khalil kalavani

Various studies have highlighted the usefulness of environmental scanning in assessing commu-nity needs and developing programs and policies. We aimed to find the most practical model of using such scanning in the healthcare literature.

We conducted a scoping review based on the PRISMA guideline to ensure a comprehensive and systematic approach in 2023. To develop a comprehensive search strategy, we worked with experienced librari-ans and the research team. We then completed a search of five electronic databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Embase databases. Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles to select studies that met our inclusion criteria. The data was then analyzed and presented in a tabular format to facilitate easy interpretation and understanding.

We retrieved 7243 articles from various databases and sources. After removing 2755 articles due to duplication, we excluded 4380 more articles during the title and abstract screening phase. In the full-text review process, we ruled out an additional 103 articles. Finally, only 5 articles that were directly relevant to the study were included. The model that Bednar and colleagues have in their article is the latest model. Most studies pro-pose six main steps to conduct an environmental survey in the healthcare system.

Since the most important task of managers and policy makers of the health system is to make decisions, they can use our proposed model to collect, analyze and interpret data, identify important patterns and trends so that they can make evidence-based decisions. 

It is of paramount significance to address the needs of parents who have children with cancer. This research aims to analyze the health information needs of families with children suffering from cancer in Yazd city.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on a total of 248 individuals from families whose children underwent cancer treatment at Shahid Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd. The participants were selected through a non-random, purposeful, and voluntary sampling method. The data were collected using a comprehensive questionnaire consisting of 48 items. The data analysis was performed with the SPSS software version 25 and through t-tests, chi-square, ANOVA, and correlation analyses.

Through a meticulous comparison of the scores obtained with a predetermined threshold of 3, all levels of information needs were satisfactorily met. However, it became evident that the parents needed more information to be given by the treatment staff regarding cancer and called for social, economic and spiritual support (p≤0.5). Moreover, the study identified and prioritized the information needs based on the average scores across the four examined factors. The highest-priority need was identified as “the information about cancer provided by the treatment staff"(2.99±0.7). The second most important need was found to be "social, economic and spiritual support"(2.98±0.7). The third priority was assigned to “the accessibility and exchange of relevant health information"(2.77±0.62). Lastly, the fourth priority pertained to"health facilities, services and counseling"(2.61±0.63). Furthermore, the independent t-test revealed that the average score on the total health information needs of the families with cancer-affected children was significantly higher for the women (140.5±20.4) than for the men (117.7± 11.55).

When handling children with cancer, it is crucial for the treatment staff to provide information about cancer and give social, economic and spiritual support in order to fully meet the information requirements of the families involved.

Context: 

In recent years, environmental scanning has attracted noteworthy attention within health research in healthcare organizations harnessing this technique to perform their operations.

 This study aimed to compare environmental scanning models and provide a model for Iran’s health system.
Evidence Acquisition: This qualitative and comparative research employed an applied purpose in four stages: description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison. The primary data collection tool was comparative tables to gather data by reviewing articles, documents, and books using scientific databases. The collected information was analyzed by the Beredy method.

 The most significant models were presented by countries including Singapore, Canada, Iran, and the United States. Most health environmental scanning studies were conducted in countries such as Canada, Australia, the United States, and England. Notably, esteemed researchers such as Albright, Daft, Xue Zhang, Choo, Costa, and Nezhadi introduced influential environmental scanning models.

 Environmental scanning is a powerful tool in decision-making and strategic planning for organizations, fundamentally impacting their survival and progress. The healthcare system’s general model for environmental scanning is presented in five steps. Based on the results, the environmental scanning model can enable managers and strategic teams to identify risks, opportunities, constraints, and threats and determine suitable strategies for organizational growth and success.

One of the most effective strategies to improve the access of community members to health services is to regionalize health services. The purpose of this study is to examine and prioritize measures that could help to counteract obstacles and problems in implementing the regionalization of healthcare in Iran.

The study relied on a mixed research method, including qualitative and quantitative phases. First, by conducting semi‑structured interviews and analyzing them through qualitative content analysis, the obstacles and measures were identified. In the quantitative phase, the obstacles identified were weighted using the fuzzy best‑worst method (FBWM), and the measures were then prioritized through the fuzzy TOPSIS (FTOPSIS) method.

The obstacles were categorized into four main dimensions: “infrastructural,” “political,” “human resources,” and “managerial.” Among the 15 obstacles identified, “absence of performance guarantees” was the most important obstacle, while “insufficient education” was the least important obstacle to the regionalization of healthcare services in Iran. Meanwhile, the following eight measures that could help to overcome the obstacles were extracted from the interviews: “conducting a needs assessment,” “providing clinical guidelines,” “employing specialized human resources,” “reinforcing the referral system,” and “preparing electronic health records,” “enhancing education and information dissimilation,” “building executive support,” and “providing cost‑effective equipment and technology.” “Employing specialized human resources” was also the most effective measure to overcome the obstacles.

Iranian healthcare policy‑makers can use the empirical findings of this investigation to accelerate the implementation of Iran’s regionalization plan to improve the access of community members to healthcare services.

Oral health plays a key role in people’s overall health. Dental caries is the most important problem in children’s oral health. Despite significant advances made in the area of oral health around the world, there is inequality in access to oral health within Iran and abroad, and this is considered a public health challenge. This study was conducted to investigate the access barriers to children’s oral health services from the perspective of parents attending the health centers of Kerman, Iran.

The present descriptive‑analytical study was carried out, as a cross‑sectional survey, on 410 parents of children living in Kerman, Iran. The data were collected by access barriers questionnaire, and then were analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive statistical methods and the multiple linear regression test. Confidence interval (CI) in this study was 95% (95% CI).

The most common access barrier to children’s oral health was the high treatment cost. The access barriers to children’s oral health services were significantly associated with parental education (P = 0.00), maternal employment (P = 0.04), supplementary insurance (P = 0.00), and family income (P = 0.01). Parental satisfaction was also significantly correlated to the child’s sex (P = 0.04), supplementary insurance (P = 0.04), and number of filled teeth (P = 0.04). The mean score of parental satisfaction was 1.83 ± 0.34; within the range of 1–3 from satisfied to dissatisfied.

The cost of dental treatment services high and there are many barriers to accessing children’s oral health.

Community's health depends on the primary healthcare sector of a country. In recent years, health systems have sought to assess the quality of services provided. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the primary health care system with the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) in areas covered by the family physician in southeastern Iran.

This was a descriptive-analytical study conducted cross-sectionally. It was performed on 330 recipients of services in health centers implementing the family physician project at Kerman, Bam, Jiroft and Rafsanjan Universities of Medical Sciences. The sampling method in this study was multistage. The instrument used in this study (PCAT) was based on the principles of primary care and is used as a tool to evaluate primary care. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test in the SPSS 19 software.

The findings of this study were in 2 groups of adults and children according to the categorization of the questionnaire. Regarding adults, the highest average score of the questionnaire was related to first encounter - utilization in Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, first encounter - access in Bam University, continuity of care in Rafsanjan University, coordination in Jiroft University, coordination of information systems in Kerman, comprehensiveness of services available in Bam, comprehensiveness of services provided in Rafsanjan's family-oriented care in Kerman, community-oriented care in Kerman, and cultural aspects of care in Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. The difference between the average score in the dimension of the first encounter - utilization and the dimension of comprehensiveness of the services available in universities was significant (p < 0.05). In children, the highest average score was in the questionnaire is in the dimension of first encounter - utilization in Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, first encounter - access in Jiroft University, continuity of care in Rafsanjan University, coordination in Rafsanjan University, coordination of information systems in Kerman, comprehensiveness of services available in Rafsanjan. The comprehensiveness of services provided in Kerman, family-oriented care in Kerman, community-oriented care in Kerman, and cultural aspects of care in Jiroft University of Medical Sciences. The difference between the average score in the dimensions of the first encounter - utilization, coordination, coordination of information systems, comprehensiveness of available services, comprehensiveness of provided services, family-oriented care among universities was significant (p < 0.05).

The present study demonstrated that various aspects of primary care in the areas covered by the family physician project in southeastern Iran had a relatively satisfactory status. The difference in the mean score of primary care in the studied universities shows that although the basic physical structures and hardware of the family physician program are available, it is crucial to provide the necessary facilities to maintain and improve the quality of services provided.

Today, it is important to use methods to identify and reduce them is of crucial importance. The aim of the present study was to determine the safe performance of nurses using the SHERPA technique in the hospitals affiliated with the Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences in Tehran.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using the SHERPA method in 2019. The study population and samples included the nurses in the internal wards of Bu-Ali and Amir Al-Momenin hospitals. The data were collected through interviews and direct observations. the information obtained was recorded on the SHERPA worksheet and analyzed using the SPSS software.

59 errors were identified in the drug administration task, most of which associated with functional errors (n=22). Visit (n=16), recovery (n=12), and communication errors (n= 9) accounted for other frequent errors, respectively. Selective errors were the least frequent (n=0). The error risk levels for unacceptable risks, undesirable risks, acceptable risks with the need for revision, and acceptable risks without the need for revision were 38.98%, 37.28%, 6.77%, and 16/94 %, respectively. Finally, reviewing error recovery indicated that 53 errors could not be recovered but 6 ones could.

There is a need to apply a risk prevention method to identify potential risks and monitor errors. Hospital officials should pay special attention to functional and communication errors in hospital occupations.

"Conflict of interest" or "competing interest" occurs when the author or sponsor of the study has a financial, commercial, legal, or professional relationship with the organization, individuals, study samples, or research environment, so as the results of that study are influenced. When the authors of a study seek to publish research, they must fully disclose what was mentioned above. Conflicts of interest can occur both financially and non-financially. In some cases, non-financial conflicts of interest are even more important than financial ones. Such conflicts originate from personal, political, academic, ideological, or religious issues (1). Although there is no single definition of conflict of interest in the scientific community, almost all reputable journals ask authors to disclose conflict of interest at the time of submitting their articles. However, various studies have shown that accurate disclosure of conflicts of interest is significantly rare (2-4).   In general, conflict of interest occurs in different forms, intentionally and unintentionally. Although conflict of interest in the field of medicine and equipment is significantly observed and its importance has been emphasized, there are new dimensions of conflict of interest that have not yet been addressed, including:1) Conflict of interest among managers and officials of organizations: Some ministers and managers of different departments in the field of health provide research on their performance and the indicators of their organizations, and have no reference to conflict of interest in their articles. Obviously, when a person conducts research on the performance and performance indicators of his organization, he may present a better image of the organization intentionally or unintentionally, which is in turn a kind of conflict of interest. 2) The relationship between the author / authors and the journal: When the journal editor and the author / authors of an article have relationships as colleagues, friends, or student and teacher, conflicts of interest may occur and cause the author’s / authors’ article to be easily accepted and go through a convenient and fast reviewing process, which will ultimately result in low quality the article(s). Conflicts of interest give rise to personal / organizational, political, religious, ideological, academic, or intellectual interests that may affect the published content, and may ultimately show the research methods, data interpretation, and conclusion biased and endanger human health and the environment. Thus, it should be noted that conflicts of interest might occur in different parts of any research, whether on the part of the research executive or sponsor or organization managers, etc. Therefore, informing people in this field can increase the quality of and confidence in the study results. health and the environment. Thus, it should be noted that conflicts of interest might occur in different parts of any research, whether on the part of the research executive or sponsor or organization managers, etc. Therefore, informing people in this field can increase the quality of and confidence in the study results. Ethical Considerations Compliance with ethical guidelines There were no ethical considerations to be considered in this research. Funding This research did not receive any grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors. Authors' contributions Both authors equally contributed to preparing this article. Conflict of interest The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Branding is one of the most important needs of any organization to survive and improve the quality of provided products and services.Today, branding is also being increasingly used by health organizations and has become one of the important elements for improving the quality of services provided by hospitals as the main body of health services. In the present study, the factors affecting the customer-based brand equity were investigated in selected hospitals.

This is a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study. Using stratified random sampling method, 350 patients were selected from private hospitals in Tehran and Kerman in 2020. Data were collected through a questionnaire and the Stata software V.14 was used for data analysis.

The average customer-based brand equity was higher in women, those with a degree lower than diploma, and in surgical treatment group. Different dimensions of hospital brand value including perceived quality (average), patient loyalty (average), brand image (good) and service brand value (very good) were evaluated and average customer-based brand equity received 76.38 points out of 100 and was at a high level.

Hospital brand value has an important effect on hospital marketing. Hospitals can take steps to attract and retain patients and can create a competitive advantage over others. The results showed the positive effect of perceived quality, patient loyalty, brand image and service brand value on customer-based brand equity.

Midwifery activity is one of the most essential cares in obstetrics and gynecology services, which plays an important role in improving maternal and neonatal health. With increasing global concern about the effects of childbirth and the importance of this process, any human error in this regard is non-negligible. Therefore, given the significant mortality and adverse effects, safe and effective delivery control is a critical issue.

This cross-sectional study was performed to identify and evaluate midwifery staff errors of Kowsar Hospital of Qazvin in 2018. There are various ways to identify, evaluate, and predict human errors. Among these, the SHERPA technique is one of the most common methods to detect these errors.

After hierarchical analysis, the main tasks were divided into 68 sub-tasks. Finally, 65 errors were identified for midwifery staff activities )57% action errors, 25% revision errors, 6% retrieval errors, 9% communication errors, and 3% selective errors). Therefore, the highest percentage was the action errors and the least was the selective errors.

Hospital authorities should pay more attention to action errors and prioritize these errors in patient safety. It is recommended that appropriate actions be taken to establish a culture of patient safety.

The spiritual dimension of health is the subject of much controversy; since it is not seen as a purely scientific and quantifiable aspect of health. However, it is exactly this quality of spiritual health that makes the thorough examination of the concept worthwhile. Furthermore, a comprehensive assessment of the theoretical concepts associated with it should be prioritized. The present study is a combination of a literature review followed by a series of expert interviews. First, articles addressing the different aspects of spiritual health were identified and acquired from academic databases. After a thorough assessment and evaluation, the findings were listed and prioritized in order to determine the most important aspects of spiritual health. Then, the most significant features were specified and interpreted. The interpretations were then sent to a group of experts for assessment and evaluation. The expert reviews and comments were then collected and analyzed in order to refine and improve the primary interpretations. The responsibilities of the health sector do not end with the provision and maintenance of the physical aspects of health or even the non-medical population. It includes not only promoting spiritual health in health sector graduates and personnel, but also conducting profound scientific studies, providing documentation, and interpreting the evidence for beneficiaries. However, establishing a new university major to train professionals exclusively for pursuing this objective and even adding new university credits in this field does not seem to be necessary from the point of view of experts and studies. In addition to providing the education necessary for students and personnel of each organization, providing adequate spiritual health and promoting the essential education and related skills are also the responsibilities of the health sector. Instead, it is suggested that an active secretariat be established to oversee the promotion of spiritual health in all sectors using the minimum independent facilities and manpower.

Managers and policymakers are looking for ways to help them make the best decisions and buying the best medical equipment like an electroshock. Given that considering only one criterion for evaluating decision options cannot be realistic, the application of multi-criteria decision-making methods, which employ several criteria (often conflicting) to evaluate decision options, is on the rise.

In this study, SAW, VIKOR, and TOPSIS methods were used to decide on the purchase of an electroshock device. Using literature review and the Delphi method, a series of effective and important criteria were identified for making decisions regarding purchasing an electroshock device and entered in the decision matrix. The other input was the decision matrix of 4 brands of EKG devices, which were selected according to the IMED site and in consultation with the hospital medical equipment manager. The primary decision matrix was developed using expert opinions and was used as the input of TOPSIS, SAW, and VIKOR methods in Excel software.

The results obtained from all three decision models of VIKOR, TOSIS, and SAW were similar and confirmed each other and showed that the best brand to buy an electroshock device is brand B. While the most inappropriate option was brand A.

The use of multi-criteria decision-making approaches in today’s competitive and costly world of management is inevitable and effective. Besides, the use of several decision-making methods with different criteria, as well as the similarity of the results, increase the validity of the results.

Evidence- Based Medicine (EBM) refers to the ability and skill in the use and integration of the best evidence obtained from repeatable bias-free clinical trials with the patients’ preferences and conditions. Considering this fact that few large-scale studies have been done in this field in Iran, the present study aimed at comprehensively reviewing the status of EBM performance among health care providers in Iranian hospitals.

This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2014 and 2015. Study participants consisted of 2800 health care providers (physicians, nurses, midwives, and paramedical personnel) in active hospitals in Iran. Data collection tool was a self-made questionnaire. Content validity of the questionnaire was improved by comments of 10 experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using test-retest method (α= 0.85).

The results revealed that only 12.7% and 15.8% of the participants were highly familiar with EBM databases and terminologies, respectively. Most participants believed that EBM-related workshops and practical involvement in EBM-related programs and activities can have a more effect on the improvement of EBM performance. Most participants had a positive view of the EBM. About 47% of the participants reported that their EBM knowledge and skills is high. Among the demographic variables, there were only significant relationships between work experience and attitude, gender and attitudes, and between knowledge and skills (p According to the results of the present study, it seems that holding EBM-related workshops and practical participation in EBP-related programs and activities as well as improving facilities such as manpower, equipment, and access can have a significant effect on improving EBM- related activities.