George Koulierakis, Anastasia Dermatis, Nair-Tonia Vassilakou, Elpida Pavi, Dimitris Zavras and John Kyriopoulos
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key determinants of dietary choices of the Greek population during a period of financial austerity.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key determinants of dietary choices of the Greek population during a period of financial austerity.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from the 2016 “Health and Welfare” Greek national cross-sectional survey, in a representative sample of 2,003 individuals, were examined. The survey was conducted via computer-assisted telephone interviews. Sociodemographic characteristics and diet knowledge were examined as potential determinants of four dietary behaviours (fruit, fish, red meat and fast food consumption).
Findings
Findings showed significant gender differences against men (64.4% were overweight and obese; 57.6% and 18.4% reported red meat and fast food consumption more than twice a week, respectively). Age and financial affordability were the most significant determinants of fruit consumption. Fish consumption was determined by age, financial affordability, and family status (unmarried, living with the parents). Gender, age, family status (unmarried, living alone), employment status (unemployed) and social support affected red meat consumption. Finally, factors influencing fast food consumption were gender, age and employment status (unemployed).
Originality/value
This research incorporates unique and original insight in the determinants of healthy dietary choices during the austerity measures in Greece. Findings could contribute to a better understanding of the main factors that influence healthy eating and help develop policies to encourage healthy dietary lifestyles for the general public.
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Anchal Patil, Jitender Madaan, Vipulesh Shardeo, Parikshit Charan and Ashish Dwivedi
Pharmaceutical donations are a practical approach to increase medicine availability during disasters such as disease outbreaks. However, often donated pharmaceuticals are…
Abstract
Purpose
Pharmaceutical donations are a practical approach to increase medicine availability during disasters such as disease outbreaks. However, often donated pharmaceuticals are inappropriate and unsuitable. This convergence of inappropriate pharmaceuticals is a severe operational challenge and results in environmental hazards. This study explores the pharmaceutical supply chains (PSCs) during a disease outbreak to relieve the negative impact of the material convergence problem (MCP).
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a situation-actors-process learning-action-performance (SAP-LAP) linkage framework to understand the PSC dynamics. The problem-solving component of the SAP-LAP analysis provides the strategies catering to MCP. The findings from the SAP-LAP helped to develop the causal loop diagram (CLD). This study conducts several experiments on the proposed strategies by integrating CLD into a stock and flow diagram. Later, a disease outbreak case study accessed the pharmaceutical donations effect on PSC performance.
Findings
The study synthesises and evaluates propositions and strategies to incorporate circular economy (CE) principles in PSC. This study proposed two strategies; one to sort and supply and the other to sort, supply and resell. The reuse policy improves humanitarian organisations' finances in the simulation study. This study verified the operational improvement of PSC by reducing the transport and storage burden due to MCP.
Originality/value
This study comprehensively approaches the issue of drug donation and uniquely produced several propositions for incorporating a CE perspective in PSC. The study also proposed a unique simulation approach to model the donation arrivals in response to a disease outbreak using susceptible, exposed, infectious and recovered modelling.
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Apostolos Giovanis, George Pierrakos, Ioannis Rizomyliotis and Spyridon Binioris
In contrast to the reflective approach of service quality measurement, this paper aims to propose and validate a parsimonious multidimensional second-order formatively measured…
Abstract
Purpose
In contrast to the reflective approach of service quality measurement, this paper aims to propose and validate a parsimonious multidimensional second-order formatively measured model of service quality for primary health-care services provided by hospital outpatient departments. The index’s empirical validity is examined by investigating the strength of its relationship with certain behavioral responses such as patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through a stratified random sampling from eight hospital outpatient departments in Greece. Covariance-based structural equation modeling techniques were used to validate the proposed service quality index and further investigate its effect on patient satisfaction and behavioral intention.
Findings
The data analysis indicated that the proposed formative index is fully functional with medical care being the factor and mostly contributes to service quality perception, followed by administrative service and staff performance, and facilities condition and nursing care. It, further, confirmed the partial mediating role of satisfaction, as it enhances the high impact of service quality on behavioral intentions.
Research limitations/implications
The relationships among hospital outpatient departments service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions were validated with data from one country and a health-care system which is state driven and funded.
Practical implications
An understanding of hospital primary health-care service quality formation is important to health-care decision makers because it offers them the opportunity to consider patients’ needs and wants, and takes the appropriate actions for improving the relevant underling procedures in a more efficient manner to achieve favorable behavioral responses.
Originality/value
The paper manages to propose and empirically evaluate a formatively measured approach of service quality and investigate the effects of the proposed index on patient satisfaction and behavioral intention, especially in the hospital outpatient services context in Greece.
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Marina Papalexi, David Bamford and Liz Breen
This study aims to explore the downstream pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) and provides insight to the delivery process of medicines and associated operational inefficiencies.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the downstream pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) and provides insight to the delivery process of medicines and associated operational inefficiencies.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory, qualitative approach was adopted to examine PSC inefficiency within two European contexts, namely, the UK and Greece. Data was gathered through interviews and a thematic analysis conducted to analyse the data and identify challenges faced by both supply chains(SCs).
Findings
The medicines delivery system needs to be enhanced in terms of quality, visibility, speed and cost to perform effectively. The findings demonstrated that although the healthcare SCs in the two European contexts have different operational structures, the results are in concordance with each other. Financial, communication, waste and complexity issues were the major concerns.
Research limitations/implications
To the knowledge this is the first study to examine aspects of the medicines SC via a cross-case analysis in the UK and Greece and extends the body of knowledge. A broader sample of responses is warranted to further validate these findings.
Practical implications
The study outputs can inform pharmacies’ strategic to instigate targeted improvement interventions. The implications of which may be extrapolated further to other European healthcare organisations.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the academic literature by adding further theoretical insights to SC strategy development, especially those that have been characterised as highly complex. The study identifies four key areas of intervention needed within this SC (in both countries) to promote higher level efficiencies and effectiveness.
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Marina Papalexi, David Bamford, Alexandros Nikitas, Liz Breen and Nicoleta Tipi
This paper aims to evaluate the implementation of innovative programmes within the downstream domain of the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC), with the aim of informing improved…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the implementation of innovative programmes within the downstream domain of the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC), with the aim of informing improved service provision.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach was used to assess to what extent innovation could be adopted by hospital and community pharmacies to improve the delivery process of pharmaceutical products. Unstructured interviews and 130 questionnaires were collected and analysed to identify factors that facilitate or prevent innovation within PSC processes.
Findings
The analysis led to the creation of the innovative pharmaceutical supply chain framework (IPSCF) that provides guidance to health-care organisations about how supply chain management problems could be addressed by implementing innovative approaches. The results also indicated that the implementation of Lean and Reverse Logistics (RL) practices, supported by integrated information technology systems, can help health-care organisations to enhance their delivery in terms of quality (products and service quality), visibility (knowledge and information sharing), speed (response to customers and suppliers needs) and cost (minimisation of cost and waste).
Practical implications
The study’s recommendations have potential implications for supply chain theory and practice, particularly for pharmacies in terms of innovation adoption. The IPSCF provides guidance to pharmacies and health-care organisations to develop more efficient and effective supply chain strategies.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the academic literature as it adds novel theoretical insights to highly complex delivery process innovation.
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Christine Pelletier and Georges Weil
Regional health care planning deals with the regional healthcare resource location‐allocation problem posed to each public healthcare administration. Up to date, the models…
Abstract
Regional health care planning deals with the regional healthcare resource location‐allocation problem posed to each public healthcare administration. Up to date, the models designed to support this kind of decision failed in their application. We found that the main reason is that often these models restrict the problem to a unique aspect (such as “covering of the territory” or “technique efficiency”), leaving outside a set of very important other dimensions, even if these are usually subjective and difficult to formalise. In this paper we present a method to identify formally these dimensions, by assigning measurable attributes to each of them. At a different level, we propose a hierarchical formulation of the overall objective of the regional healthcare resource planning for the facility systems; in this hierarchy, each leaf term corresponds to a formal evaluation criterion.