نشریه مدیریت سلامت
پیاپی 86 (زمستان 1400)

Due to the high prevalence of attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the problems that this disorder causes for patients and their parents, scientist believe that the treatment of this disorder is particularly important. Among the available treatments, sensory integration and sensory diet has proven to have a powerful impact on the improvement of these children. In the present study, we aimed to design and evaluate a sensory diet mobile application for children with ADHD.

We conducted the present applied developmental research in two stages. First, we performed a needs assessment with 15 occupational therapists; then, the prototype of the mobile application was designed under the Android platform. Finally, to evaluate the usability and satisfaction of users with the QUIS (version 5.5), we tested the application with 12 parents of children with ADHD after two weeks of using the program. Also, we analyzed the data through descriptive statistics using SPSS (version 22).

The participants confirmed the six definitions out of 14 needs, nine out of 10 features of the application, and all 67 exercises. Also, general section of the designed program includes: The patient profile, the definition of attention deficit/ hyperactivity, the definition of a sensory diet, exercise list, weekly exercise schedule, the record of exercise date, and a section for setting. Mobile application usability evaluation showed that the users evaluated the application with a mean score of 8.35 out of nine points which is considered at a good level.

Sensory diet mobile application can be used to help improve children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The health system always consumes a lot of resources; therefore, decision-making based on scientific evidence is necessary in order to optimize costs and prevent waste of resources. The use of evidence in the decision-making process can also improve the quality of management decisions and increase outputs. Given this, we conducted the present study to design a tool in order to assess the status of evidence-based decision-making in the field of health management and its psychometrics.

The present study is an applied research of instrument making that was conducted in 2021. The researchers used the Delphi technique and obtained the opinions of 20 experts to validate the instrument. Then, the face and content validity, as well as reliability of the tool were examined.

We designed a 47-item questionnaire as a tool for assessing the status of evidence-based decision-making. The results of model validation based on Delphi technique showed that the experts agreed on all components of the model (agreement score was above 7). Also, the questionnaire had a reasonable face and content validity (CVR = 0.841 and CVI = 0.972). Cronbach's alpha of all domains and all designed tools was also estimated to be more than 70%, indicating acceptable instrument reliability.

Evidence-based decision-making tool in the field of health management can be useful for managers and officials in this field in order to fully implement the decision-making approach, as well as evidence-based performance.

Strategic purchasing is a key element and strategy for realizing universal health coverage. This study aimed to determine the factors influencing the strategic purchasing of health services for cardiovascular diseases.

In this mixed-methods (qualitative-quantitative) applied study, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a matrix of pairwise comparisons. The study population consisted of managers and policy makers of basic insurance organizations, Ministry of Health, hospital managers, and university faculty members who were selected by the purposive sampling method.The data were analyzed via thematic analysis in MAXQDA and prioritized in MATLAB via the DEMATEL technique.

Stewardship and policy-making, financial, insurance-related, structural, behavioral, and social determinants of health were identified as influential factors. Patient-, provider-, and contract-related were identified as the influenced factors. The stewardship and policy-making element (1.32, 2.73) was the most influential factor, while the patient-related element (-1.30, 1.30) was the most influenced factor in strategic purchasing of cardiovascular health services.

Strategic purchasing of health services requires the widespread participation of all the stakeholders and players of the healthcare system. Having effective stewardship of the healthcare system, institutionalizing an evidence-based decision-making system, empowering and increasing citizens’ participation in health-related decision-making and policies, and providing stable financing are the most important factors influencing the implementation of the health service strategic purchasing.

Academic social networks have greatly influenced scholarly communication in the last decade. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of these networks in the scholarly communication of students and faculty members of Iran University of Medical Sciences.

The study used a descriptive-survey method. The study population included post-graduate students and faculty members of Iran University of Medical Sciences. Using the stratified random sampling method, we selected 450 persons. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Its validity was evaluated by six faculty members, and its reliability was estimated by using Cronbach's alpha, which was 0.96. The results were analyzed by the SPSS-19 software.

Information searching with a mean of 3.59, and information publishing and sharing with a mean of 3.38 were significant advantages of utilizing academic social networks for scholarly communications. Moreover, the lack of educational workshops were the most important deterrents in using these networks. Testing the hypotheses also indicated that there was a significant relationship between social network use and scholarly communication of students and faculty members. The mean scores of research collaborations, finding research topics, and information search among students were higher than those of faculty members. Finally, there was no statistically significant relationship between academic degree, age, and social network use.

the results showed that the use of social networks in scholarly communication between users was effective. Thus, introducing the capabilities of the networks and conducting educational workshops can enhance the productivity of the networks in all scholarly communication dimensions.

Today, the effectiveness of an organization is directly explained by the quality of its human resources. One of the most challenging issues that the healthcare sector faces is human resource management risks. The aim of this study was to present an interactive and process model and plot the structural relationships of human resource risks in the healthcare sector.

This research was a quantitative research based on the structural-interpretive modeling method. Participants included 19 managers and human resources experts of medical centers in Kashan and Aran-Bidgol, who were selected by purposive and snowball sampling. In this study, the structural-interpretive modeling method was used to structure and plot the interactive relationships of 14 critical risks of human resources in the healthcare sector.

The 14 main risks of human resources in the health sector were classified into four levels using structural-interpretive modeling. Thus, the risks of ‘perspective based on the non-strategic role of the human resources unit’, ‘perspective based on the inefficient performance of the human resources unit’ and ‘risk of selection and employment’ are in the fourth level, and ‘financial’ and ‘behavioral’ risks are in the first level.

According to the structural-interpretive modeling method, the risk of inappropriate attitude towards the role and performance of human resource management and the risk of hiring and using human resources, as key and critical risks, are the driving force behind other risks in the field of human resources in the health sector. Therefore, to manage and reduce other risks in the field of human resources, it is necessary that we manage them in the healthcare sector.

Optimal allocation of funds to the health sector has always been one of the most important decisions facing authorities in this field. This study aims to examine the budgetary funds allocated to the health sector in Iran during the Sixth Development Plan. It also aims to present an operational proposal to compensate some shortages of the financial resources.

This was a descriptive and applied study. The period of the Sixth Development Plan (2017-2021) has been evaluated. In the present study, the trend of budget resources in the health sector, including core health programs (physicians, famil and electronic health record), and changes in resources compared to total inflation and health sector inflation were examined. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using Excel software.

The result showed that the allocated funds to medical sectors were about 76% on average during the period under review. The process of allocating special funds in 2017 has reduced from about 63% to 35% in the 2021 budget bill. Health sector inflation was lower than total inflation, and the funds’ growth was able to compensate for the inflation of the health sector in 2017, 2018, and 2021.

The first feature of allocated funds is instability, and medical-oriented is another one. Moreover, pivotal programs such as family physicians and EHR do not receive sufficient funds and are considered the priority. It is suggested that a specialized health investment company be established to finance feasible technical-financial and environmental projects.

Smartphone-based medical applications are tools for accessing the latest valid scientific evidence. These programs can improve decision-making and communication between medical staff and reduce medical errors. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of knowledge and use of smartphone applications among medical students of Iran University of Medical Sciences.

This study was an applied study that was done by a descriptive-survey method. 81 final-year medical students of Iran University of Medical Sciences were selected by a census in the period 2017-2018. To collect the data, a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of three parts with a Likert scale was used, and its validity and reliability were measured and analyzed using SPSS software version 21.

More than 40% of the students used medical applications at different times of the week. Lack of Internet access at university and at work was the biggest barrier to accessing medical applications on a mobile phone. Most of the support needed to use these programs was to use the available online guides. UpToDate and MedScape medical programs were also the most used ones by the respondents.

The present study shows that medical students’ level of knowledge and use of smartphone-based medical applications, or rather, their level of knowledge and understanding of the applications is on the increase based on their information or experience. Therefore, necessary measures should be taken to facilitate and create Internet access infrastructure in the workplace and universities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had many effects on the process of receiving medical services in patients with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases. The focus of all attention and the allocation of resources to control the epidemic has made it difficult for cardiovascular patients to access health services. This study aimed to identify the challenges of providing cardiovascular patients with health services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.

This applied study was performed via a qualitative descriptive method. Participants included 15 cardiologists, emergency medicine specialists, internal medicine specialists, and cardiac nurses. Collected through semi-structured interviews, the data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis using MAXQDA software.

In the present study, four categories and nine subcategories were extracted. The categories included lack of resources in the cardiovascular department [lack of physical space, allocation of resources to patients with COVID-19, limitations of equipment and facilities], weaknesses in providing efficient and effective education [fear of disease, lack of sufficient information], weaknesses in the hospital preparedness program [inadequate service delivery planning, inefficient resource management planning], poor quality and quantity of health care services [reduction in the amount of care provided, inadequate and untimely medical care.

Providing cardiovascular patients with health services has been challenged due to the simultaneous response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Properly allocating resources, informing and educating the community and medical staff, and developing preparedness programs can help address these challenges and provide cardiovascular patients with optimal health services.