Our results revealed that CRC patients in Jordan experience delays in presentation, Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation diagnosis, and, to a lesser degree, in treatment. This could justify the advanced stages at diagnosis and poor outcomes for CRC patients. Our findings provide baseline information for future CRC-control programmes in Jordan. We recommend that CRC prevention programmes in Jordan focus on early detection of CRC and target both patients and physicians.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to improve production effectiveness of equipment by facilitating the implementation of the key principles of total productive maintenance (TPM).
Design/methodology/approach
A sequential TPM-based scheme consisting of 13 procedural steps is proposed. The steps cover the basic aspects of a generic improvement system, i.e. planning, implementation, checking, corrective action and control.
Findings
The proposed scheme was effective in increasing the overall equipment effectiveness by 62.6 percent over a nine-month period only. This was a direct reflection of improvements in equipment availability, efficiency and product quality. A positive feedback regarding the smooth implementation of the scheme was also received from the responsible maintenance staff.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed scheme is intended mainly to the manufacturing industrial sector, which utilizes failure-prone equipment in running operations.
Originality/value
This study presents an original scheme that tries to avoid the many barriers of success frequently encountered during the implementation of TPM schemes, as reported in the literature. This scheme is unique in integrating between 5S and safety, health and environment initiatives, by capitalizing on the close relation between the two initiatives, and simplifying procedures for measuring how well the two initiatives are implemented in an organization in one score card. Different from previous studies, the scheme treats both “education and training” and 6S as a foundation to the core TPM principles.
Background
Although Jordan has made progress in meeting Family Planning (FP) needs in last decades, recently the use of FP methods has declined significantly. Women’s personal experiences, knowledge, and perceptions of how a FP method might impact their quality of life (QoL) can influence FP decisions. However, a lack of comprehensive understanding of the impact of modern FP methods on women’s QoL continues to exist among Jordanian couples. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the use of common modern FP methods and QoL among Jordanian women.
Methods
Using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire along with other questions, non-pregnant women of reproductive age were interviewed at their homes through face-to-face structured interviews. Women who visited the obstetrics and gynecology clinic of King Abdullah University Hospital for contraceptive advice and follow-up consultations were also included.
Results
A total of 548 women aged between 18 and 49 participated in the study. Based on the WHOQOL-BREF scale, the overall mean (SD) scores of the four domains were found to be average. Our findings show that women who used Intra Uterine Devices (IUDs) and women whose husbands used condoms had better QoL in the four domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment) than those who used Oral Contraceptives (OCs). Women who used implant and injectable hormonal contraceptives had better QoL in terms of the physical health and social relationships domains. In contrast, women who had undergone permanent sterilization had lower QoL scores in all of the four domains. Further analysis revealed that women who had undergone tubal sterilization were less satisfied overall and more likely to experience side effects than women who used OCs.
Conclusion
The choice to use contraceptives and decide freely whether and when to have children is regarded as a fundamental reproductive health right and is strongly linked to women’s health and QoL. Women who use OCs and women who have undergone permanent sterilization are likely to have lower QoL than women who use IUDs or implant and injectable hormones and those whose husbands use condoms.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer, and one of the leading causes of death for females in Jordan and many countries in the world. Studies have shown that delay in symptoms presentation, diagnosis or treatment would result in poor prognosis. There has been no published study from Jordan on delays in patient presentation, delays in diagnosis, or delays in treatment. Therefore, we conducted this study to assess these important quality indicators aiming to improve prognosis for breast cancer patients in Jordan. This project was a cross-sectional study on female breast cancer patients in Jordan. The total number of participants was 327. The proportion of patients with presentation delay, diagnosis delay, and treatment delay was 32.2%, 49.1%, or 32.4%, respectively. The main reported reasons for delay in presentation were ignorance of the nature of the problem (65.6%), limited/lack of knowledge that symptoms were suggestive of cancer diagnosis (16.7%), and misdiagnosis (16.7%). Predictors of delay and mean time for presentation, diagnosis, and treatment were identified. Our results reveal that breast cancer patients in Jordan are experiencing delays in presentation, diagnosis, and treatment. This could justify the advanced stages at diagnosis and poor outcomes for breast cancer patients in Jordan. We recommend revising the current early detection and down-staging programs in Jordan.
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