Ulises Ruiz, José Simón, Pedro Molina, J. Jimenez and J. Grandal
Defining quality of healthcare and determining how to improve organisational performance in developed countries is still an unresolved issue among healthcare professionals…
Abstract
Defining quality of healthcare and determining how to improve organisational performance in developed countries is still an unresolved issue among healthcare professionals. However, given that it is an important area of responsibility and accountability it is no longer acceptable to view the issue as discretionary. An increasingly acceptable operative option for achieving continuous improvement and excellence seems to be the self‐assessment of an organisation, based on the principles of knowledge management and total quality management (TQM). This article provides an explanation of a two‐level self‐assessment approach for implementing TQM within the Spanish healthcare system. The first level integrates a client‐centred approach using classical healthcare accreditation criteria along with ISO 9000 standards, the aim being to establish quality assurance systems in the whole organisation. The second level uses the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model as a road map for self‐assessment and continuous improvement towards excellence.
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Fauziah Rabbani, S.M. Wasim Jafri, Farhat Abbas, Firdous Jahan, Nadir Ali Syed, Gregory Pappas, Syed Iqbal Azam, Mats Brommels and Göran Tomson
Organizational culture is a determinant for quality improvement. This paper aims to assess organizational culture in a hospital setting, understand its relationship with…
Abstract
Purpose
Organizational culture is a determinant for quality improvement. This paper aims to assess organizational culture in a hospital setting, understand its relationship with perceptions about quality of care and identify areas for improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a cross‐sectional survey in a large clinical department that used two validated questionnaires. The first contained 20 items addressing perceptions of cultural typology (64 respondents). The second one assessed staff views on quality improvement implementation (48 faculty) in three domains: leadership, information and analysis and human resource utilization (employee satisfaction).
Findings
All four cultural types received scoring, from a mean of 17.5 (group), 13.7 (developmental), 31.2 (rational) to 37.2 (hierarchical). The latter was the dominant cultural type. Group (participatory) and developmental (open) culture types had significant positive correlation with optimistic perceptions about leadership (r=0.48 and 0.55 respectively, p<0.00). Hierarchical (bureaucratic) culture was significantly negatively correlated with domains; leadership (r=−0.61, p<0.00), information and analysis (−0.50, p<0.00) and employee satisfaction (r=−0.55, p<0.00). Responses reveal a need for leadership to better utilize suggestions for improving quality of care, strengthening the process of information analysis and encouraging reward and recognition for employees.
Research limitations/implications
It is likely that, by adopting a participatory and open culture, staff views about organizational leadership will improve and employee satisfaction will be enhanced. This finding has implications for quality care implementation in other hospital settings.
Originality/value
The paper bridges an important gap in the literature by addressing the relationship between culture and quality care perceptions in a Pakistani hospital. As such a new and informative perspective is added.
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In this article, the total quality programme in the Spanish health‐care system (1986‐1992) and the subsequent quality improvement steps that have led to definition and…
Abstract
In this article, the total quality programme in the Spanish health‐care system (1986‐1992) and the subsequent quality improvement steps that have led to definition and implementation of such an integrated framework, seeking a quality management system and patient safety, are discussed.
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Sandra Vernero, Udo Nabitz, Gilberto Bragonzi, Alessio Rebelli and Rita Molinari
An assessment of the EFQM excellence model was carried out in Italy's Udine Hospital, aimed at evaluating how first and second‐level managers perceived their hospital and…
Abstract
Purpose
An assessment of the EFQM excellence model was carried out in Italy's Udine Hospital, aimed at evaluating how first and second‐level managers perceived their hospital and individual departments. The study objectives also included identifying strengths and areas requiring improvement and stimulating a quality culture.
Design/methodology/approach
Udine's S. Maria della Misericordia Hospital is a large specialised unit in North East Italy and similar to many regional hospitals throughout the country. The survey is a single case study of the hospital and its ten clinical departments. A 153‐item questionnaire was completed by 201 experienced respondents.
Findings
Leadership, policy and strategy, partnership and resources were rated highly, whereas people, society and customer results received lower ratings. Several improvement actions were planned, primarily with regard to the results criteria.
Practical implications
A two‐level self‐assessment was successfully carried out in a hospital, giving insight into the organisation's strengths and areas requiring improvement. Through the study, a systemic approach was introduced and quality awareness was heightened.
Originality/value
The findings are useful for other hospitals conducting EFQM self‐assessment.
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Anna Marie Johnson, Amber Willenborg, Christopher Heckman, Joshua Whitacre, Latisha Reynolds, Elizabeth Alison Sterner, Lindsay Harmon, Syann Lunsford and Sarah Drerup
This paper aims to present recently published resources on information literacy and library instruction through an extensive annotated bibliography of publications covering all…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present recently published resources on information literacy and library instruction through an extensive annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2017 in over 200 journals, magazines, books and other sources.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description for all 590 sources.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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Alejandro Uribe-Tirado and María Pinto
The purpose of this study has the aim of expanding lessons learned that were originally detected for information literacy (INFOLIT) programs in Ibero-American universities (from…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study has the aim of expanding lessons learned that were originally detected for information literacy (INFOLIT) programs in Ibero-American universities (from Latin America, Spain and Portugal), this paper presents lessons learned for enhancing equivalent programs offered by other universities around the world.
Design/methodology/approach
As this paper is a comparative literature review, the methodology involved three stages. Initially, a documentary analysis was carried out to identify the texts published during the past five years – since 2013 – reporting a categorization of experiences and cases of international INFOLIT programs and their corresponding lessons learned. Second, we conducted a content analysis of these publications to uncover the classification, identification and frequency of the lessons learned. A third comparative step consisted of analyzing the similarities of these lessons when compared to those reported in similar research on Ibero-American universities (Uribe-Tirado, 2013).
Findings
From the 75 lessons learned from INFOLIT programs in Ibero-American universities, 65 lessons (87 per cent) were identified as also present in universities elsewhere. These similarities give an account of the possibilities for collaborative learning and benchmarking that INFOLIT programs could achieve with regard to content, pedagogy, learning objects and evaluation if there were more networking and more common participation in sharing experiences, with appropriate adaptations to contextual, technological and idiomatic variations.
Originality/value
As a comparative literature review, this paper makes a significant contribution to the international advancement of INFOLIT in higher education, as it correlates the lessons learned from INFOLIT programs in Ibero-American universities with those from other countries. This provides a global view of the lessons learned about INFOLIT, which to date have not been reported with such a wide scope and number of lessons.
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Xinyi Huang, Fei Teng, Yu Xin and Liping Xu
This paper aims to study the effect of the establishment of bankruptcy courts on bond issuance market. This paper helps to predict that the introduction of bankruptcy courts in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the effect of the establishment of bankruptcy courts on bond issuance market. This paper helps to predict that the introduction of bankruptcy courts in China can mitigate price distortions caused by the implicit government guarantees and promote the development of the high-risk bond market.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper exploits the staggered introduction of bankruptcy courts across cities to implement a differences-in-differences strategy on bond issuance data. Using bonds issued in China between 2018 and 2020, the impact of bankruptcy courts on the bond issuance market can be analyzed.
Findings
This paper reveals that bond issuance credit spreads increase and is more sensitive to firm size, profitability and downside risk of issuance entity after the introduction of bankruptcy courts. It also reveals a substantive increase in bond issuance quantity and a decrease in issuer credit ratings following the establishment of bankruptcy courts. In addition, the increase of credit spreads is more prominent for publicly traded bonds, those whose issuers located in provinces with lower judicial confidence, bonds issued by SOEs and bonds with stronger government guarantees. Finally, the role of bankruptcy courts is more pronounced in regions with higher marketization.
Originality/value
This paper relates to previous studies that investigate the impact of laws and institutions on external financing. It helps provide new evidence to this literature on how improvements of efficiency and quality in bankruptcy enforcements relate to the marketization of bond issuance. The results provide further evidence on legal institutions and bond financing.
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Diana Olivia, Ashalatha Nayak, Mamatha Balachandra and Jaison John
The purpose of this study is to develop an efficient prediction model using vital signs and standard medical score systems, which predicts the clinical severity level of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop an efficient prediction model using vital signs and standard medical score systems, which predicts the clinical severity level of the patient in advance based on the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) medical score method.
Design/methodology/approach
To predict the clinical severity level of the patient in advance, the authors have formulated a training dataset that is constructed based on the qSOFA medical score method. Further, along with the multiple vital signs, different standard medical scores and their correlation features are used to build and improve the accuracy of the prediction model. It is made sure that the constructed training set is suitable for the severity level prediction because the formulated dataset has different clusters each corresponding to different severity levels according to qSOFA score.
Findings
From the experimental result, it is found that the inclusion of the standard medical scores and their correlation along with multiple vital signs improves the accuracy of the clinical severity level prediction model. In addition, the authors showed that the training dataset formulated from the temporal data (which includes vital signs and medical scores) based on the qSOFA medical scoring system has the clusters which correspond to each severity level in qSOFA score. Finally, it is found that RAndom k-labELsets multi-label classification performs better prediction of severity level compared to neural network-based multi-label classification.
Originality/value
This paper helps in identifying patient' clinical status.