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Organizational Arrangements (organizational + arrangement)
Selected AbstractsCare Standards in Homes for People with Intellectual DisabilitiesJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 3 2008Julie Beadle-Brown Background, National minimum standards for residential care homes were introduced following the Care Standards Act 2000 in response to concern about the lack of consistency and poor quality services. These standards are intended to reflect outcomes for service users and to be comprehensive in scope. Method, This study compared ratings made by care standards inspectors with research measures for 52 homes for people with intellectual disabilities serving 299 people. The research measures focused on the lived experience of residential care, including engagement in meaningful activity, choice and participation in activities of daily living. They also included measures of related care practices and organizational arrangements. Results, The research measures were in general significantly correlated with each other. Most of the care standards ratings were also correlated with each other. However, only two of 108 correlations between care standards and research measures were significant. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Conclusions, This study confirms that the review of national minimum standards and modernization of inspection methods recently announced by the Department of Health and the Commission for Social Care Inspection are timely and appropriate. [source] Sharing specialist skills for diabetes in an inner city: A comparison of two primary care organisations over 4 yearsJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2006Abdu Mohiddin MFPHM Lecturer Abstract Objective, To evaluate the effects of organizational change and sharing of specialist skills and information technology for diabetes in two primary care groups (PCGs) over 4 years. Methods, In PCG-A, an intervention comprised dedicated specialist sessions in primary care, clinical guidelines, educational meetings for professionals and a shared diabetes electronic patient record (EPR). Comparison was made with the neighbouring PCG-B as control. In intervention and control PCGs, practice development work was undertaken for a new contract for family doctors. Data were collected for clinical measures, practice organizational characteristics and professional and patient views. Results, Data were analysed for 26 general practices including 17 in PCG-A and nine in PCG-B. The median practice-specific proportions of patients with HbA1c recorded annually increased in both areas: PCG-A from median 65% to 77%, while PCG-B from 53% to 84%. For cholesterol recording, PCG-A increased from 50% to 76%, and PCG-B from 56% to 80%. Organizational changes in both PCGs included the establishment of recall systems, dedicated clinics and educational sessions for patients. In both PCGs, practices performing poorly at baseline showed the greatest improvements in organization and clinical practice. Primary care professionals' satisfaction with access and communication with diabetes specialist doctors and nurses increased, more so in the intervention PCG. Only 16% of primary care professional respondents used the diabetes EPR at least monthly. Patient satisfaction and knowledge did not change. Conclusions, Improvements in practices' organizational arrangements were associated with improvements in clinical care in both PCGs. Sharing specialist skills in one PCG was associated with increased professional satisfaction but no net improvement in clinical measures. A shared diabetes EPR is unlikely to be used, unless integrated with practice information systems. [source] Professional Development of Nursing in Saudi ArabiaJOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 3 2001Gail Tumulty Purpose: To describe the development of nursing in Saudi Arabia and to recommend further directions for development of professional nursing in that country. Organizing Construct: A comprehensive needs assessment was performed in 1996 by an onsite consultant to: (a) evaluate the existing nursing system at the ministry, regional, and hospital levels, (b) describe the functional interrelationships of a nursing division within the Ministry of Health, and (c) prepare a work plan outlining the program elements that a nursing division could address to foster high-quality health care in the public sector. Methods: The needs assessment was conducted through direct observation, interviews, and review of existing documents in the Ministry of Health and representative hospitals, health centers, and health institutes. Data were collected about six factors as they pertained to the Ministry of Health Nursing Services: (a) key organizational and managerial activities, (b) the external environment, (c) the social system, (d) employees, (e) nursing services and research, and (f) formal organizational arrangements. Findings and Conclusions: The data showed a young country and an equally young nursing profession struggling to meet the needs of a growing population. The highest priority for the advancement of nursing in Saudi Arabia is the creation of a kingdom-wide system of nurse regulation. Pressing needs include regulation of professional standards, licensure of all nurses practicing in the Kingdom, accreditation of educational programs, and formation of a national nurses association. [source] Network board continuity and effectiveness of open innovation in Swedish strategic small-firm networksR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009Joakim Wincent Increasing adoption of open innovation as an alternative route to research and development necessitates the development of new ways to organize innovation, as well as reassessment of existing ways. Much like traditional corporations that subscribe to the closed innovation paradigm, novel organizational arrangements targeting open innovation, such as small-firm networks, employ boards to effectively manage joint research-and-development activities. These boards are similar yet different from traditional corporate boards; as such, they may have different requirements for proper functioning. We use 5-year longitudinal data on 53 Swedish strategic small-firm networks to investigate how the boards should be organized to help improve the innovative status of network participants. We expand the set of tools available for effective organization of the boards' operations and emphasize the effects of network board continuity (rates of renewal) on network members' innovative performance. We argue that the relationship is curvilinear (U-shaped) and demonstrate that it is more pronounced in larger networks. [source] The Regulatory Environment and Rural Hospital Long-Term Care Strategies From 1997 to 2003THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2007Mary L. Fennell PhD ABSTRACT:,Context: Since the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, rural hospitals have struggled with the need to strategically adapt to an abundance of changing reimbursement and regulatory programs, as well as to respond to the needs of an increasingly frail elder population in need of postacute and long-term care (LTC). Purpose: This article has 2 goals: (1) to provide a summary of the many legislative acts and provisions influencing rural hospital LTC strategies during the 1997-2003 period and (2) to track changes in the LTC strategies of a national sample of rural hospitals through this 7-year period. Methods: A 3-wave panel of rural hospital discharge planners in 540 nonfederal community-general hospitals were interviewed in 1997, 2000, and 2003. Questions focused on hospital structure, discharge planning process, and reports of internal and external organizational arrangements for providing LTC services to hospitalized patients, and changes in LTC strategy since the previous interview. Descriptive statistics are presented on LTC strategies in place in 1997 and dropped or added in 2000 and 2003. Findings and Conclusions: The general shape of the regulatory environment confronting rural hospitals and their LTC strategies during the recent past can be described as complicated, rapidly changing, and at times contradictory in intended effects. There has been a large volume of strategy change during this 7-year period, without the emergence of any identifiable pattern or LTC strategy profile, other than swing-bed participation combined with home health agency ownership. [source] |