Effect of Loanable Funds and Director’s Skills on Financial Performance of Non Deposit Taking SACCOS in Mombasa County

Kenya’s financial sector includes banking Institutions, non-banking financial institutions and Savings Credit Co-operative Societies (SACCO’s). The purpose of this study was to find out the effects of loanable funds and board of directors, on the financial performance of SACCO’s with references to non-deposit taking Sacco’s in Mombasa County. Descriptive research design was used and the target population of the study comprised of one hundred and eighty-five (185) non-deposit taking Sacco’s in Mombasa County.  Stratified random sampling was used to select respondents for the study from the target population. Random samples were taken from each stratum to avoid biasness and to give every individual an equal opportunity to participate in the study. The data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods also Likert scale was used to further analyze quantitative data, SPSS and formulas were used. The coefficient of determination indicated a strong positive association between independent and dependent variable. Variance analysis (ANOVA) showed that loanable fund levels and board of directors’ skills influence the financial performance of non-deposit taking SACCOs. The study concluded that there was a positive and significant relationship between loanable fund and financial performance

Alternative scenarios: harnessing mid-level providers and evidence-based practice in primary dental care in England through operational research

Background: In primary care dentistry, strategies to reconfigure the traditional boundaries of various dental professional groups by task sharing and role substitution have been encouraged in order to meet changing oral health needs. Aim: The aim of this research was to investigate the potential for skill mix use in primary dental care in England based on the undergraduate training experience in a primary care team training centre for dentists and mid-level dental providers. Methods: An operational research model and four alternative scenarios to test the potential for skill mix use in primary care in England were developed, informed by the model of care at a primary dental care training centre in the south of England, professional policy including scope of practice and contemporary evidence-based preventative practice. The model was developed in Excel and drew on published national timings and salary costs. The scenarios included the following: “No Skill Mix”, “Minimal Direct Access”, “More Prevention” and “Maximum Delegation”. The scenario outputs comprised clinical time, workforce numbers and salary costs required for state-funded primary dental care in England. Results: The operational research model suggested that 73% of clinical time in England’s state-funded primary dental care in 2011/12 was spent on tasks that may be delegated to dental care professionals (DCPs), and 45- to 54-year-old patients received the most clinical time overall. Using estimated National Health Service (NHS) clinical working patterns, the model suggested alternative NHS workforce numbers and salary costs to meet the dental demand based on each developed scenario. For scenario 1:“No Skill Mix”, the dentist-only scenario, 81% of the dentists currently registered in England would be required to participate. In scenario 2: “Minimal Direct Access”, where 70% of examinations were delegated and the primary care training centre delegation patterns for other treatments were practised, 40% of registered dentists and eight times the number of dental therapists currently registered would be required; this would save 38% of current salary costs cf. “No Skill Mix”. Scenario 3: “More Prevention”, that is, the current model with no direct access and increasing fluoride varnish from 13.1% to 50% and maintaining the same model of delegation as scenario 2 for other care, would require 57% of registered dentists and 4.7 times the number of dental therapists. It would achieve a 1% salary cost saving cf. “No Skill Mix”. Scenario 4 “Maximum Delegation” where all care within dental therapists’ jurisdiction is delegated at 100%, together with 50% of restorations and radiographs, suggested that only 30% of registered dentists would be required and 10 times the number of dental therapists registered; this scenario would achieve a 52% salary cost saving cf. “No Skill Mix”. Conclusion: Alternative scenarios based on wider expressed treatment need in national primary dental care in England, changing regulations on the scope of practice and increased evidence-based preventive practice suggest that the majority of care in primary dental practice may be delegated to dental therapists, and there is potential time and salary cost saving if the majority of diagnostic tasks and prevention are delegated. However, this would require an increase in trained DCPs, including role enhancement, as part of rebalancing the dental workforce

Dental Treatment in a State-Funded Primary Dental Care Facility: Contextual and Individual Predictors of Treatment Need?

OBJECTIVE:This study examined individual and contextual factors which predict the dental care received by patients in a state-funded primary dental care training facility in England. METHODS:Routine clinical and demographic data were extracted from a live dental patient management system in a state-funded facility using novel methods. The data, spanning a four-year period [2008-2012] were cleaned, validated, linked by means of postcode to deprivation status, and analysed to identify factors which predict dental treatment need. The predictive relationship between patients' individual characteristics (demography, smoking, payment status) and contextual experience (deprivation based on area of residence), with common dental treatments received was examined using unadjusted analysis and adjusted logistic regression. Additionally, multilevel modelling was used to establish the isolated influence of area of residence on treatments. RESULTS:Data on 6,351 dental patients extracted comprised of 147,417 treatment procedures delivered across 10,371 courses of care. Individual level factors associated with the treatments were age, sex, payment exemption and smoking status and deprivation associated with area of residence was a contextual predictor of treatment. More than 50% of children (<18 years) and older adults (≥65 years) received preventive care in the form of 'instruction and advice', compared with 46% of working age adults (18-64 years); p = 0.001. The odds of receiving treatment increased with each increasing year of age amongst adults (p = 0.001): 'partial dentures' (7%); 'scale and polish' (3.7%); 'tooth extraction' (3%; p = 0.001), and 'instruction and advice' (3%; p = 0.001). Smokers had a higher likelihood of receiving all treatments; and were notably over four times more likely to receive 'instruction and advice' than non-smokers (OR 4.124; 95% CI: 3.088-5.508; p = 0.01). A further new finding from the multilevel models was a significant difference in treatment related to area of residence; adults from the most deprived quintile were more likely to receive 'tooth extraction' when compared with least deprived, and less likely to receive preventive 'instruction and advice' (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION:This is the first study to model patient management data from a state-funded dental service and show that individual and contextual factors predict common treatments received. Implications of this research include the importance of making provision for our aging population and ensuring that preventative care is available to all. Further research is required to explain the interaction of organisational and system policies, practitioner and patient perspectives on care and, thus, inform effective commissioning and provision of dental services

Dental skill mix: a cross-sectional analysis of delegation practices between dental and dental hygiene-therapy students involved in team training in the South of England

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that health professionals who have trained together have a better understanding of one another’s scope of practice and are thus equipped for teamwork during their professional careers. Dental hygiene-therapists (DHTs) are mid-level providers that can deliver routine care working alongside dentists. This study examines patterns of delegation (selected tasks and patients) by dental students to DHT students training together in an integrated team. METHODS: A retrospective sample of patient data (n = 2,063) was extracted from a patient management system showing the treatment activities of two student cohorts (dental and DHT) involved in team training in a primary care setting in the South of England over two academic years. The data extracted included key procedures delegated by dental students to DHT students coded by skill-mix of operator (e.g., fissure sealants, restorations, paediatric extractions) and patient demography. χ(2) tests were conducted to investigate the relationship between delegation and patient age group, gender, smoking status, payment-exemption status, and social deprivation. RESULTS: A total of 2,063 patients managed during this period received treatments that could be undertaken by either student type; in total, they received 14,996 treatment procedures. The treatments most commonly delegated were fissure sealants (90%) and restorations (51%); whilst the least delegated were paediatric extractions (2%). Over half of these patients (55%) had at least one instance of delegation from a dental to a DHT student. Associations were found between delegation and patient age group and smoking status (P <0.001). Children under 18 years old had a higher level of delegation (86%) compared with adults of working age (50%) and patients aged 65 years and over (56%). A higher proportion of smokers had been delegated compared with non-smokers (45% cf. 26%; P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that delegation of care to DHT students training as a team with dental students, involved significantly greater experience in treating children and adult smokers, and providing preventive rather than invasive care in this integrated educational and primary care setting. The implications for their contribution to dentistry and the dental team are discussed, along with recommendations for primary care data recording

Developing transmissible vaccines for animal infectious diseases

No abstract available

Inhibition of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase reduces adipogenesis and diet-induced obesity

We previously described a putative role for inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), a rate-limiting enzyme in de novo guanine nucleotide biosynthesis, in lipid accumulation. Here we present data which demonstrate that IMPDH activity is required for differentiation of preadipocytes into mature, lipid-laden adipocytes and maintenance of adipose tissue mass. In 3T3-L1 preadipocytes inhibition of IMPDH with mycophenolic acid (MPA) reduced intracellular GTP levels by 60% (p &lt; 0.05) and blocked adipogenesis (p &lt; 0.05). Co-treatment with guanosine, a substrate in the salvage pathway of nucleotide biosynthesis, restored GTP levels and adipogenesis demonstrating the specificity of these effects. Treatment of diet-induced obese mice with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), the prodrug of MPA, for 28 days did not affect food intake or lean body mass but reduced body fat content (by 36%, p = 0.002) and adipocyte size (p = 0.03) and number. These data suggest that inhibition of IMPDH may represent a novel strategy to reduce adipose tissue mass.<br /