Target Resources Research Articles

Ideology, intergovernmental transfers, and public health spending: Evidence from South Korea

This paper asks whether political ideology affects local government policies through intergovernmental transfers. When local governments depend on intergovernmental transfers, and the upper-tier grantor government has a limited ability to target resources at the local level, the grantor government may use transfers to indirectly promote local public goods that reflect its political ideology. Using data from 226 South Korean municipalities within 15 regions, we show that municipalities located in regions with left-wing regional governments receive significantly more health subsidies from the regional government than those located in regions with right-wing regional governments. The increase in health subsidies leads to greater municipal health spending. Our findings are consistent with the view that party and ideology influence local government policies.

Prevalence and factors associated with the perpetration and victimization of teen dating violence: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Dating violence is a global health problem that affects adolescents physically, psychologically and sexually. During adolescence, there is a high prevalence and negative consequences in both perpetration and victimization, which can vary according to culture, but maintain common characteristics in traditional societies. Factors associated with the perpetration and victimization of gender-based violence among adolescents include gender inequality, discrimination, substance use, parental neglect, peer influence and exposure to family violence. Despite modern criticisms of gender expectations, traditional views that legitimize violence persist. In this sense, the collection of global data on the prevalence and factors associated with dating violence among adolescents could favour comparative studies between Western and Eastern cultures and is fundamental for informing public policies in a globalized world. It is hoped that the results will contribute to expanding scientific knowledge in the area, as well as helping managers and the academic community to target resources, identify risk groups and promote gender equality from adolescence onwards. In this sense, this study aims to globally assess the prevalence and factors associated with the perpetration and victimization of dating violence among adolescents. It is hoped that the results will expand scientific knowledge in this area.

Impact of the Welsh Government Flying Start programme on children’s BMI and immunisation uptake

Flying Start (FS) is the Welsh Government’s targeted Early Years programme for families with children under 4 years of age who live in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Wales. The programme aims to mitigate the impact of poverty which is linked to poor life outcomes in early childhood. In particular, this study aims to investigate the impact of FS programme on FS children’s health outcomes in the form of Body Mass Index (BMI) and immunisation uptake, using linking analysis. The datasets linked to the FS cohort are respectively the Child Measurement Programme (CMP) and the National Community Child Health (NCCH). CMP consists of routinely taking height and weight measures of children in reception year to monitor BMI, whereas the NCCH is used to monitor health surveillance programmes, including immunisation. This project will use linked data to investigate the prevalence of fully immunised children across different levels of engagement with FS programme (normal and under-engagement). It will also look at prevalence of different BMI thresholds (underweight, overweight, and normal weight) and differences in mean BMI scores by FS programme engagement levels. In particular, chi-square will be used to explore differences in the proportion of fully immunised children and BMI thresholds, and t-test will be used to identify between-group differences in mean BMI scores. Results from this programme will inform of long-term health outcomes in relation to Early Years programmes. It will also help policy target resources and inform relevant interventions to support the healthy growth of children.

Management Effectiveness Evaluation using the Bayesian Belief Network Approach: A case study of Cu Lao Cham Marine Protected Area, Vietnam

Abstract The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework set an ambitious target of safeguarding 30% of the Earth’s land and sea through well-managed Protected Areas (PAs) by 2030. Despite 196 countries committing to expand PA coverage, a lack of evidence on existing PA effectiveness and limited data on human-ecosystem interactions pose formidable challenges to implementation and prioritising conservation funding. Within this context, this paper aims to test a simple and user-friendly model, which is based on Bayesian Belief Networks, in evaluating the management effectiveness of Cu Lao Cham Marine Protected Area (CLC-MPA) in Vietnam. It focuses on assessing whether the MPA is effective in achieving its conservation objectives and if the target resources can endure the current pace of economic development. The study underscores the importance of prioritising eco-tourism and sustainable local economic models amid the intense forces of mass tourism development. It argues that tourism carrying capacity for CLC should be estimated at the outset of sustainable tourism development plan. Besides, there is a need for an integrated approach to MPA management to include legal provisions to address the impacts of tourism and pollution. Also, given the increasing pressure from incoming fishers, it is essential for increasing trans-provincial coordination for better enforcement of MPA regulations.

Properties of W–Ta Materials of the Neutron-Producing Target of the Subcritical Assembly at the National Scientific Centre ‘Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology’ of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

The works in the field of radiation materials science of target materials of neutron sources based on the subcritical assemblies controlled by linear accelerators of electrons or protons, so-called accelerator driven systems (ADS), are reviewed. Now, electronuclear ADS systems are the prototype of safe nuclear reactors of the 5th generation. In connection with the physical start-up of the neutron source facility of the National Scientific Centre ‘Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology’ of the N.A.S. of Ukraine (NSC ‘KhIPT’ NASU), the target of which is fabricated from powdered tungsten covered with tantalum, the issues of preparation technology, construction, and physical and mechanical properties of W–Ta materials of targets in non-irradiated and irradiated states are considered. The nuclear-physical processes of radiation damage to the target during co-irradiation of it with both neutrons of a subcritical assembly and high-energy e- and γ-beams are analyzed. The target resources of ADS systems are estimated. As noted, the difficulty of predicting the ‘survivability’ of the W–Ta target also relates to the fact that, except for the works carried out at the NSC ‘KhIPT’ NASU in 70–90th of the last century, there are no experimental works in the world on the radiation damage of reactor materials by high-energy electrons with an energy of 100 MeV and above.

Wasted Efforts Impair Random Search Efficiency and Reduce Choosiness in Mate-Pairing Termites.

AbstractRandom search theories predict that animals employ movement patterns that optimize encounter rates with target resources. However, animals are not always able to achieve the best search strategy. Energy depletion, for example, limits searchers' movement activities, forcing them to adjust their behaviors before and after encounters. Here, we investigate the cost of mate search in a termite, Reticulitermes speratus, and reveal that the costs associated with mate finding reduce the selectivity of mating partners. After a dispersal flight, termites search for a mating partner with limited reserved energy. We found that their movement activity and diffusiveness progressively declined over extended mate search. Our data-based simulations qualitatively confirmed that the reduced movement diffusiveness decreased the searching efficiency. Also, prolonged search periods reduced survival rate and the number of offspring. Thus, mate search has two different negative effects on termites. Finally, we found that termites with an extended mate search reduced the selectivity of mating partners, where males immediately paired with any encountering females. Thus, termites dramatically changed their mate search behavior depending on their internal states. Our finding highlights that accounting for the searchers' internal states is essential to fill the gap between random search theories and empirical behavioral observations.

An LDoS attack detection method based on FSWT time–frequency distribution

The Low-rate Denial-of-Service (LDoS) attack is a stealthy and periodic attack, which belongs to the category of DoS attacks. The LDoS attack maliciously preempts and consumes target resources, causing the targeted network performance to decline and affecting the service quality. The LDoS attack is highly destructive and difficult to detect and defend against due to its abnormal attack behavior. In this paper, we discuss the network traffic behavior in the time domain, frequency domain, and time–frequency domain, and we find that the time–frequency domain contains more detailed information than the time domain and frequency domain alone. Considering the limitations of the existing time–frequency domain transformation methods, an LDoS attack detection method based on Frequency Slice Wavelet Transformation (FSWT) is presented in this paper. The entropy, ratio of energy, contrast, and correlation are extracted from the time–frequency distribution to depict the network traffic, and a decision tree is trained to detect the LDoS attack in this paper. According to the experimental results on NS2, testbed, and the comparative experiment, we conclude that the method presented in this paper performs well.

Cardioembolic stroke in an HIV endemic region: underdiagnosed and severe

Background and objectivesCardioembolic stroke (CES) appears to be a rare cause of stroke (4%–9%) in people living with HIV (PLWH) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, due to limited access to...

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHILD IDENTITY CARD POLICY IN SERANG DISTRICT, BANTEN PROVINCE

The issuance of birth certificates for the child population in Banten Province has reached the specified target, where out of 2,923,089 child population who have birth certificates as many as 2,905,894 residents or equivalent to 99.41%. However, this is not matched by the issuance of Child Identity Cards, the percentage of coverage is still very low, which only reaches 29.78% of the entire child population who already has a birth certificate. The purpose of the research is to find out, analyze and explain the implementation of the child identity card, the determinant factors that determine and construct an effective Child Identity Card policy implementation model in Serang Regency, Banten Province. This research uses the theory of policy implementation put forward by Hamdi (2014) with the dimensions of productivity, linearity and efficiency. Determinant factors that influence policy implementation are policy substance, implementing officer behavior, network interaction, target group participation and resources. The research method used is qualitative research with a descriptive approach. Data collection techniques were carried out by interview, observation and documentation. The results showed that the implementation of the Child Identity Card policy in Serang Regency was not optimal.

Course-Embedded Advising for International Students: Opportunities for Engagement Building

This pilot involved the implementation of a course-embedded advising model in a graduate level ethics course of a small international university. Online education has been employed to reduce the effects of massification and target resources (Franco et al., 2019; Yann & Ibrahim, 2020) with the aim of increasing assess to education in underserved and developing countries. Online education improves access but access alone does not suffice. Quality in online courses, determined in part by engagement, is one factor that may address inequity of access Adarkwah (2021). Lessons learned and future directions are discussed in the context of Self-Determination Theory.

Understanding uptake in demand-side broadband subsidy programs: The affordable connectivity program case

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) represents a historic investment by the federal government to address the digital divide. Its goals are both to increase the rate of broadband adoption and make it easier for low-income households to sustain service. But what have been the drivers of ACP enrollment? We know a great deal about trends in adoption and the geography of enrollment among eligible households. But those metrics – especially a focus on enrollment rates among eligible households – are only so useful in explaining ACP sign-ups.This invites analysis that investigates the drivers of ACP enrollment in a comprehensive way, which this paper proposes to do. The paper hypothesizes that ACP enrollment decisions are not solely individual (i.e., that a household's enrollment decision is structured only by income level), but also influenced by community-wide considerations, such as housing costs, share of occupied houses, presence of anchor institutions such as public libraries, and population density (i.e., whether a place is urban or rural). The paper develops a regression model that predicts ACP enrollment rates among eligible households at the 5-digit zip code geography as a function of the variables discussed above, as well as others such as the racial and ethnic make-up of a zip code area. The analysis also controls for existing levels of broadband subscriptions and computer ownership in a given area. The difference between predicted and actual ACP enrollment rates at the 5-digit zip code level is proposed as a metric of ACP performance. These findings are supplemented with a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model that allows the relationship between each explanatory variable and ACP enrollment to vary by locality. This allows for analyzing and visualizing how these relationships vary across space.The empirical findings show that high levels of economic distress are a strong determinant of ACP enrollment in a given area, but social and community-wide indicators are important as well. The GWR results demonstrate that important differences in these relationships exist across geographies. Understanding spatial variations in ACP performance can help policymakers and other stakeholders better target resources to address the digital divide.

The state of mental health among Ebola virus disease survivors through a cross-sectional study in Sierra Leone

BackgroundThe West African Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic resulted in >28 000 disease cases and >11 000 fatalities. The unprecedented number of survivors from this epidemic has raised questions about...

Effects of COVID-19-targeted non-pharmaceutical interventions on pediatric hospital admissions in North Italian hospitals, 2017 to 2022: a quasi-experimental study interrupted time-series analysis.

The use of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs), such as lockdowns, social distancing and school closures, against the COVID-19 epidemic is debated, particularly for the possible negative effects on vulnerable populations, including children and adolescents. This study therefore aimed to quantify the impact of NPIs on the trend of pediatric hospitalizations during 2 years of pandemic compared to the previous 3 years, also considering two pandemic phases according to the type of adopted NPIs. This is a multicenter, quasi-experimental before-after study conducted in 12 hospitals of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Northern Italy, with NPI implementation as the intervention event. The 3 years preceding the beginning of NPI implementation (in March 2020) constituted the pre-pandemic phase. The subsequent 2 years were further subdivided into a school closure phase (up to September 2020) and a subsequent mitigation measures phase with less stringent restrictions. School closure was chosen as delimitation as it particularly concerns young people. Interrupted Time Series (ITS) regression analysis was applied to calculate Hospitalization Rate Ratios (HRR) on the diagnostic categories exhibiting the greatest variation. ITS allows the estimation of changes attributable to an intervention, both in terms of immediate (level change) and sustained (slope change) effects, while accounting for pre-intervention secular trends. Overall, in the 60 months of the study there were 84,368 cases. Compared to the pre-pandemic years, statistically significant 35 and 19% decreases in hospitalizations were observed during school closure and in the following mitigation measures phase, respectively. The greatest reduction was recorded for "Respiratory Diseases," whereas the "Mental Disorders" category exhibited a significant increase during mitigation measures. ITS analysis confirms a high reduction of level change during school closure for Respiratory Diseases (HRR 0.19, 95%CI 0.08-0.47) and a similar but smaller significant reduction when mitigation measures were enacted. Level change for Mental Disorders significantly decreased during school closure (HRR 0.50, 95%CI 0.30-0.82) but increased during mitigation measures by 28% (HRR 1.28, 95%CI 0.98-1.69). Our findings provide information on the impact of COVID-19 NPIs which may inform public health policies in future health crises, plan effective control and preventative interventions and target resources where needed.

The use of Community/Public Health Nursing Competencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(1) Ascertain the use of the Quad Council Competencies for Community/Public Health Nursing (QCC-C/PHN) Competencies by community/public health nurses (C/PHNs) during the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) Inform from a systems-level the need to sustain the C/PHN workforce; (3) Assess the C/PHN infrastructure for response capacity. Cross-sectional. Statewide email distribution lists were used for dissemination. Convenience sample (n=169) obtained using emailed Qualtrics link with the eligibility criteria of self-identification as a C/PHN who works in the state of Missouri. Demographic questions included employment sector, nursing education level, years of nursing, and C/PHN experience. Two Likert-type questions and one optional open-text question were created for the eight domains. One hundred sixty-nine participants' data were analyzed. One hundred fifty-four were employed in a local public health agency. Total 63.2% held a bachelor's degree in nursing or higher. The average number of years of nurse experience was 20.84, and C/PHN experience was 9.84. The domain of Communication Skills scored highest and Cultural Competency was the lowest. Three themes emerged from the open-ended questions including vulnerabilities of the public health system. Understanding the experiences of C/PHNs in Missouri related to the utilization of QCC-C/PHN competencies informs efforts to strengthen public health infrastructure and target resources to equip Missouri's C/PHNs.

Development of the Groundwater Concept Inventory to Measure Groundwater Knowledge in a General Audience.

Groundwater is a critical resource globally, and understanding groundwater processes is vital to ensure sustainable management practices. However, there are many widely held misconceptions and inaccuracies about groundwater, and we currently lack tools to measure groundwater knowledge across large populations and measure how groundwater knowledge relates to management decisions or behaviors. Here, we present a survey instrument, the Groundwater Concept Inventory (GWCI), that has been designed for general audiences to measure groundwater knowledge comparable to that in an introductory geoscience curriculum. The GWCI was developed using ∼1200 responses using an online platform, Amazon Mechanical Turks, to represent a general population. Responses were evaluated using the Rasch model that configures a relationship between person-ability and item-difficulty. We found that the study population displayed similar misconceptions about groundwater compared with previous literature, and that age and education were not strong predictors of GWCI scores. The GWCI can be used by researchers to understand links between knowledge and behavior, and also by other stakeholders to quantify misconceptions about groundwater and target resources for a more informed public.

Socioeconomic Disparity in the Effect of SARS-CoV-2 on Outpatient Visits among People with Type 2 Diabetes in Taiwan.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak posed impact on healthcare. This study evaluated the effect of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on the outpatient visits of patients with type 2 diabetes and determined the most affected groups. We analyzed Taiwan's National Health Insurance data, including 1,922,702 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from 2018 to 2021. Group-based trajectory modelling identified four distinct outpatient visit patterns, namely, consistently high (Group 1, 74.2%), low-to-high (Group 2, 8.1%), high-to-low (Group 3, 6.0%) and consistently low (Group 4, 11.7%) utilization. Logistic regression was used to analyze correlations between trajectory types and patients' demographics and health statuses. Group 3 members had higher odds of being male [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.05] and earning below 20,000 New Taiwan Dollar monthly (aOR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.26-1.31) than those in Group 1. However, they were less likely to be under 80 years old (aOR = 0.70-0.97), from lower median family income regions (aOR = 0.81-0.89) or possess a Charlson Comorbidity Index score > 2 (aOR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.66-0.68). Patients with lower income in affluent areas displayed the highest likelihood of falling into Group 3. Patients with type 2 diabetes and low income from wealthy areas were vulnerable during the pandemic. This result emphasizes the need to target resources and support for this subgroup during such crises.

학교밖청소년의 노동권 보장을 위한 정책 발전방안 연구: 한국과 프랑스 정책을 중심으로

This study aimed to systematically analyze the policies of Korea's Naeil Irum School and France's La Garantie Jeunes with an objective to propose a development measure to guarantee the labor rights of out-of-school youths. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, an analysis was attempted by dividing it into delivery system, benefit, policy target, and financial resources, which was the framework for the output analysis of social welfare policies proposed by Gilbert and Terrell(2005). As a result of the analysis, it was confirmed that Korea is absent on the basis regulation of the delivery system and lacks expertise. In the case of benefit, the link between purpose and goal was insufficient, and the content of benefit was set to be centered on the provider. The problem of the policy target was shown to be the operation at the pilot project level and the absence of career exploration process. Finally, the securing of financial resources was not stable, and there was a lack of reality in the appropriation of training expense. Based on these results, proposals were made to reorganize the promotion system into the out-of-school youth support center, to provide consumer-centered service, to modify the statutes for the guarantee of labor rights, and to secure stable financial resources through general accounting.

Evaluating the role of primary care pharmacy technicians in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and acne management using TARGET resources.

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is accelerating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) (Antibiotic resistant infections and associated deaths increase https://www.gov.uk/government/news/antibiotic-resistant-infections-and-associated-deaths-increase). Pharmacy professionals (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) promote good antibiotic prescribing practice. The traditional role of pharmacy technicians in supporting pharmacists and patients has expanded alongside the clinical expansion of pharmacist roles. (Boughen M, Fenn T. Practice, skill mix and education: the evolving role of pharmacy technicians in Great Britain. Pharmacy (Basel) 2020; 8(2): 50. doi:10.3390/pharmacy8020050) This paper focuses on the opinion of pharmacy technicians and their role in the review of acne management and the evaluation of the UKHSA TARGET acne 'How to…' review resources. To explore the impact of the TARGET resources on the capability, opportunity and motivation of pharmacy technicians in general practice in managing patients with acne.To evaluate the usefulness of the acne 'How to…' review resources. A primarily quantitative study using an electronic survey asking UK-based pharmacy technicians to rate their agreement on a five-point Likert scale with 21 predefined statements, themed on the COM-B model and usefulness of the TARGET resources for acne. The survey found that capability and opportunity in managing acne in the group familiar with TARGET resources was higher than the group not familiar with TARGET resources. Scores for motivation in both groups were high; pharmacy technicians have the motivation to undertake infection management roles, whether or not they are familiar with the TARGET toolkit.The acne 'How to…' review resources were overall rated as useful in supporting the review of patients with acne. The TARGET materials are effective resources that helps to upskill pharmacy technicians in the area of AMS, increasing capability and opportunity in the management of acne.

Experience, challenges and recommendations for integrated care in mental health in Mexico

Introduction: Depression, anxiety and suicide are serious psychiatric conditions that affect young Mexicans (1), depression in itself shows a prevalence greater than 16%. Suicide deaths rank second among youth aged 10-24 with rates of 6/100,000 deaths, while the first place of deaths is due to violence by firearms with 15/100,000 deaths (1). In addition, young people are among those with the least access to effective mental health interventions.
 Mexico faces great challenges in the search for an efficient integrated care model in mental health (MH), the medical care processes are fragmented in the healthcare systems and uncoordinated within them, generating a loss of continuity in medical care with resources insufficient and poorly distributed (2). In this perspective, the objective of this work is to propose an integrated care model in MH for the detection and care of depressive disorders in young people, based on Primary Health Care (PHC) and linked to specialized services. The research is based on the implementation science framework, which proposes different phases and specific activities to increase the probability of success (3). The Exploration Stage, incorporates the perception, needs and mental symptoms of young people, identifies resources for healthcare considering uses, customs and care preferences in their community. The Installation Stage, serves to design the intervention, enable and/or generate resources for care. The Initial Implementation Stage, identifies candidates, start ups and evaluates the feasibility of the model. The Total Implementation Stage, lies in the scaling of the model. For the purposes of this presentation, we will only present the experience of the 1st Stage of the study.
 Conclusions: Integrated care in MH in young people implies transforming the form of PHC, how promotion of MH is done, prevention of depression, early diagnosis, and timely treatment. To approach the community, we resorted to a mapping identifying key social actors, we carried out promotion of MH and dissemination of the project using previously prepared graphic-written material. A community situational diagnosis allowed us to identify the available resources necessary for the investigation. Young people and other people from the community were invited to integrate into focal interviews, to incorporate the care needs, as well as become an active agent of change through the mental health education provided.
 Implications: The integrated care models for MH in PHC--Specialized care, could be an efficient alternative in the care of MD, by incorporating the care needs of the target population, their preferences, and resources available in their own community (4). Providing MH education to young people, their families and other people in the community as social actors, enables empowerment and involvement as active agents of change, facilitating the care process and its sustainability.
 Keywords: Mental disorders, Youth, Primary-Care, Integrated-Care.
 Referencias
 1.- Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.GBD-2019. https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/
 2.- Díaz-Castro L, et al. Necesidades de atención en salud mental y uso de servicios en población mexicana con trastornos mentales graves. Salud Publica Mex.2020;62(1):72-79.Spanish.
 3.- Proctor E, et al. Outcomes for implementation research. AdmPolicyMentHealth. 2011;38(2):65-76.
 4.- Amelung V, et al. (2017). Handbook-Integrated-Care. Chad: Springer.

Quantifying organisational resilience: an integrated resource efficiency view

ABSTRACT Organisations are increasingly exposed to risks from globally disruptive events, triggering interest and new research into organisational resilience. Several levers to increase resilience are defined in the literature but organisations still find it challenging to prepare for the next disruption. This study contributes to the resilience literature by drawing on the integrated resource efficiency view (IREV) framework to measure four levers of organisational resilience and derive an organisational resilience index (ORI). Levers include resiliency management, business continuity and organisational learning capacity, which are related to the levels of preparedness of the organisation for potential disruptions, and operational flexibility, which relates to how quickly it can reconfigure resources in changing situations. Results show that a composite index encompassing the four levers is strongly associated with increased organisational resilience. The ORI provides leaders and decision makers with an approach to assess resilience at the level of the whole organisation and with sample groups, such as business type or geographical location, enabling structured multi-level comparisons and analysis. Furthermore the ORI helps managers target attention and resources to improve preparedness and take action to mitigate constraints on operational flexibility.