From continuous improvement to collaborative improvement: scope, scale, skill and social networking in collaborative improvement

More than ever, companies are challenged to improve their performance and respond quickly and accurately to changes within the market. As competitive battlefield is moving towards the level of networks of organisations, the individual firm is an inadequate entity for identifying improvements. Therefore the concept of continuous improvement must be applied and used in inter-organisational settings, leading to the concept of collaborative improvement. However the process of applying and transferring CI to inter-organisational settings is fraught with intra- and inter-organisational change issues and working practices. For companies to be able to effectively manage and organise the process of collaborative improvement knowledge and understanding on the process itself is needed

Exploring personal interests of physicians in hospitals and specialty clinics

Physicians' interests substantially influence intra-organizational dynamics in hospitals, though little is known about the actual content and structure of these interests. The objective of this study was to both identify and build a structured model of physicians' interests. Based on literature and 27 semi-structured interviews with physicians, a questionnaire containing 10 interests was developed. Next, 1475 physicians in the Netherlands filled out an online survey. Analyses of the data revealed a distinction between the primary interest of ‘helping patients as well as possible’ and nine secondary interests. Factor analysis identified the main secondary interest dimensions as work-related, setting-related, and life-related. Value attached to interests differs between specialties and types of hospitals. The influence of hospital type on the value attached to interests is stronger than the influence of specialty group on the value attached to interests. Insight in the relative importance of different interests may help policy-makers make decisions that foster shared interests

Which factors play a role in the decision of mothers to participate in child follow-up examinations after participation in an RCT?:a semi-quantitative study

OBJECTIVES: To determine which factors contribute to the decision of mothers to participate with their child in follow-up (FU) examinations after participation in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) prior to conception. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey, including Likert-scale items. Comparisons will be made between respondents who participated in all FU rounds of data collection and those who did not participate in any FU round with their child. PARTICIPANTS: Women who participated in an RCT investigating the effect of a preconception lifestyle intervention (LIFEstyle study: Netherlands Trial Register: NTR1530) were invited to participate with their child in three FU data collections when the child had a mean age of 4.2 years, 4.6 years and 6.5 years, respectively. FU rounds included a health questionnaire, physical examination and cardiac assessment, successively. RESULTS: Sixty-seven respondents were included, of whom 7 (10%) did not participate in any FU round and 24 (36%) participated in all FU rounds. Women who participated with their child in all 3 FU data collection rounds felt more involved in the FU research (95.8%) and agreed more often that the FU was introduced well (91.7%) as compared with women that did not participate in any FU data collection round with their child (14.3% and 28.6%, respectively). Participants of FU rounds more often agreed that participation felt like a health check for their child as compared with non-participants. In addition, participants of the physical examination and cardiac assessment more often let their decision to participate depend fully on their child, as compared with non-participants (39.4% vs 17.7% and 52.5% vs 24%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: To increase participation rates in future FU studies of children after maternal participation in an RCT, we suggest to involve women in the design of the FU study, to emphasise possible perceived benefits of participation and to encourage women to actively involve their child in the decision of participation