Value For Money Research Articles

The value-for money of preventing and managing periodontitis: Opportunities and challenges.

This article gives an overview of the societal and economic aspects of periodontitis and periodontal care. Despite its largely preventable nature, periodontitis is highly prevalent worldwide and imposes a substantial health and economic burden on individuals and society as a whole. The worldwide estimated direct treatment costs and productivity losses due to periodontitis (including for periodontitis-related tooth loss)amounted to US$ 186 billion and US$ 142 billion in 2019, respectively. The burden of periodontitis is particularly evident in low and disadvantaged populations. Smoking, dietary habits, and presence of systemic diseases along with social and commercial determinants are considered as risk factors for the periodontal diseases. The cost-effectiveness of preventing and managing periodontitis has been explored in several studies but it has been highlighted that there is scope for improvement in defining the methodology and quality of reporting of such studies. A recent report by The Economist Intelligence Unit examined the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent and manage periodontal diseases, suggesting that prevention of periodontitis through prevention of gingivitis by means of individual home care would be more cost-efficient than four other examined approaches. Future research in this field is recommended to further decipher the economic burden of periodontitis to society and to assess the value for money of alternative approaches to address periodontitis with particular emphasis on public health preventive strategies and intersectoral care approaches that address the common risk factors of periodontitis and other non-communicable diseases simultaneously.

Evaluating video and hybrid group consultations in general practice: mixed-methods, participatory study protocol (TOGETHER 2)

Background General practice is facing an unprecedented challenge in managing the consequences of the pandemic. In the midst of a policy drive to balance remote and in-person service provision, substantial workload pressures remain, together with increasing prevalence of long-term conditions, and declining staff numbers and morale. To address these challenges, some practices in the UK have been delivering video and hybrid group consultations (VHGCs). Despite positive initial findings and enthusiasm, there are still gaps in our understanding of the influence VHGCs have on patient experience, healthcare utilisation, quality, safety, equity and affordability. Objectives To generate an in-depth understanding of VHGCs for chronic conditions in general practice, surface assumptions and sociotechnical dynamics, inform practice and extend theorisation. Methods Mixed-methods, multi-site research study using co-design and participatory methods, from qualitative, quantitative and cost-related perspectives. WP1 includes a national, cross-sectional survey on VHGC provision across the UK. In WP2 we will engage patients and general practice staff in co-design workshops to develop VHGC models with emphasis on digital inclusion and equity. In WP3 we will carry out a mixed-methods process evaluation in up to 10 GP practices across England (5 sites already running VHGCs and 5 comparison sites). Qualitative methods will include interviews, focus groups and ethnographic observation to examine the experiences of patients, carers, clinical and non-clinical NHS staff, commissioners and policy-makers. Quantitative methods will examine the impact of VHGCs on healthcare utilisation in primary and secondary care, patient satisfaction, engagement and activation. We will also assess value for money of group and individual care models from a health economics perspective. Conclusions We aim to develop transferable learning on sociotechnical change in healthcare delivery, using VHGCs as an exemplar of technology-supported innovation. Findings will also inform the design of a future study.

Mining heritage gone wrong: A study of disappointed tourists at China’s national mine parks

ABSTRACT Mine parks are a late twentieth-century addition to the global heritage repertoire. To date, most studies of visitor experiences at mining heritage sites focus on tourists who appreciate their outings. Yet mine parks do not satisfy all those who visit. What goes wrong for those who visit these destinations and feel disappointed, and how do they express their displeasure? We answer this question by scrutinising the online negative reviews of tourists from seven Chinese national mine parks. Our analysis indicates ‘disgruntled tourists’ want the sites of former resource extraction to include a sight and meet their expectations for hospitable, accessible, and knowledgeable service. When mine parks fail to deliver, they become disappointed, dissatisfied, and angry. They overwhelmingly articulate their unhappiness using a language of ‘lack’ or deficiency and talking about ‘value for money’. The reviews further suggest that disappointed visitors write online reviews to vent negative emotions, warn other tourists, and punish site staff. Drawing on the broader literature on mining tourism, heritage tourism, and visitor experiences, we indicate strategies that mining heritage professionals could use to remedy disgruntled tourists’ sense of deficiency, while also contributing to scholarly discussions about what makes tourism meaningful.

Risk-based life cycle cost–benefit analysis for progressive collapse design of RC frame structures

Progressive structural collapse is a typical low-probability high-consequence event. Progressive collapse design can effectively improve the robustness of structures against accidental local damage and reduce the probability of collapse. However, progressive collapse design also increases the construction cost of buildings. Hence, it is necessary to conduct cost-benefit analyses for the progressive collapse design of building structures. This study first designs a reinforced concrete (RC) frame based on a progressive collapse design program that simultaneously optimizes material consumption and structural resistance. Then, the structural failure probability is quantified using an alternative path (AP) method-based fragility analysis that considers the structural uncertainties. Based on this, the life cycle costs and benefits of the structure designed with different design load factors are investigated. A four-story RC frame is used as an example. By considering the time value of money and threat probability, the break-even points and optimized design load factors for the progressive collapse design of the RC frame are analyzed. These research outcomes can help promote progressive collapse design in engineering practice and provide references for proposing scientific and reasonable design load factors.

An Analysis of Cash Management with Reference to Deccan Industries

Cash management refers to a broad area of finance involving the collection, handling, and usage of cash. It involves assessing market liquidity, cash flow, and investments. In banking, cash management, or treasury management, is a marketing term for certain services related to cash flow offered primarily to larger business customers. It may be used to describe all bank accounts (such as checking accounts) provided to businesses of a certain size, but it is more often used to describe specific services such as cash concentration, zero balance accounting, and automated clearing house facilities. Sometimes, private banking customers are given cash management services. Financial instruments involved in cash management include money market funds, treasury bills, and certificates. Cash management essentially means dealing with an organization's cash so its use provides the most value to the business. This can mean planning to keep the right amount of cash on hand as well as making plans for the cash the company does not need to have available for business operations. Cash managers plan for, protect, and invest cash assets. Basic parts of planning for efficient cash management include knowing how much cash should be on hand, efficiently handling cash transactions, and investing any surplus cash in securities that will grow the value of the company's money.

Are private investors overcompensated in infrastructure projects?

Private sector engagement in infrastructure procurement and ownership can have benefits for both investors and society. However, a significant challenge for authorities is determining when private sector participation provides value for money. Private investors may demand high returns on their investments even in projects with seemingly low risks. Governments with good credit ratings and access to lower cost capital may view private investors overprice in comparison to the level of risk they take. This paper examines whether the financing premiums (in addition to the cost of state financing) of four public-private partnership road projects in Finland are reasonable relative to the risks borne by private partners, using long time series of actual data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to mostly use actual ex-post data on project costs over an extended period to evaluate whether the government overpays private investors. Our analysis indicates that the financing cost of the four projects is on average 201 basis points higher than the financing cost the government pays on its debt. We conclude that this premium is reasonable compensation for the risk the private investors bear in the projects. This finding has implications for selecting the most effective procurement policy for road projects.

Routinizing and scrutinizing: Divergent yet potentially complementary modes of valuing money's material forms

This essay contrasts and explores the complementarity between “routinizing” modes of valuation (relating money tokens to monetary value) that predominate in the contemporary global north with “scrutinizing” modes found in the past and on the periphery of more familiar forms. The former treat the relationship between pecuniary media and money value as independent from the physical condition of specific money tokens which are held to be universally fungible. By contrast, the latter foreground the characteristics of notes and coins as singularized objects that exist within and are potentially reconfigured semiotically by the workings of time upon their physical surfaces. Scrutinizing modes may in turn be divided between systems that seek pristine money tokens that elide their own historicity and those that treat wear and tear as indexical of previous instances of successful valuation. Ultimately the essay identifies three provisional ideal typical modes for practices of money's valuation. Two of these, the systems of routinization in the contemporary global north and of circulation-focal scrutinization, might be taken to be antithetical. By contrast, the third, the hybrid routinizing-scrutinizing model(s) we encounter on the peripheries of the contemporary state-money system or anywhere confidence about money's value starts to break down highlights the potential coexistence and complementarity of different monies within a single disjunctive system. Such complementarity often takes the form of routinized low value and scrutinized high value currencies, yet local, historically sedimented practices are foremost in the formation of such hybrid forms. Examples are drawn from nineteenth century America and China and from contemporary Southeast Asia.

Procurement of good governance as a strategic tool for achieving value for money in public construction projects

Procurement of good governance as a strategic tool for achieving value for money in public construction projects

Mixed Methods EvAluation of the high-volume low-complexity Surgical hUb pRogrammE (MEASURE): a mixed methods study protocol

IntroductionThe waiting list for elective surgery in England recently reached over 7.8 million people and waiting time targets have been missed since 2010. The high-volume low complexity (HVLC) surgical hubs...

CHALLENGES IMPEDING THE ADOPTION OF E-PROCUREMENT BY PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATIONS (MINISTRIES, DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES) IN SIERRA LEONE – A SURVEY

The introduction and adoption of public procurement and e-procurement processes as recommended by donor organisations for governments of developing and/or under-developed countries has not achieved the intended objective of value for money. The human and material resources poured into building the capacities of countries like Sierra Leone could be considered as one of the steps of achieving the milestone i.e. value for money. The objective of this study is to examine the factors affecting e-procurement in organizations taking into consideration three factors including the value of e-procurement, e-procurement capability and e-procurement models. Data was collected through the use of a questionnaire targeted at procurement practitioners and Specialists and Heads of government ministries, departments and agencies using convenience sampling which is one of the methods of non-probability sampling. Descriptive statistical analysis techniques were employed for data analysis. Findings from the study revealed that a vast majority of the respondents believe that inadequate or limited capacity, credit facility or credibility and rigid laid-down rules of public procurement procedures and processes are the impediments responsible for the adoption and implementation of e-procurement in Sierra Leone. The paper recommends that the Government of Sierra Leone should put the necessary ICT infrastructure in place, review the current procurement act and adopt the implementation of e-procurement in order to achieve value for money.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0787/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

An Imperfect Production Inventory Model for Instantaneous Deteriorating Items with Preservation Investment Under Inflation on Time Value of Money

Effective inventory management is crucial for businesses dealing with deteriorating items, where demand is influenced not only by traditional factors but also dependent on the selling price. This research paper proposes a comprehensive inventory model that considers the dynamic nature of demand for deteriorating items and incorporates the impact of inflation on the time value of money, all within the context of an imperfect production and screening process. To reduce the waste of products, the proposed model uses a rework process to convert imperfect items into perfect ones. Additionally, this study incorporates preservation technology investment to alleviate the rate of deterioration under partially backlogged shortages. The incorporation of an imperfect production process further enhances the model’s practical applicability by addressing real-world scenarios where production may not always be flawless. The study employs mathematical modeling and optimization techniques to derive optimal ordering policies that balance the conflicting objectives of minimizing costs. To validate the model, numerical analysis has been performed, and the convexity of the total cost function has been shown graphically and analytically using MATHEMATICA software. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to assess the robustness of the proposed model under varying parameters, providing valuable insights for decision-makers.

Analysis of Some Practical Life Uses and Applications of Exponential Function

We have sorted out some practical uses of exponential function that we are going to study in this report. The report is given more emphasis on real life use of Euler number i.e. e and also on the uses of other exponential function. The sorted out uses of exponential function is based on following topic: real value of money, bit coin value, household saving, production in a factory, and exploitation of forest. Later on, we have also focused on consequences of those problems and find its solution. This work is motivated by the work of [1-13].

Damage to the public health system caused by war-related looting or vandalism in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia.

The war that started on November 4, 2020, in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia severely affected the health sector. However, there is no available evidence to suggest the economic damage caused to the public health system because of war-related looting or vandalism. This study was aimed at estimating the cost of war-related looting or vandalism in Tigray's public health system in Northern Ethiopia in 2021. A provider perspective, a mixed costing method, a retrospective cross-sectional approach, a 50% inflation rate, and a 50 Ethiopian birr equivalent to one United States dollar ($) for the money value were used. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel, taking into consideration the Sendai framework indicators. The total economic cost of the war-related looting or vandalism in monetary terms was more than $3.78 billion, and the damage to the economic value in monetary terms was more than $2.31 billion. Meanwhile, the direct economic loss to the health system in monetary terms was more than $511 million. According to this assessment, 514 (80.6%) health posts, 153 (73.6%) health centers, 16 (80%) primary hospitals, 10 (83.3%) general hospitals, and 2 (100%) specialized hospitals were damaged and/or vandalized either fully or partially due to the war. This war seriously affected the public health sector in the Tigray region. The Federal Government of Ethiopia, the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia, the Tigrayan Government, the Tigray Regional Health Bureau, and the international community must make efforts to find resources for the revitalization of the damaged, plundered, and vandalized healthcare system.

Lessons From the Impact of Global and Domestic Economic Crises on Tourists’ Behaviour

Economic crises have been demonstrated to have profound consequences on the tourism industry. Insights from previous global economic and financial crises can provide valuable perspectives on the economic crisis accompanying the war in Eastern Europe. Through a survey conducted during the off-peak seasons of 2008, 2009/2010, and 2010/2011, we compared satisfaction with the attributes of the Algarve—a region globally recognized by the 3S’s— before global and domestic crises and after the global crisis. Our findings reveal that the international and domestic crises have not affected the image of the Algarve. However, this observation conceals shifts in how tourists perceive the destination's attributes. The valuation of accommodations and beaches declined between the pre and post-global crises. At the same time, the friendliness of locals and safety were more negatively impacted when comparing tourists’ assessments before the domestic crisis and after the global crisis. Results indicate that price reduction strategies adversely affect tourists’ assessments of the "value for money." This impact is more pronounced for tourists with higher education levels, who employ fewer "slicing" strategies. Furthermore, non-sovereign debt tourists appear to be more dissatisfied with a price reduction policy, possibly due to changes in the composition and quality of the offered packages.

Protocol for a trial-based economic evaluation analysis of a complex digital health intervention including a computerised decision support tool: the iFraP intervention

Background Digital health interventions (DHI) are associated with significant promise. In recent years, the need to assess the value of these healthcare technologies has motivated a debate regarding the suitability of existing economic evaluation methods in the context of DHI evaluation. Some have argued that robust economic evaluation methods may not be capable of capturing relevant DHI’s characteristics. Others consider that assessing the value of DHI might not be feasible. This protocol paper challenges that view. More specifically, it describes early Health Technology Assessments (HTA) methods to rigorously assess the value for money of a complex intervention including a digital decision support tool i.e., Improving uptake of Fracture Prevention drug treatments (iFraP) as a tracer intervention. iFraP is a complex intervention consisting of a computerised decision support tool, a clinician training package, and information resources to facilitate shared decision-making, increase informed medicine initiation and reduce levels of medicine discontinuation. iFraP’s development was motivated by a view that good quality shared decision-making conversations have the potential to improve levels of osteoporosis medicine uptake. Methods An early economic evaluation of the iFraP intervention was designed to identify, measure, and evaluate the costs and health benefits of iFraP compared to usual practice in Fracture Liaison Services (FLSs). A within-trial cost-effectiveness from the perspective of the National Health Service and Personal Social Service in England will be conducted using patient’s self-reported health related quality of life (HRQoL) and resource use from the iFraP randomised controlled trial. Microanalysis will be used to estimate iFraP’s intervention cost. Finally, Bayesian Value of Information analysis will allow us to estimate an upper bound for the potential health benefits gained from reducing uncertainty on the impact of the iFraP intervention to support uptake and adherence with osteoporosis medicines. Trial registration ISRCTN10606407 - https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10606407

Insight into facilities management market in the UAE: trends, drivers, and threats

PurposeThe UAE is among the fastest-growing facilities management (FM) markets globally. Nevertheless, conclusive evidence on this market is scarce in the literature. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an in-depth insight into the FM market in the UAE.Design/methodology/approachFourteen interviewees were purposively selected to provide insight into FM status through their field experiences. A SWOT analysis of their answers held place.FindingsInterviewees revealed that the main trends of FM in the UAE include interests in sustainability, integration of technology, health and safety, outsourcing FM, switching to total facilities management (TFM), and performance management systems use. Besides, the quality of the service in the FM market is driven by the real-estate boom, services sophistication, the increasing awareness of FM and focus on the quality of services. Furthermore, the interviews found that the recruitment of poorly skilled labors can threaten the FM market to meet the allocated budget, misperception of FM, the value of money, the lack of continuous follow-up with recent advancements in technologies and the lack of performance measurement models.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the major trends, drivers and threats of the FM market in the UAE, and the implications of its findings can direct FM organizations and researchers in their practices.

Evaluating Policy to Research Fellowship programmes

Background: This paper provides insights into ‘Policy to Research’ (P2R) Fellowships and related programmes within the ‘relationship’ model of academic–policy engagement, which provide structured opportunities for policy officials to interact with academic researchers. Aims and objectives: Information is provided on P2R Fellowship and similar programmes in the UK, Europe and North America. The research questions concern the aims, features and intended outcomes of P2R Fellowship programmes; what can be learned from evaluations of these programmes; and whether value for money for these programmes can be deduced. The authors then aim to provide guidance for an evaluation framework. Methods: Programmes were identified through a subset of data gathered on research–policy engagement initiatives in a recent mapping exercise. This was supplemented via Google search. Published data on organisational websites is presented in a table, where data was checked by email with programme managers, who were also asked to provide additional evaluation documents. Findings: Twenty-four P2R Fellowship programmes were located. Eleven programme managers confirmed information provided in Table 1. Evaluation documents were provided for five programmes. An average cost of providing a P2R Fellowship was estimated at around £5,000 for each Fellow. Five common aims for P2R Fellowship programmes were identified. Discussion and conclusion: Quantitative and qualitative evaluations available from the 24 programmes are reviewed. The comparative lack of published evaluation data is discussed, and recommendations made for an evaluation framework for P2R Fellowships, to build understanding of how to intervene successfully to support a research-for-policy system which delivers for all.

A systematic review on cost-effectiveness of diagnostic methods and treatments for tuberculosis in India

ObjectiveCost-effectiveness of a treatment is based on additional health benefits offered and for a test it is determined by fast and improved diagnosing capacity. Evidence on cost-effectiveness can help in identifying interventions that give optimal value for money and catalyse the effort of eliminating tuberculosis burden. Our objective is to evaluate and identify the cost-effectiveness of diagnostics and treatments for tuberculosis practiced in India from costing studies. MethodsElectronic databases like PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, Cochrane Library, and PlosOne are searched, from Jan 1995 to Jan 2023 based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines. Quality of the selected studies is assessed using a consensus health economic criteria checklist. ResultsAmong the twelve studies selected after quality assessment seven studies were on testing methods and five were on treatment interventions. The included, model-based studies used either state transition or decision tree model for cost analysis primarily in a health system perspective. Sputum smear microscopy test being dominated by other testing methods, strategies like public-private with right diagnostic method yields cost-effective results in tuberculosis healthcare. ConclusionFull economic evaluations on interventions for tuberculosis in India are scarce, particularly from patients’ perspective. The study provides holistic knowledge about the economic evaluations of tuberculosis tests and treatments, highlighting its applications and implemental complications for further development of improved strategies and economic evaluation.

It Takes 2 to Tango. Setting Out the Conditions in Which Performance-Based Risk-Sharing Arrangements Work for Both Parties

ObjectivesFaster regulatory approval processes often fail to achieve faster patient access. We seek an approach, using performance-based risk-sharing arrangements, to address uncertainty for payers regarding the relative effectiveness and value for money of products launched through accelerated approval schemes.One important reason for risk sharing is to resolve differences of opinion between innovators and payers about a technology’s underlying value. To date, there has been no formal attempt to set out the circumstances in which risk sharing can address these differences. MethodsWe use a value of information framework to understand what a performance-based risk-sharing arrangements can, in principle, add to a reimbursement scheme, separating payer perspectives on cost-effectiveness and the value of research from those of the innovator. We find 16 scenarios, developing 5 rules to analyze these 16 scenarios, identifying cases in which risk sharing adds value for both parties. ResultsWe find that risk sharing provides an improved solution in 9 out of 16 combinations of payer and innovator expectations about treatment outcome and the value of further research. Among our assumptions, who pays for research and scheme administration costs are key. ConclusionsSteps should be undertaken to make risk sharing more practical, ensuring that payers consider it an option. This requires additional costs to the health system falling on the innovator in an efficient way that aligns incentives for product development for global markets. Health systems benefits are earlier patient access to cost-effective treatments and payers with higher confidence of not wasting money. Innovators get greater returns while conducting research.

돈의 사회적 가치와 의미 탐색

The aim of this story is to represent through novel writing the way financial subjects of different generations give social value and meaning to money based on financial education at home. The research results are briefly presented as follows. The main characters in the novel used money in different ways depending on the socioeconomic conditions and context of their lives, and the social meaning and value assigned to money was also different. However, despite the three generations in the novel having different values and meanings surrounding the use of money, they each showed similarities in seeking liberation from labour and money in their own way. Ultimately, the social meaning and value attached to the use of money changed depending on socioeconomic and historical conditions and the context of individual life. However, money was a social apparatus and mechanism that realized the individual’s self through liberation from labour and money itself and expressed the way and form of life. This story will contribute to elucidating and expanding the social value and meaning of money by describing the financial behavior and financial attitudes of three generations of financial subjects differently handling money. In addition, the results of this story shed light on personal and social conflicts surrounding money and well-being by exploring the social values and meanings of the use of money in different generations, and help financial subjects make wise financial decisions and manage their finances in financial capitalism.