Loretta M. Isaac, Elaine Buggy, Anita Sharma, Athena Karberis, Kim M. Maddock and Kathryn M. Weston
The patient-centred management of people with cognitive impairment admitted to acute health care facilities can be challenging. The TOP5 intervention utilises carers’ expert…
Abstract
Purpose
The patient-centred management of people with cognitive impairment admitted to acute health care facilities can be challenging. The TOP5 intervention utilises carers’ expert biographical and social knowledge of the patient to facilitate personalised care. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether involvement of carers in the TOP5 initiative could improve patient care and healthcare delivery.
Design/methodology/approach
A small-scale longitudinal study was undertaken in two wards of one acute teaching hospital. The wards admitted patients with cognitive impairment, aged 70 years and over, under geriatrician care. Data for patient falls, allocation of one-on-one nurses (“specials”), and length-of-stay (LOS) over 38 months, including baseline, pilot, and establishment phases, were analysed. Surveys of carers and nursing staff were undertaken.
Findings
There was a significant reduction in number of falls and number of patients allocated “specials” over the study period, but no statistically significant reduction in LOS. A downward trend in complaints related to communication issues was identified. All carers (n=43) completing the feedback survey were satisfied or very satisfied that staff supported their role as information provider. Most carers (90 per cent) felt that the initiative had a positive impact and 80 per cent felt that their loved one benefitted. Six months after implementation of the initiative, 80 per cent of nurses agreed or strongly agreed that it was now easier to relate to carers of patients with cognitive impairment. At nine-ten months, this increased to 100 per cent.
Originality/value
Actively engaging carers in management of people with cognitive impairment may improve the patient, staff, and carer journeys, and may improve outcomes for patient care and service delivery.
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Loretta Newman-Ford, Sophie Leslie and Sue Tangney
This chapter discusses the pilot study of an Education for Sustainable Development Self-Evaluation Tool (ESD-SET), created by the Quality Enhancement Directorate (formerly the…
Abstract
This chapter discusses the pilot study of an Education for Sustainable Development Self-Evaluation Tool (ESD-SET), created by the Quality Enhancement Directorate (formerly the Learning and Teaching Development Unit) at Cardiff Metropolitan University, as both a means of auditing the extent to which academic programs embed ESD and a catalyst for curriculum development.
The chapter evaluates the effectiveness and usefulness of the self-evaluation for both auditing ESD and curriculum development. Responses to the self-evaluation questions by Programme Directors were analyzed and follow-up interviews carried out with the Programme Directors to explore their experiences of the tool.
Results indicate that the self-evaluation tool is fit-for-purpose as a means of auditing the integration of ESD within academic programs. The self-evaluation exercise promoted team discussion around sustainability issues and raised staff awareness and understanding of the concept of ESD and how to effectively embed sustainability-related themes within their discipline. The exercise had a transformative impact on the way some program teams approached curriculum design and delivery. There was evidence that engagement with the tool contributed to further embedding of sustainability within curricula across all disciplines involved in the pilot study.
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Sarit Markovich and Charlotte Snyder
The Kenyan government’s announcement of a new 10 percent tax in March 2013 threatened the future prospects of M-Pesa, Safaricom’s mobile money transfer service, which had…
Abstract
The Kenyan government’s announcement of a new 10 percent tax in March 2013 threatened the future prospects of M-Pesa, Safaricom’s mobile money transfer service, which had revolutionized the way money moved in Kenya. The new tax would be levied on all cash transfers but was largely targeted at M-Pesa, which controlled around 80 percent of the cash transfer market. In response to the new tax, Safaricom, the mobile communications market leader, announced a 10 percent price increase.
The case presents the structure Safaricom established in order to develop a mobile money transfer service in Kenya. As a concept, M-Pesa was unprecedented in Kenya: prospective customers had to get comfortable with the idea that a mobile communications company could provide a payment system, that transactions could be initiated through a mobile phone, and that nonbank outlets could provide cash-in/cash-out services. Even when the concept was accepted, however, customers needed a convenient network of agents to handle transactions, and stores needed to see demand from customers in order to be motivated to become agent outlets. Thus, in order to grow, M-Pesa needed to aggressively pursue and acquire both customers and agents in this two-sided market.
Understand the complexity of pricing in two-sided markets
Evaluate the profitability of different pricing strategies in two-sided markets
Understand the effect of an innovation on the creation and capture of value
Identify possible threats to competitive advantage in two-sided markets as well as in developing countries
Understand the value of co-opetition and how cooperation with competitors and complementors can increase a company’s profitability
Understand the complexity of pricing in two-sided markets
Evaluate the profitability of different pricing strategies in two-sided markets
Understand the effect of an innovation on the creation and capture of value
Identify possible threats to competitive advantage in two-sided markets as well as in developing countries
Understand the value of co-opetition and how cooperation with competitors and complementors can increase a company’s profitability
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