A Study of the Effect of Advertising on Attracting Medical Tourism

Introduction: It is predicted that tourism will be the most profitable industry in the world in 2020. The current study aimed to evaluate the influence of advertising on attracting foreign medical tourists based on the marketing mix model. Methods: In this descriptive study, participants (n=136) completed a standard questionnaire containing items on demographic characteristics and advertising practices adopted by Mashhad hospitals (13 hospitals) to attract Arabic tourists (male-female) from seven nations in the period from March 2015 to August 2016. Data description was performed using charts and tables. The software used was spss21. Results: The results showed that 44.1% of medical tourists were satisfied with advertising practices. In terms of education, 85 (62.8%) tourists did not have a high school diploma. Seventy-six subjects (55.9%) were referred to hospitals by friends and acquaintances, 38.2% were referred by their physicians, and only 5.9% of tourists were attracted by other advertising methods. Conclusions: According to the results, most patients did not consider advertising strategies effective, and the advertising methods seemed to be unsuccessful in attracting people with a higher education. Therefore, it is suggested that advertising practices be revised and novel methods be adopted to appeal to a greater range of potential tourists

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Parameter estimation of a bivariate compound Poisson process

In this article, we review the concept of a Lévy copula to describe the dependence structure of a bivariate compound Poisson process. In this first statistical approach we consider a parametric model for the Lévy copula and estimate the parameters of the full dependent model based on a maximum likelihood approach. This approach ensures that the estimated model remains in the class of multivariate compound Poisson processes. A simulation study investigates the small sample behaviour of the MLEs, where we also suggest a new simulation algorithm. Finally, we apply our method to Danish fire insurance data.Dependence modelling Levy copula Levy measure Levy process Maximum likelihood estimation Multivariate compound Poisson process

Estimation of treatment effect in presence of noncompliance and competing risks: a simulation study

Abstract A randomized controlled trial is commonly designed to assess the treatment effect in survival studies, in which patients are randomly assigned to the standard or the experimental treatment group. Upon disease progression, patients who have been randomized to standard treatment are allowed to switch to the experimental treatment. Treatment switching in a randomized controlled trial refers to a situation in which patients switch from their randomized treatment to another treatment. Often, the switchis from the control group to the experimental treatment. In this case, the treatment effect estimate is adjusted using either convenient naive methods such as intention-to-treat, per-protocol or advanced methods such as rank preserving structural failure time (RPSFT) models. In previous simulation studies performed so far, there was only one possible outcome for patients. However, in oncology in particular, multiple outcomes are potentially possible. These outcomes are called competing risks. This aspect has not been considered in previous studies when determining the effect of a treatment in the presence of noncompliance. This study aimed to extend the RPSFT method using a two-dimensional G-estimation in the presence of competing risks. The RPSFT method was extended for two events, the event of interest and the competing event. For this purpose, the RPSFT method was applied based on the cause-specific hazard approach, the result of which is compared to the naive methods used in simulation studies. The results show that the proposed method has a good performance compared to other methods

Evaluation of Compliance with Accreditation Standards during Corona Virus Pandemic among Staff of Masih Daneshvari Hospital

Introduction: After the increase in the incidence and global spread of Covid-19 virus, medical centers faced a number of problems and challenges following this crisis. In order to increase the quality and safety of medical services and their optimal management, both in critical and non-critical situations, health care providers in different countries of the world have used various methods that increase the organizational commitment to improve quality. Method: This study is a cross-sectional analytical research. Data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire based on 903 accreditation standards notified by the Ministry of Health by available sampling method from 326 employees of Masih Daneshvari Center in 2021. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22. Results: The results showed that out of an average of 8 areas related to accreditation standards, participants in the areas of professional ethics and compliance with the recipient of services, infection control, environmental health and waste management mentioned the most compliance in the emergency situation caused by Covid-19 and areas of clinical management and patient safety were ranked next. Discussion and conclusion: According to the participants, observing the areas of environmental health and waste, service recipients and infection control has been more practical during Corona pandemic. The principles of accreditation seem to be accepted as quality improvement standards and can be an effective guide in preparing medical centers for emergency conditions