Priority Service Research Articles

Специфіка формування конкурентних переваг ЗВО на основі ціннісного підходу в умовах війни

The purpose of the study is to develop proposals for the formation of competitive advantages by higher education institutions in the context of war based on a value-based approach. Methodology. The theoretical and methodological basis of the work is a system of general sci-entific and special methods of scientific knowledge, which are directly related to the purpose and objectives of the study. The research methods used in the study include statistical, comparative analysis and generalisation methods to identify the factors influencing the change in demand in war-time. Index methods were used to assess the severity of competition and the core of the higher edu-cation market. The method of hierarchy analysis by T. Saaty was used to establish the weight of value criteria by students, independent of the subjectivity of their choice. Findings. It has been found that in the higher education market, the concept of marketing in-stitutionalisation was applied in response to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the specifics of higher education institutions in wartime. This has forced the educational, scientific and innova-tive components of higher education institutions to undergo dramatic changes. Based on the analysis of the competitive environment of higher education institutions and the results of a marketing study of student opinion, the value parameters of students' choice of higher education institutions in times of war are identified. The value parameters of the choice of higher education institutions include: the level of qualification of the teaching staff; the region of location of higher education institutions; cooperation with foreign universities; reviews in social networks; and the availability of the chosen speciality. Using the method of hierarchy analysis, T. Saaty has established a ranking of universities ac-cording to the criteria that are valuable for students. As a result of the study, recommendations are made on the implementation of value parameters of students' choice of higher education institutions in the model of providing educational services of higher education institutions. It is proved that the model of providing educational services of higher education institutions should be developed taking into account the strategic directions of development of higher education institutions, hierarchical, value-based approaches, added value and complementary development of related and compatible sectors of the economy. Practical implications. The model of providing educational services by higher education insti-tutions based on the value-based approach is recommended to be used in the development of pro-grammes to motivate students to return to the country after completing their studies in order to re-store Ukraine's economy in the post-war period by the marketing departments of such institutions as the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the State Employment Service under the Ministry of Econo-my of Ukraine and other institutions. Value. The implementation of value-based parameters of choice by higher education institu-tions in the model of providing educational services by higher education institutions increases the ability for dynamic growth in innovation and integration, adaptive flexibility to changes in the glob-al higher education market, and ensures the realisation of national interests in education. Taking in-to account international rankings will help to raise awareness among consumers of educational ser-vices about the priority of educational services, identify the professionalism of staff, improve the quality of management of educational processes, and facilitate the integration of higher education institutions into the international scientific and educational space.

Monitoring the Family Health Centres in Kerala, India: Findings from a facility survey.

Kerala, a south Indian state, has often been cited globally as a model for better health outcomes at low cost but faces unique challenges in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). To propel the efforts in achieving UHC, the Government of Kerala announced the "Aardram" health reform initiative, emphasising improving the quality of primary care service delivery. The reforms started in 2017, and in the first stage, 170 of 848 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) were upgraded to Family Health Centres (FHCs). The facilities were provided with additional doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff; the working hours were extended, and the range of services offered increased. In support of these processes, we carried out a facility assessment to assess differences between upgraded FHCs and existing PHCs. We conducted a facility-based cross-sectional assessment in eight primary care facilities of Kerala, FHC (N=4) and PHCs (N=4) from June to October 2019. A structured questionnaire covering utilisation and coverage of selected priority services for various populations and health outcome data was filled out by health staff to report data for the financial year 2018-19. Data were analysed in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for easy analysis and replication by state stakeholders. Coverage indicators such as full antenatal care and full immunization coverage were not appreciably different in FHCs as compared to PHCs. However, key reform-related differences were observed. On average, FHCs had 0.8 medical officers and one staff nurse per 10,000 population, whereas PHCs had 0.7 medical officers and less than 0.4 staff nurses per 10,000 population, even as the size of populations served by these human resources varied greatly across both types of facilities. The number of outpatient department visits per 10,000 population annually was 11,343 persons in FHCs and 9,580 persons in PHCs. FHCs also provided additional services such as screening for depression and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders. Aardram primary healthcare reforms are still in their early days and appear to be associated with improved service coverage at the institutional level. However, some patterns are uneven: reforms should be carefully documented, and population-level impacts monitored over time.

Prioritization of research engaged with rare disease stakeholders: a systematic review and thematic analysis

BackgroundAlthough rare diseases (RD) are increasingly becoming a priority for healthcare activities and services around the world, developing research policy for investigating RD in public settings proves challenging due to the limited nature of existing evidence. Rare conditions require the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders in order to promote general awareness and garner political support. Consequently, it is critically important to identify trends in the various types of research focusing on rare disease stakeholders, including the specific topics or issues to be included in surveys and studies focused on RD stakeholders. This systematic review and thematic analysis analyses the existing literature based on RD surveys, including the stakeholders involved, and proposes potential research priorities and initiatives for policy-making related to RD.MethodsArticles were downloaded and analyzed from across five electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, and CINHAL) and 115 studies were included.ResultsAcross 115 studies, the main research participants were patients and/or caregivers (n = 77, 67.0%), health professionals (n = 18, 15.7%), and the public (n = 7, 6.1%). The studies discussed RDs in general (n = 46, 40.0%), endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (n = 20, 17.4%) and other RDs. Experiences with RD were examined by more than half of the selected studies (n = 74, 64.3%), followed by the opinions of stakeholders (n = 24, 20.9%). Most of the studies used surveys in order to collect relevant data (n = 114, 99.1%). Additionally, the majority of the studies were conducted in high-income countries (n = 92, 80.0%) and rarely in middle and low-income countries (n = 12, 13.8%).ConclusionStakeholder research on RD reveals that there are significant instances of unmet needs and various challenges faced by the medical system in dealing with RDs.Furthermore, public awareness and support is critical to ensuring political feasibility of increasing national-level investments for RDs and development of medical products and treatment.

Understanding capacity for implementing new interventions: A qualitative study of speech and language therapy services for children with speech sound disorder.

Many speech sound disorder (SSD) interventions with a long-term evidence base are 'new' to clinical practice, and the role of services in supporting or constraining capacity for practice change is underexplored. Innovations from implementation science may offer solutions to this research-practice gap but have not previously been applied to SSD. To explain variation in speech and language therapy service capacity to implement new SSD interventions. We conducted an intensive, case-based qualitative study with 42 speech and language therapists (SLTs) in three NHS services (n = 39) and private practice (n = 3) in Scotland. We explored therapists' diverse experiences of SSD practice change through individual interviews (n = 28) or self-generated paired (n = 2) or focus groups (n = 3). A theoretical framework (Normalization Process Theory) helped us understand how the service context contributed to the way therapists engaged with different practice changes. We identified six types ('cases') of practice change, two of which involved the new SSD interventions. We focus on these two cases ('Transforming' and 'Venturing') and use Normalization Process Theory's Cognitive participation construct to explain implementation (or not) of new SSD interventions in routine practice. Therapists were becoming aware of the new interventions through knowledge brokers, professional networks and an intervention database. In the Transforming case, new SSD interventions for selected children were becoming part of local routine practice. Transforming was the result of a favourable service structure, a sustained and supported 'push' that made implementation of the new interventions a service priority, and considerable collective time to think about doing it. 'Venturing' happened where the new SSD interventions were not a service priority. It involved individual or informal groups of therapists trying out or using one or more of the new interventions with selected children within the constraints of their service context. New, evidence-based SSD interventions may be challenging to implement in routine practice because they have in common a need for therapists who understand applied linguistics and can be flexible with service delivery. Appreciating what it really takes to do routine intervention differently is vital for managers and services who have to make decisions about priorities for implementation, along with realistic plans for resourcing and supporting it. What is already known on the subject Many SSD interventions have an evidence base but are not widely adopted into routine clinical practice. Addressing this is not just about individual therapists or education/training, as workplace pressures and service delivery models make it difficult to change practice. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This paper applies innovations from implementation science to help explain how what is going on in services can support or constrain capacity for implementing evidence-based SSD interventions. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Service managers and therapists will have a clearer idea of the time and support they may realistically have to invest for new SSD interventions to be used routinely.

Developing entrustable professional activities to enhance application of an aggression prevention protocol

AimThe research aim of this study was to seek feedback from prevention of aggression training experts about the suitability of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) as an assessment tool for an Aggression Prevention Protocol. The protocol was designed to structure intervention to prevent aggression and reduce the use of restrictive practices following risk assessment using a validated instrument (the Dynamic Appraisal of Situational Aggression). BackgroundPreventing aggression and limiting the use of restrictive practices are key priorities for inpatient mental health services. Assessing clinical activities using a competence framework has limitations, particularly when determining complex interventions. EPAs could provide a suitable method for assessing complex clinical activities like de-escalation and limit setting, which comprise some of the interventions in the Aggression Prevention Protocol. EPAs are new to forensic mental health nursing; therefore, feedback was sought regarding the utility of EPAs to assess aggression prevention interventions. MethodsData were collected via focus groups including 11 aggression prevention experts from Australia and New Zealand. A thematic analysis, comparative analysis and a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats analysis was conducted. ResultsThree themes were interpreted from the data: 1) Frameworks such as the APP are needed to work towards elimination of restrictive practices; 2) APP-EPAs afford an opportunity to set the standard for practice; and 3) ‘who watches the watchers’, were identified by the experts as well as areas to enhance EPAs prior to introduction into practice. ConclusionsEPAs address a practice-gap and offer a framework to assist movement towards elimination of restrictive practices, while prompting best-practice, self-reflection and practice improvement guidance.

Lower and upper stochastic bounds for the joint stationary distribution of a non-preemptive priority retrial queueing system

Consider a single-server retrial queueing system with non-preemptive priority service, where customers arrive in a Poisson process with a rate of $\lambda_1$ for high-priority customers (class 1) and $\lambda_2$ for low-priority customers (class 2). If a high-priority customer is blocked, they are queued, while a low-priority customer must leave the service area and return after some random period of time to try again. In contrast with existing literature, we assume different service time distributions for the two customer classes. This investigation proposes a stochastic comparison method based on the general theory of stochastic orders to obtain lower and upper bounds for the joint stationary distribution of the number of customers at departure epochs in the considered model. Specifically, we discuss the stochastic monotonicity of the embedded Markov queue-length process in terms of both the usual stochastic and convex orders. We also perform a numerical sensitivity analysis to study the effect of the arrival rate of high-priority customers on system performance measures.

Maternal depression in first 1000days of life and early childhood caries prevalence at 48months of age.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal's depression trajectory in the first 1000days of the child's life on the prevalence of early childhood dental caries (ECC), in a birth cohort. All infants born in Pelotas in 2015 were identified, and the mothers were invited to participate in the cohort. A total of 3645 children were included in the study. The outcome was ECC at 48months of age assessed according to ICDAS. Maternal depression was collected using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) antenatally, at 3, 12, and 24months of age. Maternal depressive symptom trajectory variables were created using group-based trajectory models and adopting two cutoff points. Poisson regression model with robust variance was used to identify the total effect of maternal depressive symptom trajectories on ECC, adjusting by confounders. A total of 29.2% of the mothers presented a high trajectory for screening of depression, and 18.8% presented a high trajectory of depression diagnosis. The prevalence of ECC was 26.7%. After adjusted analysis, maternal depression trajectories (screening and diagnosis) from pregnancy to 24months increased the risk for ECC at 48months of age (RR = 1.14; 95% CI 1.02-1.28 and RR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.05-1.35). Children from mothers with high depression trajectory had higher risk of having dental caries at 48months compared to children from mothers with low depression trajectory. Strategies of early detection and treatment of maternal mental disorders during the Golden Period should be considered of high priority in health services since it could impact positively in children's life.

Culturally Respectful and Competent Practice: What It Looks Like for Organisations Providing Services to Migrant Youth within the Illawarra Region of New South Wales, Australia

The question of culturally respectful and competent practice is important for human services, particularly in Australia, which is characterised by a highly culturally diverse population as a result of migration. On arrival in Australia, migrants start using local services which they anticipate to be appropriate to their culture, situations and aspirations. This study explored what culturally respectful and competent practice looks like for organisations working with migrant youth in the Illawarra region of the state of New South Wales using in-depth interviews and focus groups. Although our focus was youth, responses were more broad to reflect the day-to-day roles of participants. From the responses, themes that came out included awareness of own culture as a practitioner and understanding the cultures of service users; paying attention to service user views of the dominant culture; employing staff from refugee and migrant communities; interpreter services; supporting practitioners in addressing agency limitations; and use of a strengths-based approach. What is central to these themes is capacitating human resources with cultural knowledge and a tendency towards prioritising service users’ interpretation of their culture and addressing the disadvantage and injustice that arise from cultural differences. For the organisations, a key barrier to achieving this is inadequate financial resources. In view of these findings, we conclude that, in relation to the topic and organisations we investigated, culturally respectful and competent practice means embedding service user cultural interpretations and priorities in organisational employment practices, staff skilling and service delivery in order to achieve the best and sustainable cultural, social and economic settlement outcomes.

An intelligent algorithm of amyloid plucks to timely fault-predicting and contending dependability in IoMT

The security problem and the demand for service availability create risky conditions for individuals connected to the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) technology. They are vulnerable to passive and active attacks involving the sharing of malicious information and data theft. Researchers have attempted to address these issues but often overlooked the significant impact of service priority and fault prediction on their methods for improving efficiency. The characteristics are undeniable when it comes to demanding appropriate service and rectifying the negative effects caused by faulty devices in an IoMT application. This study analyzes the challenges associated with IoMT and proposes a model and a three-phase algorithm called RPD for role mapping and pattern detection (RPD). RPD has successfully overcome the challenges posed by recent algorithms in defining service priority for various IoMT applications. It is capable of accurately predicting the area of faulty components and detecting and predicting them. The algorithm's features emphasize its role in providing a dependable service based on application priority, improving efficiency in service dependability, and reducing the cost overheads of defective components. Our approach involves transferring the responsibilities of IoMT application nodes onto the vertices of a subgraph while also defining their relationships using its edges. This study is inspired by the behaviors of human brain cells in facing Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and acute Depression. It aims to develop a graph that can effectively identify patterns for predicting the distribution of amyloid plaques, specifically GPR56, α, and β proteins. To achieve this, we utilize the RPD algorithm, which identifies related patterns in technology applications based on their service priority predicted faulty components and halts them through phagocyte operations. This work demonstrates notable improvements in energy efficiency, communication delay, and dependability compared to recent Q-learning methods, with enhancements ranging from approximately 57.3% to 59.8%, 17.8% to 19.3%, and 37% to 41%, respectively.

A two-stage decision-support system for floating debris collection in reservoir areas

The accumulation of floating debris is one of the main challenges of water conservancy projects, which may pollute the vulnerable ecosystem of the reservoir area and impose significant risks on waterway transportation and dam operations. Due to the dynamicity and uncertainty caused by water flow, the collection of floating debris is much more complicated than on-land waste collection. In this paper, we propose a two-stage decision-support system to optimize the task allocation and routing decisions for floating debris collection in the reservoir area, where the first stage is proactive planning based on historical/observed data and the second stage is reactive planning based on real-time data. The primary objective is to minimize the total collection cost while simultaneously ensuring the accumulation areas with high risks are prioritized in the daily collection plan, and both genetic algorithm and simulated annealing algorithm are used to solve the optimization problems. The proposed method is validated with a real-world case study at Wushan County in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. The computational results show that the level of time-dependent penalty cost on service priority, the types of collection ships, and the number and locations of unloading points are important influencing factors to the cost and responsiveness. Furthermore, the proposed two-stage decision-support system can help effectively optimize the operational planning of floating debris collection in reservoir areas.

Gainers and Losers in Priority Services

Previous articleNext article No AccessGainers and Losers in Priority ServiceAlex Gershkov and Eyal WinterAlex Gershkov Search for more articles by this author and Eyal Winter Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Political Economy Just Accepted Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/724850 Views: 21Total views on this site HistoryAccepted February 16, 2023 © 2023 The University of Chicago. All Rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

ECCANS: Enhanced CRITIC-based Context-Aware Network Selection algorithm for 5G HetNet

The ability of mobility management to provide seamless communication and better quality of service (QoS) to the multiservice multimode mobile node (MMMN), which can run multiple services simultaneously during roaming in ultra-dense heterogeneous networks with different radio access technologies, is a major challenge in implementing 5G and beyond. Ultra-dense heterogeneous networks (HetNet), restrictions on multiservice multimode mobile terminals, and user mobility all lead to a number of serious problems, such as the ping-pong effect, unnecessary handovers, and decreasing cell edge spectral efficiency. The dense deployment of small base stations also causes a high probability of frequent handovers in HetNet, which has led to a significant escalation in energy consumption resulting from unnecessary signaling, increased network overhead, and higher energy usage by network equipment. This increased energy requirement may lead to potentially increase the emissions of greenhouse gases to meet the energy production needs. Several handover decision algorithms have been proposed, but most of them deal with only running a single service at a time on a mobile node. In this paper, authors propose a new network selection model for MMMN which may run multiple services simultaneously. This model uses context-aware information about the user’s preferences, characteristics, and needs of the services, limitations of mobile terminal, and network conditions of an ultra-dense HetNet to choose the best network. The fundamental principle of this model is based on the comprehensive network criteria weight computed by the integration of Enhanced CRiteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC), fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), and group decision-making (GDM) techniques and the service priority of running services. For computing the objective weight of criteria, a novel improved CRITIC method has been proposed. At the same time, sigmoid utility functions and linear utility functions have been used to figure out the value of network criteria for running multiple services on the mobile node. Finally, the best network from HetNet for MMMN is selected using the technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and threshold by computing a comprehensive utility value network criteria decision matrix and comprehensive network criteria weight. The simulation results show that the proposed model increases the selection probabilities of an appropriate network according to the service requirements and network conditions. It also reduces unnecessary handovers and improves QoS while satisfying users’ preferences, service requirements, and terminal constraints, in solving the MMMN network selection problem.

Psychoanalytic and Sociobiological Factors in Attitudes toward Persons with Disabilities: Discussion Focused on Rehabilitation Counseling Profession

This study's goal was to examine, expand upon, and update a chapter that was first printed in a relatively small number of copies of the book titled Essays and Research on Disability1. Thomas was the sole author of the original chapter, which discussed how attitudes about disability develop from a psychoanalytic and sociobiological perspective. Kin, reciprocal, and induced altruism were the first three altruism principles in sociobiology that were covered in this study. Then, Karen Horney's neo-Freudian viewpoint (i.e., less emphasis on sex and focused more on the social environment and culture regarding personality development) and traditional Freudian theories (such as castration anxiety, loss of love, and loss of the object) were tied to sociobiology, and this relationship was further addressed in terms of the evolution of attitude toward handicap. Then, recommendations were offered across a broad range of rehabilitation counseling services and educational practices that might be improved by using these insights, both clinically and politically. Finally, the present study extends this discussion by addressing similar concerns in the areas of counseling service priorities, multicultural rehabilitation counseling, and identity politics.

Toward Comprehensive Care Integration in Canada: Delphi Process Findings from Researchers, Clinicians, Patients and Decision Makers.

From a larger study examining policy and program information on how Canadian provinces integrate care services, this study aimed to create "priority lists" of 10-15 services that are "absolutely needed" for care integration. A diverse group of over 50 Canadian stakeholders participated in virtual consensus-building using the nominal group technique and a modified e-Delphi method to identify services that focused on two different groups: children and youth with high functional health needs and older adults in functional decline. Three lists - containing services, processes and infrastructure elements - emerged: one per tracer condition group and a consolidated list. The latter identified the following five services as top priority for primary care integration: mental health and addictions services; home care; transition between urgent-emergency-acute care; medication reconciliation in community pharmacies; and respite care. No single social service was a clear priority, but those that mitigate material deprivation emerged within the top 10. This humble pan-Canadian study shows that priority services in health and social services are neither well integrated nor connected to primary care. It also suggests that effective policy strategizing for primary care integration for those with complex care needs may require thinking beyond the logic of services - given their siloed organization.

Customer segmentation and ex ante fairness: A queueing perspective

In this study, we analyze how customer perceptions of ex ante unfairness affect a service provider that offers a priority service option. Customers differ in their waiting time costs, but that information is private to each customer. To address this issue and maximize revenue, the service provider offers a regular queue and a priority queue with an additional fee, thereby inducing the self‐selection of customers into those two queues. The customers make their service‐joining decision, based on the publicized queue terms, before entering the queue. In such a service system, the priority customers pay to reduce their waiting time, which increases the average waiting time for regular customers, as compared with a “first come, first served” (FCFS) queue. This increase in the waiting time can lead to a perception of unfairness by the regular customers. In this paper, we model this ex ante unfairness perception as a negative utility for the regular customers that is proportional to the difference in the expected waiting times between the segmented regular queue and a nonsegmented FCFS queueing system and investigate the service provider's optimal decisions regarding segmentation and pricing. We find that, in a service system where customers can balk, the service provider should focus on only one service offering through a lower priority fee or differentiated services under certain conditions and charge a higher priority fee once the perception of unfairness is taken into consideration. An equilibrium sensitivity study provides guidance on how best to design, construct, and operate queues. Finally, we examine two extension cases in which (1) the customer ex ante unfairness perception is defined as proportional to the waiting time difference between regular and priority queues or (2) priority customers exhibit either a “negative ex ante unfairness perception” or “positive ex ante unfairness perception” of queueing. Our results are robust, and we identify conditions under which a heightened unfairness perception could be beneficial or detrimental to the service provider.

OVERLOAD AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT OF MESSAGE SOURCES WITH DIFFERENT PRIORITY OF SERVICE

The scheme of dynamic management of traffic and activity of message sources with different priority of service is considered. The scheme is built on the basis of the neuroprognostic analysis model and the gradient descent method. For prediction and early detection of overload, the apparatus of the general theory of sensitivity with indirect feedback and control of activity of message sources is used. The control algorithm is started at the bottleneck of the network node. It uses a recursive prediction approach where the neural network output is referred to as many steps as defined by a given prediction horizon. Traffic with a higher priority is served without delay using the entire available bandwidth. Low-priority traffic will use the remaining bandwidth not used by higher-priority traffic. An algorithm for estimating the maximum available bandwidth of a communication node for traffic with a low service priority has been developed. This approach makes it possible to improve the efficiency of channel use without affecting the quality of service for high-priority traffic.

IT support services conceptual engagement model

The Information Technology (IT) Support Engagement Conceptual Model was considered in light of IT service management (ITSM) frameworks, including the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and the Service Support and Service Delivery (SSSD) models in addition to the Ansoff strategic planning model. The IT service growth strategies model proposes a standardized approach to frame the enterprise Business to Business (B2B) IT services growth strategies from operational efficiency, diversification, evaluation, and incubation. The model identifies the IT support service strategies and priorities by examining the product maturity and support service status in the organization. The IT Support Conceptual Engagement Model provides a standardized decision-making strategic framework to view the support service ‘onboarding’ decision-making criteria. This model proposes three service influencing constructs that are; impact, volume, and complexity, aligned with corporate strategy to govern the service delivery decision-making process. The main contribution of this paper is to introduce the IT Support Engagement Conceptual Model as a novel framework to explain how enterprises can capture, identify, and strategize opportunities to expand an organization’s IT services in line with the corporate objectives. The model recommends different approaches and strategies to deal with different impact, volume, and complexity influencing factors while catering to any organization’s nuanced factors.

Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Framework for Determining Public Microtransit Service Zones

The paper addresses a critical research gap in the literature by focusing on the identification of service areas for microtransit. It presents a framework for identifying areas where microtransit would have a higher potential for success. The primary objective is to assist agencies in their efforts to provide microtransit services by offering a robust and flexible decision-making framework. This framework serves as an intermediate step between an initial planning study that identifies candidate zones and a detailed feasibility study, which is currently missing in the literature. The framework is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) process that can be applicable to various contexts. Specifically, our approach utilizes a lexicographic decision rule for ranking microtransit service priority measures for each census block of a selected region, such as a county. We employ two composite measures for ranking: Microtransit Propensity Index (MPI) and Weighted Accessibility Score (WAS). The latter combines transit access to work and to eight points of interest (POIs). This framework can be adapted to identify zones suitable for microtransit service based on different objectives, such as connecting residents to transit centers, providing first- and last-mile connections, providing services in transit deserts, providing flexible transit service to low-income communities, or providing access to the POIs within a zone. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is evaluated using the case of Prince George’s County in Maryland. The results reveal that our approach provides greater insights into the feasibility of an area for microtransit compared with relying solely on a single index such as MPI.

Sociocultural Profile as a Predictor of Perceived Importance of Forest Ecosystem Services: A Case Study from Poland

This paper assesses the priority of forest ecosystem services (FESs) and defines the sociodemographic profile of people who consider particular services to be an essential function of forests. The research material consists of the results of a questionnaire survey conducted on 1402 Polish respondents. Twelve different types of FESs were evaluated, to which respondents assigned relative priority (Ps) on a five-point Likert scale. The significance of differences in the importance of individual FESs was assessed using the Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA rank test, while a logistic regression model was used to profile respondents in terms of differences in perceptions of a particular FES. Regulating functions were considered the most important (Ps 0.87–0.94), followed by cultural functions (0.79–0.86), while provisioning functions (0.31–0.75) were deemed the least important. During the last decade, the trend in societal demand for FESs was upward. The greatest increase occurred for regulating functions and the lowest for provisioning (in the case of the supply of animal products, demand has actually decreased). Regulating functions are seen as very important by people with higher education, people who are satisfied with their financial status, and women; noise reduction is in particular valued by urban residents. Cultural functions are most valued by those satisfied with their financial status and people over 40. Provisioning functions are perceived as very important primarily by rural residents, often of low financial status, with the provision of animal products being more appreciated by men and the supply of mushrooms and berries by women. The greater appreciation of the importance of regulating and cultural functions (compared to provisioning ESs) suggests that local development planning should emphasize them much more strongly. In turn, identifying and estimating the demand for ecosystem services from the perspective of socioeconomic and demographic stakeholder profiles can provide valuable insight during planning for sustainable forest and ecosystem services.

Public mental health and wellbeing interventions delivered by allied health professionals (AHPs): mapping the evidence and identification of gaps. A systematic review

PurposeMental well-being is associated with positive outcomes throughout the life course. This study aims to examine interventions delivered by allied health professionals (AHPs) to alleviate community stressors adversely impacting public mental health and well-being.Design/methodology/approachReview inclusion criteria comprised experimental and qualitative process evaluations of public mental health interventions delivered by AHPs. Electronic searches in Cinahl, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library, were combined with grey literature searches of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence public health guidance. A narrative synthesis and the Effective Public Health Practice Project appraisal tool were used to evaluate the evidence.FindingsA total of 45-articles were included in the review describing AHP-delivered interventions addressing social disadvantage, trauma, bullying, loneliness, work-related stress, transitional stress, intersectionality, pain and bereavement. No articles were identified evaluating interventions delivered by operating department practitioners or orthoptists. A conceptual map was developed summarising the stressors, and a typology of public mental health interventions defined including: place-based interventions, discrete/one-off interventions, multi-component lifestyle and social connector interventions and interventions targeting groups at risk of mental health conditions.Research limitations/implicationsMany mental health conditions begin in childhood, and a strength of the review is the life course perspective. A further strength is compiling a compendium of public mental health outcome measures used by AHPs to inform future research. The authors excluded many articles focussed on clinical interventions/populations, which did not meet review inclusion criteria. While playing a key role in delivering public mental health interventions, clinical psychologists are not defined as AHPs and were excluded from the review, and this may be construed a limitation. Given heterogeneity of study designs and interventions evaluated numerical analyses of pooled findings was not appropriate.Practical implicationsThe review highlights the breadth of community stressors on which AHPs can intervene and contribute in public mental health contexts, stressors which correspond to those identified in UK Government guidance as currently important and relevant to address. The findings can inform developing community public mental health pathways that align with the UK National Health Service (NHS) Long Term Plan, on prevention and early intervention to protect community mental health and well-being. Further can inform the NHS strategic direction for AHPs including informing ways of increasing utilisation of core AHP skills to optimise contributions in public mental health agendas.Social implicationsIt is surprising there were not more AHP delivered evaluations of interventions for other stressors important to address in public mental health settings, for example gambling, domestic violence or that used digital technology, and these are areas for future research. Future research should identify the most active/effective dimensions of multi-component interventions which could be informed by frameworks to guide complex intervention development. The relative paucity of research identified, highlights the predominant focus of research to date on interventions for clinical mental health conditions and populations. The lack of preventative approaches is evident, and an important area for future research to align with UK health and social care priorities.Originality/valueThe review highlights AHP-delivered interventions impacting diverse community stressors across the life course. The findings can inform developing public mental health pathways aligned with government health service priorities to protect mental health and well-being, prioritise prevention and early intervention and increase utilisation of AHP skills across public mental health settings.