BACKGROUND: Tackling client absenteeism in primary and secondary care settings is crucial to ensure the continuity of care for individuals, families and communities, as well as preventing waste of resources within healthcare systems.
METHODS: This article is an integrative review to identify advancements in health technologies that address client absenteeism in primary and secondary care. The databases Medical Literature and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE/PubMed®), Scientific Electronic Library Online and Virtual Health Library were consulted. The inclusion criteria were as follows: full papers, published between 2013 and 2023, in English, Portuguese or Spanish. The descriptors used were the following: patients, mobile applications, health services management, absenteeism and primary care, and secondary care. Eleven articles published from 2014 to 2021 were included.
RESULTS: Most articles were identified in the MEDLINE/PUBMED database, employed a randomized controlled trial methodology (36.36%), and were published between 2019 and 2021 (90.0%) in English (63.7%). The applications had managerial, assistive and/or educational purposes. In addition to absenteeism control, these applications strived to promote client engagement with health services, increase health literacy and tackle structural barriers to care, such as language barriers.
CONCLUSIONS: Efforts are needed to ensure that providers receive training to educate clients on the applications. Moreover, community-based participatory studies to ensure the feasibility of applications are warranted.

BACKGROUND: Access to health care services is a critical determinant of population health and well-being. Measuring spatial accessibility to health services is essential for understanding health care distribution and addressing potential inequities.
OBJECTIVE: In this study, we developed a geoprocessing toolbox including Python script tools for the ArcGIS Pro environment to measure the spatial accessibility of health services using both classic and enhanced versions of the 2-step floating catchment area method.
METHODS: Each of our tools incorporated both distance buffers and travel time catchments to calculate accessibility scores based on users\' choices. Additionally, we developed a separate tool to create travel time catchments that is compatible with both locally available network data sets and ArcGIS Online data sources. We conducted a case study focusing on the accessibility of hemodialysis services in the state of Tennessee using the 4 versions of the accessibility tools. Notably, the calculation of the target population considered age as a significant nonspatial factor influencing hemodialysis service accessibility. Weighted populations were calculated using end-stage renal disease incidence rates in different age groups.
RESULTS: The implemented tools are made accessible through ArcGIS Online for free use by the research community. The case study revealed disparities in the accessibility of hemodialysis services, with urban areas demonstrating higher scores compared to rural and suburban regions.
CONCLUSIONS: These geoprocessing tools can serve as valuable decision-support resources for health care providers, organizations, and policy makers to improve equitable access to health care services. This comprehensive approach to measuring spatial accessibility can empower health care stakeholders to address health care distribution challenges effectively.

BACKGROUND: Accidents at work are events that endanger the health and life of workers. They are considered a public health problem, being the object of studies and actions in the Brazilian health system. The collapsed of the ore tailings dam in the municipality of Brumadinho, Brazil, in January 2019, shocked the world due to the proportion of environmental and human damage caused. In this context, concern for the health of workers gained prominence. This paper evaluated the impact of the collapse of the mining tailings dam in Brumadinho, on notifications of occupational health problems before and after the disaster.
METHODS: An observational, longitudinal and retrospective study, of the time series type with a statistical approach was carried out on notifications of work-related injuries and diseases, available in the local database of the Notifiable Diseases Information System between January 2017 and December 2021.
RESULTS: During the study period, 520 notifications of work-related injuries and conditions were registered. Of this total, 67.3% were serious work accidents, 26.0% mental disorders, 12.3% accidents with biological material and 2.9% repetitive strain injuries/musculoskeletal disorders, occupational dermatoses and induced hearing loss by noise. Occurrences were more frequent in 2019, the year in which the mining disaster occurred, recording 65.2% of total notifications. Regarding the volume of notifications after the disaster, there was a statistically significant reduction (p < 0.001) for accidents with biological material; significant increase for severe work accident and mental disorder. The average time between the occurrence of the injury and the notification showed a statistically significant reduction for accidents involving biological material (p = 0.001) and a significant increase for serious accidents at work (p = 0.016).
CONCLUSIONS: It was demonstrated that there were changes in the number of notifications when comparing the period before and after the mining disaster, with a consequent impact on the health of workers, which may persist over the years.

BACKGROUND: New Public Management theory affected reforms of public sectors worldwide. In Italy, an important reform of the healthcare sector changed the profile of public hospitals, creating new management related positions in 1992. The reform defined the role of the clinician-manager: a hybrid figure, in charge of managing an entire unit. This paper aims to investigate how much clinician-managers feel like managers and how much they still feel like professionals, using time as a driver to conduct the analysis.
METHODS: A survey-questionnaire was administered to a set of 2,011 clinician-managers employed in public hospitals, with a response rate of 60.42%. The managerial role of healthcare professionals in public hospitals: A time-driven analysis of their activities. The questionnaire aimed to identify the difference between how much time clinician-managers actually spend on daily activities and how much time they would think be appropriate. To better cluster different type of management styles, subgroups were identified based on the type of organisations respondents work for, geographical location, and professional specialty.
RESULTS: Findings suggest that clinician-managers spend more time on clinical activities than management. Clear differences are found according to professional specialty, and there are fewer differences in geographical location and the type of organisation.
CONCLUSIONS: The absence of clear differences in the responses between different geographical areas implies that a shared organisational culture characterizes the whole sector. However, differences in how the clinician-manager role is perceived based on the professional specialty suggest that closer integration may be needed.

Despite ever-increasing resources devoted to healthcare, lack of capacity and timeliness are still chronic problems worldwide. This systematic review aims to present an overview of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) implementations in healthcare services and their outcomes. We analysed 42 TOC implementations (15 full-text articles, 12 video proceedings, and 2 theses/disserations) from major scientific electronic databases and TOC International Certification Organization Conferences. All implementations reported positive outcomes, both tangible and intangible. The two main improvements reported by authors were in productivity (98%; n = 41) - more patients treated - and in the timeliness of care (83%; n = 35). Furthermore, the selected studies reported dramatic improvements: 50% mean reductions in patient waiting time; 38% reduction in patient length of stay; 43% mean increase in operating room productivity and 34% mean increase in throughput. TOC implementations attained positive results in all levels of the health and social care chain. Most TOC recommendations and changes showed almost immediate results and required little or no additional cost to implement. Evidence supports TOC as a promising solution for the chronic healthcare problem, improving quality and timeliness, both necessary conditions for providing effective healthcare.

OBJECTIVE: Healthcare professionals\' high risk of infection and burnout in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic probably hindered their much-needed preparedness to respond. We aimed to inform how individual and institutional factors contributed for the preparedness to respond during the first months of a public health emergency.
METHODS: Cross-sectional study.
METHODS: We surveyed healthcare workers from a Local Health Unit in Portugal, which comprises primary health care centers and hospital services, including public health units and intensive care units, in the second and third months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Portugal. The 460 answers, completed by 252 participants (about 10% of the healthcare workers), were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regressions. We estimated adjusted odds ratios for the readiness and willingness to respond.
RESULTS: Readiness to respond was associated with the perception of adequate infrastructures (aOR = 4.04, P < 0.005), lack of access to personal protective equipment (aOR = 0.26, P < 0.05) and organization (aOR = 0.31, P < 0.05). The willingness to act was associated with the perception of not being able to make a difference (aOR = 0.05, P < 0.005), risk of work-related burnout (aOR = 21.21, P < 0.01) and experiencing colleagues or patients\' deaths due to COVID-19 (aOR = 0.24, P < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Adequate organization, infrastructures, and access to personal protective equipment may be crucial for workers\' preparedness in a new public health emergency, as well workers\' understanding of their roles and expected impact. These factors, together with the risk of work-related burnout, shall be taken into account in the planning of the response of healthcare institutions in future public health emergencies.

BACKGROUND: The hospital management and its functions can be very important in improving the quality of hospital care, and their managers need several competencies to perform these functions efficiently and effectively. Today, more attention should be paid to the use of professional hospital managers, especially those educated in the field of Health Services Management. The present study aimed to study the change paradigm of hospital management by graduates of Health Services Management in a hospital in Iran as a developing country.
METHODS: This study was a qualitative case study conducted in the Hazrate Ali Asghar Hospital in Shiraz, Iran in 2018 in order to determine the \"why\", \"how\" and \"what\" aspects of applying hospital managers educated in the field of Health Services Management instead of other traditional managers, as a change paradigm. The samples were selected purposefully and semi-structured in-depth interviews with 12 people were used to explain the experiences of management style by graduates of Health Services Management. Data were collected and analyzed simultaneously using the thematic analysis method and with the inductive approach.
RESULTS: Results of the interviews led to the identification of 6 main themes and 26 sub-themes. The main themes were structural reforms, process reforms, organizational culture reforms, performance reforms, resource reforms, and consequences and results.
CONCLUSIONS: According to the results, shifting from the use of traditional managers to the use of graduates of Health Services Management in the hospital proposed as a change paradigm in the hospital management is accompanied by some reforms in the hospital structures, processes, resources, culture, and performance. Such reforms may lead to some valuable final consequences and results such as increasing patient and staff satisfaction and effectiveness of actions and activities. This hypothesis is recommended to be tested in other similar settings.

OBJECTIVE: Growing a strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce is key to closing the gap in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This study sought to explore barriers and enablers to career development for Aboriginal health staff and potential strategies to enhance career pathways.
METHODS: Qualitative study, with data collected primarily through focus group discussions (yarning circles) at different health workplaces.
METHODS: Western New South Wales.
METHODS: Aboriginal health staff (n = 54) from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, a Local Health District and a Primary Health Network, and their managers (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal; n = 28).
METHODS: Identified barriers and enablers and regional strategies for improving career pathways.
RESULTS: Aboriginal people interested in pursuing a career in health face barriers in: pre-employment, recruitment, the workplace and further education and training. Being given practical and emotional support, as well as opportunities, makes a difference at every stage. Family and community are very influential in career decisions. Within the workplace, culturally appropriate human resource systems and management structures are vital. The ability to obtain employment and access education and training locally is important to rural and remote communities.
CONCLUSIONS: To enhance health career pathways for Aboriginal people, strategies are needed at all levels: community, organisation, system and society. Aboriginal leadership and self-determination are crucial, as are partnerships within the health sector and between the health and the education and training sectors. Cultural safety is essential to expansion of the Aboriginal workforce, and to health care experiences and outcomes for Aboriginal community members.

Mixed methods research (MMR) is versatile, pragmatic, and adaptable to constraints and opportunities during a research process. Although MMR has gain popularity in health services management research, little is known about how the research approach has been used and the quality of research. We conducted a systematic review of 198 MMR articles published in selected U.S.-based and international health services management journals from 2000 through 2018 to examine the extent of MMR application and scientific rigor. Results showed limited, yet increasing, use of MMR and a high degree of correspondence between MMR designs and study purposes. However, most articles did not clearly justify using MMR designs and the reporting of method details and research integration were inadequate in a significant portion of publications. We propose a checklist to assist the preparation and review of MMR manuscripts. Additional implications and recommendations to improve transparency, rigor, and quality in MMR are discussed.

The Gerontological Care Plan is idealized through case management that includes in its aspect engaging the elderly, self-care and the acquisition and maintenance of health-promoting behaviors.
UNASSIGNED: To evaluate the importance of a gerontological care plan, in a geriatric service of a referral hospital in the city of São Paulo.
UNASSIGNED: Fifteen older adult patients were interviewed and the Gerontological Care Plan (PAGe) was applied.
UNASSIGNED: Most respondents were classified as independent for instrumental activities of daily living, 42% of whom lived alone. Data from 277 yellow sheets were analyzed, that is, referral forms, in which it was found that the most affected areas were: social work and psychology. For the social worker, the most recurring requests were: verification of the social support network, namely lack of companion and caregiver, with 53%; family problems, with 20%; lack of adherence to treatment, 12%, and problems related to medication, 10%. In the area of psychology, 82% of referrals were due to the need for psychological support, psychotherapy, and help with family problems, depression and grief.
UNASSIGNED: A gerontological management proposal was developed within the Geriatric Services of Hospital das Clínicas. The management plan was intended to integrate the actions carried out by the interprofessional team, through the creation of an Integrating Form that allowed the gerontologist to propose, execute and implement a plan of care, follow-up, and monitoring of cases, including the extra context-hospital.
O Plano de Atenção Gerontológica é idealizado por meio da gestão de casos que engloba em sua vertente, engajamento da pessoa idosa, autocuidado e aquisição e manutenção de comportamentos de promoção de saúde.
UNASSIGNED: Avaliar a importância de um plano de atenção gerontológica em um serviço de geriatria de um hospital de referência na cidade de São Paulo.
UNASSIGNED: Foram entrevistados 15 pacientes idosos, sendo aplicado o Plano de Atenção Gerontológica (PAGe).
UNASSIGNED: Em sua maioria, os entrevistados foram classificados como independentes para as atividades instrumentais de vida diária, sendo que 42% deles residem sozinhos. Dados de 277 folhas amarelas foram analisados, ou seja, Fichas de Encaminhamento, nos quais foi possível verificar que as áreas mais acionadas foram o serviço social e a psicologia. Para assistência social, as solicitações mais recorrentes foram a verificação da rede de suporte social, falta de acompanhante e de cuidador, com 53%, problemas familiares, com 20%, falta de adesão ao tratamento, 12%, e problemas relacionados a medicamentos, 10%. Na área da psicologia, 82% dos encaminhamentos foram feitos por necessidade de acompanhamento psicológico/psicoterapia, problemas com família, depressão e luto.
UNASSIGNED: Elaborou-se uma proposta de Gestão Gerontológica dentro dos Serviços de Geriatria do Hospital das Clínicas. O plano de gestão teve o intuito de integrar as ações realizadas pela equipe interprofissional, por meio da criação de uma Ficha Integradora que permitiu ao profissional gerontólogo propor, executar e implementar um plano de atenção, acompanhamento e monitoramento dos casos, incluindo o contexto extra-hospitalar.