Understanding the Factors Influencing the Perception of Organizational Sustainability Among Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) Post the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Background and Purpose of the Study: Healthcare costs in the United States has continued to increase annually, and new policy\u27s attempt at protocol changes in healthcare practices does not ensure quality care delivery. An example of these policies include provisions and new guidelines under the 2010 healthcare legislation, - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The premise with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is increased healthcare access for patients. However, not responsibly balancing the increased demand with the escalating cost of care creates an unsustainable system (Department of Health & Human Services, 2015). Healthcare organizations, including hospitals and medical practices, are challenged as they seek to balance between being a diagnostic, clinical entity, and one that can effectively and affordably resolve issues. The synopsis of care delivery in the US thus became one of high-cost pressure and high administrative burden, invariably leading to low-quality patient care. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors affecting healthcare organizational sustainability. Secondly, to determine if the varying perception of healthcare organizations among healthcare professionals (HCPs) affect how they support the implementation of programs in building sustainable organizations. The perception levels were broken into four dependent groups: Unsustainable, Somewhat Sustainable, Moderately Sustainable and Very Sustainable. Methods: This study utilized a quantitative methodology with a descriptive, exploratory, cross-sectional and correlational research design to measure the differences in perception levels of program implementation processes and determine the relationship between the factors of organizational sustainability. Eight (8) dependent variables were identified: Funding, Communication, Environmental, Partnerships, Evaluation, Adaptation, Strategic Planning, and Organization Capacity. A sample of 301 healthcare professionals participated in the study with a completion rate of 53%. Results: All variables had a positive relationship to organizational sustainability in the small (r=0.29, p\u3c0.001) to moderate rate (r=0.42, p\u3c0.001) correlation. As scores for each of the sustainability variable increases, so does perception of the program within healthcare organizations. The results of the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) across the 4 perception groups (IV) and 8 dependent variables were statistically significant at an alpha level of 0.01 but for the Environmental, Partnerships and Evaluation variables. Conclusion: Healthcare policies might continue to change in an attempt to resolve issues around quality care delivery, but organizational cultures and design have a greater impact on healthcare organizational sustainability. The eight sustainability factors proved essential further highlighting their inter-relatedness and mutually reinforcing attributes. There were subtle inconsistencies in the perception of these variables and how they manifest across organizations among HCPs. The implementation of programs requires engagement from all employee levels and multi-disciplinary teams within a healthcare organization. If healthcare programs are deliberately structured with the eight sustainability factors in mind, organizations – including physician offices, and multi-system hospitals can be more successful. Further research is needed to determine categorical predictors for perception levels of organizational sustainability in light of healthcare policy changes. With a holistic framework for sustainability, healthcare managers can implement strategies to respond to policy changes, fine-tune operations and successfully manage the quality delivery of care

LAXATIVE ACTIVITIES OF CASSIA SIEBERIANA AND SENNA OBTUSIFOLIA

Background: The root and stem bark of Cassia sieberiana DC. (Caesalpiniaceae) and the root of Senna obtusifolia (Linn) Irwin and Barneby (Caesalpiniaceae), used for constipation in Nigeria, were assayed for laxative properties in male albino rats using the official senna leaf (Senna alexandrina Mill. family Caesalpiniaceae) as the reference standard. This is with a view to finding alternative laxative drug to official senna which is presently being imported into Nigeria from the United Kingdom. Materials and Methods: The mean percentage of wet faeces in rats, an indication of laxative activity, were obtained using established methods. The laxative activity was established at 500 mg/kg after the infusion of the drug was orally administered on male albino rats following established methods while a set of data was analyzed at 95 % confidence level. Results: At 500 mg/kg, Senna obtusifolia root gave about 45 % wet faeces while Cassia sieberiana root gave about 40 % wet faeces while at the highest dose of 700 mg/kg, they produced 60 % and 38 % wet faeces, respectively. At these two doses, the official Senna gave 50.6 % and 66 % wet faeces, respectively. Thus, S. obtusifolia and C. sieberiana roots exhibited 89 % and 80 % of the potency of S. alexandrina (the official drug), respectively. The analysis of variance revealed a significant statistical difference in the levels of wet faeces produced by rats dosed with C. sieberiana root. Conclusion: The results have shown that the roots of the two species could be developed as mild laxative drugs for children and pregnant women for whom the official senna will be contraindicated

Has Nigerian agricultural output spurred economic growth: the financing gap model using stepwise regression

This study examined if the Nigerian agricultural output has spurred economic growth and the best fit agricultural financing gap model for growing the economy. The study explored the dynamics of different technicality approach that stepwise regression has to offer. From the seven baskets of predictors – agricultural guaranteed finance to oil palm, cocoa, groundnuts, fishery, poultry, cattle, roots and tubers – the step fitted three predictors: roots and tubers, cocoa and poultry based on “a b” parameter with the highest “t-stats” and significant p-value and subsequently executed the model using stepwise regression analysis with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. The dataset covers a thirty-six year period from 1981 to 2017. The source of the data is from the Central Bank of Nigeria 2018 statistical bulletin. The findings showed that individually, root and tubers has the most contributory impact on economic growth with 81 percent. Jointly followed is cocoa at 87 percent and poultry at 90 percent. The study thus recommends a comparative cost advantage to financing agriculture with the most impactful contribution to economic growth based on the model

Comparative Assessment of Copper, Iron, and Zinc Contents in Selected Indian (Assam) and South African (Thohoyandou) Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Samples and Their Infusion: A Quest for Health Risks to Consumer

The current study aims to assess the infusion pattern of three important micronutrients namely copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) contents from black tea samples produced in Assam (India) and Thohoyandou (South Africa). Average daily intakes and hazardous quotient were reported for these micronutrients. Total content for Cu, Fe, and Zn varied from 2.25 to 48.82 mg kg−1, 14.75 to 148.18 mg kg−1, and 28.48 to 106.68 mg kg−1, respectively. The average contents of each of the three micronutrients were higher in tea leaves samples collected from South Africa than those from India while the contents in tea infusions in Indian samples were higher than in South African tea samples. Results of this study revealed that the consumption of 600 mL tea infusion produced from 24 g of made tea per day may be beneficial to human in terms of these micronutrients content. Application of nonparametric tests revealed that most of the data sets do not satisfy the normality assumptions. Hence, the use of both parametric and nonparametric statistical analysis that subsequently revealed significant differences in elemental contents among Indian and South African tea

Foodborne Pathogens on Meat Stored in Major Central Cold Rooms in Ibadan and their Susceptibility to Antimicrobial Agents

Foodborne pathogens are the leading cause of illness and death in developing countries and are often associated with poor hygiene and unsafe food storage conditions. Using central cold rooms with alternate power supply in preserving meats due to erratic power supply is common among meat traders in Nigeria. However, the public health safety of the operations of this practice remains un-investigated. We conducted a microbial assessment of aseptically collected meat swabs from three selected major cold rooms in Ibadan for Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli using standard procedures. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined using 14 different antibiotics at standard concentrations following Kirby-Bauer Assays. The data were analysed with Stata 12.0 using bivariate and logistic regression analyses. Of 180 meat swabs collected, 42.2 % were positive for S. aureus, 22.2 % for L. monocytogenes, 20.0 % for Salmonella spp. and 6.7 % for E. coli. All of the isolates exhibited total resistance to seven of the antibiotics. Escherichia coli showed the highest resistance to 12 antibiotics, followed by Salmonella spp. (11 antibiotics), L. monocytogenes (10 antibiotics) and S. aureus (7 antibiotics). Sampling locations were significantly associated with the prevalence of L. monocytogenes (P = 0.008) and S. aureus (P = 0.000), but not with Salmonella spp. (P = 0.435) or E. coli (P = 0.117). The study revealed a heavy microbial contamination with major foodborne pathogens characterized by a high level of antibiotic resistance. These findings portend that the current operations associated with the practice of using central cold rooms in meat preservation in Nigeria undermine public health safety and need to be urgently addressed

Estimation of Residents Exposure Risks to Radiological Parameters in Some Building Materials in Nigeri

Some of the brands of tiles commonly available in the markets in Nigeria, which are used for building purposes, were analysed in order to estimate the concentration of naturally occurring radionuclides. The analysis was done with the aid of High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. The results revealed that the average activity concentrations in the sample of tiles, cement and sand varied from 41 ± 4 to 96 ± 8.3, 27 ± 9.5 to 76.5 ± 2.5 and 140 ± 7.9 to 940 ± 19.2 Bqkg-1 for 232Th, 226Ra and 40K, respectively. The results obtained were used to determine the impact of these building materials on users. The radium equivalent activity (Raeq) ranged between 125 – 280 Bqkg-1 and were observed to be lower than 370 Bqkg-1 in all the samples tested, which is the recommended safe limit. Similarly, the absorbed dose rates were noted to vary from 51.00 – 122.52 nGyh-1. However, one of the samples examined showed a result of 122.52 nGyh- for the indoor absorbed dose rate (DR), which is higher than the internationally recommended safe value of 80 nGyh-1according to USEPA. The results revealed that the building materials investigated do not pose any danger to the end users