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

OBJECTIVES: Public service motivation refers to the idea of commitment to the public service, pursuit of the public interest, and the desire to perform work that is worthwhile to society. This study investigates how challenge stress and hindrance stress influence job performance among healthcare workers in Chinese public hospitals. It has also examined the mediating effect of public service motivation. METHODS: Data of 1594 healthcare workers were obtained from typical public hospitals in eastern, central, and western China. To test our hypotheses, we used descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and subgroup analysis to investigate the sample. RESULTS: Challenge stress and hindrance stress were strongly correlated among healthcare workers in Chinese public hospitals (β = 0.59; p < 0.001). Challenge stress was significantly positively associated with public service motivation (β = 0.14; p < 0.001) and job performance (β = 0.13; p < 0.001). Hindrance stress was significantly negatively associated with public service motivation (β = - 0.27; p < 0.001) and job performance (β = - 0.08; p < 0.05). Public service motivation was directly positively associated with job performance (β = 0.58; p < 0.001), and it indirectly mediated the association between job stress and job performance. CONCLUSIONS This study provides important empirical evidence on the effects of job stress and public service motivation on job performance among healthcare workers in Chinese public hospitals. Job performance may be raised by limiting hindrance stress, which provides moderate challenge stress and increases public service motivation.
Adult ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Health Personnel ; psychology ; Hospitals, Public ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Motivation ; Occupational Stress ; psychology ; Public Sector ; Regression Analysis ; Self Report ; Work Performance ; Workplace ; psychology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: Conventional radiological processes have been replaced by digital images and information technology systems within South Africa and other developing countries. Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) technology offers many benefits to institutions, medical personnel and patients; however, the implementation of such systems can be a challenging task. It has been documented that South Africa has been using PACS for more than a decade in public hospitals with moderate success. The aim of this study was to identify and describe the PACS challenges endured by PACS vendors during implementation in the South African public healthcare sector. METHODS: This was achieved by engaging in a methodological approach that was qualitative in nature collecting data through semi structured interviews from 10 PACS experts/participants which were later analysed qualitatively. RESULTS: The findings show that PACS vendors have countless challenges, some of which include space, insufficient infrastructure, image storage capacity, system maturity and vendor related concerns. It was clear that the PACS experts readily offered contextually appropriate descriptions of their encounters during PACS implementations in South African public healthcare institutions. CONCLUSIONS: PACS vendors anticipate these challenges when facing a public healthcare institution and it is recommended that the hospital management and potential PACS stakeholders be made aware of these challenges to mitigate their effects and aid in a successful implementation.
Commerce ; Delivery of Health Care ; Developing Countries ; Health Care Sector ; Hospitals, Public ; Humans ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Medical Informatics ; Medical Informatics Computing ; Radiography ; Radiology Information Systems ; South Africa

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

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

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.

Ubiquitination of proteins plays an essential role in various cellular processes, including protein degradation, DNA repair, and cell signaling pathways. Previous studies have shown that protein ubiquitination is implicated in regulating pluripotency as well as fate determination of stem cells. To identify how protein ubiquitination affects differentiation of embryonic stem cells, we analyzed microarray data, which are available in the public domain, of E3 ligases and deubiquitinases whose levels changed during stem cell differentiation. Expression of pja2, a member of the RING-type E3 ligase family, was up-regulated during differentiation of stem cells. Wnt/β-catenin signaling is one of the most important signaling pathways for regulation of the self-renewal and differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Pja2 was shown to bind to TCF/LEF1, which are transcriptional factors for Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and regulate protein levels by ubiquitination, leading to down-regulation of Wnt signaling activity. Based on these results, we suggest that E3 ligase Pja2 regulates stem cell differentiation by controlling the level of TCF/LEF1 by ubiquitination.
DNA Repair ; Down-Regulation ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; Humans ; Ligases ; Proteolysis ; Public Sector ; Stem Cells ; Ubiquitin ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases ; Ubiquitin-Specific Proteases ; Ubiquitination

BACKGROUND: This study aims to conduct curriculum analysis on health management schools focusing on relationship with licence and certification in Republic of Korea. METHODS: Possible employment field, licence and certification as well as curriculum were collected from the home page of 30 health management schools. The subjects and credits of curriculum were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Main subjects by areas were drew using categorization and ranking within qualitative methods. Comparative analysis was conducted for checking relationship between main subject and possible employment field, licence and certification. RESULTS: First, major employment fields after graduation were public health officer, general hospital and clinic, and National Health Insurance Service. Possible licence and certificate were hospital administrator, medical recorder, health education specialist, and medical insurance specialist. Second, total graduate credits were 133.9 including 79.0 for major education, 30.5 for of general education, and 30.5 for elective courses. Third, main subjects were reviewed by areas including basic medicine, health management, hospital business & management, medical records & information, insurance billing & assessment, healthcare marketing & tourism, and health education. There were highest number of subjects on health education area among 8 categories. By subjects, many health management schools open health law, medical terminology, introduction to public health, and biostatistics. Relationship between main subjects and possible employment field, licence and certification in health management schools was strong. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to review curriculum and for improving educational quality in health management schools. Also, development of curriculum standards for courses in health administration and introduction of accreditation system can be considered.
Accreditation ; Biostatistics ; Certification ; Commerce ; Curriculum ; Education ; Employment ; Health Care Sector ; Health Education ; Hospital Administrators ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Insurance ; Jurisprudence ; Medical Records ; National Health Programs ; Public Health ; Republic of Korea ; Specialization

OBJECTIVES: Air pollution is a growing concern in Korea because of transboundary air pollution from mainland China. A panel study was conducted to clarify the effects of air pollution on respiratory symptoms and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) in outpatients with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Korea. METHODS: Patients filled out a questionnaire including self-reported HR-QoL in February and were followed up in May and July. The study was conducted from 2013 to 2015, with different participants each year. Air quality parameters were applied in a generalized estimating equation as independent variables to predict factors affecting HR-QoL. RESULTS: Lower physical fitness scores were associated with Asian sand dust events. Daily activity scores were worse when there were high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) less than 10 μm in diameter (PM10). Lower social functioning scores were associated with high PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations. High NO2 concentrations also showed a significant association with mental health scores. Weather-related cough was prevalent when PM10, NO2, or ozone (O3) concentrations were high, regardless of COPD severity. High PM10 concentrations were associated with worsened wheezing, particularly in COPD patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that PM, NO2, and O3 cause respiratory symptoms leading to HR-QoL deterioration. While some adverse effects of air pollution appeared to occur regardless of COPD, others occurred more often and more intensely in COPD patients. The public sector, therefore, needs to consider tailoring air pollution countermeasures to people with different conditions to minimize adverse health effects.
Air Pollution* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; China ; Cough ; Dust* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Mental Health ; Nitrogen Dioxide ; Outpatients* ; Ozone ; Particulate Matter ; Physical Fitness ; Public Sector ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Quality of Life* ; Respiratory Sounds

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*