Obstacles to family planning use among rural women in Atiak Health Center IV, Amuru District, northern Uganda

Background: Uganda’s rapid population growth (3.2%) since 1948 has placed more demands on health sector and lowered living standard of Ugandans resulting into 49% of people living in acute poverty especially in post conflict Northern Uganda. The population rise was due to low use of contraceptive methods (21% in rural areas and 43% in urban areas) and coupled with high unmet need for family planning (41%). This indicated poor access to reproductive health services. Effective use of family planning could reduce the rapid population growth.Objective: To determine obstacles to family planning use among rural women in Northern Uganda.Design: A descriptive cross-sectional analytical study.Setting: Atiak Health Centre IV, Amuru District, rural Northern Uganda.Subjects: Four hundred and twenty four females of reproductive ages were selected from both Inpatient and Outpatient Departments of Atiak Health Centre IV.Results: There was high level of awareness 418 (98.6%), positive attitude 333 (78.6%) and fair level of utilisation 230 (54.2%) of family planning. However, significant obstacles to family planning usage included; long distance to Health facility, unavailability of preferred contraceptive methods, absenteeism of family planning providers, high cost of managing side effects, desire for big family size ,children dying less than five years old, husbands forbidding women from using family planning and lack of community leaders’ involvement in family planning programme.Conclusions: In spites of the high level of awareness, positive attitude, and free family planning services, there were obstacles that hindered family planning usage among these rural women. However, taking services close to people, reducing number of children dying before their fifth birthday, educating men about family planning, making sure family planning providers and methods are available, reducing cost of managing side effects and involving community leaders will improve utilisation of family planning and thus reduce the rapid population growth and poverty

Determinants of voluntary audit and voluntary full accounts in micro- and non-micro small companies in the UK

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Accounting and Business Research, 42(4), 441 - 468, 2012, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00014788.2012.667969.This study investigates the link between the auditing and filing choices made by a sample of 592 small private companies, which includes 419 micro-companies. It examines decisions made in connection with the 2006 accounts following UK's adoption of the maximum EU size thresholds in 2004, and the impact of the proposed Directive on the annual accounts of micro-companies. The research extends the model of cost, management and agency factors associated with voluntary audit, and develops a complementary model for voluntary full accounts. The results show the benefits of placing full audited accounts on public record that outweigh the costs for a significant proportion of companies. In non-micro small companies, voluntary audit is determined by cost and agency factors, whereas in micro-companies it is driven by cost, management and agency factors. In both groups, the predictors of voluntary full accounts include management and agency factors, and choosing voluntary audit is one of the key factors. The study provides models that can be tested in other jurisdictions to provide evidence of the needs of micro-companies, and the discussion of the methodological challenges for small company researchers in the UK makes further contribution to the literature

An investigation into the relationship between quality improvement and financial performance

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:7761.092(CACA-RR--50) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Managing care pathways The quality and resources of hospital care

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m02/17042 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Rites of passage through talent management progression stages: an identity work perspective

Our aim in this study was to examine the experiences of organisational ‘talent’ as employees advance through progressive stages of a talent management programme and to identify ways in which identity work plays a major part in such transitional processes. A case study is presented which examines the experiences of accountancy professionals ‘talent’ in a global management consultancy as they progress through ‘rites of passage’ at different levels of a talent management programme. Findings firstly show that successful transitions through such rites of passage are the necessary precursors to talent advancement; secondly, that the exercise of identity work is a concomitant part of specific phases of such rites of passage (separation, liminality and incorporation); thirdly, that, particularly at the most senior management levels, ‘appropriate identities’ in line with normative assumptions of the organisation are required to be developed and displayed; and finally, that such progression is characterised by being in ambiguous and fluid relationships and contexts, which need to be overcome in an ongoing process of talent advancement. Lessons are drawn for the design of talent management interventions that take identity work into account. Keywords: identity work; liminality; talent advancement; talent management; talent pool; rites of passag