Mohammad Meskarpour Amiri, Mohammadkarim Bahadori, Zahra Motaghed and Ramin Ravangard
Informal payments (IPs) for healthcare are a serious obstacle to equitable access and universal health coverage in developing countries. Policy makers need to know more about the…
Abstract
Purpose
Informal payments (IPs) for healthcare are a serious obstacle to equitable access and universal health coverage in developing countries. Policy makers need to know more about the hidden nature of informal patient payments (IPPs) before any policy adoption and implementation. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the main factors affecting IPPs.
Design/methodology/approach
This systematic review was conducted in 2018 using the standard guideline of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. All English original articles on the determinants of IPPs published in the scientific journals, whose full text was available through Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases, which were given consideration for review.
Findings
The results showed that IPPs were greatly dependent on the characteristics of healthcare consumers, providers, healthcare system and services. Among healthcare consumers’ characteristics affecting IPPs, the income, age, education, gender, employment and health status were more cited factors, respectively. Among healthcare providers’ characteristics affecting IPPs, the providers’ experience, reputation, and salary satisfaction were better known, respectively. Among healthcare services features, the hospitalization, service specialty and the level of treatment urgency were more noted, respectively.
Originality/value
Policy making against IPs in the health sector requires precise attention to all components of healthcare market, including healthcare consumers, providers, healthcare system and services characteristics.
Details
Keywords
WeiLee Lim, Yvonne Lee and Abdullah Al Mamun
This study aims to delineate opportunity recognition as a competency from opportunity recognition as an outcome in the form of ideas and opportunities. In addition, a model was…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to delineate opportunity recognition as a competency from opportunity recognition as an outcome in the form of ideas and opportunities. In addition, a model was developed to examine the antecedents that lead to opportunity recognition competency, the intention to be an entrepreneur and finally, the actual number of ideas and opportunities discovered.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from a total of 247 randomly selected final year students from two private universities in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was applied to test the associations.
Findings
Study revealed that opportunity recognition competency and ability to develop ideas or exploitable opportunities are distinct constructs. Students with high competency in recognising opportunities are interested to be an entrepreneur but are not necessarily prepared with tangible ideas or exploitable opportunities. Absorptive capacity, entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial knowledge were found to be significant predictors of opportunity recognition competency.
Practical implications
Firstly, in managing outputs of entrepreneurship education and trainings, opportunity recognition competency and number of ideas and opportunities should be separately and explicitly measured. Secondly, entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial knowledge must be emphasised in entrepreneurial education or training on guiding students to be alert to information and honing their opportunity recognition competency skills through active search techniques.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few studies that clarify and empirically distinguish the concept of opportunity recognition as competency from opportunity recognition as an outcome in the forms of ideas and exploitable opportunities.