What principles should guide visiting primary health care services in rural and remote communities? Lessons from a systematic review

Visiting health services are a feature of health care delivery in rural and remote contexts. These services are often described as ‘fly‐in fly‐out’ or ‘drive‐in drive‐out’. Posing the question ‘What are the different types of visiting models of primary health care being used in rural and remote communities?’, the objective of this article was to describe a typology of models of health services that visit remote communities. A systematic review of peer‐reviewed literature from established databases was undertaken. Data were extracted from 20 papers (16 peer‐reviewed papers and four from other sources), which met the inclusion criteria. From the available evidence, it was difficult to develop a typology of services. The central feature of service providers visiting rural and remote districts on a regular basis was consistent, although the service provider's geographical base varied and the extent to which the same service provider should be providing the service was not consistently endorsed. While a clear typology did not emerge from the systematic review, it became apparent that a set of guiding principles might be more helpful to service providers and planners. Focusing policy and decision‐making on important principles of visiting services, rather than their typological features, is likely to be of ultimately more benefit to the health outcomes of people who live in rural and remote communities.     

User involvement in the development of a health promotion technology for older people: findings from the SWISH project

Successive English government policies about older people’s health and well‐being aim to improve health and quality of life by promoting independence. Improving access to information and services that can improve health and well‐being and reduce health risks is central to the modernisation of health and social care. Most recently, tailored and person‐centred approaches with a strong emphasis on promoting health and well‐being are central to policy, including the proposals for ‘Life Checks’ and the recent emphasis on commissioning ‘community well‐being’. We carried out a qualitative study to identify the key aspects of social situations that affect health and well‐being, from the perspectives of older people and professionals, to enrich and expand an existing health risk appraisal tool so that it could be used for self‐assessment of health and social well‐being. This tool, Health Risk Appraisal in Older people (HRAO), has been evaluated in different European settings, including English general practice. Focus groups were recruited from general practice, older people’s forums, social care and voluntary organisations in two London boroughs where the HRAO tool had previously been tested. The social factors determining health that were prioritised by older people and service providers and recommended for inclusion in the health risk appraisal tool were recent life events, housing and garden maintenance, transport, both public and private, financial management, carer status & needs, the local environment and social networks and social isolation. This study has identified key social determinants of health that could usefully be added to ‘Life Checks’ for older people and that could also inform the commissioning of community well‐being. Modified with the addition of social domains, the HRAO technology could be a suitable tool to achieve current policy objectives.     

Patients' perceptions of service quality dimensions: an empirical examination of health care in New Zealand.

The 1984 liberalization of the New Zealand economy has resulted in a health care sector that has become very competitive (Zwier and Clarke, 1999). The private sector is now able to supply health care services and, as a result, a greater value is being placed on patient satisfaction (Zwier and Clarke, 1999). However, despite the increasing focus on customer satisfaction, research into health care patients' perceptions of the dimensions of service quality is scarce. This can be problematic, as quality of care is an essential issue in the strategic marketing of health care services (Turner and Pol, 1995). This study takes a step towards addressing this deficiency by identifying patients' perceptions of the dimensions of service quality in health care. The findings of this study are based on the empirical analysis of a sample of 389 respondents interviewed by telephone. The findings indicate that the service quality dimensions identified in this health care specific study differ in number and dimensional structure from the widely adopted service quality dimensions first identified by Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml (1988): reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. The service quality dimensions identified in this study were: reliability, tangibles, assurance, empathy, food, access, outcome, admission, discharge and responsiveness. In addition, health care patients perceive the service quality dimensions relating to the core product in health care delivery (for example, outcome and reliability) as more important than the service quality dimensions relating to the peripheral product in health care delivery (for example, food, access and tangibles). Finally, the results of this study suggest that patients with different geographic, demographic, and behavioristic characteristics have different needs and wants during health care delivery and therefore perceive different service quality dimensions as important.     

Integrated health and social care in the community: A critical integrative review of the experiences and well-being needs of service users and their families

A need for people-centred health and social support systems is acknowledged as a global priority. Most nations face challenges in providing safe, effective, timely, affordable, coordinated care around the needs and preferences of people who access integrated health and social care (IHSC) services. Much of the current research in the field focuses on describing and evaluating specific models for delivering IHSC. Fewer studies focus on person-centred experiences, needs and preferences of people who use these services. However, current international guidance for integrated care sets a precedence of person-centred integrated care that meets the health and well-being needs of people who access IHSC services. This integrative literature review synthesises empirical literature from six databases (CINAHL; MEDLINE; AMED; TRIP; Web of Science and Science Direct; 2007–2019). This review aims to better understand the experiences and health and well-being needs of people who use IHSC services in a community setting. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria and results were thematically analysed. Three overarching themes were identified, including relationships, promoting health and well-being and difficulty understanding systems. Findings of this review indicate that relationships hold significance in IHSC. People who access IHSC services felt that they were not always involved in planning their care and that there was a lack of clarity in navigating integrated systems; subsequently, this impacted upon their experiences of those services. However, service user and informal carer voices appear to be underrepresented in current literature and studies that included their views were found to be of low quality overall. Collectively, these findings support the need for further research that explores the person-centred experiences and needs of people who access IHSC.     

An investigation of culturally competent terminology in healthcare policy finds ambiguity and lack of definition

Objective : This research explored how the concept of cultural competence was represented and expressed through health policies that were intended to improve the quality and efficacy of healthcare provided to families from culturally marginalised communities, particularly women and children with refugee backgrounds. Method : A critical document analysis was conducted of policies that inform healthcare for families from culturally marginalised communities in two local government areas in South Australia. Results : The analysis identified two major themes: lack of, or inconsistent, definitions of ‘culture’ and ‘cultural competency’ and related terms; and the paradoxical use of language to determine care. Conclusions : Cultural competence within health services has been identified as an important factor that can improve the health outcomes for families from marginalised communities. However, inconsistency in definitions, understanding and implementation of cultural competence in health practice makes it difficult to implement care using these frameworks. Implications : Clearly defined pathways are necessary from health policy to inform culturally competent service delivery. The capacity for policy directives to effectively circumvent the potential deleterious outcomes of culturally incompetent services is only possible when that policy provides clear definitions and instructions. Consultation and partnership are necessary to develop effective definitions and processes relating to cultural competence.     

District‐level impacts of health system decentralization in Indonesia: A systematic review

The local‐level impacts of decentralizing national health systems are significant yet infrequently examined. This review aims to assess whether localized health services delivery in Indonesia, which commenced a health system decentralization process in 2001, achieved its objectives or could be enhanced. A systematic review was undertaken to collate published evidence regarding this topic and synthesize key findings holistically using the six building blocks framework of the World Health Organization (WHO) to categorize health system performance. Four research databases were searched in 2016 for relevant evidence published between 2001 and 2015. The inclusion criteria were relevance to the topic of decentralization impacts at the district level, original research, and published in English. Included articles were appraised for quality using a standardized tool, with key findings synthesized using the WHO building blocks. Twenty‐nine articles met the inclusion criteria and categorized under the WHO building blocks categories. The findings highlight problematic impacts of decentralization related to three building blocks: service delivery, health financing, and workforce. In the 15 years of post‐decentralization in Indonesia, the service delivery, health workforce, and health financing blocks should be prioritized for further research and policy evaluation to improve the overall health system performance at the district level.     

The 2017 reform of the hospital sector in Poland – The challenge of consistent design

Beginning in October 2017 a system of basic hospital service provision, popularly called the ‘hospitals network’ was implemented in Poland. It covered 594 hospitals out of a total number of approx. 920 operating in 2017. The regulation’s official objectives were to: “(1) improve the organization of services delivered by hospitals; (2) improve access to hospital care; (3) optimize the number of specialist wards; (4) improve coordination of in- and out-patient care; (5) facilitate hospital management”. The aim of this paper is to describe the background of the reform planning and its formal objectives, content and implementation process, as well as to assess the preliminary results and discuss the possible limitations and implications. Although the official term ‘hospitals network’ is used to describe the reform, in practice it does not involve an element of cooperation between hospitals. The regulation’s main feature was changing the financing methods for a pre-defined scope of services (from per-case to global budget).The reform was planned and implemented on a rather ad-hoc basis while its major controversy is the lack of quality of care, health outcome and population health need measures in the network inclusion criteria. The assessment of the reform’s impact on service provision requires long-term analysis and access to detailed quantitative data.     

Wise owls and professors: the role of older researchers in the review of the National Service Framework for Older People

Aim This article explores the involvement of older people in research and inspection, reflecting on the learning from the recent ‘joint review’ of the National Service Framework for Older People in England. Methodological context Working in 10 different localities, the ‘joint review’ comprised a formal inspection of health and local council services (carried out by the Healthcare Commission, Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Audit Commission) and an externally commissioned university‐led research project designed to ascertain the views and experiences of older people living in the 10 inspection sites. In total, 1839 older people were interviewed individually and through focus groups and an additional 4200 older people completed questionnaires. A distinctive feature of the research was the inclusion of a team of older researchers who had undertaken training in research methods in later life. Reflections of the older researchers and other members of the research team on undertaking this large‐scale user involvement project were ascertained via a day‐long seminar which was tape recorded and transcribed. Learning While many espouse the principle of ‘service user involvement’ in research, there is a need to move beyond the rhetoric of participation and any blanket assumptions about what it means to be an ‘older researcher’, a ‘service user researcher’ or indeed, a ‘professional researcher’. This means ensuring that within any given team (user‐controlled or collaborative) there are clear lines of accountability and equal opportunities for individual appraisal, support, and personal or professional development. Such considerations are key to working with ‘older researchers’ and encouraging diversity in the research workforce more generally.     

Deconstructing ‘barriers’ to access: Minority ethnic women and medicalised maternal health services in Vietnam

Abstract

Low maternal health service utilisation amongst minority ethnic women in Vietnam is often attributed to ‘traditional customs’. Drawing on secondary data and original, qualitative research amongst Hmong and Thai communities, this paper analyses minority behaviour related to childbirth. The informed selectivity in service attendance identified can be considered, in part, a rejection of current medicalised approaches at health facilities, where supine delivery is compulsory and family members are prohibited from attending women in labour. The paper reveals how conventional analyses of barriers to minority maternal health service utilisation inhibit scrutiny of the ways services fail to engage with or accommodate local preferences. Participatory identification of mutually acceptable delivery methods by maternal health staff and local women is recommended to enable the development of culturally inclusive services.     

Identifying needs and setting priorities: issues of theory, policy and practice

The National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 signalled an explicit shift away from a service-driven to a needs-led pattern of delivery for both health and social care. However, a definitive meaning of ‘need’ is elusive. Where the work of health and social care agencies is related closely, as in community care, recognition and careful handling of different approaches to need is important for effective inter-sectoral collaboration and supply of appropriate care to service users. This paper examines three dimensions of need: theory, policy and practice. Some key components of the theoretical debate about the meaning of ‘need’ are explored briefly, particularly in relation to health, and a set of questions is extracted that underpin the construction of need in policy and practice. These questions are then applied to a comparison of policy guidance documents for needs assessment for health and social (community) care. While the documents demonstrate some similarities in their view of need, there are also material differences. These differences have implications for the supply of services at the boundary between health and social care, some examples of which are discussed. Given a lack of consensus in defining and measuring need, the paper concludes with a framework of key questions which could enable purchasers and providers of health care to be more explicit about the bases upon which ‘needs-led’ services are defined and delivered.     

‘What makes an excellent mental health doctor?’ A response integrating the experiences and views of service users with critical reflections of psychiatrists

While therapeutic relationships are appropriately recognised as the foundation of mental health service, service users commonly report suboptimal experiences. With shared understanding critical to improvement in practice, we explored service users’ experiences and expectations of psychiatrists and consultations, engaging psychiatrists throughout the process. Using an iterative qualitative approach we co‐produced a response to the question ‘what makes an excellent mental health doctor?’ Experiences and expectations of psychiatrists were explored in interviews with 22 service users. Data collection, analysis and interpretation were informed by consultation with peer workers. Findings were contextualised in formal consultations with psychiatrists. As ‘masters of their craft’, excellent mental health doctors engage authentically with service users as people (not diagnoses). They listen, validate experiences and empathise affectively and cognitively. They demonstrate phronesis, applying clinical knowledge compassionately. Psychiatrists share service users’ aspiration of equitable partnership but competing demands and ‘professional boundaries’ constrain engagement. Consistent delivery of the person‐centred, recovery‐oriented care promoted by policy and sought by service users will require substantial revision of the structure and priorities of mental health services. The insights and experiences of service users must be integral to medical education, and systems must provide robust support to psychiatrists.     

Canadian community mental health workers’ perceived priorities for supportive housing services in northern and rural contexts

A relationship between mental health and supportive housing has been established, yet there exist enduring challenges in meeting the supportive housing needs of people with severe mental health problems. Furthermore, not all stakeholder viewpoints of supportive housing services are well documented in the research literature, and research has tended to focus on supportive housing provision in large, urban centres. Potentially, distinct challenges and opportunities associated with the provision of supportive housing services in smaller urban and rural communities that define the greater geographical terrain of Canada and other jurisdictions are less developed. This study describes community mental health service workers’ priorities for supportive housing services. Using Q methodology, 39 statements about supportive housing services, developed from a mixed‐methods parent study, were sorted by 58 service providers working in four communities in northern Ontario, Canada. Data used in this study were collected in 2010. Q analysis was used to identify correlations between service workers who held similar and different viewpoints concerning service priorities. The results yielded four discrete viewpoints about priorities for delivery of supportive housing services including: a functional system, service efficiency, individualised services and promotion of social inclusion. Common across these viewpoints was the need for concrete deliverables inclusive of financial supports and timely access to adequate housing. These findings have the potential to inform the development of housing policy in regions of low population density which address both system and individual variables.     

Rural Long‐term Care: What Do We Need to Know to Improve Policy and Programs?

This article examines what is known and what we need to know about rural long-term care populations and the formal and informal service systems that support their long-term care needs. The article provides a framework for identifying some of the critical policy and research questions concerning the financing and delivery of rural long-term care that merit the attention of health services researchers and policymakers. It documents differences in the demographic and health characteristics of the rural and urban elderly and in the availability, organization, and use of health and long-term care services in rural areas that have significant implications for long-term care policy and programs. With this background in mind, the author discusses specific topics and questions relevant to long-term care policy and program improvements for rural communities and people: (a) the changing role of the rural nursing home; (b) residential care alternatives in rural areas; (c) health personnel and rural long-term care; (d) the quality of rural long-term care; (e) innovations in long-term care financing and service delivery; (f), use of technology in rural long-term care; and (g) the effects of Medicaid and Medicare policy changes on the rural long-term care system.     

Understanding the linkages between informal and formal care for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

In response to the human resource challenges facing African health systems, there is increasing involvement of informal care providers in HIV care. Through social and institutional interactions that occur in the delivery of HIV care, linkages between formal and informal systems of care often emerge. Based on a review of studies documenting the relationships between formal and informal HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa, we suggest that linkages can be conceptualised as either ‘actor-oriented’ or ‘systems-oriented’. Studies adopting an actor-oriented focus examine hierarchical working relationships and communication practices among health systems actors, while studies focusing on systems-oriented linkages document the presence, absence or impact of formal inter-institutional partnership agreements. For linkages to be effective, the institutional frameworks within which linkages are formalised, as well as the ground-level interactions of those engaged in care, ought to be considered. However, to date, both actor- and system-oriented linkages appear to be poorly utilised by policy makers to improve HIV care. We suggest that linkages between formal and informal systems of care be considered across health systems, including governance, human resources, health information and service delivery in order to improve access to HIV services, enable knowledge transfer and strengthen health systems.     

Where There is a Way, There is Not Always a Will: Technology, Public Policy, and the School Integration of Children Who are Technology-Assisted

Children who are technology-assisted have been excluded from school in part because of conflict over payment for health care services This paper reviews educational and Medicaid policy regarding school health care services, as well as recent litigation over payment for these services, in order to highlight some of the current conflict and debate over who should pay Yet the full integration and inclusion of technology-assisted children in schools will necessitate increased cooperation between education and health care systems in terms of payment, service delivery, and public policy.     

Global Health Diplomacy, ‘Smart Power’, and the New World Order

Both the theory and practice of foreign policy and diplomacy, including systems of hard and soft power, are undergoing paradigm shifts, with an increasing number of innovative actors and strategies contributing to international relations outcomes in the ‘New World Order’. Concurrently, global health programmes continue to ascend the political spectrum in scale, scope and influence. This concatenation of circumstances has demanded a re-examination of the existing and potential effectiveness of global health programmes in the ‘smart power’ context, based on adherence to a range of design, implementation and assessment criteria, which may simultaneously optimise their humanitarian, foreign policy and diplomatic effectiveness. A synthesis of contemporary characteristics of ‘global health diplomacy’ and ‘global health as foreign policy’, grouped by common themes and generated in the context of related field experiences, are presented in the form of ‘Top Ten’ criteria lists for optimising both diplomatic and foreign policy effectiveness of global health programmes, and criteria are presented in concert with an examination of implications for programme design and delivery. Key criteria for global health programmes that are sensitised to both diplomatic and foreign policy goals include visibility, sustainability, geostrategic considerations, accountability, effectiveness and alignment with broader policy objectives. Though diplomacy is a component of foreign policy, criteria for ‘diplomatically-sensitised’ versus ‘foreign policy-sensitised’ global health programmes were not always consistent, and were occasionally in conflict, with each other. The desirability of making diplomatic and foreign policy criteria explicit, rather than implicit, in the context of global health programme design, delivery and evaluation are reflected in the identified implications for (1) international security, (2) programme evaluation, (3) funding and resource allocation decisions, (4) approval systems and (5) training. On this basis, global health programmes are shown to provide a valuable, yet underutilised, tool for diplomacy and foreign policy purposes, including their role in the pursuit of benign international influence. A corresponding alignment of resources between ‘hard’ and ‘smart’ power options is encouraged.     

深化实施上海市卫生改革与发展“十二五”规划的政策建议

总结归纳上海市卫生"十二五"规划中期存在的相关问题,进一步提出推动和完善"十二五"规划有效实施的政策建议。包括在"十二五"卫生规划实施过程中完善财政保障、基本卫生服务提供、人才培养建设、社会办医、急救体系及医联体建设等方面的政策措施,保证卫生规划的顺利实施,同时指出针对"十二五"卫生规划的制定及评估本身也需要不断完善。