There are several hospital accreditors globally but there is limited understanding of how accreditation impacts on hospital performance and the health system objectives. The objective of the study were to explore the impact of hospital accreditation and inform policy decision-making. We adopted a mixed-methods approach to include an online survey and 3 focus groups. We report 27 of 36 private hospitals who responded to the survey. Key reasons for accreditation were to improve quality ( n = 23), implement evidence-based practice ( n = 17), continuity of accreditation ( n = 15), and popularity ( n = 11). Reported improvements include quality of care (27), patient care (26), organizational processes (21), and patient satisfaction (19) among others. Average stakeholder satisfaction rate was 74%. Participants from the 3 focus group discussions felt that staff hours and stress levels were high during the accreditation process, and some standards were useful while others were deemed non-essential. There was support for a local accreditation body with an emphasis on best practice. The findings from the study suggest accreditation to have an impact on structure and process measures, but the gains in key areas were short-lived. There is a need to strengthen governance and develop performance measures to evidence outcome improvement, assure alignment with regulation and the health system objectives.
<b><i>Background:</i></b> Hospitals are increasingly under pressure to provide safe and high-quality care at an affordable cost. In response to this challenge, many have adopted accreditation as an internationally recognized tool to facilitate improvements in healthcare quality and patient safety. The objectives of the study were to (a) evaluate the impact of international hospital accreditation in Dubai and (b) inform policy decision-making. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We adopted a literature review, analysis of violation data, and clinical performance measures. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The literature review suggests insufficient evidence to link accreditation to healthcare outcomes. We report a gradual increase in hospital violations and an improvement of clinical outcomes over three years, however the improvement in clinical outcome measures were not statistically significant. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> There is limited evidence to determine the impact of international hospital accreditation. Performance measures for accreditation are needed to validate the contribution accreditation may have on reducing non-compliance and improving clinical performance measures. Further research is needed to explore how well accreditation models fit within the Donabedian framework for healthcare quality.
Obesity is a common and preventable Non-Communicable Disease that is of great importance. Population-based interventions are recognized to have a profound effect on improving health outcomes. One of these approaches includes the adoption of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax. Objectives: There were three objectives, 1) Explore the associations between age, gender, nationality, and SSB consumption, 2) explore SSB consumption during Covid-19 lockdown and, 3) inform policy decision making. Methods: A cross-sectional survey in the United Arab Emirates. We performed descriptive analysis and chi-square for independence to test the difference between the expected and the observed frequencies in one or more categories. Results: Since the introduction of the SSB tax, we report no change in SSB consumption by age, gender, or nationality. Further analysis of the proportion of sugar intake per day was significant (P-value <0.001) by nationality. There was no significant change in SSB consumption by age, gender, or nationality during the Covid-19 lockdown. Further analysis within the group that reported a change in SSB consumption (80.5%) had a reduction in SSB consumption. Conclusions: Age, gender, and nationality do not significantly impact SSB consumption, or during Covid-19 lockdown; thus, we accept the Null Hypothesis. Imposing a levy on frequently consumed SSB or revisiting levy by the gram, volume, or type of added sugar (or in combination) may prove more effective in reducing SSB consumption. Further research is needed to determine the extent income and education influence SSB consumption in the UAE and the enablers and barriers associated with SSB consumption.
Stunting is a measure of health inequalities between children with implications that extend into adulthood. Sudan is one of 14 countries carrying 80% of the global burden of stunting. Stunting is reversible if addressed in the first 1000 days of life, so it is essential to identify associated factors in order to target them through government policy. This study aimed to identify factors associated with stunting in children under 5 in Sudan. A secondary analysis of the Sudan Household Health Survey 2010 was done following the UNICEF framework for child under-nutrition which identifies immediate, underlying, and basic factors. We used the chi-square test and multiple regression to adjust for potential confounders. We found that 33.4% (n = 3734) of the children in our study were stunted. Stunting was more common among males, children living in rural areas, born to or household heads with no education, living in households without toilets and had suffered from diarrhea in the past two weeks. Poverty, rurality, poor education and poor sanitation are reversible socioeconomic factors significantly associated with childhood stunting. Government policies aiming to promote child health in Sudan should include poverty-reduction strategies, proper housing, rural development and improving girls’ and women’s education.
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