VACCINATION INFODEMIC AMONG CITIZENS OF MAGALLANES, CAVITE, PHILIPPINES

Objective. This survey research intends to understand how people from a fourth-class municipality of Cavite made their decision to be vaccinated in spite of false information circulating within family, friends, and neighbors. Methods. The study employed survey research and gathered data using voluntary sampling from a pool of citizens with an appointment schedule in the vaccination site located in Magallanes, Cavite. Results. The pandemic saw a rise in the spread of information disorders. The proliferation of fake news and misinformation affect our lives as they disrupt relationships with family members and friends. Trust is being questioned as people believe in contrasting medical opinions. The overload of information sharing is a challenge for individuals to evaluate news sources coming from multiple platforms. As the status of inoculation in the Philippines is ongoing, citizens who want protection took time to get vaccinated. The impact of traditional and social media continues to be powerful influencers in information dissemination. As we deal with overabundance of information, librarians have an emerging role to play. Conclusions. Librarians are seen as partners of a local government unit in promoting citizens' well-being, providing credible sources of health information vital for an individual to help them arrive at an informed decision, and showcase advantages of vaccines as evidenced by scientific publications.

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on ART Service delivery: perspectives of healthcare workers in a Teaching Hospital in Ghana

Background Ghana has a generalized HIV epidemic and efforts have been made to curb the spread and reverse its effects on the general population. In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, the health system was unsettled and antiretroviral therapy (ART) care has been impacted in diverse ways. The study sought to explore the effects of COVID-19 on ART service provision in Ghana from the perspectives of the healthcare workers. Methods An exploratory-descriptive qualitative approach was employed in this study. Using maximum variation sampling method, fifteen healthcare workers; nurses, data managers and pharmacists were recruited from an ART clinic in a Teaching Hospital in Ghana. In-depth interviews were conducted and analysed using Braun and Clarke thematic approach. Results Three themes emerged from the data; “… And the pandemic struck”, “Impact of the pandemic on ART service delivery”; “Effecting the needed change”. The healthcare workers’ initial reactions to the pandemic and their show of commitment in ensuring continued ART service was evident. COVID-19 impacted service delivery in three main ways; (1) clients’ clinic attendance was erratic at various stages of the pandemic, (2) irregular resource availability as shortage was reported due to affected last mile delivery as a result of the lockdown in Accra, and (3) the health worker-patient interaction became less engaging because of established COVID-19 protocols. The healthcare workers however instituted strategies such as adjusting the patient appointment schedule, health professionals’ work schedule, establishing several work stations, task-shifting, and ensuring the implementation of all the COVID-19 protocols within the ART unit to ensure consistent service delivery as well as patient and staff safety. The study also found a decline in the implementation of several strategies established in the ART clinic during the initial phases of the pandemic such as a decline in the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) by hospital management. Conclusions Although several strategies were implemented to manage the effects of the pandemic on ART care, there is a need to establish pathways of support for healthcare workers within the ART clinic and to consolidate as well as institutionalise the changes that ensured continuous but safe service delivery.

Using positive deviance to improve timely access in primary care

BackgroundImproving timely access in primary care is a continued challenge in many countries. We used positive deviance to try and identify best practices for achieving timely access in our primary care organisation in Toronto, Canada.MethodsSemistructured interviews were used to identify practice strategies used by physicians who successfully maintained a low third next available appointment (TNA) (positive deviants, n=6). We then conducted a cross-sectional survey to understand the prevalence of identified promising practices among all physicians (n=70) in the practice. We used χ2 testing to understand whether uptake of promising practices among survey respondents was different for those with a median TNA of 7 days or less vs a median TNA over 7 days.ResultsWe identified seven promising practice strategies used by positive deviants: adjusting the appointment template based on demand; reviewing the appointment schedule in advance; max-packing of visits; using phone, email and secure messaging; customising care for complex patients; managing planned absences; and involving the interprofessional team. 65 of 70 physicians responded to the survey on promising practices. Uptake of the promising practices was variable among survey respondents. In general, we found no association between uptake of promising practices and median TNA. One exception was that those with a median TNA of 7 or less were more likely to review the schedule in advance to potentially mitigate a visit using phone/email (62% vs 31%, p=0.0159).ConclusionPromising practices used by a small group of physicians (‘positive deviants’) to maintain good access were generally not associated with timely access among a larger sample of physicians in the practice. Our findings highlight the difficulty of untangling physician practice style and its contribution to timely access in primary care.

Design of a Truck Appointment System Considering Drayage Scheduling and Stochastic Turn Time

This paper develops a truck appointment system (TAS) considering variability in turn time at the container terminals. The consideration of this operational characteristic is crucial for optimal drayage scheduling. The TAS is formulated as a stochastic model and solved using the sample averaging approximation (SAA) algorithm. Using turn time distributions obtained from actual data from a U.S. port, a series of experiments is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed stochastic TAS model compared with the deterministic version where an average turn time is used instead of a distribution. Results of the numerical experiment demonstrate the benefit of the stochastic TAS model given that its drayage cost error was 3.9% lower compared with the deterministic TAS model. This result implies that the schedules produced by the stochastic TAS model are more robust and are able to accommodate a wider range of turn time scenarios. Another key takeaway from the experiment results is that the stochastic TAS model is more beneficial to utilize when the ratio of quotas to requested appointments is lower. Thus, in practice, when this ratio is more likely to be on the lower end, drayage companies would benefit more if the appointment schedule adopts the stochastic approach described in this paper.

Patients Satisfaction from the Appointment Schedule; a case study in Shahid Sadoughi Specialized Clinic in Yazd

Introduction: Health services rendered by hospitals play an important role in satisfying the society. In this study, the level of patients satisfaction from the appointment schedule of the specialized clinic of Shahid Sadoughi in Yazd wasexamined. Methods: The present descriptive-analytical research was conducted among patients with completed treatment steps using the random sampling method. A questionnaire was administered for data collection. T-test and Pearson correlation were applied to analyze the data. Results: The general satisfaction of patients had a significant relationship with their gender and the city where they live. Men's general satisfaction was higher than that of women. Moreover, public satisfaction of native patients was higher than non-natives. Satisfaction with the appointment had a positive correlation with the waiting times, distribution of appointments, exact time appointments, choice of therapist, and consideration of preferences. Conclusion: The number of clients who needed treatment in various medical disciplines was relatively significant and a high percentage of patients met one physician more than once. Many clients who referred to the clinic with a prior choice of a specialist had above-average satisfaction with the provided services. However, due to the relative dissatisfaction of some patients, it is necessary to have appropriate plans to eliminate the weaknesses and improve the conditions.

Field Worker’s Routine Behaviour for Efficient Time Utilization

In this paper, we are proposing a monitoring technique that can predict the appropriate time to meet the field officer with more accuracy as compared to general human prediction. To get the routine behaviour of an individual we will keep a track of his online presence on WhatsApp by the “Active Now” status shown beneath the user’s name in the profile. This will help the Personal assistants, secretaries and receptionists to provide right appointment schedule to clients or to those who want to meet a field officer. This all will be done by scraping data from WhatsApp web portal using python modules, storing the judging parameters like unique identification number, date and time stamp, duration of continuous presence and number of sessions in a day, afterwards analyzing the dataset and providing an appropriate routine behaviour prediction. For the sake of efficient utilization of time and resources.

Resource Allocation and Outpatient Appointment Scheduling Using Simulation Optimization

This paper studies the real-life problems of outpatient clinics having the multiple objectives of minimizing resource overtime, patient waiting time, and waiting area congestion. In the clinic, there are several patient classes, each of which follows different treatment procedure flow paths through a multiphase and multiserver queuing system with scarce staff and limited space. We incorporate the stochastic factors for the probabilities of the patients being diverted into different flow paths, patient punctuality, arrival times, procedure duration, and the number of accompanied visitors. We present a novel two-stage simulation-based heuristic algorithm to assess various tactical and operational decisions for optimizing the multiple objectives. In stage I, we search for a resource allocation plan, and in stage II, we determine a block appointment schedule by patient class and a service discipline for the daily operational level. We also explore the effects of the separate strategies and their integration to identify the best possible combination. The computational experiments are designed on the basis of data from a study of an ophthalmology clinic in a public hospital. Results show that our approach significantly mitigates the undesirable outcomes by integrating the strategies and increasing the resource flexibility at the bottleneck procedures without adding resources.

Assessment of the Correlation between Appointment Scheduling and Patient Satisfaction in a Pediatric Dental Setup

Introduction. The practice of modern pediatric dentistry requires delivery of quality care in combination with adherence to excellent business as well as time management principles. A definite appointment schedule should be presented to the parents on the first or second appointment. More importantly, the prescribed schedule should be followed to the best of the professional abilities of the pediatric dentist.Aims. The aim of the study was to assess the co-relation between appointment scheduling and patient satisfaction in a pediatric dental setup with the objective of understanding the parameters related to appointment scheduling to increase patient satisfaction.Method. A total of 40 patients, who visited the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, YMT Dental College & Hospital, for dental treatment were selected on a random basis. A questionnaire with a set of 6 questions with a rating scale of 1–5 to assess the patient satisfaction related to appointment scheduling was prepared.Results. A significant number of the patients were happy with the existing appointment scheduling system barring a few exceptions.

Computing the Expected Cost of an Appointment Schedule for Statistically Identical Customers with Probabilistic Service Times

A cogent method is presented for computing the expected cost of an appointment schedule where customers are statistically identical, the service time distribution has known mean and variance, and customer no-shows occur with time-dependent probability. The approach is computationally efficient and can be easily implemented to evaluate candidate schedules within a schedule optimization algorithm.