PURPOSE: Successful application experiences on public-private partnership (PPP) in different countries, suggest that PPP could be an option in road traffic injury (RTI) prevention. The present study aims at investigating the applicability of PPP policy in RTI prevention in Iran based on the experts' perspectives. METHODS: This is a qualitative study with grounded theory approach which has been conducted in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran in 2018. The participants were 22 experts in the field of RTIs selected using purposive sampling method. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews and analyzed with content-analysis method. RESULTS: The results were classified under 5 main themes (applicability, scopes and services, challenges, advantages, and strategies) for applying PPP policy and 37 sub-themes. Due to the prevalence of RTIs, the present challenges in public sector, existence of qualified private sector, and successful experiences in other areas, there are opportunities for private sector partnership in prevention of RTIs. Private sector could participate in different scopes and services regarding RTI prevention, including road construction and maintenance, maintenance and provision of vehicles safety and public education. The main challenges including legislation issues, ambiguities in collaboration, political and organizational unsustainability, government's financial hardship and lack of experienced experts in the field of RTI. However, there are significant advantages including high efficiency in program implementation, covering the weaknesses of public sector, effective and efficient management on application of PPP in RTI prevention. The strategies include identifying and prioritizing the assignable activities, identifying the qualified private sector, developing PPP policies and legal frameworks, creating a common language between public and private parties, trying to meet the expectations of the private sector by public sector, developing a comprehensive and sound contract, and cultivating public culture to accept private sector in the field of RTI prevention. CONCLUSION This study sought to determine whether PPP could be used as strategy to reduce the burden of RTIs in Iran. But it requires a lot of preliminary studies to provide the context and conditions for applying this policy.
Accidental Injuries ; prevention & control ; Accidents, Traffic ; prevention & control ; Adult ; Expert Testimony ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Public-Private Sector Partnerships ; organization & administration ; Qualitative Research

The first hospice care center in Korea dates back to the East West Infirmaries (Dongseodaebiwon in the Korean language) of the Goryeo period in the early 11th century. It has been 50 years since hospice care was introduced in Korea. Initially hospice care was provided in the private sector, including those with a religious background, and its development was slow. In the 1990s, related religious organizations and academic associations were established, and then, a full-swing growth phase was ushered in as the Korean government institutionalized hospice care in the early 2000s. As a result, enhanced quality of hospice care service could be provided, which meant better pain management and higher quality of life for late stage cancer patients and their families. Still, the nation lacked a realistic reimbursement system which was needed to for financial stability of the affected patients. However, the national health insurance scheme began to cover hospice palliative expenses in 2015. In 2016, the Act on Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment for Patients in Hospice and Palliative Care or at the End of Life was legislated, allowing terminally-ill patients to refuse meaningless life-sustaining treatments. As the range of diseases subject to hospice palliative care was expanded, more challenges and issues need to be addressed by the service providers.
Hospice Care ; Hospices ; Humans ; Korea ; National Health Programs ; Pain Management ; Palliative Care ; Private Sector ; Quality of Life

OBJECTIVE: This study reviewed the current health research and development environment in the Philippines with respect to the engagement between the public and private sectors. The overall objective was to identify the role of the private sector in health research and identify barriers and opportunities for successful public-private health research partnerships.

METHODS:  Key informant interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview tool. Secondary data such as annual reports and project funding documents from the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development were also analyzed.

RESULTS: The roles of the private sector when engaging with the public sector for research and development were identified as generators, funders, and adopters of research. Information gathered showed that there were several institutional and practice barriers to the successful collaboration of the public and private sectors, however there were also lessons learned from the successes of cases such as the Axis-Knee System, Sambong, and Lagundi technologies.

CONCLUSION: The collaboration and partnership of the public and private sectors can be mutually beneficial. Government initiative to increase the ease of collaboration with the private sector in health research was found to be a necessary step to stimulate a productive health research environment.

Private Sector ; Public-Private Sector Partnerships

Rapid and correct diagnosis is essential for national tuberculosis (TB) control. A greater national concern for quality control (QC) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) testing is required to improve the proficiency of domestic clinical laboratories using diverse testing protocols in private and public sectors. External quality assessment (EQA) is an important program accompanying internal QC in clinical TB laboratories. In Korea, the EQA program initiated in 2005 by the Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service (KEQAS) has made remarkable progress in the harmonization of private and public sectors with governmental support since 2011. An integrative TB EQA program led by the KEQAS with financial support from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides optimized EQA materials for both public and private sectors. In 2017, the KEQAS implemented ‘The Next-Generation Proficiency Testing Program’ equipped with a centralized control system of QC material production and electronic data management, which increased the scale of operating programs from 46 to 54 and recruited 1,700 participants. The TB program was also expanded to provide three times EQA for private laboratories from 2 times a year. For TB EQA programs implemented via the Clinical Microbiology Subcommittee of the KEQAS, survey materials were distributed by sectional orders for tests such as acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smears, AFB culturing and identification, antituberculous drug susceptibility screening, AFB molecular diagnosis, and rapid detection of rifampin and isoniazid resistance. All survey materials were produced by sophisticated manufacturing processes and thoroughly analyzed by various commercial kits, targeted DNA sequencing, and whole-genome sequencing in pre- and post-manufacturing phases for advancement in the EQA program.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Diagnosis ; Financial Support ; Isoniazid ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Private Sector ; Public Sector ; Quality Control ; Rifampin ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Tuberculosis

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify factors influencing depressive symptoms in public and private sector employees.METHODS: Survey data on 23,602 workers who had worked in the public or private sector were obtained from the 2014 Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS). Symptoms of depression were measured using the WHO-5 Well-being Index. Data were analyzed using a χ² test, t-test, and multivariate stepwise logistic regression to determine the factors affecting the symptoms of depression.RESULTS: First, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 41.1 % in public sector employees and 43.4 % in private sector employees. Second, the factors commonly affecting depressive symptoms in public and private sector employees were residence area, cognitive demands, development opportunities, social support from colleagues, social support from supervisors, social community at work, job rewards, and work-family conflict. In addition, age, company size, atypical work, ergonomic risks, quantitative demands, emotional demands, influence, and job insecurity were found to be predictors of depressive symptoms unique to private sector employees.CONCLUSION: Mental health programs including the employee assistance program (EAP) should be developed and implemented after considering the risk factors affecting depressive symptoms.
Depression ; Logistic Models ; Mental Health ; Prevalence ; Private Sector ; Public Sector ; Reward ; Risk Factors

The Korean society is rapidly aging and the health care needs for aged people are increasing. In this context, some physicians claim to establish new medical specialty board (MSB) for geriatric medical experts but also MSB for primary medical care specialists, clinical pharmacologists, and public health experts. In Korea, basic concept for the specialty board system is still under debates and the legal support for the system is poor. At present, doctors with MSBs in private sectors supply 92.4% of primary medical care but the National Health Care System requires more primary care physicians than specialists in Korea. Therefore, the government must invest in the education of doctors more to improve the public health care system. The proposal of the new MSB for geriatric medicine must be gradually developed according to the national long-term health plan, social needs, and national budget for the public benefit. Please stop discussing unprepared new MSBs.
Aging ; Budgets ; Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Physicians, Primary Care ; Private Sector ; Public Health ; Specialization ; Specialty Boards*

OBJECTIVES: The Korean Food Composition Table (KFCT) was first published in 1970, and has since been updated every five years by the Rural Development Administration (RDA). This study was conducted to introduce the development strategies, features, and challenges of the 9th revision of the KFCT. METHODS: Due to the increasing demands of nutrient database users and generators, the RDA started a new research project in 2013 to improve the quantity and quality of data for the 9th revision of the KFCT. Over 1,000 food items frequently consumed in Korea were selected as key foods using the results of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. About 200 raw materials and processed food items were collected and analyzed every year. Target nutrients that were analyzed by collaborative labs, such as, sugars, selenium, iodine, and biotin, were increased from 22 to 43. Analytical sample handling procedures and data quality evaluation systems were also established in collaboration with 10 contracted labs. Data were evaluated for data quality according to the FAO/INFOODS, CODEX, and AOAC guidelines. RESULTS: The 9th revision contains data on 3,000 food items and up to 43 and 140 food nutrients for the printed table and the excel database file, respectively. Overall, 1,485 data items were newly added, 973 of which were provided by the RDA and 512 were cited from foreign nutrient databases. The remaining 1,515 food items were maintained as in the 8th revision. CONCLUSIONS: The KFCT provides the basic infrastructure for food and nutrition policy, research, and dietary practice in South Korea. The use of the KFCT has increased exponentially in the past few years in both public and private sectors; accordingly, increased efforts should be paid to the preparation, improvement, and maintenance of KFCT.
Biotin ; Carbohydrates ; Cooperative Behavior ; Data Accuracy ; Iodine ; Korea ; Nutrition Policy ; Nutrition Surveys ; Private Sector ; Selenium ; Social Planning

OBJECTIVES: The Korean Food Composition Table (KFCT) was first published in 1970, and has since been updated every five years by the Rural Development Administration (RDA). This study was conducted to introduce the development strategies, features, and challenges of the 9th revision of the KFCT. METHODS: Due to the increasing demands of nutrient database users and generators, the RDA started a new research project in 2013 to improve the quantity and quality of data for the 9th revision of the KFCT. Over 1,000 food items frequently consumed in Korea were selected as key foods using the results of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. About 200 raw materials and processed food items were collected and analyzed every year. Target nutrients that were analyzed by collaborative labs, such as, sugars, selenium, iodine, and biotin, were increased from 22 to 43. Analytical sample handling procedures and data quality evaluation systems were also established in collaboration with 10 contracted labs. Data were evaluated for data quality according to the FAO/INFOODS, CODEX, and AOAC guidelines. RESULTS: The 9th revision contains data on 3,000 food items and up to 43 and 140 food nutrients for the printed table and the excel database file, respectively. Overall, 1,485 data items were newly added, 973 of which were provided by the RDA and 512 were cited from foreign nutrient databases. The remaining 1,515 food items were maintained as in the 8th revision. CONCLUSIONS: The KFCT provides the basic infrastructure for food and nutrition policy, research, and dietary practice in South Korea. The use of the KFCT has increased exponentially in the past few years in both public and private sectors; accordingly, increased efforts should be paid to the preparation, improvement, and maintenance of KFCT.
Biotin ; Carbohydrates ; Cooperative Behavior ; Data Accuracy ; Iodine ; Korea ; Nutrition Policy ; Nutrition Surveys ; Private Sector ; Selenium ; Social Planning

The Korean influenza national immunization program was first established as an interim program in 1997, administering the influenza vaccine to low-income elderly adults. In 2005, the program assumed its present form of providing free influenza vaccination to adults aged ≥65 years. After turning over the influenza vaccination for elderly adults to the private sectors in 2015, the influenza vaccination coverage rate among this population increased to >80%. In addition, after the 2009 H1N1 influenza epidemic crisis, the vaccine was domestically produced. By reaching a 75% vaccination coverage rate in the target groups, it was possible to put an end to the influenza pandemic and fix the shortcomings of the system that existed at that time. The influenza vaccination program, provided free of cost, was extended to include infants aged < 12 months in 2016 and ≤59 months in 2017 in order to reduce the influenza burden in these populations. However, the vaccine effectiveness remains low despite the high vaccination rates in elderly adults. Therefore, several areas, such as the adoption of quadrivalent influenza vaccine, adjuvanted influenza vaccine, and high-dose influenza vaccine and the expansion of vaccination target groups, still need to be addressed.
Adult ; Aged ; Humans ; Immunization Programs* ; Immunization* ; Infant ; Influenza Vaccines ; Influenza, Human* ; Korea ; Pandemics ; Private Sector ; Vaccination

Traditionally, programs related to maternal health are regarded as purely a woman's domain. Nevertheless, the role of the male as the decision maker in the household gave way to the recognition of the male's role in maternal and reproductive health. This paper aimed to provide a review on male involvement strategies and their impact on maternal health based on related studies, discuss the strategies in the Philippine context and suggest interventions given the current state of the Philippine health care system. These strategies utilize the decision-making role of the male by positing itself on the reproductive, sexual and maternal health aspects encompassing important factors, such as birth spacing, first pregnancy, family planning, utilization of skilled birth attendants (SBAs), and delivery in health facilities, antenatal and postpartum care and nutrition. However, negative repercussions include stigmatization of single mothers and reinforcement of the notion of a man's control over a woman's body. Given the current state of the Philippine health care system, the suggested interventions try to veer away from it as much as possible. These include integration of the male involvement strategy into the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), coursing it through a public-private partnership (PPP) and non-government organizations (NGOs), involvement of educational institutions, strengthening of the health service delivery at the grassroots level, reinforcement of existing laws, and research on its institutionalization. With carefully-planned strategies that recognize existing gender norms and other sociocultural factors, male involvement in maternal health could be a possible catalyst in decreasing the Philippine maternal mortality rate (MMR).

 

Human ; Male ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Maternal Mortality ; Reproductive Health ; Birth Intervals ; Family Planning Services ; Public-private Sector Partnerships ; Stereotyping ; Maternal Health ; Mothers ; Postnatal Care ; Parturition ; Family Characteristics ; Gender Identity ; Delivery, Obstetric ; Decision Making ; Institutionalization ; Health Facilities