Enhancing the efficiency of formal low-cost houses by the development of a new low-cost ceiling system

Existing formal low-cost houses in South Africa have been shown to be very thermally and energy inefficient. This could be problematic for the country since the government has promised to build roughly 3 million more of these houses in the near future. Inefficiency in these houses can be effectively addressed by installing ceilings, but the cost thereof is unfortunately too high to be affordable to the applicable sector of the population. New options need to be considered to reduce costs. Research has shown that practically any material can be used as a ceiling if it provides a barrier to heat flow and eliminates infiltration. The material should ideally possess good thermal properties and comply with standard building regulations, but most importantly, it must be very cheap and easy to install. The low-cost ceiling proposed in this paper has all of these attributes, and installation thereof could result in substantial energy savings, improved indoor comfort, and a better quality of lif

Prospects for comparing European hospitals in terms of quality and safety

Purpose. Being able to compare hospitals in terms of quality and safety between countries is important for a number of reasons. For example, the 2011 European Union directive on patients’ rights to cross-border health care places a requirement on all member states to provide patients with comparable information on health-care quality, so that they can make an informed choice. Here, we report on the feasibility of using common process and outcome indicators to compare hospitals for quality and safety in five countries (England, Portugal, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway). Main Challenges Identified. The cross-country comparison identified the following seven challenges with respect to comparing the quality of hospitals across Europe: different indicators are collected in each country; different definitions of the same indicators are used; different mandatory versus voluntary data collection requirements are in place; different types of organizations oversee data collection; different levels of aggregation of data exist (country, region and hospital); different levels of public access to data exist; and finally, hospital accreditation and licensing systems differ in each country. Conclusion. Our findings indicate that if patients and policymakers are to compare the quality and safety of hospitals across Europe, then further work is urgently needed to agree the way forward. Until then, patients will not be able to make informed choices about where they receive their health care in different countries, and some governments will remain in the dark about the quality and safety of care available to their citizens as compared to that available in neighbouring countries

Defining a positive work environment for hospital healthcare professionals: A Delphi study

Introduction: The work environment of healthcare professionals is important for good patient care and is receiving increasing attention in scientific research. A clear and unambiguous understanding of a positive work environment, as perceived by healthcare professionals, is crucial for gaining systematic objective insights into the work environment. The aim of this study was to gain consensu

eHealth Applications to Support Independent Living of Older Persons: Scoping Review of Costs and Benefits Identified in Economic Evaluations

__Background:__ eHealth applications are constantly increasing and are frequently considered to constitute a promising strategy for cost containment in health care, particularly if the applications aim to support older persons. Older persons are, however, not the only major eHealth stakeholder. eHealth suppliers, caregivers, funding bodies, and health authorities are also likely to attribute value to eHealth applications, but they can differ in their value attribution because they are affected differently by eHealth costs and benefits. Therefore, any assessment of the value of eHealth applications requires the consideration of multiple stakeholders in a holistic and integrated manner. Such a holistic and reliable value assessment requires a prof

Understanding the Uptake of Big Data in Health Care: Protocol for a Multinational Mixed-Methods Study

Background: Despite the high potential of big data, their applications in health care face many organizational, social, financial, and regulatory challenges. The societal dimensions of big data are underrepresented in much medical research. Little is known about integrating big data applications in the corporate routines of hospitals and other care providers. Equally little is understood about embedding big data applications in daily work practices and how they lead to actual improvements for health care actors, such as patients, care professionals, care providers, information technology companies, payers, and the society. Objective: This planned study aims to provide an integrated analysis of big data applications, focusing on the interrelations among concrete big data experiments, organizational routines, and relevant systemic and societal dimensions. To understand the similarities and differences between interactions in various contexts, the study covers 12 big data pilot projects in eight European countries, each with its own health care system. Workshops will be held with stakeholders to

A longitudinal, multi-level comparative study of quality and safety in European hospitals: the QUASER study protocol

although there is a wealth of information available about quality improvement tools and techniques in healthcare there is little understanding about overcoming the challenges of day-to-day implementation in complex organisations like hospitals. The 'Quality and Safety in Europe by Research' (QUASER) study will investigate how hospitals implement, spread and sustain quality improvement, including the difficulties they face and how they overcome them. The overall aim of the study is to explore relationships between the organisational and cultural characteristics of hospitals and how these impact on the quality of health care; the findings will be designed to help policy makers, payers and hospital managers understand the factors and processes that enable hospitals in Europe to achieve-and sustain-high quality services for their patients

Optimal length of antiviral therapy in patients with hepatitis C virus genotypes 2 and 3: a meta-analysis.

Contains fulltext : 81551.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend a duration of 24 weeks of treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin for patients infected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 2 and 3. Several trials investigated whether shorter treatment duration is equally effective in achieving sustained virological response (SVR). Our aim was to determine the optimal length of treatment in patients with HCV genotypes 2 and 3. METHODS: Systematic literature identified eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Meta-analyses were carried out on SVR data from three studies randomized at baseline and five studies randomized at rapid virological response (RVR) to either 12-16 weeks or a 24-week course. RESULTS: Pooled SVR data were higher in standard treatment in RCTs that randomized at baseline, with a relative risk (RR) of 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76-1.01). The pooled proportion of SVR rates of RCTs that randomized at RVR were similar in the short treatment group (82%) as in the standard treatment (83%), with the pooled effect given by a RR of 1.00 (95% CI 0.92-1.09). CONCLUSIONS: A shorter course (12-16 weeks) of combination therapy does not impair efficacy compared with a 24-week course in HCV genotypes 2 and 3 patients who achieve an RVR. HCV patients without RVR should consider 24 weeks of treatment