Appraisal Stages Research Articles

Determinants of seeking timely and necessary pediatric care

Ninety mothers were interviewed in a pediatrician’s waiting room about their reasons for seeking care. We compared their answers, and the pediatrician’s judgment of the visit’s necessity and timeliness to a model which distinguishes appraisal, illness, and utilization stages in seeking medical treatment. Clearly defined symptoms and the use of few home treatments predicted a more rapid assessment that one’s child was ill. No factors predicted how quickly a mother would decide that her child needed professional care, nor how rapidly she would then seek that care. The pediatrician judged visits to be necessary when the child had many physical symptoms, pain, and/or fever, and when the child’s mother was employed. He judged visits to be delayed for mothers who reported that cost of treatment may influence their decisions to seek care. He indicated that only 39% of the visits were both necessary and on time. We discuss ways to encourage appropriate utilization of pediatric visits.

Project Management: A Survey of Current Practices and Implications

In completing a large project there is a time overrun of the order of three years on a scheduled project duration of 3.7 years and a cost overrun of 140 per cent. Production losses are five times the cost overrun due to delay. Cost and time overruns are jeopardizing the viability of the projects themselves. M G Korgaonker reviews and analyses the Indian experience as to why there are such heavy overruns. Based on a survey of current practices in project management, he concludes that project management practices can be improved considerably. He cites instances where effective management practices have led to completion of projects as per plans. He draws implications of his analysis for the pre-investment investigation, project appraisal, organization, and implementation stages of project management.