Background: The quality of working life (QWL) is increasingly considered in organizations interested in job satisfaction (JS) and enhancing organizational effectiveness. Objective: The current study aimed at investigating the QWL and JS in the employees of health centers in Ahvaz, Iran. Methods: In the current descriptive-analytical study, 143 technical staff of health centers in East of Ahvaz were selected by the multistage random sampling method in 2015. Data were collected using 2 questionnaires. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression with SPSS version 21. Results: Overall, the Walton QWL questionnaire scored 72.95 and the JS survey scored 126.08 were in the moderate level in the current study. There was a significant relationship between QWL and JS (P = 0.00).Moreover, there was a significant relationship between JS and all components of QWL (P = 0.00). The highest and lowest correlation was related to social cohesion (0.539) and safe environment (0.212), respectively. Results of the regression analysis showed that the QWL explained 39.6% of the variance affecting the JS (R 2 = 0.396, P = 0.00). Among the dimensions of QWL, growth and security (β = 0.190, P = 0.03), rule of law (β = 0.277, P = 0.00) and
Background: Quality is a key factor in the distinction of services, and it is a potential source of sustainable competitive advantage to increase productiveness and patient satisfaction. The identification of strengths and weaknesses in quality of provided services can help to recognize priorities and develop improvement strategies. Objectives: Using importance-performance analysis (IPA) method, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of services provided in hospitals affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Methods: Using stratified random sampling, this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study included 307 patients admitted to five Educational Hospitals affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in 2016. Data collection tool was a standard questionnaire proposed by Tomes & Chee Peng Ng (1995), which included demographic information and questions regarding the quality of services provided in seven factors. In addition to IPA, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s correlation, and chi squared test in SPSS software version 21. Results: Total scores of quality factors were estimated as “important” in our research. In quality performance, “food”, “physical environment” and “dignity” factors were estimated as “relatively inappropriate” by mean scores of 2.50 ± 0.95, 2.90 ± 0.97 and 2.94 ± 1.05, respectively. These three factors were located in the second region of the IPA matrix. While the other four factors, including “empathy”, “relationship of mutual respect”, “understanding of illness” and “religious needs,” with mean scores higher than 3 were estimated as “appropriate” and located in the first region of this matrix. In all quality factors, scores of performance were lower than importance, and the gap between importance and performance in these seven factors ranged from 0.82 to 1.52. There was a significant relationship between age and education of respondents with the quality of services. Conclusions: Given that the largest gap was related to the tangible dimensions of quality (including food and physical environment) and in order to improve the quality of services and competitive position, hospital managers must consider tangible dimension as a priority. Keywords: Quality of Services; Importance-Performance Analysis; Hospital; Hospital Services.
Background: Drugs play a strategic role as a health commodity. Thus, the supply chain management of drugs is an important issue to reducing costs and thereby improving patient health. Objective: This study evaluated the status of drug supply chain management and health reform in the pharmaceutical sector of teaching hospitals in Ahvaz, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in pharmacies of teaching hospitals in Ahwaz, Iran in 2015. Data was collected through a checklist extracted from the Evaluation Checklist of the Food and Drug Deputy and related articles. The study checklist examined six dimensions of the Evaluation Checklist, including drug storage, administrative regulations, preparation of medicines, drug distribution, taking medication, and implementation of health reforms in the pharmaceutical sector. The content validity of the checklist was confirmed by experts and pharmaceutical specialists. Data was analyzed for descriptive characteristics such as frequency and percentage using Excel version 2010 software. Results: The findings show that hospitals met standards for administrative regulations with 78.5% and preparation of medicines with 77.25%. The dimensions of drug storage with 74.75%, taking medication with 74.25%, implementation of health reforms with 71.5%, and drug distribution with 62.5% were in a near-standard state. Conclusion: Supply chain management systems of medicines in teaching hospitals are near-standard. To improve hospitals, offering proper training to employees, using the fixed-rate shopping system, and providing facilities to patients are recommended.
Background: Since 2000, increase in frequency and severity of natural disasters has necessitate designing an agile relief supply chain to help to affected people. Objectives: This study aimed to develop an agile model for supply chains with emphasis on health services in Iranian relief organizations. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive-comparative study. In order to design the conceptual model, agility patterns of supply chains were reviewed in a comparative study. Moreover, a questionnaire was prepared to examine construct (model) validation. The validity of questionnaire was confirmed by the judgment of experts and its reliability was ensured by test-retest method with scale of 0.99, and Cronbach's alpha of 0.98. All data were analyzed through factor analyses by SPSS 16 and LISREL 8.53. Results: Responsiveness, effectiveness, and flexibility with eigenvalue of 2.628 were identified as the main aspects of agility in humanitarian health supply chains. The components of visibility, reactivity, and speed were identified as components of responsiveness. Quality, reliability, and completeness were identified as components of effectiveness. Volume, delivery, mix, and product were known as components of flexibility. Conclusions: Findings confirmed agility dimensions and relationships between them in a model that can be considered as a comprehensive and appropriate model in the establishment, promotion, and evaluation of relief supply chains by policy-makers and authorities of Red Crescent Society and Medical Emergencies.
Background: To succeed in the health tourism industry, a developing market that is able to annually generate over $60 billion in income, the factors playing an important role in this industry need to be strengthened and developed. Objectives: Thus, the present study was aimed at identifying the factors affecting health tourism development in Khouzestan Province in 2019. Methods: This was a mixed methods study conducted in 2019 in two stages. The first stage aimed to identify and categorize the factors affecting health tourism development by reviewing the articles in the health tourism field during 2000 - 2019. The second stage aimed at prioritizing the identified factors through the hierarchical analysis method. The study population included academic and executive experts in the field of health tourism in Khouzestan Province who were chosen using the purposive nonprobability sampling method. Data were analyzed using Expert Choice software and SPSS version 22. Results: The first stage led to identifying six main criteria, including socio-cultural, facilities and infrastructure, policymaking and planning, effective marketing, political-legal, and economic, and 38 sub-criteria. Prioritizing the factors in the second stage also indicated that the facility and infrastructure criterion with 0.268 and the political-legal criterion with a score of 0.07 had the highest and lowest relative importance, respectively. Also, the economic criterion with 0.231, policymaking and planning with 0.176, effective marketing with 0.144, and socio-cultural criterion with a score of 0.105 were ranked second to fifth, respectively. Conclusions: In sum, improving medical and non-medical facilities and infrastructure in Khouzestan Province is of high priority. Therefore, it is emphasized to empower medical staff along with using the capacity of start-ups related to tourism development in this province.
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