Enhance Healthcare Services Research Articles

Empowering Smart Cities with Fog Computing: A Versatile Framework for Enhanced Healthcare Services and Beyond

Fog Computing represents a distributed computing infrastructure strategically positioned at the network's edge, acting as an intermediate layer between remote cloud services and the data-generating smart devices on the ground. Leveraging this concept, a flexible and efficient smart city design emerges, offering a diverse range of applications, including smart healthcare, car parking, power management, water management, and waste management. The implementation of Fog computing enables reduced data processing latency and equitable workload distribution across fog nodes. The smart city system comprises several layers, namely connection, real-time processing, neighborhood linking, main processing, and data server layers. The flexibility of this framework allows for the scaling up or down of layers depending on specific smart city applications. In a case study focused on Smart healthcare services, the iFogSim platform was utilized to evaluate the system's performance. Notably, the results demonstrated a significant reduction in network usage, data processing latency, and processing costs when compared to traditional cloud computing solutions. Consequently, this improvement in efficiency translated into an enhanced user experience, offering superior scalability and reliability to users utilizing smart city services, including healthcare facilities.

POWERING RURAL HEALTHCARE WITH SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: A GLOBAL REVIEW OF SOLAR SOLUTIONS

Access to reliable healthcare and sustainable energy remains a global challenge, particularly in rural and underserved communities. This review paper explores the integration of solar energy solutions in rural healthcare settings, shedding light on the transformative impact of this innovative approach. This paper also explores the multifaceted benefits, challenges, and future directions of solar-powered healthcare through a comprehensive examination of the literature. Solar energy solutions in rural healthcare provide reliable power for medical equipment, extend operating hours, and improve lighting, leading to enhanced healthcare services and more accurate diagnoses. Moreover, solar-powered vaccine refrigeration ensures the potency and safety of vaccines, contributing to improved public health outcomes. Financial sustainability is bolstered as solar solutions reduce healthcare costs and offer financial independence to facilities. Environmental sustainability is achieved through reduced carbon footprints and responsible resource use. Beyond healthcare services, solar initiatives empower local communities by creating employment opportunities and enhancing resilience in emergencies. Challenges such as initial costs, maintenance, adverse weather conditions, scalability, and policy hurdles are addressed through innovative financing models, capacity building, climate-resilient solutions, standardized monitoring systems, advocacy, and technological advancements. As the world seeks to achieve universal healthcare and sustainable development, solar-powered healthcare exemplifies the potential of renewable energy to drive positive change. This review paper emphasizes that we can improve healthcare access, quality, and sustainability by harnessing the sun's energy, ultimately illuminating the path toward brighter, healthier, and more equitable rural communities.
 Keywords: Solar Energy, Rural Healthcare, Sustainable Energy, Healthcare Access Renewable Energy, Healthcare Quality, Financial Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability, Future Directions.

Predictors and Outcomes of Falls in Older Adults Presenting to the Emergency Room in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Saudi Arabia is witnessing a demographic shift characterized by a rising elderly population. Cases of fallin this demographic have emerged as a significant health concern, especially in emergency room (ER) settings. Despite this, there is limited research on the causes and outcomes of such incidents. This study intends to bridge the gap in understanding the factors leading to falls in elderly patients presenting to ERs and the subsequent outcomes. Such understanding is pivotal for the formulation of effective prevention strategies and enhanced healthcare services for the elderly. To achieve the study's objectives,we employed SPSS software forWindows,version 28.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) for data analysis. We collected demographic information, including age, gender, education, employment status, and location, to measure patient satisfaction with the quality and responsiveness of emergency care, using Likert scale responses via electronic survey conducted as a cross-sectional study from January 2023 to August 2023, summarizing it using descriptive statistics. We analyzed categorical variables by frequencies and percentages. Chi-square tests were utilized to examine differences in distribution across categories for fall factors, and a p-value below 0.05 was deemed significant. Through logistic regression, we pinpointed the predictors of falls among older adults, showcasing the strength and direction of these relationships. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were documented. A perception survey was also conducted to evaluate ER patient satisfaction. Our results shed light on various aspects of fall prevention and emergency care. There was apronounced representation in age groups of 18-24and 25-34 years, indicating the need for interventions tailored to different age groups. Patterns were identified where subjects engaged in limited physical activity and consumed alcohol infrequently. Mobility and balance problems were commonly found, stressing the need to address these issues. Chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes correlated with fall incidents. Additionally, sociodemographic factors like gender, education, and employment status played a role in influencing the risk of falls. Although age and location seemed to have a less pronounced effect, there exists an opportunity to enhance communication and patient participation in emergency care for improved experiences. The findings from our study provide crucial insights into the prevention of falls and enhancement of emergency care for Saudi Arabia's elderly population. By revealing the intricate relationships between sociodemographic attributes, health indicators, chronic ailments, and incidents of falls, we emphasize the need for well-rounded interventions. There is a pressing requirement for comprehensive fall prevention initiatives tailored to specific risk groups. Additionally, improving ER services is integral to ensuring the safety and well-being of older adults. This research can serve as a foundational resource for healthcare professionals and policymakers to devise robust strategies to reduce fall-related injuries and elevate the quality of emergency care outcomes.

Assessment of the SmartJournal Intervention for Improved Oral Care in Nursing Homes: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Poor oral health is common in nursing home residents, and health care professionals report numerous barriers when it comes to the provision of oral care for care-dependent older adults, such as a lack of oral health knowledge and skills, care-resistant behaviors in residents, lack of adequate oral care routines, insufficient systems for documentation of issues related to oral health, a high workload, and unclear responsibilities. An intervention, SmartJournal, has been developed to assist health personnel in preserving older patients' oral health. SmartJournal is a digital tool with three components: (1) documentation of oral hygiene routines; (2) monthly oral health assessment; and (3) education on geriatric oral care. An updated framework for research on complex interventions has been used to guide the various phases in the development of this intervention. This study focuses on the evaluation phase. We aim to assess (1) the effectiveness of SmartJournal use in enhancing nursing home caregivers' capability, opportunity, motivation, and routines related to oral care; and (2) whether SmartJournal use results in improved oral health for nursing home residents. We will use a cluster randomized controlled trial to assess impacts of SmartJournal use as specified under study objectives. Nursing homes located in Rogaland, Norway, will be recruited and randomly assigned to an intervention and a control group. The intervention group will be provided with tablets containing SmartJournal and support from research staff, while the control group will continue with existing oral care routines. Both groups will receive oral hygiene packages. The intervention will last for 12 weeks. Measurements will be performed in both groups at baseline, 3 months, and 9 months and include (1) a survey assessing caregivers' capability, opportunity, motivation, and routines related to oral care; and (2) assessment of oral health status in residents using mucosal-plaque score as a primary outcome measure. Analyses will include descriptive statistics and statistical techniques to look for changes and differences in the study variables within and between the intervention and control groups throughout the study period. Associations between study variables will also be investigated. Recruitment of nursing homes for the intervention and control groups was completed in February 2023. Recruitment of individual participants (ie, nursing home residents and caregivers) is ongoing, and baseline measurements are being performed consecutively. Results are expected to be ready for analyses in fall 2024. We aim to assess the effects of SmartJournal use on oral care and oral health in nursing homes. Results from this work may inform further development and implementation of SmartJournal and similar digital tools aiming to enhance health care services offered to care-dependent people. Finally, SmartJournal may have potential as a learning tool in educational programs for nurses and other health care professionals. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05724043; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05724043. DERR1-10.2196/46926.

Predictors of Unmet Healthcare Needs during Economic and Health Crisis in Greece.

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to identify predictors of the unmet healthcare needs during the financial and recent health crisis in Greece. (2) Methods: Time series analysis was performed for the years 2008 through 2022 using the Eurostat database. The dependent variable was the percentage of people who reported unmet need for medical care. Demographic, socioeconomic, and health data, as well as health expenditures, were used as independent variables. Correlation analysis and simple linear regression models were conducted to analyze the results. (3) Results: Unmet health needs in Greece increased from the start of the crisis until 2016, as a gradual de-escalation of the crisis was observed. However, in 2019 the country recorded the second highest level of unmet needs for medical care before the health crisis. Limitations in usual activities, reporting bad/very bad health status, being unemployed, and having low income increased the likelihood of unmet needs. Health expenditures (public or private) were also significant determinants of unmet healthcare needs. (4) Conclusions: The increased unmet health needs widen inequalities in health and healthcare access. Therefore, health policies should eliminate barriers which restrict the access to health and enhance healthcare services, developing conditions for citizens' well-being.

Interventions to enhance healthcare utilisation among pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality in low- and middle-income countries: a review of systematic reviews

BackgroundMaternal mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) has reduced considerably over the past three decades, but it remains high. Effective interventions are available, but their uptake and coverage remain low. We reviewed and synthesised evidence from systematic reviews on interventions to increase healthcare services utilisation to reduce maternal mortality in LMICs.MethodsWe searched Medline PubMed and Cochrane Library databases for systematic reviews published between January 2014 and December 2021, investigating interventions to increase healthcare services uptake among pregnant women in LMICs. We used the AMSTAR tool (A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews) to assess the methodological quality of the included reviews. We extracted data on the interventions and their effects and grouped them into broad groups based on the outcomes reported in each systematic review.ResultsWe retrieved 4,022 articles. After removing duplicates and screening, we included 14 systematic reviews.Male-partner interventions were effective in increasing skilled birth attendance (SBA) postnatal visits and maternal antiretroviral (ART) uptake for HIV-positive pregnant women. However, there was no evidence of their effectiveness on increased early ANC initiation or adequate ANC visits.Mobile health interventions were effective in increasing adequate ANC visits, SBA, facility-based service utilisation, early ANC initiation, and adherence to nutritional supplements.Incentive-based interventions, particularly financial incentives, were effective in increasing the number of ANC visits but not postnatal visits.Facility-based interventions were effective in increasing postnatal visits, maternal ART initiation and uptake, immunisation uptake and follow-up ANC visits. None of the reviews assessed their impact on SBA or adequate ANC visits.Community-based interventions were effective in increasing SBA, ANC service utilisation, ART initiation and uptake, and nutritional supplements and immunisation uptake.ConclusionOur findings show that the different interventions effectively improved different outcomes on the maternal healthcare continuum. Implementing these interventions in combination has the potential to enhance healthcare service uptake further.

Impact of pension income on healthcare utilization of older adults in rural China

ObjectiveIn China, rural residents experience poorer health conditions and a higher disease burden compared to urban residents but have lower healthcare services utilization. Rather than an insurance focus on enhanced healthcare services utilization, we aim to examine that whether an income shock, in the form of China’s New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS), will affect outpatient, inpatient and discretionary over-the-counter drug utilization by over 60-year-old rural NRPS residents.MethodsProviding a monthly pension of around RMB88 (USD12.97), NRPS covered all rural residents over 60 years old. Fuzzy regression discontinuity design (FRDD) was employed to explore the NRPS causal effect on healthcare services utilization, measured by outpatient and inpatient visits and discretionary over-the-counter drug purchases. The nationwide China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2018 provided the data.ResultsWithout significant changes in health status and medication needs, 60-plus-year-old NRPS recipients significantly increased the probability of discretionary OTC drug purchases by 33 percentage points. NRPS had no significant effect on the utilization of outpatient and inpatient utilization. The increase in the probability of discretionary OTC drug purchases from the NRPS income shock was concentrated in healthier and low-income rural residents. Robustness tests confirmed that FRDD was a robust estimation method and our results are robust.ConclusionNRPS was an exogenous income shock that significantly increased the probability of discretionary over-the-counter drug purchases among over 60-year-old rural residents, but not the utilization of inpatient or outpatient healthcare services. Income remains an important constraint for rural residents to improve their health. We recommend policymakers consider including commonly used over-the-counter drugs in basic health insurance reimbursements for rural residents; provide health advice for rural residents to make discretionary over-the-counter drug purchases; and to mount an information campaign on over-the-counter drug purchasing in order to increase the health awareness of rural residents.

Building the capacity of rural allied health generalists through online postgraduate education: a qualitative evaluation.

Workforce development is a key strategy for building the capacity and capability of a workforce. Accordingly, rural and remote practising allied health professionals require relevant and accessible continuing professional development to enhance their knowledge and skills and improve consumer health outcomes. This study explored the impact of an online postgraduate allied health rural generalist education program, from the perspective of allied health professionals participating in the program and their supervisors and managers. A qualitative, exploratory descriptive study design was employed using semistructured interviews. This study formed the qualitative component of a larger convergent mixed-methods evaluation study aimed at evaluating the reach, quality and impact of an online rural generalist education program for allied health professionals in Australia. Allied health professionals from seven professions enrolled in an online postgraduate rural generalist education program, the rural generalist program (RGP). Their designated work-based supervisors and their managers who were responsible for the operational management of the study sites were invited to participate in the study. All participants were employed in rural and remote health services in 10 sites across four Australian states. Study participants' experience and perceptions of the impact of the RGP on themselves, the healthcare service and the broader community were explored using semistructured interviews. Data were thematically analysed site by site, then across sites using Braun and Clarke's (2012) systematic six-phase approach. Provisional codes were generated and iteratively compared, contrasted and collapsed into secondary, more advanced codes until final themes and subthemes were developed. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 23 allied health professionals enrolled in the RGP and their 27 work-based supervisors and managers across the 10 study sites. Three final themes were identified that describe the impact of the RGP: building capability as rural generalist allied health professionals; recruiting and building a rural workforce; enhancing healthcare services and consumer outcomes. Allied health professionals working in rural and remote locations valued the RGP because it provided accessible postgraduate education that aligned with their professional and clinical needs. Integrated into a supportive, well-structured development pathway, the experience potentiated learning and facilitated safe clinical practice that met the needs of consumers and organisations. The findings demonstrate that effective work-integrated learning strategies can enhance the development of essential capabilities for rural practice and support early-career allied health professionals' transition to rural and remote practice. These experiences can engage allied health professionals in a way that engenders a desire to remain working in rural and remote contexts.

Health sciences lifelong learning and professional development in the era of artificial intelligence

IntroductionIn the field of healthcare, lifelong learning is considered a quality indicator due to its potential to enhance healthcare services and the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals. The purpose of this research is to investigate and document the attitudes and behavior of healthcare professionals from different healthcare institutions toward lifelong learning using artificial intelligence. The study achieves two objectivesIdentifying healthcare professionals' interest in formal lifelong learning and determining how they engage in lifelong learning. Additionally, this study aims to develop a dynamic web platform with several key features including an introduction page, navigation menu, document download form, document table, and download, delete, and resume buttons. MethodologyThe study was conducted from 07/04/2022 to 19/05/2022 and involved a sample of 114 healthcare professionals from various locations in Morocco. A questionnaire comprising three sections (personal information, lifelong learning for personal development, and lifelong learning for professional development) was used as the research instrument. ResultsThe average age of the participants was 43 years, and 76.8% had more than 11 years of experience in the field. The results indicate a correlation between professional development and lifelong learning among healthcare professionals. The two most important factors driving lifelong learning were identified as the advancement of the healthcare profession and the need to elevate the quality of care. Also, this research objective is to develop a dynamic online platform featuring an introduction page, navigation menu, document download form, document table, and download, delete, and resume buttons. ConclusionsAccording to the findings, healthcare professionals consider lifelong learning an ongoing and continuous process essential to their work.

Patients' Perspectives on the Data Confidentiality, Privacy, and Security of mHealth Apps: Systematic Review.

Mobile health (mHealth) apps have the potential to enhance health care service delivery. However, concerns regarding patients' confidentiality, privacy, and security consistently affect the adoption of mHealth apps. Despite this, no review has comprehensively summarized the findings of studies on this subject matter. This systematic review aims to investigate patients' perspectives and awareness of the confidentiality, privacy, and security of the data collected through mHealth apps. Using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was conducted in 3 electronic databases: PubMed, Ovid, and ScienceDirect. All the retrieved articles were screened according to specific inclusion criteria to select relevant articles published between 2014 and 2022. A total of 33 articles exploring mHealth patients' perspectives and awareness of data privacy, security, and confidentiality issues and the associated factors were included in this systematic review. Thematic analyses of the retrieved data led to the synthesis of 4 themes: concerns about data privacy, confidentiality, and security; awareness; facilitators and enablers; and associated factors. Patients showed discordant and concordant perspectives regarding data privacy, security, and confidentiality, as well as suggesting approaches to improve the use of mHealth apps (facilitators), such as protection of personal data, ensuring that health status or medical conditions are not mentioned, brief training or education on data security, and assuring data confidentiality and privacy. Similarly, awareness of the subject matter differed across the studies, suggesting the need to improve patients' awareness of data security and privacy. Older patients, those with a history of experiencing data breaches, and those belonging to the higher-income class were more likely to raise concerns about the data security and privacy of mHealth apps. These concerns were not frequent among patients with higher satisfaction levels and those who perceived the data type to be less sensitive. Patients expressed diverse views on mHealth apps' privacy, security, and confidentiality, with some of the issues raised affecting technology use. These findings may assist mHealth app developers and other stakeholders in improving patients' awareness and adjusting current privacy and security features in mHealth apps to enhance their adoption and use. PROSPERO CRD42023456658; https://tinyurl.com/ytnjtmca.

Literature Review: The Effectiveness of Electronic Medical Records (RME) On Hospital Service Quality

Health Information System is a systematic way of managing information at all levels of government to provide healthcare services to the community. In providing services to the community, the health information system is a systemic management of information at all levels of government. Every healthcare facility in Indonesia must maintain electronic medical records based on Permenkes No. 24/2022. This shows that the role of Health Information Systems is needed in a health system. However, using electronic medical records (EMR) in Indonesian healthcare facilities must be uniformly and sufficiently implemented, so it cannot provide accurate and timely data. This study aims to assess the implementation of EMR in Indonesian hospitals. This study used the literature review method by reviewing 15 journal articles published between 2016 and 2022, retrieved through Google Scholar. The results showed that several hospitals in Indonesia had implemented EMR; some hospitals have effectively implemented it and benefit from the implementation of EMR, such as improving the efficiency of time and effort in providing health services to patients. Patients also receive better medical care. The study findings aim to encourage all healthcare facilities to optimize the use of EMR to enhance healthcare services.

Enhancing healthcare services and brand engagement through social media marketing: Integration of Kotler's 5A framework with IDEA process

Social media marketing can be an effective solution for healthcare organizations to build long-term relationships with patients. However, previous studies mainly focused on isolated aspects of social media marketing. This lack of integration has limited the development and adoption of social media marketing. This study proposes a social media marketing methodology (SMMM) that incorporates Kotler's 5A consumer experience path with the IDEA (identify, develop, engage, and assess) content marketing process and well-known social media design principles in providing marketing roadmap and content design guidance for implementing social media marketing. Two cases (one for a medical center with 56 posts reaching 101,342 potential clients and another for a postpartum nursing home with 52 posts reaching 61,245 potential clients) are used to examine and evaluate the usability of the methodology. The results show that the engagement rate in both cases is well above the average level in Taiwan, and all users have a positive response to the use of the methodology. These findings support that the methodology provides a nominal process model for implementing social media marketing, facilitates the design of post content, and enhances patient engagement with healthcare brands and services.

Metaverse for Digital Anti-Aging Healthcare: An Overview of Potential Use Cases Based on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, IoT Technologies, Its Challenges, and Future Directions

Metaverse is the buzz technology of the moment raising attention both from academia and industry. Many stakeholders are considering an extension of their existing applications into the metaverse environment for more usability. The healthcare industry is gradually making use of the metaverse to improve quality of service and enhance living conditions. In this paper, we focus on the potential of digital anti-aging healthcare in the metaverse environment. We show how we can use metaverse environment to enhance healthcare service quality and increase the life expectancy of patients through more confident processes, such as chronic disease management, fitness, and mental health control, in the metaverse. The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain (BC), Internet of Things (IoT), immersive technologies, and digital twin in the metaverse environment presents new scopes for the healthcare industry. By leveraging these technologies, healthcare providers can improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and create new healthcare experiences for a better life, thus facilitating the anti-aging process. AI can be used to analyze large-scale medical data and make personalized treatment plans, while blockchain can create a secure and transparent healthcare data ecosystem. As for IoT devices, they collect real-time data from patients, which is necessary for treatment. Together, these technologies can transform the healthcare industry and improve the lives of patients worldwide. The suggestions highlighted in this paper are worthy to undergo implementation and create more benefits that will promote a digital anti-aging process for its users for a longer life experience.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors of frontline health workers in Ghana

Background: Human resources are vital for delivering health services, and health systems cannot function effectively without enough skilled, motivated, and well-supported health workers. Even though several studies have addressed job satisfaction among healthcare professionals in different parts of the world, there is limited research examining intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors involved in job satisfaction, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries. Methods: This was a facility-based quantitative cross-sectional study conducted in 34 primary health care facilities, across three out of the 26 districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana, between February and March 2018, analyzing job satisfaction and underlying factors. Randomly selected public health workers (n=287) from health facilities were included in the study. The two-factor theory was adopted as the measurement model for this study. Results: The odds of staff that had received management training in the past 12 months being intrinsically satisfied was 3.73 (95% CI:2.03,6.86) times higher than staff with no management training (p<0.001). Compared to staff working in hospitals, Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) staff showed lower levels of satisfaction on factors relating to intrinsic motivation. Technical staff had higher odds of being intrinsically and extrinsically satisfied compared to non-technical staff. Conclusions: Public healthcare workers working at primary health facilities in Ghana, at higher levels of service delivery, showed higher satisfaction compared to lower-level staff, both in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic factors underlying satisfaction. Thus, to enhance healthcare services, health facilities’ administrators should take measures to improve the working conditions of staff at all levels of service delivery, since the hierarchy of service delivery in the health system makes the contributory role of all staff critical in improving the quality of primary healthcare.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Justice-Involved African Americans

This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on justice-involved African Americans during incarceration and post-release. The study population comprised 25 African American men and women recently released from prison. A qualitative phenomenological approach was employed, and the reflexive thematic analysis process was utilized. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted and imported into NVivo 11 qualitative research software. The analysis revealed four major themes: stress, reentry, substance use, and community adjustment. The findings implied a need for (1) policy creation and revision to prepare jails and prisons for public health crises; (2) more realistic post-release coping strategies to prepare individuals to face post-release obstacles, such as COVID-19, housing, employment, relapse, and social reintegration; (3) improvements in data collection and transparency in disseminating such data to enhance healthcare services in jails and prisons; and (4) additional evidence-based research to address current concerns with data availability, misreporting, reporting delays, testing rate differences, and inconsistencies in population estimates.

A Qualitative Exploration on Knowledge of Community-Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses among Community Resource Persons and Primary Health Care Workers in Oyo State, Nigeria

Community-Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (C-IMCI) is a multipronged strategy developed by the World Health Organization aimed at reducing childhood mortality and morbidity through the integration of enhanced health care services, improved case management skills and healthier community practices. Community resource persons (CORPs) play an important role in the knowledge transfer of this strategy to mothers of U-5 children within their communities. This study explored the knowledge of C-IMCI among CORPs and other primary healthcare workers, as well as accessibility to training, and recommendations for the promotion of C-IMCI. Qualitative data were obtained from a larger cross-sectional study conducted in Ibadan North East and Akinyele Local Government Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria. Data were collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-depth Interviews (IDIs) among community resource persons, community health workers and selected key health officers in two local government areas (LGAs) in Oyo State, Nigeria. Data were transcribed and analyzed thematically. There was poor knowledge of C-IMCI among the participants, the majority of respondents received C-IMCI-related information from nurses and LGA staff. Regarding training, a few respondents who received the initial training on C-IMCI had been transferred from their LGAs, monitoring was infrequent and implementation of C-IMCI was not effective in the sampled areas. Community Resource Persons and Primary Health Care workers in this study did not receive regular trainings on C-IMCI; hence their knowledge was limited in this regard. Increased access to trainings on community practices would help in bridging the existing knowledge gaps in this field.

Enhancing healthcare services in an orthopaedic department utilising a system dynamics and participatory action research perspective to optimise patient flow

BACKGROUND: The high burden of trauma in Durban results in longer elective surgery waiting periods, which exacerbates the in-patient hospital days and increases the average length of stay. Quantitative analyses of the data clearly demonstrate a growing list of elective patients awaiting surgery while the rate of acute trauma admissions continues to escalate. It has been demonstrated that interactions of patients between the various stages of care should be carefully studied in order for policymakers to identify limiting factors and leverage points Many public health interventions run aground and fail to actualise their initial objectives since the system is deconstructed and reduced to simplified autonomous components. A restorative undertaking to remedy this syndrome is to reconstitute the normative conventions of framing, mapping out and scrutinising deficiencies within healthcare systems. This paper explores a model of total patient flow through the orthopaedic service to test alternative major new structural options for relieving pressure on health services. METHODS: Qualitative data was collected using purposeful sampling to conduct 20 semi-structured interviews as well as including discourse analysis and ethnographic research. Participatory action research (PAR) was the main epistemological method driving the study under the auspices of a system dynamics framework RESULTS: Areas of potential improvements have been identified which can ameliorate the flow of patients between the different departments together with the challenges and uncertainties that are present in achieving this CONCLUSION: Efficient patient flow management is a cornerstone in optimising healthcare services; the failure of such a system burdens the entire health system Level of evidence: Level 5

Data Mining Applications for Enhancing Healthcare Services: A Comprehensive Review

The healthcare industry is experiencing a data-driven transformation, marked by the prolific generation of electronic health records (EHRs) and patient-related data. This paper delves into the potent realm of data mining applications within the healthcare environment, illustrating its capacity to revolutionize healthcare services. The extensive review explores data preprocessing techniques essential for enhancing data quality and reliability. It explores predictive modeling techniques, such as logistic regression, decision trees, and support vector machines, which empower healthcare professionals to predict disease risks, patient readmission rates, and medication adherence with precision. Furthermore, the paper elucidates the utility of clustering and classification techniques in devising personalized treatment regimens. Association rule mining is presented as a powerful tool for revealing concealed relationships amidst healthcare data, including symptom co-occurrence, drug interactions, and disease patterns. In practice, data mining serves as the bedrock for Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS), driving evidence-based healthcare decisions and recommendations. The applications extend to disease surveillance and outbreak detection, offering early warning systems that can trigger timely public health interventions. Data mining's capacity to unravel medication adherence challenges is showcased, thereby optimizing patient compliance. Additionally, healthcare fraud detection benefits from data mining's ability to uncover anomalous billing patterns. The paper concludes by addressing challenges like data privacy, source integration, and ethical considerations, while also highlighting the promising future of data mining in the realm of personalized medicine. As healthcare continues to digitize and data sources proliferate, harnessing data mining's capabilities is pivotal in advancing healthcare services, improving patient outcomes, and managing costs effectively.

Multichannel Mobile Companions for Personalized Healthcare Opportunities and Challenges

Mobile companions are a subset of telemedicine and they have gained increasing attention to enhance healthcare services and communication between patients and care providers. These digital tools allow for the delivery of care services through a variety of channels, increasing access to care and convenience for patients. By gathering and analyzing data from patients, mobile companions also provide care providers with valuable insights into patient health, helping to improve care. Additionally, they can be integrated with electronic medical records, making it easier for healthcare providers to access patient information and track progress over time. The use of mobile companions in healthcare services has many advantages and it brings new opportunities to care providers. However, it also presents many challenges to care providers that aim to adopt it. This paper presents a study where is addresses the opportunities and challenges of multichannel mobile companions in healthcare services provided to patients. As a result of this study, a SWOT analysis is presented and discussed regarding the mobile companion in healthcare services.

Exploring barriers to accessing healthcare services for older indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tract, Bangladesh.

We aim to investigate the obstacles faced by elderly indigenous individuals in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh when accessing healthcare services. A qualitative research approach was utilized, and data collection was carried out in three distinct regions of the aforementioned area. A total of 30 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and participant observations were conducted to achieve the research objectives. Thematic analysis utilizing both a deductive and inductive approach was employed to analyze the data. The Granheim method and Nvivo-12 software were utilized to process, analyze and code the data. The study's findings indicate that a lack of knowledge about healthcare needs, geographical barriers, poor financial conditions, higher cost of medical services, scarcity of hospitals nearby and communication barriers all contribute to inadequate access to healthcare services. By recognizing the factors that impede access to healthcare services in this region, this study offers valuable insight for policymakers and healthcare providers on how to enhance healthcare services for the indigenous population, especially the elderly. Furthermore, the government can adopt a more efficient approach to include these elderly individuals in various social safety net programs.