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The purpose of this paper is to study the efficacy of a district tuberculosis (TB) co-ordinating team on health service performance for suspected TB patients in a district hospital in northeastern Thailand.

A comparison study of pre- and post-evaluations of TB system improvement was conducted in a district hospital in northeastern Thailand between October 2016 and June 2017. Data collection reviewed the record of suspected TB cases reported in the district hospital in the past nine months as a base line for describing the health service performance in term of received investigation for TB diagnosis. Participants from a TB clinic, district health office and health center set up a TB co-ordinating team to explore situations and systematic gaps. The TB co-ordinating team gave recommendations of health service performance for suspected TB patients over a nine-month period. Records of suspected TB cases health service performance were collected nine months after intervention. Data analysis by descriptive statistics and to test the effect of intervention was performed.

The records from 324 and 379 suspected TB cases reported in the hospital from the 9 months preceding and 9 months, respectively, after intervention were reviewed. A TB co-ordinating team was set up to improve the system and health service performance in terms of investigation for TB diagnosis. The results revealed that health service performance in terms of complete microscopy and investigation in both chest radiography and microscopy increased after intervention. When comparing between pre- and post-intervention, suspected cases received both chest radiography and microscopy in 176 cases and 283 cases, respectively (p-value=0.001). There were 27 cases diagnosed for smear positive TB in pre-intervention and 51 cases diagnosed in post-intervention (p-value=0.011). There were 21 cases pre- and 36 cases post-intervention that had referral documents from health center with no statistically significant difference.

The TB co-ordinating team had the role to improve health service performance for suspected TB cases to enroll in investigation process for increase TB diagnosis in district hospital.

Tuberculosis is the cause of a large burden of disease in less developed countries. With the development of drug resistance and the co‐epidemic of HIV, tuberculosis has already started to make a comeback in wealthier countries. The WHO’s solution to this global tuberculosis epidemic is the DOTS strategy, the implementation of which presents many problems. The two issues most common to the majority of locations are delay in presentation for treatment and non‐completion of treatment. This review looks at the reasons for these problems in the less developed world, and addresses some solutions. The main reasons for delayed presentation are: a lack of understanding about TB; the stigma associated with the disease; the inaccessibility of treatment; and a preference for private practitioners. The main reasons for non‐completion of treatment are: the stigma of the disease; a lack of information; dissatisfaction with the treatment and its delivery; and inaccessibility of treatment. Successful implementations of the DOTS strategy need to address all these issues. There is little evidence that DOT enhances treatment completion unless combined with other strategies. Community‐based, patient‐orientated DOTS appears to be an appropriate way of addressing many of these issues. The involvement of volunteers in community‐based strategies is common, but needs more research in order for this strategy to realise its full potential.

The purpose of this paper is to review the history and current state of provision of homeless medical respite services in the UK, drawing first on the international context. The paper then articulates the need for medical respite services in the UK, and profiles some success stories. The paper then outlines the considerable challenges that currently exist in the UK, considers why some other services have failed and proffers some solutions.

The paper is primarily a literature review, but also offers original analysis of data and interviews, and presents new ideas from the authors. All authors have considerable experience of assessing the need for and delivering homeless medical respite services.

The paper builds on previous published information regarding need, and articulates the human rights argument for commissioning care. The paper also discusses the current complex commissioning arena, and suggests solutions.

The literature review was not a systematic review, but was conducted by authors with considerable experience in the field. Patient data quoted are on two limited cohorts of patients, but broadly relevant. Interviews with stakeholders regarding medical respite challenges have been fairly extensive, but may not be comprehensive.

This paper will support those who are thinking of undertaking a needs assessment for medical respite, or commissioning a new medical respite service, to understand the key issues involved.

This paper challenges the existing status quo regarding the need for a “cost-saving” rationale to set up these services.

This paper aims to be the definitive paper for anyone wishing to get an overview of this topic.

The article aims to globally illuminate and inform the healthcare delivery systems of the potential value of integrated care pathways (ICPs) application to the management and control of infection in the hospital setting

An analysis of recent pertinent literature (1993‐2004) is given, preceded by a broad overview of both the subjects of infection control and ICPs.

There are scanty examples of ICPs applied to infection control albeit successfully with demonstrable merits which include improvements in the quality and cost of care. However, there is a lack of robust studies on the subject which warrants further research.

Infection control is a major challenge to all healthcare providers seeking practical solutions. This source article may stimulate further informed debate to curb the problem of hospital acquired infection (HAI) which remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality despite all the great advancement in medicine.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of strategy development and implementation for a food sector related non‐departmental public body. This is reviewed against a well‐established model of change.

A single case study is appropriate where there is a unique example of practice. In this case a newly founded organisation defines and implements its strategy within the context of the English red meat sector.

The literature provides rather less guidance on strategy selection for not for profit organisations. The network model of strategy was implemented by EBLEX. Market research guided the selection of strategy and implementation involved in‐ and out‐sourcing, communication to stakeholders, project and process based management and the sharing of information and objectives. The need to deliver in the short term may inhibit longer‐term objectives by reducing flexibility and responsiveness. The ability to identify, recruit and retire network partners is a necessary capability. Having developed the organisation afresh, significant challenges lie ahead in generating growth and managing increasing complexity.

A single case study is limited in the extent to which generalisations can be made. There is a need to confirm the emerging findings with additional cases in similar and different contexts. Building on this research, theoretical propositions can be derived to guide future work and to develop theory.

This case provides insight into the management and development of a non‐departmental public body.

This paper investigates a unique opportunity for research in this field.

This paper presents the findings of an evaluation of a street crime warden scheme in a city in the north west of England. It specifically focuses on the aims of the warden scheme and provides a detailed overview of the role of the wardens. The scheme is examined with regard to the threat from police community support officers (PCSOs), public perceptions and the overall financial sustainability of the scheme.

Scientific research is producing ever‐increasing amounts of quantitative data worthy of communication to scholars, but more than can be accommodated in refereed publications even though the number of journals is itself increasing. In the last twenty years, the quantity of geochemical analytical data produced world‐wide has increased a hundredfold or more. Geochemical and petrological journals nowadays rarely publish the complete sets of data; instead, only selected representative data are published and the remainder may or may not be put into supplementary publications. In the last five years, a scheme has been set up in the UK which co‐ordinates geochemical publications with a growing computerised geochemical data bank. The data bank comprises not only the geochemical analytical data actually printed on the journal pages but also the remainder of the data set pertaining to the published paper which could not be printed for lack of space. In collaboration with the journal editor, the data are collected into the data bank at the same time as the author is submitting his or her paper for publication. The author enters the data in a standard format and sends them as hard copy or in machine‐readable form to the data bank editor. The editor verifies the data and passes them for archiving to the National Geochemical Data Bank manager of the British Geological Survey whence they can be retrieved. The data are also relayed to the World Data Center for storage and further distribution.

Gives introductory remarks about chapter 1 of this group of 31 papers, from ISEF 1999 Proceedings, in the methodologies for field analysis, in the electromagnetic community. Observes that computer package implementation theory contributes to clarification. Discusses the areas covered by some of the papers ‐ such as artificial intelligence using fuzzy logic. Includes applications such as permanent magnets and looks at eddy current problems. States the finite element method is currently the most popular method used for field computation. Closes by pointing out the amalgam of topics.

Presents the scientific methodology from the enlarged cybernetical perspective that recognizes the anisotropy of time, the probabilistic character of natural laws, and the entry that the incomplete determinism in Nature opens to the occurrence of innovation, growth, organization, teleology communication, control, contest and freedom. The new tier to the methodological edifice that cybernetics provides stands on the earlier tiers, which go back to the Ionians (c. 500 BC). However, the new insights reveal flaws in the earlier tiers, and their removal strengthens the entire edifice. The new concepts of teleological activity and contest allow the clear demarcation of the military sciences as those whose subject matter is teleological activity involving contest. The paramount question “what ought to be done”, outside the empirical realm, is embraced by the scientific methodology. It also embraces the cognitive sciences that ask how the human mind is able to discover, and how the sequence of discoveries might converge to a true description of reality.

In the early 1990s sponsorship be came established as a widely-used marketing tool in Spain. The Barcelona Olympics, the Universal Exposition in Seville and the naming of Madridas the Capital of European Culture were largely responsible for this. However, intensive sponsorship use does not necessarily mean appropriate sponsorship management. CarlosIlla, Sponsorship Manager of Spanish telecommunications firm Telefonica, has been always one of those few professionals who has managed to combine intensive use and appropriate management. In this interview he addresses various issues involved in sponsor ship management including the combination of local and transnational sport marketing, sponsor ship decision making and selection criteria, and different evaluation methods.