Search results

The purpose of this study is to estimate the average cost of treatment and investigate the related parameters of HIV/AIDS among patients based on their annual treatment regime during the 2017 in Izmir.

The average annual direct cost of an HIV patient's treatment was estimated for 2017 at four university hospitals in a retrospective study in Izmir, Turkey. Inclusion criteria included confirmed HIV infection, age = 18 years, visited one of the hospitals at least three times a year and with at least one CD4+ T cell count. The average annual treatment cost per patient was calculated using accounting data for 527 patients from the hospitals' electronic databases.

The mean treatment cost per patient was US$4,381.93. Costs for treatment and care were statistically significantly higher (US$5,970.55) for patients with CD4+ T cell counts of fewer than 200 cells/mm³ than for other patients with CD4+ T cell counts above 200 cells/mm³. The mean treatment cost for patients who were 50 years old or older (US$4,904.24) was statistically significantly higher than for those younger than 50 years (US$4,216.10). The mean treatment cost for female patients (US$4,624.92) was higher than that of male patients ($US4,339.72), although the difference was not statistically significant. The main cost driver was antiretroviral treatment (US$3,852.38 per patient), accounting for almost 88% of all costs. However, the high burden of antiretroviral treatment cost is counterbalanced by relatively low care and hospitalization costs in Turkey.

The paper contributes to the literature by providing average annual treatment cost of an HIV-infected patient in Turkey by using a comprehensive bottom up approach. Moreover, cost drivers of HIV treatment are investigated.

This paper aims to investigate whether corporate image has a mediating effect on the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer loyalty in independent hotels.

Data were collected from customers of five-star hotels located in Istanbul in Turkey. The theoretical model was tested with 404 usable data. The results were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings show that CSR creates customer loyalty partially through corporate image in the independent hotels. In addition, it was found that the hotels included in the study carried out moderate level of CSR activities.

The research model was tested in independent five-star hotels. Further studies could be carried out using different independent hospitality companies. In addition, the research was conducted on a limited sample, as hotel managers were not willing to allow direct contact with customers. Further studies could be carried out on larger samples.

This study recommends that independent hotels carry out more CSR activities on social and environmental issues. In addition, direct effect of CSR on customer loyalty is lower than its indirect effect via corporate image. Therefore, if companies desire to create customer loyalty through CSR, they should introduce their CSR activities to customers via communication tools (website, media etc.)

This study examines CSR in terms of sustainable development in the independent hotels. Furthermore, it explains relationships between CSR and corporate image and customer loyalty through the principle of generalized reciprocity specified in the theory of social change.

Sustainability has become an important topic and concept in relation to tourism planning and development. For sustainable tourism development to be successful stakeholders must be involved in the process. The questions that should be considered though are: (1) who should be considered stakeholders in tourism development, and (2) how should planners and developers involve stakeholders in the development of tourism? In order to provide answers to these questions this paper investigated sustainable tourism development and how stakeholder inclusion and involvement are incorporated in the basic concept of sustainable tourism development. This investigation was accomplished by reviewing and drawing conclusions from the literature. The discussion includes thoughts from both management and public participation perspectives. So who should be involved in the sustainable tourism development process? Based on the definitions that are used for sustainability and sustainable tourism four distinct groups are identified; the present visitors, future visitors, present host community, and future host community.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of decision tree analysis in the identification of stakeholders based on their participation in tourism and political activities in a community.

A survey was sent to tourism stakeholders in two rural counties. Responses were collected and analyzed using the exhaustive chi‐square automatic interaction detection decision tree analysis.

Based on the results of the decision tree analysis four tourism stakeholder groups were identified based on their participation in tourism and political activities in a community: high participants, high‐moderate participants, low‐moderate participants, and low participants.

Owing to a low response rate, an issue of non‐response bias could exist, but the information from the respondents can give insight on stakeholders in these communities. Also, the specific results of this study can only be applied to eastern North Carolina and are not generalizable to other areas.

Results from this study demonstrate the use of decision tree analysis in identifying community stakeholders. Using decision tree analysis tourism planners can identify stakeholder groups that will participate in tourism and political activities. With this knowledge, tourism planners can identify which stakeholder groups will be the most influential and vocal in a community with regard to tourism development.

Decision tree analysis is a tool for partitioning a data set based on the relationships between a set of independent variables and a dependent variable. The research reported here tests the application of decision tree analysis, an analytical technique that is not traditionally used to segment stakeholders in tourism.