Search results for: health and wellness tourism

Authors: Muhammad Wahb

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Physical activity is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in maintaining optimal health and preventing chronic diseases. This research scrutinizes the long-term health benefits of sustained physical activity, employing a systematic review of epidemiological studies and randomized control trials conducted over the past decade. The study illuminates the protective effects of regular physical activity against cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and mental health disorders, with a special focus on the mechanisms involved. Furthermore, the paper provides insights into how public health initiatives can effectively promote physical activity among diverse populations, contributing to improved community health outcomes.

Keywords: physical activity, long-term health benefits, chronic disease prevention, public health

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Authors: Wanida Suwunniponth

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The purposes of this research were to investigate the perceived of a cultural image and loyalty of tourists toward the attraction at Banglumphu neighborhood in Bangkok and to study the relationship of the cultural image of Banglumphu community and loyalty to visit this area of the tourists. This study employed both quantitative approach and qualitative approach. In a quantitative research, a questionnaire was used to collect data from 300 systematic sampled tourists who visited Banglumphu area and the correlation analysis were used to analyze data. The results revealed that the overall tourists’ point of view toward Banglumphu cultural image was at a good level which lifestyle had the best image, followed by value and belief, physical dimension, community identity, tradition, and local wisdom. In addition, the overall aspect of tourists’ loyalty including satisfaction, word of mouths, and revisiting were at good levels which word of mouths received the highest value, followed by revisiting, and satisfaction, respectively. In addition, the relationship between cultural image in aspect on lifestyle, tradition, local wisdom, belief, community identity and loyalty to visit Banglumphu in each aspect on satisfaction, word of mouths, and revisiting were moderately correlated at the significant level of 0.05, except physical dimension was not correlated with each aspect of tourists’ loyalty.

Keywords: cultural tourism, image, loyalty, revisit

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Authors: Aena Iqbal

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The lack of access to maternal and reproductive health in Pakistan poses a great threat to global public health. Obstetric issues, including vesicovaginal fistulas (VVF), are the most common in South Asian countries, leaving women in a more vulnerable state. Koohi Goth Women’s Hospital offers free VVF operations, which draws in women from all over Pakistan. Although reproductive health is being handled, mental health is often neglected in these scenarios. Using a series of questions inspired by the Warwick Edinburgh Model, this paper builds on the results from interviewing women who have received vesicovaginal fistula repair surgery on their mental health, a taboo topic in Pakistan.

Keywords: obstetrics, VVF, Pakistan, reproductive health

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Authors: Natalie Cutler, Lorna Moxham, Moira Stephens

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Safety is a priority in mental health services, and no more so than in the acute inpatient setting. Mental health service policies and accreditation frameworks commonly approach safety from a risk reduction or elimination perspective leading to service approaches that are arguably more focused on risk than on safety. An exploration what safety means for people who have experienced admission to an acute mental health inpatient unit is currently under way in Sydney, Australia. Using a phenomenographic research approach, this study is seeking to understand the meaning of safety from the perspective of people who use, rather than those who deliver mental health services. Preliminary findings suggest that the meanings of safety for users of mental health services vary from the meanings inherent in the policies and frameworks that inform how mental health services and mental health practice are delivered. This variance has implications for the physical and environmental design of acute mental health inpatient facilities, the policies and practices, and the education and training of mental health staff in particular nurses, who comprise the majority of the mental health workforce. These variances will be presented, along with their implications for the way quality and safety in mental health services are evaluated.

Keywords: acute inpatient, mental health, nursing, phenomenography, recovery, safety

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Authors: C. F. Jones Couto, L. C. Motlhaolwa, K. Williams

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This article explores the re-imagining of physical education teacher education in South African higher education. Utilising student reflections from a physical education practical module, valuable insights into student experiences were obtained about the current physical education pedagogical approaches and potential areas for improvement. The traditional teaching model of physical education is based on the idea of teaching students a variety of sports and physical activities. However, this model has been shown to be ineffective in promoting lifelong physical activity. The modern world demands a more holistic approach to health and wellness. Data was collected using the arts-based collage method in combination with written group reflections from 139 second-year undergraduate physical education students. This study employed thematic analysis methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of the data and extract a broader perspective on the students' experiences. The study aimed to empower student teachers to learn, think, and act creatively within the many educational models that impact their experience, contributing to the ongoing efforts of re-imagining physical education teacher education in South African higher education. This research is significant as the students' valuable insights reflected that they can think and work across disciplines. Sustainable development goals and graduate attributes are important concepts that can contribute to student preparation. Using a multi-model educational approach based on the cultural-historical theory, higher education institutions can help develop graduate attributes that will prepare students for success in the workplace and life.

Keywords: holistic education, graduate attributes, physical education, teacher education, student experiences, sustainable development goals

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Authors: Akhilendra Nath Tiwary

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Vindhyanchal is a very famous pilgrimage and tourism site in the west of Mirzapur city of Uttar Pradesh State in India. The city in east is a commercial center for cotton, metal ware and carpets. Among the Hindu population, it is believed that the primordial creative forces of the GOD and the power of the GODDESS make respective triangles which superimpose opposite to each other as hexagram at a point or node (Bindu (point) +Vasini (located) or Vindhyavasini, located in a point/node). Mirzapur city has served as a natural connecting point between north and south India. Before independence of India from Britain in 1947, it was a flourishing commercial center. Post-independence, the negligence of planning authorities and nexus of bureaucrats and politicians started affecting its development. In the meantime, emergence of new industrial cities as Kanpur, Agra, Moradabad, etc., nearer to the capital city of Delhi, posed serious challenges to the development of this small city as many commercial and business activities along with the skilled workforce started shifting to these new cities or to the relatively bigger neighboring cities of Varanasi in east and Allahabad in west. In the present paper, the significant causes, issues and challenges in development of Vindhyanchal is discussed with geographical perspective. An attempt has been made to find out the ways to restore the lost glory of the city as a center of pilgrimage, tourism, and commerce.

Keywords: cultural node, pilgrimage, sacred, Vindhyan triangle, ommercial centre

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Authors: Marianne Paimre

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The COVID-19 crisis has prompted older people to adopt new technologies to facilitate their daily life. This study explored the relationships between socioeconomic indicators, technology acceptance, online health information seeking (OHIS), and health behavior (HB), including readiness for COVID-19 vaccination among Estonian older adults. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 501 people aged ≥ 50 in 2020. Its findings indicate that the more recurrent the need for health information was (rho = .11, p<.05), and the more regularly one searched for it (rho = .14, p<.01), the more willing a person was to get vaccinated. Also, interest in digital applications corresponded to vaccination readiness (rho = .25, p<.001). However, this relationship did not emerge in the case of other health behaviors such as healthy diet and exercise. Differences in health information behavior (HIB) should be considered when developing effective means of health communication designed especially for crisis situations.

Keywords: older adults, technology acceptance, health information behavior, health behavior, COVID-19 pandemic

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Authors: Shiksha Thakur, Rashmi Jain

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Maternal health is the most crucial element in the primary health care delivery system of any healthy society. We aware that the maternal health situation in India has been a cause of concern for us, in spite of the rapidly progressing socio-economic environment overall. India has realized impressive gains in Mother & Child survival over the last two decades. MMR as per 2012-2013 in India is 167 as per MMR bulletin, though there are variations between states in the Country. In 2013, an estimated 2,89,000 women worldwide died from complications arising from pregnancy & childbirth. In view of the above facts, a study was conducted in Indore to analyse the maternal health status among urban slums and non-slums women.

Keywords: antenatal care, postnatal care, JSY, maternal health, child health, reproductive health

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Authors: Anushree S. Panikkassery

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The paper analyses the pattern and trend of maternal health care in south Indian states. It studies the interstate disparities in terms of maternal health care. It also compares the trends in terms of achieving the target of sustainable development Goal is related to maternal health. The maternal health care (MHC) development is one of the key indicators for the development of health sector in the country and assumes significance from the socioeconomic and developmental perspectives. Maternal health care mainly consists of composite care during pregnancy, child birth as well as postpartum period. Antenatal care, identification, referral and management of high risk pregnancies, safe and healthy child birth and early postnatal care are some of the important issues pertaining to maternal health. Data is collected from national family health survey 1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06, and 2015-16. A concentration index is used to study the disparities in equity of maternal health among south Indian states. The study shows that there has been an improvement in maternal health care in south Indian states with Kerala topping among the states. But there exist disparities among the south Indian states.

Keywords: antenatal care, disparities, equity, maternal health

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Authors: Laura Ramona Nae

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The issue of risks faced by companies providing tourist and hotel services in the HoReCa field, related to the goods belonging to consumer tourists left in hotel storage, has acquired a new dimension in the context of the economic and geo-political influences that have recently intervened at the global level. Thus, hoteliers and not only had to create contractual mechanisms regarding the risks and to protect the businesses in this field of activity. This situation has led to a reassessment of the importance of insurance, in particular with regard to hotel liability insurance-premises liability, safety, and security of goods. Interpretation of clauses in contracts concluded between hoteliers and tourists consuming hotel services and products, all the more so in the current pandemic context of Covid 19, stressed the increase in the number of disputes generated by them. This article presents a general picture of the significance of the risks related to the activity carried out in the hospitality industry, tourism, respectively within the HoReCa field. The study mainly marks the specificities of the hotel deposit contract, as well as the related insurance specific to the field, as a way to cover these risks. The article also refers to alternative methods of out-of-court settlement of disputes (ADR) in the HoReCa domain, generally used in both Romania and the European Union.

Keywords: consumer tourist, disputes and ADR methods, deposit contract, hotel warehouse and hotelier insurance, hotel services and tourist products, HoReCa

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Authors: К. Lisinchuk

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An effective approach to the management of international educational mobility in regional universities with the purpose of increasing tourist activity in the region is considered.

Keywords: export and import of tourist and educational services, international academic mobility, regional tourist activities

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Authors: Y. Yılmaz, C. Ünal, A. Dursun

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Distribution channels play significant role for hotels. Direct and indirect selling options of hotel rooms have been increased especially with the help of new technologies, i.e. hotel’s own web sites and online booking sites. Although these options emerged as tools for diversifying the distribution channels, vast number of hotels -mostly resort hotels- is still heavily dependent upon international tour operators when selling their products. On the other hand, hotel sector is so vulnerable against crises. Economic, political or any other crisis can affect hotels very badly and so it is critical to have the right balance of distribution channel to avoid the adverse impacts of a crisis. In this study, it is aimed to search the impacts of a general crisis on the selling prices of hotels which have different weights of distribution channels. The study was done in Turkey where various crises occurred in 2015 and 2016 which had great negative impacts on Turkish tourism and led enormous occupancy rate and selling price reductions. 112 upscale resort hotel in Antalya, which is the most popular tourism destination of Turkey, joined to the research. According to the results, hotels with high dependency to international tour operators are more forced to reduce their room prices in crisis time compared to the ones which use their own web sites more. It was also found that the decline in room prices is limited for hotels which are working with national tour operators and travel agencies in crisis time.

Keywords: marketing channels, crisis, hotel, international tour operators, online travel agencies

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Authors: Mohamed Elhadi M. Sharif, Mona Masood

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The usage of e-health facilities is seen to be the first priority by the Libyan government. As such, this paper focuses on how the key factors or elements of working size in terms of technological availability, structural environment, and other competence-related matters may affect nurses’ sharing of knowledge in e-health. Hence, this paper investigates learning readiness assessment to raise e-health for Libyan regional hospitals by using e-health services in nursing education.

Keywords: Libyan nurses, e-learning readiness, e-health, nursing education

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Authors: Richard Ssempala, Francis Kintu, Christine K. Tashobya

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Funding for health remains a key constraint facing many developing countries, Uganda inclusive. Uganda’s health sector budget to the national budgetary allocation has stagnated between 8.2% to 10% over the years. Using data collected from different government documents, we sought to establish the implications of the budget allocation over the period (FY2010/11-2018/19) on health services delivery in Uganda to inform policymakers specifically Members of Parliament who are critical in making sectorial allocation on the steps they can adapt to change the terrain of health financing in Uganda. Findings revealed that the contribution of public funding to the health sector is low (15.7%) with private sources (42.6%) and donors contributing much more, with the bulk of private funds, are out of pocket. The study further revealed that low budget allocation had been manifested in inadequate and poorly motivated health workers, essential drug stock-outs that ultimately contribute to poor access to services, catastrophic health expenditures, and high morbidity rates. We recommend for a substantial and sustained increase in the government health budget, optimizing the available resources by addressing wastages, prioritizing health promotion, prevention and finally, institutionalizing the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Keywords: budget allocations, universal health coverage, health service delivery, Uganda

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Authors: M. Žibert, T. Špindler, S. Uhan, A. Lisec

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We can find Slovenia in the heart of Europe and has really good geographical location. With same slogan are promoted Switzerland, Montenegro, Greece and probably many others. However, from anatomic point of view, injustice is being made to someone because the heart is placed only in left part of chest cavity and there we can`t find place for the entire territory from Switzerland to the south of Balkan.

Keywords: Ljubljana, logistics, Slovenia, tourism

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Authors: Yamam Abuzinadah

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Mental health literacy has become a very influential topic around the world due to the increase of mental health issues that have been reported through national research and surveys. Mental health literacy refers to the awareness, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and skills when dealing with mental illness. This research explores mental health literacy in the Arabic and the ways culture informs perceptions of mental health in general. Also, the impact of mental health literacy on: help-seeking attitudes, relationships and community interactions. The outcomes of this research will contribute to raising mental health awareness among the Arabic community, develop and enhance mental health service provision and explore new ideas in regards to elevating mental health literacy in the Arabic community. This research aims to explore attitudes, beliefs, perspective, values and perceptions toward mental health in general among the Arabic community. It will also aim to highlight the factors contributing to theses beliefs, perspective, value and perception and accordingly the role these factors play in regards to awareness, services access, recovery and care provided from the family and the community. This thesis will aim to reflect a detailed theorisation and exploration of: (1) The impact of cultural factors on mental health literacy ie. attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and skills. (2) The ways culture informs perceptions of mental health literacy. (3) The impact of mental health literacy on: help-seeking behaviors, and relationships and community interactions.

Keywords: Arab, mental health, literacy, awareness

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Authors: Sanusi Abubakar Sadiq, Rebecca William Chiwar

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Wildlife Park stands a chance of contributing to tourism development in different ways, but available infrastructure, and facilities required by visitors when they arrive, access road to the destination, and resources to facilitate positive experience are lacking in certain areas. The study set out to find out the need to develop Sumu Wildlife Park Bauchi State, to an international standard. The study focused on identifying the existing facilities and infrastructure at the park and to further identify the available resources used by visitors. In attempt to find out the impact of developing Sumu Wildlife Park and ways of filling the gap of the actual standard data were obtained from fifteen administrative staff of Sumu Wildlife Park, ten staff of Bauchi state Tourism Board and twenty-five residents of the community in Kafin Madaki, Bauchi. Relevant literature were reviewed in the study; data collected were organized and analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS), software for analysis. Findings revealed that though Sumu Wildlife Park has attractions to keep visitors patronage but has insufficient facilities to maintain visitors and has not been developed to an expected standard. The problem faced by the management of Sumu wildlife Park is lack of adequate facilities, infrastructure and resources. The need to develop Sumu Wildlife Park has enormous benefits in increasing patronage. Provision of more funds would help improve standard as there would be more activities within and around the park. Regular maintenance of those facilities protects the life span of the park.

Keywords: attractions, facilities, infrastructure, resources

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Authors: Esha Thakkar, Ina Liu, Kalynn Hosea, Shana Katz, Katie Marks, Sarah Hall, Cat Liu, Suzanne Harris

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Purpose: Inequities in mental healthcare accessibility are cited as an international public health concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). These disparities are further exacerbated in racial and ethnic minority groups and are especially concerning in health professional training settings such as Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs and postgraduate residency training where mental illness rates are high. The purpose of the study was to determine baseline access to culturally sensitive mental healthcare and how to improve such access and communication for racially and ethnically minoritized pharmacy students and residents at one school of pharmacy and a partnering academic medical center in the United States. Methods: This IRB-exempt study included 60-minute focus groups conducted in person or online from November 2021 to February 2022. Eligible participants included PharmD students in their first (P1), second (P2), third (P3), or fourth year (P4) or pharmacy residents completing a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) or PGY2 who identify as Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color (BIPOC). There were four core theme questions asked during the focus groups to lead the discussion, specifically on the core themes of personal barriers, identities, areas that are working well, and areas for improvement. Participant responses were transcribed and analyzed using an open coding system with two individual reviews, followed by collaborative and intentional discussion and, as needed, an external audit of the coding by a third research team member to reach a consensus on themes. Results: This study enrolled 26 participants, with eight P1, five P2, seven P3, two P4, and four resident participants. Within the four core themes of barriers, identities, areas working well, and areas for improvement, emerging subthemes included: lack of time, access to resources, and stigma under barriers; lack of representation, cultural and family stigma, and gender identities for identity barriers; supportive faculty, sense of community and culture supporting paid time off for areas going well; and wellness days, reduced workload and diversity of the workforce in areas of improvement. Subthemes sometimes varied within a core theme depending on the participant year. Conclusions: There is a gap in the literature in addressing barriers and disparities in mental health access for pharmacy trainees who identify as BIPOC. We identified key findings in regards to barriers, identities, areas going well and areas for improvement that can inform the School and the Residency Program in two priority initiatives of well-being and diversity equity and inclusion in creating actionable recommendations for trainees, program directors, and employers of our institutions, and also has the potential to provide insight for other organizations about the structures influencing access to culturally sensitive care in BIPOC trainees. These findings can inform organizations on how to continue building on communication with those who identify as BIPOC and improve access to care.

Keywords: mental health, disparities, minorities, wellbeing, identity, communication, barriers

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Authors: Lapatrada Numkham, Saowaluk Khakhong, Jeeraporn Kummabutr

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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death in worldwide. Thailand also concerns and focuses on reduction a new case of these diseases. Community Health Volunteers (CHV) is important health personnel in primary health care and performs as a health leader in the community. If the health of CHV changes, it would impact on the performance to promote health of families and community. This cross-sectional study aimed to 1) describe the health status of community health volunteers and 2) examine the factors associated with health status among community health volunteers. The sample included 360 community health volunteers in a province in central Thailand during September-December 2014. Data were collected using questionnaires on health information, knowledge of health behaviors, and health behaviors. Body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), and blood glucose (BS) (fingertip) were assessed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. There were three hundred and sixty participants with 82.5% being women. The mean age was 54 + 8.9 years. Forty-seven percent of the participants had co-morbidities. Hypertension was the most common co-morbidity (26.7%). The results revealed that the health status of the volunteers included: no underlying disease, having risk of hypertension (HT) & diabetes mellitus (DM), and having HT&DM at 38.3%, 30.0%, and 31.7% respectively. The chi-square test revealed that the factors associated with health status among the volunteers were gender, age, WC and body mass index (BMI). The results suggested that community health nurses should; 1) implement interventions to decrease waist circumference and lose weight through education programs, especially females; 2) monitor people that have a risk of HT&DM and that have HT&DM by meeting and recording BP level, BS level, WC and BMI; and 3) collaborate with a district public health officer to initiate a campaign to raise awareness of the risks of chronic diseases among community health volunteers.

Keywords: community health volunteers, health status, risk of non-communicable disease, Thailand

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Authors: Nuray Gökçek Karaca

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This study aims to examine the application of occupational health and safety supervision in Turkey and EU countries in terms of legal regulations. The results of research reveal that occupational health and safety supervision in EU countries, whatever the understanding of welfare state, is effectively carried out and almost all legal regulations on this subject are consistent with the EU directives. On the other hand, there are serious problems in applications, not legal regulations, of occupational health and safety supervision in Turkey by the side of EU countries. Indeed, Turkey has modern regulations on occupational health and safety supervision whereas there are several problems such as ignoring prevention policy on occupational health and safety supervision, understanding of monotype inspector, problems resulting from this understanding and dispersed structure of occupational health and safety organizations in workplaces. As a result, Turkey needs to carry out effective supervision mechanisms.

Keywords: legal rules, occupational health and safety, inspection, supervision, legislation

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Authors: Raeda F. Abualrub, Amani Abdulnabi

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Aim: The aims of this study were to (a) examine the levels of nurses' political efficacy and involvement in health policy; and (b) explore the relationships between political efficacy, involvement in health policy, and participants’ background variables. Background: Nurses as citizens and health care providers have the right to express their opinions and beliefs in regard to issues that are concerned with the health care system or the public health domain. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional design using was utilized. A self-administered questionnaire (Political Efficacy Scale & Involvement in Health Policy Scale) was completed by a convenience sample of 302 nurses. Results: The results of this study showed low levels of involvement in health policy and political efficacy and a positive weak correlation between political efficacy and involvement in health policy. The perceived level of political efficacy was associated positively with nurses’ age and experience. Conclusions: Nurse administrators and managers may empower, support, and encourage nurses to enhance their involvement in health policy. Implications for Nursing Management: The findings have implications for nursing leaders and administrators to design appropriate strategies to enhance nurses’ involvement in health policy development.

Keywords: health policy, Jordan, nurses, political efficacy

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Authors: Lee Jin-Eui, Kim Jin-OK, Han Seung-Hoon, Kim Nam-Jo

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Recently, there has been a growing interest in wellbeing where individuals pursue a healthy life. About the half of world population is living in cities, and the urban environment is negatively affecting the mental health of modern people. The stress level of urban dwellers continues to increase, and they pursue nature-based recreation activities to relieve their stresses. It was found that activities in green spaces are improving concentration, relieving mental stress, and positively affecting physical activities and social relationship, thus enhancing the quality of life. For that reason, studies have been continuously conducted on the role of nature, which is a green space for pursuing health and relieving the stress of urban dwellers. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of experiencing a restoration from nature-based outdoor recreation activities of urban dwellers on their quality of life for the groups with high and low-stress levels. The results of the analysis against visitors who trekked and climbed Mt. Bukhan National Park in Seoul, South Korea showed that the effect of perceiving restorative environment on relaxation, calmness and subjective vitality, and the effect of relaxation and calmness on the quality of life were similar in both groups. However, it was found that subjective vitality affected the quality of life in the group with the high-stress group, while it did not show a significant result in the low-stress group. This is because the high-stress group increased their belief in the future and themselves and vitality through nature-based outdoor activities, which in turn affected their quality of life, while people in the low-stress group normally have subjective vitality in their daily lives, not affected by nature-based outdoor recreation. This result suggests that urban dwellers feel relaxed and calm through nature-based outdoor recreation activities with perceived restorative environment, and such activities enhance their quality of life. Therefore, a wellbeing policy is needed to enhance the quality of life of citizens by creating green spaces in city centers for the promotion of public health.

Keywords: healing tourism, nature-based outdoor recreation, perceived restorative environment, quality of life

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Authors: Cory B. Portner, Julie A. Grauert, Lisa M. Stromme, Shelby D. Anderson, Franji H. Mayes

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Introduction: WASHINGTON state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States is internationally known for its technology industry, fisheries, agriculture, and vistas. On January 21, 2020, Washington state also became known as the first state with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the United States, thrusting the state into the international spotlight as the world came to grips with the global threat of this disease presented. Tourism is Washington state’s fourth-largest industry. Tourism to the state generates over 1.8 billion dollars (USD) in local and state tax revenue and employs over 180,000 people. Communicating with residents, stakeholders, and visitors on the status of disease activity, prevention measures, and response updates was vital to stopping the pandemic and increasing compliance and awareness. Significance: In order to communicate vital public health updates, guidance implementation, and safety measures to the public, the Washington State Department of Health established routine live virtual media briefings to reach audiences via social media, internet television, and broadcast television. Through close partnership with regional broadcast news stations and the state public affairs news network, the Washington State Department of Health hosted 95 media briefings from January 2020 through September 2022 and continues to regularly host live virtual media briefings to accommodate the needs of the public and media. Methods: Our methods quickly evolved from hosting briefings in the cement closet of a military base to being able to produce and stream the briefings live from any home-office location. The content was tailored to the hot topic of the day and to the reporter's questions and needs. Virtual media briefings hosted through inexpensive or free platforms online are extremely cost-effective: the only mandatory components are WiFi, a laptop, and a monitor. There is no longer a need for a fancy studio or expensive production software to achieve the goal of communicating credible, reliable information promptly. With minimal investment and a small learning curve, facilitators and panelists are able to host highly produced and engaging media availabilities from their living rooms. Results: The briefings quickly developed a reputation as the best source for local and national journalists to get the latest and most factually accurate information about the pandemic. In the height of the COVID-19 response, 135 unique media outlets logged on to participate in the briefing. The briefings typically featured 4-5 panelists, with as many as 9 experts in attendance to provide information and respond to media questions. Preparation was always a priority: Public Affairs staff for the Washington State Department of Health produced over 170 presenter remarks, including guidance on talking points for 63 expert guest panelists. Implication For Practice: Information is today’s most valuable currency. The ability to disseminate correct information urgently and on a wide scale is the most effective tool in crisis communication. Due to our role as the first state with a confirmed COVID-19 case, we were forced to develop the most accurate and effective way to get life-saving information to the public. The cost-effective, web-based methods we developed can be applied in any crisis to educate and protect communities under threat, ultimately saving lives from a laptop.

Keywords: crisis communications, public relations, media management, news media

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Authors: Dalvin D. Hill, Hector M. Castro Garcia

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A growing number of individuals utilize wearable devices on a daily basis. The usage and functionality of these wearable devices vary from user to user. One popular usage of said devices is to track health-related activities that are typically stored on a device’s memory or uploaded to an account in the cloud; based on the current trend, the data accumulated from the wearable device are stored in a standalone location. In many of these cases, this health related datum is not a factor when considering the holistic view of a user’s health lifestyle or record. This health-related data generated from wearable and Internet of Things (IoT) devices can serve as empirical information to a medical provider, as the standalone data can add value to the holistic health record of a patient. This paper proposes a solution to incorporate the data gathered from these wearable and IoT devices, with that a patient’s Personal Health Record (PHR) stored within the confines of a Health Information Exchange (HIE).

Keywords: electronic health record, health information exchanges, internet of things, personal health records, wearable devices, wearables

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Authors: Josephine Mutwale-Ziko, Nonde Lushinga, Inonge Akakandelwa

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The study discusses the effectiveness of health and safety induction practices on construction sites against the background of the Zambian construction industry experience. The research design included the literature review of relevant literature. Questionnaires and interviews were administered to regulatory bodies, health, and safety personnel. Observation was also employed on construction sites to assess the health and safety practices being used. Health and safety in the construction industry are not something to be ignored or overlooked. The construction industry needs to take heed of the serious consequences of inadequate health and safety induction practices. The implications of inadequate health and safety induction procedures included among others threats to profitability, corporate social responsibility and increased turnover of the workforce leading to poor productivity. Adequate health and safety practices can improve the health and wellbeing of employees, reduce financial implications on firms and encourage productivity on construction sites. Despite this, accidents are still prevalent on construction sites in Zambia. The overall result of this research denotes that the implementation of health and safety induction practices is inadequate, as indicated by the negligent and non-adherent attitude to health and safety induction aspects on the sites by most stakeholders on construction sites. Therefore, health and safety induction practices are ineffective as preventive measures for reduction of accidents on construction sites in Zambia.

Keywords: accidents, health and safety, inadequate, induction

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Authors: Naniek Widayati Priyomarsono

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Introduction: In beginning of Karaton formation, namely, era of Javanese kingdom town had the power region outside castle town (called as Mancanegara), settlement of karaton can function as “the space-between” and “space-defense”, besides it was one of components from governmental structure and karaton power at that time (internal servant/abdi dalem and sentana dalem). Upon the Independence of Indonesia in 1945 “Kingdom-City” converted its political status into part of democratic town managed by statutes based on the classification. The latter affects local culture hierarchy alteration due to the physical development and events. Dynamics of social economy activities in Kampung Karaton surrounded by buildings of Complex of Karaton Kasunanan ini, have impact on the urban system disturbed into the región. Also cultural region image fades away with the weak visual access from existant cultural artefacts. That development lacks of giving appreciation to the established region image providing identity of Karaton Kasunanan particularly and identity of Surakarta city in general. Method used is strategy of grounded theory research (research providing strong base of a theory). Research is focused on actors active and passive relevantly getting involved in change process of Karaton settlement. Data accumulated is “Investigation Focus” oriented on actors affecting that change either internal or external. Investigation results are coupled with field observation data, documentation, literature study, thus it takes accurate findings. Findings: Karaton village has potential products as attraction, possessing human resource support, strong motivation from society still living in that settlement, possessing facilities and means supports, tourism event-supporting facilities, cultural art institution, available fields or development area. Data analyzed: To get the expected result it takes restoration in social cultural development direction, and economy, with ways of: Doing social cultural development strategy, economy, and politics. To-do steps are program socialization of Karaton village as Tourism Village, economical development of local society, regeneration pattern, filtering, and selection of tourism development, integrated planning system development, development with persuasive approach, regulation, market mechanism, social cultural event sector development, political development for region activity sector. Summary: In case the restoration is done by getting society involved as subject of that settlement (active participation in the field), managed and packed interestingly and naturally with tourism-supporting facilities development, village of Karaton Kasunanan Surakarta is ready to receive visit of domestic and foreign tourists.

Keywords: karaton village, finding, restoration, economy, Indonesia

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Authors: Lisa C. Wan

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To address customers’ safety concerns, more and more hospitality companies are using service robots to provide contactless services. For many companies, the switch from human employees to service robots to lower the contagion risk during and after the pandemic may be permanent. The market size for hospitality service robots is estimated to reach US$3,083 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 25.5% from 2021 to 2030. While service robots may effectively reduce interpersonal contacts and health risk, it also eliminates the social interactions desired by customers. A recent survey revealed that more than 60% of Americans feel lonely during the pandemic. People who are traveling can also feel isolated when they are at a hotel far away from home. It is therefore important for the hospitality companies to understand whether and how social robots can remedy deprived social connection not only due to a pandemic but also for a trip away from home in the post-pandemic future. This study complements extant hospitality literature regarding service robots by examining how service robots can forge social connections with customers. The service robots we are concerned with are those that can interact and communicate with humans; we broadly refer to them as social robots. We define a social robot as one that is equipped with interaction capabilities – it can either be one that directly interacts with the consumer or one through which the consumer can interact with other humans. Drawing on the theories of mind perception, we propose that service robots can foster social connectedness and increase the perception of social competence of the robot, but these effects will vary across cultures. By applying theories of mind perception and cultural dimension to the hospitality setting, this study shows that service robots that are equipped with social connection function will receive a more favorable evaluation from the consumers and enhance their intention to visit a hotel. The more favorable reaction to social robots is stronger for collectivists (i.e., Asians) than individualists (i.e., Westerners). To our knowledge, this is among the first studies to investigate the impact of culture on consumer reactions to social robots in the hospitality and tourism context. Moreover, this research extends the literature by examining whether people imbue non-human entities (i.e., telepresence social robots) with social competence. Because social robots that foster social connection with humans are still rare in hospitality and tourism, this aspect is an underexplored research area. Our study is the first to propose that, just like their human counterparts that possess relevant social skills, social robots’ interaction capabilities (e.g., telepresence robots) are used to infer social competence. More studies will be conducted to examine consumer reactions to humanoid (vs. non-humanoid) robot in the hospitality settings to generalize our research findings.

Keywords: service robots, COVID-19, social connection, cultures

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Authors: Mira Tripathi, Ken Hughey, Hamish G. Rennie

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Management of water resources is a major challenge throughout the world and in many long-established societies people still use traditional water harvesting and management techniques. Despite often being seen as efficient and cost effective, traditional methods are in decline or have been abandoned in many countries. Nevertheless, traditional approaches continue to be useful in some countries such as Nepal. The extent to which such traditional measures, in this case via stone spouts, may survive modernization, while fulfilling socio-cultural, tourism, and other needs is the focus of the research. The research develops an understanding of the socio-cultural, tourism and other values of stone spouts for the people of urban and peri-urban heritage and non-heritage areas of the Kathmandu Valley to help ongoing sustainable management of remaining spouts. Three research questions are addressed: the impacts of changes in social and cultural norms and values; development activities; and, the incremental and ongoing loss of traditional stone spout infrastructure. A meta-theory framework has been developed which synthesizes Institutional, Attachment, Central Place and Common Property theories, which form analytical lenses for the mixed-method research approach. From the exploration of the meta-theory approach, it was found that no spouts are in pristine condition but those in non-heritage areas are in better condition than those in heritage areas. “Utility value” is the main driver that still motivates people to conserve spouts.

Keywords: stone spouts, social and cultural norms and values, meta-theory, Kathmandu Valley

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Authors: Bengi Demirci

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Out-of-pocket payments have become one of the common models adopted by health care reforms all over the world, and they have serious implications for not only the financial set-up of the health care systems in question but also for the people involved in terms of their access to the health care services provided. On the one hand, out-of-pocket payments are used in raising resources for the finance of the health care system and in decreasing non-essential health care expenses by having a deterrent role on the patients. On the other hand, out-of-pocket payment model causes regressive distribution effect by putting more burdens on the lower income groups and making them refrain from using health care services. Being a relatively incipient country having adopted the out-of-pocket payment model within the context of its Health Transformation Program which has been ongoing since the early 2000s, Turkey provides a good case for re-evaluating the pros and cons of this model in order not to sacrifice equality in access to health care for raising revenue for health care finance and vice versa. Therefore this study aims at analyzing the impact of out-of-pocket payments on the health finance system itself and on the patients’ access to healthcare services in Turkey where out-of-pocket payment model has been in use for a while. In so doing, data showing the revenue obtained from out-of-pocket payments and their share in health care finance are analyzed. In addition to this, data showing the change in the amount of expenditure made by patients on health care services after the adoption of out-of-pocket payments and the change in the use of various health care services in the meanwhile are examined. It is important for the incipient countries like Turkey to be careful in striking the right balance between the objective of cost efficiency and that of equality in accessing health care services while adopting the out-of-pocket payment model.

Keywords: health care access, health care finance, health reform, out-of-pocket payments

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Authors: Mohd Zuhair, Ram Babu Roy

Abstract:

This paper presents an overview of the accessibility, design, and functioning of health insurance plans launched by state governments in India. In recent years, the governments of several states in India have come forward to provide health insurance coverage for the low-income group and rural population to reduce the out of pocket expenditure (OPE) on healthcare. Different health insurance schemes have different structures and offerings which differ in the different demographic factors. This study will portray a comparative analysis of the various health insurance schemes by analyzing different offerings and finance generation of the schemes. The comparative analysis will explain the lesson to be learned from these schemes and extend the existing knowledge of the health insurance in India. This would help in recognizing tension between various drivers and identifying issues pertaining to the sustainability of health insurance schemes in India.

Keywords: health insurance, out of pocket expenditure, universal healthcare, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 238