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In this paper the commissioners of an evaluation and the researchers jointly review the relationship between research and service development at a local level in an evaluated health authority pilot project to introduce complementary therapies into primary care. The article discusses the importance of organisational arrangements between the research and the service development, focusing on the close working relationship between researchers and stakeholders in the research and corresponding service development. The relationship between the research and service development was not linear and the benefits were not based solely on outcomes of the treatment but also on the ways the evaluation gave insight into how the pilot service was delivered. Factors such as personal commitment to the project, and close working relationships by all concerned are important. These elements are rarely emphasised but have to be taken into account if evidence‐based health care is to achieve its potential.

Systems of care and evidence-based practice possess distinct histories. Though each developed out of attempts to improve services to youth with emotional and behavioral disorders, they did so from perspectives so different as to appear diametrically opposed. Service systems exist at multiple levels, including the practice, program, and system levels (Rosenblatt, 1988, 2005; Rosenblatt & Woodbridge, 2003). Research on health and mental health service systems similarly varies, often by level of the service system, with the research methods, independent and dependent variables, populations of interest, and ultimately the consumers of the research product interacting differentially in the creation and understanding of what constitutes a knowledge base for service delivery. Systems of care and, with limited exceptions, evidence-based practices exist at different levels of the service delivery structure, require and derive from different research approaches, and speak to overlapping but historically different audiences.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the status of perceived need, seeking behavior and utilization of health services in the elderly population of Sanandaj (west of Iran).

This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 800 elderly people in Sanandaj. Subjects were selected using multistage sampling and data were collected using self-report questionnaires. A multivariate logistic model with odds ratios (ORs) was used to determine the relationship of independent variables with seeking perceived need. Also, the concentration index was used to measure the inequality in using health services.

The perceived need for outpatient (during the last 30 days) and inpatient health-care services (during the past 12 months) was 69.7% and 29.7%, respectively. Among them, the unmet need for outpatient and inpatient health-care services was 46.6% and 17%, respectively. Having health insurance (adjusted OR 12.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–140.11), middle economic status (adjusted OR 5.18; 95% CI 1.30–20.51) and being in an age group of 65–70 years (adjusted OR 7.60; CI 1.42–40.61) increased the chance of seeking inpatient care. Also, being in an age group of 60–65 years (adjusted OR 0.41; 95% CI 0.18–0.95) reduced the chance of seeking outpatient care. There was also a pro-rich inequality in using outpatient health services.

The elderly population suffers from unmet health-care needs, especially in outpatient services. The most important reason for not seeking outpatient and inpatient services was financial barriers and self-medication, respectively. So, designing targeted policies and interventions to address barriers in the conversion of need to demand in the elderly population is essential.

When using a service, customers often develop their own solutions by integrating resources to solve problems and co-create value. Drawing on innovation and creativity literature, this paper aims to investigate the influence of place (the service setting and the customer setting) on customer creativity in a health-care context.

In a field study using customer diaries, 200 ideas from orthopedic surgery patients were collected and evaluated by an expert panel using the consensual assessment technique (CAT).

Results suggest that place influences customer creativity. In the customer setting, customers generate novel ideas that may improve their clinical health. In the service setting, customers generate ideas that may improve the user value of the service and enhance the customer experience. Customer creativity is influenced by the role the customer adopts in a specific place. In the customer setting customers were more likely to develop ideas involving active customer roles. Interestingly, while health-care customers provided ideas in both settings, contrary to expectation, ideas scored higher on user value in the service setting than in the customer setting.

This study shows that customer creativity differs in terms of originality, user value and clinical value depending on the place (service setting or customer setting), albeit in one country in a standardized care process.

The present research puts customer creativity in relation to health-care practices building on an active patient role, suggesting that patients can contribute to the further development of health-care services.

As the first field study to test the influence of place on customer creativity, this research makes a novel contribution to the growing body of work in customer creativity, showing that different places are more/less favorable for different dimensions of creativity. It also relates customer creativity to health-care practices and highlights that patients are an untapped source of creativity with first-hand knowledge and insights, importantly demonstrating how customers can contribute to the further development of health-care services.

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize findings from health care research with those in service research to identify key conceptualizations of the changing role of the health care customer, to identify gaps in theory, and to propose a compelling research agenda.

This study combines a meta-narrative review of health care research, and a systematic review of service research, using thematic analysis to identify key practice approaches and the changing role of the health care customer.

The review reveals different conceptualizations of the customer role within the ten key practice approaches, and identifies an increased activation of the role of the health care customer over time. This change implies a re-orientation, that is, moving away from the health care professional setting the agenda, prescribing and delivering treatment where the customer merely complies with orders, to the customer actively contributing and co-creating value with service providers and other actors in the ecosystem to the extent the health care customer desires.

This study not only identifies key practice approaches by synthesizing findings from health care research with those in service research, it also identifies how the role of the health care customer is changing and highlights effects of the changing role across the practice approaches. A research agenda to guide future health care service research is also provided.

The use of supportive digital technology – the provision of supportive services and self-management health tools using digital platforms – by marketers is increasing alongside research interest in the topic. However, little is known about the motivations to use these tools and which tool features provide different forms of social support (informational, emotional, instrumental, network or esteem). The purpose of this paper is thus to explore consumer perceptions of supportive healthcare self-management and preferences for different levels of interactive features as social support in a health services context.

A qualitative approach involving 30 semi-structured interviews with consumers interested in two common preventative health services that use supportive digital tools (SDTs) (skin-cancer checks and sexually transmitted infection checks) was undertaken. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the verbatim transcripts.

This research identified there is a lack of motivation to initiate the search for SDTs; consumers are motivated by a desire to control and monitor health concerns and avoid overuse of the health system. The findings showed a preference for social support to go beyond informational support, with a need for interactivity that personalised support in a proactive manner.

SDTs are positively perceived by consumers as part of health services. The motivation to use these tools is complex, and the social support needed is multifaceted and preferably interactive.

This research assists service marketers to better design informational and instrumental support for preventative self-managed healthcare services.

This paper extends knowledge about the motivation and social support required from SDTs in a preventative health service context.

User involvement in research is entering the mainstream of traditional mental health research. In practice, there are diverse ways in which the process of involvement is experienced by mental health service user researchers. This paper aims to explore two diverse experiences of involvement by the researcher.

Auto-ethnography is the research methodology used in this study; it combines a process of reflective writing and critical analysis which enables the author to explore experiences of being both a service user and academic researcher. Two accounts of the author’s involvement in mental health research are presented: one which builds on a consultation model and the other based on co-production principles.

Experiences of power-sharing and collaborative decision-making, alongside disempowerment, are discussed, leading to exploration of the theoretical and practical processes for promoting participation of users in research.

The research is limited because it is undertaken by one individual in a local setting, and is therefore is not generalisable; however, it provides useful insights into the diverse processes of involvement that many service users experience.

Recommendations are presented to support the involvement of service users in research, with final remarks offered considering the possible future implementation of this still emerging tradition.

This paper reflects on the experiences of one service user academic involved in research and highlights diverse experiences of both empowering and disempowering involvement, providing recommendations for best practice.

This paper aims to investigate research activity on barriers for minority and underserved groups to access and use mental health services.

Using Scopus, relevant articles published from 1993 to 2022 were collected. The final list included 122 articles.

Research hotspots included cultural and ethnic barriers, obstacles encountered by LGBTQ+ individuals, challenges faced by refugees and immigrants, limited access in rural areas and barriers affecting special populations. The top 10 cited articles focused on language barriers, cultural stigma, gender-specific challenges and systemic obstacles. New research avenues included the role of technology in overcoming barriers to access mental health services.

Policymakers and practitioners can use this knowledge to develop targeted interventions, enhance cultural competence, reduce stigma, improve rural access and provide LGBTQ+-affirming care, ultimately promoting equitable mental health care.

This research underscores the importance of addressing mental health service barriers for equity and social justice. Neglecting these disparities can worsen mental health, increase health-care costs, reduce productivity and lead to higher social welfare expenses, perpetuating disadvantages.

This paper's uniqueness lies in its comprehensive analysis of barriers and facilitators to mental health service utilization among minority and underserved groups. It serves as a basis for developing evidence-based strategies to improve service accessibility and enhance the well-being of marginalized communities.

Sociology promotes and describes public health, helping to explain macro-social dynamics of mental health care through studies of organizations, networks, and systems of care.

This chapter summarizes sociological research on mental health care organizations and systems, illustrating a macro-social perspective by examining the problem of transitions in care for young adults. Summary findings from a regional mental health services research project describe a system of care that includes 100 organizations. This system helps young adults with mental health needs.

The scope and management of care involves a focus on modes of treatment supported by research evidence and delivered effectively by people with cultural competencies. Care and continuity of care are delivered through coordinated systems of inter-organizational networks, linking organizations and providers. Active inter-organizational linkages are needed to support mental health for young adults during challenging and sometimes difficult transitions.

This research summarizes original and regional data on mental health care organizations within a regional system of care. Practical implications include support for the importance of coordination, transition planning, and cultural competence within and among organizations. Sociological and original research on organizations and systems should continue to elaborate the needs and values of mental health services for regional planning and public health.

Preventative health services are keen to identify how to engage men and increase their participation, thus improving health, well-being and life expectancy over time. Prior research has shown general gender norms are a key reason for men’s avoidance of these services, yet there is little investigation of specific gender norms. Furthermore, masculinity has not been examined as a factor associated with customer vulnerability. This paper aims to identify the relationship between gender norm segments for men, likely customer vulnerability over time and subjective health and well-being.

Adult males (n = 13,891) from an Australian longitudinal men’s health study were classified using latent class analysis. Conditional growth mixture modelling was conducted at three timepoints.

Three masculinity segments were identified based on masculine norm conformity: traditional self-reliant, traditional bravado and modern status. All segments had likely customer experience of vulnerability. Over time, the likely experience was temporary for the modern status segment but prolonged for the traditional self-reliant and traditional bravado segments. The traditional self-reliant segment had low subjective health and low overall well-being over time.

Practitioners can tailor services to gender norm segments, enabling self-reliant men to provide expertise and use the “Status” norm to reach all masculinity segments.

The study of customer vulnerability in a group usually considered privileged identifies differential temporal experiences based on gender norms. The study confirms customer vulnerability is temporal in nature; customer vulnerability changes over time from likely to actual for self-reliant men.