Jennie Jaribu, Suzanne Penfold, Cathy Green, Fatuma Manzi and Joanna Schellenberg
The purpose of this paper is to describe a quality improvement (QI) intervention in primary health facilities providing childbirth care in rural Southern Tanzania.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a quality improvement (QI) intervention in primary health facilities providing childbirth care in rural Southern Tanzania.
Design/methodology/approach
A QI collaborative model involving district managers and health facility staff was piloted for 6 months in 4 health facilities in Mtwara Rural district and implemented for 18 months in 23 primary health facilities in Ruangwa district. The model brings together healthcare providers from different health facilities in interactive workshops by: applying QI methods to generate and test change ideas in their own facilities; using local data to monitor improvement and decision making; and health facility supervision visits by project and district mentors. The topics for improving childbirth were deliveries and partographs.
Findings
Median monthly deliveries increased in 4 months from 38 (IQR 37-40) to 65 (IQR 53-71) in Mtwara Rural district, and in 17 months in Ruangwa district from 110 (IQR 103-125) to 161 (IQR 148-174). In Ruangwa health facilities, the women for whom partographs were used to monitor labour progress increased from 10 to 57 per cent in 17 months.
Research limitations/implications
The time for QI innovation, testing and implementation phases was limited, and the study only looked at trends. The outcomes were limited to process rather than health outcome measures.
Originality/value
Healthcare providers became confident in the QI method through engagement, generating and testing their own change ideas, and observing improvements. The findings suggest that implementing a QI initiative is feasible in rural, low-income settings.
Details
Keywords
Eric S.W. Chan and Cathy H.C. Hsu
The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesise 149 hospitality-related studies published in the past two decades pertaining to environmental management (EM). The review was…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesise 149 hospitality-related studies published in the past two decades pertaining to environmental management (EM). The review was divided into three main stages: 1993-1999, 2000-2009 and 2010-2014 and provided future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
The study sample consisted of articles published between 1993 and 2014 in four leading hospitality journals. The four journals chosen were the International Journal of Hospitality Management, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. The title, abstract and the content, as needed, of all EM-related full-length articles from these four journals were content analysed. Editors’ notes, book reviews, industry news, conference papers and research notes were excluded from this paper.
Findings
EM research in the hospitality industry during the first two stages focused on the development of environmental policies and practices, green consumerism, managers’ environmental attitudes, indoor air quality and smoke-free environments, sustainable development, environmental performance, environmental cost control and environmental management systems (EMSs). During the third stage from 2010 to 2014, topics about environmental benchmarking and indicators have surfaced. Notwithstanding this, EM in the environmental reporting, and green marketing have been pursued less enthusiastically.
Research limitations/implications
Compared with the mainstream management literature and considering the future development of EM, hospitality scholars are encouraged to extend their research to include green marketing, environmental technologies, environmental reporting, carbon footprint, employees’ green behaviour, the effects of EM on hospitality firms’ stakeholders and small- and medium-sized hospitality firms. In addition, more effort should be spent on developing hospitality-specific theories for EM.
Originality/value
Little has been done to determine the main research agendas in hospitality EM. A review of recent research on this topic provides an inventory of existing knowledge and points out areas requiring further knowledge exploration.
Details
Keywords
Bonnie Lee, Jason Solowoniuk and Mary Fong
Trauma and adverse childhood events are found in the pre‐immigration histories of a cohort of four Chinese Canadian pathological gamblers. The nature of their traumatic…
Abstract
Trauma and adverse childhood events are found in the pre‐immigration histories of a cohort of four Chinese Canadian pathological gamblers. The nature of their traumatic experiences, consisting of loss and abandonment, neglect and deprivation, physical and emotional abuse, socioeconomic and political oppression, is elucidated and described. The impact of pre‐immigration trauma and its relationship to the development of pathological gambling post‐immigration are discussed. Upon further corroboration of the existence of pre‐immigration trauma among Chinese and Asian immigrants in future studies, training of counsellors to incorporate an in‐depth pre‐immigration history in the assessment and treatment protocol of immigrants manifesting pathological gambling is recommended.
Details
Keywords
Desiree Chachula, Cathy Grant, Prado Antolino, Jenna Davis, Desiree Hanson, Lesley Harris, Venessa Rivera-Colon and B. Lee Green
The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of a multifaceted institutional approach to minimizing cancer health disparities, presenting a novel organizational framework…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of a multifaceted institutional approach to minimizing cancer health disparities, presenting a novel organizational framework entitled, “A.C.C.E.S.S.” to guide those efforts.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a case study of an organization that operates under the theory that cancer health disparities are a result of the cumulative incongruence of differences that exist between people in various contexts and interactions over time. Consequently, the A.C.C.E.S.S. framework is used to demonstrate the range of opportunities within an organization to intervene and mitigate gaps that result in inequality.
Findings
Addressing A.C.C.E.S.S. in various interactions and contexts over a sustained period of time results in a continuous improvement cycle that attenuates cancer health disparity.
Originality/value
The antecedents and impacts of cancer health disparities are well documented. However, there is a dearth of directionality for institutions and organizations in achieving equality in cancer treatment and care. This paper provides a framework to consider in organizing such endeavors.
Details
Keywords
Anne E. Zald and Cathy Seitz Whitaker
Despite the title of this bibliography, there was not a truly underground press in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. The phrase is amisnomer, reputedly coined on the…
Abstract
Despite the title of this bibliography, there was not a truly underground press in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. The phrase is amisnomer, reputedly coined on the spur of the moment in 1966 by Thomas Forcade when asked to describe the newly established news service, Underground Press Syndicate, of which he was an active member. The papers mentioned in this bibliography, except for the publications of the Weather Underground, were not published by secretive, covert organizations. Freedom of the press and of expression is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution, although often only symbolically as the experience of the undergrounds will show, and most of the publications that fall into the “underground” described herein maintained public offices, contracted with commercial printers, and often used the U.S. Postal Service to distribute their publications.
Anthony Samuel, Cathy McGouran, Robert J. Thomas, Gareth Reginald and Terence White
Places have deep-seated meaning and serve to shape our social grouping and practices. Sporting stadia are a highly influential aspect of many people’s lives that drive the…
Abstract
Purpose
Places have deep-seated meaning and serve to shape our social grouping and practices. Sporting stadia are a highly influential aspect of many people’s lives that drive the inexorable journey towards team affiliation, immersive experiences, intense loyalty and the creation of an enduring, local identity. This paper aims to explore how the nature of a sporting place has been shaped to change the practice of football as a sport, as a business and as entertainment. This paper uncovers how Forest Green Rovers (FGR) differentiates itself from the historical and socio-economic roots of football and uses numerous novel sustainability initiatives to re-imagine a new type of football place, club and fandom.
Design/methodology/approach
Over a two-year period, the authors used multiple data collection methods, engaging in participant observation, interviews and focus groups, at FGR and related events. A thematic data analysis was conducted to pinpoint and extract key areas surrounding the unique structures, practices and reinforced behaviours that have developed in FGR.
Findings
The findings show that FGR’s place operates as a central location through which stakeholders, ideas, resources and practices have been disrupted and re-imagined around the principles of sustainability. This fundamental shift in FGR’s place, changing its composition, character and reach, means that FGR can be conceptualised as a novel place synonymous with new global social movements.
Originality/value
This study presents unique insights into the world’s first socially and environmentally conscious football club. This study examines the construction and operation of the place that facilitates its actions which go beyond what has been seen and maybe expected from commercial sporting institutions.
Details
Keywords
Heleen Buldeo Rai, Sara Verlinde and Cathy Macharis
Currently, it is unclear how omnichannel retailers can create a last mile offer that is both attractive and sustainable from an economic and environmental point of view. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Currently, it is unclear how omnichannel retailers can create a last mile offer that is both attractive and sustainable from an economic and environmental point of view. The purpose of this paper is to explore to which extent consumers are willing to adopt last mile options that are more sustainable and how these options should be composed to remain attractive.
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, the authors surveyed a representative sample of Belgian consumers, using choice-based conjoint experiments, and analysed their preferences structures.
Findings
Consumers’ preference goes out to free, next day delivery to an address of choice, on regular office hours during the week. However, when free delivery and return are offered, consumers are willing to collect their orders themselves or wait longer for their orders to arrive.
Practical implications
The research findings are important for retailers that (plan to) operate an omnichannel model. For omnichannel retailers with a dense store network, the results indicate that consumers accept their store network as pick-up and return locations, allowing retailers to create a more efficient and sustainable supply chain in which their online and offline activities can be combined.
Originality/value
The research findings contribute to current literature and practice by combining “planet” and “profit” components of sustainability in last mile transport and applying it in the novel omnichannel environment.