CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Modelos de medición de la calidad de servicio:: su aplicación a empresas de transporte aéreo

The article takes as field of study the tourism industry and specifically, the airline industry, focusing in the study of service quality in that setting. The pressures driving successful organisations toward top quality services make the measurement of service quality and its subsequent management of overall importance. The study compares four different methods for measuring service quality within an airline setting. Six instruments are used to measure the service quality of three international airline companies. The validity and reliability of the six different models is examined: It is concluded that unweighted SERVPEX methods are superior to the others. The dimensionality of quality in airlines is explored and three factors appear as determinants: tangibility, reliability and customer care. The author states that understanding customer expectations is a prerequisite for delivering superior service, since customers evaluate service quality by comparing their perceptions of the service with their expectationTomando como campo de aplicación la industria turística en general y la del transporte aéreo de pasajeros en particular, el presente trabajo se centra en el estudio de la calidad de servicio. La medición de la calidad de servicio tiene una importancia fundamental como método de control de la calidad de servicio percibida por los clientes en un entorno cada vez más competitivo. La toma de decisiones consiguiente es fundamental para la mejora de la calidad de la organización. En este artículo se comparan cuatro métodos diferentes de medición de la calidad de servicio percibida. A resultas de esto, se utilizan seis instrumentos para medir la calidad de servicio percibida en compañías aéreas, y se miden sus propiedades psicométricas de validez y fiabilidad. Se concluye que el método SERVPEX no ponderado es superior a sus competidores. Se estudia también la dimensionalidad de la calidad en compañías aéreas, apareciendo tras factores determinantes: tangibilidad, fiabilidad y atención al cliente. El autor sostiene que entender las expectativas de los clientes es un requisito previo necesario para prestar un servicio excelente, pues los clientes evalúan la calidad comparando sus expectativas con la percepció

Modelos de medición de la calidad de servicio:: su aplicación a empresas de transporte aéreo

The article takes as field of study the tourism industry and specifically, the airline industry, focusing in the study of service quality in that setting. The pressures driving successful organisations toward top quality services make the measurement of service quality and its subsequent management of overall importance. The study compares four different methods for measuring service quality within an airline setting. Six instruments are used to measure the service quality of three international airline companies. The validity and reliability of the six different models is examined: It is concluded that unweighted SERVPEX methods are superior to the others. The dimensionality of quality in airlines is explored and three factors appear as determinants: tangibility, reliability and customer care. The author states that understanding customer expectations is a prerequisite for delivering superior service, since customers evaluate service quality by comparing their perceptions of the service with their expectationTomando como campo de aplicación la industria turística en general y la del transporte aéreo de pasajeros en particular, el presente trabajo se centra en el estudio de la calidad de servicio. La medición de la calidad de servicio tiene una importancia fundamental como método de control de la calidad de servicio percibida por los clientes en un entorno cada vez más competitivo. La toma de decisiones consiguiente es fundamental para la mejora de la calidad de la organización. En este artículo se comparan cuatro métodos diferentes de medición de la calidad de servicio percibida. A resultas de esto, se utilizan seis instrumentos para medir la calidad de servicio percibida en compañías aéreas, y se miden sus propiedades psicométricas de validez y fiabilidad. Se concluye que el método SERVPEX no ponderado es superior a sus competidores. Se estudia también la dimensionalidad de la calidad en compañías aéreas, apareciendo tras factores determinantes: tangibilidad, fiabilidad y atención al cliente. El autor sostiene que entender las expectativas de los clientes es un requisito previo necesario para prestar un servicio excelente, pues los clientes evalúan la calidad comparando sus expectativas con la percepció

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially