed model and efficiency of the solution approach, as well.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is original and its findings are not available elsewhere.
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This paper aims to empirically investigate the effect of facility–maintenance service quality on tenants’ satisfaction and their subsequent willingness to pay higher rent in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to empirically investigate the effect of facility–maintenance service quality on tenants’ satisfaction and their subsequent willingness to pay higher rent in the National Capital Region (NCR), India.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study was collected from 1,692 tenants in NCR, India. SmartPLS4.0 was used to analyze the data using structured equation modeling.
Findings
The study findings indicate that all parameters of facility–maintenance service quality (tangibles, service personnel quality and empathy) positively impact tenants’ satisfaction. Further, satisfied tenants are willing to pay higher rentals. In addition, customer satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between facility–maintenance service quality and willingness to pay higher rent.
Research limitations/implications
The study extends evidence-based research in the service industry to provide empirical evidence that facility–maintenance service quality positively impacts customer satisfaction in real estate settings in emerging markets (India). This research will guide future researchers to explore other dimensions to support evidence-based research in real estate settings.
Practical implications
Based on the data collected online after personal interaction in residents’ meetings, the study findings provide significant insights for stakeholders such as policymakers, practitioners, landlords, associations and builders. With rising housing demand because of rural migrations toward urban or metro locations coupled with the government’s inability to expand the infrastructure simultaneously, the government has enhanced the role of public–private partnership (PPP) in housing development. The findings will help policymakers incorporate the service angle into key performance indicators in PPP contracts. Additionally, with rising competition in the housing sector, understanding these factors will help landlords and resident associations improve service quality standards, thus enhancing the residential societies’ word-of-mouth publicity and attracting high-paying residents.
Originality/value
To the best of author’s knowledge, this is a pioneer study to empirically investigate the impact of facility–maintenance service quality standards on tenants’ satisfaction and willingness to pay higher rent in a residential setting in India.
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Joseph Kwaku Kidido, Tahiru Alhassan and Charlotte Pokua Frimpong Nyarko
Users are key stakeholders in event facilities, and therefore facilities management (FM) services must meet their needs and expectations. The paper aims to assess users’…
Abstract
Purpose
Users are key stakeholders in event facilities, and therefore facilities management (FM) services must meet their needs and expectations. The paper aims to assess users’ perceptions of FM practices and sustainability in event facilities in higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a descriptive design approach to explore the perceptions of end-users of event facilities. Using Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology as a case study, 384 users of the event facilities were contacted through the email directory of the event facilities. Questionnaires were used to collect data and analysed in descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v22.0).
Findings
The study categorised users’ perceptions into customer care, security and safety and service quality dimensions. The results revealed that constituent key important indices of these three dimensions were not significant at both the composite and individual levels. Thus, the users generally perceived FM practices in the event facilities to be below standard. None of the three sustainability constituents was significant, suggesting that users perceived event FM sustainability practices as below standard.
Practical implications
The study presents users’ perceptions of FM practices in event facilities. It has also suggested effective ways of managing event facilities to improve user comfort, safety and satisfaction.
Originality/value
The study provides relevant information on users’ perceptions of FM practices. It specifically has sustainable FM as a key component, which is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals.
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Ama Darkwah Osei Assibey Antwi, Aba Essanowa Afful, Joshua Ayarkwa, Ambrose Dodoo, Safowaa Osei-Tutu and Anthony Kwame Danso
This study aims to review the status quo, current state of research, research hot themes and research gaps in sustainable facilities management (SFM) in the built environment (BE…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to review the status quo, current state of research, research hot themes and research gaps in sustainable facilities management (SFM) in the built environment (BE) through an extant literature review.
Design/methodology/approach
To map and analyze knowledge paths in the context of SFM research, a sequential explanatory mixed-method review involving bibliometric and content analysis was used to help identify current research trends, research hot themes and knowledge gaps. The Scopus search engine was used to find 169 relevant articles. For a better understanding of the literature accumulated, a bibliometric analysis was carried out by using VOSviewer to reveal current research themes, the status quo and current state of research as well as research gaps.
Findings
Through the literature review and content analysis, the current research themes on SFM revealed from the study include green building technologies, assessment methods of SFM, smart buildings and building information modeling. The research hot themes in SFM include smart buildings and green building technologies, green buildings (GB), architectural and building designs in the university sector, assessment methods in buildings and decision-making and the adoption of asset and facility management in the university sector. Indoor air pollution, intelligent buildings, climate change, maintenance, environmental management, facilities, historic preservation, environmental performance, energy management, etc. are the research gaps identified from the study, and these serve as potential areas for future research studies under SFM. It was recognized that facilities managers are increasingly involved with sustainability policies within their organizations and are developing sustainability agendas to keep up with the changing nature of the facilities management (FM) profession.
Practical implications
The findings of this study hold relevance to the FM practice, as the integration of SFM by facilities managers can lead to waste reduction, decreased operating expenses and reduced energy consumption. In addition, occupants of sustainable buildings experience improved conditions that contribute to better health and productivity, thus boosting their overall well-being. Consistent with the themes of smart buildings and green technologies, revealed to be the hot themes in the SFM research scope, properties with sustainable features can command higher rental rates and property values, appealing to a broader range of stakeholders. SFM practices in universities can aid in saving money from reduced facility operational costs and improve the image of institutions while creating better indoor environments for students and staff. The analyses of countries involved in research can open doors for the establishment of research groups and the development of collaboration between universities in different countries researching similar topics of interest.
Originality/value
The geographical scope of this study is not limited and, therefore, encourages broad applicability of the findings to the global sustainable BE.
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