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1 – 10 of over 126000
Article
Publication date: 14 August 2019

Janet Davey and Christian Grönroos

Although health-care features prominently in transformative service research, there is little to guide service providers on how to improve well-being and social change…

1531

Abstract

Purpose

Although health-care features prominently in transformative service research, there is little to guide service providers on how to improve well-being and social change transformations. This paper aims to explore actor-level interactions in transformative services, proposing that actors’ complementary health service literacy roles are fundamental to resource integration and joint value creation.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth interviews with 46 primary health-care patients and 11 health-care service providers (HSPs) were conducted focusing on their subjective experiences of health literacy. An iterative hermeneutic approach was used to analyse the textual data linking it with existing theory.

Findings

Data analysis identified patients’ and HSPs’ health service literacy roles and corresponding role readiness dimensions. Four propositions are developed describing how these roles influence resource integration processes. Complementary service literacy roles enhance resource integration with outcomes of respect, trust, empowerment and loyalty. Competing service literacy roles lead to outcomes of discredit, frustration, resistance and exit through unsuccessful resource integration.

Originality/value

Health service literacy roles – linked to actor agency, institutional norms and service processes – provide a nuanced approach to understanding the tensions between patient empowerment trends and service professionals’ desire for recognition of their expertise over patient care. Specifically, the authors extend Frow et al.’s (2016) list of co-creation practices with practices that complement actors’ service literacy and role readiness. Based on a service perspective, the authors encourage transformative service researchers, service professionals and health service system designers, to recognize complementary health service literacy roles as an opportunity to support patients’ resources and facilitate value co-creation.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2023

Marie-Hélène Gilbert, Julie Dextras-Gauthier, Maude Boulet, Isabelle Auclair, Justine Dima and Frédéric Boucher

Maintaining a healthy and productive workforce is a challenge for most organizations. This is even truer for health organization, facing staff shortages and work overload. The aim…

Abstract

Purpose

Maintaining a healthy and productive workforce is a challenge for most organizations. This is even truer for health organization, facing staff shortages and work overload. The aim of this study is to identify the resources and constraints that influence managers' mental health and better understand how they are affected by them.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was chosen to document the resources, the constraints as well as their consequences on managers in their day-to-day realities. The sample included executive-, intermediate- and first-level managers from a Canadian healthcare facility. A total of 62 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The coding process was based on the IGLOO model of Nielsen et al. (2018) to which an employee-related level was added (IGELOO).

Findings

Results highlight the importance of considering both resources as well as constraints in examining managers' mental health. Overarching context, organizational constraints and the management of difficult employees played important roles in the stress experienced by managers.

Practical implications

The results offer a better understanding of the importance of intervening at different levels to promote better organizational health. Results also highlight the importance of setting up organizational resources and act on the various constraints to reduce them. Different individual strategies used by managers to deal with the various constraints and maintain their mental health also emerge from those results.

Originality/value

In addition to addressing the reality of healthcare managers, this study supplements a theoretical model and suggests avenues for interventions promoting more sustainable organizational health.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 38 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 June 2022

Jarrod Goentzel, Timothy Russell, Henrique Ribeiro Carretti and Yuto Hashimoto

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced countries to consider how to reach vulnerable communities with extended outreach services to improve vaccination uptake. The authors created an…

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced countries to consider how to reach vulnerable communities with extended outreach services to improve vaccination uptake. The authors created an optimization model to align with decision-makers' objective to maximize immunization coverage within constrained budgets and deploy resources considering empirical data and endogenous demand.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed integer program (MIP) determines the location of outreach sites and the resource deployment across health centers and outreach sites. The authors validated the model and evaluated the approach in consultation with UNICEF using a case study from The Gambia.

Findings

Results in The Gambia showed that by opening new outreach sites and optimizing resource allocation and scheduling, the Ministry of Health could increase immunization coverage from 91.0 to 97.1% under the same budget. Case study solutions informed managerial insights to drive gains in vaccine coverage even without the application of sophisticated tools.

Originality/value

The research extended resource constrained LMIC vaccine distribution modeling literature in two ways: first, endogenous calculation of demand as a function of distance to health facility location enabled the effective design of the vaccine network around convenience to the community and second, the model's resource bundle concept more accurately and flexibly represented complex requirements and costs for specific resources, which facilitated buy-in from stakeholders responsible for managing health budgets. The paper also demonstrated how to leverage empirical research and spatial analysis of publicly available demographic and geographic data to effectively represent important contextual factors.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2020

Tram-Anh Ngoc Pham, Jillian Carol Sweeney and Geoffrey Norma Soutar

This study aims to examine the impacts various types of resources had on customer effort in mandatory and voluntary value cocreation activities and the contribution of efforts in…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impacts various types of resources had on customer effort in mandatory and voluntary value cocreation activities and the contribution of efforts in these different activity types to quality of life.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from customers across five chronic health conditions were collected through an online survey. Rasch analysis helped identify hierarchies of activities representing varying levels of effort across four activity types (mandatory (customer), mandatory (customer or organization), voluntary in-role and voluntary extra-role activities). The conceptual model that was developed to examine the relationships of interest was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

Findings

While clinical resources helped mandatory activities and personal network resources facilitated voluntary activities, psychological resources had greater impacts on customer effort across the whole range of activities. Effort in each activity type contributed to the quality of life differently, with voluntary activities having the greatest impacts on quality of life.

Practical implications

This study lends support to a holistic approach to health service that requires the mobilization of networks of resources to encourage customers’ engagement in a broad range of activities. Understanding the resources facilitating effort in distinct activity types provides insights to develop strategies to drive value cocreation efforts that subsequently contribute to improvements in quality of life.

Originality/value

Drawing on an extensive and nuanced categorization of activities, this study broadened the understanding of the networks of resources that are integrated in customer value cocreation processes and the link between value cocreation efforts and quality of life.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2015

Grace Ada Ajuwon and Sunday O. Popoola

This study aims to determine the influence of motivational factors: perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived enjoyment (PEJ) and perceived usefulness (PU) on utilisation of Internet…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to determine the influence of motivational factors: perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived enjoyment (PEJ) and perceived usefulness (PU) on utilisation of Internet health information resources among resident doctors in tertiary health-care institutions in Nigeria. The Internet has become a major source of health information for practitioners and the general public. Despite the availability of health information resources on the Internet, some resources are underutilised. There are numerous studies on Internet use among health-care workers; however, there is a dearth of information on motivational factors influencing utilisation of Internet health information resources among resident doctors in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive survey design was used. Total enumeration technique was adopted to cover 1,280 resident doctors in 13 tertiary health-care institutions in southwestern Nigeria. A validated, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire has four sections covering the demographic profile of the respondents, PEU, PEJ and PU. Four hypotheses were tested at the p < 0.0 1 level of significance. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression analysis.

Findings

There were more males (69.0 per cent) than females (31 per cent); respondents mean age was 34 years. The result revealed that PEU(r = 0.181, p < 0.01), PEJ(r = 0.166, p < 0.01) and PU(r = 0.121, p < 0.01) have significant relationship with utilisation of Internet health information resources by the respondents. Also, PEU, PEJ and PU collectively (F = 15.366, df = 3; 897, p < 0.01) have significant influence on utilisation of Internet health information resources of the respondents. Individually, PEU (B = 0.864, df = 897, t = 3.90, p < 0.01) and PEJ (B = 0.349, df = 897, t = 3.060, p [lt] 0.01) were found to have significant influence on utilisation while PU (B = 0.232, df = 897, t = 1.328, p > 0.01) does not significantly influence the utilisation of Internet health information resource of the respondents.

Research limitations/implications

One major implication of this study is that system designers and web content developers should design programs and websites that are compatible with the user’s abilities. Medical librarians have a role to play in providing quality health content that is easy to navigate and pleasurable to use. Both the institutions and the government have a role to play in providing information and communication technology facilities to enable doctors access relevant health information resources easily.

Practical implications

Introduction of information literacy training in the residency programme or inclusion as a component of the continuing professional development will enable resident doctors to know relevant online searching tools and search techniques for accessing health information resources which will be useful to their work. This will in turn increase their PU of Internet resources. Health sciences librarians (medical librarians) in the various institutions/centres have a role to play in training resident doctors on how to access, retrieve and evaluate online health information. Librarians should also train resident doctors on how to search evidence-based Medicine resources such as the Cochrane Library and PubMed Clinical Queries and Critical Appraisal of the medical literature to make informed decision in the management of their patients and for research purposes. They should be trained on how to organise bibliographic references using reference manager tools such as Endnote, Zotero or Mendeley.

Social implications

The social implication of this findings is that systems that are easy to use should be designed, so that doctors will be able to access relevant information for research and patient care for better health outcomes. The easier and enjoyable the system is to use, the more resident doctors will access and use health information resources to improve their service and save more lives.

Originality/value

This study examined three motivational factors (PEU, PEJ and PU) that influence the utilisation of Internet health information resources by resident doctors in tertiary health-care institutions in Nigeria. The result revealed that collectively PEU, PEJ and PU have significant relationship with the utilisation of Internet health information resources, but PEU and PEJ are the main drivers of use of Internet health information resources among the resident doctors studied. This study adds to the literature of motivational factors influencing utilisation of Internet health information resources by resident doctors in southwestern Nigeria. This paper is original because, to the best of our knowledge, there is no other study on motivational factors influencing Internet use among resident doctors in Nigeria.

Book part
Publication date: 17 October 2016

Jennifer K. Dimoff and E. Kevin Kelloway

Employee mental health problems are among the most costly issues facing employers in the developed world. Recognizing this, many employers have introduced resources designed to…

Abstract

Employee mental health problems are among the most costly issues facing employers in the developed world. Recognizing this, many employers have introduced resources designed to help employees cope with stressors. Yet, most employees fail-to-use these resources, even when they need them and could benefit from using them. We seek to understand this resource underutilization by (a) drawing on and expanding resource theories to explain why employees do not use existing resources and (b) proposing that leaders, managers, and supervisors can play a key role in facilitating the utilization of available resources. In doing so, we introduce resource utilization theory (RUT) as a complementary perspective to conservation of resources (COR) theory. We propose that RUT may provide the framework to describe patterns of resource utilization among employees, and to explain why employees do not use available resources to deal with existing stressors and demands.

Details

The Role of Leadership in Occupational Stress
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-061-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2000

Madeline Ford

General health, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, AIDS, and immunization are the greatest health issues affecting the African‐American community. Increasingly, there is a…

Abstract

General health, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, AIDS, and immunization are the greatest health issues affecting the African‐American community. Increasingly, there is a need to gather and disseminate information through a variety of outlets. This selection of health‐related resources provides access to information that is currently available on the Internet. The audience includes the layperson, educator, or health‐care professional who desires to gain more knowledge about health issues or seeks to share information with others on health issues. The materials chosen for inclusion were selected from the Web, using a variety of search engines and tools. The Web sites included were chosen based on their relevancy to health issues affecting African‐Americans and range of information available to meet the needs of various populations.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 October 2011

Chern Li Liew

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of online resources that offer health information. However, there is no guarantee that all intended users will be able to use these…

Abstract

Purpose

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of online resources that offer health information. However, there is no guarantee that all intended users will be able to use these resources effectively. This study seeks to investigate the types of help features that are available through existing internet‐based health information resources that support the use of these resources.

Design/methodology/approach

An investigation of 30 such resources was carried out with the objective of answering these questions. The paper intends to answer the following research questions: What types of help features are available in existing online health information resources? How can their formats and presentation styles be characterised based on existing interface design guidelines from the Human‐Computer Interaction (HCI) community? Were there any differences in the manner in which different internet‐based health information providers presented evidence‐based information?

Findings

The study discovered a range of help features being employed in these resources, ranging from step‐by‐step guides outlining the use of site features to the inclusion of links to resources that cater to user groups, who speak a language other than English. Further to this, the study also found that resources that were consumer‐based and commercially‐funded predominantly favoured the use of implicit help features to improve user access, whilst government‐funded libraries were more likely to make use of explicit help features to aid users in the use of specific features.

Originality/value

This study provides insightful information regarding current status and problems of the help features in existing online health information resources.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 November 2022

Oti Amankwah, Weng Wai Choong and Naana Amakie Boakye-Agyeman

With challenges in health-care facilities management (FM) and adequacy of health-care resources constraints in most developing countries, improving patient’s health-care…

Abstract

Purpose

With challenges in health-care facilities management (FM) and adequacy of health-care resources constraints in most developing countries, improving patient’s health-care experience has become of strategic importance in public health-care delivery. This paper aims to investigate the mediating effect of adequacy of health-care resources on the relationship between the quality of health-care FM services and patient’s health-care experience.

Design/methodology/approach

This cross-sectional study adopts a quantitative approach based on a questionnaire survey conducted on 660 patients of three teaching hospitals in Ghana. In total, 622 valid questionnaires were used for data analysis using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

Findings

The mediating effect of adequacy of health-care resources on the relationship between responsiveness and tangibility and patients’ health-care experience were supported, while that of empathy, reliability and assurance were not supported. The relationship between and adequacy of health-care resources and patients’ health-care experience was also supported.

Research limitations/implications

The study limitation is that it was only the teaching hospitals that were surveyed. In future studies, a comparative analysis can be conducted between both public and private hospitals. Other constructs and relationships such as the mediating effect of the quality of health-care administrative process on the relationship between FM service quality and patients’ health-care experience as well as the moderation effect of adequacy of health-care resource on the relationship between FM service quality and patients’ health-care experience can also be tested. Future studies on the same subject can use health-care workers as the respondents of the study.

Practical implications

The result should inspire health-care managers to prioritize attention on health-care FM to create and sustain a decent health-care environment. Facilities managers should ensure standards are not compromised by keeping health-care resources in good condition through the organisation and management of resources.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the pioneer studies to test the mediating effect of adequacy of health-care resources on the relationship between patient’s health-care experience and health-care FM service quality. The proposed framework can be adapted to various sectors and countries as this empirical validation extends knowledge.

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2020

Judith Fletcher-Brown, Diane Carter, Vijay Pereira and Rajesh Chandwani

Knowledge is a key success factor in achieving competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to examine how mobile health technology facilitates knowledge management (KM…

1012

Abstract

Purpose

Knowledge is a key success factor in achieving competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to examine how mobile health technology facilitates knowledge management (KM) practices to enhance a public health service in an emerging economies context. Specifically, the acceptance of a knowledge-resource application by community health workers (CHWs) to deliver breast cancer health care in India, where resources are depleted, is explored.

Design/methodology/approach

Fieldwork activity conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with frontline CHWs, which were analysed using an interpretive inductive approach.

Findings

The application generates knowledge as a resource that signals quality health care and yields a positive reputation for the public health service. The CHW’s acceptance of technology enables knowledge generation and knowledge capture. The design facilitates knowledge codification and knowledge transfer of breast cancer information to standardise quality patient care.

Practical implications

KM insights are provided for the implementation of mobile health technology for frontline health-care professionals in an emerging economies context. The knowledge-resource application can deliver breast cancer care, in localised areas with the potential for wider contexts. The outcomes are valuable for policymakers, health service managers and KM practitioners in an emerging economies context.

Social implications

The legacy of the mobile heath technology is the normalisation of breast cancer discourse and the technical up-skilling of CHWs.

Originality/value

First, this paper contributes three propositions to KM scholarship, in a public health care, emerging economies context. Second, via an interdisciplinary theoretical lens (signalling theory and technology acceptance model), this paper offers a novel conceptualisation to illustrate how a knowledge-resource application can shape an organisation’s KM to form a resource-based competitive advantage.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 126000