BACKGROUND: Identifying and exploiting stewardship and financing challenges in Iran\'s health insurance system as an ecosystem is essential to achieving predetermined goals. This study aimed to determine the challenges and strategies in the Iranian health insurance ecosystem to provide relevant evidence to healthcare managers and policymakers to improve its functions and perform necessary reforms.
METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted at the national level in Iran. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the directed content analysis method. The study participants included managers and experts in health insurance and faculty of universities of medical sciences, who were selected by purposive sampling.
RESULTS: The challenges and strategies expressed by participants were categorized into two functions: stewardship and financing. Four main themes, ten subthemes, 22 challenges, and 24 strategies were identified in the stewardship function, along with three main themes, 12 subthemes, 17 challenges, and 16 strategies in the financing function. The major challenge in the Iranian health insurance ecosystem was the complexity and conflict of interests between multiple actors with different roles, which led to fragmentation, diverse structures, and a gap between other functions and objectives, hindering the effective functioning of the ecosystem.
CONCLUSIONS: In order to deal with the challenges of the health insurance ecosystem, it is suggested to create a coherent insurance system through a single utility system, and by paying more attention to health-oriented services, the health insurance ecosystem becomes a health-oriented system instead of being treatment-oriented. In addition, in order to strengthen the governance of the country\'s health insurance ecosystem, the number of actors with multiple roles should be reduced and the roles of the actors should be clarified and separated in order to prevent conflicts of interest and structural corruption in this ecosystem.

UNASSIGNED: The study aimed to identify some interventions to improve the psychological well-being of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNASSIGNED: The data used in this study are EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Taylor & Francis, Science Direct, and JSTOR. These studies were searched for available full-text articles. We used tools for risk of bias assessment, namely, the quality assessment checklist of Joanna Bright Institute tools for cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials.
UNASSIGNED: A total of eight studies were included in this review. The interventions in dealing with the psychosocial problems of COVID-19 nurses consisted of 2 categories: (1) interventions to prevent psychosocial problems - simulation-based teamwork training, mental health promotion strategies, and pre-examination, triage, prevention, and control of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) evaluation training; and (2) interventions to overcome psychosocial problems experienced by COVID-19 nurses - mobile wellness programs, intervention FOREST, emotional freedom techniques, tele-counselling and mental health interventions.
UNASSIGNED: Despite limitations, we were able to perform a complete assessment of the risk of bias in included studies that provide reliable information on the studies. It is recommended that hospitals can provide interventions to improve the psychological well-being of nurses.

UNASSIGNED: Although Republic of Korea is an advanced country in medical technology with a successful treatment rate for serious diseases, such as cancer, and has improved technology for highly difficult surgery, many excellent medical doctors and physicians are struggling due to the recent unreasonable medical environment. Specialization in brain tumor surgery also faces challenges in Republic of Korea, including low financial incentives, legal threats, and limited career prospects. In response, the Korea Brain Tumor Society (KBTS) formed the Future Strategy Committee to assess these obstacles and propose solutions.
UNASSIGNED: A survey was conducted among the KBTS members to understand their perceptions and concerns across different career stages.
UNASSIGNED: The findings revealed a decline in interest among chief residents in brain tumor surgery, owing to limited job opportunities and income prospects. Neurosurgical fellows expressed neutral satisfaction but highlighted challenges, such as low patient numbers and income. Faculty members with varying levels of experience echoed similar concerns, emphasizing the need for improved financial incentives and job stability. Despite these challenges, the respondents expressed dedication to the field and suggested strategies for improvement.
UNASSIGNED: The KBTS outlines a vision that focuses on practical excellence, comprehensive research, professional education, responsibilities, and member satisfaction. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts among healthcare institutions, professional societies, and policymakers to support brain tumor specialists and enhance patient care.

Environmental-friendless and high-performance thermoelectrics play a significant role in exploring sustainable clean energy. Among them, AgSbTe2 thermoelectrics, benefiting from the disorder in the cation sublattice and interface scattering from secondary phases of Ag2Te and Sb2Te3, exhibit low thermal conductivity and a maximum figure-of-merit ZT of 2.6 at 573 K via optimizing electrical properties and addressing phase transition issues. Therefore, AgSbTe2 shows considerable potential as a promising medium-temperature thermoelectric material. Additionally, with the increasing demands for device integration and portability in the information age, the research on flexible and wearable AgSbTe2 thermoelectrics aligns with contemporary development needs, leading to a growing number of research findings. This work provides a detailed and timely review of AgSbTe2-based thermoelectrics from materials to devices. Principles and performance optimization strategies are highlighted for the thermoelectric performance enhancement in AgSbTe2. The current challenges and future research directions of AgSbTe2-based thermoelectrics are pointed out. This review will guide the development of high-performance AgSbTe2-based thermoelectrics for practical applications.

UNASSIGNED: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system affecting nearly 3 million people worldwide. Although much progress has been made in the understanding and treatment of MS, cures remain elusive.
UNASSIGNED: To accelerate the development of cures for MS by updating the Pathways to Cures Research Roadmap based on a contemporary understanding of disease. The refined Roadmap will help to promote research in scientific areas with great potential to reveal insights leading to cures and inspire greater coordination of global resources.
UNASSIGNED: Refinements to the Roadmap were achieved during a Global Summit that included close to 200 academic and industry scientists, health care providers, policy makers, funders, and people with MS from 15 countries.
UNASSIGNED: The refined Roadmap describes three pathways that target opportunities for generating scientific insights leading to cures. Recommendations for accelerating research progress include, lowering barriers for global data sharing, enhancing collaboration and coordination among research supporters, committing to sustained funding, considering implications for implementation, engaging PwMS and committing to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the global MS movement.
UNASSIGNED: The refined roadmap provides a strategic framework for tackling the complexities of MS and advancing prevention strategies, effective treatments, and cures.

This article describes why Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) has been launched, what it aims to achieve (benefits) and, principally, how the whole programme will be delivered (strategy). The article draws on the work of major project delivery and organization design (OD) and applies this to the context of STEP, which is dominated by significant uncertainty in all dimensions (technical, financial, commercial and programmatic), where there is embryonic delivery capability, but where there are also global-scale opportunities. This leads to an approach based on securing and organizing the correct capability from both public and private sectors to work in a collaborative arrangement with a single purpose and, critically, in an operating model designed to manage uncertainty and emerging risks and to exploit opportunities. Placing adaptability at the core of the OD, particularly the ability to deliver emergent strategy through guided empowerment in pursuit of an ambitious aim, is a further development beyond much of the current thinking in major projects. The article concludes with an appendix that translates that programme approach into principles for managing the engineering design work.This article is part of the theme issue \'Delivering Fusion Energy - The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP)\'.

BACKGROUND: Over the years, low-and middle-income countries have adopted several policy initiatives to strengthen community health systems as means to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In this regard, Zambia passed a Community Health Strategy in 2017 that was later halted in 2019. This paper explores the processes that led to the halting and re-issuing of this strategy with the view of drawing lessons to inform the development of such strategies in Zambia and other similar settings.
METHODS: We employed a qualitative case study comprising 20 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders who had participated in either the development, halting, or re-issuing of the two strategies, respectively. These stakeholders represented the Ministry of Health, cooperating partners and other non-government organizations. Inductive thematic analysis approach was used for analysis.
RESULTS: The major reasons for halting and re-issuing the community health strategy included the need to realign it with the national development framework such as the 7th National Development Plan, lack of policy ownership, political influence, and the need to streamline the coordination of community health interventions. The policy process inadequately addressed the key tenets of community health systems such as complexity, adaptation, resilience and engagement of community actors resulting in shortcomings in the policy content. Furthermore, the short implementation period, lack of dedicated staff, and inadequate engagement of stakeholders from other sectors threatened the sustainability of the re-issued strategy.
CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores the complexity of community health systems and highlights the challenges these complexities pose to health policymaking efforts. Countries that embark on health policymaking for community health systems must reflect on issues such as persistent fragmentation, which threaten the policy development process. It is crucial to ensure that these complexities are considered within similar policy engagement processes.

The challenges of present-day healthcare are urgent; there is a shortage of clinicians, patient care is increasingly complex, resources are limited, clinician turnover seems ever-increasing, and the expectations of providers and patients are monumental. To transform problems into innovative opportunities, diverse perspectives and a sense of possibility are needed. The following is a collaborative manuscript authored by the speakers of the 8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery session, \"Teamwork, Culture Change, and Strategy.\" Although this panel was diverse in the clinical roles, nationalities, and genders represented, several consistent themes emerged which are explored in this work.

Despite proportional information being ubiquitous, there is not a standard account of proportional reasoning. Part of the difficulty is that there are several apparent contradictions: in some contexts, proportion is easy and privileged, while in others it is difficult and ignored. One possibility is that although we see similarities across tasks requiring proportional reasoning, people approach them with different strategies. We test this hypothesis by implementing strategies computationally and quantitatively comparing them with Bayesian tools, using data from continuous (e.g., pie chart) and discrete (e.g., dots) stimuli and preschoolers, 2nd and 5th graders, and adults. Overall, people\'s comparisons of highly regular and continuous proportion are better fit by proportion strategy models, but comparisons of discrete proportion are better fit by a numerator comparison model. These systematic differences in strategies suggest that there is not a single, simple explanation for behavior in terms of success or failure, but rather a variety of possible strategies that may be chosen in different contexts.

BACKGROUND: Women Centred Care: Strategic directions for Australian maternity services (the Strategy), released in November 2019, provides national guidance on effective maternity care provision. The Strategy is structured around four core values (safety, respect, choice, and access) underpinning twelve woman-centred care principles.
OBJECTIVE: To explore whether the experiences of women who accessed Australian maternity services were aligned with the Strategy\'s values and principles.
METHODS: Women who had completed an entire maternity care episode in Australia between January 2020 and June 2023 were invited to participate in an online survey. Women\'s experiences according to the Strategy\'s values and principles and their association with model of care, age, place of residence, educational attainment, and household income are reported.
RESULTS: The survey was completed by 1750 women. A proportion of women perceived the Strategy\'s values were not reflected in the care they experienced. At its lowest, only 50.3 % of women received an aspect of care that mostly or always aligned with the values, and 85.9 % at its highest. Women in private models of care were more likely to experience care according to the Strategy. Women in standard and high-risk public hospital care, rural/remote dwelling women, and younger women were less likely to experience care accordingly. Care was universally perceived to be worse in the postnatal period.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite articulating how Australian maternity care should be provided, the intent of the Strategy has not been fully realised. Inequities exist in women\'s access to and experiences of care across the entire maternity episode.