Odor intolerance and proposed off-site limit under the Thailand public health provision

PurposeThis study aimed to determine the initial odor concentration which commonly urges Thais to make complaints and to propose an off-site limit for odorous emissions.Design/methodology/approachOdor concentrations measured by Nasal Rangers® and face-to-face survey interviews were simultaneously conducted with 122 residents located near 101 manufacturing centers in 20 provinces of Thailand. Along with the measured values and odor strength verbally rated by trained assessors, the number of complaint intentions, annoyance levels and health symptoms of residents were reported.FindingsThe odor concentrations in the inspected houses were <2, 2, 4, 7, 15, 30 and 60 D/T. The trained assessors stated that at the concentration of 4D/T, most odors were likely to be objectionable and unbearable when odor concentrations were higher. Correspondingly, about 80% of residents exposed to odors at this level felt some annoyance and reported health symptoms and therefore intended to register a complaint. At lower concentrations, the annoyance level as well as the decision to complain likely depended on other factors such as hedonic tone and exposure frequency.Practical implicationsThe proposed off-site reference value for odor complaint assessment was 4D/T. However, in the case of lower concentrations, additional relevant factors were crucially required to investigate the complaint.Originality/valueThis finding will help local authorities diminish subjective discretion on whether or not an odor constitutes a nuisance.

Governance structure and public health provision

Purpose A key question in the provision of public health concerns how that provision is governed. The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance structure of a public health board and its perceived impact on the efficacy of clinical operations. Design/methodology/approach Structural issues examined the level of centralisation and public participation, and whether governance should occur through elected boards or appointed managers. These issues were examined through multiple lenses. First was the intention of the structure, examining the issues identified by parliament when the new structure was created. Second, the activities of the board were examined through an analysis of board meetings. Finally, hospital clinicians were surveyed through semi-structured interviews with both quantitative and qualitative questioning. Findings A contradiction was revealed between intention, perception and actual activities. This raises concerns over whether the public are significantly informed to elect the best-skilled appointees to governance positions. Practical implications This research holds implications for selecting governance structures of public health providers. Originality/value Few studies have looked at the role of a publicly elected healthcare governance structure from the perspective of the clinicians. Hence, this study contributes to the literature on healthcare structure and its impact on clinical operations, by including a clinician’s perspective. However, this paper goes beyond the survey and also considers the intention of the structure as proposed by parliament, and board activities or what the board actually does. This enables a comparison of intention with outcomes and perception of those outcomes.

COPING BEHAVIOR APARATUR PELAYANAN PUBLIK (STUDI PROFESI BIDAN PUSAT KESEHATAN MASYARAKAT DI KOTA BENGKULU)

The Coping Behaviour of Street Level Bureaucrat (Research on the Midwife Profession of Public Health Units in Bengkulu City). Since the surveys on public service delivery result provided by Public Provision Units in Bengkulu City remains low indeks for years and the problem of behavior of Street Level Bureaucrat is hypothetically become the major cause. The first step of research is aimed to identify what behavior in service delivering done by them. The research is focused on coping behavior of midwife in public health unit or UPTD Puskesmas of Bengkulu City. Research has been done by involving midwife, IBI, Government (Health Disctric Institution of Kota Bengkulu) and Public figures concerning in public health provision together in Focused Group Discussion and continued with ideep Interview. The result shows that limitation of time service and limitation of area service were done to rasionalised the service. The Limitation of Source is done in the way of drugs limitation and asking patience to use herbs, beside maximalizing the internship students in helping patience. To increase patience trust, the midwife implement standard operation procedures with regular time. Simplification is also done in the form of modifying the skills and motion in service providing, the modification is done in emergency situation. The recommendation of the article is further observation and research to generalize the gathered information.

Latin Americans' hopes will challenge their leaders

Subject Citizen satisfaction in Latin America. Significance The Ipsos 2017 Global Trends survey incorporates detailed reports on four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. Set alongside ‘developed’ and ‘other’ countries (the latter including China, Russia, India, Indonesia and South Africa), the Latin American states are shown to be progressive, globally oriented and optimistic about the future but pervasively frustrated with politicians, political systems and public services. Impacts Low satisfaction with living standards and public health provision will raise pressures on governments. Perceptions of insecurity and distrust in government are high in Latin America, increasing the attractions of populism. Latin Americans tend to value economic growth over personal happiness, perhaps a response to frustration with national economic performance.

New approaches to prevention campaigns in current conditions on the example of Tatarstan

The Republic of Tatarstan Reginal Office of Rospotrebnadzor, Kazan, Russia. The main aspects of the organization of work on the prevention campaigns for the protection of public health, provision of sanitary and epidemiological welfare and consumer protection on the example of the work of The Republic of Tatarstan Reginal Office of Rospotrebnadzor. The evaluation of the use of modern technologies in the prevention activities of the territorial authority and propose tools to improve the effectiveness of informing the population.

Care in the community?

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – Most people are well aware that, particularly in developed countries, there are ageing populations that spell potentially nightmare scenarios for public health provision. But when we think about this, thoughts always turn to hospitals, general practitioners or the aged themselves and never the real front-line communities that will face this problem. That is the families, friends and professional people who will see increasing amounts of their time and resources required to look after the elderly. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Chronic diseases raise global risks to maternal health

Subject Progress in ending Maternal Mortality Rates globally. Significance The global rate of maternal deaths since 1990 has dropped significantly. However, with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) expiring this year, only 16 countries are on track to achieve MDG 5: to reduce the maternal mortality rate (MMR) by 75%. Reduction rates in developing countries have also slowed, while rates in the developed world are rising. Such uneven progress in maternal health suggests that the current models for public health provision are inadequate. Impacts The economies of countries with high MMR are disrupted by the significant loss of productive young women. The loss of the mother stilts the development of surviving children, perpetuating cycles of poverty. Health systems that fail to provide maternity care will also be profoundly crippled in their capacity to serve the wider population.

Informed consent and public health

During the past 25 years, medical ethics has concentrated largely on clinical medicine and the treatment of individual patients. This focus permits a view of medical provision as a (quasi–) consumer good, whose distribution can be or should be contingent on individual choice. The approach cannot be extended to public health provision. Public health provision, including measures for limiting the spread of infectious diseases, is a public good and can be provided for some only if provided for many. The provision or non–provision of public goods cannot be contingent on individual informed consent, so must be in some respects compulsory. An adequate ethics of public health needs to set aside debates about informed consent and to consider the permissible limits of just compulsion for various types of public good. It will therefore gain more from engaging with work in political philosophy than with individualistic work in ethics.