Athanasios Athanasiadis, Nikoleta Ratsika, Constantinos Trompoukis and Anastas Philalithis
Greece has legislated health decentralization several times since the 1920s, but none had been implemented until 2001. Even so, the decentralized system was subsequently modified…
Abstract
Purpose
Greece has legislated health decentralization several times since the 1920s, but none had been implemented until 2001. Even so, the decentralized system was subsequently modified several times, curtailing the powers that were initially delegated to the health regions, while the whole process has been criticized as limited in scope. The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons that the decentralization process did not fulfil its initial aims.
Design/methodology/approach
Elite interviews were conducted with 37 of the 50 directors of health regions who served between 2001 and 2009. Interview transcripts were divided into four themes and analyzed using thematic analysis.
Findings
The participants agreed that health decentralization in Greece was only administrative rather than political and did not include fiscal decentralization. They described problematic and competitive relations with party officials and civil servants. They blamed their short tenure for the inability to fulfil their plans. Findings indicate that decentralization in Greece did not achieve its objectives because of the dominant mentality of centralized control, the lack of political support, the discontinuity in health policies and opposition from vested interests.
Originality/value
The value of the present study lies in the fact that it examines in depth the issue of health decentralization drawing on the experiences of the former directors of the Greek health regions, i.e. the persons who were called on to put into practice the process of regional decentralization.
Details
Keywords
Kalliopi Brofidi, Konstantinos Vlasiadis and Anastas Philalithis
The purpose of this paper is three-fold: first, to assess nurse satisfaction levels with working environment (known as favourability) in five Greek public hospitals using the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is three-fold: first, to assess nurse satisfaction levels with working environment (known as favourability) in five Greek public hospitals using the practice environment scale (PES); second, to compare perceptions among nurses employed in surgical and medical departments; and third, to examine relationships between perceptions and nurse educational level and experience.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 532 nurses from five major public hospitals in Greece completed the PES. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and Spearman correlations were employed to analyse the data.
Findings
Nurses perceived their work settings as unfavourable in all five hospitals, with collegial nurse–physician relations emerging as the only positive factor. Compared to medical wards, surgical departments emerged as slightly more positive working environments. Work department notwithstanding, in some cases, education and experience levels affected their perceptions on management, poor care quality, limited nurse involvement in hospital affairs and nursing shortage.
Practical implications
Hospital managers do not provide sufficient support for Greek nurses in their working environments.
Originality/value
The authors attempted to evaluate nursing practice environments in Greek hospitals, viewed from nurse perspectives. The authors identified insufficient support for nurses’ working in these hospitals.
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Keywords
Vangelis Kotsifos, Athanasios Alegakis and Anastas Philalithis
The object of this study is to formulate, establish and apply a suitable and reliable tool for measuring the course experience satisfaction of Master graduates. A questionnaire…
Abstract
Purpose
The object of this study is to formulate, establish and apply a suitable and reliable tool for measuring the course experience satisfaction of Master graduates. A questionnaire was formulated, based on similar tools, and adjusted to the reality of Hellenic Higher Education, in order to measure the satisfaction of graduates in three Master programmes in the area of health care management.
Design/methodology/approach
Master graduates of the study (n=162), 2003‐2007 admission years, filled in the questionnaire either electronically (web‐based) or by phone interview. The overall response rate was 50.6 per cent. In total, 37 statements were used for the measure of satisfaction while other questionnaire parts recorded the demographic, occupational and educational characteristics of the graduates.
Findings
Analysis revealed seven factors, listed as teaching, skills, assessment, feedback, social opportunities, facilities and organization of the course. Gender and first degree content do not affect the produced total satisfaction score. Married participants scored higher than those that are single in three factors and older participants scored higher than younger ones in two factors. The University of Crete's graduates scored higher than other graduates in two factors.
Originality/value
The paper is the first attempt to assess satisfaction, based on the grounds of quality, for Master programs in Hellenic State Universities. In this study are presented the first results and conclusions of the application of the developed questionnaire. Further results, relative to graduates' occupational status changes and professional development, are currently under investigation.