Sample records for address stakeholder concerns

  1. Security and health research databases: the stakeholders and questions to be addressed.

    PubMed

    Stewart, Sara

    2006-01-01

    Health research database security issues abound. Issues include subject confidentiality, data ownership, data integrity and data accessibility. There are also various stakeholders in database security. Each of these stakeholders has a different set of concerns and responsibilities when dealing with security issues. There is an obvious need for training in security issues, so that these issues may be addressed and health research will move on without added obstacles based on misunderstanding security methods and technologies.

  2. Changes in Aleut concerns following the stakeholder-driven Amchitka independent science assessment.

    PubMed

    Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael

    2009-08-01

    There is widespread agreement that stakeholders should be included in the problem-formulation phase of addressing environment problems and, more recently, there have been attempts to include stakeholders in other phases of environmental research. However, there are few studies that evaluate the effects of including stakeholders in all phases of research aimed at solving environmental problems. Three underground nuclear blasts were detonated on Amchitka Island from 1965 to 1971. Considerable controversy developed when the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to "close" Amchitka. Concerns were voiced by subsistence Aleuts living in the region, resource trustees, and the State of Alaska, among others. This article evaluates perceptions of residents of three Aleutian village before (2003) and after (2005) the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation's (CRESP) Amchitka Independent Science Assessment (AISA). The CRESP AISA provided technical information on radionuclide levels in biota to inform questions of seafood safety and food chain health. CRESP used the questions asked at public meetings in the Aleut communities of Atka, Nikolski, and Unalaska to evaluate attitudes and perceptions before and after the AISA. Major concerns before the AISA were credibility/trust of CRESP and the DOE, and information about biological methodology of the study. Following the AISA, people were most concerned about health effects and risk reduction, and trust issues with CRESP declined while those for the DOE remained stable. People's relative concerns about radionuclides declined, while their concerns about mercury (not addressed in the AISA) increased, and interest in ecological issues (population changes of local species) and the future (continued biomonitoring) increased from 2003 to 2005. These results suggest that questions posed at public meetings can be used to evaluate changes in attitudes and perceptions following environmental research, and the results are

  3. Changes in Aleut Concerns Following the Stakeholder-Driven Amchitka Independent Science Assessment

    PubMed Central

    Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael

    2014-01-01

    There is widespread agreement that stakeholders should be included in the problem-formulation phase of addressing environment problems and, more recently, there have been attempts to include stakeholders in other phases of environmental research. However, there are few studies that evaluate the effects of including stakeholders in all phases of research aimed at solving environmental problems. Three underground nuclear blasts were detonated on Amchitka Island from 1965 to 1971. Considerable controversy developed when the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to “close” Amchitka. Concerns were voiced by subsistence Aleuts living in the region, resource trustees, and the State of Alaska, among others. This article evaluates perceptions of residents of three Aleutian village before (2003) and after (2005) the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation’s (CRESP) Amchitka Independent Science Assessment (AISA). The CRESP AISA provided technical information on radionuclide levels in biota to inform questions of seafood safety and food chain health. CRESP used the questions asked at public meetings in the Aleut communities of Atka, Nikolski, and Unalaska to evaluate attitudes and perceptions before and after the AISA. Major concerns before the AISA were credibility/trust of CRESP and the DOE, and information about biological methodology of the study. Following the AISA, people were most concerned about health effects and risk reduction, and trust issues with CRESP declined while those for the DOE remained stable. People’s relative concerns about radionuclides declined, while their concerns about mercury (not addressed in the AISA) increased, and interest in ecological issues (population changes of local species) and the future (continued biomonitoring) increased from 2003 to 2005. These results suggest that questions posed at public meetings can be used to evaluate changes in attitudes and perceptions following environmental research, and the

  4. Defining Scenarios: Linking Integrated Models, Regional Concerns, and Stakeholders

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hartmann, H. C.; Stewart, S.; Liu, Y.; Mahmoud, M.

    2007-05-01

    Scenarios are important tools for long-term planning, and there is great interest in using integrated models in scenario studies. However, scenario definition and assessment are creative, as well as scientific, efforts. Using facilitated creative processes, we have worked with stakeholders to define regionally significant scenarios that encompass a broad range of hydroclimatic, socioeconomic, and institutional dimensions. The regional scenarios subsequently inform the definition of local scenarios that work with context-specific integrated models that, individually, can address only a subset of overall regional complexity. Based on concerns of stakeholders in the semi-arid US Southwest, we prioritized three dimensions that are especially important, yet highly uncertain, for long-term planning: hydroclimatic conditions (increased variability, persistent drought), development patterns (urban consolidation, distributed rural development), and the nature of public institutions (stressed, proactive). Linking across real-world decision contexts and integrated modeling efforts poses challenges of creatively connecting the conceptual models held by both the research and stakeholder communities.

  5. A Practical Approach to Address Uncertainty in Stakeholder Deliberations.

    PubMed

    Gregory, Robin; Keeney, Ralph L

    2017-03-01

    This article addresses the difficulties of incorporating uncertainty about consequence estimates as part of stakeholder deliberations involving multiple alternatives. Although every prediction of future consequences necessarily involves uncertainty, a large gap exists between common practices for addressing uncertainty in stakeholder deliberations and the procedures of prescriptive decision-aiding models advanced by risk and decision analysts. We review the treatment of uncertainty at four main phases of the deliberative process: with experts asked to describe possible consequences of competing alternatives, with stakeholders who function both as individuals and as members of coalitions, with the stakeholder committee composed of all stakeholders, and with decisionmakers. We develop and recommend a model that uses certainty equivalents as a theoretically robust and practical approach for helping diverse stakeholders to incorporate uncertainties when evaluating multiple-objective alternatives as part of public policy decisions. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

  6. A strategic stakeholder approach for addressing further analysis requests in whole genome sequencing research.

    PubMed

    Thornock, Bradley Steven O

    2016-01-01

    Whole genome sequencing (WGS) can be a cost-effective and efficient means of diagnosis for some children, but it also raises a number of ethical concerns. One such concern is how researchers derive and communicate results from WGS, including future requests for further analysis of stored sequences. The purpose of this paper is to think about what is at stake, and for whom, in any solution that is developed to deal with such requests. To accomplish this task, this paper will utilize stakeholder theory, a common method used in business ethics. Several scenarios that connect stakeholder concerns and WGS will also posited and analyzed. This paper concludes by developing criteria composed of a series of questions that researchers can answer in order to more effectively address requests for further analysis of stored sequences.

  7. Stakeholders Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Delrio, Claudio; Ami, Zvi Ben; de Groot, Reuma; Drachmann, Raul; Ilomaki, Liisa

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this report is, first of all, to present the KP-Lab approach toward stakeholders in the wider framework of European policies. Secondly, the KP-Lab definition of stakeholders and the strategy to address different stakeholders needs, concerns and expectations is presented in the following paragraphs. The second chapter presents concrete…

  8. Identity-driven differences in stakeholder concerns about hunting wolves.

    PubMed

    Lute, Michelle L; Bump, Adam; Gore, Meredith L

    2014-01-01

    Whereas past wolf management in the United States was restricted to recovery, managers must now contend with publicly contentious post-recovery issues including regulated hunting seasons. Understanding stakeholder concerns associated with hunting can inform stakeholder engagement, communication, and policy development and evaluation. Social identity theory (SIT) has been used to understand how groups interact, why they conflict, and how collaboration may be achieved. Applying SIT to stakeholder conflicts about wolf hunting may help delineate groups according to their concern about, support for or opposition to the policy choice of hunting wolves. Our objective was to assess concerns about hunting as a tool to resolve conflict in Michigan, using SIT as a framework. We used a mixed-modal sampling approach (e.g., paper, Internet) with wolf hunting-related public meeting participants in March 2013. Survey questions focused on 12 concerns previously identified as associated with hunting as a management tool to resolve conflict. Respondents (n  =  666) cared greatly about wolves but were divided over hunting wolves. Wolf conflicts, use of science in policy decisions, and maintaining a wolf population were the highest ranked concerns. Principle components analysis reduced concerns into three factors that explained 50.7% of total variance; concerns crystallized over justifications for hunting. General linear models revealed a lack of geographic influence on care, fear and support for hunting related to wolves. These findings challenge assumptions about regional differences and suggest a strong role for social identity in driving dichotomized public perceptions in wildlife management.

  9. Physical Protection of Spent Fuel Shipments: Resolution of Stakeholder Concerns Through Rulemaking - 12284

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ballard, James D.; Halstead, Robert J.; Dilger, Fred

    2012-07-01

    majority of the concerns expressed in the petition, additional developments by other regulatory bodies and the change in how the United States sees threats to the homeland - all of these produced a satisfactory resolution through the rulemaking process. While not all of the concerns expressed by Nevada were addressed in the proposed rule and significant challenges face any programmatic shipment campaign in the future, the lesson learned on this occasion is that stakeholder concerns can be resolved through rulemaking. If DOE would engage with stakeholders on its role in transport of SNF and HLW under the NWPA, these concerns would be better addressed. Specifically the attempts by DOE to resist transportation and security regulations now considered necessary by the NRC for the adequate protection of the shipments of highly radioactive materials, these DOE efforts seem ill advised. One clear lesson learned from this successful rulemaking petition process is that the system of stakeholder input can work to better the regulatory environment. (authors)« less

  10. Rapid Assessment of Stakeholder Concerns about Public Health. An Introduction to a Fast and Inexpensive Approach Applied on Health Concerns about Intensive Animal Production Systems.

    PubMed

    Kraaij-Dirkzwager, Marleen; van der Ree, Joost; Lebret, Erik

    2017-12-11

    To effectively manage environmental health risks, stakeholders often need to act collectively. Stakeholders vary in their desire to act due to many factors, such as knowledge, risk perception, interests, and worldviews. Understanding their perceptions of the issues at stake is crucial to support the risk governance process. Even though concern assessment is a pivotal element of risk governance, few tools for rapid assessment are reported in the literature. We tested a rapid and relatively cheap approach, taking the Dutch debate on Intensive Animal Production Systems (IAPS) and health as an example. Dutch policy-oriented publications on IAPS and health and ten semi-structured in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders were analyzed to identify stakeholders and concerns involved in the Dutch debate about IAPS and health. Concerns were mapped and a stakeholder network was derived. Three classes of concerns were recognized in the discussions about IAPS and health: concerns related to health risks, concerns regarding the activity causing the risks (IAPS), and concerns about the process to control the risks. The notions of 'trust' and 'scientific uncertainty' appeared as important themes in the discussions. Argumentation based on concerns directly related to health risks, the activity causing the risk (IAPS), and its risk management can easily become muddled up in a societal debate, limiting the development of effective action perspectives. Acknowledging these multiple stakeholder concerns can clarify the positions taken by stakeholders and allow for more and other action perspectives to develop.

  11. Rapid Assessment of Stakeholder Concerns about Public Health. An Introduction to a Fast and Inexpensive Approach Applied on Health Concerns about Intensive Animal Production Systems

    PubMed Central

    van der Ree, Joost; Lebret, Erik

    2017-01-01

    To effectively manage environmental health risks, stakeholders often need to act collectively. Stakeholders vary in their desire to act due to many factors, such as knowledge, risk perception, interests, and worldviews. Understanding their perceptions of the issues at stake is crucial to support the risk governance process. Even though concern assessment is a pivotal element of risk governance, few tools for rapid assessment are reported in the literature. We tested a rapid and relatively cheap approach, taking the Dutch debate on Intensive Animal Production Systems (IAPS) and health as an example. Dutch policy-oriented publications on IAPS and health and ten semi-structured in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders were analyzed to identify stakeholders and concerns involved in the Dutch debate about IAPS and health. Concerns were mapped and a stakeholder network was derived. Three classes of concerns were recognized in the discussions about IAPS and health: concerns related to health risks, concerns regarding the activity causing the risks (IAPS), and concerns about the process to control the risks. The notions of ‘trust’ and ‘scientific uncertainty’ appeared as important themes in the discussions. Argumentation based on concerns directly related to health risks, the activity causing the risk (IAPS), and its risk management can easily become muddled up in a societal debate, limiting the development of effective action perspectives. Acknowledging these multiple stakeholder concerns can clarify the positions taken by stakeholders and allow for more and other action perspectives to develop. PMID:29232902

  12. Multiple-level stakeholder engagement in malaria clinical trials: addressing the challenges of conducting clinical research in resource-limited settings.

    PubMed

    Mtove, George; Kimani, Joshua; Kisinza, William; Makenga, Geofrey; Mangesho, Peter; Duparc, Stephan; Nakalembe, Miriam; Phiri, Kamija S; Orrico, Russell; Rojo, Ricardo; Vandenbroucke, Pol

    2018-03-22

    Multinational clinical trials are logistically complex and require close coordination between various stakeholders. They must comply with global clinical standards and are accountable to multiple regulatory and ethical bodies. In resource-limited settings, it is challenging to understand how to apply global clinical standards to international, national, and local factors in clinical trials, making multiple-level stakeholder engagement an important element in the successful conduct of these clinical trials. During the planning and implementation of a large multinational clinical trial for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy in resource-limited areas of sub-Saharan Africa, we encountered numerous challenges, which required implementation of a range of engagement measures to ensure compliance with global clinical and regulatory standards. These challenges included coordination with ongoing global malaria efforts, heterogeneity in national regulatory structures, sub-optimal healthcare infrastructure, local practices and beliefs, and perspectives that view healthcare providers with undue trust or suspicion. In addition to engagement with international bodies, such as the World Health Organization, the Malaria in Pregnancy Consortium, the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in order to address the challenges just described, Pfizer Inc. and Medicines for Malaria Venture (the "Sponsoring Entities" for these studies) and investigators liaised with national- and district-level stakeholders such as health ministers and regional/local community health workers. Community engagement measures undertaken by investigators included local meetings with community leaders to explain the research aims and answer questions and concerns voiced by the community. The investigators also engaged with family members of prospective trial participants in order to be sensitive to local practices and beliefs. Engagement

  13. Ambivalence about supervised injection facilities among community stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Strike, Carol; Watson, Tara Marie; Kolla, Gillian; Penn, Rebecca; Bayoumi, Ahmed M

    2015-08-21

    Community stakeholders express a range of opinions about supervised injection facilities (SIFs). We sought to identify reasons for ambivalence about SIFs amongst community stakeholders in two Canadian cities. We used purposive sampling methods to recruit various stakeholder representatives (n = 141) for key informant interviews or focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using a thematic process. We identified seven reasons for ambivalence about SIFs: lack of personal knowledge of evidence about SIFs; concern that SIF goals are too narrow and the need for a comprehensive response to drug use; uncertainty that the community drug problem is large enough to warrant a SIF(s); the need to know more about the "right" places to locate a SIF(s) to avoid damaging communities or businesses; worry that a SIF(s) will renew problems that existed prior to gentrification; concern that resources for drug use prevention and treatment efforts will be diverted to pay for a SIF(s); and concern that SIF implementation must include evaluation, community consultation, and an explicit commitment to discontinue a SIF(s) in the event of adverse outcomes. Stakeholders desire evidence about potential SIF impacts relevant to local contexts and that addresses perceived potential harms. Stakeholders would also like to see SIFs situated within a comprehensive response to drug use. Future research should determine the relative importance of these concerns and optimal approaches to address them to help guide decision-making about SIFs.

  14. Setting Priorities in Global Child Health Research Investments: Addressing Values of Stakeholders

    PubMed Central

    Kapiriri, Lydia; Tomlinson, Mark; Gibson, Jennifer; Chopra, Mickey; El Arifeen, Shams; Black, Robert E.; Rudan, Igor

    2007-01-01

    Aim To identify main groups of stakeholders in the process of health research priority setting and propose strategies for addressing their systems of values. Methods In three separate exercises that took place between March and June 2006 we interviewed three different groups of stakeholders: 1) members of the global research priority setting network; 2) a diverse group of national-level stakeholders from South Africa; and 3) participants at the conference related to international child health held in Washington, DC, USA. Each of the groups was administered different version of the questionnaire in which they were asked to set weights to criteria (and also minimum required thresholds, where applicable) that were a priori defined as relevant to health research priority setting by the consultants of the Child Health and Nutrition Research initiative (CHNRI). Results At the global level, the wide and diverse group of respondents placed the greatest importance (weight) to the criterion of maximum potential for disease burden reduction, while the most stringent threshold was placed on the criterion of answerability in an ethical way. Among the stakeholders’ representatives attending the international conference, the criterion of deliverability, answerability, and sustainability of health research results was proposed as the most important one. At the national level in South Africa, the greatest weight was placed on the criterion addressing the predicted impact on equity of the proposed health research. Conclusions Involving a large group of stakeholders when setting priorities in health research investments is important because the criteria of relevance to scientists and technical experts, whose knowledge and technical expertise is usually central to the process, may not be appropriate to specific contexts and in accordance with the views and values of those who invest in health research, those who benefit from it, or wider society as a whole. PMID:17948948

  15. Mapping the Views of Adolescent Health Stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Ewan, Lindsay A; McLinden, Daniel; Biro, Frank; DeJonckheere, Melissa; Vaughn, Lisa M

    2016-01-01

    Health research that includes youth and family stakeholders increases the contextual relevance of findings, which can benefit both the researchers and stakeholders involved. The goal of this study was to identify youth and family adolescent health priorities and to explore strategies to address these concerns. Stakeholders identified important adolescent health concerns, perceptions of which were then explored using concept mapping. Concept mapping is a mixed-method participatory research approach that invites input from various stakeholders. In response to prompts, stakeholders suggested ways to address the identified health conditions. Adolescent participants then sorted the statements into groups based on content similarity and rated the statements for importance and feasibility. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were then applied to create the concept maps. Stakeholders identified sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and obesity as the health conditions they considered most important. The concept map for STIs identified 7 clusters: General sex education, support and empowerment, testing and treatment, community involvement and awareness, prevention and protection, parental involvement in sex education, and media. The obesity concept map portrayed 8 clusters: Healthy food choices, obesity education, support systems, clinical and community involvement, community support for exercise, physical activity, nutrition support, and nutrition education. Ratings were generally higher for importance than for feasibility. The concept maps demonstrate stakeholder-driven ideas about approaches to target STIs and obesity in this context. Strategies at multiple social ecological levels were emphasized. The concept maps can be used to generate discussion regarding these topics and to identify interventions. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. The role of symbolic capital in stakeholder disputes: decision-making concerning intractable wastes.

    PubMed

    Benn, Suzanne; Jones, Richard

    2009-04-01

    This paper examines almost 30 years of disputation concerning the disposal of the world's largest stockpile of the toxic organochlorine, hexachlorbenzene. It describes the study of a chemicals company in its attempt to manage the disposal of the toxic waste in a collaborative fashion with government, environmentalists and the local community. The study describes the new processes and structures specifically designed to address the decision-making and the issues of stakeholder perception and identity construction which have influenced the outcomes. Decision-making in such disputes is often theorized from the perspective of the emergence of highly individualized and reflexive risk communities and changing modes and expectations of corporate responsibility as a result of detraditionalization. We argue that the stakeholder interaction in this study reflects competing discourses in which corporate actors prioritize the building and maintaining of identity and symbolic capital rather than an active collaboration to solve the ongoing issue of the waste. As well, issues of access to expert knowledge highlight the relationship between conditions of uncertainty, technoscientific expertise and identity. The events of the study highlight the challenges faced by contemporary technoscientific corporations such as chemicals companies as they must deliver on requirements of transparency and openness, while maintaining technoscientific capacity and strong internal identity. We conclude that the study demonstrates the co-existence of social processes of individualization and detraditionalization with quasi-traditions which maintain authority, thus challenging the radical distinctions made in the literature between modernity and late or reflexive modernity.

  17. Linking ecosystem service supply to stakeholder concerns on ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Policies to protect coastal resources may lead to greater social, economic, and ecological returns when they consider potential co-benefits and trade-offs on land. In Guánica Bay watershed, Puerto Rico, a watershed management plan is being implemented to restore declining quality of coral reefs due to sediment and nutrient runoff. However, recent stakeholder workshops indicated uncertainty about benefits for the local community. A total of 19 metrics were identified to capture stakeholder concerns, including 15 terrestrial ecosystem services in the watershed and 4 metrics in the coastal zone. Ecosystem service production functions were applied to quantify and map ecosystem service supply in 1) the Guánica Bay watershed and 2) a highly engineered upper multi-watershed area connected to the lower watershed via a series of reservoirs and tunnels. These two watersheds were compared to other watersheds in Puerto Rico. Relative to other watersheds, the Upper Guánica watershed had high air pollutant removal rates, forest habitat area, biodiversity of charismatic and endangered species, but low farmland quality and low sediment retention. The Lower Guánica watershed had high rates of denitrification and high levels of marine-based recreational and fishing opportunities compared to other watersheds, but moderate to low air pollutant removal, soil carbon content, sediment and nutrient retention, and terrestrial biodiversity. Our results suggest that actions in the wat

  18. Assessing risk from a stakeholder perspective

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cooper, L. P.

    2003-01-01

    Planetary exploration missions are subject to a vast array of interpretations of 'success' based on the concerns of multiple stakeholder groups. While project risk management generally focuses on issues of cost/schedule constraints or reliability issues, a broader interpretation of 'risk' as it applies to stakeholders such as sponsors (e.g., NASA), the public at large, the scientific community, the home organization, and the project team itself can provide important insights into the full spectrum of risk that needs to be managed. This paper presents a stakeholder view of risk which is divided into failure, not-a-failure, success, and stunning-success zones. Using the Mars Pathfinder mission as an example, an alternative interpretation of the risks to that mission is presented from the view of key stakeholders. The implications of the stakeholder perspective to project risk management are addressed.

  19. Addressing the Health Concerns of VA Women with Sexual Trauma

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-10-01

    AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-14-1-0368 TITLE: Addressing the Health Concerns of VA Women with Sexual Trauma PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Caron Zlotnick, PhD...develop and assess a computer-delivered intervention (Safety and Health Experiences Program; SHE) that will provide a screening and brief behavior...intervention for women veterans with any lifetime ST. More specifically, the intervention, SHE, will address interrelated health concerns for women

  20. Stakeholder views on pharmacogenomic testing.

    PubMed

    Patel, Haridarshan N; Ursan, Iulia D; Zueger, Patrick M; Cavallari, Larisa H; Pickard, A Simon

    2014-02-01

    Pharmacogenomics has an important role in the evolution of personalized medicine, and its widespread uptake may ultimately depend on the interests and perspectives of key players in health care. Our aim was to summarize studies on stakeholder perspectives and attitudes toward pharmacogenomic testing. Thus, we conducted a review of original research studies that reported stakeholder views on pharmacogenomic testing using a structured approach in PubMed, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and EMBASE. A standardized data abstraction form was developed that included stakeholder group of interest-patients, general public, providers, and payers. Stakeholder views regarding barriers to pharmacogenetic implementation were organized into the following themes: ancillary information-related, clinical, economic, educational, ethical or legal, medical mistrust, and practicality. Of 34 studies that met our inclusion criteria, 37 perspectives were reported (15 on providers, 9 on the general public, 9 on patients, and 4 on payers). The most common topics that arose in studies of providers related to clinical usefulness of genetic data (n=11) and educational needs (n=11). Among the general public, the most common concerns were medical mistrust (n=5), insufficient education (n=5), and practicality (n=5). The most prevalent issues from the patient perspective were ethical or legal (n=6) and economic (n=5) issues. Among payers, leading issues were practicality (n=4) and clinical usefulness (n=3). There was overlap in the topics and concerns across stakeholder perspectives, including lack of knowledge about pharmacogenomic testing. Views on issues related to privacy, cost, and test result dissemination varied by stakeholder perspective. Limited research had been conducted in underrepresented groups. Efforts to address the issues raised by stakeholders may facilitate the implementation of pharmacogenomic testing into

  1. Using life cycle assessment to address stakeholders' potential for improving municipal solid waste management.

    PubMed

    de Andrade Junior, Milton Aurelio Uba; Zanghelini, Guillherme Marcelo; Soares, Sebastião Roberto

    2017-05-01

    Because the consumption of materials is generally higher than their recovery rate, improving municipal solid waste (MSW) management is fundamental for increasing the efficiency of natural resource use and consumption in urban areas. More broadly, the characteristics of a MSW management system influence the end-of-life (EOL) impacts of goods consumed by households. We aim to indicate the extent to which greenhouse gas emissions from a MSW management system can be reduced by increasing waste paper recycling. We also address the stakeholders' contribution for driving transition towards an improved scenario. Life cycle assessment (LCA) addresses the EOL impacts of the paper industry, driven by the characteristics of MSW management in Florianópolis, Brazil, by varying the level of stakeholders' commitment through different recycling scenarios. The results show that 41% of the climate change impacts from waste paper management could be reduced when increasing the waste paper recycling rates and reducing waste paper landfilling. To achieve such emissions reduction, the industry contribution to the MSW management system would have to increase from 17% in the business-as-usual scenario to 74% in the target scenario. We were able to measure the differences in stakeholders' contribution by modelling the MSW management system processes that are under the industry's responsibility separately from the processes that are under the government's responsibility, based on the Brazilian legal framework. The conclusions indicate that LCA can be used to support policy directions on reducing the impacts of MSW management by increasing resource recovery towards a circular economy.

  2. mHealth: Don't Forget All the Stakeholders in the Business Case.

    PubMed

    Petersen, Carolyn; Adams, Samantha A; DeMuro, Paul R

    2015-12-31

    Mobile health (mHealth) facilitates linking patient-generated data with electronic health records with clinical decision support systems. mHealth can transform health care, but to realize this potential it is important to identify the relevant stakeholders and how they might be affected. Such stakeholders include primary stakeholders, such as patients, families and caregivers, clinicians, health care facilities, researchers, payors and purchasers, employer, and miscellaneous secondary stakeholders, such as vendors, suppliers, distributors, and consultants, policy makers and legislators. The breadth and depth of the mHealth market make it possible for mHealth to have a considerable effect on people's health. However, many concerns exist, including privacy, data security, funding, and the lack of case studies demonstrating efficacy and cost-effectiveness. Many American and European initiatives to address these concerns are afoot.

  3. Discrepancies in households and other stakeholders viewpoints on the food security experience: a gap to address.

    PubMed

    Hamelin, Anne-Marie; Mercier, Céline; Bédard, Annie

    2010-06-01

    This paper reports results from a case study on household food insecurity needs and the interventions that address them. It aimed at comparing households' perceptions on food insecurity experience and vulnerability to those of other stakeholders: community workers, programme managers and representatives from donor agencies. Semi-structured interviews with 55 households and 59 other stakeholders were conducted. Content analysis was performed, using a framework encompassing food sufficiency, characterization of household food insecurity and vulnerability of households to food insecurity. Overall, the results draw attention to a gap between households and the other stakeholders, where the later do not seem always able to assess the realities of food-insecure households. Other areas of divergences include: characteristics of food insecurity, relative importance of various risk factors related to food insecurity and the effectiveness of the community assistance to enhance the households' ability to face food insecurity. These divergent perceptions may jeopardize the implementation of sustainable solutions to food insecurity. Training of stakeholders for a better assessment of households' experience and needs, and systematic evaluation of interventions, appear urgent and highly relevant for an adequate response to households' needs. Collaboration between all stakeholders should lead to knowledge sharing and advocacy for policies dedicated to poverty reduction.

  4. 77 FR 52633 - Notice of a Public Meeting: Stakeholder Meeting Concerning EPA's Intent To Regulate Perchlorate...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-30

    ...: Stakeholder Meeting Concerning EPA's Intent To Regulate Perchlorate Levels in Drinking Water AGENCY... a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Perchlorate. DATES: The public meeting and... to obtain access to the building. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: More information on Perchlorate is...

  5. Strengthening stakeholder-engaged research and research on stakeholder engagement.

    PubMed

    Ray, Kristin N; Miller, Elizabeth

    2017-06-01

    Stakeholder engagement is an emerging field with little evidence to inform best practices. Guidelines are needed to improve the quality of research on stakeholder engagement through more intentional planning, evaluation and reporting. We developed a preliminary framework for planning, evaluating and reporting stakeholder engagement, informed by published conceptual models and recommendations and then refined through our own stakeholder engagement experience. Our proposed exploratory framework highlights contexts and processes to be addressed in planning stakeholder engagement, and potential immediate, intermediate and long-term outcomes that warrant evaluation. We use this framework to illustrate both the minimum information needed for reporting stakeholder-engaged research and the comprehensive detail needed for reporting research on stakeholder engagement.

  6. Strengthening stakeholder-engaged research and research on stakeholder engagement

    PubMed Central

    Ray, Kristin N; Miller, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    Stakeholder engagement is an emerging field with little evidence to inform best practices. Guidelines are needed to improve the quality of research on stakeholder engagement through more intentional planning, evaluation and reporting. We developed a preliminary framework for planning, evaluating and reporting stakeholder engagement, informed by published conceptual models and recommendations and then refined through our own stakeholder engagement experience. Our proposed exploratory framework highlights contexts and processes to be addressed in planning stakeholder engagement, and potential immediate, intermediate and long-term outcomes that warrant evaluation. We use this framework to illustrate both the minimum information needed for reporting stakeholder-engaged research and the comprehensive detail needed for reporting research on stakeholder engagement. PMID:28621551

  7. Addressing a community's cancer cluster concerns

    PubMed Central

    Gavin, AT; Catney, D

    2006-01-01

    The felling of a telecommunications mast highlighted a community's concern regarding an alleged cancer cluster of eleven cases in a small rural area of Northern Ireland. At the request of the Local District Council, the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) undertook an investigation. After extensive searching and contact with the community, only 6 of the alleged cases could be identified. Of these six, two did not have cancer and one had a non-malignant tumour. In addition to the three confirmed cancer cases, a search of the NICR database identified a further 17 cancers of mixed types in keeping with the population pattern of cancers. Standardised incidence and mortality rates were within, or lower than, the expected level. The results were presented to the local community at an open meeting. Despite extensive media interest when the issue of the alleged cluster was first raised, the negative findings received only local media attention. This study illustrates the value of an accurate population cancer registry in addressing cancer cluster concerns. PMID:16964811

  8. Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Stakeholder Analysis WorksheetA worksheet that can be used to document potential stakeholder groups, the information or expertise they hold, the role that they can play, their interests or concerns about the HIA

  9. Attitudes towards evaluation of psychiatric disability claims: a survey of Swiss stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Schandelmaier, Stefan; Leibold, Andrea; Fischer, Katrin; Mager, Ralph; Hoffmann-Richter, Ulrike; Bachmann, Monica Susanne; Kedzia, Sarah; Busse, Jason Walter; Guyatt, Gordon Henry; Jeger, Joerg; Marelli, Renato; De Boer, Wout Ernst Lodewijk; Kunz, Regina

    2015-01-01

    In Switzerland, evaluation of work capacity in individuals with mental disorders has come under criticism. We surveyed stakeholders about their concerns and expectations of the current claim process. We conducted a nationwide online survey among five stakeholder groups. We asked 37 questions addressing the claim process and the evaluation of work capacity, the maximum acceptable disagreement in judgments on work capacity, and its documentation. Response rate among 704 stakeholders (95 plaintiff lawyers, 285 treating psychiatrists, 129 expert psychiatrists evaluating work capacity, 64 social judges, 131 insurers) varied between 71% and 29%. Of the lawyers, 92% were dissatisfied with the current claim process, as were psychiatrists (73%) and experts (64%), whereas the majority of judges (72%) and insurers (81%) were satisfied. Stakeholders agreed in their concerns, such as the lack of a transparent relationship between the experts' findings and their conclusions regarding work capacity, medical evaluations inappropriately addressing legal issues, and the experts' delay in finalising the report. Findings mirror the characteristics that stakeholders consider important for an optimal work capacity evaluation. For a scenario where two experts evaluate the same claimant, stakeholders considered an inter-rater difference of 10%‒20% in work capacity at maximum acceptable. Plaintiff lawyers, treating psychiatrists and experts perceive major problems in work capacity evaluation of psychiatric claims whereas judges and insurers see the process more positively. Efforts to improve the process should include clarifying the basis on which judgments are made, restricting judgments to areas of expertise, and ensuring prompt submission of evaluations.

  10. Stakeholder attitudes and needs regarding cell-free fetal DNA testing.

    PubMed

    Hill, Melissa; Lewis, Celine; Chitty, Lyn S

    2016-04-01

    To explore stakeholder views on cell-free DNA testing and highlight findings important for successful implementation and the provision of best practice in counseling. Noninvasive tests based on the analysis of cell-free fetal DNA are now widely available in clinical practice and applications are expanding rapidly. It is essential that stakeholder views are considered in order to identify and address any ethical and social issues. We provide an overview of stakeholder viewpoints and then focus on the key issues of informed decision making, test uptake, service delivery and information sources. Stakeholders are positive about the introduction of cell-free fetal DNA testing into clinical practice. They describe both practical and psychological benefits arising from tests that are safe and can potentially be performed earlier in pregnancy. Key concerns, which include the potential for these tests to have a negative impact on informed decision making and increased societal pressure to have testing, can be addressed through careful parent-directed counseling. As applications for these tests expand it is increasingly important to develop innovative approaches to facilitate good understanding for parents who are offered noninvasive prenatal testing.

  11. Addressing EO-1 Spacecraft Pulsed Plasma Thruster EMI Concerns

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zakrzwski, C. M.; Davis, Mitch; Sarmiento, Charles; Bauer, Frank H. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) Experiment on the Earth Observing One (EO-1) spacecraft has been designed to demonstrate the capability of a new generation PPT to perform spacecraft attitude control. Results from PPT unit level radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI) tests led to concerns about potential interference problems with other spacecraft subsystems. Initial plans to address these concerns included firing the PPT at the spacecraft level both in atmosphere, with special ground support equipment. and in vacuum. During the spacecraft level tests, additional concerns where raised about potential harm to the Advanced Land Imager (ALI). The inadequacy of standard radiated emission test protocol to address pulsed electromagnetic discharges and the lack of resources required to perform compatibility tests between the PPT and an ALI test unit led to changes in the spacecraft level validation plan. An EMI shield box for the PPT was constructed and validated for spacecraft level ambient testing. Spacecraft level vacuum tests of the PPT were deleted. Implementation of the shield box allowed for successful spacecraft level testing of the PPT while eliminating any risk to the ALI. The ALI demonstration will precede the PPT demonstration to eliminate any possible risk of damage of ALI from PPT operation.

  12. Bottlenecks, concerns and needs in malaria operational research: the perspectives of key stakeholders in Nigeria.

    PubMed

    Onyiah, Pamela; Adamu, Al-Mukhtar Y; Afolabi, Rotimi F; Ajumobi, Olufemi; Ughasoro, Maduka D; Odeyinka, Oluwaseun; Nguku, Patrick; Ajayi, IkeOluwapo O

    2018-05-04

    We conducted a study to determine stakeholders' perspective of the bottlenecks, concerns and needs to malaria operational research (MOR) agenda setting in Nigeria. Eighty-five (37.9%) stakeholders identified lack of positive behavioural change as the major bottleneck to MOR across the malaria thematic areas comprising of malaria prevention 58.8% (50), case management 34.8% (39), advocacy communication and social mobilisation 4.7% (4) while procurement and supply chain management (PSM) and programme management experts had the least response of 1.2% (1) each. Other bottlenecks were inadequate capacity to implement (13.8%, n = 31), inadequate funds (11.6%, n = 26), poor supply management (9.4%, n = 21), administrative bureaucracy (5.8%, n = 13), inadequacy of experts (1.3%, n = 3) and poor policy implementation (4.9%, n = 11). Of the 31 stakeholders who opined lack of capacity to execute malaria operational research; 17 (54.8%), 10 (32.3%), 3 (9.7%) and 1 (3.2%) were experts in case management, malaria prevention, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation and PSM respectively. Improvement in community enlightenment and awareness strategies; and active involvement of health care workers public and private sectors were identified solutions to lack of positive behavioural change.

  13. Stakeholder-Driven Quality Improvement: A Compelling Force for Clinical Practice Guidelines.

    PubMed

    Rosenfeld, Richard M; Wyer, Peter C

    2018-01-01

    Clinical practice guideline development should be driven by rigorous methodology, but what is less clear is where quality improvement enters the process: should it be a priority-guiding force, or should it enter only after recommendations are formulated? We argue for a stakeholder-driven approach to guideline development, with an overriding goal of quality improvement based on stakeholder perceptions of needs, uncertainties, and knowledge gaps. In contrast, the widely used topic-driven approach, which often makes recommendations based only on randomized controlled trials, is driven by epidemiologic purity and evidence rigor, with quality improvement a downstream consideration. The advantages of a stakeholder-driven versus a topic-driven approach are highlighted by comparisons of guidelines for otitis media with effusion, thyroid nodules, sepsis, and acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. These comparisons show that stakeholder-driven guidelines are more likely to address the quality improvement needs and pressing concerns of clinicians and patients, including understudied populations and patients with multiple chronic conditions. Conversely, a topic-driven approach often addresses "typical" patients, based on research that may not reflect the needs of high-risk groups excluded from studies because of ethical issues or a desire for purity of research design.

  14. 78 FR 20119 - Broad Stakeholder Survey

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2012-0042] Broad Stakeholder Survey AGENCY... concerning the Broad Stakeholder Survey. DHS previously published this ICR in the Federal Register on August... across the Nation. The Broad Stakeholder Survey is designed to gather stakeholder feedback on the...

  15. Concerns of early career agricultural science teachers and the perceived effectiveness of educator preparation programs in addressing those concerns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pearson, Camilla E.

    Little is known about the concerns and needs of early career agricultural teachers associated with the various routes to certification and how these routes address those concerns. The purpose of this study is to determine how selected early career agriculture teachers perceive their teacher preparation program and how effective their programs were at addressing these concerns during their first year of teaching. The sample consisted of secondary agricultural teachers in Texas FFA Areas V and VI, who self-identified themselves as an early career agricultural teacher in their first 3 years of teaching. The first phase included a web-based survey administered to assess the concerns of early career agricultural teachers. Two Likert-type scales were used, and these were used to assess the perceived importance of problems faced by early career agricultural teachers and the frequency in which they encounter those problems. The second phase included a qualitative interview to better understand the perceived relationship between participants' undergraduate preparation, experiences in agriculture and related organizations, and other related activities in preparing them as agriculture science teachers. The teachers interviewed in this study indicated that overall, they were pleased with their preparation. Teacher educators from both programs should address the concerns presented from all teachers to further prepare them for issues faced by early career teachers because it is evident that these issues are not going away.

  16. Assessing Storm Vulnerabilities and Resilience Strategies: A Scenario-Method for Engaging Stakeholders of Public/Private Maritime Infrastructure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Becker, A.; Burroughs, R.

    2014-12-01

    This presentation discusses a new method to assess vulnerability and resilience strategies for stakeholders of coastal-dependent transportation infrastructure, such as seaports. Much coastal infrastructure faces increasing risk to extreme events resulting from sea level rise and tropical storms. As seen after Hurricane Sandy, natural disasters result in economic costs, damages to the environment, and negative consequences on resident's quality of life. In the coming decades, tough decisions will need to be made about investment measures to protect critical infrastructure. Coastal communities will need to weigh the costs and benefits of a new storm barrier, for example, against those of retrofitting, elevating or simply doing nothing. These decisions require understanding the priorities and concerns of stakeholders. For ports, these include shippers, insurers, tenants, and ultimate consumers of the port cargo on a local and global scale, all of whom have a stake in addressing port vulnerabilities.Decision-makers in exposed coastal areas need tools to understand stakeholders concerns and perceptions of potential resilience strategies. For ports, they need answers to: 1) How will stakeholders be affected? 2) What strategies could be implemented to build resilience? 3) How effectively would the strategies mitigate stakeholder concerns? 4) What level of time and investment would strategies require? 5) Which stakeholders could/should take responsibility? Our stakeholder-based method provides answers to questions 1-3 and forms the basis for further work to address 4 and 5.Together with an expert group, we developed a pilot study for stakeholders of Rhode Island's critical energy port, the Port of Providence. Our method uses a plausible extreme storm scenario with localized visualizations and a portfolio of potential resilience strategies. We tailor a multi-criteria decision analysis tool and, through a series of workshops, we use the storm scenario, resilience strategies

  17. Can thermostable vaccines help address cold-chain challenges? Results from stakeholder interviews in six low- and middle-income countries.

    PubMed

    Kristensen, Debra D; Lorenson, Tina; Bartholomew, Kate; Villadiego, Shirley

    2016-02-10

    This study captures the perspectives of stakeholders at multiple levels of the vaccine supply chain regarding their assessment of challenges with storing vaccines within recommended temperature ranges and their perceptions on the benefits of having vaccines with improved stability, including the potential short-term storage and transport of vaccines in a controlled-temperature chain. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 158 immunization stakeholders in six countries. Interviewees included national decision-makers and advisors involved in vaccine purchasing decisions, national Expanded Programme on Immunization managers, and health and logistics personnel at national, subnational, and health facility levels. Challenges with both heat and freeze-exposure of vaccines were recognized in all countries, with heat-exposure being a greater concern. Conditions leading to freeze-exposure including ice build-up due to poor refrigerator performance and improper icepack conditioning were reported by 53% and 28% of participants, respectively. Respondents were interested in vaccine products with improved heat/freeze-stability characteristics. The majority of those involved in vaccine purchasing indicated they would be willing to pay a US$0.05 premium per dose for a freeze-stable pentavalent vaccine (68%) or a heat-stable rotavirus vaccine (59%), although most (53%) preferred not to pay the premium for a heat-stable pentavalent vaccine if the increased stability required changing from a liquid to a lyophilized product. Most respondents (73%) were also interested in vaccines labeled for short-term use in a controlled-temperature chain. The majority (115/158) recognized the flexibility this would provide during outreach or should cold-chain breaks occur. Respondents were also aware that possible confusion might arise and additional training would be required if handling conditions were changed for some, but not all vaccines. Participating immunization stakeholders

  18. Can thermostable vaccines help address cold-chain challenges? Results from stakeholder interviews in six low- and middle-income countries

    PubMed Central

    Kristensen, Debra D.; Lorenson, Tina; Bartholomew, Kate; Villadiego, Shirley

    2016-01-01

    Introduction This study captures the perspectives of stakeholders at multiple levels of the vaccine supply chain regarding their assessment of challenges with storing vaccines within recommended temperature ranges and their perceptions on the benefits of having vaccines with improved stability, including the potential short-term storage and transport of vaccines in a controlled-temperature chain. Methods Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 158 immunization stakeholders in six countries. Interviewees included national decision-makers and advisors involved in vaccine purchasing decisions, national Expanded Programme on Immunization managers, and health and logistics personnel at national, subnational, and health facility levels. Results Challenges with both heat and freeze-exposure of vaccines were recognized in all countries, with heat-exposure being a greater concern. Conditions leading to freeze-exposure including ice build-up due to poor refrigerator performance and improper icepack conditioning were reported by 53% and 28% of participants, respectively. Respondents were interested in vaccine products with improved heat/freeze-stability characteristics. The majority of those involved in vaccine purchasing indicated they would be willing to pay a US$0.05 premium per dose for a freeze-stable pentavalent vaccine (68%) or a heat-stable rotavirus vaccine (59%), although most (53%) preferred not to pay the premium for a heat-stable pentavalent vaccine if the increased stability required changing from a liquid to a lyophilized product. Most respondents (73%) were also interested in vaccines labeled for short-term use in a controlled-temperature chain. The majority (115/158) recognized the flexibility this would provide during outreach or should cold-chain breaks occur. Respondents were also aware that possible confusion might arise and additional training would be required if handling conditions were changed for some, but not all vaccines. Conclusion

  19. Governance of environmental risk: new approaches to managing stakeholder involvement.

    PubMed

    Benn, Suzanne; Dunphy, Dexter; Martin, Andrew

    2009-04-01

    Disputes concerning industrial legacies such as the disposal of toxic wastes illustrate changing pressures on corporations and governments. Business and governments are now confronted with managing the expectations of a society increasingly aware of the social and environmental impacts and risks associated with economic development and demanding more equitable distribution and democratic management of such risks. The closed managerialist decision-making of the powerful bureaucracies and corporations of the industrial era is informed by traditional management theory which cannot provide a framework for the adequate governance of these risks. Recent socio-political theories have conceptualised some key themes that must be addressed in a more fitting approach to governance. We identify more recent management and governance theory which addresses these themes and develop a process-based approach to governance of environmental disputes that allows for the evolving nature of stakeholder relations in a highly complex multiple stakeholder arena.

  20. Stakeholder Participation in Freshwater Monitoring and Evaluation Programs: Applying Thresholds of Potential Concern within Environmental Flows

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Conallin, John; McLoughlin, Craig A.; Campbell, Josh; Knight, Roger; Bright, Troy; Fisher, Ian

    2018-03-01

    The complex nature of freshwater systems provides challenges for incorporating evidence-based techniques into management. This paper investigates the potential of participatory evidence-based techniques to involve local stakeholders and make decisions based on different "knowledge" sources within adaptive management programs. It focuses on the application of thresholds of potential concern (TPC) within strategic adaptive management (SAM) for facilitating inclusive decision-making. The study is based on the case of the Edward-Wakool (E-W) "Fish and Flows" SAM project in the Murray-Darling River Basin, Australia. We demonstrate the application of TPCs for improving collaborative decision-making within the E-W, associated with environmental watering requirements, and other natural resource management programs such as fish stocking. The development of TPCs in the E-W fish and flows SAM project helped improve stakeholder involvement and understanding of the system, and also the effectiveness of the implemented management interventions. TPCs ultimately helped inform environmental flow management activities. The TPC process complemented monitoring that was already occurring in the system and provided a mechanism for linking formal and informal knowledge to form explicit and measurable endpoints from objectives. The TPC process faced challenges due to the perceived reduction in scientific rigor within initial TPC development and use. However, TPCs must remain tangible to managers and other stakeholders, in order to aid in the implementation of adaptive management. Once accepted by stakeholders, over time TPCs should be reviewed and refined in order to increase their scientific rigor, as new information is generated.

  1. Stakeholders' attitude to genetically modified foods and medicine.

    PubMed

    Amin, Latifah; Jahi, Jamaluddin Md; Nor, Abd Rahim Md

    2013-01-01

    Public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods has to be adequately addressed in order for their potential economic and social benefits to be realized. The objective of this paper is to assess the attitude of the Malaysian public toward GM foods (GM soybean and GM palm oil) and GM medicine (GM insulin). A survey was carried out using self-constructed multidimensional instrument measuring attitudes towards GM products. The respondents (n = 1017) were stratified according to stakeholders' groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the survey show that the overall attitude of the Malaysian stakeholders towards GM products was cautious. Although they acknowledged the presence of moderate perceived benefits associated with GM products surveyed and were moderately encouraging of them, they were also moderately concerned about the risks and moral aspects of the three GM products as well as moderately accepting the risks. Attitudes towards GM products among the stakeholders were found to vary not according to the type of all GM applications but rather depend on the intricate relationships between the attitudinal factors and the type of gene transfers involved. Analyses of variance showed significant differences in the six dimensions of attitude towards GM products across stakeholders' groups.

  2. Addressing Gender Imbalance in Nigeria's Higher Education through Institutional Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Okeke, Emeka Paul

    2013-01-01

    This paper examined the gender imbalance among students in Nigeria's higher education and the possible ways to addressing them. The poor access of female gender to higher education in Nigeria has become a thing of great concern to all stakeholders such as School authorities, Government, International agencies and employers of labor. The paper…

  3. Evaluating stakeholder management performance using a stakeholder report card: the next step in theory and practice.

    PubMed

    Malvey, Donna; Fottler, Myron D; Slovensky, Donna J

    2002-01-01

    In the highly competitive health care environment, the survival of an organization may depend on how well powerful stakeholders are managed. Yet, the existing strategic stakeholder management process does not include evaluation of stakeholder management performance. To address this critical gap, this paper proposes a systematic method for evaluation using a stakeholder report card. An example of a physician report card based on this methodology is presented.

  4. Ancillary Care in South African HIV Vaccine Trials: Addressing Needs, Drafting Protocols, and Engaging Community

    PubMed Central

    Slack, Catherine M.

    2014-01-01

    There has been debate about sponsor-investigator ethical responsibilities to address participants’ medical needs in trials in resource-constrained contexts. Certain ethical guidelines make detailed recommendations. This study explored whether ethical guideline recommendations for care in HIV vaccine trials were being met, and whether stakeholders were facing difficulties addressed by guidelines. It sampled key stakeholders involved in two trials across five sites in South Africa, and reviewed relevant documentation. It concluded that sites were largely meeting guideline recommendations for addressing needs, with some exceeding these. Recommendations for writing protocols were only partially achieved. Recommendations for engaging participating community were mostly met, except for “moral negotiation” recommendations. Suggestions are made to strengthen practices, and to improve guidelines so they address empirical concerns. PMID:24572086

  5. Ancillary care in South African HIV vaccine trials: addressing needs, drafting protocols, and engaging community.

    PubMed

    Slack, Catherine M

    2014-02-01

    There has been debate about sponsor-investigator ethical responsibilities to address participants' medical needs in trials in resource-constrained contexts. Certain ethical guidelines make detailed recommendations. This study explored whether ethical guideline recommendations for care in HIV vaccine trials were being met, and whether stakeholders were facing difficulties addressed by guidelines. It sampled key stakeholders involved in two trials across five sites in South Africa, and reviewed relevant documentation. It concluded that sites were largely meeting guideline recommendations for addressing needs, with some exceeding these. Recommendations for writing protocols were only partially achieved. Recommendations for engaging participating community were mostly met, except for "moral negotiation" recommendations. Suggestions are made to strengthen practices, and to improve guidelines so they address empirical concerns.

  6. Key challenges of offshore wind power: Three essays addressing public acceptance, stakeholder conflict, and wildlife impacts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bates, Alison Waterbury

    Society is facing a pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit anthropogenic climate change, which has far reaching implications for humans and the environment. Transforming the energy infrastructure to carbon-free sources is one solution to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but this transformation has been slow to materialize in many places, such as the United States (U.S.). Offshore wind energy is one of the most promising renewable energy sources available, which can be deployed in large-scale developments in many parts of the world. Yet, offshore wind has faced many challenges, which are more social and regulatory than technical. This dissertation addresses social and regulatory issues surrounding offshore wind development through three stand-alone essays, which, in combination, address a decision-making framework of where to locate offshore wind turbines, by minimizing effects on people and wildlife. The challenges to offshore wind that are addressed by this dissertation include (1) understanding underlying factors that drive support for or opposition to offshore wind energy; (2) conflict with existing ocean uses and users; and (3) public concern and regulatory processes related to wildlife impacts. The first paper identifies unique factors that drive public opinion of proposed offshore wind projects in nearby coastal communities. Wind energy development on land has faced local opposition for reasons such as effects on cultural landscapes and wildlife, which can be instrumental in whether or not and the speed with which a project moves ahead toward completion. Factors leading to support for, or opposition to, offshore wind energy are not well known, particularly for developments that are near-shore and in-view of coastal communities. Results are presented from a survey of 699 residents (35.5% response rate) completed in 2013 in greater Atlantic City, New Jersey and coastal Delaware, United States, where near-shore wind demonstration projects had

  7. Addressing concerns about the inclusion of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in DSM-5.

    PubMed

    Hartlage, S Ann; Breaux, Cynthia A; Yonkers, Kimberly A

    2014-01-01

    Inclusion of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) into the main text of the DSM has been a point of controversy for many years. The purpose of this article is to address the main concerns raised by opponents to its inclusion. Concerns are presented and countered in turn. To identify the most prevalent arguments against inclusion of PMDD, we searched MEDLINE (1966-2012), PsycINFO (1930-2012), the Internet, and reference lists of identified articles during September 1-17, 2012, using the keywords PMDD, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), DSM, DSM-5, concerns, controversy, women, political power, workforce, courts, and history. The search was restricted to English-language publications. A total of 55 articles were identified and included. The most pressing arguments against inclusion were grouped by similarity and addressed if they were reported 5 or more times. Our review of the sources yielded 38 concerns regarding PMDD; 6 concerns were reported at least 5 times and are addressed in this article. Evidence culled from historical and legal trends does not support the alleged societal use of PMS to harm women (eg, keeping women out of the workforce or using PMS against women in child custody disputes). Further, current epidemiologic research has answered all of the methodology criticisms of opponents. Studies have confirmed the existence of PMDD worldwide. The involvement of pharmaceutical companies in research has been questioned. However, irrespective of the level of association with industry, current research on PMDD has consistent results: PMDD exists in a minority of women. Historically, the pain and suffering of women have been dismissed, minimized, and negated. Similarly, women with PMDD have often had their experience invalidated. With the preponderance of evidence in its favor, PMDD has been placed in the main text of the DSM-5, opening the door for affected women to receive the attention full diagnostic status provides. © Copyright 2014 Physicians Postgraduate

  8. Addressing Parental Vaccine Concerns: Engagement, Balance, and Timing

    PubMed Central

    Glanz, Jason M.; Kraus, Courtney R.; Daley, Matthew F.

    2015-01-01

    The recent United States measles epidemic has sparked another contentious national discussion about childhood vaccination. A growing number of parents are expressing concerns about the safety of vaccines, often fueled by misinformation from the internet, books, and other nonmedical sources. Many of these concerned parents are choosing to refuse or delay childhood vaccines, placing their children and surrounding communities at risk for serious diseases that are nearly 100% preventable with vaccination. Between 10% and 15% of parents are asking physicians to space out the timing of vaccines, which often poses an ethical dilemma for physicians. This trend reflects a tension between personal liberty and public health, as parents fight to control the decisions that affect the health of their children and public health officials strive to maintain high immunization rates to prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Interventions to address this emerging public health issue are needed. We describe a framework by which web-based interventions can be used to help parents make evidence-based decisions about childhood vaccinations. PMID:26252770

  9. Sixth national stakeholder workshop summary report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    On June 17--18, 1998, the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Office of Worker and Community Transition convened its sixth National Stakeholder Workshop at the Ramada Plaza Hotel Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. Approximately 325 stakeholders attended representing DOE headquarters and field offices, contractors, labor organizations, state and local government, education and community interest groups. The meeting addressed the progress made on the issues and challenges identified at the last stakeholder`s meeting in Oakland, California on April 9--11, 1997. Also discussed were the full range of the Department`s work force issues and creative solutions to the inherent challenges of simultaneously implementing themore » Department`s post Cold-War mission, work force restructuring guidance, contract reform objectives, asset disposition, performance-based management requirements, and business process improvement policies. The format of the Workshop included several plenary sessions and a number of small group discussion sessions. The small group sessions focused on topics related to labor issues, work force restructuring, work force planning, community transition, and employee concerns. The sessions provided a wide range of views on worker and community transition issues. The plenary sessions of the Workshop included presentations on the following topics: welcome and introductions; opening remarks; building a better labor-management relationship; keynote speech from Secretary of Energy Federico Pena; meeting tomorrow`s challenges (early site closures); harnessing the contracting process to encourage local growth; and, the British experience in economic conversion.« less

  10. Stakeholders' Attitude to Genetically Modified Foods and Medicine

    PubMed Central

    Md Jahi, Jamaluddin; Md Nor, Abd Rahim

    2013-01-01

    Public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods has to be adequately addressed in order for their potential economic and social benefits to be realized. The objective of this paper is to assess the attitude of the Malaysian public toward GM foods (GM soybean and GM palm oil) and GM medicine (GM insulin). A survey was carried out using self-constructed multidimensional instrument measuring attitudes towards GM products. The respondents (n = 1017) were stratified according to stakeholders' groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the survey show that the overall attitude of the Malaysian stakeholders towards GM products was cautious. Although they acknowledged the presence of moderate perceived benefits associated with GM products surveyed and were moderately encouraging of them, they were also moderately concerned about the risks and moral aspects of the three GM products as well as moderately accepting the risks. Attitudes towards GM products among the stakeholders were found to vary not according to the type of all GM applications but rather depend on the intricate relationships between the attitudinal factors and the type of gene transfers involved. Analyses of variance showed significant differences in the six dimensions of attitude towards GM products across stakeholders' groups. PMID:24381520

  11. Addressing the Health Concerns of VA Women With Sexual Trauma

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-10-01

    SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Lifetime ST disproportionately affects women veterans and can threaten their health and wellbeing. PTSD, IPV, and...alcohol use are closely interrelated and significant concerns for women veterans with lifetime ST . Providing effective and low-cost interventions to...address ST -related risks among women veterans with lifetime ST would advance clinical care for these women in an important area. 15. SUBJECT TERMS

  12. Forms of benefit sharing in global health research undertaken in resource poor settings: a qualitative study of stakeholders' views in Kenya.

    PubMed

    Lairumbi, Geoffrey M; Parker, Michael; Fitzpatrick, Raymond; English, Michael C

    2012-01-17

    Increase in global health research undertaken in resource poor settings in the last decade though a positive development has raised ethical concerns relating to potential for exploitation. Some of the suggested strategies to address these concerns include calls for providing universal standards of care, reasonable availability of proven interventions and more recently, promoting the overall social value of research especially in clinical research. Promoting the social value of research has been closely associated with providing fair benefits to various stakeholders involved in research. The debate over what constitutes fair benefits; whether those that addresses micro level issues of justice or those focusing on the key determinants of health at the macro level has continued. This debate has however not benefited from empirical work on what stakeholders consider fair benefits. This study explores practical experiences of stakeholders involved in global health research in Kenya, over what benefits are fair within a developing world context. We conducted in-depth interviews with key informants drawn from within the broader health research system in Kenya including researchers from the mainstream health research institutions, networks and universities, teaching hospitals, policy makers, institutional review boards, civil society organisations and community representative groups.The range of benefits articulated by stakeholders addresses both micro and macro level concerns for justice by for instance, seeking to engage with interests of those facilitating research, and the broader systemic issues that make resource poor settings vulnerable to exploitation. We interpret these views to suggest a need for global health research to engage with current crises that face people in these settings as well as the broader systemic issues that produce them. Global health research should provide benefits that address both the micro and macro level issues of justice in order to

  13. Using Cartoons to Transfer Knowledge Concerning the Principles of Work Disability Prevention Among Stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Labrecque, Marie-Elise; Coutu, Marie-France; Durand, Marie-José; Fassier, Jean-Baptiste; Loisel, Patrick

    2016-06-01

    Purpose This study assesses how well two cartoons transfer knowledge of principles of work disability prevention among stakeholders, according to their level of experience. We also document stakeholders' perceptions of the usefulness of the cartoons. Method We performed a descriptive study. Two groups of stakeholders were recruited: (1) experienced (working for more than 2 years in work disability), (2) non-experienced (in training). A self-administered questionnaire with open-ended questions documented stakeholders' understanding of each cartoon box and their perception of the possible usefulness of the cartoons. We transformed qualitative responses into quantitative responses for descriptive purposes. We performed independent t tests to compare the groups' level of understanding, and content analysis for the perception of usefulness. Results Overall, 149 stakeholders (50 experienced and 99 non-experienced) participated and identified 79.4 and 61.4 % of all principles presented in each of the two cartoons respectively. Experienced stakeholders identified more principles compared to non-experienced stakeholders (p = 0.007). Both cartoons were perceived to be useful for knowledge transfer. Conclusions Principles were generally well identified in the cartoons by all participants. Cartoons can be used as an effective tool among stakeholders to achieve a common understanding in order to coordinate their actions.

  14. Interventional studies in childhood dystonia do not address the concerns of children and their carers.

    PubMed

    Lumsden, Daniel E; Gimeno, Hortensia; Tustin, Kylee; Kaminska, Margaret; Lin, Jean-Pierre

    2015-05-01

    This study aimed to determine the main concerns/priorities of the parents and carers of children with dystonia referred to our service and whether medical interventional studies addressed these concerns. Records of children assessed by our service from June 2005-December 2012 were reviewed and expressed parental/carer concerns at initial assessment categorized using the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) Framework. Medline, CINAHL and Embase databases were searched for outcome measures of medical and surgical interventional studies in childhood dystonia. Data was collected from 273 children and young people with dystonia. The most commonly expressed concerns were: pain (104/273, 38.1%); difficulties in delivering activities of daily-living (66/273, 24.2%), difficulties with hand-use (59/273, 21.6%) and seating (41/273, 15.0%). Literature review identified 70 interventional studies, 46 neurosurgical and 24 pharmacological. The majority of neurosurgical studies (34/46) used impairment scales to measure change, with pharmacological studies typically reporting more subjective changes in motor symptoms. Only a minority of studies used assessments or scales capable of objectively addressing the concerns reported by our cohort. Existing interventional studies in childhood dystonia poorly address the main concerns of children with dystonia and their carers, limiting the conclusions which may be drawn as to true impact of these interventions in childhood. Copyright © 2015 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Engaging Stakeholders in Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Regarding School-Based Sealant Programs.

    PubMed

    Chi, Donald L; Milgrom, Peter; Gillette, Jane

    2018-02-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use qualitative methods to describe the key lessons learned during the stakeholder engagement stage of planning a randomized clinical trial comparing outcomes of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) as an alternative to pit-and-fissure sealants in a school-based delivery system. Methods: Eighteen caregivers and community-based stakeholders with involvement in the school-based sealant program Sealants for Smiles from the state of Montana, were recruited for this qualitative study. United States (U.S.) Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) methodology standards were used to develop two semi-structured interview guides consisting of 6 questions. One interview guide was used for telephone interviews with caregivers and the second was used for a stakeholder focus group. Content analytic methods were used to analyze the data. Results: All participants believed that a study comparing SDF and sealants was clinically relevant. Non-caregiver stakeholders agreed with the proposed primary outcome of the study (caries prevention) whereas caregivers also emphasized the importance of child-centered outcomes such as minimizing dental anxiety associated with dental care. Stakeholders described potential concerns associated with SDF such as staining and perceptions of safety and discussed ways to address these concerns through community engagement, appropriate framing of the study, proper consent procedures, and ongoing safety monitoring during the trial. Finally, stakeholders suggested dissemination strategies such as direct communication of findings through professional organizations and encouraging insurance plans to incentivize SDF use by reimbursing dental providers. Conclusions: Involving key stakeholders in early planning is essential in developing patient-centered research questions, outcomes measures, study protocols, and dissemination plans for oral health research involving a school-based delivery system. Copyright © 2018

  16. Five conversations: reflections of stakeholders on the impact of the ethnocultural communities facing AIDS study.

    PubMed

    Willms, D; Bhatia, R; Lowe, J; Niemi, F; Stewart, D; Westmoreland-Traore, J

    1996-01-01

    This paper reports on issues identified in conversations held between one of the Ethnocultural Communities Facing AIDS Study (ECFA) investigators and five stakeholders associated with this experiment in collaborative and participatory research. The stakeholders reflect on their experiences in partnering with university-based researchers, resistance in ethnocultural communities to being researched, and the next steps implicated by the research in question. The problem of HIV/AIDS in ethnocultural communities in Canada is, relative to the mainstream, also viewed as a symbol of disadvantage in these communities. The stakeholders suggest that to address these deeper concerns, there must be vital, dynamic, and enduring communication between researchers, community representatives, and government at all levels, in the process of identifying solutions and implementing them in the present.

  17. Integrated Knowledge Translation and Grant Development: Addressing the Research Practice Gap through Stakeholder-informed Research.

    PubMed

    Henderson, Joanna; Brownlie, Elizabeth; Rosenkranz, Susan; Chaim, Gloria; Beitchman, Joseph

    2013-11-01

    We describe our stakeholder engagement process for grant application development that occurred as part of our integrated knowledge translation plan and make recommendations for researchers. In phase 1, a stakeholder consultation group was developed. In phase 2, surveys regarding knowledge gathering, research agenda, and research collaboration preferences were sent to 333 cross-sectoral youth-serving organizations in Ontario, including family and consumer organizations. In phase 1, 28 stakeholders from six sectors participated in the consultation group and provided input on multiple aspects of the proposal. Through this process, 19 stakeholders adopted formal roles within the project. In phase 2, 206 surveys were received (response rate = 62%). Survey responses supported the grant focus (concurrent youth mental health and substance use problems). Respondents also prioritized project goals and provided specific feedback on research and knowledge translation. Finally, although some stakeholders chose greater involvement, most survey respondents indicated a preference for a moderate level of participation in research rather than full team membership. Despite short timelines and feasibility challenges, stakeholders can be meaningfully engaged in and contribute to the grant proposal development process. Consideration is needed for the practical challenges that stakeholder organizations face in supporting and participating in research.

  18. Worlds apart? A scoping review addressing different stakeholder perspectives on barriers to family involvement in the care for persons with severe mental illness.

    PubMed

    Landeweer, Elleke; Molewijk, Bert; Hem, Marit Helene; Pedersen, Reidar

    2017-05-15

    Empirical evidence shows that family involvement (FI) can play a pivotal role in the coping and recovery of persons with severe mental illness (SMI). Nevertheless, various studies demonstrate that FI in mental healthcare services is often not (sufficiently) realized. In order to develop more insights, this scoping review gives an overview of how various stakeholders conceptualize, perceive and experience barriers to FI. Central questions are: 1) What are the main barriers to FI reported by the different key stakeholders (i.e. the persons with SMI, their families and the professionals, and 2) What are the differences and similarities between the various stakeholders' perspectives on these barriers. A systematic search into primary studies regarding FI was conducted in four databases: Medline/Pubmed, Cinahl, PsychInfo and Web of Knowledge with the use of a PICO scheme. Thematic analysis focused on stakeholder perspectives (i.e. which stakeholder group reports the barrier) and types of barriers (i.e. which types of barriers are addressed). Thirty three studies were included. The main barriers reported by the stakeholder groups reveal important similarities and differences between the stakeholder groups and were related to: 1) the person with SMI, 2) the family, 3) the professionals, 4) the organization of care and 5) the culture-paradigm. Our stakeholder approach elicits the different stakeholders' concepts, presuppositions and experiences of barriers to FI, and gives fundamental insights on how to deal with barriers to FI. The stakeholders differing interpretations and perceptions of the barriers related to FI is closely related to the inherent complexity involved in FI in itself. In order to deal better with these barriers, openly discussing and reflecting upon each other's normative understandings of barriers is needed. Differences in perceptions of barriers to FI can itself be a barrier. To deal with barriers to FI, a dialogical approach on how the different

  19. Reframing and addressing horizontal violence as a workplace quality improvement concern.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Rosemary A; Taylor, Steven S

    2018-06-27

    To reframe horizontal violence as a quality improvement concern. Although the number of studies exploring horizontal violence has increased, evidence supporting the effectiveness of current interventions is weak and the problem persists. Often framed as an individual or interpersonal issue, horizontal violence has been recognized as a complex phenomenon that can only be understood through an examination of social, individual and organizational factors. As such, interventions to address horizontal violence must be applied systemically and address contributions from all sources. This is a discussion paper. This discussion is based on results of a study of nurses' perceptions of horizontal violence and review of the literature. Context is recognized as a contributing factor in human behavior, yet often overlooked in interventions to address horizontal violence. Moving the focus away from the individual and investigating systems contributions to horizontal violence using existing quality improvement frameworks is suggested. To date, efforts to address horizontal violence have not been proven effective. There is a call for a wider application and investigation of interventions. This reframing provides the system level application suggested and would address a broader range of factors contributing to the perpetuation of the phenomenon. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Motivation of university and non-university stakeholders to change medical education in Vietnam.

    PubMed

    Luu, Ngoc Hoat; Nguyen, Lan Viet; van der Wilt, G J; Broerse, J; Ruitenberg, E J; Wright, E P

    2009-07-24

    Both university and non-university stakeholders should be involved in the process of curriculum development in medical schools, because all are concerned with the competencies of the graduates. That may be difficult unless appropriate strategies are used to motivate each stakeholder. From 1999 to 2006, eight medical schools in Vietnam worked together to change the curriculum and teaching for general medical students to make it more community oriented. This paper describes the factors that motivated the different stakeholders to participate in curriculum change and teaching in Vietnamese medical schools and the activities to address those factors and have sustainable contributions from all relevant stakeholders. Case study analysis of contributions to the change process, using reports, interviews, focus group discussions and surveys and based on Herzberg's Motivation Theory to analyze involvement of different stakeholders. Different stakeholders were motivated by selected activities, such as providing opportunities for non-university stakeholders to share their opinions, organizing interactions among university stakeholders, stimulating both bottom-up and top-down inputs, focusing on learning from each other, and emphasizing self-motivation factors. The Herzberg Motivation theory helped to identify suitable approaches to ensure that teaching topics, materials and assessment methods more closely reflected the health care needs of the community. Other medical schools undertaking a reform process may learn from this experience.

  1. Motivation of university and non-university stakeholders to change medical education in Vietnam

    PubMed Central

    Hoat, Luu Ngoc; Lan Viet, Nguyen; van der Wilt, GJ; Broerse, J; Ruitenberg, EJ; Wright, EP

    2009-01-01

    Background Both university and non-university stakeholders should be involved in the process of curriculum development in medical schools, because all are concerned with the competencies of the graduates. That may be difficult unless appropriate strategies are used to motivate each stakeholder. From 1999 to 2006, eight medical schools in Vietnam worked together to change the curriculum and teaching for general medical students to make it more community oriented. This paper describes the factors that motivated the different stakeholders to participate in curriculum change and teaching in Vietnamese medical schools and the activities to address those factors and have sustainable contributions from all relevant stakeholders. Methods Case study analysis of contributions to the change process, using reports, interviews, focus group discussions and surveys and based on Herzberg's Motivation Theory to analyze involvement of different stakeholders. Results Different stakeholders were motivated by selected activities, such as providing opportunities for non-university stakeholders to share their opinions, organizing interactions among university stakeholders, stimulating both bottom-up and top-down inputs, focusing on learning from each other, and emphasizing self-motivation factors. Conclusion The Herzberg Motivation theory helped to identify suitable approaches to ensure that teaching topics, materials and assessment methods more closely reflected the health care needs of the community. Other medical schools undertaking a reform process may learn from this experience. PMID:19630961

  2. CHALLENGES OF DSD: DIVERSE PERCEPTIONS ACROSS STAKEHOLDERS

    PubMed Central

    Kogan, Barry A.; Gardner, Melissa; Alpern, Adrianne N.; Cohen, Laura M.; Grimley, Mary Beth; Quittner, Alexandra L.; Sandberg, David E.

    2012-01-01

    Background/Aims Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) are congenital conditions in which chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomic sex development is atypical. Optimal management is patient- and family-centered and delivered by interdisciplinary teams. The present pilot study elicits concerns held by important stakeholders on issues affecting young patients with DSD and their families. Methods Content from focus groups with expert clinicians (pediatric urologists [n=7], pediatric endocrinologists [n=10], mental health professionals [n=4]), DSD patient advocates (n=4), and interviews with parents of DSD-affected children (newborn to 6 yrs; n=11) was coded and content-analyzed to identify health-related quality of life issues. Results Key stressors varied across stakeholder groups. In general, family-centered issues were noted more than child-centered. In the child-centered domain, providers worried more about physical functioning; family and advocates emphasized gender concerns and body image. In the family-centered domain, parental concerns about medication management outweighed those of providers. Advocates reported more stressors regarding communication/information than other stakeholders. Conclusion Variability exists across stakeholder groups in the key concerns affecting young children/families with DSD. Interdisciplinary DSD healthcare team development should account for varying perspectives when counseling families and planning treatment. PMID:22832323

  3. Addressing semen loss concerns: towards culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS interventions in Gujarat, India.

    PubMed

    Lakhani, A; Gandhi, K; Collumbien, M

    2001-11-01

    A situation analysis of sexual networking and sexual health in an industrial area of Gujarat, India, identified anxiety about masturbation and other semen loss concerns as major preoccupations among young men. This paper describes how the Deepak Charitable Trust addressed these concerns in their HIV prevention programme for young men aged 15 to 30. Flowcharts were used as participatory learning tools and to obtain data on the perceived consequences of masturbation, both before and after intervention activities. Research was also done on the relation between semen-related anxieties and sexual risk behaviour by DCT and two other NGOs among young men engaging in unsafe sexual behaviour. DCT advocates addressing masturbation and other semen loss concerns in all sexual health campaigns in South Asia, based on the magnitude of these concerns, their potential to confound syndromic management of STIs and their significance as an idiom of psychosocial distress. Masturbation and associated anxieties about sexual performance are seen as health issues and discussed as such by the programme. There is immediate identification among young men, whether or not they are already sexually active, and it provides an excellent entry point for sexual health and safer sex education. The community response to these efforts has been entirely positive.

  4. [Training session on healthy environments: evaluation of an intervention for local stakeholders].

    PubMed

    Roy, Virginie; Rivard, Marie-Claude; Trudeau, François

    2016-01-01

    Around the world, various interventions have been developed to encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyles, particularly nutrition and physical activity. Physical, political, economic and socio-cultural environments have a major influence on individual attitudes in relation to healthy lifestyle. However, stakeholders with the greatest impact on improving these environments are not always well informed about the theory and their roles on the creation of environments favourable to healthy lifestyles. Various stakeholders from the province of Quebec were therefore invited to attend training sessions in order to prepare them to act on these four environments. 1) To describe the perceptions of the stakeholders who attended these sessions concerning the content and teaching methods and 2) to identify stakeholders’ changes of perceptions and practices following the training session. Twelve (12) focus groups and 52 individual interviews were conducted across Quebec with stakeholders who attended a training session. Our results indicate increased awareness of stakeholders on the importance of their role but also the need to more precisely target those aspects requiring increased awareness. A content better suited to the level of expertise is therefore proposed to maximize the benefits of these training sessions. Training sessions must be addressed to influential stakeholders with a limited knowledge on the subject, which is often the case for municipal decision-makers known to play a major role in promoting environments favourable to healthy eating and physical activity.

  5. A new taxonomy for stakeholder engagement in patient-centered outcomes research.

    PubMed

    Concannon, Thomas W; Meissner, Paul; Grunbaum, Jo Anne; McElwee, Newell; Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Santa, John; Conway, Patrick H; Daudelin, Denise; Morrato, Elaine H; Leslie, Laurel K

    2012-08-01

    Despite widespread agreement that stakeholder engagement is needed in patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), no taxonomy exists to guide researchers and policy makers on how to address this need. We followed an iterative process, including several stages of stakeholder review, to address three questions: (1) Who are the stakeholders in PCOR? (2) What roles and responsibilities can stakeholders have in PCOR? (3) How can researchers start engaging stakeholders? We introduce a flexible taxonomy called the 7Ps of Stakeholder Engagement and Six Stages of Research for identifying stakeholders and developing engagement strategies across the full spectrum of research activities. The path toward engagement will not be uniform across every research program, but this taxonomy offers a common starting point and a flexible approach.

  6. Implementing an organised cervical screening programme in the Republic of Moldova-Stakeholder identification and engagement.

    PubMed

    Davies, Philip; Valuta, Diana; Cojohari, Natalia; Sancho-Garnier, Helene

    2017-10-01

    Successfully implementing cervical screening programmes requires them to be adapted to the local context and have broad stakeholder support. This can be achieved by actively engaging local stakeholders in planning as well as implementing the programmes. The Moldovan government started implementing an organised cervical screening programme in 2010 with the first step being stakeholder identification and engagement. This process started by contacting easily identified stakeholders with each asked to recommend others and the process continued until no new ones were identified. Stakeholders were then involved in a series of individual and group meetings over a 2-year period to build confidence and encourage progressively greater engagement. In total, 87 individuals from 46 organisations were identified. Over the 2-year process, the individual and group meetings facilitated a change in stakeholder attitudes from disinterest, to acceptance and finally to active cooperation in designing the screening programme and preparing an implementation plan that were both well adapted to the Moldovan context. Developing the broad support needed to implement cervical screening programmes required ongoing interaction with stakeholders over an extended period. This interaction allowed stakeholder concerns to be identified and addressed, progress to be demonstrated, and stakeholders to be educated about organised screening programmes so they had the knowledge to progressively take greater responsibility and ownership. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Barriers to Mental Health Service Use and Preferences for Addressing Emotional Concerns among Lung Cancer Patients

    PubMed Central

    Mosher, Catherine E.; Winger, Joseph G.; Hanna, Nasser; Jalal, Shadia I.; Fakiris, Achilles J.; Einhorn, Lawrence H.; Birdas, Thomas J.; Kesler, Kenneth A.; Champion, Victoria L.

    2014-01-01

    Objective This study examined barriers to mental health service use and preferences for addressing emotional concerns among lung cancer patients (N=165) at two medical centers in the midwestern United States. Methods Lung cancer patients completed an assessment of anxiety and depressive symptoms, mental health service use, barriers to using these services, and preferences for addressing emotional concerns. Results Only 45% of distressed patients received mental health care since their lung cancer diagnosis. The most prevalent patient-reported barriers to mental health service use among non-users of these services (n=110) included the desire to independently manage emotional concerns (58%) and inadequate knowledge of services (19%). In addition, 57% of distressed patients who did not access mental health services did not perceive the need for help. Seventy-five percent of respondents (123/164) preferred to talk to a primary care physician if they were to have an emotional concern. Preferences for counseling, psychiatric medication, peer support, spiritual care, or independently managing emotional concerns also were endorsed by many patients (range=40%–50%). Older age was associated with a lower likelihood of preferring to see a counselor. Conclusions Findings suggest that many distressed lung cancer patients underuse mental health services and do not perceive the need for such services. Efforts to increase appropriate use of services should address patients' desire for autonomy and lack of awareness of services. PMID:24493634

  8. Balancing Competing Rights: A Stakeholder Model for Democratic Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shariff, Shaheen

    2006-01-01

    In this article, I discuss a Canadian public school controversy and Supreme Court of Canada decision involving competing stakeholder rights to freedom of religion, safety and equality. Policy considerations that allowed one group of stakeholders to express their constitutional rights raised concerns among other stakeholders. A policy vacuum and a…

  9. The 'over-researched community': An ethics analysis of stakeholder views at two South African HIV prevention research sites.

    PubMed

    Koen, Jennifer; Wassenaar, Douglas; Mamotte, Nicole

    2017-12-01

    Health research in resource-limited, multi-cultural contexts raises complex ethical concerns. The term 'over-researched community' (ORC) has been raised as an ethical concern and potential barrier to community participation in research. However, the term lacks conceptual clarity and is absent from established ethics guidelines and academic literature. In light of the concern being raised in relation to research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a critical and empirical exploration of the meaning of ORC was undertaken. Guided by Emanuel et al.'s (2004) eight principles for ethically sound research in LMICs, this study examines the relevance and meaning of the terms 'over-research' and 'over-researched community' through an analysis of key stakeholder perspectives at two South African research sites. Data were collected between August 2007 and October 2008. 'Over-research' was found to represent a conglomeration of ethical concerns often used as a proxy for standard research ethics concepts. 'Over-research' seemed fundamentally linked to disparate positions and perspectives between different stakeholders in the research interaction, arising from challenges in inter-stakeholder relationships. 'Over-research' might be interpreted to mean exploitation. However, exploitation itself could mean different things. Using the term may lead to obscured understanding of real or perceived ethical concerns, making it difficult to identify and address the underlying concerns. It is recommended that the term be carefully and critically interrogated for clarity when used in research ethics discourse. Because it represents other legitimate concerns, it should not be dismissed without careful exploration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Addressing parenting concerns of bone marrow transplant patients: opening (and closing) Pandora's box.

    PubMed

    Moore, C W; Rauch, P K

    2006-12-01

    Although a significant number of adults undergoing stem cell transplant (SCT) or bone marrow transplantation (BMT) care for dependent children, and these treatments pose significant challenges for families, research has virtually ignored the impact of parenting on patients' quality of life during BMT/SCT and children's responses to having a parent undergo these treatments. Physicians rarely inquire about parenting concerns related to the extended hospitalizations necessitated by these treatments, yet clinical experience suggests that addressing patient concerns about children's reactions to cancer and BMT/SCT can improve the experience of the patient and the patient's family, and help the medical team respond effectively to sources of patients' distress. Parents frequently want to know what reactions to expect from children, thus general developmental information is reviewed, and recommendations given for when professional help for children is warranted. A key way for parents to support their children is with open, honest communication; however, parents often find it extremely difficult to talk about cancer and BMT/SCT with their children. The medical team can assist patients' efforts to communicate with and support their children by asking about a patient's children, providing some targeted information, and discussing the potential impact of treatments on parenting capacity. Inquiring about and addressing parenting concerns may initially seem difficult, but can ultimately facilitate stronger doctor-patient alliances, and more compassionate care.

  11. A Latina/o Campus Community's Readiness to Address Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rivera-Ramos, Zully A.; Oswald, Ramona F.; Buki, Lydia P.

    2015-01-01

    In response to the call for new and innovative methods of assessing campus climate (Worthington, 2008), the current study is the first to examine the readiness of a Latina/o campus community to address lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) concerns. Using the Community Readiness Model, data were collected through individual interviews with a total of…

  12. Writing Centre Tutoring Sessions: Addressing Students' Concerns

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winder, Roger; Kathpalia, Sujata S.; Koo, Swit Ling

    2016-01-01

    The guiding principle behind university writing centres is to focus on the process of writing rather than the finished product, prioritising higher order concerns related to organisation and argumentation of texts rather than lower order concerns of grammar and punctuation. Using survey-based data, this paper examines students' concerns regarding…

  13. Using an Evaluation Hotline to Promote Stakeholder Involvement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Skolits, Gary J.; Boser, Judith A.

    2008-01-01

    This article addresses the design and application of a hotline to promote broader community-wide participation in a public school evaluation. Evaluations of community resources such as public schools present evaluators with challenges from the perspective of promoting stakeholder involvement. Although many evaluation stakeholders are readily…

  14. Stakeholder Meeting: Integrated Knowledge Translation Approach to Address the Caregiver Support Gap.

    PubMed

    Holroyd-Leduc, Jayna M; McMillan, Jacqueline; Jette, Nathalie; Brémault-Phillips, Suzette C; Duggleby, Wendy; Hanson, Heather M; Parmar, Jasneet

    2017-03-01

    Family caregivers are an integral and increasingly overburdened part of the health care system. There is a gap between what research evidence shows is beneficial to caregivers and what is actually provided. Using an integrated knowledge translation approach, a stakeholder meeting was held among researchers, family caregivers, caregiver associations, clinicians, health care administrators, and policy makers. The objectives of the meeting were to review current research evidence and conduct multi-stakeholder dialogue on the potential gaps, facilitators, and barriers to the provision of caregiver supports. A two-day meeting was attended by 123 individuals. Three target populations of family caregivers were identified for discussion: caregivers of seniors with dementia, caregivers in end-of-life care, and caregivers of frail seniors with complex health needs. The results of this meeting can and are being used to inform the development of implementation research endeavours and policies targeted at providing evidence-informed caregiver supports.

  15. Working with Evaluation Stakeholders: A Rationale, Step-Wise Approach and Toolkit

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bryson, John M.; Patton, Michael Quinn; Bowman, Ruth A.

    2011-01-01

    In the broad field of evaluation, the importance of stakeholders is often acknowledged and different categories of stakeholders are identified. Far less frequent is careful attention to analysis of stakeholders' interests, needs, concerns, power, priorities, and perspectives and subsequent application of that knowledge to the design of…

  16. Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: Exploring the perceptions of stakeholders regarding their acceptability, barriers to uptake, and dissemination.

    PubMed

    Faulkner, Guy; White, Lauren; Riazi, Negin; Latimer-Cheung, Amy E; Tremblay, Mark S

    2016-06-01

    Engaging stakeholders in the development of guidelines and plans for implementation is vital. The purpose of this study was to examine stakeholders' (parents, teachers, exercise professionals, paediatricians, and youth) perceptions of the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Behaviour Guidelines for Children and Youth ("Movement Guidelines"). Stakeholders (n = 104) engaged in semi-structured focus groups or interviews to discuss the perceived acceptability of the guidelines, potential barriers to implementation, and preferred methods and messengers of dissemination. A thematic analysis was conducted. Overall, there was consistent support across all stakeholder groups, with the exception of youth participants, for the Movement Guidelines. Stakeholders identified a range of barriers to the uptake of the guidelines including concerns with accurately defining key terms such as "recreational" screen time; everyday challenges such as financial and time constraints; and the possibility of the Movement Guidelines becoming just another source of stress and guilt for already busy and overwhelmed parents. Participants identified a range of recommended methods and messengers for future dissemination. School and medical settings were the most commonly recommended settings through which dissemination efforts should be delivered. Overall, participants representing a range of stakeholder groups were receptive to the new Movement Guidelines and endorsed their value. In complementing the Movement Guidelines, messaging and resources will need to be developed that address common concerns participants had regarding their dissemination and implementation.

  17. Cross-sector surveys assessing perceptions of key stakeholders towards barriers, concerns and facilitators to the appropriate use of adaptive designs in confirmatory trials.

    PubMed

    Dimairo, Munyaradzi; Julious, Steven A; Todd, Susan; Nicholl, Jonathan P; Boote, Jonathan

    2015-12-23

    Appropriately conducted adaptive designs (ADs) offer many potential advantages over conventional trials. They make better use of accruing data, potentially saving time, trial participants, and limited resources compared to conventional, fixed sample size designs. However, one can argue that ADs are not implemented as often as they should be, particularly in publicly funded confirmatory trials. This study explored barriers, concerns, and potential facilitators to the appropriate use of ADs in confirmatory trials among key stakeholders. We conducted three cross-sectional, online parallel surveys between November 2014 and January 2015. The surveys were based upon findings drawn from in-depth interviews of key research stakeholders, predominantly in the UK, and targeted Clinical Trials Units (CTUs), public funders, and private sector organisations. Response rates were as follows: 30(55 %) UK CTUs, 17(68 %) private sector, and 86(41 %) public funders. A Rating Scale Model was used to rank barriers and concerns in order of perceived importance for prioritisation. Top-ranked barriers included the lack of bridge funding accessible to UK CTUs to support the design of ADs, limited practical implementation knowledge, preference for traditional mainstream designs, difficulties in marketing ADs to key stakeholders, time constraints to support ADs relative to competing priorities, lack of applied training, and insufficient access to case studies of undertaken ADs to facilitate practical learning and successful implementation. Associated practical complexities and inadequate data management infrastructure to support ADs were reported as more pronounced in the private sector. For funders of public research, the inadequate description of the rationale, scope, and decision-making criteria to guide the planned AD in grant proposals by researchers were all viewed as major obstacles. There are still persistent and important perceptions of individual and organisational obstacles

  18. Stakeholders' Engagement Methods for the Mining Social Responsibility Practice: Determination of Local Issues and Concerns Related to the Mines Operations in Northwest of the US.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Masaitis, A.

    2014-12-01

    Every year, all around the world, global environmental change affects the human habitat. This is effect enhanced by the mining operation, and creates new challenges in relationship between the mining and local community. The purpose of this project are developed the Stakeholders engagement evaluation plan which is currently developed in University of Nevada, Reno for the Emigrant mining project, located in the central Nevada, USA, and belong to the Newmont Mining Corporation, one of the gold production leader worldwide. The needs for this project is to create the open dialog between Newmont mining company and all interested parties which have social or environmental impacts from the Emigrant mine. Identification of the stakeholders list is first and one of the most difficult steps in the developing of mine social responsibility. Stakeholders' engagement evaluation plan must be based on the timing and available resources of the mining company, understanding the goals for the engagement, and on analyzes of the possible risks from engagement. In conclusion, the Stakeholders engagement evaluation plan includes: first, determinations of the stakeholders list, which must include any interested or effected by the mine projects groups, for example: state and local government representatives, people from local communities, business partners, environmental NGOs, indigenous people, and academic groups. The contacts and availability for communication is critical for Stakeholders engagement. Next, is to analyze characteristics of all these parties and determinate the level of interest and level of their influence on the project. The next step includes the Stakeholders matrix and mapping development, where all these information will be put together.After that, must be chosen the methods for stakeholders' engagement. The methods usually depends from the goals of engagement (create the dialog lines, collect the data, determinations of the local issues and concerns, or establish

  19. Challenges created by data dissemination and access restrictions when attempting to address community concerns: individual privacy versus public wellbeing.

    PubMed

    Colquhoun, Amy; Aplin, Laura; Geary, Janis; Goodman, Karen J; Hatcher, Juanita

    2012-05-08

    Population health data are vital for the identification of public health problems and the development of public health strategies. Challenges arise when attempts are made to disseminate or access anonymised data that are deemed to be potentially identifiable. In these situations, there is debate about whether the protection of an individual's privacy outweighs potentially beneficial public health initiatives developed using potentially identifiable information. While these issues have an impact at planning and policy levels, they pose a particular dilemma when attempting to examine and address community concerns about a specific health problem. Research currently underway in northern Canadian communities on the frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection and associated diseases, such as stomach cancer, is used in this article to illustrate the challenges that data controls create on the ability of researchers and health officials to address community concerns. Barriers are faced by public health professionals and researchers when endeavouring to address community concerns; specifically, provincial cancer surveillance departments and community-driven participatory research groups face challenges related to data release or access that inhibit their ability to effectively address community enquiries. The resulting consequences include a limited ability to address misinformation or to alleviate concerns when dealing with health problems in small communities. The development of communication tools and building of trusting relationships are essential components of a successful investigation into community health concerns. It may also be important to consider that public wellbeing may outweigh the value of individual privacy in these situations. As such, a re-evaluation of data disclosure policies that are applicable in these circumstances should be considered.

  20. Identifying and Addressing Stakeholder Interests in Design Science Research: An Analysis Using Critical Systems Heuristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Venable, John R.

    This paper utilises the Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) framework developed by Werner Ulrich to critically consider the stakeholders and design goals that should be considered as relevant by researchers conducing Design Science Research (DSR). CSH provides a philosophically and theoretically grounded framework and means for critical consideration of the choices of stakeholders considered to be relevant to any system under design consideration. The paper recommends that legitimately undertaken DSR should include witnesses to represent the interests of the future consumers of the outcomes of DSR, i.e., the future clients, decision makers, professionals, and other non-included stakeholders in the future use of the solution technologies to be invented in DSR. The paper further discusses options for how witnesses might be included, who should be witnessed for and obstacles to implementing the recommendations.

  1. Stakeholder perspectives on dissemination and implementation of a prospective surveillance model of rehabilitation for breast cancer treatment.

    PubMed

    Stout, Nicole L; Andrews, Kimberly; Binkley, Jill M; Schmitz, Kathryn H; Smith, Robert A

    2012-04-15

    The prospective surveillance model proposes a paradigm shift in the delivery of care for patients with breast cancer. The model is based on clinical research and clinical practice experience that was reviewed and discussed at a multidisciplinary meeting. The model identifies critical physical sequelae of treatment as well as timeframes for identification of and surveillance for these issues. Although the model of ongoing assessment for physical impairment and early rehabilitative intervention creates a framework for care, broad support and active dissemination among a variety of stakeholders will be required to transform patient care. Translating research findings to transform practice often occurs on a protracted timeline. The authors sought participation from a variety of stakeholder representatives throughout the process of creating this model in an effort to ensure that it reflects the realities of the patient experience and care delivery, to incorporate their input regarding the construct and viability of the model, and to potentiate effective and efficient strategies for implementation. This article summarizes comments from stakeholder representatives concerning the prospective surveillance model for rehabilitation for women treated for breast cancer. Concerns addressed include the scope of impairments included in the model, the potential creation of barriers to exercise and participation in community exercise programs, and cost and feasibility issues. Stakeholder disseminations strategies are also presented. Overall, there is recognition by the stakeholder group that this model calls attention to important unmet needs and defines a crucial opportunity to improve care for breast cancer survivors. Copyright © 2012 American Cancer Society.

  2. Addressing Male Facial Skin Concerns: Clinical Efficacy of a Topical Skincare Treatment Product for Men.

    PubMed

    Makino, Elizabeth T; Jiang, Lily I; Tan, Priscilla; Cheng, Tsing; Mehta, Rahul C

    2018-03-01

    The growing male skincare market reflects the increased interest of men in addressing facial aging concerns and maintaining a healthy youthful appearance. Because of differences in skin structure and aging as well as in lifestyle and behavior, male facial skin presents unique challenges that may result in different priorities or treatment strategies compared to female skin. A clinical study was conducted to assess clinical efficacy and tolerability of a topical skincare treatment product that was developed to address several male facial skin concerns related to skin quality, skin aging, and shaving. The treatment product provided significant improvements in all clinical efficacy parameters including overall photodamage, tactile roughness, fine line/wrinkles, and coarse lines/wrinkles. Furthermore, significant improvements in erythema as well as dryness/scaling were observed. Subject self-assessment questionnaires showed that the treatment product was highly rated in both self-perceived efficacy as well as product attributes. Use of skincare treatment products that tackle specific male facial skin concerns could further optimize skin quality and support healthy and youthful looking skin in men.

    J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(3):301-306.

    .

  3. Stakeholders' expectations on connectivity research for water and land management addressed by a survey in the collaborative EU-COST Connecteur network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smetanova, Anna; Paton, Eva N.; Keesstra, Saskia

    2016-04-01

    Transfer of knowledge across the science-society interface is essential for both, ethical and economic reasons, and inevitable for successful climate change adaptation and integrated management of sustainable, resilient landscapes. The transdisciplinary research of connectivity (which is the degree to which a system facilitates the movement of matter and energy through itself. It is an emergent property of the system state, Connecteur web resources,2015) has the potential to supply monitoring, modelling and management tools to land and water managers in order to reach these goals. The research of water and sediment connectivity has received significant and increasing scientific attention across the entire realm of the environmental disciplines, and the COST Action ES 1306 Connecteur facilitates the multi-sectorial collaboration in connectivity research at EU level. In order to appropriately address the transfer of the cutting edge research developments of the Connecteur network, the collaborative research project on stakeholders' perception of connectivity was conducted by the Working Group 5 "Transition of connectivity research towards sustainable land and water management". The questionnaire survey on stakeholder perception was conducted by volunteering scientist involved in the Connecteur network together from 19 European countries. Together 84 stakeholders from all mayor sectors in water and land management were asked about the main challenges of their work, their understanding of connectivity, the desired areas of cooperation with connectivity science, and the best tools for transferring knowledge. The results showed differences between different stakeholders groups in the way they percept and work with connectivity, as well as their requirement of knowledge transfers. While farmers, and (in lower extend) the agricultural administration officers articulated no, or little need for connectivity management, the majority of stakeholders involved in land and water

  4. Best practices for preventing musculoskeletal disorders in masonry: stakeholder perspectives.

    PubMed

    Entzel, Pamela; Albers, Jim; Welch, Laura

    2007-09-01

    Brick masons and mason tenders report a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), many of which can be prevented with changes in materials, work equipment or work practices. To explore the use of "best practices" in the masonry industry, NIOSH organized a 2-day meeting of masonry stakeholders. Attendees included 30 industry representatives, 5 health and safety researchers, 4 health/safety specialists, 2 ergonomic consultants, and 2 representatives of state workers' compensation programs. Small groups discussed ergonomic interventions currently utilized in the masonry industry, including factors affecting intervention implementation and ways to promote diffusion of interventions. Meeting participants also identified various barriers to intervention implementation, including business considerations, quality concerns, design issues, supply problems, jobsite conditions and management practices that can slow or limit intervention diffusion. To be successful, future diffusion efforts must not only raise awareness of available solutions but also address these practical concerns.

  5. Addressing Ozone Layer Depletion

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Access information on EPA's efforts to address ozone layer depletion through regulations, collaborations with stakeholders, international treaties, partnerships with the private sector, and enforcement actions under Title VI of the Clean Air Act.

  6. Stakeholders' Perspectives on Stakeholder-engaged Research (SER): Strategies to Operationalize Patient-centered Outcomes Research Principles for SER.

    PubMed

    Mackie, Thomas I; Sheldrick, Radley C; de Ferranti, Sarah D; Saunders, Tully; Rojas, Erick G; Leslie, Laurel K

    2017-01-01

    US federal funding agencies increasingly incentivize stakeholder-engaged research which represents a paradigm shift toward incorporating a range of stakeholders in research design, conduct, and dissemination. We use qualitative methods to capture experience-based recommendations on how to operationalize 4 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) principles in stakeholder-engaged research, specifically: (1) reciprocal relationships; (2) colearning; (3) partnership; and (4) trust, transparency, and honesty. We conducted semistructured interviews with members of a stakeholder panel who participated in a 2-year comparative effectiveness study of cholesterol screening and treatment among young adults. Participants included 8 young adults and parent panelists and 11 professional panelists (clinicians, researchers, policy developers, and disseminators). The interview guide included questions about the 4 PCOR principles and queried preferred strategies to attain them. Interview transcripts were analyzed using an a priori and emergent coding structure. Participants provided strategies to promote the 4 PCOR principles. Although some stakeholder-identified strategies were complementary, others conflicted due to (1) competing ideologies identified among the principles, and (2) distinct stakeholder preferences. Illustrative of competing ideologies, participants simultaneously preferred receiving relevant articles before calls (to facilitate colearning) but also minimal outside reading (to achieve partnership). Illustrative of distinct stakeholder preferences, young adult and parent panelists generally preferred calls to occur on weekends/evenings, whereas professional panelists preferred mid-week work hours. Our exploratory study provides stakeholder-identified strategies to achieve the 4 PCOR principles, and demonstrates the need to identify, acknowledge, and address potentially conflicting strategies due to the potential for competing ideologies or variation in stakeholder

  7. Stakeholder analysis for a maternal and newborn health project in Eastern Uganda.

    PubMed

    Namazzi, Gertrude; N, Kiwanuka Suzanne; Peter, Waiswa; John, Bua; Olico, Okui; A, Allen Katharine; A, Hyder Adnan; Elizabeth, Ekirapa Kiracho

    2013-03-04

    services. Most of the stakeholders interviewed were supporters of the proposed maternal and newborn care intervention because of the positive benefits of the intervention. The analysis highlighted stakeholder concerns that will be included in the final project design and that could also be useful in countries of similar setting that are planning to set up programmes geared at increasing access to maternal and new born interventions. Key among these concerns was the need to use both human and financial resources that are locally available in the community, to address supply side barriers that influence access to maternal and child healthcare. Research to policy translation, therefore, will require mutual trust, continued dialogue and engagement of the researchers, implementers and policy makers to enable scale up.

  8. Followup Audit: DLA Officials Took Appropriate Actions to Address Concerns With Repair Parts for the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-29

    Followup Audit : DLA Officials Took Appropriate Actions to Address Concerns With Repair Parts for the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle A P R I L...Results in Brief Followup Audit : DLA Officials Took Appropriate Actions to Address Concerns With Repair Parts for the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled...and Maritime Paid Too Much for High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle Repair Parts,” (HMMWV) was issued on April 4, 2014. The audit

  9. Interactive Cumulative Burden Assessment: Engaging Stakeholders in an Adaptive, Participatory and Transdisciplinary Approach

    PubMed Central

    Shrestha, Rehana; van Maarseveen, Martin

    2018-01-01

    Cumulative burden assessment (CuBA) has the potential to inform planning and decision-making on health disparities related to multiple environmental burdens. However, scholars have raised concerns about the social complexity to be dealt with while conducting CuBA, suggesting that it should be addressed in an adaptive, participatory and transdisciplinary (APT) approach. APT calls for deliberation among stakeholders by engaging them in a process of social learning and knowledge co-production. We propose an interactive stakeholder-based approach that facilitates a science-based stakeholder dialogue as an interface for combining different knowledge domains and engendering social learning in CuBA processes. Our approach allows participants to interact with each other using a flexible and auditable CuBA model implemented within a shared workspace. In two workshops we explored the usefulness and practicality of the approach. Results show that stakeholders were enabled to deliberate on cumulative burdens collaboratively, to learn about the technical uncertainties and social challenges associated with CuBA, and to co-produce knowledge in a realm of both technical and societal challenges. The paper identifies potential benefits relevant for responding to social complexity in the CuBA and further recommends exploration of how our approach can enable or constraint social learning and knowledge co-production in CuBA processes under various institutional, social and political contexts. PMID:29401676

  10. Assisted suicide for prisoners? Stakeholder and prisoner perspectives.

    PubMed

    Shaw, David M; Elger, Bernice S

    2016-09-01

    For a wider project on aging in prison, the authors interviewed 35 older prisoners and 24 stakeholders (prison staff, prison healthcare professionals, and policy makers) about healthcare for prisoners. In all, 6 prisoners and 3 stakeholders spontaneously expressed their attitudes concerning assisted suicide. Some prisoners seek assisted suicide for medical reasons and others because they regard spending the rest of their lives in prison as undignified. However, stakeholders identified several ethical and practical challenges in providing assisted suicide to prisoners. This article presents these perspectives on assisted suicide in prison and provides an ethical analysis of the issues raised.

  11. Stakeholder perspectives on ethical challenges in HIV vaccine trials in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Essack, Zaynab; Koen, Jennifer; Barsdorf, Nicola; Slack, Catherine; Quayle, Michael; Milford, Cedilia; Lindegger, Graham; Ranchod, Chitra; Mukuka, Richard

    2010-04-01

    There is little published literature on the ethical concerns of stakeholders in HIV vaccine trials. This study explored the ethical challenges identified by various stakeholders, through an open-ended, in-depth approach. While the few previous studies have been largely quantitative, respondents in this study had the opportunity to spontaneously identify the issues that they perceived to be of priority concern in the South African context. Stakeholders spontaneously identified the following as ethical priorities: informed consent, social harms, collaborative relationships between research stakeholders, the participation of children and adolescents, access to treatment for participants who become infected with HIV, physical harms, fair participant and community selection, confidentiality, benefits, and payment. While there is some speculation that research in developing countries poses special ethical challenges, overall no issues were identified that have not been anticipated in international guidance, literature and popular frameworks. However, the South African context affords a distinctive gloss to these expected issues; for example, respondents were concerned that the predominant selection of black participants may perpetuate racist practices of apartheid. Stakeholders should be aware of contextual factors impacting on the implementation of ethical principles. We make a series of recommendations for South African trials, including amendments to the ethical-legal framework and research policies, and, for further research.

  12. Stakeholder analysis for a maternal and newborn health project in Eastern Uganda

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    , and improved accessibility of services. Conclusion Most of the stakeholders interviewed were supporters of the proposed maternal and newborn care intervention because of the positive benefits of the intervention. The analysis highlighted stakeholder concerns that will be included in the final project design and that could also be useful in countries of similar setting that are planning to set up programmes geared at increasing access to maternal and new born interventions. Key among these concerns was the need to use both human and financial resources that are locally available in the community, to address supply side barriers that influence access to maternal and child healthcare. Research to policy translation, therefore, will require mutual trust, continued dialogue and engagement of the researchers, implementers and policy makers to enable scale up. PMID:23497057

  13. 75 FR 63177 - Notice of a Public Meeting: Stakeholder Meeting Concerning EPA's Long-Term Revisions to the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-14

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9213-1] Notice of a Public Meeting: Stakeholder Meeting...: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Copper Rule (LCR). EPA is holding a stakeholder meeting to provide information to the public and an...

  14. 1999 Florida Freight Stakeholders Task Force Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-11-01

    The Florida Freight Stakeholders Task Force was organized in 1998 as a result of the Governor's Transportation Summit to address two principal objectives: (1) to identify, prioritize and recommend freight transportation projects for fast track fundin...

  15. What do Key Stakeholders Think About HIV Self-Testing in Canada? Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey.

    PubMed

    Pai, N Pant; Smallwood, M; Gulati, D; Lapczak, N; Musten, A; Gaydos, C; Johnston, C; Steben, M; Wong, T; Engel, N; Kim, J

    2018-02-01

    Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-testing presents an empowering alternative to facility-based testing for reaching undiagnosed HIV infected individuals, but is not currently available in Canada. We surveyed stakeholders (clinical providers, public health professionals, researchers) engaged in HIV testing initiatives nationwide to identify the concerns, opportunities and challenges to implementing HIV self-testing in Canada. An online cross-sectional survey was disseminated by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Centre for REACH 2.0 National HIV & sexually transmitted and blood borne infections working group to stakeholders nationwide, with a target sample size of 200. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using a mixed-methods, respondent-informed approach, to inform subsequent HIV self-testing in a country where self-testing is not yet accessible. A total of 183 responses were received. A majority (70.7%) (128/181) felt that self-testing was a necessary investment to reach the undiagnosed. 64.6% (117/181) felt that self-tests should be made available to their clients and 71.5% (128/179) of respondents agreed that self-test instructions required improvements. However, 50% (90/180) felt that self-testing will pose an economic challenge to current HIV testing models. Regardless, 21% urged for timely action and availability of HIV self-tests. Thematic analyses reflected the following concerns: (a) need for affordable self-tests, (b) need for expedited, customized, and accessible linkages to counselling, (c) concern for patients to cope with positive self-test results, (d) accuracy of self-tests to detect acute HIV and (e) liability in the context of non-disclosure. Stakeholders agreed to the provision of an option of HIV self-testing to reach the undiagnosed individuals. Concerns regarding costs and accuracy of self-tests, expedited linkages to counselling, and integration of self-test within prevailing HIV testing models, will need to be

  16. Stakeholder interaction within the ERICA Integrated Approach.

    PubMed

    Zinger, I; Oughton, D H; Jones, S R

    2008-09-01

    Within the ERICA project, stakeholder involvement has been addressed within three main areas: generic interactions throughout the project, specific consultation by means of attendance to events and considerations as part of the ERICA Integrated Approach and Assessment Tool. The word stakeholders meant namely any individual or group who may be affected by or have an interest in an issue, and to include experts, lay-people and the public. An End-Users-Group (EUG) was set up to facilitate the two-way dialogue between the ERICA Consortium and stakeholders. The ERICA EUG consisted of representatives of 60 organisations ranging from regulatory bodies, national advisory bodies, academia, non-governmental organisations, industry, consultants and inter-governmental organisations. Stakeholder interaction was included from the very start of the project. Inputs from the EUG were recorded and in most instances incorporated within the development of the project and thus influenced and helped to shape some of the ERICA deliverables.

  17. Stakeholders' views on the ethical challenges of pragmatic trials investigating pharmaceutical drugs.

    PubMed

    Kalkman, Shona; van Thiel, Ghislaine J M W; Grobbee, Diederick E; Meinecke, Anna-Katharina; Zuidgeest, Mira G P; van Delden, Johannes J M

    2016-08-22

    We explored the views of key stakeholders to identify the ethical challenges of pragmatic trials investigating pharmaceutical drugs. A secondary aim was to capture stakeholders' attitudes towards the implementation of pragmatic trials in the drug development process. We conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews among individuals from different key stakeholder groups (academia and independent research institutions, the pharmaceutical industry, regulators, Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies and patients' organizations) through telephone or face-to-face sessions. Interviews were structured around the question "what challenges were experienced or perceived during the design, conduct and/or review of pragmatic trials." Respondents were additionally asked about their views on implementation of pragmatic trials in the drug development process. Thematic analysis was used to identify the ethically relevant features across data sets. We interviewed 34 stakeholders in 25 individual sessions and four group sessions. The four perceived challenges of ethical relevance were: (1) less controlled conditions creating safety concerns, (2) comparison with usual care potentially compromising clinical equipoise, (3) tailored or waivers of informed consent affecting patient autonomy, and (4) minimal interference with "real-world" practice reducing the knowledge value of trial results. We identified stakeholder concerns regarding risk assessment, use of suboptimal usual care as a comparator, tailoring of informed consent procedures and ensuring the social value of pragmatic trials. These concerns increased when respondents were asked about pragmatic trials conducted before market authorization.

  18. Stakeholder involvement in water management: necessity or luxury?

    PubMed

    Morrison, K

    2003-01-01

    Stakeholder involvement in water management is widely recognized as an important component of the design and implementation of sustainable water management initiatives. Despite this, there remains a deep-rooted resistance to the widespread implementation of programs to prioritize such involvement (as witnessed by, for example, the low priority given to the public involvement element of the European Union Water Framework Directive). This paper addresses the issue of stakeholder involvement by first confronting the fact that it is not a water issue, per se. Such diverse fields as economics, agriculture, public health, pollution prevention, business and education have also identified stakeholder involvement as a difficult but necessary component of successful action in their fields. For the water sector, the issue of stakeholder involvement as either a necessity for sustainable water management, or a luxury to be used to complement traditional approaches, is discussed.

  19. The potential for bi-lateral agreements in medical tourism: A qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives from the UK and India

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Globalisation has prompted countries to evaluate their position on trade in health services. However, this is often done from a multi-lateral, rather than a regional or bi-lateral perspective. In a previous review, we concluded that most of the issues raised could be better addressed from a bi-lateral relationship. We report here the results of a qualitative exercise to assess stakeholders' perceptions on the prospects for such a bi-lateral system, and its ability to address concerns associated with medical tourism. Methods 30 semi-structured interviews were carried out with stakeholders, 20 in India and 10 in the UK, to assess their views on the potential offered by a bi-lateral relationship on medical tourism between both countries. Issues discussed include data availability, origin of medical tourists, quality and continuity of care, regulation and litigation, barriers to medical tourism, policy changes needed, and prospects for such a bi-lateral relationship. Results The majority of stakeholders were concerned about the quality of health services patients would receive abroad, regulation and litigation procedures, lack of continuity of care, and the effect of such trade on the healthcare available to the local population in India. However, when considering trade from a bi-lateral point of view, there was disagreement on how these issues would apply. There was further disagreement on the importance of the Diaspora and the validity of the UK's 'rule' that patients should not fly more than three hours to obtain care. Although the opinion on the prospects for an India-UK bi-lateral relationship was varied, there was no consensus on what policy changes would be needed for such a relationship to take place. Conclusions Whilst the literature review previously carried out suggested that a bi-lateral relationship would be best-placed to address the concerns regarding medical tourism, there was scepticism from the analysis provided in this paper based on the

  20. The potential for bi-lateral agreements in medical tourism: A qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives from the UK and India.

    PubMed

    Martínez Álvarez, Melisa; Chanda, Rupa; Smith, Richard D

    2011-05-03

    Globalisation has prompted countries to evaluate their position on trade in health services. However, this is often done from a multi-lateral, rather than a regional or bi-lateral perspective. In a previous review, we concluded that most of the issues raised could be better addressed from a bi-lateral relationship. We report here the results of a qualitative exercise to assess stakeholders' perceptions on the prospects for such a bi-lateral system, and its ability to address concerns associated with medical tourism. 30 semi-structured interviews were carried out with stakeholders, 20 in India and 10 in the UK, to assess their views on the potential offered by a bi-lateral relationship on medical tourism between both countries. Issues discussed include data availability, origin of medical tourists, quality and continuity of care, regulation and litigation, barriers to medical tourism, policy changes needed, and prospects for such a bi-lateral relationship. The majority of stakeholders were concerned about the quality of health services patients would receive abroad, regulation and litigation procedures, lack of continuity of care, and the effect of such trade on the healthcare available to the local population in India. However, when considering trade from a bi-lateral point of view, there was disagreement on how these issues would apply. There was further disagreement on the importance of the Diaspora and the validity of the UK's 'rule' that patients should not fly more than three hours to obtain care. Although the opinion on the prospects for an India-UK bi-lateral relationship was varied, there was no consensus on what policy changes would be needed for such a relationship to take place. Whilst the literature review previously carried out suggested that a bi-lateral relationship would be best-placed to address the concerns regarding medical tourism, there was scepticism from the analysis provided in this paper based on the over-riding feeling that the political

  1. States Address Concerns about Concussions in Youth Sports

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kreck, Carol

    2014-01-01

    Education Commission of the States (ECS) reviewed legislation in the 50 states to see how state leaders are responding to concerns about concussions in youth sports. This report reviews state responses to concussion concerns, and provides examples of provisions put in place by California, Connecticut, and Texas. Three emerging innovations are…

  2. Ebola vaccine development plan: ethics, concerns and proposed measures.

    PubMed

    Folayan, Morenike Oluwatoyin; Yakubu, Aminu; Haire, Bridget; Peterson, Kristin

    2016-02-08

    The global interest in developing therapies for Ebola infection management and its prevention is laudable. However the plan to conduct an emergency immunization program specifically for healthcare workers using experimental vaccines raises some ethical concerns. This paper shares perspectives on these concerns and suggests how some of them may best be addressed. The recruitment of healthcare workers for Ebola vaccine research has challenges. It could result in coercion of initially dissenting healthcare workers to assist in the management of EVD infected persons due to mistaken beliefs that the vaccine offers protection. It could also affect equity and justice. For example, where people who are not skilled health care professionals but who provide care to patients infected with Ebola (such as in home care settings) are not prioritized for vaccination. The possibility of study participants contracting Ebola infection despite the use of experimental vaccine, and the standard of care they would receive, needs to be addressed clearly, transparently and formalized as part of the ethics review process. Future access to study products in view of current status of the TRIPS agreement needs to be addressed. Finally, broad stakeholder engagement at local, regional and international levels needs to be promoted using available communication channels to engage local, regional and international support. These same concerns are applicable for current and future epidemics. Successful Ebola vaccine development research requires concerted efforts at public dialogue to address misconceptions, equity and justice in participant selection, and honest discussions about risks, benefits and future access. Public dialogue about Ebola vaccine research plans is crucial and should be conducted by trusted locals and negotiated between communities, researchers and ethics committees in research study sites.

  3. Ethical issues in the export, storage and reuse of human biological samples in biomedical research: perspectives of key stakeholders in Ghana and Kenya.

    PubMed

    Tindana, Paulina; Molyneux, Catherine S; Bull, Susan; Parker, Michael

    2014-10-18

    For many decades, access to human biological samples, such as cells, tissues, organs, blood, and sub-cellular materials such as DNA, for use in biomedical research, has been central in understanding the nature and transmission of diseases across the globe. However, the limitations of current ethical and regulatory frameworks in sub-Saharan Africa to govern the collection, export, storage and reuse of these samples have resulted in inconsistencies in practice and a number of ethical concerns for sample donors, researchers and research ethics committees. This paper examines stakeholders' perspectives of and responses to the ethical issues arising from these research practices. We employed a qualitative strategy of inquiry for this research including in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with key research stakeholders in Kenya (Nairobi and Kilifi), and Ghana (Accra and Navrongo). The stakeholders interviewed emphasised the compelling scientific importance of sample export, storage and reuse, and acknowledged the existence of some structures governing these research practices, but they also highlighted the pressing need for a number of practical ethical concerns to be addressed in order to ensure high standards of practice and to maintain public confidence in international research collaborations. These concerns relate to obtaining culturally appropriate consent for sample export and reuse, understanding cultural sensitivities around the use of blood samples, facilitating a degree of local control of samples and sustainable scientific capacity building. Drawing on these findings and existing literature, we argue that the ethical issues arising in practice need to be understood in the context of the interactions between host research institutions and local communities and between collaborating institutions. We propose a set of 'key points-to-consider' for research institutions, ethics committees and funding agencies to address these issues.

  4. Implementing evidence-based practice in community mental health agencies: a multiple stakeholder analysis.

    PubMed

    Aarons, Gregory A; Wells, Rebecca S; Zagursky, Karen; Fettes, Danielle L; Palinkas, Lawrence A

    2009-11-01

    We sought to identify factors believed to facilitate or hinder evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation in public mental health service systems as a step in developing theory to be tested in future studies. Focusing across levels of an entire large public sector mental health service system for youths, we engaged participants from 6 stakeholder groups: county officials, agency directors, program managers, clinical staff, administrative staff, and consumers. Participants generated 105 unique statements identifying implementation barriers and facilitators. Participants rated each statement on importance and changeability (i.e., the degree to which each barrier or facilitator is considered changeable). Data analyses distilled statements into 14 factors or dimensions. Descriptive analyses suggest that perceptions of importance and changeability varied across stakeholder groups. Implementation of EBP is a complex process. Cross-system-level approaches are needed to bring divergent and convergent perspectives to light. Examples include agency and program directors facilitating EBP implementation by supporting staff, actively sharing information with policymakers and administrators about EBP effectiveness and fit with clients' needs and preferences, and helping clinicians to present and deliver EBPs and address consumer concerns.

  5. INTEGRATING MODELS WITH STAKEHOLDER PREFERENCE OF WATER QUALITY INDICATORS: A CASE STUDY OF LAKE LANIER, GEORGIA, USA

    EPA Science Inventory

    One important aspect of Integrated Environmental Assessment is combining a scientific expertise and stakeholder concerns. Here, we propose a method to integrate stakeholder preferences, in particular preferences of stakeholders with differing environmental perspectives with a se...

  6. Geoengineering: A humanitarian concern

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suarez, Pablo; van Aalst, Maarten K.

    2017-02-01

    The humanitarian sector is active at the global frontline of climate impacts, and has a track record in influencing the climate change policy agenda. Geoengineering is a humanitarian concern: the potential for deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system has major implications in terms of impacts on the most vulnerable. Yet, so far the humanitarian community has largely been absent from geoengineering deliberations. Geoengineering may be perceived as too theoretical, too complex, and not imminent enough to merit attention. However, early engagement by the sector is imperative to ensure that humanitarian considerations are integrated into policy decisions. Those who can suffer the worst outcomes need to be involved; especially given the plausibility of "predatory geoengineering" where recklessly self-concerned actions may result in harmful consequences to others. This paper explores the humanitarian dimensions of geoengineering, specifically relating to solar radiation management (SRM). Drawing from the engagement of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre in SRM discussions, we discuss how to improve linkages between science, policy and humanitarian practice. We further propose the creation of a geoengineering risk management framework to ensure that the interests of the most vulnerable are considered and addressed - including the voices of all stakeholders.

  7. Setting research priorities in tobacco control: a stakeholder engagement project

    PubMed Central

    Lindson, Nicola; Richards‐Doran, Dan; Heath, Laura

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background and Aims The Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group (TAG) conducts systematic reviews of the evidence for tobacco cessation and prevention interventions. In 2016 TAG conducted a priority‐setting, stakeholder engagement project to identify where further research is needed in the areas of tobacco control and smoking cessation. Design The project comprised two surveys and a workshop. A range of stakeholders participated, including members of the public (smokers and ex‐smokers), clinicians, researchers, research funders, health‐care commissioners and public health organizations. The first survey phase identified unanswered research questions in the field of tobacco control. The second phase asked participants to rank these, with overall rankings calculated by combining scores across participants. The workshop allowed attendees to discuss prioritization of topics and questions in more depth. Workshop discussions were transcribed and analysed thematically, and a final voting activity at the close of the workshop allowed participants to choose topics to prioritize and to de‐prioritize. Findings A total of 304 stakeholders (researchers, health professionals, smokers and ex‐smokers, guideline developers, research funders and policymakers, representing 28 countries) identified 183 unanswered research questions. These were categorized into 15 research categories. A total of 175 participants prioritized categories and questions in the second survey phase, with ‘electronic cigarettes’; ‘addressing inequalities’; and ‘mental health and other substance abuse’ prioritized as the top three categories. Forty‐three stakeholders attended the workshop and discussed reasons for and against category prioritization. Prioritized research categories largely mirrored those in the survey stage, although ‘treatment delivery’ also emerged as a key category. Five cross‐cutting themes emerged: efficacy; relative efficacy; cost effectiveness; addressing

  8. Setting research priorities in tobacco control: a stakeholder engagement project.

    PubMed

    Lindson, Nicola; Richards-Doran, Dan; Heath, Laura; Hartmann-Boyce, Jamie

    2017-12-01

    The Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group (TAG) conducts systematic reviews of the evidence for tobacco cessation and prevention interventions. In 2016 TAG conducted a priority-setting, stakeholder engagement project to identify where further research is needed in the areas of tobacco control and smoking cessation. The project comprised two surveys and a workshop. A range of stakeholders participated, including members of the public (smokers and ex-smokers), clinicians, researchers, research funders, health-care commissioners and public health organizations. The first survey phase identified unanswered research questions in the field of tobacco control. The second phase asked participants to rank these, with overall rankings calculated by combining scores across participants. The workshop allowed attendees to discuss prioritization of topics and questions in more depth. Workshop discussions were transcribed and analysed thematically, and a final voting activity at the close of the workshop allowed participants to choose topics to prioritize and to de-prioritize. A total of 304 stakeholders (researchers, health professionals, smokers and ex-smokers, guideline developers, research funders and policymakers, representing 28 countries) identified 183 unanswered research questions. These were categorized into 15 research categories. A total of 175 participants prioritized categories and questions in the second survey phase, with 'electronic cigarettes'; 'addressing inequalities'; and 'mental health and other substance abuse' prioritized as the top three categories. Forty-three stakeholders attended the workshop and discussed reasons for and against category prioritization. Prioritized research categories largely mirrored those in the survey stage, although 'treatment delivery' also emerged as a key category. Five cross-cutting themes emerged: efficacy; relative efficacy; cost effectiveness; addressing inequalities; and different types of evidence. There are many unanswered

  9. Differentiating innovation priorities among stakeholder in hospital care.

    PubMed

    Lambooij, Mattijs S; Hummel, Marjan J

    2013-08-16

    insight into stakeholder positions concerning innovation in health care, and presents a novel way to study differences in stakeholder preferences. The results may be taken into account by decision makers involved in the implementation of innovations.

  10. Differentiating innovation priorities among stakeholder in hospital care

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    provides a first exploratory quantitative insight into stakeholder positions concerning innovation in health care, and presents a novel way to study differences in stakeholder preferences. The results may be taken into account by decision makers involved in the implementation of innovations. PMID:23947398

  11. Investigation of the Impact of Sonar Transmission on Fisheries and Habitat in the U.S. Navy’s USWTR: Summary of Stakeholder Concerns and Appropriate Research Areas

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-09-01

    sonar transmission on fisheries and habitat in the U.S. Navy’s USWTR: Summary of stakeholder concerns and appropriate research areas by Dr...SUBTITLE: Title (Mix case letters) Investigation of the impact of sonar transmission on fisheries and habitat in the U.S. Navy’s USWTR: Summary of...table of specific public comments is included. 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 30 14. SUBJECT TERMS sonar, USWTR, Navy, fish, fishery , fisherman, behavior

  12. Appetite for health-related food taxes: New Zealand stakeholder views.

    PubMed

    Signal, Louise N; Watts, Carolyn; Murphy, Celia; Eyles, Helen; Ni Mhurchu, Cliona

    2017-05-05

    There is increasing discussion globally of the value of health-related food taxes and subsidies to address obesity and noncommunicable diseases. In order for such policies to be successful it is important to understand the positions of key stakeholders. This research investigated New Zealand (NZ) stakeholders' views on the feasibility and acceptability of selected health-related food taxes and subsidies over the next 5 to 10 years. Twenty semi-structured interviews were undertaken by telephone from November 2014 to May 2015. The purposive sample of key stakeholders included politicians, bureaucrats, public health experts, food industry leaders and consumer representatives. Prior to interviews participants were sent summary information on the estimated impacts of a range of health-related food taxes and subsidies on dietary intake and mortality. According to key stakeholders there appears to be little appetite for taxes on foods high in saturated fat or salt in NZ. Stakeholders largely agreed that a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and a subsidy on fruit and vegetables were both feasible and likely acceptable. There was strong support for starting with a SSBs tax, possibly framed around protecting children and dental health. Addressing obesity and noncommunicable diseases is a multidimensional challenge. A tax on SSBs and a subsidy on fruit and vegetables, possibly in tandem, could be part of the solution in NZ. There is growing interest in, and evidence for, health-related taxes and subsidies internationally. Given the critical role of stakeholder support for such policies similar research on stakeholders' views may assist the implementation of health-related food taxes and subsidies in other jurisdictions. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Stakeholders' views on data sharing in multicenter studies.

    PubMed

    Mazor, Kathleen M; Richards, Allison; Gallagher, Mia; Arterburn, David E; Raebel, Marsha A; Nowell, W Benjamin; Curtis, Jeffrey R; Paolino, Andrea R; Toh, Sengwee

    2017-09-01

    To understand stakeholders' views on data sharing in multicenter comparative effectiveness research studies and the value of privacy-protecting methods. Semistructured interviews with five US stakeholder groups. We completed 11 interviews, involving patients (n = 15), researchers (n = 10), Institutional Review Board and regulatory staff (n = 3), multicenter research governance experts (n = 2) and healthcare system leaders (n = 4). Perceptions of the benefits and value of research were the strongest influences toward data sharing; cost and security risks were primary influences against sharing. Privacy-protecting methods that share summary-level data were acknowledged as being appealing, but there were concerns about increased cost and potential loss of research validity. Stakeholders were open to data sharing in multicenter studies that offer value and minimize security risks.

  14. Synthesis of common management concerns associated with dam removal

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tullos, Desiree D.; Collins, Mathias J.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Bountry, Jennifer A.; Connolly, Patrick J.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Wilcox, Andrew C.

    2016-01-01

    Managers make decisions regarding if and how to remove dams in spite of uncertainty surrounding physical and ecological responses, and stakeholders often raise concerns about certain negative effects, regardless of whether or not these concerns are warranted at a particular site. We used a dam-removal science database supplemented with other information sources to explore seven frequently-raised concerns, herein Common Management Concerns (CMCs). We investigate the occurrence of these concerns and the contributing biophysical controls. The CMCs addressed are: degree and rate of reservoir sediment erosion, excessive channel incision upstream of reservoirs, downstream sediment aggradation, elevated downstream turbidity, drawdown impacts on local water infrastructure, colonization of reservoir sediments by non-native plants, and expansion of invasive fish. Biophysical controls emerged for some of the concerns, providing managers with information to assess whether a given concern is likely to occur at a site. To fully assess CMC risk, managers should concurrently evaluate site conditions and identify the ecosystem or human uses that will be negatively affected if the biophysical phenomenon producing the CMC occurs. We show how many CMCs have one or more controls in common, facilitating the identification of multiple risks at a site, and demonstrate why CMC risks should be considered in the context of other factors like natural watershed variability and disturbance history.

  15. Environmental policy beliefs of stakeholders in protected area management.

    PubMed

    Hovardas, Tasos; Poirazidis, Kostas

    2007-04-01

    Although the importance of understanding stakeholder beliefs regarding environmental policy has been noted by many authors, research focusing on the heterogeneity of stakeholder views is still very scarce and concentrated on a product-oriented definition of stakeholders. The aim of the present study is to address this gap by examining environmental policy beliefs of stakeholder groups engaged in protected area management. Questionnaires containing 73 five-point Likert scale items were administered to eight different stakeholder groups involved in the management of Greek protected areas. Items referred to core beliefs on environmental policy, namely, the value framework and sustainable development, and secondary beliefs, that is, beliefs on social consensus and ecotourism development. Our study used as a starting point respondent recruitment on the basis of a traditional product-centered approach. We investigated whether environmental policy beliefs can be used to effectively segregate stakeholders in well-defined segments, which override the product-oriented definition of stakeholders. Indeed, K-means clustering revealed an innovation-introduction and an implementation-charged sample segment. The instrument utilized in this research proved quite reliable and valid in measuring stakeholder environmental policy beliefs. Furthermore, the methodology implied that stakeholder groups differ in a significant number of belief-system elements. On the other hand, stakeholder groups were effectively distinguished on a small set of both core and secondary beliefs. Therefore, the instrument used can be an effective tool for determining and monitoring environmental policy beliefs of stakeholders in protected area management. This is of considerable importance in the Greek case, given the recent establishment of 27 administrative bodies of protected areas, all of which are required to incorporate public consultation into management practices.

  16. Environmental Policy Beliefs of Stakeholders in Protected Area Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hovardas, Tasos; Poirazidis, Kostas

    2007-04-01

    Although the importance of understanding stakeholder beliefs regarding environmental policy has been noted by many authors, research focusing on the heterogeneity of stakeholder views is still very scarce and concentrated on a product-oriented definition of stakeholders. The aim of the present study is to address this gap by examining environmental policy beliefs of stakeholder groups engaged in protected area management. Questionnaires containing 73 five-point Likert scale items were administered to eight different stakeholder groups involved in the management of Greek protected areas. Items referred to core beliefs on environmental policy, namely, the value framework and sustainable development, and secondary beliefs, that is, beliefs on social consensus and ecotourism development. Our study used as a starting point respondent recruitment on the basis of a traditional product-centered approach. We investigated whether environmental policy beliefs can be used to effectively segregate stakeholders in well-defined segments, which override the product-oriented definition of stakeholders. Indeed, K-means clustering revealed an innovation-introduction and an implementation-charged sample segment. The instrument utilized in this research proved quite reliable and valid in measuring stakeholder environmental policy beliefs. Furthermore, the methodology implied that stakeholder groups differ in a significant number of belief-system elements. On the other hand, stakeholder groups were effectively distinguished on a small set of both core and secondary beliefs. Therefore, the instrument used can be an effective tool for determining and monitoring environmental policy beliefs of stakeholders in protected area management. This is of considerable importance in the Greek case, given the recent establishment of 27 administrative bodies of protected areas, all of which are required to incorporate public consultation into management practices.

  17. Course Development in Socially Responsible Advertising and Promotion: An Interdisciplinary and Stakeholder Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hyllegard, Karen H.; Ogle, Jennifer Paff; Rudd, Nancy A.; Littrell, Mary A.; Bickle, Marianne

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a course development project designed to address the obligation of consumer goods companies to engage in socially responsible advertising and promotion. Course development was informed by stakeholder theory. Videotaped interviews with 46 stakeholder representatives were integrated into the course, providing students with an…

  18. The stakeholder approach: a new perspective on developing and marketing clinical trials.

    PubMed

    Droms, Courtney M; Ferguson, Michael; Giuliano, Karen

    2014-01-01

    The use of evidence-based medical practice has become the standard for health care decision-making. Thus, it has become increasingly important for medical device manufactures to provide evidence for the efficacy of their products. As new products, services, and solutions are developed, it is important to perform a stakeholder analysis to assess clinical evidence needs. As evidenced by the variety of stakeholders in clinical trials, we expect that each has different interests in how clinical trials are developed, conducted, and promoted to the general public. This analysis of the stakeholders' concerns provides recommendations for marketing professionals on meeting the needs of these stakeholders.

  19. Stakeholder perceptions of a nurse led walk-in centre.

    PubMed

    Parker, Rhian M; Desborough, Jane L; Forrest, Laura E

    2012-11-05

    As many countries face primary care medical workforce shortages and find it difficult to provide timely and affordable care they seek to find new ways of delivering first point of contact health care through developing new service models. In common with other areas of rural and regional Australia, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is currently experiencing a general practitioner (GP) workforce shortage which impacts significantly on the ability of patients to access GP led primary care services. The introduction of a nurse led primary care Walk-in Centre in the ACT aimed to fulfill an unmet health care need in the community and meet projected demand for health care services as well as relieve pressure on the hospital system. Stakeholders have the potential to influence health service planning and policy, to advise on the potential of services to meet population health needs and to assess how acceptable health service innovation is to key stakeholder groups. This study aimed to ascertain the views of key stakeholders about the Walk-in Centre. Stakeholders were purposively selected through the identification of individuals and organisations which had organisational or professional contact with the Walk-in Centre. Semi structured interviews around key themes were conducted with seventeen stakeholders. Stakeholders were generally supportive of the Walk-in Centre but identified key areas which they considered needed to be addressed. These included the service's systems, full utilisation of the nurse practitioner role and adequate education and training. It was also suggested that a doctor could be available to the Centre as a source of referral for patients who fall outside the nurses' scope of practice. The location of the Centre was seen to impact on patient flows to the Emergency Department. Nurse led Walk-in Centres are one response to addressing primary health care medical workforce shortages. Whilst some stakeholders have reservations about the model others

  20. Multi-stakeholder perspectives in defining health-services quality in cataract care.

    PubMed

    Stolk-Vos, Aline C; van de Klundert, Joris J; Maijers, Niels; Zijlmans, Bart L M; Busschbach, Jan J V

    2017-08-01

    To develop a method to define a multi-stakeholder perspective on health-service quality that enables the expression of differences in systematically identified stakeholders' perspectives, and to pilot the approach for cataract care. Mixed-method study between 2014 and 2015. Cataract care in the Netherlands. Stakeholder representatives. We first identified and classified stakeholders using stakeholder theory. Participants established a multi-stakeholder perspective on quality of cataract care using concept mapping, this yielded a cluster map based on multivariate statistical analyses. Consensus-based quality dimensions were subsequently defined in a plenary stakeholder session. Stakeholders and multi-stakeholder perspective on health-service quality. Our analysis identified seven definitive stakeholders, as follows: the Dutch Ophthalmology Society, ophthalmologists, general practitioners, optometrists, health insurers, hospitals and private clinics. Patients, as dependent stakeholders, were considered to lack power by other stakeholders; hence, they were not classified as definitive stakeholders. Overall, 18 stakeholders representing ophthalmologists, general practitioners, optometrists, health insurers, hospitals, private clinics, patients, patient federations and the Dutch Healthcare Institute sorted 125 systematically collected indicators into the seven following clusters: patient centeredness and accessibility, interpersonal conduct and expectations, experienced outcome, clinical outcome, process and structure, medical technical acting and safety. Importance scores from stakeholders directly involved in the cataract service delivery process correlated strongly, as did scores from stakeholders not directly involved in this process. Using a case study on cataract care, the proposed methods enable different views among stakeholders concerning quality dimensions to be systematically revealed, and the stakeholders jointly agreed on these dimensions. The methods

  1. Engaging Stakeholders in the Development of an eHealth Intervention for Cancer Symptom Management for Rural Residents.

    PubMed

    Gilbertson-White, Stephanie; Yeung, Chi W; Saeidzadeh, Seyedehtanaz; Tykol, Hannah; Vikas, Praveen; Cannon, Ashley

    2018-04-25

    Late-stage cancer diagnoses disproportionately occur in rural residents, frequently resulting in increased need for symptom management support with minimal access to these services. Oncology Associated Symptoms and Individualized Strategies (OASIS) is an eHealth symptom self-management intervention that was developed to provide cancer symptom self-management support and address this disparity. To engage stakeholders about the symptom management needs and concerns of patients with advanced cancer living in rural areas. A 3-phased, mixed-methods design was used to (1) assess stakeholder needs and opinions; (2) develop a symptom self-management website; and (3) obtain usability feedback from potential users. Interviews with stakeholders (patients and clinic staff) from rural areas using a descriptive qualitative approach were analyzed; cross-cutting themes were identified; a symptom management web application was developed; and stakeholders completed a 12-item usability survey about the web application. Patients (n = 16) and clinical staff (n = 10) participated in phase 1. Three major themes were identified: "symptom experience," "symptom management," and "technology." Through an iterative process using these results and evidence from the literature, the OASIS web application was developed. Usability testing with N = 126 stakeholders demonstrated that the web application is easy to use, contains relevant content, and has pleasing graphics. No differences were found among patients, family/friends, and staff. Both frequent and infrequent internet users positively evaluated the web application.  CONCLUSIONS: Rural stakeholders report significant symptom management needs, are interested in eHealth technologies, and perceived OASIS positively. Future research is needed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of OASIS. © 2018 National Rural Health Association.

  2. Cross-border healthcare directive: Assessing stakeholders' perspectives in Poland and Portugal.

    PubMed

    Helena, Ricardo

    2016-04-01

    Within the context of the EU, a succession of rulings from the European Court of Justice addressed the gap of specific healthcare legislation. These rulings shook the member states assumption of health provision autonomy and led the European Commission to produce a specific directive concerning cross-border healthcare. In spite of different viewpoints of member states, including Poland and Portugal, the directive was approved and expected to be implemented by October 2013. The objective of this study was to analyse stakeholders' perspective towards the directive, unveiling the factors that supported a different viewpoint, and to identify challenges and assess the expected impact associated with the directive implementation on Poland and Portugal, using the WHO health systems conceptual framework. Information was collected through a literature review, identifying potential stakeholders. Primary qualitative analysis was conducted through the dissemination of open-ended questionnaires. Content and critical analysis was performed considering the available literature intertwined with the WHO health systems conceptual framework. The directive appears to be positive regarding patient rights, increased transparency, and potential to set new information technologies and healthcare networks. However, it also seems to potentially generate access inequalities between home and foreign patients, and increase healthcare costs due to the short-term investments needed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Stakeholder Bias.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    House, Ernest R.

    2003-01-01

    Discusses the nature of stakeholder participation in evaluation and contrasts E. House's commitment to involving all stakeholders to ensure that interests of all are included with other theorists' preference to involve a few stakeholders more intensely. (SLD)

  4. Addressing overuse of health services in health systems: a critical interpretive synthesis.

    PubMed

    Ellen, Moriah E; Wilson, Michael G; Vélez, Marcela; Shach, Ruth; Lavis, John N; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Moat, Kaelan A

    2018-06-15

    Health systems are increasingly focusing on the issue of 'overuse' of health services and how to address it. We developed a framework focused on (1) the rationale and context for health systems prioritising addressing overuse, (2) elements of a comprehensive process and approach to reduce overuse and (3) implementation considerations for addressing overuse. We conducted a critical interpretive synthesis informed by a stakeholder-engagement process. The synthesis identified relevant empirical and non-empirical articles about system-level overuse. Two reviewers independently screened records, assessed for inclusion and conceptually mapped included articles. From these, we selected a purposive sample, created structured summaries of key findings and thematically synthesised the results. Our search identified 3545 references, from which we included 251. Most articles (76%; n = 192) were published within 5 years of conducting the review and addressed processes for addressing overuse (63%; n = 158) or political and health system context (60%; n = 151). Besides negative outcomes at the patient, system and global level, there were various contextual factors to addressing service overuse that seem to be key issue drivers. Processes for addressing overuse can be grouped into three elements comprising a comprehensive approach, including (1) approaches to identify overused health services, (2) stakeholder- or patient-led approaches and (3) government-led initiatives. Key implementation considerations include the need to develop 'buy in' from stakeholders and citizens. Health systems want to ensure the use of high-value services to keep citizens healthy and avoid harm. Our synthesis can be used by policy-makers, stakeholders and researchers to understand how the issue has been prioritised, what approaches have been used to address it and implementation considerations. PROSPERO CRD42014013204 .

  5. Interpersonal interactions on online forums addressing eating concerns.

    PubMed

    Ransom, Danielle C; La Guardia, Jennifer G; Woody, Erik Z; Boyd, Jennifer L

    2010-03-01

    Although some research suggests that online eating disorder forums promote "pro-eating-disorder" lifestyles and discourage recovery, other research suggests that such forums are an important source of interpersonal support. The current study extends this research by exploring the positive and negative behaviors encouraged on these forums and by comparing forum members' perceptions of support received from online and offline relationships to support received in relationships of age-matched controls. In a survey of 60 forum members, we assessed information exchanged and support provided on eating disorder forums. Further, we assessed perceptions of social support for general and specific life concerns in this group of forum members as well as 64 age-matched university controls. Results show that both adaptive and maladaptive behaviors are encouraged on the forums, and that this encouragement has some influence on forum members trying out these behaviors. Overall, forum members reported receiving less support for their eating concerns as compared to their general life stressors, and they perceived less support for both their general concerns and eating concerns in their offline relationships as compared to their online forum relationships. Moreover, forum members reported receiving less support from their offline relationships as compared to support received in relationships by age-matched controls. Forum members perceive less support in their important relationships than other peers do, and they seek out and participate in forums as a means of attaining greater social support. However, our research suggests that these forums also encourage dysregulated eating behaviors. Implications of online forum support and its impact on recovery are discussed further.

  6. Incident Management Organization succession planning stakeholder feedback

    Treesearch

    Anne E. Black

    2013-01-01

    This report presents complete results of a 2011 stakeholder feedback effort conducted for the National Wildfire Coordination Group (NWCG) Executive Board concerning how best to organize and manage national wildland fire Incident Management Teams in the future to meet the needs of the public, agencies, fire service and Team members. Feedback was collected from 858...

  7. Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Community Mental Health Agencies: A Multiple Stakeholder Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Wells, Rebecca S.; Zagursky, Karen; Fettes, Danielle L.; Palinkas, Lawrence A.

    2009-01-01

    Objectives. We sought to identify factors believed to facilitate or hinder evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation in public mental health service systems as a step in developing theory to be tested in future studies. Methods. Focusing across levels of an entire large public sector mental health service system for youths, we engaged participants from 6 stakeholder groups: county officials, agency directors, program managers, clinical staff, administrative staff, and consumers. Results. Participants generated 105 unique statements identifying implementation barriers and facilitators. Participants rated each statement on importance and changeability (i.e., the degree to which each barrier or facilitator is considered changeable). Data analyses distilled statements into 14 factors or dimensions. Descriptive analyses suggest that perceptions of importance and changeability varied across stakeholder groups. Conclusions. Implementation of EBP is a complex process. Cross-system–level approaches are needed to bring divergent and convergent perspectives to light. Examples include agency and program directors facilitating EBP implementation by supporting staff, actively sharing information with policymakers and administrators about EBP effectiveness and fit with clients' needs and preferences, and helping clinicians to present and deliver EBPs and address consumer concerns. PMID:19762654

  8. Support amongst UK pig farmers and agricultural stakeholders for the use of food losses in animal feed

    PubMed Central

    Kelly, Moira; Bladon, Eleanor; Salemdeeb, Ramy; Balmford, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    While food losses (foods which were intended for human consumption, but which ultimately are not directly eaten by people) have been included in animal feed for millennia, the practice is all but banned in the European Union. Amid recent calls to promote a circular economy, we conducted a survey of pig farmers (n = 82) and other agricultural stakeholders (n = 81) at a UK agricultural trade fair on their attitudes toward the use of food losses in pig feed, and the potential relegalisation of swill (the use of cooked food losses as feed). While most respondents found the use of feeds containing animal by-products or with the potential for intra-species recycling (i.e. pigs eating pork products) to be less acceptable than feeds without, we found strong support (>75%) for the relegalisation of swill among both pig farmers and other stakeholders. We fit multi-hierarchical Bayesian models to understand people’s position on the relegalisation of swill, finding that respondents who were concerned about disease control and the perception of the pork industry supported relegalisation less, while people who were concerned with farm financial performance and efficiency or who thought that swill would benefit the environment and reduce trade-deficits, were more supportive. Our results provide a baseline estimate of support amongst the large-scale pig industry for the relegalisation of swill, and suggest that proponents for its relegalisation must address concerns about disease control and the consumer acceptance of swill-fed pork. PMID:29689078

  9. Support amongst UK pig farmers and agricultural stakeholders for the use of food losses in animal feed.

    PubMed

    Zu Ermgassen, Erasmus K H J; Kelly, Moira; Bladon, Eleanor; Salemdeeb, Ramy; Balmford, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    While food losses (foods which were intended for human consumption, but which ultimately are not directly eaten by people) have been included in animal feed for millennia, the practice is all but banned in the European Union. Amid recent calls to promote a circular economy, we conducted a survey of pig farmers (n = 82) and other agricultural stakeholders (n = 81) at a UK agricultural trade fair on their attitudes toward the use of food losses in pig feed, and the potential relegalisation of swill (the use of cooked food losses as feed). While most respondents found the use of feeds containing animal by-products or with the potential for intra-species recycling (i.e. pigs eating pork products) to be less acceptable than feeds without, we found strong support (>75%) for the relegalisation of swill among both pig farmers and other stakeholders. We fit multi-hierarchical Bayesian models to understand people's position on the relegalisation of swill, finding that respondents who were concerned about disease control and the perception of the pork industry supported relegalisation less, while people who were concerned with farm financial performance and efficiency or who thought that swill would benefit the environment and reduce trade-deficits, were more supportive. Our results provide a baseline estimate of support amongst the large-scale pig industry for the relegalisation of swill, and suggest that proponents for its relegalisation must address concerns about disease control and the consumer acceptance of swill-fed pork.

  10. Rules of engagement: perspectives on stakeholder engagement for genomic biobanking research in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Staunton, Ciara; Tindana, Paulina; Hendricks, Melany; Moodley, Keymanthri

    2018-02-27

    Genomic biobanking research is undergoing exponential growth in Africa raising a host of legal, ethical and social issues. Given the scientific complexity associated with genomics, there is a growing recognition globally of the importance of science translation and community engagement (CE) for this type of research, as it creates the potential to build relationships, increase trust, improve consent processes and empower local communities. Despite this level of recognition, there is a lack of empirical evidence of the practise and processes for effective CE in genomic biobanking in Africa. To begin to address this vacuum, 17 in-depth face to face interviews were conducted with South African experts in genomic biobanking research and CE to provide insight into the process, benefits and challenges of CE in South Africa. Emerging themes were analysed using a contextualised thematic approach. Several themes emerged concerning the conduct of CE in genomic biobanking research in Africa. Although the literature tends to focus on the local community in CE, respondents in this study described three different layers of stakeholder engagement: community level, peer level and high level. Community level engagement includes potential participants, community advisory boards (CAB) and field workers; peer level engagement includes researchers, biobankers and scientists, while high level engagement includes government officials, funders and policy makers. Although education of each stakeholder layer is important, education of the community layer can be most challenging, due to the complexity of the research and educational levels of stakeholders in this layer. CE is time-consuming and often requires an interdisciplinary research team approach. However careful planning of the engagement strategy, including an understanding of the differing layers of stakeholder engagement, and the specific educational needs at each layer, can help in the development of a relationship based on trust

  11. Community Stakeholders' Perceptions of Major Factors Influencing Childhood Obesity, the Feasibility of Programs Addressing Childhood Obesity, and Persisting Gaps.

    PubMed

    Ganter, Claudia; Aftosmes-Tobio, Alyssa; Chuang, Emmeline; Blaine, Rachel E; Land, Thomas; Davison, Kirsten K

    2016-04-01

    Prior research has identified numerous factors contributing to increased rates of childhood obesity. However, few studies have focused explicitly on the experience of community stakeholders in low-income communities. This study sought to capture the perspectives of these on-the-ground experts regarding major factors contributing to childhood obesity as well as gaps in current prevention and control efforts. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 39 stakeholders from different community sectors (e.g., healthcare providers, childcare providers, teachers). Data were drawn from the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration project, a multi-level, multi-sector intervention designed to reduce childhood obesity being implemented in two low-income communities in Massachusetts. Interviews were conducted at baseline, transcribed, coded using grounded theory approach, and analyzed in NVivo 10.0. The vast majority of stakeholders had recently participated in obesity prevention strategies, and nearly all of them identified gaps in prevention efforts either within their organizations or in the broader community. In addition to factors previously identified in the literature, several themes emerged including the need to change policies to increase physical activity during school, offer healthier snacks in schools and afterschool programs, and increase communication and collaboration within the community in prevention efforts. Community stakeholders can impact the success of interventions by bridging the gap between science and lived experience. The results of this study can guide future research by highlighting the importance of including stakeholders' frontline experiences with target populations, and using information on identified gaps to augment intervention planning efforts.

  12. More than a headcount: towards strategic stakeholder representation in catchment management in South Africa and Zimbabwe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manzungu, Emmanuel

    In 1998 both South Africa and Zimbabwe promulgated new water laws to ensure that ownership and user-ship patterns of water resources match the new socio-political order. Integrated water resource management, incorporating among other things decentralized and democratized water management institutions and the principles of stakeholder participation, was regarded as the cornerstone of the reforms. This article examines how stakeholder representation, particularly of the formerly disadvantaged people, has been handled. It is observed that there has been too much effort dedicated to ensure a mere headcount of the stakeholders at the water table rather than on strategic representation. Strategic representation emphasizes stakeholder identity instead of consensus. Selective alliance building is important as is establishing genuine local level platforms with enough political space outside the state-tailored formal straight jackets. It is equally important to address developmental aspects of establishing catchment-wide bodies and structural problems such as access to land and financial resources. Without addressing these issues stakeholder representation will remain hamstrung in good intentions.

  13. Freight transportation : strategies needed to address planning and financing limitations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2003-12-01

    The General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to address (1) the challenges to freight mobility, (2) the limitations key stakeholders have encountered in addressing these challenges, and (3) strategies that may aid decision makers in enhancing freigh...

  14. Evaluation of the role of risk perception in stakeholder engagement to prevent lead exposure in an urban setting.

    PubMed

    Harclerode, Melissa A; Lal, Pankaj; Vedwan, Neeraj; Wolde, Bernabas; Miller, Michael E

    2016-12-15

    Stakeholder engagement is a vital sustainable remediation practice for obtaining useful feedback and identifying societal needs. Evaluating and integrating risk perception of stakeholders into remediation and outreach efforts allows for greater insight, increases the likelihood of success and ultimately, benefits the community by protecting its members from environmental hazards. In this study, we identified risk perception factors that influenced residents' level of concern for mitigating their exposure to elevated concentrations of lead in household paint and historic fill material. Risk perception factors were assessed by an in-person survey conducted in public green spaces. The analysis of survey participants' responses indicated that their perception of risk to exposed lead was mostly influenced by the presence of hazardous materials in close proximity to their residence, the ability to address pollution, and awareness, interest, and individual accountability in mitigating environmental risks. Responses also revealed that residents considered risk of lead and soil pollution as less menacing than the presence of more immediate and perceptible risks posed by factors such as air and water pollution. In addition, the community seemed to exhibit "optimism bias" and did not identify itself at high risk to susceptible and immediate hazards, including lead exposure. This lack of concern over lead exposure created a significant obstacle to community participation in state-led education and outreach programs. By integrating risk perception analysis and increasing stakeholder engagement, we can bring more attention to this issue, educate the public about the threat of lead pollution, and efficiently use financial resources to implement a more sustainable solution. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Stakeholders' perspectives on biobank-based genomic research: systematic review of the literature

    PubMed Central

    Husedzinovic, Alma; Ose, Dominik; Schickhardt, Christoph; Fröhling, Stefan; Winkler, Eva C

    2015-01-01

    The success of biobank-based genomic research is widely dependent on people's willingness to donate their tissue. Thus, stakeholders' opinions should be considered in the development of best practice guidelines for research and recruiting participants. We systematically analyzed the empirical literature describing different stakeholders' views towards ethical questions with regard to type of consent, data sharing and return of incidental findings. Patients are more open to one-time general consent than the public. Only a small proportion desires recontact if the research aim changed. A broad consent model would prevent only a small proportion of patients from participating in research. Although professionals are concerned about a risk of reidentification, patients and the public support data sharing and find that the benefit of research outweighs the potential risk of reidentification. However, they desire detailed information about the privacy protection measures. Regarding the return of incidental findings, the public and professionals focus on clinically actionable results, whereas patients are interested in receiving as much information as possible. For professionals, concrete guidelines that help managing the return of incidental findings should be warranted. For this it would be helpful addressing the different categories – actionable, untreatable and inheritable diseases – upfront with patients and public. PMID:25735479

  16. A tall order on a tight timeframe: stakeholder perspectives on comparative effectiveness research using electronic clinical data.

    PubMed

    Holve, Erin; Lopez, Marianne Hamilton; Scott, Lisa; Segal, Courtney

    2012-09-01

    BACKGROUND & SIGNIFICANCE: The AcademyHealth Electronic Data Methods Forum aims to advance the national dialogue on the use of electronic clinical data (ECD) for comparative effectiveness research (CER), patient-centered outcomes research, and quality improvement by facilitating exchange and collaboration among eleven research projects and external stakeholders. AcademyHealth conducted a mixed-method needs assessment with the Electronic Data Methods Forum's key stakeholders to assess: stakeholder views on developing new infrastructure for CER using ECD; current gaps in knowledge with respect to CER; and expectations for a learning health system. AcademyHealth conducted 50 stakeholder interviews between August 2011 and November 2011 with participants from the following seven stakeholder groups: government, business/payer, industry, healthcare delivery, patient/consumer, nonprofit/policy and research. With input from key collaborators, AcademyHealth designed a semi-structured interview guide and a short survey. Reviewers used the qualitative data analysis software NVivo to code the transcripts and to identify and manage complex concepts. Quantitative data from the questionnaire has been integrated with the final analysis as relevant. The analysis of recurring concepts in the interviews focus on five central themes: stakeholders have substantial expectations for CER using ECD, both with respect to addressing the limitations of traditional research studies, and generating meaningful evidence for decision-making and improving patient outcomes; stakeholders are aware of many challenges related to implementing CER with ECD, including the need to develop appropriate governance, assess and manage data quality, and develop methods to address confounding in observational data; stakeholders continue to struggle to define 'patient-centeredness' in CER using ECD, adding complexity to attaining this goal; stakeholders express that improving translation and dissemination of CER

  17. Downscaling SSPs in Bangladesh - Integrating Science, Modelling and Stakeholders Through Qualitative and Quantitative Scenarios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allan, A.; Barbour, E.; Salehin, M.; Hutton, C.; Lázár, A. N.; Nicholls, R. J.; Rahman, M. M.

    2015-12-01

    A downscaled scenario development process was adopted in the context of a project seeking to understand relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. The aim was to link the concerns and priorities of relevant stakeholders with the integrated biophysical and poverty models used in the project. A 2-stage process was used to facilitate the connection between stakeholders concerns and available modelling capacity: the first to qualitatively describe what the future might look like in 2050; the second to translate these qualitative descriptions into the quantitative form required by the numerical models. An extended, modified SSP approach was adopted, with stakeholders downscaling issues identified through interviews as being priorities for the southwest of Bangladesh. Detailed qualitative futures were produced, before modellable elements were quantified in conjunction with an expert stakeholder cadre. Stakeholder input, using the methods adopted here, allows the top-down focus of the RCPs to be aligned with the bottom-up approach needed to make the SSPs appropriate at the more local scale, and also facilitates the translation of qualitative narrative scenarios into a quantitative form that lends itself to incorporation of biophysical and socio-economic indicators. The presentation will describe the downscaling process in detail, and conclude with findings regarding the importance of stakeholder involvement (and logistical considerations), balancing model capacity with expectations and recommendations on SSP refinement at local levels.

  18. Addressing concerns of pregnant and lactating women after the 2005 hurricanes: the OTIS response.

    PubMed

    Quinn, Dorothy; Lavigne, Sharon Voyer; Chambers, Christina; Wolfe, Lori; Chipman, Hope; Cragan, Janet D; Rasmussen, Sonja A

    2008-01-01

    Natural disasters are devastating for anyone affected, but pregnant and breastfeeding women often have specific concerns about the effects of certain exposures (such as infections, chemicals, medications, and stress) on their fetus or breastfed child. For this reason, the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS) and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention partnered to provide information for women and healthcare professionals about the effects of exposures on pregnancy and breastfeeding after the hurricanes of 2005. This service expanded on OTIS's existing telephone counseling and fact sheets. Through this project, fact sheets were created to address specific potential concerns regarding exposures after the hurricanes. The OTIS national toll-free telephone number also was modified to accommodate questions regarding hurricane-related exposures, and several strategies were used to publicize this number as a resource for obtaining hurricane-related exposure information related to pregnancy and breastfeeding. This article describes OTIS's response after the 2005 hurricanes, the challenges encountered in implementing the response, and lessons learned that might be useful to improve the response to the unique needs of this special population after any disaster or public health emergency.

  19. Trust build up and break down between stakeholders in water resource management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carr, Gemma

    2015-04-01

    Trust is a word that is often heard in discussions about stakeholder participation in water management programmes and projects. A break down in trust between participants is often attributed to the failure of a project reaching its objectives. In contrast, the development of trust is often described as a success in itself, and is thought to lead to positive water management outcomes. To explore how trust impacts water management, this research explores the factors that led to trust development and break-down, and the implications of this, in a major stakeholder engagement project in water management in North America. A major review of the Lake Ontario and St Lawrence River water level operating system (the LOSL Study) was commissioned in 1999 by the International Joint Commission (IJC). The goal of the five-year LOSL Study was to produce an operating policy for the system that was acceptable to everyone impacted by the water levels and flows in the basin. Through public meetings and consultations, the Study aimed to bring together and combine public and scientist input to co-produce an operating policy that met the needs of all interest groups. Freely accessible documentation of the public involvement activities that took place is available, which is used to explore trust and mistrust development. Provisional findings show that some public/interest group representatives mistrusted the Study. This was related to concerns over data quality, whether appropriate indicators were selected by the researchers and whether the models used were producing accurate outputs. Scientist responses to questions at public meetings were able to address some of these concerns and therefore build trust in the methods, but could also lead to further mistrust if public concerns and questions were not addressed adequately (for example, simply dismissed as irrelevant by scientists without due explanation). The impacts of distrust between participants and scientists included apathy and low

  20. Assessing the feasibility of introducing health insurance in Afghanistan: a qualitative stakeholder analysis.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Wu; Kim, Christine; Archer, Lauren; Sayedi, Omarzaman; Jabarkhil, Mohammad Yousuf; Sears, Kathleen

    2017-02-22

    In the last decade, the health status of Afghans has improved drastically. However, the health financing system in Afghanistan remains fragile due to high out-of-pocket spending and reliance on donor funding. To address the country's health financing challenges, the Ministry of Public Health investigated health insurance as a mechanism to mobilize resources for health. This paper presents stakeholders' opinions on seven preconditions of implementing this approach, as their understanding and buy-in to such an approach will determine its success. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with stakeholders. The interviews focused on perceptions of the seven preconditions of introducing health insurance, and adapting a framework developed by the International Labor Organization. Content analysis was conducted after interviews and discussions were transcribed and coded. Almost all of the stakeholders from government agencies, the private sector, and development partners are interested in introducing health insurance in Afghanistan, and they were aware of the challenges of the country's health financing system. Stakeholders acknowledged that health insurance could be an instrument to address these challenges. However, stakeholders differed in their beliefs about how and when to initiate a health insurance scheme. In addition to increasing insecurity in the country, they saw a lack of clear legal guidance, low quality of healthcare services, poor awareness among the population, limited technical capacity, and challenges to willingness to pay as the major barriers to establishing a successful nationwide health insurance scheme. The identified barriers prevent Afghanistan from establishing health insurance in the short term. Afghanistan must progressively address these major impediments in order to build a health insurance system.

  1. Exploring Stakeholder Definitions within the Aerospace Industry: A Qualitative Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hebert, Jonathan R.

    A best practice in the discipline of project management is to identify all key project stakeholders prior to the execution of a project. When stakeholders are properly identified, they can be consulted to provide expert advice on project activities so that the project manager can ensure the project stays within the budget and schedule constraints. The problem addressed by this study is that managers fail to properly identify key project stakeholders when using stakeholder theory because there are multiple conflicting definitions for the term stakeholder. Poor stakeholder identification has been linked to multiple negative project outcomes such as budget and schedules overruns, and this problem is heightened in certain industries such as aerospace. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore project managers' and project stakeholders' perceptions of how they define and use the term stakeholder within the aerospace industry. This qualitative exploratory single-case study had two embedded units of analysis: project managers and project stakeholders. Six aerospace project managers and five aerospace project stakeholders were purposively selected for this study. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with both project managers and project stakeholders. All data were analyzed using Yin's (2011) five-phased cycle approach for qualitative research. The results indicated that the aerospace project managers and project stakeholder define the term stakeholder as "those who do the work of a company." The participants build upon this well-known concept by adding that, "a company should list specific job titles" that correspond to their company specific-stakeholder definition. Results also indicated that the definition of the term stakeholder is used when management is assigning human resources to a project to mitigate or control project risk. Results showed that project managers tended to include the customer in their stakeholder definitions

  2. Understanding Nuisance Flooding Conceptualizations and Concerns of Stakeholders in the Northern U.S. Gulf Coast

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeLorme, D.; Collini, R.; Stephens, S. H.

    2017-12-01

    As sea level rises, nuisance flooding along coasts is increasing. There is a need to understand how the public views flooding events in order to tailor communications to different audiences appropriately and help improve community resilience. This interdisciplinary presentation is intended to foster greater awareness about present-day nuisance flooding, ongoing conversation about best practices for accurately and effectively communicating about this "cumulative hazard" and its risks, and consideration about possible preparation and mitigation options for community resilience. The presentation will begin by defining and explaining nuisance flooding according to scientific experts and the scholarly literature. Next, we will share several specific examples of how nuisance flooding is increasingly impacting certain areas in the Northern U.S. Gulf Coast to demonstrate the importance of raising attention to and better understanding of this phenomenon across a range of audiences. We will particularly focus on the complex interrelated social, economic, and ecological issues associated with this hazard. Then, we will compare and contrast conceptualizations of nuisance flooding (characteristics, causes, consequences) and associated concerns from the viewpoints and experiences of various stakeholders in the Northern U.S. Gulf Coast (e.g., natural resource managers, community planners, extension specialists). These data are synthesized from multiple research methods and engagement mechanisms (e.g., focus groups, workshop mapping exercises) implemented during the first year of a multi-year NOAA-sponsored interdisciplinary project on Dynamic Sea Level Rise Assessments of the Ability of Natural and Nature-based Features to Mitigate Surge and Nuisance Flooding. To conclude, we will provide future research recommendations along with references and resources about nuisance flooding.

  3. Improving healthcare systems' disclosures of large-scale adverse events: a Department of Veterans Affairs leadership, policymaker, research and stakeholder partnership.

    PubMed

    Elwy, A Rani; Bokhour, Barbara G; Maguire, Elizabeth M; Wagner, Todd H; Asch, Steven M; Gifford, Allen L; Gallagher, Thomas H; Durfee, Janet M; Martinello, Richard A; Schiffner, Susan; Jesse, Robert L

    2014-12-01

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mandates disclosure of large-scale adverse events to patients, even if risk of harm is not clearly present. Concerns about past disclosures warranted further examination of the impact of this policy. Through a collaborative partnership between VA leaders, policymakers, researchers and stakeholders, the objective was to empirically identify critical aspects of disclosure processes as a first step towards improving future disclosures. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants at nine VA facilities where recent disclosures took place. Ninety-seven stakeholders participated in the interviews: 38 employees, 28 leaders (from facilities, regions and national offices), 27 Veteran patients and family members, and four congressional staff members. Facility and regional leaders were interviewed by telephone, followed by a two-day site visit where employees, patients and family members were interviewed face-to-face. National leaders and congressional staff also completed telephone interviews. Interviews were analyzed using rapid qualitative assessment processes. Themes were mapped to the stages of the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication model: pre-crisis, initial event, maintenance, resolution and evaluation. Many areas for improvement during disclosure were identified, such as preparing facilities better (pre-crisis), creating rapid communications, modifying disclosure language, addressing perceptions of harm, reducing complexity, and seeking assistance from others (initial event), managing communication with other stakeholders (maintenance), minimizing effects on staff and improving trust (resolution), and addressing facilities' needs (evaluation). Through the partnership, five recommendations to improve disclosures during each stage of communication have been widely disseminated throughout the VA using non-academic strategies. Some improvements have been made; other recommendations will be addressed through

  4. Stakeholder Perceptions of Welfare Issues and Indicators for Extensively Managed Sheep in Australia.

    PubMed

    Doughty, Amanda K; Coleman, Grahame J; Hinch, Geoff N; Doyle, Rebecca E

    2017-03-23

    An online survey was designed to form the basis of a framework for the welfare assessment of extensively managed sheep in Australia. The survey focused on welfare compromise and useful welfare indicators. A total of 952 people completed the survey in its entirety, representing four stakeholder groups: Public (53.6%), Producer (27.4%), Scientist (9.9%), and Service provider (9.1%). Animal welfare was considered to be important by all participating groups in this survey (average score of 3.78/4). Respondents felt the welfare of grazing sheep was generally adequate but improvement was desired (2.98/5), with female members of the public rating sheep welfare significantly worse than other respondents ( p < 0.05). Environmental issues were considered to pose the greatest risk to welfare (3.87/5), followed by heat stress (3.79), lameness (3.57) and husbandry practices (3.37). Key indicators recognised by all respondents were those associated with pain and fear (3.98/5), nutrition (4.23), mortality/management (4.27), food on offer (4.41) and number of illness/injures in a flock (4.33). There were gender and stakeholder differences in the perceived importance of both welfare issues and indicators with women and the public consistently rating issues (all p < 0.01) and indicators (all p < 0.05) to be of greater significance than other respondents. These results highlight the importance of including all stakeholders and an even balance of genders when developing a welfare framework that can address both practical and societal concerns.

  5. Family-centered depression treatment for older men in primary care: a qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives.

    PubMed

    Hinton, Ladson; Sciolla, Andrés F; Unützer, Jürgen; Elizarraras, Edward; Kravitz, Richard L; Apesoa-Varano, Ester Carolina

    2017-09-29

    Family members often play important roles in the lives of depressed older men and frequently attend primary care visits with their loved ones, yet surprisingly little is known about how to most effectively engage and include family members in depression treatment. However, including family in depression treatment may be difficult due to several factors, such as depression stigma and family conflicts. The objective of this study was to describe challenges in engaging family members in older men's depression treatment and potential strategies to overcome those challenges. A cross-sectional, qualitative descriptive interview study was conducted in a safety-net, Federally Qualified Health Center in California's Central Valley. A total of 37 stakeholders were recruited, including 15 depressed older (i.e. age ≥ 60) men, 12 family members, and 10 clinic staff. Depressed men were identified through mail outreach, waiting room screening, and referral. Depressed men identified family members who were later approached to participate. We also recruited a purposeful sample of clinic staff. Interviews explored stakeholder perspectives on family involvement in men's depression treatment as part of a primary care intervention. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide, tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and translated if the interview was conducted in Spanish. Four themes were identified representing core challenges: engaging men at the right time; preserving men's sense of autonomy; managing privacy concerns; and navigating family tensions. Stakeholders also provided practical suggestions and advice about how each of these challenges might be addressed. While engaging family is a promising approach to strengthen depression care for older men in primary care settings, several potential challenges exist. Family- centered depression intervention development and clinical practice need to anticipate these challenges and to develop approaches and

  6. Enhancing school asthma action plans: qualitative results from southeast Minnesota beacon stakeholder groups.

    PubMed

    Egginton, Jason S; Textor, Lauren; Knoebel, Erin; McWilliams, Deborah; Aleman, Marty; Yawn, Barbara

    2013-12-01

    This study explores ways southeast Minnesota schools currently address asthma problems, identifies areas for improvement, and assesses the potential value of asthma action plans (AAPs) in schools. Focus groups were used to query stakeholder groups on asthma care in schools. Groups were held separately for elementary school personnel, parents of elementary school children with asthma, and health professionals (N = 103). Transcripts were analyzed by hand and by using NVivo 9 software. Overall 103 stakeholders participated in focus groups. Major themes were (1) Communication; no uniform way of exchanging information between schools and health professionals. (2) Asthma Control Continuum; students require individualized instructions and information related to their asthma care. (3) Policy/Protocol; school staff roles and rules vary and are unclear. (4) Self-Reliance; older children self-manage their asthma and are unknown until they need emergent support. Solution recommended included AAPs used systematically with a method to communicate back from schools to physicians and parents. The AAP may solve several of the school's concerns regarding their ability to provide asthma support in school. However, the AAP must reach the school, and that is currently not happening. In addition, schools would like tools and systems to assess asthma control and share information back with parents and physicians. © 2013, American School Health Association.

  7. Challenges to Stakeholder Participation in Water Reuse for Irrigation in Jordan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carr, Gemma; Potter, Rob; Nortcliff, Stephen

    2010-05-01

    which they are not recognised as being involved). Open discussion of reuse is necessary to accurately identify water quality requirements, drive appropriate legislation and subsequently lead to the enforcement of such legislation. This work shows that a major barrier to participation in water reuse management is the stakeholders' fear that consumer concerns over the use of "waste" resources in food production will reduce marketability. The extent of consumer concerns, in conjunction with stakeholders' perceptions of these concerns, is therefore an important area to be addressed in future research.

  8. The Anthropology of Science Education Reform: An Alabama Model for Building an Integrated Stakeholder Systems Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Denson, R. L.; Cox, G. N.

    2004-12-01

    Anthropologists are concerned with every aspect of the culture they are investigating. One of the five main branches of anthropology, socio-cultural anthropology, concerns itself with studying the relationship between behavior and culture. This paper explores the concept that changing the behavior of our culture - its beliefs and values - towards science is at the heart of science education reform. There are five institutions that socio-cultural anthropologists use to study the social organization of cultures: the educational system is only one of them. Its function - across all cultures - is to serve as a mechanism for implementing change in cultural beliefs and values. As leaders of science education reform, the Alabama model contends that we must stop the struggle with our purpose and get on with the business of leading culture change through an integrated stakeholder systems approach. This model stresses the need for the interaction of agencies other than education - including government, industry, the media and our health communities to operate in an integrated and systemic fashion to address the issues of living among a technically literate society. Twenty-five years of science education reform needs being voiced and programs being developed has not produced the desired results from within the educational system. This is too limited a focus to affect any real cultural change. It is when we acknowledge that students spend only an average of 12 percent of their life time in schools, that we can begin to ask ourselves what are our students learning the other 88 percent of their time - from their peers, their parents and the media - and what should we be doing to address this cultural crisis in these other arenas in addition to the educational system? The Alabama Math, Science and Technology Education Coalition (AMSTEC) is a non-profit 501c(3) organization operating in the state of Alabama to provide leadership in improving mathematics, science, and technology

  9. Implementing Stakeholders' Access to Expertise: Experimenting on Nuclear Installations' Safety Cases - 12160

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gilli, Ludivine; Charron, Sylvie

    2012-07-01

    In 2009 and 2010, the Institute for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (IRSN) led two pilot actions dealing with nuclear installations' safety cases. One concerned the periodical review of the French 900 MWe nuclear reactors, the other concerned the decommissioning of a workshop located on the site of Areva's La Hague fuel-reprocessing plant site in Northwestern France. The purpose of both these programs was to test ways for IRSN and a small number of stakeholders (Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) members, local elected officials, etc.) to engage in technical discussions. The discussions were intended to enable the stakeholders to review future applicationsmore » and provide valuable input. The test cases confirmed there is a definite challenge in successfully opening a meaningful dialogue to discuss technical issues, in particular the fact that most expertise reports were not public and the conflict that exists between the contrary demands of transparency and confidentiality of information. The test case also confirmed there are ways to further improvement of stakeholders' involvement. (authors)« less

  10. Risk perception, risk communication, and stakeholder involvement for biosolids management and research.

    PubMed

    Beecher, Ned; Harrison, Ellen; Goldstein, Nora; McDaniel, Mary; Field, Patrick; Susskind, Lawrence

    2005-01-01

    An individual's perception of risk develops from his or her values, beliefs, and experiences. Social scientists have identified factors that affect perceptions of risk, such as whether the risk is knowable (uncertainty), voluntary (can the individual control exposure?), and equitable (how fairly is the risk distributed?). There are measurable differences in how technical experts and citizen stakeholders define and assess risk. Citizen knowledge and technical expertise are both relevant to assessing risk; thus, the 2002 National Research Council panel on biosolids recommended stakeholder involvement in biosolids risk assessments. A survey in 2002 identified some of the factors that influence an individual's perception of the risks involved in a neighbor's use of biosolids. Risk communication was developed to address the gap between experts and the public in knowledge of technical topics. Biosolids management and research may benefit from applications of current risk communication theory that emphasizes (i) two-way communications (dialogue); (ii) that the public has useful knowledge and concerns that need to be acknowledged; and (iii) that what may matter most is the credibility of the purveyor of information and the levels of trustworthiness, fairness, and respect that he or she (or the organization) demonstrates, which can require cultural change. Initial experiences in applying the dialogue and cultural change stages of risk communication theory--as well as consensus-building and joint fact-finding--to biosolids research suggest that future research outcomes can be made more useful to decision-makers and more credible to the broader public. Sharing control of the research process with diverse stakeholders can make research more focused, relevant, and widely understood.

  11. Stakeholder Evaluation for Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge: Completion Report

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sexton, Natalie R.; Burkardt, Nina; Swann, Margaret Earlene; Stewart, Susan C.

    2009-01-01

    The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), is the largest system of public lands in the world dedicated to wildlife conservation. There are over 545 national wildlife refuges nationwide, encompassing 95 million acres. As part of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, each refuge is developing 15-year comprehensive conservation plans (CCPs). Each CCP describes a vision and desired future condition for the refuge and outlines goals, objectives, and management strategies for each refuge's habitat and visitor service programs. The CCP process for Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) in Davis, West Virginia was initiated in 2006. This planning process provides a unique opportunity for public input and involvement. Public involvement is an important part of the CCP process. Participation by parties with a stake in the resource (stakeholders) has the potential to increase understanding and support and reduce conflicts. Additionally, meaningful public participation in a decision process may increase trust and provide satisfaction in terms of both process and outcome for management and the public. Public meetings are a common way to obtain input from community members, visitors, and potential visitors. An 'Issues Workbook' is another tool the FWS uses to obtain public input and participation early in the planning process. Sometimes, however, these traditional methods do not capture the full range of perspectives that exist. A stakeholder evaluation is a way to more fully understand community preferences and opinions related to key topics in refuge planning. It can also help refuge staff understand how changes in management affect individuals in terms of their preference for services and experiences. Secondarily, a process such as this can address 'social goals' such as fostering trust in regulating agencies and reducing conflict among stakeholders. As part of the CCP planning effort at Canaan

  12. Stakeholder participation in health impact assessment: A multicultural approach

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Negev, Maya, E-mail: mayane@tau.ac.il; Davidovitch, Nadav, E-mail: nadavd@bgu.ac.il; Garb, Yaakov, E-mail: ygarb@bgu.ac.il

    2013-11-15

    The literature on impact assessment (HIA) registers the importance of stakeholder participation in the assessment process, but still lacks a model for engaging stakeholders of diverse ethnic, professional and sectorial backgrounds. This paper suggests that the multicultural approach can contribute to HIA through a revision of the generic 5-step HIA model, and its implementation in a metropolitan plan in Southern Israel. The health issue scoped by the stakeholders in the HIA is related to land uses in the vicinity of the national hazardous industry and hazardous waste site. The stakeholders were representatives of the diverse populations at stake, including ruralmore » Bedouins and Jewish city dwellers, as well as representatives from the public sector, private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia. The case study revealed that a multicultural stakeholder participation process helps to uncover health issues known to the community which were not addressed in the original plan, and provides local knowledge regarding health conditions that is especially valuable when scientific data is uncertain or absent. It enables diverse stakeholders to prioritize the health issues that will be assessed. The case study also reveals ways in which the model needs revisions and improvements such as in recruitment of diverse participants. This paper presents a multicultural model of HIA and discusses some of the challenges that are faced when HIA is implemented in the context of current decision-making culture. -- Highlights: • We revised the generic HIA model in light of the multicultural approach. • We tested the model in a case study of zoning a hazardous industry site. • Multicultural stakeholder participation uncovers health issues known to communities. • It enables community prioritization of health issues. • We present a model for multicultural stakeholder participation in HIA.« less

  13. Perspectives on the role of stakeholders in knowledge translation in health policy development in Uganda.

    PubMed

    Nabyonga Orem, Juliet; Marchal, Bruno; Mafigiri, DavidKaawa; Ssengooba, Freddie; Macq, Jean; Da Silveira, Valeria Campos; Criel, Bart

    2013-08-19

    Stakeholder roles in the application of evidence are influenced by context, the nature of the evidence, the policy development process, and stakeholder interactions. Past research has highlighted the role of stakeholders in knowledge translation (KT) without paying adequate attention to the peculiarities of low-income countries. Here we identify the roles, relations, and interactions among the key stakeholders involved in KT in Uganda and the challenges that they face. This study employed qualitative approaches to examine the roles of and links among various stakeholders in KT. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 key informants and focused on the key actors in KT, their perceived roles, and challenges. Major stakeholders included civil society organizations with perceived roles of advocacy, community mobilization, and implementation. These stakeholders may ignore unconvincing evidence. The community's role was perceived as advocacy and participation in setting research priorities. The key role of the media was perceived as knowledge dissemination, but respondents noted that the media may misrepresent evidence if it is received in a poorly packaged form. The perceived roles of policy makers were evidence uptake, establishing platforms for KT and stewardship; negative roles included ignoring or even misrepresenting evidence that is not in their favor. The roles of parliamentarians were perceived as advocacy and community mobilization, but they were noted to pursue objectives that may not be supported by the evidence. The researchers' main role was defined as evidence generation, but focusing disproportionately on academic interests was cited as a concern. The donors' main role was defined as funding research and KT, but respondents were concerned about the local relevance of donor-supported research. Respondents reported that links among stakeholders were weak due to the absence of institutionalized, inclusive platforms. Challenges facing the stakeholders in

  14. Stakeholders' views on the routine use of n-of-1 trials to improve clinical care and to make resource allocation decisions for drug use.

    PubMed

    Nikles, Jane; Mitchell, Geoffrey K; Clavarino, Alexandra; Yelland, Michael J; Del Mar, Christopher B

    2010-03-01

    N-of-1 trials are empirical formal tests using a within-patient randomised, double-blind, cross-over comparison of drug and placebo (or another drug), which we adapted to study individual patients' responses as a clinical tool to guide clinical management. We administered semi-structured interviews to gauge stakeholder perspectives on the possibility of using routine n-of-1 trials for this purpose. Stakeholders included government and non-government health care sector, and patient, clinician and consumer, organisations. Stakeholders supported more widespread implementation of n-of-1 trials, in a targeted fashion, with some caveats. Barriers to their widespread implementation included constraints on doctors' time, doctors' acceptance, drug company acceptance, patient willingness, and cost. Strategies for overcoming barriers included conditional Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme listing if cost-effective. There was little consensus on which model of n-of-1 trial implementation would be most effective. We discuss different approaches to addressing the several concerns raised to enable widespread introduction of n-of-1 trials into routine clinical practice as a decision tool.

  15. One perspective on stakeholder involvement at Hanford.

    PubMed

    Martin, Todd

    2011-11-01

    The Hanford nuclear site in Washington State had a major role in the production of nuclear weapons materials during the Manhattan Project in World War II and during the Cold War that followed. The production of weapons-grade radionuclides produced a large amount of radioactive byproducts that have been stored since the mid-1900s at the Hanford Site. These by-product radionuclides have leaked from containment facilities into the groundwater, contaminated buildings used for radionuclide processing, and also contaminated the nuclear reactors used to produce weapons-grade uranium and plutonium. This issue has been a major concern to Hanford stakeholders for several decades, and the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Washington State Department of Ecology established a Tri-Party Agreement in 1989, at which time Hanford ceased production of nuclear weapons materials and began a major effort to clean up and remediate the Hanford Site's contaminated groundwater, soil, and facilities. This paper describes the concerns of stakeholders in the production of nuclear weapons, the secrecy of Hanford operations, and the potential impacts to public health and the environment from the unintended releases of weapons-grade materials and by-products associated with their production at the Hanford Site. It also describes the involvement of public stakeholders in the development and oversight by the Hanford Advisory Board of the steps that have been taken in cleanup activities at the Hanford Site that began as a major effort about two decades ago. The importance of involvement of the general public and public interest organizations in developing and implementing the Hanford cleanup strategy are described in detail.

  16. Stakeholder Participation in Research Design and Decisions: Scientists, Fishers, and Mercury in Saltwater Fish

    PubMed Central

    Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Fote, Tom

    2015-01-01

    Individuals who fish and eat self-caught fish make decisions about where to fish, the type to eat, and the quantity to eat. Federal and state agencies often issue consumption advisories for some fish with high mercury (Hg) concentrations, but seldom provide either the actual metal levels to the general public, or identify the fish that have low contaminant levels. Community participatory research is of growing importance in defining, studying, and resolving complex exposure and risk issues, and this paper is at the intersection of traditional stakeholder approaches and community-based participatory research. The objective of this paper is to describe the process whereby stakeholders (fishers), were involved in directing and refining research questions to address their particular informational needs about mercury levels in fish, potential risks, and methods to maintain health, by balancing the risks and benefits of fish consumption. A range of stakeholders, mainly individual fishers, fishing organizations, and other scientists, were involved at nearly every stage. Community participants influenced many aspects of the design and implementation of the research, in the determination of which fish species to sample, in the collection of the samples, and in the final analyses and synthesis, as well as the communication of results and implications of the research through their fishing club publications, talks and gatherings. By involving the most interested and affected communities, the data and conclusions are relevant to their needs because the fish examined were those they ate and wanted information about, and directly address concerns about the risk from consuming self-caught fish. Although mercury levels in fish presumed to be high in mercury are known, little information was available to the fishermen on mercury levels in fish that were low and thus provided little risk to their families. While community participatory research is more time-consuming and expensive

  17. Stakeholder participation in research design and decisions: scientists, fishers, and mercury in saltwater fish.

    PubMed

    Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Fote, Tom

    2013-03-01

    Individuals who fish and eat self-caught fish make decisions about where to fish, the type to eat, and the quantity to eat. Federal and state agencies often issue consumption advisories for some fish with high mercury (Hg) concentrations, but seldom provide either the actual metal levels to the general public, or identify the fish that have low contaminant levels. Community participatory research is of growing importance in defining, studying, and resolving complex exposure and risk issues, and this paper is at the intersection of traditional stakeholder approaches and community-based participatory research. The objective of this paper is to describe the process whereby stakeholders (fishers), were involved in directing and refining research questions to address their particular informational needs about mercury levels in fish, potential risks, and methods to maintain health, by balancing the risks and benefits of fish consumption. A range of stakeholders, mainly individual fishers, fishing organizations, and other scientists, were involved at nearly every stage. Community participants influenced many aspects of the design and implementation of the research, in the determination of which fish species to sample, in the collection of the samples, and in the final analyses and synthesis, as well as the communication of results and implications of the research through their fishing club publications, talks and gatherings. By involving the most interested and affected communities, the data and conclusions are relevant to their needs because the fish examined were those they ate and wanted information about, and directly address concerns about the risk from consuming self-caught fish. Although mercury levels in fish presumed to be high in mercury are known, little information was available to the fishermen on mercury levels in fish that were low and thus provided little risk to their families. While community participatory research is more time-consuming and expensive

  18. Downscaling SSPs in the GBM Delta - Integrating Science, Modelling and Stakeholders Through Qualitative and Quantitative Scenarios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allan, Andrew; Barbour, Emily; Salehin, Mashfiqus; Munsur Rahman, Md.; Hutton, Craig; Lazar, Attila

    2016-04-01

    A downscaled scenario development process was adopted in the context of a project seeking to understand relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. The aim was to link the concerns and priorities of relevant stakeholders with the integrated biophysical and poverty models used in the project. A 2-stage process was used to facilitate the connection between stakeholders concerns and available modelling capacity: the first to qualitatively describe what the future might look like in 2050; the second to translate these qualitative descriptions into the quantitative form required by the numerical models. An extended, modified SSP approach was adopted, with stakeholders downscaling issues identified through interviews as being priorities for the southwest of Bangladesh. Detailed qualitative futures were produced, before modellable elements were quantified in conjunction with an expert stakeholder cadre. Stakeholder input, using the methods adopted here, allows the top-down focus of the RCPs to be aligned with the bottom-up approach needed to make the SSPs appropriate at the more local scale, and also facilitates the translation of qualitative narrative scenarios into a quantitative form that lends itself to incorporation of biophysical and socio-economic indicators. The presentation will describe the downscaling process in detail, and conclude with findings regarding the importance of stakeholder involvement (and logistical considerations), balancing model capacity with expectations and recommendations on SSP refinement at local levels.

  19. Assessing stakeholder perceptions of the acceptability and feasibility of national scale-up for a dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test in Malawi.

    PubMed

    Maddox, Brandy L Peterson; Wright, Shauntā S; Namadingo, Hazel; Bowen, Virginia B; Chipungu, Geoffrey A; Kamb, Mary L

    2017-12-01

    The WHO recommends pregnant women receive both HIV and syphilis testing at their first antenatal care visit, as untreated maternal infections can lead to severe, adverse pregnancy outcomes. One strategy for increasing testing for both HIV and syphilis is the use of point-of-care (rapid) diagnostic tests that are simple, proven effective and inexpensive. In Malawi, pregnant women routinely receive HIV testing, but only 10% are tested for syphilis at their first antenatal care visit. This evaluation explores stakeholder perceptions of a novel, dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test and potential barriers to national scale-up of the dual test in Malawi. During June and July 2015, we conducted 15 semistructured interviews with 25 healthcare workers, laboratorians, Ministry of Health leaders and partner agency representatives working in prevention of mother-to-child transmission in Malawi. We asked stakeholders about the importance of a dual rapid diagnostic test, concerns using and procuring the dual test and recommendations for national expansion. Stakeholders viewed the test favourably, citing the importance of a dual rapid test in preventing missed opportunities for syphilis diagnosis and treatment, improving infant outcomes and increasing syphilis testing coverage. Primary technical concerns were about the additional procedural steps needed to perform the test, the possibility that testers may not adhere to required waiting times before interpreting results and difficulty reading and interpreting test results. Stakeholders thought national scale-up would require demonstration of cost-savings, uniform coordination, revisions to testing guidelines and algorithms, training of testers and a reliable supply chain. Stakeholders largely support implementation of a dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test as a feasible alternative to current antenatal testing. Scale-up will require addressing perceived barriers; negotiating changes to existing algorithms and guidelines

  20. Synthesis of common management concerns associated with dam removal

    Treesearch

    Desirée D. Tullos; Mathias J. Collins; J. Ryan Bellmore; Jennifer A. Bountry; Patrick J. Connolly; Patrick B. Shafroth; Andrew C. Wilcox

    2016-01-01

    Managers make decisions regarding if and how to remove dams in spite of uncertainty surrounding physical and ecological responses, and stakeholders often raise concerns about certain negative effects, regardless of whether these concerns are warranted at a particular site. We used a dam-removal science database supplemented with other information sources to explore...

  1. Understanding stakeholders' attitudes toward water management interventions: Role of place meanings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacobs, Maarten H.; Buijs, Arjen E.

    2011-01-01

    Water resource managers increasingly need to take the opinions of stakeholders into account when planning interventions. We studied stakeholders' concerns in two water management planning contexts, focusing on the meanings assigned to places and on attitudes toward proposed interventions. Semistructured interviews were held, and public meetings were observed in order to collect data. Five categories of place meanings emerged from the analysis: beauty (esthetic judgments), functionality (ways of use), attachment (feelings of belonging), biodiversity (meanings pertaining to nature), and risk (worries about current or future events). These categories reflect the basic dimensions of sense of place. Our results suggest that stakeholders' attitudes toward proposed interventions are, to a great extent, derived from their place meanings. Discussing place meanings during participatory planning processes could contribute substantially to successful water management.

  2. On the front lines: Stakeholder threat cues determine how identified employees cope with scandal.

    PubMed

    Grandey, Alicia A; Krannitz, Morgan A; Slezak, Tyler

    2015-07-01

    When organizational identity is threatened as a result of scandal, highly identified members who represent the threatened organization to stakeholders have a particularly challenging and overlooked experience. Addressing a theoretical paradox, we propose that organizational identification interacts with the threat cues from stakeholders to determine employee responses. We conducted a multimethod, in vivo test of these ideas with university fundraising employees after events threatened the university's moral identity. Interview and archival data demonstrated that stakeholders expressed identity threat to fundraisers, who experienced their own identity-related distress and engaged in both group-dissociative and group-affirming responses. Surveys of professional and student university fundraisers demonstrated that more identified employees were more distressed (e,g., felt anxious, grief, betrayed) regardless of stakeholder threat cues. Yet, when employees perceived weak threat cues from stakeholders, more identified members were less likely to dissociate from the group and more likely to affirm the group's positive identity with stakeholders. These benefits of identification were not present when the stakeholder threat cues were strong. We discuss future research and practical implications of front-line employee identification and stakeholder cues during scandal. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Stakeholder Relationships in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kettunen, Juha

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a stakeholder map to describe the most important stakeholders and the process of stakeholder relationships in higher education. According to the perspective of the balanced scorecard, the classification of stakeholders integrates stakeholders into strategic management. Stakeholder maps are essential in…

  4. Stakeholder's perspective: Sustainability of a community health worker program in Afghanistan.

    PubMed

    Najafizada, Said Ahmad Maisam; Labonté, Ronald; Bourgeault, Ivy Lynn

    2017-02-01

    The objectives of this study were two-fold: 1) to examine how different stakeholders define sustainability, and 2) to identify barriers to and facilitators of the sustainability of the Afghan CHW program. We interviewed 63 individual key informants, and conducted 11 focus groups [35 people] with policymakers, health managers, community health workers, and community members across Afghanistan. The participants were purposefully selected to provide a wide range of perspectives. Different stakeholders define sustainability differently. Policymakers emphasize financial resources; health managers, organizational operations; and community-level stakeholders, routine frontline activities. The facilitators they identify include integration into the health system, community support, and capable human resources. Barriers they noted include lack of financial resources, poor program design and implementation, and poor quality of services. Measures to ensure sustainability could be national revenue allocation, health-specific taxation, and community financing. Sustainability is complicated and has multiple facets. The plurality of understanding of sustainability among stakeholders should be addressed explicitly in the program design. To ensure sustainability, there is a need for a coordinated effort amongst all stakeholders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Local perspectives of the ability of HIA stakeholder engagement to capture and reflect factors that impact Alaska Native health.

    PubMed

    Jones, Jen; Nix, Nancy A; Snyder, Elizabeth Hodges

    2014-01-01

    Health impact assessment (HIA) is a process used to inform planning and decision making in a range of sectors by identifying potential positive and negative health effects of proposed projects, programs, or policies. Stakeholder engagement is an integral component of HIA and requires careful consideration of participant diversity and appropriate methodologies. Ensuring that the engagement process is able to capture and address Indigenous worldviews and definitions of health is important where Indigenous populations are impacted, particularly in northern regions experiencing increases in natural resource development activities on Indigenous lands. Investigate local participant perspectives of an HIA of a proposed Alaska coal mine, with a focus on the ability of the HIA process to capture, reflect, and address health concerns communicated by Alaska Native participants. A qualitative approach guided by semi-structured interviews with purposeful sampling to select key informants who participated in the coal mine HIA stakeholder engagement process. QUALITATIVE DATA IDENTIFIED THREE KEY THEMES AS IMPORTANT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ALASKA NATIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE ALASKA COAL MINE HIA STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS: (i) the inability of the engagement process to recognize an Indigenous way of sharing or gathering information; (ii) the lack of recognizing traditional knowledge and its use for identifying health impacts and status; and (iii) the inability of the engagement process to register the relationship Indigenous people have with the environment in which they live. Issues of trust in the HIA process and of the HIA findings were expressed within each theme. Recommendations derived from the research identify the need to acknowledge and incorporate the history of colonialism and assimilation policies in an HIA when assessing health impacts of resource development on or near Indigenous lands. These historical contexts must be included in baseline conditions to understand

  6. Local perspectives of the ability of HIA stakeholder engagement to capture and reflect factors that impact Alaska Native health

    PubMed Central

    Jones, Jen; Nix, Nancy A.; Snyder, Elizabeth Hodges

    2014-01-01

    Background Health impact assessment (HIA) is a process used to inform planning and decision making in a range of sectors by identifying potential positive and negative health effects of proposed projects, programs, or policies. Stakeholder engagement is an integral component of HIA and requires careful consideration of participant diversity and appropriate methodologies. Ensuring that the engagement process is able to capture and address Indigenous worldviews and definitions of health is important where Indigenous populations are impacted, particularly in northern regions experiencing increases in natural resource development activities on Indigenous lands. Objective Investigate local participant perspectives of an HIA of a proposed Alaska coal mine, with a focus on the ability of the HIA process to capture, reflect, and address health concerns communicated by Alaska Native participants. Design A qualitative approach guided by semi-structured interviews with purposeful sampling to select key informants who participated in the coal mine HIA stakeholder engagement process. Results Qualitative data identified three key themes as important from the perspective of Alaska Native participants in the Alaska coal mine HIA stakeholder engagement process: (i) the inability of the engagement process to recognize an Indigenous way of sharing or gathering information; (ii) the lack of recognizing traditional knowledge and its use for identifying health impacts and status; and (iii) the inability of the engagement process to register the relationship Indigenous people have with the environment in which they live. Issues of trust in the HIA process and of the HIA findings were expressed within each theme. Conclusions Recommendations derived from the research identify the need to acknowledge and incorporate the history of colonialism and assimilation policies in an HIA when assessing health impacts of resource development on or near Indigenous lands. These historical contexts must

  7. Understanding perceptions of stakeholder groups about Forestry Best Management Practices in Georgia.

    PubMed

    Tumpach, Chantal; Dwivedi, Puneet; Izlar, Robert; Cook, Chase

    2018-05-01

    Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) are critical in ensuring sustainable forest management in the United States because of their effectiveness in protecting water quality, reducing soil erosion, maintaining riparian habitat, and sustaining site productivity. The success of forestry BMPs depends heavily on coordination among primary stakeholder groups. It is important to understand perceptions of such groups for a successful forest policy formulation. We used the SWOT-AHP (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis with the Analytical Hierarchy Process) framework to assess perceptions of three stakeholder groups (loggers, landowners, agency foresters) about forestry BMPs in Georgia, the largest roundwood producing state in the United States. The agency and logger stakeholder groups gave the highest priority to improved reputation under the strength category, whereas the landowner stakeholder group perceived sustainable forestry as the highest priority under the same category. Lack of landowner education was the highest priority under the weakness category for landowner and agency stakeholder groups, whereas the logger stakeholder group selected lack of trained personnel as the highest priority under the same category. Agency and landowner stakeholder groups gave the highest priority to training and education while loggers indicated maintenance of forest-based environmental benefits as their highest priority under the opportunity category. Finally, landowners and agency stakeholder groups perceived more regulations and restrictions as most significant in the threat category whereas the logger stakeholder group was most concerned about the insufficient accounting of cost sharing under the same category. Overall, selected stakeholder groups recognize the importance of forestry BMPs and had positive perceptions about them. A collaborative approach based on continuous feedback can streamline expectations of stakeholder groups about forestry BMPs in

  8. Students as Stakeholders in Quality Assurance in Eight European Countries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leisyte, Liudvika; Westerheijden, Don F.

    2013-01-01

    How are stakeholders represented in higher education institutions' decision-making bodies that influence the quality of education, and are their viewpoints taken into account? This paper addresses this question taking into account the empirical evidence from eight countries in Europe. Findings indicate that formal barriers are largely absent, that…

  9. Paying for Cures: How Can We Afford It? Managed Care Pharmacy Stakeholder Perceptions of Policy Options to Address Affordability of Prescription Drugs.

    PubMed

    Yeung, Kai; Suh, Kangho; Basu, Anirban; Garrison, Louis P; Bansal, Aasthaa; Carlson, Josh J

    2017-10-01

    High-priced medications with curative potential, such as the newer hepatitis C therapies, have contributed to the recent growth in pharmaceutical expenditure. Despite the obvious benefits, health care decision makers are just beginning to grapple with questions of how to value and pay for curative therapies that may feature large upfront cost, followed by health benefits that are reaped over a patient's lifespan. Alternative policy options have been proposed to promote high value and financially sustainable use of these therapies. It is unclear which policy options would be most acceptable to health care payer and biomedical manufacturer stakeholders. To (a) briefly review pharmaceutical policy options to address health system affordability and (b) assess the acceptability of alternative policy options to health care payers and biomedical manufacturers before and after an Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) continuing pharmacy education (CPE) session. We searched MEDLINE and Cochran databases for pharmaceutical policy options addressing affordability. With input from a focus group of managed care professionals, we developed CPE session content and an 8-question survey focusing on the most promising policy options. We fielded the survey before and after the CPE session, which occurred as part of the 2016 AMCP Annual Meeting. We first conducted a chi-squared goodness-of-fit test to assess response distributions. Next, we tested how responses differed before and after by using an ordered logit and a multinomial logit to model Likert scale and unordered responses, respectively. Although risk-sharing payments over time remained the most favorable choice before (37%) and after (35%) the CPE session, this choice was closely followed by HealthCoin after the session, which increased in favorability from 4% to 33% of responses (P = 0.001). About half of the respondents (54%) indicated that legislative change is the most significant barrier to the implementation of any

  10. Involvement of stakeholders in determining health priorities of adolescents in rural South Africa.

    PubMed

    Twine, Rhian; Kahn, Kathleen; Scholtz, Alexandra; Norris, Shane A

    2016-01-01

    When developing intervention research, it is important to explore issues from the community perspective. Interventions that promote adolescent health in South Africa are urgently needed, and Project Ntshembo ('hope') aims to improve the health of young women and their offspring in the Agincourt sub-district of rural northeast South Africa, actively using stakeholder involvement throughout the research process. This study aimed to determine adolescent health priorities according to key stakeholders, to align stakeholder and researcher priorities, and to form a stakeholder forum, which would be active throughout the intervention. Thirty-two stakeholders were purposefully identified as community members interested in the health of adolescents. An adapted Delphi incorporating face-to-face discussions, as well as participatory visualisation, was used in a series of three workshops. Consensus was determined through non-parametric analysis. Stakeholders and researchers agreed that peer pressure and lack of information, or having information but not acting on it, were the root causes of adolescent health problems. Pregnancy, HIV, school dropout, alcohol and drug abuse, not accessing health services, and unhealthy lifestyle (leading to obesity) were identified as priority adolescent health issues. A diagram was developed showing how these eight priorities relate to one another, which was useful in the development of the intervention. A stakeholder forum was founded, comprising 12 of the stakeholders involved in the stakeholder involvement process. The process brought researchers and stakeholders to consensus on the most important health issues facing adolescents, and a stakeholder forum was developed within which to address the issues. Stakeholder involvement as part of a research engagement strategy can be of mutual benefit to the researchers and the community in which the research is taking place.

  11. Standing order use in general practice: the views of medicine, nursing and pharmacy stakeholder organisations.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Robyn; McKinlay, Eileen; Morris, Caroline

    2017-03-01

    INTRODUCTION Standing orders are used by many general practices in New Zealand. They allow a practice nurse to assess patients and administer and/or supply medicines without needing intervention from a general practitioner. AIM To explore organisational strategic stakeholders' views of standing order use in general practice nationally. METHODS Eight semi-structured, qualitative, face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants representing key primary care stakeholder organisations from nursing, medicine and pharmacy. Data were analysed using a qualitative inductive thematic approach. RESULTS Three key themes emerged: a lack of understanding around standing order use in general practice, legal and professional concerns, and the impact on workforce and clinical practice. Standing orders were perceived to extend nursing practice and seen as a useful tool in enabling patients to access medicines in a safe and timely manner. DISCUSSION The variability in understanding of the definition and use of standing orders appears to relate to a lack of leadership in this area. Leadership should facilitate the required development of standardised resources and quality assurance measures to aid implementation. If these aspects are addressed, then standing orders will continue to be a useful tool in general practice and enable patients to have access to health care and, if necessary, to medicines without seeing a general practitioner.

  12. Using database reports to reduce workplace violence: Perceptions of hospital stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Arnetz, Judith E; Hamblin, Lydia; Ager, Joel; Aranyos, Deanna; Essenmacher, Lynnette; Upfal, Mark J; Luborsky, Mark

    2015-01-01

    Documented incidents of violence provide the foundation for any workplace violence prevention program. However, no published research to date has examined stakeholders' preferences for workplace violence data reports in healthcare settings. If relevant data are not readily available and effectively summarized and presented, the likelihood is low that they will be utilized by stakeholders in targeted efforts to reduce violence. To discover and describe hospital system stakeholders' perceptions of database-generated workplace violence data reports. Eight hospital system stakeholders representing Human Resources, Security, Occupational Health Services, Quality and Safety, and Labor in a large, metropolitan hospital system. The hospital system utilizes a central database for reporting adverse workplace events, including incidents of violence. A focus group was conducted to identify stakeholders' preferences and specifications for standardized, computerized reports of workplace violence data to be generated by the central database. The discussion was audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, processed as text, and analyzed using stepwise content analysis. Five distinct themes emerged from participant responses: Concerns, Etiology, Customization, Use, and Outcomes. In general, stakeholders wanted data reports to provide ``the big picture,'' i.e., rates of occurrence; reasons for and details regarding incident occurrence; consequences for the individual employee and/or the workplace; and organizational efforts that were employed to deal with the incident. Exploring stakeholder views regarding workplace violence summary reports provided concrete information on the preferred content, format, and use of workplace violence data. Participants desired both epidemiological and incident-specific data in order to better understand and work to prevent the workplace violence occurring in their hospital system.

  13. Ideals, practices, and future prospects of stakeholder involvement in sustainability science.

    PubMed

    Mielke, Jahel; Vermaßen, Hannah; Ellenbeck, Saskia

    2017-12-12

    This paper evaluates current stakeholder involvement (SI) practices in science through a web-based survey among scholars and researchers engaged in sustainability or transition research. It substantiates previous conceptual work with evidence from practice by building on four ideal types of SI in science. The results give an interesting overview of the varied landscape of SI in sustainability science, ranging from the kinds of topics scientists work on with stakeholders, over scientific trade-offs that arise in the field, to improvements scientists wish for. Furthermore, the authors describe a discrepancy between scientists' ideals and practices when working with stakeholders. On the conceptual level, the data reflect that the democratic type of SI is the predominant one concerning questions on the understanding of science, the main goal, the stage of involvement in the research process, and the science-policy interface. The fact that respondents expressed agreement to several types shows they are guided by multiple and partly conflicting ideals when working with stakeholders. We thus conclude that more conceptual exchange between practitioners, as well as more qualitative research on the concepts behind practices, is needed to better understand the stakeholder-scientist nexus. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  14. Global trade, public health, and health services: stakeholders' constructions of the key issues.

    PubMed

    Waitzkin, Howard; Jasso-Aguilar, Rebeca; Landwehr, Angela; Mountain, Carolyn

    2005-09-01

    Focusing mainly on the United States and Latin America, we aimed to identify the constructions of social reality held by the major stakeholders participating in policy debates about global trade, public health, and health services. In a multi-method, qualitative design, we used three sources of data: research and archival literature, 1980-2004; interviews with key informants who represented major organizations participating in these debates, 2002-2004; and organizational reports, 1980-2004. We targeted several types of organizations: government agencies, international financial institutions (IFIs) and trade organizations, international health organizations, multinational corporations, and advocacy groups. Many governments in Latin America define health as a right and health services as a public good. Thus, the government bears responsibility for that right. In contrast, the US government's philosophy of free trade and promoting a market economy assumes that by expanding the private sector, improved economic conditions will improve overall health with a minimum government provision of health care. US government agencies also view promotion of global health as a means to serve US interests. IFIs have emphasized reforms that include reduction and privatization of public sector services. International health organizations have tended to adopt the policy perspectives of IFIs and trade organizations. Advocacy groups have emphasized the deleterious effects of international trade agreements on public health and health services. Organizational stakeholders hold widely divergent constructions of reality regarding trade, public health, and health services. Social constructions concerning trade and health reflect broad ideologies concerning the impacts of market processes. Such constructions manifest features of "creed," regarding the role of the market in advancing human purposes and meeting human needs. Differences in constructions of trade and health constrain policies to

  15. "Drawing" on Disabled Students' Experiences of Physical Education and Stakeholder Responses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fitzgerald, Hayley

    2012-01-01

    Within education generally and more specifically physical education inclusion has become a central concern of legislation, policy and programming. Set within an environment where there is much "talk" of inclusion this paper seeks to interrogate adult stakeholders' understandings of inclusion by exploring their responses to the drawings…

  16. Service delivery under translation: multi-stakeholder accountability in the non-profit community sector in New Zealand.

    PubMed

    Boon, Bronwyn; Greatbanks, Richard; Munro, Jenny; Gaffney, Michael

    2017-03-01

    This paper addresses the challenge reported in the research literature of providing adequate accounts of service quality and value to multiple stakeholders. Rather than starting with a particular accountability practice, we examine the accounts of complex service delivery and results from the perspective of five key stakeholder groups. The case study at the empirical centre of this research is a small New Zealand non-profit organisation that provides community-based wraparound casework to young people, and their families, with multiple and complex needs. This paper reports on data collected during 2009-2012 through interviews with five key stakeholders of this service: the young people, the caseworkers, the co-providers, the managers and the funders. Drawing on translation theory, the different points of reference and the consequential shifts in focus, content and meaning within the multiple stakeholder accounts are traced. The findings show that while each stakeholder group brings a unique point of reference to the service delivery, there are degrees of overlap in the focus and content of the accounts. This is particularly evident in the 'relationship' dimension. While overlaps may exist, points of invisibility are also revealed. Accountability tensions can be traced directly to these points of invisibility. As a result of this analysis, it is argued that more explicit attention to the impact of multiple stakeholders at the level of epistemology provides a mechanism for addressing some of the tensions routinely raised. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Effective Organizational Structures and Processes: Addressing Issues of Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrade, Maureen Snow

    2016-01-01

    This chapter describes organizational structures and processes at the institutional and project levels for the development and support of distance learning initiatives. It addresses environmental and stakeholder issues and explores principles and strategies of effective leadership for change creation and management.

  18. A Multiyear Investigation of Combating Bullying in Middle School: Stakeholder Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shriberg, David; Burns, Mallory; Desai, Poonam; Grunewald, Stephanie; Pitt, Rachel

    2015-01-01

    Working collaboratively to address bullying among middle school students is an ongoing challenge. This study used participatory action research to collaborate with key stakeholders within a middle school to identify needs and implement more effective practices. Extensive qualitative and quantitative data are presented, along with process…

  19. Multi-Stakeholder Decision Aid for Improved Prioritization of the Public Health Impact of Climate Sensitive Infectious Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Hongoh, Valerie; Michel, Pascal; Gosselin, Pierre; Samoura, Karim; Ravel, André; Campagna, Céline; Cissé, Hassane Djibrilla; Waaub, Jean-Philippe

    2016-01-01

    The effects of climate change on infectious diseases are an important global health concern and necessitate decisions for allocation of resources. Economic tools have been used previously; however, how prioritization results might differ when done using broader considerations identified by local stakeholders has yet to be assessed. A multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach was used to assess multi-stakeholder expressed concerns around disease prioritization via focus groups held in Quebec and Burkina Faso. Stakeholders weighted criteria and comparisons were made across study sites. A pilot disease prioritization was done to examine effects on disease rankings. A majority of identified criteria were common to both sites. The effect of context specific criteria and weights resulted in similar yet distinct prioritizations of diseases. The presence of consistent criteria between sites suggests that common concerns exist for prioritization; however, context-specific adjustments reveal much regarding resource availability, capacity and concerns that should be considered as this impacts disease ranking. Participatory decision aid approaches facilitate rich knowledge exchange and problem structuring. Furthermore, given multiple actors in low- and middle-income countries settings, multi-actor collaborations across non-governmental organizations, local government and community are important. Formal mechanisms such as MCDA provide means to foster consensus, shared awareness and collaboration. PMID:27077875

  20. Implementation challenges and successes of a population-based colorectal cancer screening program: a qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives.

    PubMed

    Liles, Elizabeth G; Schneider, Jennifer L; Feldstein, Adrianne C; Mosen, David M; Perrin, Nancy; Rosales, Ana Gabriela; Smith, David H

    2015-03-29

    Few studies describe system-level challenges or facilitators to implementing population-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening outreach programs. Our qualitative study explored viewpoints of multilevel stakeholders before, during, and after implementation of a centralized outreach program. Program implementation was part of a broader quality-improvement initiative. During 2008-2010, we conducted semi-structured, open-ended individual interviews and focus groups at Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW), a not-for-profit group model health maintenance organization using the practical robust implementation and sustainability model to explore external and internal barriers to CRC screening. We interviewed 55 stakeholders: 8 health plan leaders, 20 primary care providers, 4 program managers, and 23 endoscopy specialists (15 gastroenterologists, 8 general surgeons), and analyzed interview transcripts to identify common as well as divergent opinions expressed by stakeholders. The majority of stakeholders at various levels consistently reported that an automated telephone-reminder system to contact patients and coordinate mailing fecal tests alleviated organizational constraints on staff's time and resources. Changing to a single-sample fecal immunochemical test (FIT) lessened patient and provider concerns about feasibility and accuracy of fecal testing. The centralized telephonic outreach program did, however, result in some screening duplication and overuse. Higher rates of FIT completion and a higher proportion of positive results with FIT required more colonoscopies. Addressing barriers at multiple levels of a health system by changing the delivery system design to add a centralized outreach program, switching to a more accurate and easier-to-use fecal test, and providing educational and electronic support had both benefits and problematic consequences. Other health care organizations can use our results to understand the complexities of implementing centralized

  1. Adolescent Social Issues: Using Media to Address Crucial Concerns.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sokoloff, Michele

    1987-01-01

    This article describes media resources available to help adolescents deal with a variety of social concerns, including substance abuse, dropouts, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), suicide, and pregnancy. A list of 56 companies that provide resources dealing with social issues is also provided. (LRW)

  2. Perceptions of risk from nanotechnologies and trust in stakeholders: a cross sectional study of public, academic, government and business attitudes.

    PubMed

    Capon, Adam; Gillespie, James; Rolfe, Margaret; Smith, Wayne

    2015-04-26

    Policy makers and regulators are constantly required to make decisions despite the existence of substantial uncertainty regarding the outcomes of their proposed decisions. Understanding stakeholder views is an essential part of addressing this uncertainty, which provides insight into the possible social reactions and tolerance of unpredictable risks. In the field of nanotechnology, large uncertainties exist regarding the real and perceived risks this technology may have on society. Better evidence is needed to confront this issue. We undertook a computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) survey of the Australian public and a parallel survey of those involved in nanotechnology from the academic, business and government sectors. Analysis included comparisons of proportions and logistic regression techniques. We explored perceptions of nanotechnology risks both to health and in a range of products. We examined views on four trust actors. The general public's perception of risk was significantly higher than that expressed by other stakeholders. The public bestows less trust in certain trust actors than do academics or government officers, giving its greatest trust to scientists. Higher levels of public trust were generally associated with lower perceptions of risk. Nanotechnology in food and cosmetics/sunscreens were considered riskier applications irrespective of stakeholder, while familiarity with nanotechnology was associated with a reduced risk perception. Policy makers should consider the disparities in risk and trust perceptions between the public and influential stakeholders, placing greater emphasis on risk communication and the uncertainties of risk assessment in these areas of higher concern. Scientists being the highest trusted group are well placed to communicate the risks of nanotechnologies to the public.

  3. Understanding stakeholders' perspectives and experiences of general practice accreditation.

    PubMed

    Debono, Deborah; Greenfield, David; Testa, Luke; Mumford, Virginia; Hogden, Anne; Pawsey, Marjorie; Westbrook, Johanna; Braithwaite, Jeffrey

    2017-07-01

    To examine general practice accreditation stakeholders' perspectives and experiences to identify program strengths and areas for improvements. Individual (n=2) and group (n=9) interviews were conducted between September 2011-March 2012 with 52 stakeholders involved in accreditation in Australian general practices. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Member checking activities in April 2016 assessed the credibility and currency of the findings in light of current reforms. Overall, participants endorsed the accreditation program but identified several areas of concern. Noted strengths of the program included: program ownership, peer review and collaborative learning; access to Practice Incentives Program payments; and, improvements in safety and quality. Noted limitations in these and other aspects of the program offer potential for improvement: evidence for the impact of accreditation; resource demands; clearer outcome measures; and, specific experiences of accreditation. The effectiveness of accreditation as a strategy to improve safety and quality was shaped by the attitudes and experience of stakeholders. Strengths and weaknesses in the accreditation program influence, and are influenced by, stakeholder engagement and disengagement. After several accreditation cycles, the sector has the opportunity to reflect on, review and improve the process. This will be important if the continued or extended engagement of practices is to be realised to assure the continuation and effectiveness of the accreditation program. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Patient and Stakeholder Engagement in the PCORI Pilot Projects: Description and Lessons Learned.

    PubMed

    Forsythe, Laura P; Ellis, Lauren E; Edmundson, Lauren; Sabharwal, Raj; Rein, Alison; Konopka, Kristen; Frank, Lori

    2016-01-01

    changes to their research attributed to engagement. This study identifies early lessons and barriers that should be addressed to facilitate engagement. While this research suggests potential impact of stakeholder engagement, systematic characterization and evaluation of engagement at multiple stages of research is needed to build the evidence base.

  5. What would it take? Stakeholders' views and preferences for implementing a health care manager program in community mental health clinics under health care reform.

    PubMed

    Cabassa, Leopoldo J; Gomes, Arminda P; Lewis-Fernández, Roberto

    2015-02-01

    Health care manager interventions can improve the physical health of people with serious mental illness (SMI). In this study, we used concepts from the theory of diffusion of innovations, the consolidated framework for implementation research and a taxonomy of implementation strategies to examine stakeholders' recommendations for implementing a health care manager intervention in public mental health clinics serving Hispanics with SMI. A purposive sample of 20 stakeholders was recruited from mental health agencies, primary care clinics, and consumer advocacy organizations. We presented participants a vignette describing a health care manager intervention and used semistructured qualitative interviews to examine their views and recommendations for implementing this program. Interviews were recorded, professionally transcribed, and content analyzed. We found that a blend of implementation strategies that demonstrates local relative advantage, addresses cost concerns, and enhances compatibility to organizations and the client population is critical for moving health care manager interventions into practice. © The Author(s) 2014.

  6. 77 FR 38597 - Multistakeholder Process To Develop Consumer Data Privacy Code of Conduct Concerning Mobile...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-28

    ... Process To Develop Consumer Data Privacy Code of Conduct Concerning Mobile Application Transparency AGENCY... convene the first meeting of a privacy multistakeholder process concerning mobile application transparency... concerning mobile application transparency. Stakeholders will engage in an open, transparent, consensus...

  7. Nuclear waste transportation: case studies of identifying stakeholder risk information needs.

    PubMed Central

    Drew, Christina H; Grace, Deirdre A; Silbernagel, Susan M; Hemmings, Erin S; Smith, Alan; Griffith, William C; Takaro, Timothy K; Faustman, Elaine M

    2003-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for the cleanup of our nation's nuclear legacy, involving complex decisions about how and where to dispose of nuclear waste and how to transport it to its ultimate disposal site. It is widely recognized that a broad range of stakeholders and tribes should be involved in this kind of decision. All too frequently, however, stakeholders and tribes are only invited to participate by commenting on processes and activities that are near completion; they are not included in the problem formulation stages. Moreover, it is often assumed that high levels of complexity and uncertainty prevent meaningful participation by these groups. Considering the types of information that stakeholders and tribes need to be able to participate in the full life cycle of decision making is critical for improving participation and transparency of decision making. Toward this objective, the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP) participated in three public processes relating to nuclear waste transportation and disposal in 1997-1998. First, CRESP organized focus groups to identify concerns about nuclear waste transportation. Second, CRESP conducted exit surveys at regional public workshops held by DOE to get input from stakeholders on intersite waste transfer issues. Third, CRESP developed visual tools to synthesize technical information and allow stakeholders and tribes with varying levels of knowledge about nuclear waste to participate in meaningful discussion. In this article we share the results of the CRESP findings, discuss common themes arising from these interactions, and comment on special considerations needed to facilitate stakeholder and tribal participation in similar decision-making processes. PMID:12611653

  8. Ideals, practices, and future prospects of stakeholder involvement in sustainability science

    PubMed Central

    Vermaßen, Hannah; Ellenbeck, Saskia

    2017-01-01

    This paper evaluates current stakeholder involvement (SI) practices in science through a web-based survey among scholars and researchers engaged in sustainability or transition research. It substantiates previous conceptual work with evidence from practice by building on four ideal types of SI in science. The results give an interesting overview of the varied landscape of SI in sustainability science, ranging from the kinds of topics scientists work on with stakeholders, over scientific trade-offs that arise in the field, to improvements scientists wish for. Furthermore, the authors describe a discrepancy between scientists’ ideals and practices when working with stakeholders. On the conceptual level, the data reflect that the democratic type of SI is the predominant one concerning questions on the understanding of science, the main goal, the stage of involvement in the research process, and the science–policy interface. The fact that respondents expressed agreement to several types shows they are guided by multiple and partly conflicting ideals when working with stakeholders. We thus conclude that more conceptual exchange between practitioners, as well as more qualitative research on the concepts behind practices, is needed to better understand the stakeholder–scientist nexus. PMID:29162698

  9. Survivorship care plans: are randomized controlled trials assessing outcomes that are relevant to stakeholders?

    PubMed

    Birken, Sarah A; Urquhart, Robin; Munoz-Plaza, Corrine; Zizzi, Alexandra R; Haines, Emily; Stover, Angela; Mayer, Deborah K; Hahn, Erin E

    2018-03-23

    The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes assessed in extant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to outcomes that stakeholders expect from survivorship care plans (SCPs). To facilitate the transition from active treatment to follow-up care for the 15.5 million US cancer survivors, many organizations require SCP use. However, results of several RCTs of SCPs' effectiveness have been null, possibly because they have evaluated outcomes on which SCPs should be expected to have limited influence. Stakeholders (e.g., survivors, oncologists) may expect outcomes that differ from RCTs' outcomes. We identified RCTs' outcomes using a PubMed literature review. We identified outcomes that stakeholders expect from SCPs using semistructured interviews with stakeholders in three healthcare systems in the USA and Canada. Finally, we mapped RCTs' outcomes onto stakeholder-identified outcomes. RCT outcomes did not fully address outcomes that stakeholders expected from SCPs, and RCTs assessed outcomes that stakeholders did not expect from SCPs. RCTs often assessed outcomes only from survivors' perspectives. RCTs of SCPs' effectiveness have not assessed outcomes that stakeholders expect. To better understand SCPs' effectiveness, future RCTs should assess outcomes of SCP use that are relevant from the perspective of multiple stakeholders. SCPs' effectiveness may be optimized when used with an eye toward outcomes that stakeholders expect from SCPs. For survivors, this means using SCPs as a map to guide them with respect to what kind of follow-up care they should seek, when they should seek it, and from whom they should seek it.

  10. 76 FR 42074 - Consideration of Rulemaking To Address Prompt Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-18

    ... Address Prompt Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During Operations AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory... States, and other stakeholders on a potential rulemaking to address prompt remediation of residual... DPR does not have a mandatory requirement for licensees to conduct radiological remediation during...

  11. Mind the gap! Lessons from science-based stakeholder dialogue in climate-adapted management of wetlands.

    PubMed

    Grygoruk, Mateusz; Rannow, Sven

    2017-01-15

    Effective stakeholder involvement is crucial for the management of protected areas, especially when new challenges like adaptation to climate change need to be addressed. Under these circumstances, science-based stakeholder involvement is required. However, there is often a gap between the information produced by science and the need for information from stakeholders. Along with the design and implementation of adaptive management strategies and policies, efforts must be taken to adjust messages about conservation and adaptation issues, to make them easier to understand, relevant and acceptable for stakeholders. In this paper, the experience of closing the gap between scientific information and the user needs of stakeholders in the Biebrza Valley is documented. The requirements of efficient stakeholder dialogue and the raising of awareness are then indicated. We conclude that many attempts to raise awareness of environmental conservation require improvements. Messages often need to be adjusted for different stakeholders and their various perception levels to efficiently anticipate the potential impacts of the changing climate on ecosystem management. We also revealed that the autonomous adaptation measures implemented by stakeholders to mitigate impacts of climatic change often contradict adaptive management planned and implemented by environmental authorities. We conclude that there is a demand for boundary spanners that can build a bridge between complex scientific outputs and stakeholder needs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. COREDAR: COmmunicating Risk of sea level rise and Engaging stakeholDers in framing community based Adaptation stRategies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amsad Ibrahim Khan, S. K.; Chen, R. S.; de Sherbinin, A. M.; Andimuthu, R.; Kandasamy, P.

    2015-12-01

    Accelerated sea-level rise (SLR) is a major long term outcome of climate change leading to increased inundation of low-lying areas. Particularly, global cities that are located on or near the coasts are often situated in low lying areas and these locations put global cities at greater risk to SLR. Localized flooding will profoundly impact vulnerable communities located in high-risk urban areas. Building community resilience and adapting to SLR is increasingly a high priority for cities. On the other hand, Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change addresses the importance of climate change communication and engaging stakeholders in decision making process. Importantly, Community Based Adaptation (CBA) experiences emphasize that it is important to understand a community's unique perceptions of their adaptive capacities to identify useful solutions and that scientific and technical information on anticipated coastal climate impacts needs to be translated into a suitable language and format that allows people to be able to participate in adaptation planning. To address this challenge, this study has put forth three research questions from the lens of urban community engagement in SLR adaptation, (1) What, if any, community engagement in addressing SLR occurring in urban areas; (2) What information do communities need and how does it need to be communicated, in order to be better prepared and have a greater sense of agency? and (3) How can government agencies from city to federal levels facilitate community engagement and action?. To answer these questions this study has evolved a framework "COREDAR" (COmmunicating Risk of sea level rise and Engaging stakeholDers in framing community based Adaptation StRategies) to communicate and transfer complex climate data and information such as projected SLR under different scenarios of IPCC AR5, predicted impact of SLR, prioritizing vulnerability, etc. to concerned stakeholders and local communities

  13. A Shared Vision? Stakeholders' Perspectives on the Internationalization of Higher Education in Canada.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knight, Jane

    1997-01-01

    Reports on a Canadian survey concerning differences and similarities in views and expectations among higher education's stakeholders (government, academia, industry) with a central interest is internationalization of education. Emerging issues identified included preparation of knowledgeable and interculturally competent graduates; recruiting and…

  14. Theory-Based Stakeholder Evaluation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, Morten Balle; Vedung, Evert

    2010-01-01

    This article introduces a new approach to program theory evaluation called theory-based stakeholder evaluation or the TSE model for short. Most theory-based approaches are program theory driven and some are stakeholder oriented as well. Practically, all of the latter fuse the program perceptions of the various stakeholder groups into one unitary…

  15. Generic medicines and generic substitution: contrasting perspectives of stakeholders in Ireland.

    PubMed

    O'Leary, A; Usher, C; Lynch, M; Hall, M; Hemeryk, L; Spillane, S; Gallagher, P; Barry, M

    2015-12-15

    The Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 passed into law in July 2013 and legislated for generic substitution in Ireland. The aim of the study was to ascertain the knowledge and perceptions of stakeholders i.e. patients, pharmacists and prescribers, of generic medicines and to generic substitution with the passing of legislation. Three stakeholder specific questionnaires were developed to assess knowledge of and perceptions to generic medicines and generic substitution. Purposive samples of patients, prescribers and pharmacists were analysed. Descriptive quantitative and qualitative analyses were undertaken. A total of 762 healthcare professionals and 353 patients were recruited. The study highlighted that over 84% of patients were familiar with generic medicines and are supportive of the concept of generic substitution. Approximately 74% of prescribers and 84% of pharmacists were supportive of generic substitution in most cases. The main areas of concern highlighted by the healthcare professionals that might impact on the successful implementation of the policy, were the issue of bioequivalence with generic medicines, the computer software systems used at present in general practitioner (GP) surgeries and the availability of branded generics. The findings from this study identify a high baseline rate of acceptance to generic medicines and generic substitution among patients, prescribers and pharmacists in the Irish setting. The concerns of the main stakeholders provide a valuable insight into the potential difficulties that may arise in its implementation, and the need for on-going reassurance and proactive dissemination of the impact of the generic substitution policy. The existing positive attitude to generic medicines and generic substitution among key stakeholders in Ireland to generic substitution, combined with appropriate support and collaboration should result in the desired increase in rates of prescribing, dispensing and use of generic

  16. Assessment of avian influenza surveillance and reporting needs of stakeholders in Michigan, 2007.

    PubMed

    Martell-Moran, Nicole K; Mauer, Whitney A; Kaneene, John B

    2011-06-15

    To identify stakeholders who should be included in a Michigan-based avian influenza surveillance system (AISS) and to describe their avian influenza (AI) surveillance and reporting needs. Cross-sectional survey involving a convenience sample of respondents. 272 federal, state, and local governmental and regulatory agency professionals; veterinarians and laboratory professionals in academia; private practice veterinarians; and poultry industry members. A needs assessment survey that focused on stakeholder identification, current surveillance methods, information sharing, and desired AISS enhancements was administered by mail, and responses were summarized. Various AISS stakeholders were identified, among whom the requirements for surveillance information and methods of reporting (including via a World Wide Web-based database, e-mail, and a website) differed. Although 90% of all respondent types indicated that poultry industry representatives were key stakeholders, < 33% of poultry industry respondents indicated that private practice veterinarians and personnel in laboratories or public agencies should be considered stakeholders. The predominant concern (55.4% of respondents) regarding the current AISS was the effectiveness of communication among agencies, industry, and the public. The primary challenge identified by respondents was confidentiality (30.2% of respondents). In Michigan-and potentially in other regions of the United States-integration of Internet-related data systems and stakeholder communication is likely to promote earlier identification of AI, achieve more effective responses to outbreaks, reduce morbidity among humans and other animals, and decrease outbreak-associated financial losses. Stakeholder education and technological safeguard assurances will be essential in AISS enhancement.

  17. How divergent conceptions among health and education stakeholders influence the dissemination of healthy schools in Quebec.

    PubMed

    Deschesnes, Marthe; Couturier, Yves; Laberge, Suzanne; Campeau, Louise

    2010-12-01

    This paper focuses on dissemination of the healthy schools (HS) approach in the province of Quebec, Canada. Dissemination aims at raising awareness about HS and promoting its adhesion among actors concerned with youth health in school. As HS is a joint initiative based on agreement and collaboration between health and educational sectors, the positions of stakeholders that foster cooperation between these sectors were considered to be critical to optimize its dissemination. The study's objectives were to: (i) examine and contrast the stakeholders' conceptions of HS and (ii) understand how converging and diverging stakeholders' positions on HS favourably or negatively influence its dissemination in Quebec. Gray's analytical approach to collaboration and its focus on stakeholders' mindframe about a domain served as a conceptual lens to examine stakeholders' positions regarding HS. Collection methods included documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews of 34 key internal and external informants at the provincial, regional and local levels. The results showed consensual adhesion to fundamental principles of the HS approach. However, differences in conceptualization between provincial authorities of the two sectors concerning the way to disseminate HS have been observed. These differences represented a significant barrier to HS optimal dissemination. A dialogue between the two authorities appears to be essential to arrive at a negotiated and shared conceptualization of this issue in the Quebec context, thus allowing agreements for adequate support. The results may serve as the basis for a more fruitful dialogue between actors from the two sectors, at different administrative levels.

  18. Stakeholders' opinions and expectations of the Global Fund and their potential economic implications.

    PubMed

    Galárraga, Omar; Bertozzi, Stefano M

    2008-07-01

    To analyse stakeholder opinions and expectations of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and to discuss their potential economic and financial implications. The Global Fund commissioned an independent study, the '360 degrees Stakeholder Survey', to canvas feedback on the organization's reputation and performance with an on-line survey of 909 respondents representing major stakeholders worldwide. We created a proxy for expectations based on categorical responses for specific Global Fund attributes' importance to the stakeholders and current perceived performance. Using multivariate regression, we analysed 23 unfulfilled expectations related to: resource mobilization; impact measurement; harmonization and inclusion; effectiveness of the Global Fund partner environment; and portfolio characteristics. The independent variables are personal and regional-level characteristics that affect expectations. The largest unfulfilled expectations relate to: mobilization of private sector resources; efficiency in disbursing funds; and assurance that people affected by the three diseases are reached. Stakeholders involved with the fund through the country coordinating mechanisms, those working in multilateral organizations and persons living with HIV are more likely to have unfulfilled expectations. In contrast, higher levels of involvement with the fund correlate with fulfilled expectations. Stakeholders living in sub-Saharan Africa were less likely to have their expectations met. Stakeholders' unfulfilled expectations result largely from factors external to them, but also from factors over which they have influence. In particular, attributes related to partnership score poorly even though stakeholders have influence in that area. Joint efforts to address perceived performance gaps may improve future performance and positively influence investment levels and economic viability.

  19. How stakeholder roles, power, and negotiation impact natural resource policy: A political economy view

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Caughlan, L.

    2002-01-01

    Natural resource management decisions are complicated by multiple property rights, management objectives, and stakeholders with varying degrees of influence over the decision making process. In order to make efficient decisions, managers must incorporate the opinions and values of the involved stakeholders as well as understand the complex institutional constraints and opportunities that influence the decision-making process. Often this type of information is not understood until after a decision has been made, which can result in wasted time and effort.The purpose of my dissertation was to show how institutional frameworks and stakeholder involvement influence the various phases of the resource management decision-making process in a public choice framework. The intent was to assist decision makers and stakeholders by developing a methodology for formally incorporating stakeholders'' objectives and influence into the resource management planning process and to predict the potential success of rent-seeking activity based on stakeholder preferences and level of influence. Concepts from decision analysis, institutional analysis, and public choice economics were used in designing this interdisciplinary framework. The framework was then applied to an actual case study concerning elk and bison management on the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyoming. The framework allowed for the prediction of the level of support and conflict for all relevant policy decisions, and the identification of each stakeholder''s level of support or opposition for each management decision.

  20. An analysis of the utilization of e-mail by physicians and patients: defining benefits, addressing concerns and forecasting implications on the doctor-patient relationship.

    PubMed

    Lang, Kirk T; Kiel, Joan M

    2008-01-01

    Though e-mail is ubiquitous in everyday life, it has not been the preferred mode of communication between physicians and patients. Several factors, including privacy and security, reimbursement and legal concerns, have been seen as barriers toward increased utilization. This article examines effect of e-mail on the doctor-patient relationship. It also addresses concerns expressed by providers and patients, and explores technology- and policy-based solutions to many of these issues.

  1. On the Path to SunShot - Utility Regulatory Business Model Reforms forAddressing the Financial Impacts of Distributed Solar on Utilities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None, None

    Net-energy metering (NEM) with volumetric retail electricity pricing has enabled rapid proliferation of distributed photovoltaics (DPV) in the United States. However, this transformation is raising concerns about the potential for higher electricity rates and cost-shifting to non-solar customers, reduced utility shareholder profitability, reduced utility earnings opportunities, and inefficient resource allocation. Although DPV deployment in most utility territories remains too low to produce significant impacts, these concerns have motivated real and proposed reforms to utility regulatory and business models, with profound implications for future DPV deployment. This report explores the challenges and opportunities associated with such reforms in the context ofmore » the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative. As such, the report focuses on a subset of a broader range of reforms underway in the electric utility sector. Drawing on original analysis and existing literature, we analyze the significance of DPV’s financial impacts on utilities and non-solar ratepayers under current NEM rules and rate designs, the projected effects of proposed NEM and rate reforms on DPV deployment, and alternative reforms that could address utility and ratepayer concerns while supporting continued DPV growth. We categorize reforms into one or more of four conceptual strategies. Understanding how specific reforms map onto these general strategies can help decision makers identify and prioritize options for addressing specific DPV concerns that balance stakeholder interests.« less

  2. Knowledge, data and interests: Challenges in participation of diverse stakeholders in HIA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Negev, Maya, E-mail: negevm@bgu.ac.il

    2012-02-15

    Stakeholder participation is considered an integral part of HIA. However, the challenges that participation implies in a multi-disciplinary and multi-ethnic society are less studied. This paper presents the manifestations of the multiplicity of sectors and population groups in HIA and discusses the challenges that such diversity imposes. Specifically, there is no common ground between participants, as their positions entail contradictory knowledge regarding the current situation, reliance on distinct data and conflicting interests. This entails usage of multiple professional and ethnic languages, disagreements regarding the definition of health and prioritizing health issues in HIA, and divergent perceptions of risk. These differencesmore » between participants are embedded culturally, socially, individually and, maybe most importantly, professionally. This complex picture of diverse stakeholder attributes is grounded in a case study of stakeholder participation in HIA, regarding zoning of a hazardous industry site in Israel. The implication is that participatory HIAs should address the multiplicity of stakeholders and types of knowledge, data and interests in a more comprehensive way. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This paper analyses challenges in participation of diverse stakeholders in HIA. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The multiplicity of disciplines and population groups raises fundamental challenges. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Stakeholders possess distinct and often contradictory knowledge, data and interests. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer They speak different languages, and differ on approaches to health and risk perceptions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Substantial amendments to diverse participation are needed, in HIA and generally.« less

  3. Scaling green rubber cultivation in Southwest China-An integrative analysis of stakeholder perspectives.

    PubMed

    Wigboldus, Seerp; Hammond, Jim; Xu, Jianchu; Yi, Zhuang-Fang; He, Jun; Klerkx, Laurens; Leeuwis, Cees

    2017-02-15

    The rubber boom across much of Southeast Asia has led to environmental destruction, and the resultant crash in the price of rubber has destabilised livelihoods. We investigated the necessary factors required to enable a transition towards a more sustainable model for rubber cultivation in Southwest China (i.e. the 'greening' of rubber cultivation), using a framework for the integrative study of multiple aspects in complex land use issues. We present findings from stakeholder interviews and a stakeholder workshop, and discuss their relevance within and beyond Southwest China. The current focus of researchers and development practitioners tends to be on finding technical solutions to address unsustainable rubber cultivation practices. However, stakeholder consultations revealed that the key barriers were more social: low levels of trust and knowledge exchange between stakeholder groups and fragmented visions about the future of the landscape. It is very important to continue the economic prosperity initially brought by rubber, but, without improved communication between government and researchers and smallholder farmers, this will be very difficult to achieve. A wider landscape perspective is needed to address issues in rubber cultivation to avoid repeating the same problems of cash crop boom and bust experienced with other crops, most notably bananas. We conclude that more effort should be put into developing mechanisms that integrate technical knowledge, enhance social relationships, and present a forum for reconciling - or at least acknowledging - the differing needs, knowledge, and objectives of different groups, and transcending the power dynamics between smallholder farmers and government and researchers. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Stakeholder values and ecosystems in developing open access to research data.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wessels, Bridgette; Sveinsdottir, Thordis; Smallwood, Rod

    2014-05-01

    One aspect of understanding how to develop open access to research data is to understand the values of stakeholders in the emerging open data ecosystem. The EU FP7 funded project Policy RECommendations for Open Access to Research Data in Europe (RECODE) (Grant Agreement No: 321463) undertook such research to identify stakeholder values and mapped the emerging ecosystem. In this paper we outline and discuss the findings of this research. We address three key objectives, which are: (a) the identification and mapping of the diverse range of stakeholder values in Open Access data and data dissemination and preservation; (b) mapping stakeholder values on to research ecosystems using case studies from different disciplinary perspectives; and (c) evaluate and identify good practice in addressing conflicting value chains and stakeholder fragmentation. The research was structured on three related actions: (a) an analysis of policy and related documents and protocols, in order to map the formal expression of values and motivations; (b) conducting five case studies in particle physics, health sciences, bioengineering, environmental research and archaeology. These explored issues of data size; quality control, ethics and data security; replication of large datasets; interoperability; and the preservation of diverse types of data; and (c) undertaking a validation and dissemination workshop that sought to better understand how to match policies with stakeholder drivers and motivations to increase their effectiveness in promoting Open Access to research data. The research findings include that there is clearly an overall drive for Open Data Access within the policy documents, which is part of a wider drive for open science in general. This is underpinned by the view of science as an open enterprise. Although there is a strong argument for publicly funded science to be made open to the public the details of how to make research data open as yet still unclear. Our research found

  5. A Good Idea May Not Be Good Enough: Stakeholder Buy In to QuitConnect, a National Smokers' Registry.

    PubMed

    Macauda, Mark M; Thrasher, James F; Saul, Jessie E; Celestino, Paula; Cummings, K Michael; Strayer, Scott M

    2017-01-01

    To examine interest and concerns among those who fund and operate state-run smoking cessation helplines (quitlines) about the concept of creating a centralized smokers' registry that could be used to reengage smokers after they receive initial quitline support services. We conducted 3, hour-long focus groups with stakeholders, covering the perceived benefits and barriers to creating a smokers' registry. The focus groups were conducted via telephone. Three groups participated: quitline service providers (n = 14), quitline funders (n = 9), and national quitline partners (n = 8). Data collection: Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded for major relevant themes. Analysis Strategies: We used a grounded theory approach. Stakeholders were generally positive about the concept of a centralized smokers' registry (ie, QuitConnect), especially with its potential to link relapsed smokers to ongoing research studies designed to help smokers achieve abstinence from tobacco. However, stakeholders expressed concern about QuitConnect duplicating services already offered by state quitlines. Despite a common goal, many state quitline stakeholders had strong reservations about the creation of a centralized smokers' registry unless they could see clear evidence that the registry added value and was not duplicative of their existing services.

  6. Methods guiding stakeholder engagement in planning a pragmatic study on changing stroke systems of care.

    PubMed

    Gesell, Sabina B; Klein, Karen Potvin; Halladay, Jacqueline; Bettger, Janet Prvu; Freburger, Janet; Cummings, Doyle M; Lutz, Barbara J; Coleman, Sylvia; Bushnell, Cheryl; Rosamond, Wayne; Duncan, Pamela W

    2017-04-01

    The Comprehensive Post-Acute Stroke Services (COMPASS) Study is one of the first large pragmatic randomized-controlled clinical trials using comparative effectiveness research methods, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. In the COMPASS Study, we compare the effectiveness of a patient-centered, transitional care intervention versus usual care for stroke patients discharged home from acute care. Outcomes include stroke patient post-discharge functional status and caregiver strain 90 days after discharge, and hospital readmissions. A central tenet of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute-funded research is stakeholder engagement throughout the research process. However, evidence on how to successfully implement a pragmatic trial that changes systems of care in combination with robust stakeholder engagement is limited. This combination is not without challenges. We present our approach for broad-based stakeholder engagement in the context of a pragmatic trial with the participation of patients, caregivers, community stakeholders, including the North Carolina Stroke Care Collaborative hospital network, and policy makers. To maximize stakeholder engagement throughout the COMPASS Study, we employed a conceptual model with the following components: (1) Patient and Other Stakeholder Identification and Selection; (2) Patient and Other Stakeholder Involvement Across the Spectrum of Research Activities; (3) Dedicated Resources for Patient and Other Stakeholder Involvement; (4) Support for Patient and Other Stakeholder Engagement Through Organizational Processes; (5) Communication with Patients and Other Stakeholders; (6) Transparent Involvement Processes; (7) Tracking of Engagement; and (8) Evaluation of Engagement. In this paper, we describe how each component of the model is being implemented and how this approach addresses existing gaps in the literature on strategies for engaging stakeholders in meaningful and useful ways when conducting

  7. Principles to guide sustainable implementation of extended-scope-of-practice physiotherapy workforce redesign initiatives in Australia: stakeholder perspectives, barriers, supports, and incentives.

    PubMed

    Morris, Joanne; Grimmer, Karen; Gilmore, Lisa; Perera, Chandima; Waddington, Gordon; Kyle, Greg; Ashman, Bryan; Murphy, Karen

    2014-01-01

    Sustainable implementation of new workforce redesign initiatives requires strategies that minimize barriers and optimize supports. Such strategies could be provided by a set of guiding principles. A broad understanding of the concerns of all the key stakeholder groups is required before effective strategies and initiatives are developed. Many new workforce redesign initiatives are not underpinned by prior planning, and this threatens their uptake and sustainability. This study reports on a cross-sectional qualitative study that sought the perspectives of representatives of key stakeholders in a new workforce redesign initiative (extended-scope-of-practice physiotherapy) in one Australian tertiary hospital. The key stakeholder groups were those that had been involved in some way in the development, management, training, funding, and/or delivery of the initiative. Data were collected using semistructured questions, answered individually by interview or in writing. Responses were themed collaboratively, using descriptive analysis. Key identified themes comprised: the importance of service marketing; proactively addressing barriers; using readily understood nomenclature; demonstrating service quality and safety, monitoring adverse events, measuring health and cost outcomes; legislative issues; registration; promoting viable career pathways; developing, accrediting, and delivering a curriculum supporting physiotherapists to work outside of the usual scope; and progression from "a good idea" to established service. Health care facilities planning to implement new workforce initiatives that extend scope of usual practice should consider these issues before instigating workforce/model of care changes.

  8. Managing sustainable development conflicts: the impact of stakeholders in small-scale hydropower schemes.

    PubMed

    Watkin, Laura Jane; Kemp, Paul S; Williams, Ian D; Harwood, Ian A

    2012-06-01

    The growing importance of the environment and its management has simultaneously emphasized the benefits of hydroelectric power and its environmental costs. In a changing policy climate, giving importance to renewable energy development and environmental protection, conflict potential between stakeholders is considerable. Navigation of conflict determines the scheme constructed, making sustainable hydropower a function of human choice. To meet the needs of practitioners, greater understanding of stakeholder conflict is needed. This paper presents an approach to illustrate the challenges that face small-scale hydropower development as perceived by the stakeholders involved, and how they influence decision-making. Using Gordleton Mill, Hampshire (UK), as an illustrative case, soft systems methodology, a systems modeling approach, was adopted. Through individual interviews, a range of problems were identified and conceptually modeled. Stakeholder bias towards favoring economic appraisal over intangible social and environmental aspects was identified; costs appeared more influential than profit. Conceptual evaluation of the requirements to meet a stakeholder-approved solution suggested a complex linear systems approach, considerably different from the real-life situation. The stakeholders introduced bias to problem definition by transferring self-perceived issues onto the project owner. Application of soft systems methodology caused a shift in project goals away from further investigation towards consideration of project suitability. The challenge of sustainable hydropower is global, with a need to balance environmental, economic, and social concerns. It is clear that in this type of conflict, an individual can significantly influence outcomes; highlighting the need for more structured approaches to deal with stakeholder conflicts in sustainable hydropower development.

  9. Managing Sustainable Development Conflicts: The Impact of Stakeholders in Small-Scale Hydropower Schemes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watkin, Laura Jane; Kemp, Paul S.; Williams, Ian D.; Harwood, Ian A.

    2012-06-01

    The growing importance of the environment and its management has simultaneously emphasized the benefits of hydroelectric power and its environmental costs. In a changing policy climate, giving importance to renewable energy development and environmental protection, conflict potential between stakeholders is considerable. Navigation of conflict determines the scheme constructed, making sustainable hydropower a function of human choice. To meet the needs of practitioners, greater understanding of stakeholder conflict is needed. This paper presents an approach to illustrate the challenges that face small-scale hydropower development as perceived by the stakeholders involved, and how they influence decision-making. Using Gordleton Mill, Hampshire (UK), as an illustrative case, soft systems methodology, a systems modeling approach, was adopted. Through individual interviews, a range of problems were identified and conceptually modeled. Stakeholder bias towards favoring economic appraisal over intangible social and environmental aspects was identified; costs appeared more influential than profit. Conceptual evaluation of the requirements to meet a stakeholder-approved solution suggested a complex linear systems approach, considerably different from the real-life situation. The stakeholders introduced bias to problem definition by transferring self-perceived issues onto the project owner. Application of soft systems methodology caused a shift in project goals away from further investigation towards consideration of project suitability. The challenge of sustainable hydropower is global, with a need to balance environmental, economic, and social concerns. It is clear that in this type of conflict, an individual can significantly influence outcomes; highlighting the need for more structured approaches to deal with stakeholder conflicts in sustainable hydropower development.

  10. Stakeholders' Perceptions of Agronomic Iodine Biofortification: A SWOT-AHP Analysis in Northern Uganda.

    PubMed

    Olum, Solomon; Gellynck, Xavier; Okello, Collins; Webale, Dominic; Odongo, Walter; Ongeng, Duncan; De Steur, Hans

    2018-03-24

    Agronomic biofortification (i.e., the application of fertilizer to elevate micronutrient concentrations in staple crops) is a recent strategy recommended for controlling Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDDs). However, its success inevitably depends on stakeholders' appreciation and acceptance of it. By taking Northern Uganda as a case, this study aimed to capture and compare the perceptions of seven key stakeholder groups with respect to agronomic iodine biofortification. Therefore, we employed a SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) analysis in combination with an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Findings show that stakeholders ( n = 56) are generally positive about agronomic iodine biofortification in Uganda, as its strengths and opportunities outweighed weaknesses and threats. Cultural acceptance and effectiveness are considered the most important strengths while the high IDD prevalence rate and the availability of iodine deficient soils are key opportunities for further developing agronomic iodine biofortification. Environmental concerns about synthetic fertilizers as well as the time needed to supply iodine were considered crucial weaknesses. The limited use of fertilizer in Uganda was the main threat. While this study provides insight into important issues and priorities for iodine biofortification technology in Uganda, including differences in stakeholder views, the application of the SWOT-AHP method will guide future researchers and health planners conducting stakeholder analysis in similar domains.

  11. Stakeholder analysis: a review.

    PubMed

    Brugha, R; Varvasovszky, Z

    2000-09-01

    The growing popularity of stakeholder analysis reflects an increasing recognition of how the characteristics of stakeholders--individuals, groups and organizations--influence decision-making processes. This paper reviews the origins and uses of stakeholder analysis, as described in the policy, health care management and development literature. Its roots are in the political and policy sciences, and in management theory where it has evolved into a systematic tool with clearly defined steps and applications for scanning the current and future organizational environment. Stakeholder analysis can be used to generate knowledge about the relevant actors so as to understand their behaviour, intentions, interrelations, agendas, interests, and the influence or resources they have brought--or could bring--to bear on decision-making processes. This information can then be used to develop strategies for managing these stakeholders, to facilitate the implementation of specific decisions or organizational objectives, or to understand the policy context and assess the feasibility of future policy directions. Policy development is a complex process which frequently takes place in an unstable and rapidly changing context, subject to unpredictable internal and external factors. As a cross-sectional view of an evolving picture, the utility of stakeholder analysis for predicting and managing the future is time-limited and it should be complemented by other policy analysis approaches.

  12. Linking Ecosystem Services Supply to Stakeholder Values in Guanica Bay Watershed, Puerto Rico

    EPA Science Inventory

    Policies to protect coastal resources will be more effective when they account for the social and economic concerns of stakeholders in the coastal zone and watershed, and are responsive to potential tradeoffs between benefits offered by both land and sea. We focus on the Gu&aacu...

  13. Challenges Faced by Key Stakeholders Using Educational Online Technologies in Blended Tertiary Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tuapawa, Kimberley

    2016-01-01

    Traditional learning spaces have evolved into dynamic blended tertiary environments (BTEs), providing a modern means through which tertiary education institutes (TEIs) can augment delivery to meet stakeholder needs. Despite the significant demand for web-enabled learning, there are obstacles concerning the use of EOTs, which challenge the…

  14. Impacts of the Interim Federal Health Program reforms: A stakeholder analysis of barriers to health care access and provision for refugees.

    PubMed

    Antonipillai, Valentina; Baumann, Andrea; Hunter, Andrea; Wahoush, Olive; O'Shea, Timothy

    2017-11-09

    Changes to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) in 2012 reduced health care access for refugees and refugee claimants, generating concerns among key stakeholders. In 2014, a new IFHP temporarily reinstated access to some health services; however, little is known about these changes, and more information is needed to map the IFHP's impact. This study explores barriers occurring during the time period of the IFHP reforms to health care access and provision for refugees. A stakeholder analysis, using 23 semi-structured interviews, was conducted to obtain insight into stakeholder perceptions of the 2014 reforms, as well as stakeholders' position and their influence to assess the acceptability of the IFHP changes. The majority of stakeholders expressed concerns about the 2014 IFHP changes as a result of the continuing barriers posed by the 2012 retrenchments and the emergence of new barriers to health care access and provision for refugees. Key barriers identified included lack of communication and awareness, lack of continuity and comprehensive care, negative political discourse and increased costs. A few stakeholders supported the reforms as they represented some, but limited, access to health care. Overall, the reforms to the IFHP in 2014 generated barriers to health care access and provision that contributed to confusion among stakeholders, the transfer of refugee health responsibility to provincial authorities and the likelihood of increased health outcome disparities, as refugees and refugee claimants chose to delay seeking health care. The study recommends that policy-makers engage with refugee health stakeholders to formulate a policy that improves health care provision and access for refugee populations.

  15. Integrated Reporting as a Tool for Communicating with Stakeholders - Advantages and Disadvantages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matuszyk, Iwona; Rymkiewicz, Bartosz

    2018-03-01

    Financial and non-financial reporting from the beginning of its existence is the primary source of communication between the company and a wide range of stakeholders. Over the decades it has adapted to the needs of rapidly changing business and social environment. Currently, the final link in the evolution of organizational reporting, such as integrated reporting, assumes integration and mutual connectivity to both financial and non-financial data. The main interest in the concept of integrated reporting comes from the value it contributes to the organization. Undoubtedly, the concept of integrated reporting is a milestone in the evolution of organizational reporting. It is however important to consider whether it adequately addresses the information needs of a wide range of stakeholders, and whether it is a universal tool for communication between the company and its stakeholders. The aim of the paper is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the concept of integrated reporting as a tool for communication with stakeholders and to further directions of its development. The article uses the research methods such as literature analysis, the content analysis of the corporate publications and comparative analysis.

  16. Universal financial protection through National Health Insurance: a stakeholder analysis of the proposed one-time premium payment policy in Ghana.

    PubMed

    Abiiro, Gilbert Abotisem; McIntyre, Di

    2013-05-01

    Extending coverage to the informal sector is a key challenge to achieving universal coverage through contributory health insurance schemes. Ghana introduced a mandatory National Health Insurance system in 2004 to provide financial protection for both the formal and informal sectors through a combination of taxes and annual premium payments. As part of its election promise in 2008, the current government (then in opposition) promised to make the payment of premiums 'one-time'. This has been a very controversial policy issue in Ghana. This study sought to contribute to assessing the feasibility of the proposed policy by exploring the understandings of various stakeholders on the policy, their interests or concerns, potential positions, power and influences on it, as well as the general prospects and challenges for its implementation. Data were gathered from a review of relevant documents in the public domain, 28 key informant interviews and six focus group discussions with key stakeholders in Accra and two other districts. The results show that there is a lot of confusion in stakeholders' understanding of the policy issue, and, because of the uncertainties surrounding it, most powerful stakeholders are yet to take clear positions on it. However, stakeholders raised concerns that revolved around issues such as: the meaning of a one-time premium within an insurance scheme context, the affordability of the one-time premium, financing sources and sustainability of the policy, as well as the likely impact of the policy on equity in access to health care. Policy-makers need to clearly explain the meaning of the one-time premium policy and how it will be funded, and critically consider the concerns raised by stakeholders before proceeding with further attempts to implement it. For other countries planning universal coverage reforms, it is important that the terminology of their reforms clearly reflects policy objectives.

  17. Stakeholder assessment of comparative effectiveness research needs for Medicaid populations.

    PubMed

    Fischer, Michael A; Allen-Coleman, Cora; Farrell, Stephen F; Schneeweiss, Sebastian

    2015-09-01

    Patients, providers and policy-makers rely heavily on comparative effectiveness research (CER) when making complex, real-world medical decisions. In particular, Medicaid providers and policy-makers face unique challenges in decision-making because their program cares for traditionally underserved populations, especially children, pregnant women and people with mental illness. Because these patient populations have generally been underrepresented in research discussions, CER questions for these groups may be understudied. To address this problem, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality commissioned our team to work with Medicaid Medical Directors and other stakeholders to identify relevant CER questions. Through an iterative process of topic identification and refinement, we developed relevant, feasible and actionable questions based on issues affecting Medicaid programs nationwide. We describe challenges and limitations and provide recommendations for future stakeholder engagement.

  18. Stakeholder assessment of comparative effectiveness research needs for Medicaid populations

    PubMed Central

    Fischer, Michael A; Allen-Coleman, Cora; Farrell, Stephen F; Schneeweiss, Sebastian

    2015-01-01

    Patients, providers and policy-makers rely heavily on comparative effectiveness research (CER) when making complex, real-world medical decisions. In particular, Medicaid providers and policy-makers face unique challenges in decision-making because their program cares for traditionally underserved populations, especially children, pregnant women and people with mental illness. Because these patient populations have generally been underrepresented in research discussions, CER questions for these groups may be understudied. To address this problem, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality commissioned our team to work with Medicaid Medical Directors and other stakeholders to identify relevant CER questions. Through an iterative process of topic identification and refinement, we developed relevant, feasible and actionable questions based on issues affecting Medicaid programs nationwide. We describe challenges and limitations and provide recommendations for future stakeholder engagement. PMID:26388438

  19. Investigating the role of state permitting and agriculture agencies in addressing public health concerns related to industrial food animal production.

    PubMed

    Fry, Jillian P; Laestadius, Linnea I; Grechis, Clare; Nachman, Keeve E; Neff, Roni A

    2014-01-01

    Industrial food animal production (IFAP) operations adversely impact environmental public health through air, water, and soil contamination. We sought to determine how state permitting and agriculture agencies respond to these public health concerns. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with staff at 12 state agencies in seven states, which were chosen based on high numbers or rapid increase of IFAP operations. The interviews served to gather information regarding agency involvement in regulating IFAP operations, the frequency and type of contacts received about public health concerns, how the agency responds to such contacts, and barriers to additional involvement. Permitting and agriculture agencies' responses to health-based IFAP concerns are constrained by significant barriers including narrow regulations, a lack of public health expertise within the agencies, and limited resources. State agencies with jurisdiction over IFAP operations are unable to adequately address relevant public health concerns due to multiple factors. Combining these results with previously published findings on barriers facing local and state health departments in the same states reveals significant gaps between these agencies regarding public health and IFAP. There is a clear need for regulations to protect public health and for public health professionals to provide complementary expertise to agencies responsible for regulating IFAP operations.

  20. Identifying and Addressing Themes of Job Dissatisfaction for Secondary Principals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Jong, David; Grundmeyer, Trent; Yankey, Julie

    2017-01-01

    Secondary principals serve in important roles that are complex, high-stress, and include demanding job responsibilities. Key stakeholders such as superintendents, school board members, and legislators must understand the challenges facing secondary principals in order to address the current themes of job dissatisfaction. Using new survey data…

  1. Addressing the potential adverse effects of school-based BMI assessments on children's wellbeing.

    PubMed

    Gibbs, Lisa; O'Connor, Thea; Waters, Elizabeth; Booth, Michael; Walsh, Orla; Green, Julie; Bartlett, Jenny; Swinburn, Boyd

    2008-01-01

    INTRODUCTION. Do child obesity prevention research and intervention measures have the potential to generate adverse concerns about body image by focussing on food, physical activity and body weight? Research findings now demonstrate the emergence of body image concerns in children as young as 5 years. In the context of a large school-community-based child health promotion and obesity prevention study, we aimed to address the potential negative effects of height and weight measures on child wellbeing by developing and implementing an evidence-informed protocol to protect and prevent body image concerns. fun 'n healthy in Moreland! is a cluster randomised controlled trial of a child health promotion and obesity prevention intervention in 23 primary schools in an inner urban area of Melbourne, Australia. Body image considerations were incorporated into the study philosophies, aims, methods, staff training, language, data collection and reporting procedures of this study. This was informed by the published literature, professional body image expertise, pilot testing and implementation in the conduct of baseline data collection and the intervention. This study is the first record of a body image protection protocol being an integral part of the research processes of a child obesity prevention study. Whilst we are yet to measure its impact and outcome, we have developed and tested a protocol based on the evidence and with support from stakeholders in order to minimise the adverse impact of study processes on child body image concerns.

  2. Stakeholder analysis methodologies resource book

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Babiuch, W.M.; Farhar, B.C.

    1994-03-01

    Stakeholder analysis allows analysts to identify how parties might be affected by government projects. This process involves identifying the likely impacts of a proposed action and stakeholder groups affected by that action. Additionally, the process involves assessing how these groups might be affected and suggesting measures to mitigate any adverse effects. Evidence suggests that the efficiency and effectiveness of government actions can be increased and adverse social impacts mitigated when officials understand how a proposed action might affect stakeholders. This report discusses how to conduct useful stakeholder analyses for government officials making decisions on energy-efficiency and renewable-energy technologies and theirmore » commercialization. It discusses methodological issues that may affect the validity and reliability of findings, including sampling, generalizability, validity, ``uncooperative`` stakeholder groups, using social indicators, and the effect of government regulations. The Appendix contains resource directories and a list of specialists in stakeholder analysis and involvement.« less

  3. Addressing Common Concerns about Online Student Ratings of Instruction: A Research-Informed Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winer, Laura; DiGenova, Lina; Costopoulos, Andre

    2016-01-01

    Concerns over the usefulness and validity of student ratings of instruction (SRI) have continued to grow with online processes. This paper presents seven common and persistent concerns identified and tested during the development and implementation of a revised SRI policy at a Canadian research-intensive university. These concerns include bias due…

  4. Decision support for water quality management of contaminants of emerging concern.

    PubMed

    Fischer, Astrid; Ter Laak, Thomas; Bronders, Jan; Desmet, Nele; Christoffels, Ekkehard; van Wezel, Annemarie; van der Hoek, Jan Peter

    2017-05-15

    Water authorities and drinking water companies are challenged with the question if, where and how to abate contaminants of emerging concern in the urban water cycle. The most effective strategy under given conditions is often unclear to these stakeholders as it requires insight into several aspects of the contaminants such as sources, properties, and mitigation options. Furthermore the various parties in the urban water cycle are not always aware of each other's requirements and priorities. Processes to set priorities and come to agreements are lacking, hampering the articulation and implementation of possible solutions. To support decision makers with this task, a decision support system was developed to serve as a point of departure for getting the relevant stakeholders together and finding common ground. The decision support system was iteratively developed in stages. Stakeholders were interviewed and a decision support system prototype developed. Subsequently, this prototype was evaluated by the stakeholders and adjusted accordingly. The iterative process lead to a final system focused on the management of contaminants of emerging concern within the urban water cycle, from wastewater, surface water and groundwater to drinking water, that suggests mitigation methods beyond technical solutions. Possible wastewater and drinking water treatment techniques in combination with decentralised and non-technical methods were taken into account in an integrated way. The system contains background information on contaminants of emerging concern such as physical/chemical characteristics, toxicity and legislative frameworks, water cycle entrance pathways and a database with associated possible mitigation methods. Monitoring data can be uploaded to assess environmental and human health risks in a specific water system. The developed system was received with great interest by potential users, and implemented in an international water cycle network. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier

  5. Improving access to medicines via the Health Impact Fund in India: a stakeholder analysis.

    PubMed

    McMullan, Patrick; Ajay, Vamadevan S; Srinivas, Ravi; Bhalla, Sandeep; Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Banerjee, Amitava

    2018-01-01

    In India, 50-65% of the population face difficulties in accessing medicines. The Health Impact Fund (HIF) is a novel proposal whereby pharmaceutical companies would be paid based on the measured global health impact of their drugs. We conducted a key stakeholder analysis to explore access to medicines in India, acceptability of the HIF and potential barriers and facilitators at policy level. To conduct a stakeholder analysis of the HIF in India: to determine key stakeholder views regarding access to medicines in India; to evaluate acceptability of the HIF; and to assess potential barriers and facilitators to the HIF as a policy. In New Delhi, we conducted semi-structured interviews. There was purposive recruitment of participants with snowball sampling. Transcribed data were analysed using stakeholder analysis frameworks and directed content analysis. Participation rate was 29% (14/49). 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted among stakeholders in New Delhi. All participants highlighted access to medicines as a problem in India. There were mixed views about the HIF in terms of relevance and scaleability. Stakeholders felt it should focus on diseases with limited or no market and potentially incorporate direct investment in research. First, access to medicines is perceived to be a major problem in India by all stakeholders, but affordability is just one factor. Second, stakeholders despite considerable support for the idea of the HIF, there are major concerns about scaleability, generalisability and impact on access to medicines. Third, the HIF and other novel drug-related health policies can afford to be more radical, e.g. working outside the existing intellectual property rights regime, targeting generic as well as branded drugs, or extending to research and development. Further innovations in access to medicines must involve country-specific key stakeholders in order to increase the likelihood of their success.

  6. Improving access to medicines via the Health Impact Fund in India: a stakeholder analysis

    PubMed Central

    McMullan, Patrick; Ajay, Vamadevan S.; Srinivas, Ravi; Bhalla, Sandeep; Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Banerjee, Amitava

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background: In India, 50–65% of the population face difficulties in accessing medicines. The Health Impact Fund (HIF) is a novel proposal whereby pharmaceutical companies would be paid based on the measured global health impact of their drugs. We conducted a key stakeholder analysis to explore access to medicines in India, acceptability of the HIF and potential barriers and facilitators at policy level. Objectives: To conduct a stakeholder analysis of the HIF in India: to determine key stakeholder views regarding access to medicines in India; to evaluate acceptability of the HIF; and to assess potential barriers and facilitators to the HIF as a policy. Methods: In New Delhi, we conducted semi-structured interviews. There was purposive recruitment of participants with snowball sampling. Transcribed data were analysed using stakeholder analysis frameworks and directed content analysis. Results: Participation rate was 29% (14/49). 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted among stakeholders in New Delhi. All participants highlighted access to medicines as a problem in India. There were mixed views about the HIF in terms of relevance and scaleability. Stakeholders felt it should focus on diseases with limited or no market and potentially incorporate direct investment in research. Conclusions: First, access to medicines is perceived to be a major problem in India by all stakeholders, but affordability is just one factor. Second, stakeholders despite considerable support for the idea of the HIF, there are major concerns about scaleability, generalisability and impact on access to medicines. Third, the HIF and other novel drug-related health policies can afford to be more radical, e.g. working outside the existing intellectual property rights regime, targeting generic as well as branded drugs, or extending to research and development. Further innovations in access to medicines must involve country-specific key stakeholders in order to increase the likelihood

  7. The Regional Advisory Councils: what is their potential to incorporate stakeholder knowledge into fisheries governance?

    PubMed

    Linke, Sebastian; Dreyer, Marion; Sellke, Piet

    2011-03-01

    The protection of the Baltic Sea ecosystem is exacerbated by the social, environmental and economic complexities of governing European fisheries. Increased stakeholder participation and knowledge integration are suggested to improve the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), suffering from legitimacy, credibility and compliance problems. As a result, the CFP was revised in 2002 to involve fisheries representatives, NGOs and other stakeholders through so called Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) in the policy process. We address the RAC's task to incorporate stakeholder knowledge into the EU's fisheries governance system in empirical and theoretical perspectives. Drawing on a four-stage governance concept we subsequently suggest that a basic problem is a mismatch between participation purpose (knowledge inclusion) and the governance stage at which RACs are formally positioned (evaluation of management proposals). We conclude that, if the aim is to broaden the knowledge base of fisheries management, stakeholders need to be included earlier in the governance process.

  8. User and stakeholder involvement for relevant, reliable and robust local-scale climate projections in Norway

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neby, Simon; Sobolowski, Stefan

    2017-04-01

    How can users and stakeholders be actively involved with providing input to and using output from local-scale climate projections? How can the scientific community better understand the needs of local actors? And how should communication and cooperation efforts be organized? These are critical questions we aim to answer in a climate services project funded by the Norwegian Research Council (R3: Relevant, Reliable and Robust local-scale climate projections for Norway). The project takes into consideration not only the scientific issues in establishing useful local-scale climate projections, but also addresses the "usability gap" between climate information and decision-making. The lack of effective communication between scientists and user communities often result in outputs and products that are not matched with decision-relevant climate information. In the R3 project, the scientific participants actively engage with a range of users that have quite different information needs: municipalities, infrastructure developers, agriculture, energy producers, insurance companies, and more. In this particular presentation, we present our experiences concerning three specific issues that relate to the stakeholder-science interface: 1) Preferences are not clear-cut and pre-defined. In practice, this means that stakeholders often do not have precise information about their needs, nor precise information about how, where and whether their needs can be voiced. Similarly, science communities tend to presuppose that stakeholders are interested and have well-articulated needs, which is hardly the case. Collectively, that means that there is a need for an approach that guides the articulation and prioritization of preferences in a manner that integrates both scientific and stakeholder perspectives and takes the integrity of both perspectives seriously. 2) Technologies are unclear. Although information may be produced and used, past experiences, trial and error processes and pragmatic

  9. Enhancing School Asthma Action Plans: Qualitative Results from Southeast Minnesota Beacon Stakeholder Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Egginton, Jason S.; Textor, Lauren; Knoebel, Erin; McWilliams, Deborah; Aleman, Marty; Yawn, Barbara

    2013-01-01

    Background: This study explores ways southeast Minnesota schools currently address asthma problems, identifies areas for improvement, and assesses the potential value of asthma action plans (AAPs) in schools. Methods: Focus groups were used to query stakeholder groups on asthma care in schools. Groups were held separately for elementary school…

  10. Driving and Dementia of the Alzheimer Type: Beliefs and Cessation Strategies among Stakeholders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perkinson, Margaret A.; Berg-Weger, Marla L.; Carr, David B.; Meuser, Thomas M.; Palmer, Janice L.; Buckles, Virginia D.; Powlishta, Kimberly K.; Foley, Daniel J.; Morris, John C.

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: Although driving by persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an important public health concern, we know little about the attitudes and perceptions of key stakeholders regarding driving safety in these individuals or the factors that precipitate and influence driving assessment and cessation decisions. Design and Methods: We convened 10…

  11. Why do the biotechnology and the climate change debates hardly mix? Evidence from a global stakeholder survey.

    PubMed

    Aerni, Philipp

    2013-05-25

    Despite its potential to address climate change problems, the role of biotechnology is hardly ever touched upon in the global sustainability debate. We wanted to know why. For that purpose, we conducted a global online stakeholder survey on biotechnology and climate change. The relevant stakeholders and their representatives were selected by means of key informants that were familiar with either of the two debates. A self-assessment showed that a majority of respondents felt more familiar with the climate change than the biotechnology debate. Even though the survey results reveal that most respondents consider the potential of modern biotechnology to address climate change to be substantial, the policy network analysis revealed that one stakeholder who is not just considered to be relevant in both debates but also crucial in the formation of global public opinion, strongly rejects the view that biotechnology is a climate-friendly and therefore clean technology. This influential opposition seems to ensure that the biotechnology and the climate change debates do not mix. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Using role analysis to plan for stakeholder involvement: a Wyoming case study

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Burkardt, Nina; Ponds, Phadrea D.

    2006-01-01

    Prior to implementing laws and policies regulating water, wildlife, wetlands, endangered species, and recreation, natural resource managers often solicit public input. Concomitantly, managers are continually seeking more effective ways to involve stakeholders. In the autumn of 1999, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department sought to develop a state management plan for its portion of the Yellowstone grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) population if it was removed from the federal threatened species list. A key aspect of developing this plan was the involvement of federal, state, and local agencies, representatives from nongovernmental organizations, and citizens. Wyoming wildlife managers asked researchers from the United States Geological Survey to demonstrate how the Legal-Institutional Analysis Model could be used to initiate this process. To address these needs, we conducted similar workshops for a group of state and federal managers or staffers and a broad group of stakeholders. Although we found similarities among the workshop groups, we also recorded differences in perspective between stakeholder groups. The managers group acknowledged the importance of varied stakeholders but viewed the grizzly bear planning process as one centered on state interests, influenced by state policies, and amenable to negotiation. The other workshops identified many stakeholders and viewed the decision process as diffuse, with many opportunities for entry into the process. These latter groups were less certain about the chance for a successful negotiation. We concluded that if these assumptions and differences were not reconciled, the public involvement effort was not likely to succeed.

  13. Ethical issues raised in addressing the needs of people with serious mental disorders in complex emergencies.

    PubMed

    Wissow, Lawrence S; Rutkow, Lainie; Kass, Nancy E; Rabins, Peter V; Vernick, Jon S; Hodge, James G

    2012-03-01

    Recent manmade and natural disasters highlight weaknesses in the public health systems designed to protect populations from harm and minimize disruption of the social and built environments. Emergency planning and response efforts have, as a result, focused largely on ensuring populations' physical well-being during and after a disaster. Many public health authorities, including the World Health Organization, have recognized the importance of addressing both mental and physical health concerns in emergency plans. Individuals with mental disorders represent a notable proportion of the overall population, and anticipating their needs is critical to comprehensive emergency planning and response efforts. Because people with serious mental disorders historically have been stigmatized, and many individuals with mental disorders may be unable to care for themselves, ethical guidance may be of assistance to those engaged in emergency planning and response. This article considers several broad categories of ethical issues that arise during emergencies for people with serious mental disorders and offers recommendations for ways in which emergency planners and other stakeholders can begin to address these ethical challenges.

  14. The Very Light Jet Arrives: Stakeholders and Their Perceptions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cobb, Richard; Thomas, James L.; Cobb, Laura A.

    2007-01-01

    This article summarizes the initial results of a systematic study that addressed issues related to the direct and indirect market impact of very light jet (VLJ) aircraft. Although reports in the popular press offer wide-ranging estimates of the impact that these new jets will have on existing air travel, no systematic data exists that may be of use to all potential stakeholders. This introductory study serves to describe potential VLJ users and their perceptions of this new type of aircraft.

  15. Addressing the Concerns of Conservatoire Students about School Music Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mills, Janet

    2005-01-01

    While most of the students who graduate each year from the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London build performance-based portfolio careers that include some teaching, very few of them enter secondary school class music teaching. This article describes how young musicians' concerns about the career of secondary class music teacher develop as they…

  16. Health Sector Evolution Plan in Iran; Equity and Sustainability Concerns

    PubMed Central

    Moradi-Lakeh, Maziar; Vosoogh-Moghaddam, Abbas

    2015-01-01

    In 2014, a series of reforms, called as the Health Sector Evolution Plan (HSEP), was launched in the health system of Iran in a stepwise process. HSEP was mainly based on the fifth 5-year health development national strategies (2011-2016). It included different interventions to: increase population coverage of basic health insurance, increase quality of care in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) affiliated hospitals, reduce out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for inpatient services, increase quality of primary healthcare, launch updated relative value units (RVUs) of clinical services, and update tariffs to more realistic values. The reforms resulted in extensive social reaction and different professional feedback. The official monitoring program shows general public satisfaction. However, there are some concerns for sustainability of the programs and equity of financing. Securing financial sources and fairness of the financial contribution to the new programs are the main concerns of policy-makers. Healthcare providers’ concerns (as powerful and influential stakeholders) potentially threat the sustainability and efficiency of HSEP. Previous experiences on extending health insurance coverage show that they can lead to a regressive healthcare financing and threat financial equity. To secure financial sources and to increase fairness, the contributions of people to new interventions should be progressive by their income and wealth. A specific progressive tax would be the best source, however, since it is not immediately feasible, a stepwise increase in the progressivity of financing must be followed. Technical concerns of healthcare providers (such as nonplausible RVUs for specific procedures or nonefficient insurance-provider processes) should be addressed through proper revision(s) while nontechnical concerns (which are derived from conflicting interests) must be responded through clarification and providing transparent information. The requirements of

  17. Prospects for stakeholder coordination by protected-area managers in Europe.

    PubMed

    Mattsson, Brady J; Vacik, Harald

    2018-02-01

    Growing resource demands by humans, invasive species, natural hazards, and a changing climate have created broad-scale impacts and the need for broader-extent conservation activities that span ownerships and even political borders. Implementing regional-scale conservation brings great challenges, and learning how to overcome these challenges is essential for maintaining biodiversity (i.e., richness and evenness of biological communities) and ecosystem functions and services across scales and borders in the face of system change. We administered an online survey to examine factors potentially driving perspectives of protected-area (PA) managers regarding coordination with neighboring PAs and other stakeholders (i.e., stakeholder coordination) for conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services during the next decade within diverse regions across Europe. Although >70% (n = 58) of responding PA managers indicated that climate change and invasive species are relevant for their PAs, they gave <50% probability that these threats could be mitigated through stakeholder coordination. They thought there was a >60% probability (n = 85) that stakeholder coordination would take place with the aim to improve conservation outcomes. Consistent with the foundation on which many European PAs were established, managers viewed maintaining or enhancing biodiversity as the most important (>70%; n = 61) expected benefit. Other benefits included maintaining or enhancing human resources and environmental education (range of Bayesian credibility intervals [CIs] 57-93%). They thought the main barriers to stakeholder coordination were the lack of human and economic resources (CI 59-67% chance of hindering; n = 64) followed by communication and interstakeholder differences in political structures and laws (CI 51-64% probability of hindering). European policies and strategies that address these hindering factors could be particularly effective means of enabling implementation of green

  18. Developing objectives with multiple stakeholders: adaptive management of horseshoe crabs and Red Knots in the Delaware Bay

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McGowan, Conor P.; Lyons, James E.; Smith, David

    2015-01-01

    Structured decision making (SDM) is an increasingly utilized approach and set of tools for addressing complex decisions in environmental management. SDM is a value-focused thinking approach that places paramount importance on first establishing clear management objectives that reflect core values of stakeholders. To be useful for management, objectives must be transparently stated in unambiguous and measurable terms. We used these concepts to develop consensus objectives for the multiple stakeholders of horseshoe crab harvest in Delaware Bay. Participating stakeholders first agreed on a qualitative statement of fundamental objectives, and then worked to convert those objectives to specific and measurable quantities, so that management decisions could be assessed. We used a constraint-based approach where the conservation objectives for Red Knots, a species of migratory shorebird that relies on horseshoe crab eggs as a food resource during migration, constrained the utility of crab harvest. Developing utility functions to effectively reflect the management objectives allowed us to incorporate stakeholder risk aversion even though different stakeholder groups were averse to different or competing risks. While measurable objectives and quantitative utility functions seem scientific, developing these objectives was fundamentally driven by the values of the participating stakeholders.

  19. Developing Objectives with Multiple Stakeholders: Adaptive Management of Horseshoe Crabs and Red Knots in the Delaware Bay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McGowan, Conor P.; Lyons, James E.; Smith, David R.

    2015-04-01

    Structured decision making (SDM) is an increasingly utilized approach and set of tools for addressing complex decisions in environmental management. SDM is a value-focused thinking approach that places paramount importance on first establishing clear management objectives that reflect core values of stakeholders. To be useful for management, objectives must be transparently stated in unambiguous and measurable terms. We used these concepts to develop consensus objectives for the multiple stakeholders of horseshoe crab harvest in Delaware Bay. Participating stakeholders first agreed on a qualitative statement of fundamental objectives, and then worked to convert those objectives to specific and measurable quantities, so that management decisions could be assessed. We used a constraint-based approach where the conservation objectives for Red Knots, a species of migratory shorebird that relies on horseshoe crab eggs as a food resource during migration, constrained the utility of crab harvest. Developing utility functions to effectively reflect the management objectives allowed us to incorporate stakeholder risk aversion even though different stakeholder groups were averse to different or competing risks. While measurable objectives and quantitative utility functions seem scientific, developing these objectives was fundamentally driven by the values of the participating stakeholders.

  20. What's holding back abuse-deterrent opioid formulations? Considering 12 U.S. stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Pergolizzi, Joseph V; Taylor, Robert; LeQuang, Jo Ann; Raffa, Robert B

    2018-06-01

    There is no greater public health threat at this time in America than the opioid abuse crisis, and a systematic, level-headed, coherent, and unified approach is needed. Among the many things that have been proposed to help reduce opioid abuse is the development of opioid analgesic products in abuse-deterrent formulations (ADFs). This seems to make perfect sense. Areas covered: In this article, the viewpoints of 12 stakeholders (physicians, pain patients, payers, manufacturers, regulators, law enforcement, hospitals, first responders, elected officials, rehabilitation centers, opioid addicts, and the general public) were considered in terms of how ADF opioids are regarded and might contribute potential impediments to more widespread use. This is a narrative review based on the literature. Stakeholders were not surveyed directly. Expert opinion: Although abuse-deterrent technology for opioid analgesics has been available for several years, ADFs have not gained widespread acceptance. ADF products serve an important but limited purpose, but their incremental costs may serve as a 'mixed message' for many of the stakeholders concerned about cost containment.

  1. Principles to guide sustainable implementation of extended-scope-of-practice physiotherapy workforce redesign initiatives in Australia: stakeholder perspectives, barriers, supports, and incentives

    PubMed Central

    Morris, Joanne; Grimmer, Karen; Gilmore, Lisa; Perera, Chandima; Waddington, Gordon; Kyle, Greg; Ashman, Bryan; Murphy, Karen

    2014-01-01

    Sustainable implementation of new workforce redesign initiatives requires strategies that minimize barriers and optimize supports. Such strategies could be provided by a set of guiding principles. A broad understanding of the concerns of all the key stakeholder groups is required before effective strategies and initiatives are developed. Many new workforce redesign initiatives are not underpinned by prior planning, and this threatens their uptake and sustainability. This study reports on a cross-sectional qualitative study that sought the perspectives of representatives of key stakeholders in a new workforce redesign initiative (extended-scope-of-practice physiotherapy) in one Australian tertiary hospital. The key stakeholder groups were those that had been involved in some way in the development, management, training, funding, and/or delivery of the initiative. Data were collected using semistructured questions, answered individually by interview or in writing. Responses were themed collaboratively, using descriptive analysis. Key identified themes comprised: the importance of service marketing; proactively addressing barriers; using readily understood nomenclature; demonstrating service quality and safety, monitoring adverse events, measuring health and cost outcomes; legislative issues; registration; promoting viable career pathways; developing, accrediting, and delivering a curriculum supporting physiotherapists to work outside of the usual scope; and progression from “a good idea” to established service. Health care facilities planning to implement new workforce initiatives that extend scope of usual practice should consider these issues before instigating workforce/model of care changes. PMID:25018637

  2. Ethical perspectives on emerging assistive technologies: insights from focus groups with stakeholders in long-term care facilities.

    PubMed

    Dorsten, Aimee-Marie; Sifford, K Susan; Bharucha, Ashok; Mecca, Laurel Person; Wactlar, Howard

    2009-03-01

    ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ARE RELATIVELY novel tools for research and daily care in long-term care (LTC) facilities that are faced with the burgeoning of the older adult population and dwindling staffing resources. The degree to which stakeholders in LTC facilities are receptive to the use of these technologies is poorly understood. Eighteen semi-structured focus groups and one interview were conducted with relevant groups of stakeholders at seven LTC facilities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Common themes identified across all focus groups centered on concerns for privacy, autonomy, cost, and safety associated with implementation of novel technologies. The relative importance of each theme varied by stakeholder group as well as the perceived severity of cognitive and/or physical disability. Our findings suggest that ethical issues are critical to acceptance of novel technologies by their end users, and that stakeholder groups are interdependent and require shared communication about the acceptance of these emerging technologies.

  3. Involving stakeholders in radiological protection decision making: recovery history and lessons from the people of Fukushima.

    PubMed

    Lazo, T

    2016-12-01

    Between September 2011 and August 2015, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) organised a series of 12 stakeholder dialogue workshops with residents of Fukushima Prefecture. Discussions focused on recovery, addressing topics such as protection of children, management of contaminated food, monitoring, and self-help measures. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) supported, and the Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) Secretariat attended, all 12 meetings to listen directly to the concerns of affected individuals and draw lessons for CRPPH. To summarise the dialogue results, ICRP organised a final meeting in Date, Japan with the support of NEA and other organisations. The lessons from and utility of the dialogue meetings were praised by dialogue participants and sponsors, and ICRP agreed that some form of dialogue would continue, although with ICRP participation and support rather than leadership. This paper summarises the internationally relevant lessons learned by CRPPH from this important process.

  4. Stakeholder integration and public engagement of EU and national research projects in Germany

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruhnau, Meike; Guo, Chenbo; Walter, Anastasia; Schneider, Nadine

    2017-04-01

    The talk addresses the feasibility and difficulties of research projects to reach out and to integrate a sufficient number of stakeholders (vgl. Carrada, 2006; Poulsen, 2007; Zikos et al. 2012; Lee & Belohlav, 2014). With "stakeholders" we understand end-users, policy makers, students for capacity building, administrators and interested general public. The design and later the implementation of stakeholder integration and public engagement strongly depend on the priority-setting and requirements of funding agencies (EU [1], DFG, BMBF and the regional ministries in Germany). They affect the size and constellation of consortia as well as the longevity and continuity of research community; on the other hand they also determine the weighting of communication, dissemination, outreach (and networking) activities within the project. For instance by public engagement of EU funded projects a share of 10% for communication and outreach activities was rated as best practices in 2014 [2]. On the national level there is no such appointment so far. In our talk we will quantify and compare activities among selected EU and nationally funded collaborative projects in Germany, address the hurdles, investigate the communication tools, examine the outreach channels and dissemination tactics, reflect the performances and the results achieved so far, with the objective to answer the following questions: - What tools/channels have been applied so far? Were they efficient and expedient? - What can be count as best practices? - Are such activities sustainable at all? The goal of this talk is to show the complexity of the stakeholder integration and public engagement in research projects, to critically assess our experiences gained in past and running projects, and to subsequently have an interactive exchange with other project professionals at EGU. [1] European Commission (2004, 2008, 2010, 2014). Communicating EU research and innovation guidance for project participants; [2] European

  5. 78 FR 14801 - Veterinary Oversight of Antimicrobial Use in Livestock: Impact on Stakeholders; Public Meetings...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-07

    ... Microbiological Effects on Bacteria of Human Health Concern'' ( http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/Guidance... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2012-N-1046] Veterinary Oversight of Antimicrobial Use in Livestock: Impact on Stakeholders; Public Meetings; Request for...

  6. Mental illness in Bwindi, Uganda: Understanding stakeholder perceptions of benefits and barriers to developing a community-based mental health programme.

    PubMed

    Sessions, Kristen L; Wheeler, Lydia; Shah, Arya; Farrell, Deenah; Agaba, Edwin; Kuule, Yusufu; Merry, Stephen P

    2017-11-30

    Mental illness has been increasingly recognised as a source of morbidity in low- and middle-income countries and significant treatment gaps exist worldwide. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of task sharing through community-based treatment models for addressing international mental health issues. This paper aims to evaluate the perceptions of a wide range of mental health stakeholders in a Ugandan community regarding the benefits and barriers to developing a community-based mental health programme. Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH) in south-west Uganda provides services through a team of community health workers to people in the Kanungu District. Thematic analysis of 13 semi-structured interviews and 6 focus group discussions involving 54 community members and 13 mental health stakeholders within the BCH catchment area. Stakeholders perceived benefits to a community-based compared to a hospital-based programme, including improved patient care, lower costs to patients and improved community understanding of mental illness. They also cited barriers including cost, insufficient workforce and a lack of community readiness. Stakeholders express interest in developing community-based mental health programmes, as they feel that it will address mental health needs in the community and improve community awareness of mental illness. However, they also report that cost is a significant barrier to programme development that will have to be addressed prior to being able to successfully establish such programming. Additionally, many community members expressed unique sociocultural beliefs regarding the nature of mental illness and those suffering from a psychiatric disease.

  7. An innovative approach to addressing childhood obesity: a knowledge-based infrastructure for supporting multi-stakeholder partnership decision-making in Quebec, Canada.

    PubMed

    Addy, Nii Antiaye; Shaban-Nejad, Arash; Buckeridge, David L; Dubé, Laurette

    2015-01-23

    Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have become a widespread means for deploying policies in a whole of society strategy to address the complex problem of childhood obesity. However, decision-making in MSPs is fraught with challenges, as decision-makers are faced with complexity, and have to reconcile disparate conceptualizations of knowledge across multiple sectors with diverse sets of indicators and data. These challenges can be addressed by supporting MSPs with innovative tools for obtaining, organizing and using data to inform decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the development of a knowledge-based infrastructure to support MSP decision-making processes. The paper emerged from a study to define specifications for a knowledge-based infrastructure to provide decision support for community-level MSPs in the Canadian province of Quebec. As part of the study, a process assessment was conducted to understand the needs of communities as they collect, organize, and analyze data to make decisions about their priorities. The result of this process is a "portrait", which is an epidemiological profile of health and nutrition in their community. Portraits inform strategic planning and development of interventions, and are used to assess the impact of interventions. Our key findings indicate ambiguities and disagreement among MSP decision-makers regarding causal relationships between actions and outcomes, and the relevant data needed for making decisions. MSP decision-makers expressed a desire for easy-to-use tools that facilitate the collection, organization, synthesis, and analysis of data, to enable decision-making in a timely manner. Findings inform conceptual modeling and ontological analysis to capture the domain knowledge and specify relationships between actions and outcomes. This modeling and analysis provide the foundation for an ontology, encoded using OWL 2 Web Ontology Language. The ontology is developed to provide semantic

  8. Comparative analysis of the labelling of nanotechnologies across four stakeholder groups

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Capon, Adam; Gillespie, James; Rolfe, Margaret; Smith, Wayne

    2015-08-01

    Societies are constantly challenged to develop policies around the introduction of new technologies, which by their very nature contain great uncertainty. This uncertainty gives prominence to varying viewpoints which are value laden and have the ability to drastically shift policy. The issue of nanotechnologies is a prime example. The labelling of products that contain new technologies has been one policy tool governments have used to address concerns around uncertainty. Our study develops evidence regarding opinions on the labelling of products made by nanotechnologies. We undertook a computer-assisted telephone (CATI) survey of the Australian public and those involved in nanotechnologies from the academic, business and government sectors using a standardised questionnaire. Analysis was undertaken using descriptive and logistic regression techniques. We explored reluctance to purchase as a result of labelling products which contained manufactured nanomaterials both generally and across five broad products (food, cosmetics/sunscreens, medicines, pesticides, tennis racquets/computers) which represent the broad categories of products regulated by differing government agencies in Australia. We examined the relationship between reluctance to purchase and risk perception, trust, and familiarity. We found irrespective of stakeholder, most supported the labelling of products which contained manufactured nanomaterials. Perception of risk was the main driver of reluctance to purchase, while trust and familiarity were likely to have an indirect effect through risk perception. Food is likely to be the greatest product impacted by labelling. Risk perception surrounding nanotechnologies and label `framing' on the product are key issues to be addressed in the implementation of a labelling scheme.

  9. Supporting multi-stakeholder environmental decisions.

    PubMed

    Hajkowicz, Stefan A

    2008-09-01

    This paper examines how multiple criteria analysis (MCA) can be used to support multi-stakeholder environmental management decisions. It presents a study through which 48 stakeholders from environmental, primary production and community interest groups used MCA to prioritise 30 environmental management problems in the Mackay-Whitsunday region of Queensland, Australia. The MCA model, with procedures for aggregating multi-stakeholder output, was used to inform a final decision on the priority of the region's environmental management problems. The result was used in the region's environmental management plan as required under Australia's Natural Heritage Trust programme. The study shows how relatively simple MCA methods can help stakeholders make group decisions, even when they hold strongly conflicting preferences.

  10. MACCIS 2.0 - An Architecture Description Framework for Technical Infostructures and Their Enterprise Environment

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-06-01

    Viewpoint Component Viewpoint View Architecture Description of Enterprise or Infostructure View Security Concern Business Security Model Business...security concern, when applied to the different viewpoints, addresses both stakeholders, and is described as a business security model or component...Viewpoint View Architecture Description of Enterprise or Infostructure View Security Concern Business Security Model Business Stakeholder IT Architect

  11. 76 FR 34087 - Broad Stakeholder Survey

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2011-0027] Broad Stakeholder Survey AGENCY... Survey. DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until August 9, 2011. This process is... Stakeholder Survey is designed to gather stakeholder feedback on the effectiveness of OEC services and to...

  12. 77 FR 50144 - Broad Stakeholder Survey

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2012-0042] Broad Stakeholder Survey AGENCY... Survey. DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until October 19, 2012. This process is.... The Broad Stakeholder Survey is designed to gather stakeholder feedback on the effectiveness of OEC...

  13. The impact of stakeholder values and power relations on community-based health insurance coverage: qualitative evidence from three Senegalese case studies.

    PubMed

    Mladovsky, Philipa; Ndiaye, Pascal; Ndiaye, Alfred; Criel, Bart

    2015-07-01

    Continued low rates of enrolment in community-based health insurance (CBHI) suggest that strategies proposed for scaling up are unsuccessfully implemented or inadequately address underlying limitations of CBHI. One reason may be a lack of incorporation of social and political context into CBHI policy. In this study, the hypothesis is proposed that values and power relations inherent in social networks of CBHI stakeholders can explain levels of CBHI coverage. To test this, three case studies constituting Senegalese CBHI schemes were studied. Transcripts of interviews with 64 CBHI stakeholders were analysed using inductive coding. The five most important themes pertaining to social values and power relations were: voluntarism, trust, solidarity, political engagement and social movements. Analysis of these themes raises a number of policy and implementation challenges for expanding CBHI coverage. First is the need to subsidize salaries for CBHI scheme staff. Second is the need to develop more sustainable internal and external governance structures through CBHI federations. Third is ensuring that CBHI resonates with local values concerning four dimensions of solidarity (health risk, vertical equity, scale and source). Government subsidies is one of the several potential strategies to achieve this. Fourth is the need for increased transparency in national policy. Fifth is the need for CBHI scheme leaders to increase their negotiating power vis-à-vis health service providers who control the resources needed for expanding CBHI coverage, through federations and a social movement dynamic. Systematically addressing all these challenges would represent a fundamental reform of the current CBHI model promoted in Senegal and in Africa more widely; this raises issues of feasibility in practice. From a theoretical perspective, the results suggest that studying values and power relations among stakeholders in multiple case studies is a useful complement to traditional health

  14. Stakeholder engagement in dredged material management decisions.

    PubMed

    Collier, Zachary A; Bates, Matthew E; Wood, Matthew D; Linkov, Igor

    2014-10-15

    Dredging and disposal issues often become controversial with local stakeholders because of their competing interests. These interests tend to manifest themselves in stakeholders holding onto entrenched positions, and deadlock can result without a methodology to move the stakeholder group past the status quo. However, these situations can be represented as multi-stakeholder, multi-criteria decision problems. In this paper, we describe a case study in which multi-criteria decision analysis was implemented in a multi-stakeholder setting in order to generate recommendations on dredged material placement for Long Island Sound's Dredged Material Management Plan. A working-group of representatives from various stakeholder organizations was formed and consulted to help prioritize sediment placement sites for each dredging center in the region by collaboratively building a multi-criteria decision model. The resulting model framed the problem as several alternatives, criteria, sub-criteria, and metrics relevant to stakeholder interests in the Long Island Sound region. An elicitation of values, represented as criteria weights, was then conducted. Results show that in general, stakeholders tended to agree that all criteria were at least somewhat important, and on average there was strong agreement on the order of preferences among the diverse groups of stakeholders. By developing the decision model iteratively with stakeholders as a group and soliciting their preferences, the process sought to increase stakeholder involvement at the front-end of the prioritization process and lead to increased knowledge and consensus regarding the importance of site-specific criteria. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. Extending the Reach of National Assessments: Addressing Local and Regional Needs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lewis, K.; Carter, T.

    2016-12-01

    While climate change is global in scope, many impacts of greatest societal concern (and accompanying response decisions) occur on local to regional scales. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is tasked with conducting quadrennial national climate assessments, and efforts for the fourth such assessment (NCA4) are underway. Recognizing that there is a growing appetite for climate information on more local scales, however, USGCRP is actively pursuing higher-resolution scientific information, while also seeking engagement with local and regional entities to ensure that NCA4 is well-positioned to address users' needs across geospatial scales. Effectively meeting user needs at regional scales requires robust observations and projections at sub-national scales, as well as a widespread network of agencies and organizations. We discuss our efforts to leverage existing relationships to identify potential users and their needs early in the assessment process. We also discuss plans for future mechanisms to engage additional regional stakeholders from resource managers to policy makers and scientists not only for quadrennial assessment but as part of a sustained process.

  16. Stakeholder Alignment and Changing Geospatial Information Capabilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winter, S.; Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J.; King, J. L.

    2015-12-01

    Changing geospatial information capabilities can have major economic and social effects on activities such as drought monitoring, weather forecasts, agricultural productivity projections, water and air quality assessments, the effects of forestry practices and so on. Whose interests are served by such changes? Two common mistakes are assuming stability in the community of stakeholders and consistency in stakeholder behavior. Stakeholder communities can reconfigure dramatically as some leave the discussion, others enter, and circumstances shift — all resulting in dynamic points of alignment and misalignment . New stakeholders can bring new interests, and existing stakeholders can change their positions. Stakeholders and their interests need to be be considered as geospatial information capabilities change, but this is easier said than done. New ways of thinking about stakeholder alignment in light of changes in capability are presented.

  17. Constraints to microbial food safety policy: opinions from stakeholder groups along the farm to fork continuum.

    PubMed

    Sargeant, J M; Ramsingh, B; Wilkins, A; Travis, R G; Gavrus, D; Snelgrove, J W

    2007-01-01

    This exploratory qualitative study was conducted to identify constraints to microbial food safety policy in Canada and the USA from the perspective of stakeholder groups along the farm to fork continuum. Thirty-seven stakeholders participated in interviews or a focus group where semi-structured questions were used to facilitate discussion about constraints to policy development and implementation. An emergent grounded theory approach was used to determine themes and concepts that arose from the data (versus fitting the data to a hypothesis or a priori classification). Despite the plurality of stakeholders and the range of content expertise, participant perceptions emerged into five common themes, although, there were often disagreements as to the positive or negative attributes of specific concepts. The five themes included challenges related to measurement and objectives of microbial food safety policy goals, challenges arising from lack of knowledge, or problems with communication of knowledge coupled with current practices, beliefs and traditions; the complexity of the food system and the plurality of stakeholders; the economics of producing safe food and the limited resources to address the problem; and, issues related to decision-making and policy, including ownership of the problem and inappropriate inputs to the decision-making process. Responsibilities for food safety and for food policy failure were attributed to all stakeholders along the farm to fork continuum. While challenges regarding the biology of food safety were identified as constraints, a broader range of policy inputs encompassing social, economic and political considerations were also highlighted as critical to the development and implementation of effective food safety policy. Strategies to address these other inputs may require new, transdisciplinary approaches as an adjunct to the traditional science-based risk assessment model.

  18. Stakeholder Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

    PubMed Central

    Lindenauer, Peter K.; Au, David H.; Carson, Shannon S.; Lee, Todd A.; McBurnie, Mary Ann; Naureckas, Edward T.; Vollmer, William M.; Mularski, Richard A.

    2013-01-01

    Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is intended to address the expressed needs of patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders. Representatives of 54 stakeholder groups with an interest in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) participated in workshops convened by the COPD Outcomes-based Network for Clinical Effectiveness and Research Translation (CONCERT) over a 2-year period. Year 1 focused on chronic care and care coordination. Year 2 focused on acute care and transitions in care between healthcare settings. Discussions and provisional voting were conducted via teleconferences and e-mail exchanges before the workshop. Final prioritization votes occurred after in-person discussions at the workshop. We used a modified Delphi approach to facilitate discussions and consensus building. To more easily quantify preferences and to evaluate the internal consistency of rankings, the Analytic Hierarchy Process was incorporated in Year 2. Results of preworkshop and final workshop voting often differed, suggesting that prioritization efforts relying solely on requests for topics from stakeholder groups without in-person discussion may provide different research priorities. Research priorities varied across stakeholder groups, but generally focused on studies to evaluate different approaches to healthcare delivery (e.g., spirometry for diagnosis and treatment, integrated healthcare strategies during transitions in care) rather than head-to-head comparisons of medications. This research agenda may help to inform groups intending to respond to CER funding opportunities in COPD. The methodologies used, detailed in the online supplement, may also help to inform prioritization efforts for CER in other health conditions. PMID:23155144

  19. Stakeholder Perceptions of Risk in Construction.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Dong; McCoy, Andrew P; Kleiner, Brian M; Mills, Thomas H; Lingard, Helen

    2016-02-01

    Safety management in construction is an integral effort and its success requires inputs from all stakeholders across design and construction phases. Effective risk mitigation relies on the concordance of all stakeholders' risk perceptions. Many researchers have noticed the discordance of risk perceptions among critical stakeholders in safe construction work, however few have provided quantifiable evidence describing them. In an effort to fill this perception gap, this research performs an experiment that investigates stakeholder perceptions of risk in construction. Data analysis confirms the existence of such discordance, and indicates a trend in risk likelihood estimation. With risk perceptions from low to high, the stakeholders are architects, contractors/safety professionals, and engineers. Including prior studies, results also suggest that designers have improved their knowledge in building construction safety, but compared to builders they present more difficultly in reaching a consensus of perception. Findings of this research are intended to be used by risk management and decision makers to reassess stakeholders' varying judgments when considering injury prevention and hazard assessment.

  20. Stakeholders' Perception on National Heatwave Plans and Their Local Implementation in Belgium and The Netherlands.

    PubMed

    van Loenhout, Joris Adriaan Frank; Rodriguez-Llanes, Jose Manuel; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

    2016-11-10

    National heatwave plans are aimed at reducing the avoidable human health consequences due to heatwaves, by providing warnings as well as improving communication between relevant stakeholders. The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions of key stakeholders within plans in Belgium and The Netherlands on their responsibilities, the partnerships, and the effectiveness of the local implementation in Brussels and Amsterdam. Key informant interviews were held with stakeholders that had an important role in development of the heatwave plan in these countries, or its implementation in Brussels or Amsterdam. Care organisations, including hospitals and elderly care organisations, had a lack of familiarity with the national heatwave plan in both cities, and prioritised heat the lowest. Some groups of individuals, specifically socially isolated individuals, are not sufficiently addressed by the current national heatwave plans and most local plans. Stakeholders reported that responsibilities were not clearly described and that the national plan does not describe tasks on a local level. We recommend to urgently increase awareness on the impact of heat on health among care organisations. More emphasis needs to be given to the variety of heat-risk groups. Stakeholders should be involved in the development of updates of the plans.

  1. Stakeholder Definition for Indonesian Integrated Agriculture Information System (IAIS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Budi Santoso, Halim; Delima, Rosa

    2017-03-01

    Stakeholders plays an important roles to determine the system requirements. Stakeholders are people or organizations that has an interest to the enterprise. Timely and effective consultation of relevant stakeholders is a paramount importance in the requirements engineering process. From the research and analysis of system stakeholder finds that there are four stakeholder groups in IAIS. Stakeholder analysis is being implemented by identifying stakeholder, stakeholder category, and analysis interaction between stakeholders.

  2. Towards a Science of Community Stakeholder Engagement in Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials: An Embedded Four-Country Case Study.

    PubMed

    Newman, Peter A; Rubincam, Clara; Slack, Catherine; Essack, Zaynab; Chakrapani, Venkatesan; Chuang, Deng-Min; Tepjan, Suchon; Shunmugam, Murali; Roungprakhon, Surachet; Logie, Carmen; Koen, Jennifer; Lindegger, Graham

    2015-01-01

    challenges in the implementation of important guidelines. GPP guidance documents could be strengthened through greater focus on: identifying and addressing the community-specific roots of mistrust and its impact on trial literacy activities; achieving and evaluating representativeness in community stakeholder groups; and addressing the impact of power and funding streams on meaningful engagement and independent decision-making.

  3. Towards a Science of Community Stakeholder Engagement in Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials: An Embedded Four-Country Case Study

    PubMed Central

    Newman, Peter A.; Rubincam, Clara; Slack, Catherine; Essack, Zaynab; Chakrapani, Venkatesan; Chuang, Deng-Min; Tepjan, Suchon; Shunmugam, Murali; Roungprakhon, Surachet; Logie, Carmen; Koen, Jennifer; Lindegger, Graham

    2015-01-01

    GPP Blueprint, as well as highlighting challenges in the implementation of important guidelines. GPP guidance documents could be strengthened through greater focus on: identifying and addressing the community-specific roots of mistrust and its impact on trial literacy activities; achieving and evaluating representativeness in community stakeholder groups; and addressing the impact of power and funding streams on meaningful engagement and independent decision-making. PMID:26295159

  4. Evaluating a primary care psychology service in Ireland: a survey of stakeholders and psychologists.

    PubMed

    Corcoran, Mark; Byrne, Michael

    2017-05-01

    Primary care psychology services (PCPS) represent an important resource in meeting the various health needs of our communities. This study evaluated the PCPS in a two-county area within the Republic of Ireland. The objectives were to (i) examine the viewpoints of the service for both psychologists and stakeholders (healthcare professionals only) and (ii) examine the enactment of the stepped care model of service provision. Separate surveys were sent to primary care psychologists (n = 8), general practitioners (GPs; n = 69) and other stakeholders in the two counties. GPs and stakeholders were required to rate the current PCPS. The GP survey specifically examined referrals to the PCPS and service configuration, while the stakeholder survey also requested suggestions for future service provision. Psychologists were required to provide information regarding their workload, time spent on certain tasks and productivity ideas. Referral numbers, waiting lists and waiting times were also obtained. All 8 psychologists, 23 GPs (33% response rate) and 37 stakeholders (unknown response rate) responded. GPs and stakeholders reported access to the PCPS as a primary concern, with waiting times of up to 80 weeks in some areas. Service provision to children and adults was uneven between counties. A stepped care model of service provision was not observed. Access can be improved by further implementation of a stepped care service, developing a high-throughput service for adults (based on a stepped care model), and employing a single waiting list for each county to ensure equal access. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Public Participation Guide: Stakeholder Interviews

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Interviews with stakeholders are one-to-one conversations about a specific topic or issue. The primary purpose of these interviews is to obtain project-relevant information and elicit stakeholder reactions and suggestions.

  6. Understanding Health Care Social Media Use From Different Stakeholder Perspectives: A Content Analysis of an Online Health Community

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Yang; Liu, Jingfang; Li, Jia; Zhang, Pengzhu

    2017-01-01

    Background Health care social media used for health information exchange and emotional communication involves different types of users, including patients, caregivers, and health professionals. However, it is difficult to identify different stakeholders because user identification data are lacking due to privacy protection and proprietary interests. Therefore, identifying the concerns of different stakeholders and how they use health care social media when confronted with huge amounts of health-related messages posted by users is a critical problem. Objective We aimed to develop a new content analysis method using text mining techniques applied in health care social media to (1) identify different health care stakeholders, (2) determine hot topics of concern, and (3) measure sentiment expression by different stakeholders. Methods We collected 138,161 messages posted by 39,606 members in lung cancer, diabetes, and breast cancer forums in the online community MedHelp.org over 10 years (January 2007 to October 2016) as experimental data. We used text mining techniques to process text data to identify different stakeholders and determine health-related hot topics, and then analyzed sentiment expression. Results We identified 3 significantly different stakeholder groups using expectation maximization clustering (3 performance metrics: Rand=0.802, Jaccard=0.393, Fowlkes-Mallows=0.537; P<.001), in which patients (24,429/39,606, 61.68%) and caregivers (12,232/39,606, 30.88%) represented the majority of the population, in contrast to specialists (2945/39,606, 7.43%). We identified 5 significantly different health-related topics: symptom, examination, drug, procedure, and complication (Rand=0.783, Jaccard=0.369, Fowlkes-Mallows=0.495; P<.001). Patients were concerned most about symptom topics related to lung cancer (536/1657, 32.34%), drug topics related to diabetes (1883/5904, 31.89%), and examination topics related to breast cancer (8728/23,934, 36.47%). By comparison

  7. Understanding Health Care Social Media Use From Different Stakeholder Perspectives: A Content Analysis of an Online Health Community.

    PubMed

    Lu, Yingjie; Wu, Yang; Liu, Jingfang; Li, Jia; Zhang, Pengzhu

    2017-04-07

    Health care social media used for health information exchange and emotional communication involves different types of users, including patients, caregivers, and health professionals. However, it is difficult to identify different stakeholders because user identification data are lacking due to privacy protection and proprietary interests. Therefore, identifying the concerns of different stakeholders and how they use health care social media when confronted with huge amounts of health-related messages posted by users is a critical problem. We aimed to develop a new content analysis method using text mining techniques applied in health care social media to (1) identify different health care stakeholders, (2) determine hot topics of concern, and (3) measure sentiment expression by different stakeholders. We collected 138,161 messages posted by 39,606 members in lung cancer, diabetes, and breast cancer forums in the online community MedHelp.org over 10 years (January 2007 to October 2016) as experimental data. We used text mining techniques to process text data to identify different stakeholders and determine health-related hot topics, and then analyzed sentiment expression. We identified 3 significantly different stakeholder groups using expectation maximization clustering (3 performance metrics: Rand=0.802, Jaccard=0.393, Fowlkes-Mallows=0.537; P<.001), in which patients (24,429/39,606, 61.68%) and caregivers (12,232/39,606, 30.88%) represented the majority of the population, in contrast to specialists (2945/39,606, 7.43%). We identified 5 significantly different health-related topics: symptom, examination, drug, procedure, and complication (Rand=0.783, Jaccard=0.369, Fowlkes-Mallows=0.495; P<.001). Patients were concerned most about symptom topics related to lung cancer (536/1657, 32.34%), drug topics related to diabetes (1883/5904, 31.89%), and examination topics related to breast cancer (8728/23,934, 36.47%). By comparison, caregivers were more concerned about

  8. 75 FR 78965 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Customer/Stakeholder...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-17

    ... surveys will be used to improve NAHMS Descriptive Reports and to evaluate customer/stakeholder... performance. The NAHMS staff will obtain feedback from Study Participant Surveys and NAHMS Descriptive Reports...) concerning our information collection. These comments will help us: (1) Evaluate whether the collection of...

  9. Using concept mapping to mobilize a Black faith community to address HIV

    PubMed Central

    Szaflarski, Magdalena; Vaughn, Lisa M; McLinden, Daniel; Wess, Yolanda; Ruffner, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    Research that partners with community stakeholders increases contextual relevance and community buy-in and maximizes the chance for intervention success. Within a framework of an academic-community partnership, this project assessed a Black faith-community’s needs and opportunities to address HIV. We used concept mapping to identify/prioritize specific HIV-related strategies that would be acceptable to congregations. Ninety stakeholders brainstormed strategies to address HIV; 21 sorted strategies into groups and rated their importance and feasibility. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were applied to the sorting to produce maps that illustrated the stakeholders’ conceptual thinking about HIV interventions. Of 278 responses, 93 were used in the sorting task. The visual maps represented eight clusters: church acceptance of people living with HIV; education (most feasible); mobilization and communication; church/leaders’ empowerment; church involvement/collaboration; safety/HIV prevention; media outreach; and, stigma (most important). Concept mapping clarified multifaceted issues of HIV in the Black faith community. The results will guide HIV programming in congregations. PMID:28239439

  10. OysterFutures: Integrating Stakeholder Objectives with Natural System Models to Promote Sustainable Natural Resource Policy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    North, E. W.; Blair, J.; Cornwell, J. C.; Freitag, A. E.; Gawde, R. K.; Hartley, T. W.; Hood, R. R.; Jones, R. M.; Miller, T. J.; Thomas, J. E.; Wainger, L. A.; Wilberg, M. J.

    2016-02-01

    Achieving effective natural resource management is challenged by multiple and often competing objectives, a restricted set of policy options, and uncertainty in the performance of those options. Yet, managers need policies that allow continued use of natural resources while ensuring access for future generations and maintenance of ecosystem services. Formal approaches are needed that will assist managers and stakeholders in choosing policy options that have a high likelihood of achieving social, ecological, and economic goals. The goal of this project, OysterFutures, is to address this need by improving the use of predictive models to support sustainable natural resource policy and management. A stakeholder-centered process will be used to build an integrated model that combines estuarine physics, oyster life history, and the ecosystem services that oysters provide (e.g., harvest, water quality) to forecast outcomes under alternative management strategies. Through a series of facilitated meetings, stakeholders will participate in a science-based collaborative process which will allow them to project how well policies are expected to meet their objectives using the integrated model. This iterative process will ensure that the model will incorporate the complex human uses of the ecosystem as well as focus on the outcomes most important to the stakeholders. In addition, a study of the socioeconomic drivers of stakeholder involvement, information flow, use and influence, and policy formation will be undertaken to improve the process, enhance implementation success of recommended policies, and provide new ideas for integrating natural and social sciences, and scientists, in sustainable resource management. In this presentation, the strategy for integrating natural system models, stakeholder views, and sociological studies as well as methods for selecting stakeholders and facilitating stakeholder meetings will be described and discussed.

  11. Energy Justice and the Stakeholders Involved: A Case Study of Solar Power in Rural Haiti

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Romulus, Elijah Rey Asse

    This paper explores and analyzes energy justice and the stakeholders involved. Energy insecurity, specifically the lack of access to electricity effects over 1.3 billion people worldwide and energy justice is a way to address it. This paper is supported by a case study with data collected in the southern rural regions of Haiti regarding energy justice communities. Three cities were studied: Les Cayes, Anse-a-Veau, and Les Anglais. It examines how solar businesses can aid energy justice communities seeking access to electricity. Stakeholders such as the communities themselves, solar businesses, and nonprofits in the region are studied and analyzed. The paper concludes solar businesses are helping said communities but needs participation from other stakeholders to be successful. Finally, there are five recommendations to build capacity, develop infrastructure in the region, explore the possibility of solar cooperatives, strengthen the solar economy in Haiti, and demand reparations.

  12. Common menstrual concerns of adolescents

    PubMed Central

    Sacks, Diane

    1998-01-01

    Symptoms associated with menstruation are among the most common concerns of adolescent women. However, the factual information that adolescent women need is not always available to them. Physicians can do much to correct the myths and misinformation that the teenager may have concerning her menstrual cycle. This paper addresses clinical office concerns about normal menstruation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea and dysfunctional uterine bleeding. PMID:20401253

  13. Understanding institutional stakeholders' perspectives on multidrug-resistant bacterial organism at the end of life: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Heckel, Maria; Herbst, Franziska A; Adelhardt, Thomas; Tiedtke, Johanna M; Sturm, Alexander; Stiel, Stephanie; Ostgathe, Christoph

    2017-01-01

    Information lacks about institutional stakeholders' perspectives on management approaches of multidrug-resistant bacterial organism in end-of-life situations. The term "institutional stakeholder" includes persons in leading positions with responsibility in hospitals' multidrug-resistant bacterial organism management. They have great influence on how strategies on multidrug-resistant bacterial organism management approaches in institutions of the public health system are designed. This study targeted institutional stakeholders' individual perspectives on multidrug-resistant bacterial organism colonization or infection and isolation measures at the end of life. Between March and December 2014, institutional stakeholders of two study centers, a German palliative care unit and a geriatric ward, were queried in semistructured interviews. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed qualitatively with the aid of the software MAXQDA for qualitative data analysis using principles of Grounded Theory. In addition, two external stakeholders were interviewed to enrich data. Key issues addressed by institutional stakeholders (N=18) were the relevance of multidrug-resistant bacterial organism in palliative and geriatric care, contradictions between hygiene principles and patients' and family caregivers' needs and divergence from standards, frame conditions, and reflections on standardization of multidrug-resistant bacterial organism end-of-life care procedures. Results show that institutional stakeholders face a dilemma between their responsibility in protecting third persons and ensuring patients' quality of life. Until further empirical evidence establishes a clear multidrug-resistant bacterial organism management approach in end-of-life care, stakeholders suggest a case-based approach. The institutional stakeholders' perspectives and their suggestion of a case-based approach advance the development process of a patient-, family-, staff-, and institutional

  14. Stakeholder Perceptions of Thoracic Rapid Tissue Donation: An Exploratory Study

    PubMed Central

    McIntyre, Jessica; Pentz, Rebecca; Pratt, Christie; Antonia, Teresita Munoz; Quinn, Gwendolyn

    2013-01-01

    Rapid autopsy or rapid tissue donation (RTD) is a novel method of tissue procurement in which ‘fresh’ tissue is collected within 2-6 hours following the death of a patient. While the use of RTD offers many opportunities to develop new therapies for lung cancer patients, it raises ethical concerns. The purpose of this study was to examine knowledge, perceptions and ethical concerns about recruiting patients for a RTD program. To achieve research goals, we conducted six focus groups, each containing 5-10 participants (N=38). Participants were cancer patients (n=17) their caregivers (n=6), physicians (n=6) and clinic staff (n=9) from the Thoracic Oncology Program at Moffitt Cancer Center, in Tampa, Florida, USA. All focus groups were audio-recorded and conducted using a semi-structured focus group guide. The transcripts were analyzed using hand-coding methods. Data were coded independently by at least two researchers, and an inter-rater reliability rate of ≥ 90% was achieved. Knowledge about RTD was low among all groups, with physicians having slightly higher knowledge; all groups agreed that RTD offered major benefits to cancer research; physicians and clinic staff were mainly concerned about making a patient feel uncomfortable and reducing hope, while, patients and family members were more concerned about logistics and how the family would be affected during tissue retrieval. All groups agreed the physician was the appropriate person to begin a discussion about RTD and that recruitment should be individualized. All groups reported that physician training is necessary, as well as an awareness campaign for patients and families to be more receptive about RTD. The results of this study suggested more education is needed for all stakeholders to learn about RTD prior to the initiation of a research program. Our approach of querying all stakeholders provides a firm foundation for future training modules regarding RTD programs in lung cancer. PMID:24355468

  15. Addressing the Need for Independence in the CSE Model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Abercrombie, Robert K; Ferragut, Erik M; Sheldon, Frederick T

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Information system security risk, defined as the product of the monetary losses associated with security incidents and the probability that they occur, is a suitable decision criterion when considering different information system architectures. Risk assessment is the widely accepted process used to understand, quantify, and document the effects of undesirable events on organizational objectives so that risk management, continuity of operations planning, and contingency planning can be performed. One technique, the Cyberspace Security Econometrics System (CSES), is a methodology for estimating security costs to stakeholders as a function of possible risk postures. In earlier works, we presented a computationalmore » infrastructure that allows an analyst to estimate the security of a system in terms of the loss that each stakeholder stands to sustain, as a result of security breakdowns. Additional work has applied CSES to specific business cases. The current state-of-the-art of CSES addresses independent events. In typical usage, analysts create matrices that capture their expert opinion, and then use those matrices to quantify costs to stakeholders. This expansion generalizes CSES to the common real-world case where events may be dependent.« less

  16. Integrating Stakeholders and Users into the Geography Discipline's Research Process

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hermans, Caroline M.; Taketa, Richard

    2006-01-01

    Future research priorities of Geography emphasize the discipline's leadership role in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in multidisciplinary and integrated research on human and environmental systems and how these systems are interrelated and respond to change Geography's research priorities also emphasize providing science that is usable to society and creating decision support products applicable to given customer problems. To achieve these goals, we must understand the relationship between our research and our customer, and how to integrate the customer into the research process. This report details the elements of the research process that help achieve the degree of stakeholder involvement necessary to ensure a successful end-product. It offers suggestions that can help researchers better understand stakeholders and customers and involve them in the research process more effectively, while preserving the integrity of the science. Its aim is to help researchers understand the problems and challenges faced by our customers and communicate the ways in which Geography can help address their problems. Adopting these guidelines can improve the efficiency of the research process and lead to higher quality output. We will be able to conduct better research because we will have an improved understanding of the research problem and the stakeholders involved. This report covers a broad range of topics, from identifying and communicating with stakeholders and users, to the use of language, to how to effectively present scientific information to the user. It does not offer a 'one size fits all' method. Instead, perhaps only specific sections are suitable for a given project and customers, depending on project scope and needs. This report is based on the objectives of Geography's strategic plan, U. S. Geological Survey's strategic plan, and Department of Interior's strategic plan. Section 2 of these guidelines describes the purpose of the research process in Geography and

  17. Patient-centred performance monitoring systems and multi-agency care provision: a case study using a stakeholder participative approach.

    PubMed

    Connell, N A; Goddard, A R; Philp, I; Bray, J

    1998-05-01

    We describe the processes involved in the development of an information system which can assess how care given by a number of agencies could be monitored by those agencies. In particular, it addresses the problem of sharing information as the boundaries of each agency are crossed. It focuses on the care of one specific patient group--the rehabilitation of elderly patients in the community, which provided an ideal multi-agency setting. It also describes: how a stakeholder participative approach to information system development was undertaken, based in part on the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) approach (Checkland, 1981, 1990); some of the difficulties encountered in using such an approach; and the ways in which these were addressed. The paper goes on to describe an assessment tool called SCARS (the Southampton Community Ability Rating Scale). It concludes by reflecting on the management lessons arising from this project. It also observes, inter alia, how stakeholders have a strong preference for simpler, non-IT based systems, and comments on the difficulties encountered by stakeholders in attempting to reconcile their perceptions of the needs of their discipline or specialty with a more patient-centred approach of an integrated system.

  18. "Is it still safe to eat traditional food?" Addressing traditional food safety concerns in aboriginal communities.

    PubMed

    Bordeleau, Serge; Asselin, Hugo; Mazerolle, Marc J; Imbeau, Louis

    2016-09-15

    Food insecurity is a growing concern for indigenous communities worldwide. While the risk of heavy metal contamination associated to wild food consumption has been extensively studied in the Arctic, data are scarce for the Boreal zone. This study addressed the concerns over possible heavy metal exposure through consumption of traditional food in four Anishnaabeg communities living in the Eastern North American boreal forest. Liver and meat samples were obtained from 196 snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) trapped during winter 2012 across the traditional lands of the participating communities and within 56-156km of a copper smelter. Interviews were conducted with 78 household heads to assess traditional food habits, focusing on snowshoe hare consumption. Concentrations in most meat and liver samples were below the detection limit for As, Co, Cr, Ni and Pb. Very few meat samples had detectable Cd and Hg concentrations, but liver samples had mean dry weight concentrations of 3.79mg/kg and 0.15mg/kg respectively. Distance and orientation from the smelter did not explain the variability between samples, but percent deciduous and mixed forest cover had a marginal negative effect on liver Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations. The estimated exposition risk from snowshoe hare consumption was low, although heavy consumers could slightly exceed recommended Hg doses. In accordance with the holistic perspective commonly adopted by indigenous people, the nutritional and sociocultural importance of traditional food must be considered in risk assessment. Traditional food plays a significant role in reducing and preventing serious health issues disproportionately affecting First Nations, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. An Innovative Approach to Addressing Childhood Obesity: A Knowledge-Based Infrastructure for Supporting Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Decision-Making in Quebec, Canada

    PubMed Central

    Addy, Nii Antiaye; Shaban-Nejad, Arash; Buckeridge, David L.; Dubé, Laurette

    2015-01-01

    Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have become a widespread means for deploying policies in a whole of society strategy to address the complex problem of childhood obesity. However, decision-making in MSPs is fraught with challenges, as decision-makers are faced with complexity, and have to reconcile disparate conceptualizations of knowledge across multiple sectors with diverse sets of indicators and data. These challenges can be addressed by supporting MSPs with innovative tools for obtaining, organizing and using data to inform decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the development of a knowledge-based infrastructure to support MSP decision-making processes. The paper emerged from a study to define specifications for a knowledge-based infrastructure to provide decision support for community-level MSPs in the Canadian province of Quebec. As part of the study, a process assessment was conducted to understand the needs of communities as they collect, organize, and analyze data to make decisions about their priorities. The result of this process is a “portrait”, which is an epidemiological profile of health and nutrition in their community. Portraits inform strategic planning and development of interventions, and are used to assess the impact of interventions. Our key findings indicate ambiguities and disagreement among MSP decision-makers regarding causal relationships between actions and outcomes, and the relevant data needed for making decisions. MSP decision-makers expressed a desire for easy-to-use tools that facilitate the collection, organization, synthesis, and analysis of data, to enable decision-making in a timely manner. Findings inform conceptual modeling and ontological analysis to capture the domain knowledge and specify relationships between actions and outcomes. This modeling and analysis provide the foundation for an ontology, encoded using OWL 2 Web Ontology Language. The ontology is developed to provide

  20. Community Member and Stakeholder Perspectives on a Healthy Environment Initiative in North Carolina.

    PubMed

    Carter-Edwards, Lori; Lowe-Wilson, Abby; Mouw, Mary Sherwyn; Jeon, Janet Yewon; Baber, Ceola Ross; Vu, Maihan B; Bethell, Monique

    2015-08-13

    The North Carolina Community Transformation Grant Project (NC-CTG) aimed to implement policy, system, and environmental strategies to promote healthy eating, active living, tobacco-free living, and clinical and community preventive services to advance health equity and reduce health disparities for the state's most vulnerable communities. This article presents findings from the Health Equity Collaborative Evaluation and Implementation Project, which assessed community and stakeholder perceptions of health equity for 3 NC-CTG strategies: farmers markets, shared use, and smoke-free multiunit housing. In a triangulated qualitative evaluation, 6 photo elicitation (PE) sessions among 45 community members in 1 urban and 3 rural counties and key informant interviews among 22 stakeholders were conducted. Nine participants from the PE sessions and key informant interviews in the urban county subsequently participated in a stakeholder power analysis and mapping session (SPA) to discuss and identify people and organizations in their community perceived to be influential in addressing health equity-related issues. Evaluations of the PE sessions and key informant interviews indicated that access (convenience, cost, safety, and awareness of products and services) and community fit (community-defined quality, safety, values, and norms) were important constructs across the strategies. The SPA identified specific community- and faith-based organizations, health care organizations, and local government agencies as key stakeholders for future efforts. Both community fit and access are essential constructs for promoting health equity. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of and need for formative research that engages community members and local stakeholders to shape context-specific, culturally relevant health promotion strategies.

  1. Community Member and Stakeholder Perspectives on a Healthy Environment Initiative in North Carolina

    PubMed Central

    Lowe-Wilson, Abby; Mouw, Mary Sherwyn; Jeon, Janet Yewon; Baber, Ceola Ross; Vu, Maihan B.; Bethell, Monique

    2015-01-01

    Introduction The North Carolina Community Transformation Grant Project (NC-CTG) aimed to implement policy, system, and environmental strategies to promote healthy eating, active living, tobacco-free living, and clinical and community preventive services to advance health equity and reduce health disparities for the state’s most vulnerable communities. This article presents findings from the Health Equity Collaborative Evaluation and Implementation Project, which assessed community and stakeholder perceptions of health equity for 3 NC-CTG strategies: farmers markets, shared use, and smoke-free multiunit housing. Methods In a triangulated qualitative evaluation, 6 photo elicitation (PE) sessions among 45 community members in 1 urban and 3 rural counties and key informant interviews among 22 stakeholders were conducted. Nine participants from the PE sessions and key informant interviews in the urban county subsequently participated in a stakeholder power analysis and mapping session (SPA) to discuss and identify people and organizations in their community perceived to be influential in addressing health equity–related issues. Results Evaluations of the PE sessions and key informant interviews indicated that access (convenience, cost, safety, and awareness of products and services) and community fit (community-defined quality, safety, values, and norms) were important constructs across the strategies. The SPA identified specific community- and faith-based organizations, health care organizations, and local government agencies as key stakeholders for future efforts. Conclusions Both community fit and access are essential constructs for promoting health equity. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of and need for formative research that engages community members and local stakeholders to shape context-specific, culturally relevant health promotion strategies. PMID:26270741

  2. Stakeholder approach for evaluating organizational change projects.

    PubMed

    Peltokorpi, Antti; Alho, Antti; Kujala, Jaakko; Aitamurto, Johanna; Parvinen, Petri

    2008-01-01

    This paper aims to create a model for evaluating organizational change initiatives from a stakeholder resistance viewpoint. The paper presents a model to evaluate change projects and their expected benefits. Factors affecting the challenge to implement change were defined based on stakeholder theory literature. The authors test the model's practical validity for screening change initiatives to improve operating room productivity. Change initiatives can be evaluated using six factors: the effect of the planned intervention on stakeholders' actions and position; stakeholders' capability to influence the project's implementation; motivation to participate; capability to change; change complexity; and management capability. The presented model's generalizability should be explored by filtering presented factors through a larger number of historical cases operating in different healthcare contexts. The link between stakeholders, the change challenge and the outcomes of change projects needs to be empirically tested. The proposed model can be used to prioritize change projects, manage stakeholder resistance and establish a better organizational and professional competence for managing healthcare organization change projects. New insights into existing stakeholder-related understanding of change project successes are provided.

  3. An integrated approach to stakeholder engagement.

    PubMed

    Carr, Dafna; Howells, Arlene; Chang, Melissa; Hirji, Nadir; English, Ann

    2009-01-01

    The Wait Time Information System (WTIS) project was a complex change-management initiative. For the first time in Ontario, wait time data would be captured directly from clinician offices and publicly reported in an effort to improve access to care. The change meant using new technology, new business processes and, most importantly, a new dimension of accountability for making improvements within the health system. Success required engaging thousands of individuals at all levels of healthcare, many of whom were skeptical and resistant to the upcoming change, and subsequently gaining their support and motivating them to use the WTIS and its data. To achieve the level of stakeholder engagement that would be required to deploy and sustain the WTIS, the project team needed to address both the business reasons for change, and the emotional reactions to it. The team applied a three-pronged approach encompassing strong communications, compelling adoption efforts and hands-on training. Communication focused on awareness and education, ensuring that information was coordinated, consistent and transparent. Adoption efforts involved helping hospitals and users understand and prepare for the impact of change. Training provided hands-on practice to get people comfortable with using the system. This article explores how information management/information technology (IM/IT) projects can integrate communications, adoption and training to drive stakeholder engagement. It also provides insight around how, when used effectively, these functions can maximize limited resources and provide valuable benefits.

  4. Lessons Learned by Community Stakeholders in the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) Project, 2013–2014

    PubMed Central

    Ganter, Claudia; Aftosmes-Tobio, Alyssa; Chuang, Emmeline; Kwass, Jo-Ann; Land, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Childhood obesity is a multifaceted disease that requires sustainable, multidimensional approaches that support change at the individual, community, and systems levels. The Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration project addressed this need by using clinical and public health evidence-based methods to prevent childhood obesity. To date, little information is known about successes and lessons learned from implementing such large-scale interventions. To address this gap, we examined perspectives of community stakeholders from various sectors on successes achieved and lessons learned during the implementation process. Methods We conducted 39 semistructured interviews with key stakeholders from 6 community sectors in 2 low-income communities from November 2013 through April 2014, during project implementation. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by using the constant comparative method. Data were analyzed by using QSR NVivo 10. Results Successes included increased parental involvement in children’s health and education, increased connections within participating organizations and within the broader community, changes in organizational policies and environments to better support healthy living, and improvements in health behaviors in children, parents, and stakeholders. Lessons learned included the importance of obtaining administrative and leadership support, involving key stakeholders early in the program planning process, creating buffers that allow for unexpected changes, and establishing opportunities for regular communication within and across sectors. Conclusion Study findings indicate that multidisciplinary approaches support health behavior change and provide insight into key issues to consider in developing and implementing such approaches in low-income communities. PMID:28125400

  5. Qualitative exploration of stakeholders' perspectives of involuntary admission under the Mental Health Act 2001 in Ireland.

    PubMed

    Smyth, Siobhán; Casey, Dympna; Cooney, Adeline; Higgins, Agnes; McGuinness, David; Bainbridge, Emma; Keys, Mary; Georgieva, Irina; Brosnan, Liz; Beecher, Claire; Hallahan, Brian; McDonald, Colm; Murphy, Kathy

    2017-12-01

    There is international interest in, and continued concern about, the potential long-term impact of involuntary admission to psychiatric institutions, and the effect this coercive action has on a person's well-being and human rights. Involuntary detention in hospital remains a controversial process that involves stakeholders with competing concerns and who often describe negative experiences of the process, which can have long-lasting effects on the therapeutic relationship with service users. The aim of the present study was to explore the perspectives of key stakeholders involved in the involuntary admission and detention of people under the Mental Health Act 2001 in Ireland. Focus groups were used to collect data. Stakeholders interviewed were service users, relatives, general practitioners, psychiatrists, mental health nurses, solicitors, tribunal members, and police. Data were analysed using a general inductive approach. Three key categories emerged: (i) getting help; (ii) detention under the Act; and (iii) experiences of the tribunal process. This research highlights gaps in information and uncertainty about the involuntary admission process for stakeholders, but particularly for service users who are most affected by inadequate processes and supports. Mental health law has traditionally focussed on narrower areas of detention and treatment, but human rights law requires a greater refocussing on supporting service users to ensure a truly voluntary approach to care. The recent human rights treaty, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, is to guarantee a broad range of fundamental rights, such as liberty and integrity, which can be affected by coercive processes of involuntary admission and treatment. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  6. Scenario-based stakeholder engagement: incorporating stakeholders preferences into coastal planning for climate change.

    PubMed

    Tompkins, Emma L; Few, Roger; Brown, Katrina

    2008-09-01

    Climate change poses many challenges for ecosystem and resource management. In particular, coastal planners are struggling to find ways to prepare for the potential impacts of future climate change while dealing with immediate pressures. Decisions on how to respond to future risks are complicated by the long time horizons and the uncertainty associated with the distribution of impacts. Existing coastal zone management approaches in the UK either do not adequately incorporate changing stakeholder preferences, or effectively ensure that stakeholders are aware of the trade-offs inherent in any coastal management decision. Using a novel method, scenario-based stakeholder engagement, which brings together stakeholder analysis, climate change management scenarios and deliberative techniques, the necessary trade-offs associated with long term coastal planning are explored. The method is applied to two case studies of coastal planning in Christchurch Bay on the south coast of England and the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. A range of conflicting preferences exist on the ideal governance structure to manage the coast under different climate change scenarios. In addition, the results show that public understanding of the trade-offs that have to be made is critical in gaining some degree of public support for long term coastal decision-making. We conclude that scenario-based stakeholder engagement is a useful tool to facilitate coastal management planning that takes into account the complexities and challenges of climate change, and could be used in conjunction with existing approaches such as the Shoreline Management Planning process.

  7. Stakeholders understanding of the concept of benefit sharing in health research in Kenya: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Lairumbi, Geoffrey M; Parker, Michael; Fitzpatrick, Raymond; Mike, English C

    2011-10-03

    The concept of benefit sharing to enhance the social value of global health research in resource poor settings is now a key strategy for addressing moral issues of relevance to individuals, communities and host countries in resource poor settings when they participate in international collaborative health research.The influence of benefit sharing framework on the conduct of collaborative health research is for instance evidenced by the number of publications and research ethics guidelines that require prior engagement between stakeholders to determine the social value of research to the host communities. While such efforts as the production of international guidance on how to promote the social value of research through such strategies as benefit sharing have been made, the extent to which these ideas and guidelines have been absorbed by those engaged in global health research especially in resource poor settings remains unclear. We examine this awareness among stakeholders involved in health related research in Kenya. We conducted in-depth interviews with key informants drawn from within the broader health research system in Kenya including researchers from the mainstream health research institutions, networks and universities, teaching hospitals, policy makers, institutional review boards, civil society organisations and community representative groups. Our study suggests that although people have a sense of justice and the moral aspects of research, this was not articulated in terms used in the literature and the guidelines on the ethics of global health research. This study demonstrates that while in theory several efforts can be made to address the moral issues of concern to research participants and their communities in resource poor settings, quick fixes such as benefit sharing are not going to be straightforward. We suggest a need to pay closer attention to the processes through which ethical principles are enacted in practice and distil lessons on how best

  8. Stakeholders understanding of the concept of benefit sharing in health research in Kenya: a qualitative study

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The concept of benefit sharing to enhance the social value of global health research in resource poor settings is now a key strategy for addressing moral issues of relevance to individuals, communities and host countries in resource poor settings when they participate in international collaborative health research. The influence of benefit sharing framework on the conduct of collaborative health research is for instance evidenced by the number of publications and research ethics guidelines that require prior engagement between stakeholders to determine the social value of research to the host communities. While such efforts as the production of international guidance on how to promote the social value of research through such strategies as benefit sharing have been made, the extent to which these ideas and guidelines have been absorbed by those engaged in global health research especially in resource poor settings remains unclear. We examine this awareness among stakeholders involved in health related research in Kenya. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with key informants drawn from within the broader health research system in Kenya including researchers from the mainstream health research institutions, networks and universities, teaching hospitals, policy makers, institutional review boards, civil society organisations and community representative groups. Results Our study suggests that although people have a sense of justice and the moral aspects of research, this was not articulated in terms used in the literature and the guidelines on the ethics of global health research. Conclusion This study demonstrates that while in theory several efforts can be made to address the moral issues of concern to research participants and their communities in resource poor settings, quick fixes such as benefit sharing are not going to be straightforward. We suggest a need to pay closer attention to the processes through which ethical principles are enacted in

  9. Stakeholders' engagement with Ebola therapy research in resource limited settings.

    PubMed

    Folayan, Morenike Oluwatoyin; Brown, Brandon; Haire, Bridget; Yakubu, Aminu; Peterson, Kristin; Tegli, Jemee

    2015-06-26

    The current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa is the largest in history. As of February 18(th) 2015, 23,258 cases of EVD have been cumulatively reported from Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States of America resulting in more than 9,000 deaths. It is therefore exigent to develop prevention and treatment therapies for EVD. Several new EVD treatments are in clinical development at this time. Based on lessons learned, four critical processes need to be implemented before clinical trials begin. First, all global EVD research need to be coordinated to promote data sharing and synergistic overlap, while reducing unnecessary duplication of efforts. The World Health Organization is well-placed to undertake such an endeavor. Second, governments of affected nations where trials are being proposed need to lead discussions regarding immediate access to any proven medications for epidemics. Also, governments need to leverage international resources to support and expand existing national expertise to jointly conduct high-caliber clinical research; and resources must be used to enhance local technical skills and expand existing personnel. Third, ethics committees must review protocols, monitor the research process, and work closely with research scientists to insure the ethical integrity of research throughout the trials. Fourth, community advisory boards (CAB) need to be formed, linked with existing community leadership structures and organized in conjunction with trial implementation. These community structures should work together with ethics committees to facilitate the study design, informed consent process, and study implementation. We must facilitate communication and mutual understanding between trial communities and research teams, and promote positive collaborations between all stakeholders engaged in EVD research. The community engagement process for EVD research is crucial to address

  10. Stakeholder Perceptions of Welfare Issues and Indicators for Extensively Managed Sheep in Australia

    PubMed Central

    Doughty, Amanda K.; Coleman, Grahame J.; Hinch, Geoff N.; Doyle, Rebecca E.

    2017-01-01

    .57) and husbandry practices (3.37). Key indicators recognised by all respondents were those associated with pain and fear (3.98/5), nutrition (4.23), mortality/management (4.27), food on offer (4.41) and number of illness/injures in a flock (4.33). There were gender and stakeholder differences in the perceived importance of both welfare issues and indicators with women and the public consistently rating issues (all p < 0.01) and indicators (all p < 0.05) to be of greater significance than other respondents. These results highlight the importance of including all stakeholders and an even balance of genders when developing a welfare framework that can address both practical and societal concerns. PMID:28333110

  11. Survey of the perceptions of key stakeholders on the attributes of the South African Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

    PubMed

    Benson, F G; Musekiwa, A; Blumberg, L; Rispel, L C

    2016-10-25

    An effective and efficient notifiable diseases surveillance system (NDSS) is essential for a rapid response to disease outbreaks, and the identification of priority diseases that may cause national, regional or public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs). Regular assessments of country-based surveillance system are needed to enable countries to respond to outbreaks before they become PHEICs. As part of a broader evaluation of the NDSS in South Africa, the aim of the study was to determine the perceptions of key stakeholders on the national NDSS attributes of acceptability, flexibility, simplicity, timeliness and usefulness. During 2015, we conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of communicable diseases coordinators and surveillance officers, as well as members of NDSS committees. Individuals with less than 1 year experience of the NDSS were excluded. Consenting participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire elicited information on demographic information and perceptions of the NDSS attributes. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the unconditional logistic regression model. Most stakeholders interviewed (53 %, 60/114) were involved in disease control and response. The median number of years of experience with the NDSS was 11 years (inter-quartile range (IQR): 5 to 20 years). Regarding the NDSS attributes, 25 % of the stakeholders perceived the system to be acceptable, 51 % to be flexible, 45 % to be timely, 61 % to be useful, and 74 % to be simple. Health management stakeholders perceived the system to be more useful and timely compared to the other stakeholders. Those with more years of experience were less likely to perceive the NDSS system as acceptable (OR 0.91, 95 % CI: 0.84-1.00, p = 0.041); those in disease detection were less likely to perceive it as timely (OR 0.10, 95 % CI: 0.01-0.96, p = 0.046) and those participating in National Outbreak Response Team were

  12. Patient-centred outcomes research: perspectives of patient stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Chhatre, Sumedha; Gallo, Joseph J; Wittink, Marsha; Schwartz, J Sanford; Jayadevappa, Ravishankar

    2017-11-01

    To elicit patient stakeholders' experience and perspectives about patient-centred care. Qualitative. A large urban healthcare system. Four patient stakeholders who are prostate cancer survivors. Experience and perspectives of patient stakeholders regarding patient-centred care and treatment decisions. Our patient stakeholders represented a diverse socio-demographic group. The patient stakeholders identified engagement and dialogue with physicians as crucial elements of patient-centred care model. The degree of patient-centred care was observed to be dependent on the situations. High severity conditions warranted a higher level of patient involvement, compared to mild conditions. They agreed that patient-centred care should not mean that patients can demand inappropriate treatments. An important attribute of patient-centred outcomes research model is the involvement of stakeholders. However, we have limited knowledge about the experience of patient stakeholders in patient-centred outcomes research. Our study indicates that patient stakeholders offer a unique perspective as researchers and policy-makers aim to precisely define patient-centred research and care.

  13. Collaborative learning framework for online stakeholder engagement.

    PubMed

    Khodyakov, Dmitry; Savitsky, Terrance D; Dalal, Siddhartha

    2016-08-01

    Public and stakeholder engagement can improve the quality of both research and policy decision making. However, such engagement poses significant methodological challenges in terms of collecting and analysing input from large, diverse groups. To explain how online approaches can facilitate iterative stakeholder engagement, to describe how input from large and diverse stakeholder groups can be analysed and to propose a collaborative learning framework (CLF) to interpret stakeholder engagement results. We use 'A National Conversation on Reducing the Burden of Suicide in the United States' as a case study of online stakeholder engagement and employ a Bayesian data modelling approach to develop a CLF. Our data modelling results identified six distinct stakeholder clusters that varied in the degree of individual articulation and group agreement and exhibited one of the three learning styles: learning towards consensus, learning by contrast and groupthink. Learning by contrast was the most common, or dominant, learning style in this study. Study results were used to develop a CLF, which helps explore multitude of stakeholder perspectives; identifies clusters of participants with similar shifts in beliefs; offers an empirically derived indicator of engagement quality; and helps determine the dominant learning style. The ability to detect learning by contrast helps illustrate differences in stakeholder perspectives, which may help policymakers, including Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, make better decisions by soliciting and incorporating input from patients, caregivers, health-care providers and researchers. Study results have important implications for soliciting and incorporating input from stakeholders with different interests and perspectives. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Internal Stakeholder Engagement for Renewable Projects

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Toolbox for Renewable Energy Project Development's Internal Stakeholder Engagement for Renewable Projects page discusses the importance of garnering stakeholder buy-in for renewable energy project success.

  15. Assessing Patient-Centered Communication in Cancer Care: Stakeholder Perspectives

    PubMed Central

    Mazor, Kathleen M.; Gaglio, Bridget; Nekhlyudov, Larissa; Alexander, Gwen L.; Stark, Azadeh; Hornbrook, Mark C.; Walsh, Kathleen; Boggs, Jennifer; Lemay, Celeste A.; Firneno, Cassandra; Biggins, Colleen; Blosky, Mary Ann; Arora, Neeraj K.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Patient-centered communication is critical to quality cancer care. Effective communication can help patients and family members cope with cancer, make informed decisions, and effectively manage their care; suboptimal communication can contribute to care breakdowns and undermine clinician-patient relationships. The study purpose was to explore stakeholders' views on the feasibility and acceptability of collecting self-reported patient and family perceptions of communication experiences while receiving cancer care. The results were intended to inform the design, development, and implementation of a structured and generalizable patient-level reporting system. Methods: This was a formative, qualitative study that used semistructured interviews with cancer patients, family members, clinicians, and leaders of health care organizations. The constant comparative method was used to identify major themes in the interview transcripts. Results: A total of 106 stakeholders were interviewed. Thematic saturation was achieved. All stakeholders recognized the importance of communication and endorsed efforts to improve communication during cancer care. Patients, clinicians, and leaders expressed concerns about the potential consequences of reports of suboptimal communication experiences, such as damage to the clinician-patient relationship, and the need for effective improvement strategies. Patients and family members would report good communication experiences in order to encourage such practices. Practical and logistic issues were identified. Conclusion: Patient reports of their communication experiences during cancer care could increase understanding of the communication process, stimulate improvements, inform interventions, and provide a basis for evaluating changes in communication practices. This qualitative study provides a foundation for the design and pilot testing of such a patient reporting system. PMID:23943884

  16. Structured identification of response options to address environmental health risks at the Agbogbloshie electronic waste site.

    PubMed

    Cazabon, Danielle; Fobil, Julius N; Essegbey, George; Basu, Niladri

    2017-11-01

    Electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing problem across low- and middle-income countries. Agbogbloshie (Accra, Ghana) is among the world's largest and most notorious e-waste sites, with an increasing number of studies documenting a range of environmental health risks. The present study aimed to provide national, regional, and international stakeholders with a summary of expert opinion on the most pressing problems arising from e-waste activities at Agbogbloshie, as well as suggested solutions to address these problems. Structured interviews were performed between April and September 2015 that used a Logical Framework Approach as a scoping exercise to gauge problems and benefits of e-waste recycling, and the Delphi methodology to identify response options. Stakeholders (n = 19) from 15 institutions were interviewed with 2 rounds of a Delphi Poll: open-ended interviews followed by an electronic questionnaire in which experts ranked various proposed response options based on health, environmental, social, and economic benefit and feasibility. The goal was to prioritize potential interventions that would address identified problems at Agbogbloshie. Experts identified the most beneficial and feasible options in decreasing rank order as follows and prefaced by the statement "it is recommended that": 1) there be further research on the health effects; 2) e-waste workers be given appropriate personal protective equipment; 3) the Ministry of the Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation re-visit Ghana's Hazardous Waste Bill; 4) e-waste workers be involved in the planning process of interventions and are be kept informed of any results; and 5) there be increased education and sensitization on hazards related to e-waste for both workers and the general public. These solutions are discussed in relation to ongoing dialogue at the international level concerning e-waste recycling interventions, with strengths and weaknesses examined for the Ghanaian context. Integr

  17. Health Sector Evolution Plan in Iran; Equity and Sustainability Concerns.

    PubMed

    Moradi-Lakeh, Maziar; Vosoogh-Moghaddam, Abbas

    2015-08-31

    In 2014, a series of reforms, called as the Health Sector Evolution Plan (HSEP), was launched in the health system of Iran in a stepwise process. HSEP was mainly based on the fifth 5-year health development national strategies (2011-2016). It included different interventions to: increase population coverage of basic health insurance, increase quality of care in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) affiliated hospitals, reduce out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for inpatient services, increase quality of primary healthcare, launch updated relative value units (RVUs) of clinical services, and update tariffs to more realistic values. The reforms resulted in extensive social reaction and different professional feedback. The official monitoring program shows general public satisfaction. However, there are some concerns for sustainability of the programs and equity of financing. Securing financial sources and fairness of the financial contribution to the new programs are the main concerns of policy-makers. Healthcare providers' concerns (as powerful and influential stakeholders) potentially threat the sustainability and efficiency of HSEP. Previous experiences on extending health insurance coverage show that they can lead to a regressive healthcare financing and threat financial equity. To secure financial sources and to increase fairness, the contributions of people to new interventions should be progressive by their income and wealth. A specific progressive tax would be the best source, however, since it is not immediately feasible, a stepwise increase in the progressivity of financing must be followed. Technical concerns of healthcare providers (such as nonplausible RVUs for specific procedures or nonefficient insurance-provider processes) should be addressed through proper revision(s) while nontechnical concerns (which are derived from conflicting interests) must be responded through clarification and providing transparent information. The requirements of

  18. CSR Model Implementation from School Stakeholder Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herrmann, Suzannah

    2006-01-01

    Despite comprehensive school reform (CSR) model developers' best intentions to make school stakeholders adhere strictly to the implementation of model components, school stakeholders implementing CSR models inevitably make adaptations to the CSR model. Adaptations are made to CSR models because school stakeholders internalize CSR model practices…

  19. Addressing Parents' Vaccine Concerns: A Randomized Trial of a Social Media Intervention.

    PubMed

    Daley, Matthew F; Narwaney, Komal J; Shoup, Jo Ann; Wagner, Nicole M; Glanz, Jason M

    2018-05-08

    Successful strategies are needed to address parental vaccine hesitancy, a significant public health issue. The study objective was to assess whether an Internet-based platform with vaccine information and interactive social media components improved parents' vaccine-related attitudes. A three-arm RCT. The study was conducted in a large Colorado integrated healthcare organization. Parents were enrolled during September 2013 through October 2015 and followed through November 2016; data were analyzed in 2017. Parents, recruited during pregnancy, were given a survey about vaccine-related attitudes at enrollment (i.e., baseline) and when their child was aged 3-5 months and 12-15 months (Timepoints 1 and 2, respectively). Parental vaccine hesitancy was assessed at baseline. Study participants were randomized to the following: a study website with vaccine information and social media components (VSM arm); a website with vaccine information only (VI); or usual care. Change in parental vaccine attitudes over time by baseline degree of vaccine hesitancy. Among 1,093 study participants, 945 (86.5%) completed all three surveys. Comparing baseline with Timepoint 1 among vaccine-hesitant parents, the VSM and VI arms were associated with significant improvements in attitudes regarding vaccination benefits compared to usual care (VSM mean change 0.23 on a 5-point scale, 95% CI=0.05, 0.40, VI mean change 0.22, 95% CI=0.04, 0.40). Comparing baseline with Timepoint 2 among hesitant parents, the VSM and VI arms were also associated with significant reductions in parental concerns about vaccination risks compared to usual care (VSM mean change -0.37, 95% CI= -0.60, -0.14, VI mean change -0.31, 95% CI= -0.55, -0.07). Self-efficacy around vaccine decision making also improved among vaccine-hesitant parents. No intervention effect was observed among parents not vaccine-hesitant at baseline. Among vaccine-hesitant parents, an Internet-based intervention improved parents' attitudes about

  20. UAS-NAS Stakeholder Feedback Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Randall, Debra; Murphy, Jim; Grindle, Laurie

    2016-01-01

    The need to fly UAS in the NAS to perform missions of vital importance to national security and defense, emergency management, science, and to enable commercial applications has been continually increasing over the past few years. To address this need, the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) Integrated Aviation Systems Program (IASP) formulated and funded the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project (hereafter referred to as UAS-NAS Project) from 2011 to 2016. The UAS-NAS Project identified the following need statement: The UAS community needs routine access to the global airspace for all classes of UAS. The Project identified the following goal: To provide research findings to reduce technical barriers associated with integrating UAS into the NAS utilizing integrated system level tests in a relevant environment. This report provides a summary of the collaborations between the UAS-NAS Project and its primary stakeholders and how the Project applied and incorporated the feedback.

  1. Using database reports to reduce workplace violence: Perceptions of hospital stakeholders

    PubMed Central

    Arnetz, Judith E.; Hamblin, Lydia; Ager, Joel; Aranyos, Deanna; Essenmacher, Lynnette; Upfal, Mark J.; Luborsky, Mark

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND Documented incidents of violence provide the foundation for any workplace violence prevention program. However, no published research to date has examined stakeholders’ preferences for workplace violence data reports in healthcare settings. If relevant data are not readily available and effectively summarized and presented, the likelihood is low that they will be utilized by stakeholders in targeted efforts to reduce violence. OBJECTIVE To discover and describe hospital system stakeholders’ perceptions of database-generated workplace violence data reports. PARTICIPANTS Eight hospital system stakeholders representing Human Resources, Security, Occupational Health Services, Quality and Safety, and Labor in a large, metropolitan hospital system. METHODS The hospital system utilizes a central database for reporting adverse workplace events, including incidents of violence. A focus group was conducted to identify stakeholders’ preferences and specifications for standardized, computerized reports of workplace violence data to be generated by the central database. The discussion was audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, processed as text, and analyzed using stepwise content analysis. RESULTS Five distinct themes emerged from participant responses: Concerns, Etiology, Customization, Use, and Outcomes. In general, stakeholders wanted data reports to provide “the big picture,” i.e., rates of occurrence; reasons for and details regarding incident occurrence; consequences for the individual employee and/or the workplace; and organizational efforts that were employed to deal with the incident. CONCLUSIONS Exploring stakeholder views regarding workplace violence summary reports provided concrete information on the preferred content, format, and use of workplace violence data. Participants desired both epidemiological and incident-specific data in order to better understand and work to prevent the workplace violence occurring in their hospital system. PMID

  2. Stakeholder perceptions of collaboration for managing nature-based recreation in a coastal protected area in Alaska

    Treesearch

    Emily F. Pomeranz; Mark D. Needham; Linda E. Kruger

    2013-01-01

    Voluntary codes of conduct and best management practices are increasingly popular methods for addressing impacts of recreation and tourism in protected areas. In southeast Alaska, for example, a collaborative stakeholder process has been used for creating, implementing, and managing the voluntary Wilderness Best Management Practices (WBMP) for the Tracy Arm- Fords...

  3. Stakeholder evaluation of an online program to promote physical activity and workplace safety for individuals with disability.

    PubMed

    Nery-Hurwit, Mara; Kincl, Laurel; Driver, Simon; Heller, Brittany

    2017-08-01

    Individuals with disabilities face increasing health and employment disparities, including increased risk of morbidity and mortality and decreased earnings, occupational roles, and greater risk of injury at work. Thus, there is a need to improve workplace safety and health promotion efforts for people with disability. The purpose of this study was to obtain stakeholder feedback about an online program, Be Active, Work Safe, which was developed to increase the physical activity and workplace safety practices of individuals with disability. Eight stakeholders (content experts and individuals with disability) evaluated the 8-week online program and provided feedback on accessibility, usability, and content using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Stakeholders suggested changes to the organization, layout and accessibility, and content. This included making a stronger connection between the physical activity and workplace safety components of the program, broadening content to apply to individuals in different vocational fields, and reducing the number of participant assessments. Engaging stakeholders in the development of health promotion programs is critical to ensure the unique issues of the population are addressed and facilitate engagement in the program. Feedback provided by stakeholders improved the program and provided insight on barriers for adoption of the program. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Partnering with Communities to Address the Mental Health Needs of Rural Veterans

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kirchner, JoAnn E.; Farmer, Mary Sue; Shue, Valorie M.; Blevins, Dean; Sullivan, Greer

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Many veterans who face mental illness and live in rural areas never obtain the mental health care they need. To address these needs, it is important to reach out to community stakeholders who are likely to have frequent interactions with veterans, particularly those returning from Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). Methods:…

  5. Collaborative Stakeholder Engagement. Special Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jordan, Matt; Chrislip, David; Workman, Emily

    2016-01-01

    Stakeholder engagement and collaboration are essential to the development of an effective state plan. Engaging a diverse group of stakeholders tasked with working together to create education policies that will have a positive, lasting impact on students is not as easy as it sounds. Experts in the field argue that the traditional stakeholder…

  6. Addressing wild turkey population declines using structured decision making

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Robinson, Kelly F.; Fuller, Angela K.; Schiavone, Michael V.; Swift, Bryan L.; Diefenbach, Duane R.; Siemer, William F.; Decker, Daniel J.

    2017-01-01

    We present a case study from New York, USA, of the use of structured decision making (SDM) to identify fall turkey harvest regulations that best meet stakeholder objectives, in light of recent apparent declines in abundance of wild turkeys in the northeastern United States. We used the SDM framework to incorporate the multiple objectives associated with turkey hunting, stakeholder desires, and region-specific ecological and environmental factors that could influence fall harvest. We identified a set of 4 fall harvest regulations, composed of different season lengths and bag limits, and evaluated their relative achievement of the objectives. We used a stochastic turkey population model, statistical modeling, and expert elicitation to evaluate the consequences of each harvest regulation on each of the objectives. We conducted a statewide mail survey of fall turkey hunters in New York to gather the necessary information to evaluate tradeoffs among multiple objectives associated with hunter satisfaction. The optimal fall harvest regulation was a 2-week season and allowed for the harvest of 1 bird/hunter. This regulation was the most conservative of those evaluated, reflecting the concerns about recent declines in turkey abundance among agency wildlife biologists and the hunting public. Depending on the region of the state, the 2-week, 1-bird regulation was predicted to result in 7–32% more turkeys on the landscape after 5 years. The SDM process provided a transparent framework for setting fall turkey harvest regulations and reduced potential stakeholder conflict by explicitly taking the multiple objectives of different stakeholder groups into account.

  7. Using stakeholder analysis to support moves towards universal coverage: lessons from the SHIELD project.

    PubMed

    Gilson, Lucy; Erasmus, Ermin; Borghi, Jo; Macha, Janet; Kamuzora, Peter; Mtei, Gemini

    2012-03-01

    Stakeholder analysis is widely recommended as a tool for gathering insights on policy actor interests in, positions on, and power to influence, health policy issues. Such information is recognized to be critical in developing viable health policy proposals, and is particularly important for new health care financing proposals that aim to secure universal coverage (UC). However, there remain surprisingly few published accounts of the use of stakeholder analysis in health policy development generally, and health financing specifically, and even fewer that draw lessons from experience about how to do and how to use such analysis. This paper, therefore, aims to support those developing or researching UC reforms to think both about how to conduct stakeholder analysis, and how to use it to support evidence-informed pro-poor health policy development. It presents practical lessons and ideas drawn from experience of doing stakeholder analysis around UC reforms in South Africa and Tanzania, combined with insights from other relevant material. The paper has two parts. The first presents lessons of experience for conducting a stakeholder analysis, and the second, ideas about how to use the analysis to support policy design and the development of actor and broader political management strategies. Comparison of experience across South Africa and Tanzania shows that there are some commonalities concerning which stakeholders have general interests in UC reform. However, differences in context and in reform proposals generate differences in the particular interests of stakeholders and their likely positioning on reform proposals, as well as in their relative balance of power. It is, therefore, difficult to draw cross-national policy comparisons around these specific issues. Nonetheless, the paper shows that cross-national policy learning is possible around the approach to analysis, the factors influencing judgements and the implications for, and possible approaches to, management

  8. Perspectives of Frailty and Frailty Screening: Protocol for a Collaborative Knowledge Translation Approach and Qualitative Study of Stakeholder Understandings and Experiences.

    PubMed

    Archibald, Mandy M; Ambagtsheer, Rachel; Beilby, Justin; Chehade, Mellick J; Gill, Tiffany K; Visvanathan, Renuka; Kitson, Alison L

    2017-04-17

    Accompanying the unprecedented growth in the older adult population worldwide is an increase in the prevalence of frailty, an age-related clinical state of increased vulnerability to stressor events. This increased vulnerability results in lower social engagement and quality of life, increased dependency, and higher rates of morbidity, health service utilization and mortality. Early identification of frailty is necessary to guide implementation of interventions to prevent associated functional decline. Consensus is lacking on how to clinically recognize and manage frailty. It is unknown how healthcare providers and healthcare consumers understand and perceive frailty, whether or not they regard frailty as a public health concern; and information on the indirect and direct experiences of consumer and healthcare provider groups towards frailty are markedly limited. We will conduct a qualitative study of consumer, practice nurse, general practitioner, emergency department physician, and orthopedic surgeons' perspectives of frailty and frailty screening in metropolitan and non-metropolitan South Australia. We will use tailored combinations of semi-structured interviews and arts-based data collection methods depending on each stakeholder group, followed by inductive and iterative analysis of data using qualitative description. Using stakeholder driven approaches to understanding and addressing frailty and frailty screening in context is critical as the prevalence and burden of frailty is likely to increase worldwide. We will use the findings from the Perceptions of Frailty and Frailty Screening study to inform a context-driven identification, implementation and evaluation of a frailty-screening tool; drive awareness, knowledge, and skills development strategies across stakeholder groups; and guide future efforts to embed emerging knowledge about frailty and its management across diverse South Australian contexts using a collaborative knowledge translation approach

  9. How We Engage Our Pesticide Stakeholders

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The success of EPA's pesticide program is directly connected to our efforts to engage all stakeholders. In addition to meetings on pesticide-specific actions, we sponsor advisory committees that include diverse, independent stakeholders.

  10. Stakeholder Experiences in a Stepped Collaborative Care Study Within U.S. Army Clinics.

    PubMed

    Batka, Caroline; Tanielian, Terri; Woldetsadik, Mahlet A; Farmer, Carrie; Jaycox, Lisa H

    This article examines stakeholder experiences with integrating treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression within primary care clinics in the U.S. Army, the use-of-care facilitation to improve treatment, and the specific therapeutic tools used within the Stepped Treatment Enhanced PTSD Services Using Primary Care study. We conducted a series of qualitative interviews with health care providers, care facilitators, and patients within the context of a large randomized controlled trial being conducted across 18 Army primary care clinics at 6 military installations. Most of stakeholders' concerns clustered around the need to improve collaborative care tools and care facilitators and providers' comfort and abilities to treat behavioral health issues in the primary care setting. Although stakeholders generally recognize the value of collaborative care in overcoming barriers to care, their perspectives about the utility of different tools varied. The extent to which collaborative care mechanisms are well understood, navigated, and implemented by providers, care facilitators, and patients is critical to the success of the model. Improving the design of the web-based therapy tools, increasing the frequency of team meetings and case presentations, and expanding training for primary care providers on screening and treatment for PTSD and depression and the collaborative care model's structure, processes, and offerings may improve stakeholder perceptions and usage of collaborative care. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Eco-efficiency improvements in industrial water-service systems: assessing options with stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Levidow, Les; Lindgaard-Jørgensen, Palle; Nilsson, Asa; Skenhall, Sara Alongi; Assimacopoulos, Dionysis

    2014-01-01

    The well-known eco-efficiency concept helps to assess the economic value and resource burdens of potential improvements by comparison with the baseline situation. But eco-efficiency assessments have generally focused on a specific site, while neglecting wider effects, for example, through interactions between water users and wastewater treatment (WWT) providers. To address the methodological gap, the EcoWater project has developed a method and online tools for meso-level analysis of the entire water-service value chain. This study investigated improvement options in two large manufacturing companies which have significant potential for eco-efficiency gains. They have been considering investment in extra processes which can lower resource burdens from inputs and wastewater, as well as internalising WWT processes. In developing its methodology, the EcoWater project obtained the necessary information from many agents, involved them in the meso-level assessment and facilitated their discussion on alternative options. Prior discussions with stakeholders stimulated their attendance at a workshop to discuss a comparative eco-efficiency assessment for whole-system improvement. Stakeholders expressed interest in jointly extending the EcoWater method to more options and in discussing investment strategies. In such ways, optimal solutions will depend on stakeholders overcoming fragmentation by sharing responsibility and knowledge.

  12. Empowering marginalized communities in water resources management: addressing inequitable practices in Participatory Model Building.

    PubMed

    Butler, Cameron; Adamowski, Jan

    2015-04-15

    Within the field of water resource management, Group Model Building (GMB) is a growing method used to engage stakeholders in the development of models that describe environmental and socioeconomic systems to create and test policy alternatives. While there is significant focus on improving stakeholder engagement, there is a lack of studies specifically looking at the experiences of marginalized communities and the barriers that prevent their fuller participation in the decision-making process. This paper explores the common issues and presents recommended improved practices, based on anti-oppression, related to the stages of problem framing, stakeholder identification and selection, workshop preparation, and workshop facilitation. For problem defining and stakeholder selection, the major recommendations are to engage diverse stakeholder communities from the earliest stages and give them control over framing the project scope. With regards to planning the model building workshops, it is recommended that the facilitation team work closely with marginalized stakeholders to highlight and address barriers that would prevent their inclusion. With the actual facilitation of the workshops, it is best to employ activities that allow stakeholders to provide knowledge and input in mediums that are most comfortable to them; additionally, the facilitation team needs to be able to challenge problematic interpersonal interactions as they manifest within conversations. This article focuses on building comfortability with political language so that the systemic oppression in which existing participatory processes occur can be understood, thus allowing GMB practitioners to engage in social justice efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Holistic stakeholder-oriented and case study-based risk analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heisterkamp, Tobias

    2013-04-01

    Case studies of storm events in the Berlin conurbation demonstrate the chance of a holistic approach and its potential data sources. Data sets of population, but also data provided by insurance and transport companies, and operating data provided by fire brigades, are used. Various indicators for risk analysis are constructed to identify hot spots. These hot spots can be shortcomings or critical aspects in structure, communication, the warning chain, or even in the structure of potentially affected stakeholders or in the civil protection system itself. Due to increasing complexity of interactions and interdependencies in or between societies and nature, it is important to choose a holistic approach. For risk analyses like the storms in Berlin, it captures many important factors with their effects. For risk analyses, it is important to take potential users into concern: The analysis gets important due to its use later on. In addition to a theoretical background, a focus on the application should be set from the beginning on. To get usable results, it is helpful to complement the theoretical meta-level by a stakeholder-oriented level. An iterative investigation and combination of different layers for the risk analysis explores important influencing factors and allows a tailoring of results to different stakeholder groups. Layers are indicators, gained from data sets like losses from insurance data. Tailoring is important, because of different requirements e.g. by technical or medical assistance. Stakeholders' feedback in the iterative investigation also shows structural limitations for later applications, like special laws the fire brigades have to deal with. Additionally, using actors' perspectives offers the chance to convince practitioners of taking part in the analysis. Their participation is an essential component in applied science. They are important data suppliers, whose goodwill is needed to ensure good results. Based on their experience, they can also help

  14. Uncertainty in Driftless Area Cold-Water Fishery Decision Making and a Framework for Stakeholder-Based Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schuster, Z.

    2015-12-01

    The paradigm of stakeholder-based science is becoming more popular as organizations such as the U.S. Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers adopt it as a way of providing practicable climate change information to practitioners. One of the key issues stakeholders face in adopting climate change information into their decision processes is how uncertainty is addressed and communicated. In this study, we conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with managers and scientists working on stream habitat restoration of cold-water fisheries in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin that were focused on how they interpret and manage uncertainty and what types of information they need to make better decisions. One of the important lessons we learned from the interviews is that if researchers are going to provide useful climate change information to stakeholders, they need to understand where and how decisions are made and what adaptation measures are actually available in a given decision arena. This method of incorporating social science methods into climate science production can provide a framework for researchers from the Climate Science Centers and others who are interested in pursuing stakeholder-based science. By indentifying a specific ecological system and conducting interviews with actors who work on that system, researchers will be able to gain a better understanding of how their climate change science can fit into existing or shape new decision processes. We also interpreted lessons learned from our interviews via existing literature in areas such as stakeholder-based modeling and the decision sciences to provide guidance specific to the stakeholder-based science process.

  15. Implementing stakeholder-informed research in the substance abuse treatment sector: strategies used by Connections, a Canadian knowledge translation and exchange project.

    PubMed

    Henderson, Joanna; Sword, Wendy; Niccols, Alison; Dobbins, Maureen

    2014-05-29

    Researcher-stakeholder collaboration has been identified as critical to bridging research and health system change. While collaboration models vary, meaningful stakeholder involvement over time ("integrated knowledge translation") is advocated to improve the relevance of research to knowledge users. This short report describes the integrated knowledge translation efforts of Connections, a knowledge translation and exchange project to improve services for women with substance abuse problems and their children, and implementation barriers and facilitators. Strategies of varying intensities were used to engage diverse stakeholders, including policy makers and people with lived experience, and executive directors, program managers, and service providers from Canadian addiction agencies serving women. Barriers to participation included individual (e.g., interest), organizational (e.g., funding), and system level (e.g., lack of centralized stakeholder database) barriers. Similarly, facilitators included individual (e.g., perceived relevance) and organizational (e.g., support) facilitators, as well as initiative characteristics (e.g., multiple involvement opportunities). Despite barriers, Connections' stakeholder-informed research efforts proved essential for developing clinically relevant and feasible processes, measures, and implementation strategies. Stakeholder-researcher collaboration is possible and robust integrated knowledge translation efforts can be productive. Future work should emphasize developing and evaluating a range of strategies to address stakeholders' knowledge translation needs and to facilitate sustained and meaningful involvement in research.

  16. Working to Increase Vaccination for Human Papillomavirus: A Survey of Wisconsin Stakeholders, 2015.

    PubMed

    Mroz, Sarah; Zhang, Xiao; Williams, Mercedes; Conlon, Amy; LoConte, Noelle K

    2017-09-28

    Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is common and can progress to various types of cancer. HPV infection can be prevented through vaccination; however, vaccination rates among adolescents are low. The objective of this study was to assess efforts among Wisconsin stakeholders in HPV vaccination and organizational capacity for future collaborative work. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of 277 stakeholders in HPV vaccination activities, from April 30, 2015, through June 30, 2015. Stakeholders were public health professionals, health care providers, educators, quality improvement professionals, researchers, and advocates identified as engaged in HPV vaccination work. Of the 277 invited stakeholders, 117 (42%) responded to the survey. Findings showed that most current HPV vaccination activities targeted 3 groups: adolescents and parents, clinical and health professionals, and communities and health systems. The main activities directed at these groups were providing printed educational materials, professional education, and media campaigns to raise awareness. Common barriers reported were lack of understanding about the link between HPV and cancer, requests to delay vaccination, difficulty completing the 3-dose vaccine series, and reluctance to discuss sexuality. HPV vaccination rates are far below those of other vaccinations administered to adolescents in Wisconsin. Our study showed that various local efforts were being made to increase HPV vaccination uptake; however, many barriers exist to initiation and completion of the vaccine series. Future interventions should address barriers and employ evidence-based strategies for increasing HPV vaccination rates.

  17. Toward defining and measuring social accountability in graduate medical education: a stakeholder study.

    PubMed

    Reddy, Anjani T; Lazreg, Sonia A; Phillips, Robert L; Bazemore, Andrew W; Lucan, Sean C

    2013-09-01

    Since 1965, Medicare has publically financed graduate medical education (GME) in the United States. Given public financing, various advisory groups have argued that GME should be more socially accountable. Several efforts are underway to develop accountability measures for GME that could be tied to Medicare payments, but it is not clear how to measure or even define social accountability. We explored how GME stakeholders perceive, define, and measure social accountability. Through purposive and snowball sampling, we completed semistructured interviews with 18 GME stakeholders from GME training sites, government agencies, and health care organizations. We analyzed interview field notes and audiorecordings using a flexible, iterative, qualitative group process to identify themes. THREE THEMES EMERGED IN REGARDS TO DEFINING SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY: (1) creating a diverse physician workforce to address regional needs and primary care and specialty shortages; (2) ensuring quality in training and care to best serve patients; and (3) providing service to surrounding communities and the general public. All but 1 stakeholder believed GME institutions have a responsibility to be socially accountable. Reported barriers to achieving social accountability included training time constraints, financial limitations, and institutional resistance. Suggestions for measuring social accountability included reviewing graduates' specialties and practice locations, evaluating curricular content, and reviewing program services to surrounding communities. Most stakeholders endorsed the concept of social accountability in GME, suggesting definitions and possible measures that could inform policy makers calls for increased accountability despite recognized barriers.

  18. The diffusion of telehealth in rural American Indian communities: a retrospective survey of key stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Brooks, Elizabeth; Manson, Spero M; Bair, Byron; Dailey, Nancy; Shore, Jay H

    2012-01-01

    Mental health issues are a serious concern for many American Indian Veterans, especially for post-traumatic stress disorder and related psychiatric conditions. Yet, acquiring mental health treatment can be a challenge in Native communities where specialized services are largely unavailable. Consequently, telehealth is increasingly being suggested as a way to expand healthcare access on or near reservation lands. In this study, we wanted to understand the factors affecting the diffusion of telehealth clinics that provided mental health care to rural, American Indian Veterans. We surveyed 39 key personnel and stakeholders who were involved in the decision-making process, technological infrastructure, and implementation of three clinics. Using Roger Everett's Diffusion Theory as a framework, we gathered information about specific tasks, factors hindering progress, and personal reactions to telehealth both before and after implementation. Many participants expressed initial concerns about using telehealth; however, most became positive over time. Factors that influenced participants' viewpoint largely included patient and staff feedback and witnessing the fulfillment of a community health need. The use of outside information to support the implementation of the clinics and personal champions also showed considerable influence in the clinics' success. The findings presented here address critical gaps in our understanding of telehealth diffusion and inform research strategies regarding the cultural issues and outcomes related to telemental health services. Information contained in this report serves as a long overdue guide for developing telemental health programs and policies among American Indians, specifically, and rural populations in general.

  19. Addressing the General Education Curriculum in General Education Settings with Students with Severe Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ballard, Sarah L.; Dymond, Stacy K.

    2017-01-01

    This systematic literature review examined research on stakeholders' beliefs about addressing the general education curriculum in general education classrooms with students with severe disabilities (SD). The investigation was limited to studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 1997 and 2015. Ten articles were identified and then…

  20. Stakeholder analysis: a useful tool for biobank planning.

    PubMed

    Bjugn, Roger; Casati, Bettina

    2012-06-01

    Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations that are affected by or can affect a particular action undertaken by others. Biobanks relate to a number of donors, researchers, research institutions, regulatory bodies, funders, and others. These stakeholders can potentially have a strong influence upon the organization and operation of a biobank. A sound strategy for stakeholder engagement is considered essential in project management and organization theory. In this article, we review relevant stakeholder theory and demonstrate how a stakeholder analysis was undertaken in the early stage of a planned research biobank at a public hospital in Norway.

  1. A spatial web/agent-based model to support stakeholders' negotiation regarding land development.

    PubMed

    Pooyandeh, Majeed; Marceau, Danielle J

    2013-11-15

    Decision making in land management can be greatly enhanced if the perspectives of concerned stakeholders are taken into consideration. This often implies negotiation in order to reach an agreement based on the examination of multiple alternatives. This paper describes a spatial web/agent-based modeling system that was developed to support the negotiation process of stakeholders regarding land development in southern Alberta, Canada. This system integrates a fuzzy analytic hierarchy procedure within an agent-based model in an interactive visualization environment provided through a web interface to facilitate the learning and negotiation of the stakeholders. In the pre-negotiation phase, the stakeholders compare their evaluation criteria using linguistic expressions. Due to the uncertainty and fuzzy nature of such comparisons, a fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process is then used to prioritize the criteria. The negotiation starts by a development plan being submitted by a user (stakeholder) through the web interface. An agent called the proposer, which represents the proposer of the plan, receives this plan and starts negotiating with all other agents. The negotiation is conducted in a step-wise manner where the agents change their attitudes by assigning a new set of weights to their criteria. If an agreement is not achieved, a new location for development is proposed by the proposer agent. This process is repeated until a location is found that satisfies all agents to a certain predefined degree. To evaluate the performance of the model, the negotiation was simulated with four agents, one of which being the proposer agent, using two hypothetical development plans. The first plan was selected randomly; the other one was chosen in an area that is of high importance to one of the agents. While the agents managed to achieve an agreement about the location of the land development after three rounds of negotiation in the first scenario, seven rounds were required in the second

  2. Stakeholder views of ethical guidance regarding prevention and care in HIV vaccine trials.

    PubMed

    Moorhouse, Rika; Slack, Catherine; Quayle, Michael; Essack, Zaynab; Lindegger, Graham

    2014-06-30

    South Africa is a major hub of HIV prevention trials, with plans for a licensure trial to start in 2015. The appropriate standards of care and of prevention in HIV vaccine trials are complex and debated issues and ethical guidelines offer some direction. However, there has been limited empirical exploration of South African stakeholders' perspectives on ethical guidance related to prevention and care in HIV vaccine trials. Site staff, Community Advisory Board members and Research Ethics Committee members involved with current HIV vaccine trials in South Africa were invited to participate in an exploration of their views. A questionnaire listed 10 care and 10 prevention recommendations drawn from two widely available sets of ethical guidelines for biomedical HIV prevention trials. Respondents (n = 98) rated each recommendation on five dimensions: "Familiarity with", "Ease of Understanding", "Ease of Implementing", "Perceived Protection", and "Agreement with" each ethical recommendation. The ratings were used to describe stakeholder perspectives on dimensions for each recommendation. Dimension ratings were averaged across the five dimensions and used as an indication of overall merit for each recommendation. Differences were explored across dimensions, between care-oriented and prevention-oriented recommendations, and between stakeholder groups. Both care and prevention recommendations were rated highly overall, with median ratings well above the scale midpoint. In general, informed consent recommendations were most positively rated. Care-related recommendations were rated significantly more positively than prevention-related recommendations, with the five lowest-rated recommendations being prevention-related. The most problematic dimension across all recommendations was "Ease of Implementing," and the least problematic was "Agreement with," suggesting the most pressing stakeholder concerns are practical rather than theoretical; that is, respondents agree with

  3. Addressing implementation challenges during guideline development - a case study of Swedish national guidelines for methods of preventing disease.

    PubMed

    Richter-Sundberg, Linda; Kardakis, Therese; Weinehall, Lars; Garvare, Rickard; Nyström, Monica E

    2015-01-22

    Many of the world's life threatening diseases (e.g. cancer, heart disease, stroke) could be prevented by eliminating life-style habits such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol use. Incorporating evidence-based research on methods to change unhealthy lifestyle habits in clinical practice would be equally valuable. However gaps between guideline development and implementation are well documented, with implications for health care quality, safety and effectiveness. The development phase of guidelines has been shown to be important both for the quality in guideline content and for the success of implementation. There are, however, indications that guidelines related to general disease prevention methods encounter specific barriers compared to guidelines that are diagnosis-specific. In 2011 the Swedish National board for Health and Welfare launched guidelines with a preventive scope. The aim of this study was to investigate how implementation challenges were addressed during the development process of these disease preventive guidelines. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the guideline development management group. Archival data detailing the guideline development process were also collected and used in the analysis. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis as the analytical framework. The study identified several strategies and approaches that were used to address implementation challenges during guideline development. Four themes emerged from the analysis: broad agreements and consensus about scope and purpose; a formalized and structured development procedure; systematic and active involvement of stakeholders; and openness and transparency in the specific guideline development procedure. Additional factors concerning the scope of prevention and the work environment of guideline developers were perceived to influence the possibilities to address implementation issues. This case study

  4. Doing Science that Matters to Address India's Water Crisis.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Srinivasan, V.

    2017-12-01

    Addressing water security in developing regions involves predicting water availability under unprecedented rates of population and economic growth. India is one of the most water stressed countries in the world. Despite appreciable increases in funding for water research, high quality science that is usable by stakeholders remains elusive. The absence of usable research, has been driven by notions of what is publishable in the developed world. This can be attributed to the absence of problem driven research on questions that actually matter to stakeholders, unwillingness to transcend disciplinary boundaries and the demise of a field-work research culture in favour of computer simulation. Yet the combination of rapid change, inadequate data and human modifications to watersheds poses a challenge, as researchers face a poorly constrained water resources modelling problem. Instead, what India and indeed all developing regions need is to approach the problem from first principles, identifying the most critical knowledge gaps, then prioritizing data collection using novel sensing and modelling approaches to address them. This might also necessitate consideration of underlying social and governance drivers of hydrologic change. Using examples from research in the Cauvery Basin, a highly contentious inter-state river basin, I offer some insights into framing "use-inspired" research agenda and show how the research generates not just new scientific insights but may be translated into practice.

  5. A responsive evaluation of mental health treatment in Cambodia: Intentionally addressing poverty to increase cultural responsiveness in therapy.

    PubMed

    Seponski, Desiree M; Lewis, Denise C; Megginson, Maegan C

    2014-01-01

    Mental health issues are significant contributors to the global burden of disease with the highest incidence in resource poor countries; 90% of those in need of mental health treatment reside in low resource countries but receive only 10% of the world's resources. Cambodia, the eighth least developed country in the world, serves as one example of the need to address mental health concerns in low-income, resource poor countries. The current study utilises responsive evaluation methodology to explore how poverty-stricken Cambodian clients, therapists and supervisors experience Western models of therapy as culturally responsive to their unique needs. Quantitative and qualitative data were triangulated across multiple stakeholders using numerous methods including a focus group, interviews, surveys, case illustrations and live supervision observation and analysed using constant comparative analysis. Emerging findings suggest that poverty, material needs, therapy location and financial situations greatly impact the daily lives and mental health conditions of Cambodians and hinder clients' therapeutic progress. The local community needs and context of poverty greatly hinder clients' therapeutic progress in therapy treatment and when therapy does not directly address the culture of poverty, clients did not experience therapy as valuable despite some temporary decreases in mental health symptoms.

  6. Stakeholder Engagement in Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education: An Analysis of Key Internal Stakeholders' Expectations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferrero-Ferrero, Idoya; Fernández-Izquierdo, María Ángeles; Muñoz-Torres, María Jesús; Bellés-Colomer, Lucía

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of stakeholder engagement in the context of sustainability reporting (SR) for higher education institutions (HEIs), together with the materiality principle and stakeholder expectations. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses an exploratory approach based on content…

  7. Using Participatory Learning & Action (PLA) research techniques for inter-stakeholder dialogue in primary healthcare: an analysis of stakeholders' experiences.

    PubMed

    de Brún, T; O'Reilly-de Brún, M; Van Weel-Baumgarten, E; Burns, N; Dowrick, C; Lionis, C; O'Donnell, C; Mair, F S; Papadakaki, M; Saridaki, A; Spiegel, W; Van Weel, C; Van den Muijsenbergh, M; MacFarlane, A

    2017-01-01

    It is important for health care workers to know the needs and expectations of their patients. Therefore, service users have to be involved in research. To achieve a meaningful dialogue between service users, healthcare workers and researchers, participatory methods are needed. This paper describes how the application of a specific participatory methodology, Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) can lead to such a meaningful dialogue. In PLA all stakeholders are regarded as equal partners and collaborators in research.During 2011-2015, a European project called RESTORE used PLA in Austria, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands and the UK to investigate how communication between primary health care workers and their migrant patients could be improved.Seventy eight migrants, interpreters, doctors, nurses and other key stakeholders (see Table 2) participated in 62 PLA sessions. These dialogues (involving discussions, activities, PLA techniques and evaluations) were generally 2-3 h long and were recorded and analysed by the researchers.Participants reported many positive experiences about their dialogues with other stakeholders. There was a positive, trusting atmosphere in which all stakeholders could express their views despite differences in social power. This made for better understanding within and across stakeholder groups. For instance a doctor changed her view on the use of interpreters after a migrant explained why this was important. Negative experiences were rare: some doctors and healthcare workers thought the PLA sessions took a lot of time; and despite the good dialogue, there was disappointment that very few migrants used the new interpreting service. Background In order to be effective, primary healthcare must understand the health needs, values and expectations of the population it serves. Recent research has shown that the involvement of service users and other stakeholders and gathering information on their perspectives can contribute positively to many

  8. Extending stakeholder theory to promote resource management initiatives to key stakeholders: a case study of water transfers in Alberta, Canada.

    PubMed

    Lafreniere, Katherine C; Deshpande, Sameer; Bjornlund, Henning; Hunter, M Gordon

    2013-11-15

    Many attempts to implement resource management initiatives in Canadian and international communities have been resisted by stakeholders despite inclusion of their representatives in the decision-making process. Managers' failure to understand stakeholders' perspectives when proposing initiatives is a potential cause of this resistance. Our study uses marketing thought to enhance stakeholder theory by bringing in an audience-centric perspective. We attempt to understand how stakeholders perceive their interests in an organization and consequently decide how to influence that organization. By doing so, we investigate whether a disconnect exists between the perceptions of managers and those of stakeholders. Natural resource managers can utilize this knowledge to garner stakeholder support for the organization and its activities. We support this claim with findings from a water transfer plebiscite held in the Canadian province of Alberta. Sixteen personal interviews employing narrative inquiry were conducted to document voters' (i.e., irrigators') interpretations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Institutional stakeholder perceptions of barriers to addiction treatment under Mexico's drug policy reform.

    PubMed

    Werb, Dan; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Meza, Emilo; Rangel Gomez, Maria Gudelia; Palinkas, Lawrence; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena; Beletsky, Leo

    2017-05-01

    Mexico has experienced disproportionate drug-related harms given its role as a production and transit zone for illegal drugs destined primarily for the USA. In response, in 2009, the Mexican federal government passed legislation mandating pre-arrest diversion of drug-dependent individuals towards addiction treatment. However, this federal law was not specific about how the scale-up of the addiction treatment sector was to be operationalised. We therefore conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with key 'interactors' in fields affected by the federal legislation, including participants from the law enforcement, public health, addiction treatment, and governmental administration sectors. Among 19 participants from the municipal, state and federal levels were interviewed and multiple barriers to policy reform were identified. First, there is a lack of institutional expertise to implement the reform. Second, the operationalisation of the reform was not accompanied by a coordinated action plan. Third, the law is an unfunded mandate. Institutional barriers are likely hampering the implementation of Mexico's policy reform. Addressing the concerns expressed by interactors through the scale-up of services, the provision of increased training and education programmes for stakeholders and a coordinated action plan to operationalise the policy reform are likely needed to improve the policy reform process.

  10. Influencing organizations to promote health: applying stakeholder theory.

    PubMed

    Kok, Gerjo; Gurabardhi, Zamira; Gottlieb, Nell H; Zijlstra, Fred R H

    2015-04-01

    Stakeholder theory may help health promoters to make changes at the organizational and policy level to promote health. A stakeholder is any individual, group, or organization that can influence an organization. The organization that is the focus for influence attempts is called the focal organization. The more salient a stakeholder is and the more central in the network, the stronger the influence. As stakeholders, health promoters may use communicative, compromise, deinstitutionalization, or coercive methods through an ally or a coalition. A hypothetical case study, involving adolescent use of harmful legal products, illustrates the process of applying stakeholder theory to strategic decision making. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  11. Finding shared decisions in stakeholder networks: An agent-based approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Le Pira, Michela; Inturri, Giuseppe; Ignaccolo, Matteo; Pluchino, Alessandro; Rapisarda, Andrea

    2017-01-01

    We address the problem of a participatory decision-making process where a shared priority list of alternatives has to be obtained while avoiding inconsistent decisions. An agent-based model (ABM) is proposed to mimic this process in different social networks of stakeholders who interact according to an opinion dynamics model. Simulations' results show the efficacy of interaction in finding a transitive and, above all, shared decision. These findings are in agreement with real participation experiences regarding transport planning decisions and can give useful suggestions on how to plan an effective participation process for sustainable policy-making based on opinion consensus.

  12. Adoption of Electronic Personal Health Records in Canada: Perceptions of Stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Gagnon, Marie-Pierre; Payne-Gagnon, Julie; Breton, Erik; Fortin, Jean-Paul; Khoury, Lara; Dolovich, Lisa; Price, David; Wiljer, David; Bartlett, Gillian; Archer, Norman

    2016-04-06

    Healthcare stakeholders have a great interest in the adoption and use of electronic personal health records (ePHRs) because of the potential benefits associated with them. Little is known, however, about the level of adoption of ePHRs in Canada and there is limited evidence concerning their benefits and implications for the healthcare system. This study aimed to describe the current situation of ePHRs in Canada and explore stakeholder perceptions regarding barriers and facilitators to their adoption. Using a qualitative descriptive study design, we conducted semi-structured phone interviews between October 2013 and February 2014 with 35 individuals from seven Canadian provinces. The participants represented six stakeholder groups (patients, ePHR administrators, healthcare professionals, organizations interested in health technology development, government agencies, and researchers). A detailed summary of each interview was created and thematic analysis was conducted. We observed that there was no consensual definition of ePHR in Canada. Factors that could influence ePHR adoption were related to knowledge (confusion with other electronic medical records [EMRs] and lack of awareness), system design (usability and relevance), user capacities and attitudes (patient health literacy, education and interest, support for professionals), environmental factors (government commitment, targeted populations) and legal and ethical issues (information control and custody, confidentiality, privacy and security). ePHRs are slowly entering the Canadian healthcare landscape but provinces do not seem well-prepared for the implementation of this type of record. Guidance is needed on critical issues regarding ePHRs, such as ePHR definition, data ownership, access to information and interoperability with other electronic health records (EHRs). Better guidance on these issues would provide a greater awareness of ePHRs and inform stakeholders including clinicians, decision-makers, patients

  13. Adoption of Electronic Personal Health Records in Canada: Perceptions of Stakeholders

    PubMed Central

    Gagnon, Marie-Pierre; Payne-Gagnon, Julie; Breton, Erik; Fortin, Jean-Paul; Khoury, Lara; Dolovich, Lisa; Price, David; Wiljer, David; Bartlett, Gillian; Archer, Norman

    2016-01-01

    Background: Healthcare stakeholders have a great interest in the adoption and use of electronic personal health records (ePHRs) because of the potential benefits associated with them. Little is known, however, about the level of adoption of ePHRs in Canada and there is limited evidence concerning their benefits and implications for the healthcare system. This study aimed to describe the current situation of ePHRs in Canada and explore stakeholder perceptions regarding barriers and facilitators to their adoption. Methods: Using a qualitative descriptive study design, we conducted semi-structured phone interviews between October 2013 and February 2014 with 35 individuals from seven Canadian provinces. The participants represented six stakeholder groups (patients, ePHR administrators, healthcare professionals, organizations interested in health technology development, government agencies, and researchers). A detailed summary of each interview was created and thematic analysis was conducted. Results: We observed that there was no consensual definition of ePHR in Canada. Factors that could influence ePHR adoption were related to knowledge (confusion with other electronic medical records [EMRs] and lack of awareness), system design (usability and relevance), user capacities and attitudes (patient health literacy, education and interest, support for professionals), environmental factors (government commitment, targeted populations) and legal and ethical issues (information control and custody, confidentiality, privacy and security). Conclusion: ePHRs are slowly entering the Canadian healthcare landscape but provinces do not seem well-prepared for the implementation of this type of record. Guidance is needed on critical issues regarding ePHRs, such as ePHR definition, data ownership, access to information and interoperability with other electronic health records (EHRs). Better guidance on these issues would provide a greater awareness of ePHRs and inform stakeholders

  14. Linking Obesity Prevention and Mental Health Promotion to Address Health Disparities.

    PubMed

    Claydon, Elizabeth; Austin, Anna; Smith, Megan V

    2016-05-01

    Considerable racial health disparities exist, especially in mental health and obesity. However, few approaches exist to address obesity and mental health simultaneously in minority groups. An intervention to address mental health in a low-income, minority group of urban mothers was designed using results from a needs assessment. Participating women were asked to rank their top health concerns and personal goals. Along with mental health concerns and basic needs, the majority of mothers desired assistance with improving their physical well-being. These results are surprising, but lend credence to creating interventions that aim to address both mental health and obesity concerns simultaneously.

  15. Putting a Face on the Issue: Corporate Stakeholder Mobilization in Professional Grassroots Lobbying Campaigns.

    PubMed

    Walker, Edward T

    2012-12-01

    Business scholars pay increasing attention to the expanded influence of stakeholders on firm strategies, legitimacy, and competitiveness. At the same time, analysts have noted that the transformed regulatory and legislative environments of recent decades have encouraged firms to become much more politically active. Surprisingly, relatively little research has tied together these two trends. The present study integrates perspectives on stakeholder management with research on corporate political activity to develop an understanding of the structural sources of stakeholder mobilization in professional grassroots lobbying campaigns. This study employs a unique, original data source to consider how the adoption of grassroots lobbying by a firm relates to its industry, degree of inside lobbying, partisan PAC contributions, and more. This research shows that corporate grassroots lobbying is shaped most significantly by a firm's degree of inside lobbying, as highly active firms take a diversified strategy for gaining influence. Firms in industries with a heavy public presence as well as those concerned with taxation, government appropriations, and economic development also adopt these strategies readily. PAC contributions to Republican, but not Democratic, candidates also heighten firms' propensity to lobby the public.

  16. Putting a Face on the Issue: Corporate Stakeholder Mobilization in Professional Grassroots Lobbying Campaigns

    PubMed Central

    Walker, Edward T.

    2014-01-01

    Business scholars pay increasing attention to the expanded influence of stakeholders on firm strategies, legitimacy, and competitiveness. At the same time, analysts have noted that the transformed regulatory and legislative environments of recent decades have encouraged firms to become much more politically active. Surprisingly, relatively little research has tied together these two trends. The present study integrates perspectives on stakeholder management with research on corporate political activity to develop an understanding of the structural sources of stakeholder mobilization in professional grassroots lobbying campaigns. This study employs a unique, original data source to consider how the adoption of grassroots lobbying by a firm relates to its industry, degree of inside lobbying, partisan PAC contributions, and more. This research shows that corporate grassroots lobbying is shaped most significantly by a firm’s degree of inside lobbying, as highly active firms take a diversified strategy for gaining influence. Firms in industries with a heavy public presence as well as those concerned with taxation, government appropriations, and economic development also adopt these strategies readily. PAC contributions to Republican, but not Democratic, candidates also heighten firms’ propensity to lobby the public. PMID:24707060

  17. An Information System for Brownfield Regeneration: providing customised information according to stakeholders' characteristics and needs.

    PubMed

    Rizzo, Erika; Pizzol, Lisa; Zabeo, Alex; Giubilato, Elisa; Critto, Andrea; Cosmo, Luca; Marcomini, Antonio

    2018-07-01

    In the EU brownfield presence is still considered a widespread problem. Even though, in the last decades, many research projects and initiatives developed a wealth of methods, guidelines, tools and technologies aimed at supporting brownfield regeneration. However, this variety of products had and still has a limited practical impact on brownfield revitalisation success, because they are not used in their entire potential due to their scarce visibility. Also, another problem that stakeholders face is finding customised information. To overcome this non-visibility and not-sufficient customisation of information, the Information System for Brownfield Regeneration (ISBR) has been developed, based on Artificial Neural Networks, which allows understanding stakeholders' information needs by providing tailored information. The ISBR has been tested by stakeholders from the EU project TIMBRE case studies, located in the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Romania. Data gained during tests allowed to understand stakeholders' information needs. Overall, stakeholders showed to be concerned first on remediation aspects, then on benchmarking information, which are valuable to improve practices in the complex field of brownfield regeneration, and then on the relatively new issue of sustainability applied to brownfield regeneration and remediation. Mature markets confirmed their interest for remediation-related aspects, highlighting the central role that risk assessment plays in the process. Emerging markets showed to seek information and tools for strategic and planning issues, like brownfield inventories and georeferenced data sets. Results led to conclude that a new improved platform, combining the ISBR functionalities with geo-referenced ones, would be useful and could represent a further research application. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The ASTUTE Health study protocol: deliberative stakeholder engagements to inform implementation approaches to healthcare disinvestment.

    PubMed

    Watt, Amber M; Hiller, Janet E; Braunack-Mayer, Annette J; Moss, John R; Buchan, Heather; Wale, Janet; Riitano, Dagmara E; Hodgetts, Katherine; Street, Jackie M; Elshaug, Adam G

    2012-10-22

    Governments and other payers are yet to determine optimal processes by which to review the safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of technologies and procedures that are in active use within health systems, and rescind funding (partially or fully) from those that display poor profiles against these parameters. To further progress a disinvestment agenda, a model is required to support payers in implementing disinvestment in a transparent manner that may withstand challenge from vested interests and concerned citizens. Combining approaches from health technology assessment and deliberative democratic theory, this project seeks to determine if and how wide stakeholder engagement can contribute to improved decision-making processes, wherein the views of both vested and non-vested stakeholders are seen to contribute to informing policy implementation within a disinvestment context. Systematic reviews pertaining to illustrative case studies were developed and formed the evidence base for discussion. Review findings were presented at a series of deliberative, evidence-informed stakeholder engagements, including partisan (clinicians and consumers) and non-partisan (representative community members) stakeholders. Participants were actively facilitated towards identifying shared and dissenting perspectives regarding public funding policy for each of the case studies and developing their own funding models in response to the evidence presented. Policy advisors will subsequently be invited to evaluate disinvestment options based on the scientific and colloquial evidence presented to them, and to explore the value of this information to their decision-making processes with reference to disinvestment. Analysis of the varied outputs of the deliberative engagements will contribute to the methodological development around how to best integrate scientific and colloquial evidence for consideration by policy advisors. It may contribute to the legitimization of broad and

  19. Stakeholders in the Institutional Effectiveness Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hom, Willard C.

    2011-01-01

    Policymakers, administrators, and institutional researchers should recognize the critical stakeholders in the area of institutional effectiveness at the community college, their differences in perceptions about institutional effectiveness, and ways to negotiate these differences in perception. This article identifies the different stakeholders in…

  20. Delivering quality of care while managing the interests of all stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Stopper, Andrea; Raddatz, Agnieszka; Grassmann, Aileen; Stuard, Stefano; Menzer, Marcus; Possnien, Gernot; Scatizzi, Laura; Marcelli, Daniele

    2011-01-01

    National healthcare systems worldwide face growing challenges to reconcile interests of patients for high-quality medical care and of payers for sustainable and affordable funding. Advances in the provision of renal replacement therapy can only be made by developing and implementing appropriate sophisticated and state-of-the-art business models that include reimbursement schemes for comprehensive care packages. Such business models must succeed in integrating and reconciling the interests of all stakeholders. NephroCare as dialysis provider has adopted and tailored recognized management techniques, i.e. Balanced Scorecard and Kaizen, to achieve these goals. Success of the complete business model package is tangible - strategies initiated to improve treatment quality even at the cost of providers have been translated into win-win scenarios for the complete stakeholder community. Room for improvement exists: the possibility to extend the portfolio of service offerings within the comprehensive care frame, as well as the challenge for achieving a balance between the stability of targets while keeping these up to date concerning new insights. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  1. The views of stakeholders on controlled access schemes for high-cost antirheumatic biological medicines in Australia

    PubMed Central

    Lu, Christine Y; Ritchie, Jan; Williams, Ken; Day, Ric

    2007-01-01

    Background In Australia, government-subsidised access to high-cost medicines is "targeted" to particular sub-sets of patients under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to achieve cost-effective use. In order to determine how this access system could be improved, the opinions of key stakeholders on access to biological agents for rheumatoid arthritis were explored. Methods Thirty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with persons from relevant stakeholder groups. These were transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically. Results Controlled access to expensive medicines was considered to be equitable and practical; however, there was disagreement as to the method of defining the target patient populations. Other concerns included timeliness of access, excessive bureaucracy, and the need for additional resources to facilitate the scheme. Collaboration between stakeholders was deemed important because it allows more equitable distribution of limited resources. The majority considered that stakeholder consultation should have been broader. Most wanted increased transparency of the decision-making process, ongoing and timely review of access criteria, and an increased provision of information for patients. More structured communication between stakeholders was proposed. Conclusion The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme is adapting to meet the changing needs of patients. Provision of subsidised access to high-cost medicines in a manner that is affordable for individuals and society, and that is equitable and efficiently managed is challenging. The views of stakeholders on targeted access to anti-rheumatic biological medicines in Australia acknowledged this challenge and provided a number of suggestions for modifications. These could serve as a basis to inform the debate on how to change the processes and policies so as to improve the scheme. PMID:18096055

  2. Multicriteria mapping of stakeholder preferences in regulating nanotechnology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hansen, Steffen Foss

    2010-08-01

    In order to facilitate stakeholder discussions on how to regulate nanotechnology, the opensource program multicriteria mapping (MCM) was used to structure 26 interviews with stakeholders in the USA. MCM offers a systematic part quantitative, part qualitative approach to clarify why some regulatory options (bans, moratoriums, voluntary measures, etc.) were deemed to be acceptable/unacceptable by various stakeholders and which criteria stakeholders used to evaluate the different regulatory options. Adopting an incremental approach and implementing a new regulatory framework was evaluated as the best options whereas a complete ban and no additional regulation of nanotechnology were found to be the least favorable. Criteria applied differed substantially among stakeholders and included social, ethical, regulatory, environmental, and health issues. Opinions on future regulation seem far less polarized than expected and it seems that stakeholders would welcome a combination of voluntary measures, an incremental approach and forming of a new regulatory framework.

  3. Engaging stakeholders for adaptive management using structured decision analysis

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Irwin, Elise R.; Kathryn, D.; Kennedy, Mickett

    2009-01-01

    Adaptive management is different from other types of management in that it includes all stakeholders (versus only policy makers) in the process, uses resource optimization techniques to evaluate competing objectives, and recognizes and attempts to reduce uncertainty inherent in natural resource systems. Management actions are negotiated by stakeholders, monitored results are compared to predictions of how the system should respond, and management strategies are adjusted in a “monitor-compare-adjust” iterative routine. Many adaptive management projects fail because of the lack of stakeholder identification, engagement, and continued involvement. Primary reasons for this vary but are usually related to either stakeholders not having ownership (or representation) in decision processes or disenfranchisement of stakeholders after adaptive management begins. We present an example in which stakeholders participated fully in adaptive management of a southeastern regulated river. Structured decision analysis was used to define management objectives and stakeholder values and to determine initial flow prescriptions. The process was transparent, and the visual nature of the modeling software allowed stakeholders to see how their interests and values were represented in the decision process. The development of a stakeholder governance structure and communication mechanism has been critical to the success of the project.

  4. Recruiting and integrating stakeholders and sustaining participation in environmental management: A conceptual framework and case study from the Great Lakes Area of Concern

    EPA Science Inventory

    Stakeholder participation is now widely viewed as an essential component of environmental management projects. Although scholarship has identified and conceptualized numerous elements and components of high-quality participation, we argue that the processes of recruiting stakehol...

  5. Stakeholders in nursing education: their role and involvement.

    PubMed

    Virgolesi, M; Marchetti, A; Piredda, M; Pulimeno, A M L; Rocco, G; Stievano, A; De Marinis, M G

    2014-01-01

    In literature, there is evidence that all stakeholders need to be involved in the curricula building process to make sure that health professionals are "educated" to meet the stakeholders' "demands". In Italy, the involvement of stakeholders in the definition of university curricula is ratified by various regulations. To describe the major experiences of stakeholder involvement in nursing education, identify the main stakeholders for nursing education, and the processes in which they are involved. The search strategy included an electronic exploration of the relevant databases. The search terms were: Stakeholders, Curriculum, Nursing Education combined with Boolean operators. The references of the retrieved articles were hand searched for additional related studies. Most of the studies identified were from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the USA. In Italy, no relevant studies were found. The most frequently identified stakeholders were: students, clinicians, educators, nurse managers. They were mainly involved during profound changes in the curricula and the implementation of new educational approaches. Stakeholders are mostly involved in countries with a private funding system for universities. Such funding systems have probably developed in the academia a greater propensity to involve stakeholders, to provide recognition of success when starting new programs, and are perceived more as marketing research. This seems contrary to the spirit of the Italian and European regulatory interventions, which instead, provide a structured commitment to consolidating and expanding the collaboration among universities, users, and the world of labor. This latter collaboration should facilitate internship activities, lifelong learning, and employability of the newly-graduated professionals.

  6. Identifying stakeholder-relevant climate change impacts: a case study in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jenni, K.; Graves, D.; Hardiman, Jill M.; Hatten, James R.; Mastin, Mark C.; Mesa, Matthew G.; Montag, J.; Nieman, Timothy; Voss, Frank D.; Maule, Alec G.

    2014-01-01

    Designing climate-related research so that study results will be useful to natural resource managers is a unique challenge. While decision makers increasingly recognize the need to consider climate change in their resource management plans, and climate scientists recognize the importance of providing locally-relevant climate data and projections, there often remains a gap between management needs and the information that is available or is being collected. We used decision analysis concepts to bring decision-maker and stakeholder perspectives into the applied research planning process. In 2009 we initiated a series of studies on the impacts of climate change in the Yakima River Basin (YRB) with a four-day stakeholder workshop, bringing together managers, stakeholders, and scientists to develop an integrated conceptual model of climate change and climate change impacts in the YRB. The conceptual model development highlighted areas of uncertainty that limit the understanding of the potential impacts of climate change and decision alternatives by those who will be most directly affected by those changes, and pointed to areas where additional study and engagement of stakeholders would be beneficial. The workshop and resulting conceptual model highlighted the importance of numerous different outcomes to stakeholders in the basin, including social and economic outcomes that go beyond the physical and biological outcomes typically reported in climate impacts studies. Subsequent studies addressed several of those areas of uncertainty, including changes in water temperatures, habitat quality, and bioenergetics of salmonid populations.

  7. 40 CFR 155.52 - Stakeholder engagement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Stakeholder engagement. 155.52 Section... REGISTRATION STANDARDS AND REGISTRATION REVIEW Registration Review Procedures § 155.52 Stakeholder engagement... more individuals that are not government employees to discuss matters relating to a registration review...

  8. 40 CFR 155.52 - Stakeholder engagement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Stakeholder engagement. 155.52 Section... REGISTRATION STANDARDS AND REGISTRATION REVIEW Registration Review Procedures § 155.52 Stakeholder engagement... more individuals that are not government employees to discuss matters relating to a registration review...

  9. Talent development: linking the stakeholders to the process.

    PubMed

    Pankhurst, Anne; Collins, Dave; Macnamara, Áine

    2013-01-01

    The three stakeholders (coaches, parents and the National Governing Body) in Talent Identification and Development (TID) are important factors in athlete development. How each of them perceive the key constructs of Talent Identification and Development (i.e. sport specialisation and selection, practice, athlete development, junior and adult success, and the role of the stakeholders), and the coherence of that understanding is not well understood. This study focuses on junior performance tennis and investigates the perceptions of coaches, parents and sports organisations (a National Governing Body) of the five key constructs of Talent Identification and Development. We were interested in examining (a) the extent to which stakeholder perceptions relate to research, (b) the coherence of each stakeholder's perceptions and (c) the extent to which there is coherence between what stakeholders understand each other thinks. Seventy-five coaches, parents, and National Governing Body staff completed a questionnaire that asked participants to rate their degree of agreement/disagreement with researched 'principles' of Talent Identification and Development. The results suggest that stakeholders do not strongly agree with the research supporting principles of Talent Identification and Development. Furthermore, a significant lack of coherence of stakeholder perceptions was evident. This lack of coherence was also evident in each group's understanding of what the other stakeholders believed. The impact of these results on the Talent Identification and Development process is discussed.

  10. Stakeholders' perceptions of ways to support decisions about health insurance marketplace enrollment: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Housten, A J; Furtado, K; Kaphingst, K A; Kebodeaux, C; McBride, T; Cusanno, B; Politi, M C

    2016-11-08

    Approximately 29 million individuals are expected to enroll in health insurance using the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace by 2022. Those seeking health insurance struggle to understand insurance options and choose a plan that best suits their needs. We interviewed stakeholders to identify the challenges associated with the ACA Marketplace health insurance enrollment and elicited feedback about what to include in health insurance decision support tools. Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified using inductive thematic analysis. Stakeholders stated that consumers felt frustrated by unclear terminology, high plan costs, and complex calculations required to assess costs. Consumers felt anxious about making the wrong choice and being unable to change plans within a calendar year. Stakeholders recommended using plain language tables defining complex terms, grouping information, and using engaging graphics to communicate information about health insurance. Stakeholders thought that narratives of how others made decisions about insurance might be helpful to consumers, but recommended that they be tailored to the needs of specific consumers. Strategies that clarify health insurance terms using plain language and graphics, acknowledge concern associated with making the wrong choice, calculate and enable cost comparison, and tailor information to consumers' unique needs could benefit those enrolling in ACA Marketplace plans, Narratives developed should be simple and inclusive enough for diverse populations.

  11. Case study: development of and stakeholder responses to a nursing home consumer information system.

    PubMed

    O'Meara, Janis; Kitchener, Martin; Collier, Eric; Lyons, Margaret; de Billwiller-Kiss, Ana; Simon, Lisa Payne; Harrington, Charlene

    2005-01-01

    California Nursing Home Search (www.calnhs.org), launched in October 2002, provides information about nursing home quality to a broad range of stakeholders. This case study discusses the process of developing a consumer-oriented nursing home Web site and presents an analysis of postlaunch responses from a number of sources (i.e., media, outreach, Web site use, correspondence, meetings, interviews) to determine the impact of the site and how it can be improved and used as an example. Consumers found the Web site valuable, but some needed clarification on navigation. Providers had complaints about the use of quality ratings and concerns about public availability of the data. Most discharge planners and care managers do not use Internet resources to find facilities. Feedback, modifications, updates, and outreach are needed on a continuous basis to ensure the site is a helpful tool for all stakeholders.

  12. A Qualitative Stakeholder Analysis of Avian Influenza Policy in Bangladesh.

    PubMed

    Chattopadhyay, Kaushik; Fournié, Guillaume; Abul Kalam, Md; Biswas, Paritosh K; Hoque, Ahasanul; Debnath, Nitish C; Rahman, Mahmudur; Pfeiffer, Dirk U; Harper, David; Heymann, David L

    2017-11-13

    Avian influenza is a major animal and public health concern in Bangladesh. A decade after development and implementation of the first national avian influenza and human pandemic influenza preparedness and response plan in Bangladesh, a two-stage qualitative stakeholder analysis was performed in relation to the policy development process and the actual policy. This study specifically aimed to identify the future policy options to prevent and control avian influenza and other poultry-related zoonotic diseases in Bangladesh. It was recommended that the policy should be based on the One Health concept, be evidence-based, sustainable, reviewed and updated as necessary. The future policy environment that is suitable for developing and implementing these policies should take into account the following points: the need to formally engage multiple sectors, the need for clear and acceptable leadership, roles and responsibilities and the need for a common pool of resources and provision for transferring resources. Most of these recommendations are directed towards the Government of Bangladesh. However, other sectors, including research and poultry production stakeholders, also have a major role to play to inform policy making and actively participate in the multi-sectoral approach.

  13. Medicine shortages in Fiji: A qualitative exploration of stakeholders' views.

    PubMed

    Walker, Josephine; Chaar, Betty B; Vera, Numa; Pillai, Alvish S; Lim, Jessy S; Bero, Lisa; Moles, Rebekah J

    2017-01-01

    Medicine access is a human right; yet, concerningly, there are international instances of shortages. Quantitative data has allowed WHO to propose global solutions; however, individualised understanding of specific regions is still required to work towards national solutions. Fiji has an established issue with medication supply and the aim of this study was to use qualitative methods to gain a fuller understanding of this context. Semi-structured interviews were used to gain the perspective of key stakeholders involved in the Fijian medicine supply chain in regards to causes, impacts and possible solutions of medicine shortages. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. In total, 48 stakeholders participated and the information was synthesised into three main themes, causes, impacts and solutions and the sub-themes including; political, system and patient causes, adverse health effects on patients, professional dissatisfaction, monetary loss and loss of faith in the health system, workarounds, operation improvements, government intervention and education and training. The situation in Fiji is not dissimilar to other instances of shortages around the world and hence international solutions like that proposed by WHO are feasible; however, they must be modified to be uniquely Fijian to work in this context.

  14. Stakeholder identification of advanced technology opportunities at international ports of entry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Parker, S.K.; Icerman, L.

    As part of the Advanced Technologies for International and Intermodal Ports of Entry (ATIPE) Project, a diverse group of stakeholders was engaged to help identify problems experienced at inland international border crossings, particularly those at the US-Mexican border. The fundamental issue at international ports of entry is reducing transit time through the required documentation and inspection processes. Examples of other issues or problems, typically manifested as time delays at border crossings, repeatedly mentioned by stakeholders include: (1) lack of document standardization; (2) failure to standardize inspection processes; (3) inadequate information and communications systems; (4) manual fee and tariff collection; (5)more » inconsistency of processes and procedures; and (6) suboptimal cooperation among governmental agencies. Most of these issues can be addressed to some extent by the development of advanced technologies with the objective of allowing ports of entry to become more efficient while being more effective. Three categories of technologies were unambiguously of high priority to port of entry stakeholders: (1) automated documentation; (2) systems integration; and (3) vehicle and cargo tracking. Together, these technologies represent many of the technical components necessary for pre-clearance of freight approaching international ports of entry. Integration of vehicle and cargo tracking systems with port of entry information and communications systems, as well as existing industry legacy systems, should further enable border crossings to be accomplished consistently with optimal processing times.« less

  15. Stakeholder priorities for comparative effectiveness research in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a workshop report.

    PubMed

    Krishnan, Jerry A; Lindenauer, Peter K; Au, David H; Carson, Shannon S; Lee, Todd A; McBurnie, Mary Ann; Naureckas, Edward T; Vollmer, William M; Mularski, Richard A

    2013-02-01

    Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is intended to address the expressed needs of patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders. Representatives of 54 stakeholder groups with an interest in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) participated in workshops convened by the COPD Outcomes-based Network for Clinical Effectiveness and Research Translation (CONCERT) over a 2-year period. Year 1 focused on chronic care and care coordination. Year 2 focused on acute care and transitions in care between healthcare settings. Discussions and provisional voting were conducted via teleconferences and e-mail exchanges before the workshop. Final prioritization votes occurred after in-person discussions at the workshop. We used a modified Delphi approach to facilitate discussions and consensus building. To more easily quantify preferences and to evaluate the internal consistency of rankings, the Analytic Hierarchy Process was incorporated in Year 2. Results of preworkshop and final workshop voting often differed, suggesting that prioritization efforts relying solely on requests for topics from stakeholder groups without in-person discussion may provide different research priorities. Research priorities varied across stakeholder groups, but generally focused on studies to evaluate different approaches to healthcare delivery (e.g., spirometry for diagnosis and treatment, integrated healthcare strategies during transitions in care) rather than head-to-head comparisons of medications. This research agenda may help to inform groups intending to respond to CER funding opportunities in COPD. The methodologies used, detailed in the online supplement, may also help to inform prioritization efforts for CER in other health conditions.

  16. A challenge for land and risk managers: differents stakeholders, differents definitions of the risks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fernandez, M.; Ruegg, J.

    2012-04-01

    In developing countries, mountain populations and territories are subject to multiple risks and vulnerabilities. In addition, they face even greater challenges than developed countries due to lack of knowledge, resources and technology. There are many different types of actors in society that manage risk at various scales and levels (i.e. engineers, geologists, administrators, land use planners, merchants and local indigenous and non-indigenous people). Because of limited resources and possibilities to reduce all types of risk, these different actors, or 'risk managers' have to choose and compete to prioritize which types of risks to address. This paper addresses a case study from San Cristobal Altaverapaz, Guatemala where a large landslide "Los Chorros", a catastrophic collapse of 6 millions cubic meters of rock, is affecting several communities and one of the country's main west-east access highways. In this case, the government established that the "primary" risk is the landslide, whereas other local stakeholders consider the primary risks to be economic This paper, situated at the cross section between political science, geography and disaster risk management, addresses the social conflict and competition for priorities and solutions for risk management, depending on the group of actors based on the on-going Los Chorros, Guatemala landslide mitigation process. This work is based on the analysis of practices, (Practical Science), policies and institutions in order to understand how the inclusion of multiple stakeholders in determining risk priorities can lead to more sustainable risk management in a given territory. The main objective of this investigation is first to identify and understand the juxtaposition of different readings of the risk equation, usually considered the interface between vulnerability, exposure and hazards. Secondly, it is to analyze the mechanisms of actions taken by various stakeholders, or risk managers. The analysis focuses on the

  17. Reflections on Ways Forward for Addressing Ethical Concerns in Mobile Learning Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wishart, Jocelyn

    2016-01-01

    This paper reflects on a decade of discussions about the range of ethical issues arising in mobile learning research. Research into the educational potential of mobile, handheld technologies to enhance teaching and learning has been regularly frustrated by lecturers' and teachers' concerns about how their students might use such devices. At other…

  18. Stakeholder participation within the public environmental system in Chile: major gaps between theory and practice.

    PubMed

    Lostarnau, Carla; Oyarzún, Jorge; Maturana, Hugo; Soto, Guido; Señoret, Michelle; Soto, Manuel; Rötting, Tobias S; Amezaga, Jaime M; Oyarzún, Ricardo

    2011-10-01

    The main objective of this paper is to present a critical analysis of the stakeholder participation process within the Environmental Impact Assessment System in Chile, after ca. 14 years of being enforced. This analysis is sustained by the description and analysis of the stakeholder participation possibilities in a representative rural area of North-Central Chile. The Environmental Basis Act 19300, enacted in 1994, considers the participation of the local community in the environmental impact assessment of new projects. However, this possibility is very limited and difficult to exert, often resulting in frustration for the participants. This is due to a number of reasons, such as the imbalance of resources and knowledge among the majority of participating communities and project proponents, the complexity and administrative and legal constraints to participation, and the dominant interest of the Central Government in approving investments, specifically in energy and natural resources related projects, which generate wealth and jobs. Also, the State's rush to develop Internet-based communication and management systems has built a barrier for poor, traditional communities. This factor is clearly reflected in the case study considered. Results show that there is generally a significant lack of knowledge about institutions and participation tools. From this base, we intend to raise concern on these selected aspects that could be addressed to improve the effectiveness of the existing framework, both in Chile and in other developing countries, where immature environmental impact assessment and public management systems face similar pressures in relation to the sustainable use of their natural resources. Finally, some basic steps are proposed in order to make the community participation an effective tool for sustainable development. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Hispanic Women's Expectations of Campus-Based Health Clinics Addressing Sexual Health Concerns

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stephens, Dionne P.; Thomas, Tami L.

    2011-01-01

    Although the number of Hispanic women attending postsecondary institutions has significantly increased in the past decade, knowledge about their use of campus health services to address sexuality-related issues remains low. Increased information about this population is crucial given that sexual health indicators have shown Hispanic women in…

  20. Designing a cultural competency curriculum: asking the stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Kamaka, Martina L

    2010-06-01

    The design of a cultural competency curriculum can be challenging. The 2002 Institute of Medicine report, Unequal Treatment, challenged medical schools to integrate cross-cultural education into the training of all current and future health professionals. However, there is no current consensus on how to do this. The Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine formed a Cultural Competency Curriculum Development team that was charged with developing a curriculum for the medical school to address Native Hawaiian health disparities. By addressing cultural competency training of physicians, the team is hoping to help decrease the health disparities found in Native Hawaiians. Prior attempts to address culture at the time consisted of conferences sponsored by the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence for faculty and clinicians and Problem Based Learning cases that have imbedded cultural issues. Gather ideas from focus groups of Native Hawaiian stake- holders. The stakeholders consisted of Native Hawaiian medical students, patients and physicians. Information from the focus groups would be incorporated into a medical school curriculum addressing Native Hawaiian health and cultural competency training. Focus groups were held with Native Hawaiian medical students, patients and physicians in the summer and fall of 2006. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained from the University of Hawaii as well as the Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems. Qualitative analysis of tape recorded data was performed by looking for recurrent themes. Primary themes and secondary themes were ascertained based on the number of participants mentioning the topic. Amongst all three groups, cultural sensitivity training was either a primary theme or secondary theme. Primary themes were mentioned by all students, by 80% of the physicians and were mentioned in all 4 patient groups. Secondary themes were mentioned by 75% of students, 50% of the physicians and by 75

  1. International STakeholder NETwork (ISTNET): Creating a ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    A major problem in developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) risk assessment is the lack of toxicological hazard information for most compounds. Therefore, new approaches are being considered to provide adequate experimental data that allow regulatory decisions. This process requires a matching of regulatory needs on the one hand and the opportunities provided by new test sys-tems and methods on the other hand. Alignment of academically and industrially-driven assay development with regulatory needs in the field of DNT is a core mission of the International STakeholder NETwork (ISNET) in DNT testing. The first meeting of ISTNET was held in Zur-ich on 23-24 January 2014 in order to explore the concept of adverse outcome pathway (AOP) to practical DNT testing. AOPs were considered promising tools to promote test systems develop-ment according to regulatory needs. Moreover, the AOP concept was identified as an important guiding principle to assemble predictive integrated testing strategies (ITSs) for DNT. The recommendations on a roadmap towards AOP-based DNT testing is considered a stepwise approach, operating initially with incomplete AOPs for compound grouping, and focussing on key events of neurodevelopment. Next steps to be considered in follow-up activities are the use of case studies to further apply the AOP concept in regulatory DNT testing, making use of AOP intersections (common key events) for economic development of screening assays, and address-ing the transit

  2. Effects of stakeholder involvement in river management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buchecker, M.; Menzel, S.

    2012-04-01

    In the last decades, in many parts of Europe involving local stakeholders or the local public in river management has become a standard procedure. For many decision makers, the purpose of involving other interest groups is limited to achieving a sufficient local acceptance of the project, and accordingly they adopt minimal forms of involvement. Theoretical literature and first empirical studies, however, suggest that stakeholder involvement can have, if done in appropriate quality, have much more far-reaching benefits for a sustainable river management such as a better consensus, social learning and social capital building. But there is so far only little reliable evidence that and under which conditions such benefits or effects in fact result from stakeholder involvement processes. The reason for this is that such involvement processes represent very complex social interventions, and all"affordable"effect measurement methods have their weaknesses. In our project we wanted to find out which were the really robust social effects of stakeholder involvement in river management. We therefore evaluated a number of real Swiss case studies of participatory river management using three different approaches of effect measurements: a quasi-experimental approach using repeated standardized measurement of stakeholders' attitudes, a qualitative long-term ex-post measurement approach based on interviews with stakeholders of five participatory river projects, and a comparative analysis approach based on data of residents effect assessments of participatory river planning gathered in a Swiss national survey. The analysis of all three evaluation studies confirmed that stakeholder involvement in river management projects have substantive social effects. The comparison of the results of the three measurement approaches revealed that social learning and acceptance building were the most robust effects of stakeholder involvement, as they were confirmed by all the three measurement

  3. A Study of Crisis Management Based on Stakeholders Analysis Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qingchun, Yue

    2017-11-01

    From the view of stakeholder theory, not only the enterprises should provide services to shareholders, but also take care of the demands of stakeholders. Stakeholders for the enterprise crisis are the organizations and individuals, which cause crisis, respond to the crisis and affected by the enterprise crisis. In this paper, first of all, to comb the development of stakeholder theory systematically; secondly, with the help of the enterprise crisis stakeholder analysis model, analyze the concept of stakeholders for the enterprise crisis and membership, and with the example of Shuanghui Group for further analysis; finally, we put forward relevant proposals for the enterprise crisis from the view of stakeholders.

  4. Systematic reviews addressing identified health policy priorities in Eastern Mediterranean countries: a situational analysis.

    PubMed

    El-Jardali, Fadi; Akl, Elie A; Karroum, Lama Bou; Kdouh, Ola; Akik, Chaza; Fadlallah, Racha; Hammoud, Rawan

    2014-08-20

    Systematic reviews can offer policymakers and stakeholders concise, transparent, and relevant evidence pertaining to pressing policy priorities to help inform the decision-making process. The production and the use of systematic reviews are specifically limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities in the region is still unknown. This situational analysis exercise aims at assessing the extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities identified by policymakers and stakeholders in Eastern Mediterranean region countries. It also provides an overview about the state of systematic review production in the region and identifies knowledge gaps. We conducted a systematic search of the Health System Evidence database to identify published systematic reviews on policy-relevant priorities pertaining to the following themes: human resources for health, health financing, the role of the non-state sector, and access to medicine. Priorities were identified from two priority-setting exercises conducted in the region. We described the distribution of these systematic reviews across themes, sub-themes, authors' affiliations, and countries where included primary studies were conducted. Out of the 1,045 systematic reviews identified in Health System Evidence on selected themes, a total of 200 systematic reviews (19.1%) addressed the priorities from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The theme with the largest number of systematic reviews included was human resources for health (115) followed by health financing (33), access to medicine (27), and role of the non-state sector (25). Authors based in the region produced only three systematic reviews addressing regional priorities (1.5%). Furthermore, no systematic review focused on the Eastern Mediterranean region. Primary studies from the region had limited contribution to systematic reviews; 17 systematic reviews (8.5%) included primary

  5. Qualitative investigation into a wearable system for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the stakeholders' perspective

    PubMed Central

    Kayyali, Reem; Savickas, Vilius; Spruit, Martijn A; Kaimakamis, Evangelos; Siva, Roshan; Costello, Richard W; Chang, John; Pierscionek, Barbara; Davies, Nikki; Vaes, Anouk W; Paradiso, Rita; Philip, Nada; Perantoni, Eleni; D'Arcy, Shona; Raptopoulos, Andreas; Nabhani-Gebara, Shereen

    2016-01-01

    Objectives To ascertain the stakeholders' views and devise recommendations for further stages of the Wearable Sensing and Smart Cloud Computing for Integrated Care to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Patients with Co-morbidities (WELCOME) system development. This system aims to create a wearable vest to monitor physiological signals for patients concerned incorporating an inhaler adherence monitoring, weight, temperature, blood pressure and glucose metres, and a mobile health application for communication with healthcare professionals (HCPs). Design A study of qualitative data derived from focus groups and semistructured interviews. Setting 4 participating clinical sites in Greece, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. Participants Purposive sampling was used to recruit 32 patients with COPD with heart failure, diabetes, anxiety or depression, 27 informal carers and 23 HCPs from 4 European Union (EU) countries for focus groups and interviews. Results Most patients and HCPs described the WELCOME system as ‘brilliant and creative’ and felt it gave a sense of safety. Both users and HCPs agreed that the duration and frequency of vest wear should be individualised as should the mobile application functions. The parameters and frequency of monitoring should be personalised using a multidisciplinary approach. A ‘traffic light’ alert system was proposed by HCPs for abnormal results. Patients were happy to take actions in response. Conclusions WELCOME stakeholders provided valuable views on the development of the system, which should take into account patient's individual comorbidities, circumstances and concerns. This will enable the development of the individualised system in each member state concerned. PMID:27580831

  6. Workplace health promotion and stakeholder positions: a Finnish case study.

    PubMed

    Auvinen, Ari-Matti; Kohtamäki, Kari; Ilvesmäki Msc, Antti

    2012-01-01

    Modern workplace health promotion (WHP) requires collaboration, partnerships, and alliances with both internal and external stakeholders. However, the identification of the key stakeholders as well as the systematic mapping of their views has barely been covered in the existing research literature. This article describes the stakeholders and stakeholder positions in WHP in Finland. In this study, the stakeholders were classified as internal, interface, and external stakeholders. Furthermore, based on the authors' research, stakeholders and their positions were represented on a stakeholder map as well as by the power-interest matrix of the stakeholders. The governmental authorities play a key role in driving the strategic change toward WHP by preparing the required legislation and regulatory measures. However, both active employers and active employees can through their own work accelerate the development of new WHP services. Close collaboration between employers and employees is required at the individual workplaces. Some stakeholders, such as pension funds and occupational health services (OHS) providers, can act as important driving forces and support the strategic implementation of WHP in the workplaces. However, alone they have only limited opportunities to organize the WHP activities. Understanding the various stakeholders and the systematic mapping of their positions is essential for the successful planning and implementation of WHP activities.

  7. Factors influencing stakeholders attitudes toward genetically modified aedes mosquito.

    PubMed

    Amin, Latifah; Hashim, Hasrizul

    2015-06-01

    Dengue fever is a debilitating and infectious disease that could be life-threatening. It is caused by the dengue virus which affects millions of people in the tropical area. Currently, there is no cure for the disease as there is no vaccine available. Thus, prevention of the vector population using conventional methods is by far the main strategy but has been found ineffective. A genetically modified (GM) mosquito is among the favoured alternatives to curb dengue fever in Malaysia. Past studies have shown that development and diffusion of gene technology products depends heavily upon public acceptance. The purpose of this study is to identify the relevant factors influencing stakeholders' attitudes toward the GM Aedes mosquito and to analyse the relationships between all the factors using the structural equation model. A survey was carried out on 509 respondents from various stakeholder groups in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia. Results of the survey have confirmed that public perception towards complex issues such as gene technology should be seen as a multi-faceted process. The perceived benefit-perceived risk balance is very important in determining the most predominant predictor of attitudes toward a GM mosquito. In this study the stakeholders perceived the benefit of the GM mosquito as outweighing its risk, translating perceived benefit as the most important direct predictor of attitudes toward the GM mosquito. Trust in key players has a direct influence on attitudes toward the GM mosquito while moral concern exhibited an indirect influence through perceived benefits. Other factors such as attitudes toward technology and nature were also indirect predictors of attitudes toward the GM mosquito while religiosity and engagement did not exhibited any significant roles. The research findings serve as a useful database to understand public acceptance and the social construct of public attitudes towards the GM mosquito to combat dengue.

  8. The Stakeholder Model of voice research: Acknowledging barriers to human rights of all stakeholders in a communicative exchange.

    PubMed

    Madill, Catherine; Warhurst, Samantha; McCabe, Patricia

    2018-02-01

    The act of communication is a complex, transient and often abstract phenomenon that involves many stakeholders, each of whom has their own perspective: the speaker, the listener, the observer and the researcher. Current research practices in voice disorder are frequently framed through a single lens - that of the researcher/clinician or their participant/patient. This single lens approach risks overlooking significant barriers to the basic human right of freedom of expression for those with a voice disorder as it omits consideration of the impact of voice disorder on the listener, and consideration of the wider impact of the voice in the occupational context. Recent research in the area of voice has developed a multiple lens and subsequent Stakeholder Model that acknowledges the experience and reality of multiple stakeholders viewing the same phenomenon, the voice. This research paradigm is built on Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as it considers the realities of all stakeholders in forming a deeper understanding of the causality, impact and aspects of communication disorder. The Stakeholder Model will be presented as a suggestion for future investigations of communication disorders more widely.

  9. African stakeholders' views of research options to improve nutritional status in sub-Saharan Africa.

    PubMed

    Holdsworth, Michelle; Kruger, Annamarie; Nago, Eunice; Lachat, Carl; Mamiro, Peter; Smit, Karlien; Garimoi-Orach, Chris; Kameli, Yves; Roberfroid, Dominique; Kolsteren, Patrick

    2015-09-01

    Setting research priorities for improving nutrition in Africa is currently ad hoc and there is a need to shift the status quo in the light of slow progress in reducing malnutrition. This study explored African stakeholders' views on research priorities in the context of environmental and socio-demographic changes that will impact on nutritional status in Africa in the coming years. Using Multi-Criteria Mapping, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from 91 stakeholders representing 6 stakeholder groups (health professionals, food Industry, government, civil society, academics and research funders) in Benin, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. Stakeholders appraised six research options (ecological nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, community nutrition interventions, behavioural nutrition, clinical nutrition and molecular nutrition) for how well they could address malnutrition in Africa. Impact (28.3%), research efficacy (23.6%) and social acceptability (22.4%) were the criteria chosen the most to evaluate the performance of research options. Research on the effectiveness of community interventions was seen as a priority by stakeholders because they were perceived as likely to have an impact relatively quickly, were inexpensive and cost-effective, involved communities and provided direct evidence of what works. Behavioural nutrition research was also highly appraised. Many stakeholders, particularly academics and government were optimistic about the value of ecological nutrition research (the impact of environmental change on nutritional status). Research funders did not share this enthusiasm. Molecular nutrition was least preferred, considered expensive, slow to have an impact and requiring infrastructure. South Africa ranked clinical and molecular nutrition the highest of all countries. Research funders should redirect research funds in Africa towards the priorities identified by giving precedence to develop the evidence for effective

  10. Stakeholder Alignment for Requirements in GEOValue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J.; King, J. L.

    2016-12-01

    Observation systems that collect information on environmental parameters relevant to biological and physical earth resources provide value. This has been demonstrated so many times in so many ways that it is not worth deliberating. Earlier projects for research (whether it is possible to do this or that), or for "dual use," typically involving defense, have been successful. Wealthy parties have built their own systems. Less wealthy parties seek to sustain the systems they have built. The history of systems suggests that "requirements" will be the next step. The objective is to maximize the "return" on the substantial investment required for construction, deployment, maintenance and renewal of observation systems. Stakeholders and their interests are assessed to construct the requirements from which specifications are built. Specifications drive procurement, and procurement produces built systems. Complicated (e.g. space-based) systems have long times between requirements analysis and deployment. It all depends on getting the requirements right, which depends on understanding stakeholders and requirements. And this is where things get complicated. Stakeholders and interests change, sometimes rapidly, as what is possible is altered. It becomes increasingly difficult to achieve stakeholder alignment required for effective management of constituent politics at the heart of any expensive endeavor. This paper presents results from a major study of stakeholder alignment in the Earth Sciences, focused especially on EarthCube.

  11. Tackling community concerns about commercialisation and genetic research: a modest interdisciplinary proposal.

    PubMed

    Haddow, Gillian; Laurie, Graeme; Cunningham-Burley, Sarah; Hunter, Kathryn G

    2007-01-01

    In recent years, there has been a rise in the creation of DNA databases promising a range of health benefits to individuals and populations. This development has been accompanied by an interest in, and concern for the ethical, legal and social aspects of such collections. In terms of policy solutions, much of the focus of these debates has been on issues of consent, confidentiality and research governance. However, there are broader concerns, such as those associated with commercialisation, which cannot be adequately addressed by these foci. In this article, we focus on the health-wealth benefits that DNA databases promise by considering the views of 10 focus groups on Generation Scotland, Scotland's first national genetic database. As in previous studies, our qualitative research on public/s and stakeholders' views of DNA databases show the prospect of utilising donated samples and information derived for wealth-related ends (i.e. for private profit), irrespective of whether there is an associated health-related benefit, arouses considerable reaction. While health-wealth benefits are not mutually exclusive ideals, the tendency has been to cast 'public' benefits as exclusively health-related, while 'private' commercial benefits for funders and/or researchers are held out as a necessary pay-off. We argue for a less polarised approach that reconsiders what is meant by 'public benefits' and questions the exclusivity of commercial interests. We believe accommodation can be achieved via the mobilisation of a grass roots solution known as 'benefit-sharing' or a 'profit pay-off'. We propose a sociologically informed model that has a pragmatic, legal framework, which responds seriously to public concerns.

  12. Influencing Organizations to Promote Health: Applying Stakeholder Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kok, Gerjo; Gurabardhi, Zamira; Gottlieb, Nell H.; Zijlstra, Fred R. H.

    2015-01-01

    Stakeholder theory may help health promoters to make changes at the organizational and policy level to promote health. A stakeholder is any individual, group, or organization that can influence an organization. The organization that is the focus for influence attempts is called the focal organization. The more salient a stakeholder is and the more…

  13. INSTITUTIONAL STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTIONS OF BARRIERS TO ADDICTION TREATMENT UNDER MEXICO’S DRUG POLICY REFORM

    PubMed Central

    Werb, Dan; Strathdee, Steffanie A.; Meza, Emilo; Gomez, Maria Gudelia Rangel; Palinkas, Lawrence; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena; Beletsky, Leo

    2017-01-01

    Background Mexico has experienced disproportionate drug-related harms given its role as a production and transit zone for illegal drugs destined primarily for the United States. In response, in 2009, the Mexican federal government passed legislation mandating pre-arrest diversion of drug-dependent individuals towards addiction treatment. However, this federal law was not specific about how the scale-up of the addiction treatment sector was to be operationalized. We therefore conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with key ‘interactors’ in fields affected by the federal legislation, including participants from the law enforcement, public health, addiction treatment, and governmental administration sectors. Among 19 participants from the municipal, state, and federal level, multiple barriers to policy reform were identified. First, there is a lack of institutional expertise to implement the reform. Second, the operationalization of the reform was not accompanied by a coordinated action plan. Third, the law is an unfunded mandate. Institutional barriers are likely hampering the implementation of Mexico’s policy reform. Addressing the concerns expressed by interactors through the scale up of services, the provision of increased training and education programs for stakeholders, and a coordinated action plan to operationalize the policy reform, are likely needed to improve the policy reform process. PMID:28278755

  14. Multicriteria mapping of stakeholder preferences in regulating nanotechnology.

    PubMed

    Hansen, Steffen Foss

    2010-08-01

    In order to facilitate stakeholder discussions on how to regulate nanotechnology, the opensource program multicriteria mapping (MCM) was used to structure 26 interviews with stakeholders in the USA. MCM offers a systematic part quantitative, part qualitative approach to clarify why some regulatory options (bans, moratoriums, voluntary measures, etc.) were deemed to be acceptable/unacceptable by various stakeholders and which criteria stakeholders used to evaluate the different regulatory options. Adopting an incremental approach and implementing a new regulatory framework was evaluated as the best options whereas a complete ban and no additional regulation of nanotechnology were found to be the least favorable. Criteria applied differed substantially among stakeholders and included social, ethical, regulatory, environmental, and health issues. Opinions on future regulation seem far less polarized than expected and it seems that stakeholders would welcome a combination of voluntary measures, an incremental approach and forming of a new regulatory framework. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11051-010-0006-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

  15. Analysis of Stakeholder-Defined Needs in Northeast U.S. Coastal Communities to Determine Gaps in Research Informing Coastal Resilience Planning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Molino, G. D.; Kenney, M. A.; Sutton-Grier, A.; Penn, K.

    2017-12-01

    The impacts of climate change on our coastlines are increasing pressure on communities, ecosystems, infrastructure, and state-to-local economies in the northeastern United States (U.S.). As a result of current or imminent risk of acute and chronic hazards, local, state and regional entities have taken steps to identify and address vulnerabilities to climate change. Decisions to increase coastal infrastructure resilience and grey, green, and cultural infrastructure solutions requires physical, natural, and social science that is useful for decision-making and effective science translation mechanisms. Despite the desire to conduct or fund science that meets the needs of communities, there has been no comprehensive analysis to determine stakeholder-defined research needs. To address this gap, this study conducts a stakeholder needs analysis in northeast U.S. coastal communities to determine gaps in information and translation processes supporting coastal resilience planning. Documents were sourced from local, state, and regional organizations in both the public and private sectors, using the northeast region defined by the third National Climate Assessment. Modeled after Dilling et al. (2015), a deductive coding schema was developed that categorized documents using specific search terms such as "Location and condition of infrastructure" and "Proactive planning". A qualitative document analysis was then executed using NVivo to formally identify patterns and themes present in stakeholder surveys, workshop proceedings, and reports. Initial stakeholder priorities centered around incorporation of climate science into planning and decision making regarding vulnerabilities of infrastructure, enhanced emergency planning and response, and communication of key information.

  16. Lessons learned from stakeholder-driven sustainability analysis of six national HIV programmes.

    PubMed

    Katz, Itamar; Glandon, Douglas; Wong, Wendy; Kargbo, Brima; Ombam, Regina; Singh, Shanti; Ramsammy, Leslie; Tal-Dia, Anta; Seck, Ibrahima; Osika, John S

    2014-05-01

    In light of the decline in donor HIV funding, HIV programmes increasingly need to assess their available and potential resources and maximize their utilization. This article presents lessons learned related to how countries have addressed the sustainability of HIV programmes in a stakeholder-driven sustainability analysis. During HIV/AIDS Programme Sustainability Analysis Tool (HAPSAT) applications in six countries (Benin, Guyana, Kenya, Lesotho, Sierra Leone and South Sudan), stakeholders identified key sustainability challenges for their HIV responses. Possible policy approaches were prepared, and those related to prioritization and resource mobilization are analysed in this article. The need to prioritize evidence-based interventions and apply efficiency measures is being accepted by countries. Five of the six countries in this study requested that the HAPSAT team prepare 'prioritization' strategies. Countries recognize the need to prepare for an alternative to 'universal access by 2015', acknowledging that their capacity might be insufficient to reach such high-coverage levels by then. There is further acceptance of the importance of reaching the most-at-risk, marginalized populations, as seen, for example, in South Sudan and Sierra Leone. However, the pace at which resources are shifting towards these populations is slow. Finally, only two of the six countries, Kenya and Benin, chose to examine options for generating additional financial resources beyond donor funding. In Kenya, three non-donor sources were recommended, yet even if all were to be implemented, it would cover only 25% of the funding needed. Countries are increasingly willing to address the challenges of HIV programme sustainability, yet in different ways and with varying urgency. To secure achievements made to date and maximize future impact, countries would benefit from strengthening their strategic plans, operational plans and funding proposals with concrete timelines and responsibilities for

  17. Ecosystem Services Flows: Why Stakeholders' Power Relationships Matter.

    PubMed

    Felipe-Lucia, María R; Martín-López, Berta; Lavorel, Sandra; Berraquero-Díaz, Luis; Escalera-Reyes, Javier; Comín, Francisco A

    2015-01-01

    The ecosystem services framework has enabled the broader public to acknowledge the benefits nature provides to different stakeholders. However, not all stakeholders benefit equally from these services. Rather, power relationships are a key factor influencing the access of individuals or groups to ecosystem services. In this paper, we propose an adaptation of the "cascade" framework for ecosystem services to integrate the analysis of ecological interactions among ecosystem services and stakeholders' interactions, reflecting power relationships that mediate ecosystem services flows. We illustrate its application using the floodplain of the River Piedra (Spain) as a case study. First, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) to model the dependence relationships among ecosystem services. Second, we performed semi-structured interviews to identify formal power relationships among stakeholders. Third, we depicted ecosystem services according to stakeholders' ability to use, manage or impair ecosystem services in order to expose how power relationships mediate access to ecosystem services. Our results revealed that the strongest power was held by those stakeholders who managed (although did not use) those keystone ecosystem properties and services that determine the provision of other services (i.e., intermediate regulating and final services). In contrast, non-empowered stakeholders were only able to access the remaining non-excludable and non-rival ecosystem services (i.e., some of the cultural services, freshwater supply, water quality, and biological control). In addition, land stewardship, access rights, and governance appeared as critical factors determining the status of ecosystem services. Finally, we stress the need to analyse the role of stakeholders and their relationships to foster equal access to ecosystem services.

  18. Formative research and stakeholder participation in intervention development.

    PubMed

    Vastine, Amy; Gittelsohn, Joel; Ethelbah, Becky; Anliker, Jean; Caballero, Benjamin

    2005-01-01

    To present a model for using formative research and stakeholder participation to develop a community-based dietary intervention targeting American Indians. Formative research included interviews, assessment of food- purchasing frequency and preparation methods, and dietary recalls. Stakeholders contributed to intervention development through formative research, a program planning workshop, group feedback, and implementation training. Foods high in fat and sugar are commonly consumed. Barriers to healthy eating include low availability, perceived high cost, and poor flavor. Stakeholder participation contributed to the development of a culturally appropriate intervention. This approach resulted in project acceptance, stakeholder collaboration, and a culturally appropriate program.

  19. Stakeholder Perceptions of Risk in Construction

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Dong; McCoy, Andrew P.; Kleiner, Brian M.; Mills, Thomas H.; Lingard, Helen

    2015-01-01

    Safety management in construction is an integral effort and its success requires inputs from all stakeholders across design and construction phases. Effective risk mitigation relies on the concordance of all stakeholders’ risk perceptions. Many researchers have noticed the discordance of risk perceptions among critical stakeholders in safe construction work, however few have provided quantifiable evidence describing them. In an effort to fill this perception gap, this research performs an experiment that investigates stakeholder perceptions of risk in construction. Data analysis confirms the existence of such discordance, and indicates a trend in risk likelihood estimation. With risk perceptions from low to high, the stakeholders are architects, contractors/safety professionals, and engineers. Including prior studies, results also suggest that designers have improved their knowledge in building construction safety, but compared to builders they present more difficultly in reaching a consensus of perception. Findings of this research are intended to be used by risk management and decision makers to reassess stakeholders’ varying judgments when considering injury prevention and hazard assessment. PMID:26441481

  20. A Novel Approach to River Basin Management that Utilizes a Multi-Day Forum to Educate Stakeholders

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Langston, M. A.

    2015-12-01

    Large scale river basin management has long been a challenging task. Stakeholder involvement has often been posited as a means to provide a broad base of input and support for management decisions. This has been successful in some situations and not in others. The Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) has proposed a novel approach to large scale watershed management for conservation purposes by stakeholders. This approach involves conducting a multi-day stakeholder forum to gather interested parties, provide them science-based information about the watershed, and solicit their input regarding the research and management needs within the basin. Included within this forum is a Water Tournament patterned after those being developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Institute for Water Resources. These tournaments bring stakeholders (such as the various water users, agencies, conservation organizations, and others) in small teams that develop watershed management scenarios (within appropriate constraints) that are then judged based on their merit for addressing the various issues within the basin. These tournaments serve to educate participants and to sensitize them to the perspectives of other participants. Another goal of the forum is to recruit a representative group of stakeholders who will provide guidance for further research to meet the basins management needs. The South Central Climate Science Center (SC CSC) has partnered with the Desert, Southern Rockies, Gulf Coast Prairie, Great Plains, and Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks LCCs to implement this approach in the Rio Grande and the Red River Basins. The LCCs are well positioned to convene stakeholders from across political boundaries and throughout these basins. The SC CSC's roles will be providing leadership, funding climate science for the effort, and evaluating the effectiveness of the forum-centered approach.

  1. Fuzzy cognitive mapping in support of integrated ecosystem assessments: Developing a shared conceptual model among stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Vasslides, James M; Jensen, Olaf P

    2016-01-15

    Ecosystem-based approaches, including integrated ecosystem assessments, are a popular methodology being used to holistically address management issues in social-ecological systems worldwide. In this study we utilized fuzzy logic cognitive mapping to develop conceptual models of a complex estuarine system among four stakeholder groups. The average number of categories in an individual map was not significantly different among groups, and there were no significant differences between the groups in the average complexity or density indices of the individual maps. When ordered by their complexity scores, eight categories contributed to the top four rankings of the stakeholder groups, with six of the categories shared by at least half of the groups. While non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis displayed a high degree of overlap between the individual models across groups, there was also diversity within each stakeholder group. These findings suggest that while all of the stakeholders interviewed perceive the subject ecosystem as a complex series of social and ecological interconnections, there are a core set of components that are present in most of the groups' models that are crucial in managing the system towards some desired outcome. However, the variability in the connections between these core components and the rest of the categories influences the exact nature of these outcomes. Understanding the reasons behind these differences will be critical to developing a shared conceptual model that will be acceptable to all stakeholder groups and can serve as the basis for an integrated ecosystem assessment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. When the user is not the chooser: learning from stakeholder involvement in technology adoption decisions in infection control.

    PubMed

    Ahmad, R; Kyratsis, Y; Holmes, A

    2012-07-01

    Health systems need efficient and effective innovation decisions to provide maximum benefit to patients, particularly in a climate of financial constraints. Although evidence-based innovations exist for helping to address healthcare-associated infections, the uptake and implementation of these is highly variable and in some cases very slow. To investigate innovation adoption decisions and implementation processes from an organizational perspective, focusing on the implications of stakeholder involvement during the innovation process. Thirty-eight technology adoption decisions and implementation processes were examined through 121 qualitative interviews in 12 National Health Service healthcare organizations across England. Stakeholder involvement varied across organizations with decisions highly exclusive to the infection prevention and control (IPC) team, to highly inclusive of wider organizational members. The context, including organizational culture, previous experience, and logistical factors influenced the level of stakeholder engagement. The timing of stakeholder involvement in the process impacted on: (i) the range of innovations considered; (ii) the technologies selected, and (iii) the success of technology implementation. Cases of non-adoption, discontinued adoption, and of successful implementation are presented to share learning. The potential benefits of stakeholder involvement for 'successful' innovation adoption are presented including a goal-oriented framework for involvement. Key stakeholder involvement can lead to innovation adoption and implementation compatible with structural and cultural contexts, particularly when involvement crosses the phases of initiation, decision-making and implementation. Involving members of the wider healthcare organization can raise the profile of IPC and reinforce efforts to make IPC everybody's business. Copyright © 2012 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. STakeholder-Objective Risk Model (STORM): Determining the aggregated risk of multiple contaminant hazards in groundwater well catchments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Enzenhoefer, R.; Binning, P. J.; Nowak, W.

    2015-09-01

    Risk is often defined as the product of probability, vulnerability and value. Drinking water supply from groundwater abstraction is often at risk due to multiple hazardous land use activities in the well catchment. Each hazard might or might not introduce contaminants into the subsurface at any point in time, which then affects the pumped quality upon transport through the aquifer. In such situations, estimating the overall risk is not trivial, and three key questions emerge: (1) How to aggregate the impacts from different contaminants and spill locations to an overall, cumulative impact on the value at risk? (2) How to properly account for the stochastic nature of spill events when converting the aggregated impact to a risk estimate? (3) How will the overall risk and subsequent decision making depend on stakeholder objectives, where stakeholder objectives refer to the values at risk, risk attitudes and risk metrics that can vary between stakeholders. In this study, we provide a STakeholder-Objective Risk Model (STORM) for assessing the total aggregated risk. Or concept is a quantitative, probabilistic and modular framework for simulation-based risk estimation. It rests on the source-pathway-receptor concept, mass-discharge-based aggregation of stochastically occuring spill events, accounts for uncertainties in the involved flow and transport models through Monte Carlo simulation, and can address different stakeholder objectives. We illustrate the application of STORM in a numerical test case inspired by a German drinking water catchment. As one may expect, the results depend strongly on the chosen stakeholder objectives, but they are equally sensitive to different approaches for risk aggregation across different hazards, contaminant types, and over time.

  4. Stakeholder Engagement/Capacity Building Pilot Opportunity FAQ

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the pilot opportunity for stakeholder engagement/capacity building. EPA is offering an opportunity for community stakeholders and ports to participate in a pilot project to test and refine capacity building tools.

  5. Building capacity in Australian interprofessional health education: perspectives from key health and higher education stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Matthews, Lynda R; Pockett, Rosalie B; Nisbet, Gillian; Thistlethwaite, Jill E; Dunston, Roger; Lee, Alison; White, Jill F

    2011-05-01

    A substantial literature engaging with the directions and experiences of stakeholders involved in interprofessional health education exists at the international level, yet almost nothing has been published that documents and analyses the Australian experience. Accordingly, this study aimed to scope the experiences of key stakeholders in health and higher education in relation to the development of interprofessional practice capabilities in health graduates in Australia. Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews and two focus groups of key stakeholders involved in the development and delivery of interprofessional health education in Australian higher education were undertaken. Interview data were coded to identify categories that were organised into key themes, according to principles of thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: the need for common ground between health and higher education, constraints and enablers in current practice, and the need for research to establish an evidence base. Five directions for national development were also identified. The study identified a range of interconnected changes that will be required to successfully mainstream interprofessional education within Australia, in particular, the importance of addressing issues of culture change and the need for a nationally coordinated and research informed approach. These findings reiterate those found in the international literature.

  6. Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) External Stakeholders Workshop: Workshop Proceedings, 9 October 2008, Golden, Colorado

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Komomua, C.; Kroposki, B.; Mooney, D.

    2009-01-01

    On October 9, 2008, NREL hosted a workshop to provide an opportunity for external stakeholders to offer insights and recommendations on the design and functionality of DOE's planned Energy Systems Infrastructure Facility (ESIF). The goal was to ensure that the planning for the ESIF effectively addresses the most critical barriers to large-scale energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) deployment. This technical report documents the ESIF workshop proceedings.

  7. Stakeholder engagement in scenario development process - bioenergy production and biodiversity conservation in eastern Finland.

    PubMed

    Haatanen, Anniina; den Herder, Michael; Leskinen, Pekka; Lindner, Marcus; Kurttila, Mikko; Salminen, Olli

    2014-03-15

    In this study participatory approaches were used to develop alternative forest resource management scenarios with particular respect to the effects on increased use of forest bioenergy and its effect on biodiversity in Eastern Finland. As technical planning tools, we utilized a forest management planning system (MELA) and the Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA) to visualize the impacts of the scenarios. We organized a stakeholder workshop where group discussions were used as a participatory method to get the stakeholder preferences and insights concerning forest resource use in the year 2030. Feedback from the workshop was then complemented with a questionnaire. Based on the results of the workshop and a questionnaire we developed three alternative forest resource scenarios: (1) bioenergy 2030 - in which energy production is more centralized and efficient; (2) biodiversity 2030 - in which harvesting methods are more nature friendly and protected forests make up 10% of the total forest area; and (3) mixed bioenergy + biodiversity 2030 scenario - in which wood production, recreation and nature protection are assigned to the most suitable areas. The study showed that stakeholder engagement combined with the MELA and ToSIA tools can be a useful approach in scenario development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Equine Welfare Assessment: Exploration of British Stakeholder Attitudes Using Focus-Group Discussions.

    PubMed

    Horseman, Susan V; Hockenhull, Jo; Buller, Henry; Mullan, Siobhan; Barr, Alistair R S; Whay, Helen R

    2017-01-01

    The equine industry in Great Britain has not been subject to the same pressures as the farming industry to engage with welfare assessment, but this may change as concern about equine welfare increases. Stakeholder attitudes toward welfare assessment may impact the implementation of welfare assessment practices. Focus-group discussions regarding welfare assessment were conducted with 6 equine stakeholder groups: leisure horse owners (caregivers; n = 4), grooms (n = 5), veterinary surgeons (n = 3), welfare scientists (n = 4), welfare charity workers (n = 5), and professional riders (n = 4). Three themes emerged from the discussions: (a) Participants predominantly interpreted welfare assessment as a means of identifying and correcting poor welfare in an immediate way; (b) participants believed that horse welfare varied over time; and (c) attributes of the assessor were viewed as an important consideration for equine welfare assessment. The views of equine industry members give insight into the value welfare assessments may have to the industry and how equine welfare assessment approaches can achieve credibility within the industry and increase the positive impact of welfare assessments on equine welfare.

  9. Adapting to climate change or to stakeholders?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bruggeman, Adriana; Camera, Corrado; Giannakis, Elias; Zoumides, Christos; Eliades, Marinos; Djuma, Hakan

    2015-04-01

    The Tamassos dam protects the Pedieos watershed in Cyprus against floods. The waterbody behind the dam serves as a new biodiversity and recreational resource. Water from the dam is also used for domestic water supply for nearby rural communities. However, this peaceful picture is threatened by climate change. Regional Climate Models indicate a drier and warmer Pedieos watershed in the near future (2020-2050). Interviews and meetings with a wide variety of stakeholders, for the development of a climate change adaptation plan for the Pedieos watershed, has created even more uncertainties than climate change. Environmental-minded stakeholders suggested to demolish the dam and to return the watershed to its natural state and the water to downstream ecosystems. Agricultural producers would also like to see the return of stream flows, such that they can divert or impound the water for groundwater recharge and subsequent irrigation. Community leaders similarly prefer stream flows for the recharge of the alluvial river aquifers, to allow them to abstract more groundwater for community water supply. Downstream authorities have different concerns. Here the usually dry river bed serves as the drainage of the urban agglomeration of the capital of Nicosia; and has been identified as an area of potentially significant flood risk for the European Flood Directive (2007/60/EC). The largest storm event in the upstream area in the recent past occurred in January 1989, before the construction of the dam. The runoff totalled 3.1 million m3 in one day and 4.4 million m3 in two days. Thus, part of the runoff would have flown straight through the spillway of the 2.8 million m3 dam reservoir. Average annual precipitation in the highly sloping, forested upstream area is 500 mm, while stream flows average 4.7 million m3/yr (1981-2001). This results in an average runoff coefficient of 19% for the 45-km2 upstream area. Past observations, climate change projections and hydrologic models

  10. Creating sustainable local health information exchanges: can barriers to stakeholder participation be overcome?

    PubMed

    Grossman, Joy M; Kushner, Kathryn L; November, Elizabeth A

    2008-02-01

    Local health information exchanges (HIEs) hold the promise of collecting patient clinical data across sites of care to provide more complete and timely information for treatment, as well as supporting quality improvement and reporting, public health activities, and clinical research. Findings from a study of stakeholder perspectives on participation in four HIEs by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) and the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation suggest, however, that barriers to achieving data exchange remain high. Concerns about loss of competitive advantage and data misuse impede provider and health plan willingness to contribute patient data. Additionally, uncertainty about who benefits from HIEs is affecting stakeholder willingness to fund the exchanges. The more mature exchanges--Cincinnati-based HealthBridge and the Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE)--have achieved some viability by meeting a specific business need--more efficient delivery of hospital test results to physicians. The newer exchanges--CareSpark, serving northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, and the Tampa Bay Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO)--have struggled to identify and finance initial services without a similar critical mass of hospital participation. While narrow data exchange efforts that improve transaction efficiency may be a pragmatic first step to overcome barriers to stakeholder participation, expanding HIEs to achieve the broad-based data exchange necessary for quality reporting and pay-for-performance (P4P) activities raises more challenges.

  11. Financial and technical feasibility of dynamic congestion pricing as a revenue generation source in Indiana : exploiting the availability of real-time information and dynamic pricing technologies.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-10-19

    "Highway stakeholders continue to support research studies that address critical issues of the current era, including congestion mitigation and revenue generation. A mechanism that addresses both concerns is congestion pricing which establishes a dir...

  12. Report On Stakeholders Analysis Fast-Trac Phase Iii Deliverables, #5 One Set Of Stakeholder Readings, #6. Final Version Of The Stakeholders? Questionnaire, #7. Stakeholders? Analysis Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-12-10

    THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE CRITERIA BY WHICH THE PUBLIC, AND CERTAIN STAKEHOLDER GROUPS WITHIN THE PUBLIC, WILL JUDGE THE MERITS OF THE FAST-TRAC SYSTEM. OVER A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS, THREE SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED TO OBTAIN SPECI...

  13. Determinants of stakeholders' attitudes towards biodiesel.

    PubMed

    Amin, Latifah; Hashim, Hasrizul; Mahadi, Zurina; Ibrahim, Maznah; Ismail, Khaidzir

    2017-01-01

    Concern about the inevitable depletion of global energy resources is rising and many countries are shifting their focus to renewable energy. Biodiesel is one promising energy source that has garnered much public attention in recent years. Many believe that this alternative source of energy will be able to sustain the need for increased energy security while at the same time being friendly to the environment. Public opinion, as well as proactive measures by key players in industry, may play a decisive role in steering the direction of biodiesel development throughout the world. Past studies have suggested that public acceptance of biofuels could be shaped by critical consideration of the risk-benefit perceptions of the product, in addition to the impact on the economy and environment. The purpose of this study was to identify the relevant factors influencing stakeholders' attitudes towards biodiesel derived from crops such as palm oil for vehicle use, as well as to analyse the interrelationships of these factors in an attitude model. A survey of 509 respondents, consisting of various stakeholder groups in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia, was undertaken. The results of the study have substantiated the premise that the most important direct predictor of attitude to biodiesel is the perceived benefits ( β  = 0.80, p  < 0.001). Attitude towards biodiesel also involves the interplay between other factors, such as engagement to biotechnology, trust of key players, attitude to technology, and perceived risk. Although perceived benefit has emerged as the main predictor of public support of biodiesel, the existence of other significant interactions among variables leads to the conclusion that public attitude towards biodiesel should be seen as a multi-faceted process and should be strongly considered prior to its commercialisation.

  14. Stakeholder perceptions of indicators of tourism use and codes of conduct in a coastal protected area in Alaska

    Treesearch

    Emily F. Pomeranz; Mark D. Needham; Linda E. Kruger

    2013-01-01

    This article focuses on a collaborative approach for addressing impacts of watercraft-based tourism in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, Alaska. This approach is the Wilderness Best Management Practices (WBMP) and involves codes of conduct for managing use in this area. This article examines use-related indicators that stakeholders prioritize for inclusion in the WBMP...

  15. Concerns among first year midwifery students: towards addressing attrition rates.

    PubMed

    Carolan, Mary C; Kruger, Gina B

    2011-01-01

    Since 2000, there has been a shift to undergraduate midwifery education in Australia. Midwifery students are generally highly motivated, however attrition rates remain high among first-year students. This study was undertaken in one Australian University against a background of high course demand and high student attrition. Thirty-two first-year midwifery students completed a demographic questionnaire and wrote a reflection in response to the question: What if anything, would make your experience as a first year student better? Data were subjected to thematic content analysis. Findings indicated a need for: greater opportunities to prepare; for more time to study; for greater student supports; and outlined difficulties such as financial and childcare. In conclusion, undergraduate midwifery courses and local conditions vary among institutions. Student feedback is a useful way of identifying local concerns that may impact on student completion rates. This is a necessary first step to the provision of meaningful student support.

  16. The Impact of the Patient-Centered Medical Home on Health Care Disparities: Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on Current Standards and Future Directions.

    PubMed

    De Marchis, Emilia H; Doekhie, Kirti; Willard-Grace, Rachel; Olayiwola, J Nwando

    2018-06-19

    Over the past decade, the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) has become a preeminent model for primary care delivery. Simultaneously, health care disparities have gained increasing attention. There has been limited research on whether and how the PCMH can or should affect health care disparities. The authors conducted qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and experts on the PCMH model and health care disparities, including grant and policy makers, accreditors, researchers, patient advocates, primary care practices, practice transformation organizations, and payers, to assess perspectives on the role of the PCMH in addressing health care disparities. The application of grounded theory and thematic analysis elucidated best practice recommendations for the PCMH model's role in addressing health care disparities. Although the majority of stakeholders support greater integration of efforts to reduce health care disparities into the PCMH model, most stakeholders view the current PCMH model as having minimal or indirect influence on health care disparities. The majority supported greater integration of efforts to reduce health care disparities into the PCMH model. As the PCMH model continues to be refined, and as the health care system strives toward improving population health, there must be reflection on the policies and delivery systems that impact health care disparities.

  17. The ASTUTE Health study protocol: Deliberative stakeholder engagements to inform implementation approaches to healthcare disinvestment

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Governments and other payers are yet to determine optimal processes by which to review the safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of technologies and procedures that are in active use within health systems, and rescind funding (partially or fully) from those that display poor profiles against these parameters. To further progress a disinvestment agenda, a model is required to support payers in implementing disinvestment in a transparent manner that may withstand challenge from vested interests and concerned citizens. Combining approaches from health technology assessment and deliberative democratic theory, this project seeks to determine if and how wide stakeholder engagement can contribute to improved decision-making processes, wherein the views of both vested and non-vested stakeholders are seen to contribute to informing policy implementation within a disinvestment context. Methods/design Systematic reviews pertaining to illustrative case studies were developed and formed the evidence base for discussion. Review findings were presented at a series of deliberative, evidence-informed stakeholder engagements, including partisan (clinicians and consumers) and non-partisan (representative community members) stakeholders. Participants were actively facilitated towards identifying shared and dissenting perspectives regarding public funding policy for each of the case studies and developing their own funding models in response to the evidence presented. Policy advisors will subsequently be invited to evaluate disinvestment options based on the scientific and colloquial evidence presented to them, and to explore the value of this information to their decision-making processes with reference to disinvestment. Discussion Analysis of the varied outputs of the deliberative engagements will contribute to the methodological development around how to best integrate scientific and colloquial evidence for consideration by policy advisors. It may contribute to

  18. Addressing Parental Vaccination Questions in the School Setting

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Luthy, Karlen E.; Burningham, Jana; Eden, Lacey M.; Macintosh, Janelle L. B.; Beckstrand, Renea L.

    2016-01-01

    School nurses work in a unique environment with key opportunities to address parental concerns and questions regarding their child's health. A common concern for parents during school enrollment is childhood vaccination safety and efficacy. As public health leaders, school nurses are well respected among parents, therefore school nurses are in a…

  19. Carbon Monitoring System Applications Framework: Lessons Learned from Stakeholder Engagement Activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sepulveda Carlo, E.; Escobar, V. M.; Delgado Arias, S.; Forgotson, C.

    2017-12-01

    The NASA Carbon Monitoring System initiated by U.S. Congress in 2010 is developing products that characterize and quantify carbon sources and sinks in the United States and the global tropics. In 2013, an applications effort was selected to engage potential end users and gather feedback about their data needs. For the past four years the CMS applications efforts has expanded and implemented a number of strategies to connect carbon scientists to decision-makers, contributing to the societal benefits of CMS data products. The applications efforts use crowd sourcing to collects feedback from stakeholders on challenges and lessons learned in the use of CMS data products. Some of the most common data needs from engaged organizations include above and below-ground biomass and fluxes in forestlands and wetlands, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all land use/cover and land use changes. Stakeholder organizations' needs for CMS data products support national GHG inventories following the Paris Agreement, carbon markets, and sub-national natural resources management and policies. The lessons learned report presents stakeholder specific applications, challenges, and successes from using CMS data products. To date, the most common uses of CMS products include: conservation efforts, emissions inventory, forestry and land cover applications, and carbon offset projects. The most common challenges include: the need for familiar and consistent products over time, budget constraints, and concern with uncertainty of modeled results. Recurrent recommendations from stakeholder indicate that CMS should provide high resolution (30m) and frequent data products updates (annually). The applications efforts have also helped identified success stories from different CMS projects, including the development of the GHG emissions inventory from Providence, RI, the improvement of the U.S. GHG Inventory though the use of satellite data, and the use of high resolution canopy cover maps for

  20. Stakeholder Participation in System Change: A New Conceptual Model.

    PubMed

    O'Rourke, Tammy; Higuchi, Kathryn S; Hogg, William

    2016-08-01

    A recent change in Canada's primary care system led to the introduction of Nurse Practitioner-Led clinics. The literature suggests that stakeholders can influence system change initiatives. However, very little is known about healthcare stakeholder motivations, particularly stakeholders who are seen as resistors to change. To examine stakeholder participation in the system change process that led to the introduction of the first Nurse Practitioner-Led clinic in Ontario. This single case study included two site visits, semistructured individual tape-recorded interviews, and the examination of relevant public documents. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Sixteen individuals from different healthcare sectors and professions participated in the interviews and 20 documents were reviewed. Six key themes emerged from the data. Linking Evidence to Action The findings from the study present a new perspective on stakeholder participation that includes both those who supported the proposed change and those who advocated for a different change. The findings identify stakeholder activities used to shape, share, and protect their visions for system change. The conceptual model presented in this study adds to the understanding of challenges and complexities involved in healthcare system change. Understanding why and how stakeholders participate in change can help healthcare leaders in planning activities to enhance stakeholder involvement in healthcare system change. © 2016 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  1. Stakeholder engagement analysis - a bioethics dilemma in patient-targeted intervention: patients with temporomandibular joint disorders.

    PubMed

    Barkhordarian, Andre; Demerjian, Gary; Jan, Allison; Sama, Nateli; Nguyen, Mia; Du, Angela; Chiappelli, Francesco

    2015-01-20

    Modern health care in the field of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing is grounded in fundamental philosophy and epistemology of translational science. Recently in the U.S major national initiatives have been implemented in the hope of closing the gaps that sometimes exist between the two fundamental components of translational science, the translational research and translational effectiveness. Subsequent to these initiatives, many improvements have been made; however, important bioethical issues and limitations do still exist that need to be addressed. One such issue is the stakeholder engagement and its assessment and validation. Federal, state and local organizations such as PCORI and AHRQ concur that the key to a better understanding of the relationship between translational research and translational effectiveness is the assessment of the extent to which stakeholders are actively engaged in the translational process of healthcare. The stakeholder engagement analysis identifies who the stakeholders are, maps their contribution and involvement, evaluates their priorities and opinions, and accesses their current knowledge base. This analysis however requires conceptualization and validation from the bioethics standpoint. Here, we examine the bioethical dilemma of stakeholder engagement analysis in the context of the person-environment fit (PE-fit) theoretical model. This model is an approach to quantifying stakeholder engagement analysis for the design of patient-targeted interventions. In our previous studies of Alzheimer patients, we have developed, validated and used a simple instrument based on the PE-fit model that can be adapted and utilized in a much less studied pathology as a clinical model that has a wide range of symptoms and manifestations, the temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the jaw joint endowed with sensory and motor innervations that project from within the central nervous system and its dysfunction can

  2. One Health stakeholder and institutional analysis in Kenya

    PubMed Central

    Kimani, Tabitha; Ngigi, Margaret; Schelling, Esther; Randolph, Tom

    2016-01-01

    Introduction One Health (OH) can be considered a complex emerging policy to resolve health issues at the animal–human and environmental interface. It is expected to drive system changes in terms of new formal and informal institutional and organisational arrangements. This study, using Rift Valley fever (RVF) as a zoonotic problem requiring an OH approach, sought to understand the institutionalisation process at national and subnational levels in an early adopting country, Kenya. Materials and methods Social network analysis methodologies were used. Stakeholder roles and relational data were collected at national and subnational levels in 2012. Key informants from stakeholder organisations were interviewed, guided by a checklist. Public sector animal and public health organisations were interviewed first to identify other stakeholders with whom they had financial, information sharing and joint cooperation relationships. Visualisation of the OH social network and relationships were shown in sociograms and mathematical (degree and centrality) characteristics of the network summarised. Results and discussion Thirty-two and 20 stakeholders relevant to OH were identified at national and subnational levels, respectively. Their roles spanned wildlife, livestock, and public health sectors as well as weather prediction. About 50% of national-level stakeholders had made significant progress on OH institutionalisation to an extent that formal coordination structures (zoonoses disease unit and a technical working group) had been created. However, the process had not trickled down to subnational levels although cross-sectoral and sectoral collaborations were identified. The overall binary social network density for the stakeholders showed that 35 and 21% of the possible ties between the RVF and OH stakeholders existed at national and subnational levels, respectively, while public health actors’ collaborations were identified at community/grassroots level. We recommend

  3. Stakeholder analysis in the management of irrigation in Kampili area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jumiati; Ali, M. S. S.; Fahmid, I. M.; Mahyuddin

    2018-05-01

    Irrigation has appreciable contribution in building food security, particularly rice crops. This study aims to analyze the role of stakeholders involved in distributing of irrigation water. The study was conducted in the Kampili Irrigation Area in South Sulawesi Province Indonesia, the data were obtained through observation and interviews with stakeholders involved, and analysed by stakeholder analysis, based on the interests and power held by the actors. This analysis is intended to provide an optimal picture of the expected role of each stakeholder in the management of irrigation resources. The results show that there were many stakeholders involved in irrigation management. In the arrangement of irrigation distribution there was overlapping authority of the stakeholders to its management, every stakeholder had different interests and power between each other. The existence have given positive and negative values in distributing irrigation water management, then in the stakeholder collaboration there was contestation between them. This contestation took place between the agriculture department, PSDA province, the Jeneberang River Region Hall, the Farmers Group and the P3A.

  4. Modelling with stakeholders - Next generation

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Voinov, Alexey; Kolagani, Nagesh; McCall, Michael K; Glynn, Pierre D.; Kragt, Marit E; Ostermann, Frank O; Pierce, Suzanne A; Ramu, Palaniappan

    2016-01-01

    This paper updates and builds on ‘Modelling with Stakeholders’ Voinov and Bousquet, 2010 which demonstrated the importance of, and demand for, stakeholder participation in resource and environmental modelling. This position paper returns to the concepts of that publication and reviews the progress made since 2010. A new development is the wide introduction and acceptance of social media and web applications, which dramatically changes the context and scale of stakeholder interactions and participation. Technology advances make it easier to incorporate information in interactive formats via visualization and games to augment participatory experiences. Citizens as stakeholders are increasingly demanding to be engaged in planning decisions that affect them and their communities, at scales from local to global. How people interact with and access models and data is rapidly evolving. In turn, this requires changes in how models are built, packaged, and disseminated: citizens are less in awe of experts and external authorities, and they are increasingly aware of their own capabilities to provide inputs to planning processes, including models. The continued acceleration of environmental degradation and natural resource depletion accompanies these societal changes, even as there is a growing acceptance of the need to transition to alternative, possibly very different, life styles. Substantive transitions cannot occur without significant changes in human behaviour and perceptions. The important and diverse roles that models can play in guiding human behaviour, and in disseminating and increasing societal knowledge, are a feature of stakeholder processes today.

  5. Radiation and Reliability Concerns for Modern Nonvolatile Memory Technology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oldham, Timothy R.; Friendlich, Mark R.; Kim, Hak S.; Berg, Melanie D.; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Buchner, S. P.; McMorrow, D.; Mavis, D. G.; Eaton, P. H.; Castillo, J.

    2011-01-01

    Commercial nonvolatile memory technology is attractive for space applications, but radiation issues are serious concerns. In addition, we discuss combined radiation/reliability concerns which are only beginning to be addressed.

  6. Stakeholder Perspectives on Research and Practice in Autism and Transition.

    PubMed

    Kuo, Alice A; Crapnell, Tara; Lau, Lynette; Anderson, Kristy A; Shattuck, Paul

    2018-04-01

    Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are reported to experience significant challenges during the transition to adulthood. Although recent evidence indicates that individuals with ASD experience poor outcomes in adulthood, little is understood about the contributing factors. In this qualitative study, we investigated the barriers to and needs in research and practice in the transition to adulthood among individuals with ASD. Thirteen researchers, including service providers, family members, and an individual with ASD participated in 30- to 60-minute, semistructured, open-ended telephone interviews. Interviews were transcribed, and data were analyzed by using an inductive approach to identify themes related to barriers to and needs in the transition to adulthood for youth with ASD. Stakeholders identified the need for transition planning and preparation to begin earlier and for systems to better accommodate the interests and varying abilities of individuals with ASD. Stakeholders also felt that parent and service provider expectations and perceptions influence early opportunities and experiences offered throughout the transition process. This study reveals the multilevel barriers to and needs in the transition to adulthood and the need for interagency and multidisciplinary collaboration and research to address the varying levels of needs, abilities, and multisector challenges. Copyright © 2018 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  7. Involving Research Stakeholders in Developing Policy on Sharing Public Health Research Data in Kenya

    PubMed Central

    Jao, Irene; Kombe, Francis; Mwalukore, Salim; Bull, Susan; Parker, Michael; Kamuya, Dorcas; Molyneux, Sassy

    2015-01-01

    Increased global sharing of public health research data has potential to advance scientific progress but may present challenges to the interests of research stakeholders, particularly in low-to-middle income countries. Policies for data sharing should be responsive to public views, but there is little evidence of the systematic study of these from low-income countries. This qualitative study explored views on fair data-sharing processes among 60 stakeholders in Kenya with varying research experience, using a deliberative approach. Stakeholders’ attitudes were informed by perceptions of benefit and concerns for research data sharing, including risks of stigmatization, loss of privacy, and undermining scientific careers and validity, reported in detail elsewhere. In this article, we discuss institutional trust-building processes seen as central to perceptions of fairness in sharing research data in this setting, including forms of community involvement, individual prior awareness and agreement to data sharing, independence and accountability of governance mechanisms, and operating under a national framework. PMID:26297748

  8. What fosters concern for inequality among American adolescents?

    PubMed

    Cech, Erin A

    2017-01-01

    Understanding cultural beliefs about social and economic inequality is vital to discerning the roadblocks and pathways to addressing that inequality. The foundation of concern for inequality is laid during adolescence, yet scholars understand little about the factors that influence whether and how adolescents come to express such concern. Arguing that structural and cultural contexts are just as consequential as whether adolescents themselves are members of disadvantaged groups, I draw on four theoretical perspectives to identify factors that influence adolescents' concern for addressing inequality: the underdog thesis, intergroup contact theory, the education enlightens thesis, and ideological buttressing. Using representative restricted-use Educational Longitudinal Survey data, I find that 12th-graders' beliefs are indeed influenced by more than their own demography: the diversity of their social milieu, the content of education in and out of the classroom, and ideological buttressing via political region and entertainment all influence whether they express concern for addressing inequality. These findings suggest extensions and amendments to the four theoretical perspectives and underscore the importance of studying structural and cultural factors that shape beliefs about inequality. The results also point to several interventions that may increase students' concern for inequality: involvement in civic-oriented extracurricular activities, more education in academic subjects that consider inequality, nurturing of cross-race friendships, and increased leisure reading. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Business resiliency and stakeholder management.

    PubMed

    Carey, Noel; Perry, Tony

    2014-01-01

    The authors facilitated separate round table discussions at the City and Financial Conference in London on 29th January, 2014. The theme of these discussions was business resiliency and stakeholder management. This topic attracted the largest group of all the breakout sessions, as the issue continues to generate much interest across the business resilience community. In this paper, the authors summarise the discussions held at the event and add their own insights into the subject of who are stakeholders, and the different means and messages to communicate to them.

  10. Disinvestment policy and the public funding of assisted reproductive technologies: outcomes of deliberative engagements with three key stakeholder groups.

    PubMed

    Hodgetts, Katherine; Hiller, Janet E; Street, Jackie M; Carter, Drew; Braunack-Mayer, Annette J; Watt, Amber M; Moss, John R; Elshaug, Adam G

    2014-05-05

    Measures to improve the quality and sustainability of healthcare practice and provision have become a policy concern. In addition, the involvement of stakeholders in health policy decision-making has been advocated, as complex questions arise around the structure of funding arrangements in a context of limited resources. Using a case study of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), deliberative engagements with a range of stakeholder groups were held on the topic of how best to structure the distribution of Australian public funding in this domain. Deliberative engagements were carried out with groups of ART consumers, clinicians and community members. The forums were informed by a systematic review of ART treatment safety and effectiveness (focusing, in particular, on maternal age and number of treatment cycles), as well as by international policy comparisons, and ethical and cost analyses. Forum discussions were transcribed and subject to thematic analysis. Each forum demonstrated stakeholders' capacity to understand concepts of choice under resource scarcity and disinvestment, and to countenance options for ART funding not always aligned with their interests. Deliberations in each engagement identified concerns around 'equity' and 'patient responsibility', culminating in a broad preference for (potential) ART subsidy restrictions to be based upon individual factors rather than maternal age or number of treatment cycles. Community participants were open to restrictions based upon measures of body mass index (BMI) and smoking status, while consumers and clinicians saw support to improve these factors as part of an ART treatment program, as distinct from a funding criterion. All groups advocated continued patient co-payments, with measures in place to provide treatment access to those unable to pay (namely, equity of access). Deliberations yielded qualitative, socially-negotiated evidence required to inform ethical, accountable policy decisions in the specific

  11. The determination of organization stakeholder salience in public health.

    PubMed

    Page, Catherine G

    2002-09-01

    Because interorganizational arrangements are encouraged as necessary to meet public health goals, it is critical for the managers of public health services at any level to consider stakeholder theory from an organizational perspective. Public health managers are responsible for the stakeholders in public health as well as public health as a stakeholder in other organizations. This article presents an innovative tool for the determination of organization stakeholder salience that assists managers in establishing priorities for interorganizational relationships during strategic planning and day-to-day decision making.

  12. Hygiene and sanitation promotion strategies among ethnic minority communities in northern Vietnam: a stakeholder analysis.

    PubMed

    Rheinländer, Thilde; Xuan, Le Thi Thanh; Hoat, Luu Ngoc; Dalsgaard, Anders; Konradsen, Flemming

    2012-10-01

    Effective rural hygiene and sanitation promotion (RHSP) is a major challenge for many low-income countries. This paper investigates strategies and stakeholders' roles and responsibilities in RHSP implementation in a multi-ethnic area of northern Vietnam, in order to identify lessons learned for future RHSP. A stakeholder analysis was performed, based on 49 semi-structured individual interviews and one group interview with stakeholders in RHSP in a northern province of Vietnam. Participants came from three sectors (agriculture, health and education), unions supported by the Vietnamese government and from four administrative levels (village, commune, district and province). The study villages represented four ethnic minority groups including lowland and highland communities. Stakeholders' roles, responsibilities and promotion methods were outlined, and implementation constraints and opportunities were identified and analysed using thematic content analysis. Effective RHSP in Vietnam is severely constrained despite supporting policies and a multi-sectorial and multi-level framework. Four main barriers for effective implementation of RHSP were identified: (1) weak inter-sectorial collaborations; (2) constraints faced by frontline promoters; (3) almost exclusive information-based and passive promotion methods applied; and (4) context unadjusted promotion strategies across ethnic groups, including a limited focus on socio-economic differences, language barriers and gender roles in the target groups. Highland communities were identified as least targeted and clearly in need of more intensive and effective RHSP. It is recommended that the Vietnamese government gives priority to increasing capacities of and collaboration among stakeholders implementing RHSP activities. This should focus on frontline promoters to perform effective behaviour change communication. It is also recommended to support more participatory and community-based initiatives, which can address the

  13. Stakeholder engagement in policy development: challenges and opportunities for human genomics

    PubMed Central

    Lemke, Amy A.; Harris-Wai, Julie N.

    2015-01-01

    Along with rapid advances in human genomics, policies governing genomic data and clinical technologies have proliferated. Stakeholder engagement is widely lauded as an important methodology for improving clinical, scientific, and public health policy decision making. The purpose of this paper is to examine how stakeholder engagement is used to develop policies in genomics research and public health areas, as well as to identify future priorities for conducting evidence-based stakeholder engagements. We focus on exemplars in biobanking and newborn screening to illustrate a variety of current stakeholder engagement in policy-making efforts. Each setting provides an important context for examining the methods of obtaining and integrating informed stakeholder voices into the policy-making process. While many organizations have an interest in engaging stakeholders with regard to genomic policy issues, there is broad divergence with respect to the stakeholders involved, the purpose of engagements, when stakeholders are engaged during policy development, methods of engagement, and the outcomes reported. Stakeholder engagement in genomics policy development is still at a nascent stage. Several challenges of using stakeholder engagement as a tool for genomics policy development remain, and little evidence regarding how to best incorporate stakeholder feedback into policy-making processes is currently available. PMID:25764215

  14. Stakeholder engagement in policy development: challenges and opportunities for human genomics.

    PubMed

    Lemke, Amy A; Harris-Wai, Julie N

    2015-12-01

    Along with rapid advances in human genomics, policies governing genomic data and clinical technologies have proliferated. Stakeholder engagement is widely lauded as an important methodology for improving clinical, scientific, and public health policy decision making. The purpose of this paper is to examine how stakeholder engagement is used to develop policies in genomics research and public health areas, as well as to identify future priorities for conducting evidence-based stakeholder engagements. We focus on exemplars in biobanking and newborn screening to illustrate a variety of current stakeholder engagement in policy-making efforts. Each setting provides an important context for examining the methods of obtaining and integrating informed stakeholder voices into the policy-making process. While many organizations have an interest in engaging stakeholders with regard to genomic policy issues, there is broad divergence with respect to the stakeholders involved, the purpose of engagements, when stakeholders are engaged during policy development, methods of engagement, and the outcomes reported. Stakeholder engagement in genomics policy development is still at a nascent stage. Several challenges of using stakeholder engagement as a tool for genomics policy development remain, and little evidence regarding how to best incorporate stakeholder feedback into policy-making processes is currently available.

  15. From ideals to deals-The effect of impartiality experience on stakeholder behavior.

    PubMed

    Halko, Marja-Liisa; Miettinen, Topi

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we study a two-party pie-sharing problem in the presence of asymmetries in the stakeholders' private endowments. Both the two stakeholders and third-party arbitrators may influence the outcome. We consider Nash-demand negotiations, where the two stakeholders place demands and share the pie accordingly if demands are compatible, and elicit dictatorial allocations from the stakeholders and the arbitrators. The Nash demands by stakeholders are strategic; the dictatorial allocations by stakeholders and arbitrators are non-strategic. We are interested in the influence of the past arbitrator experience on stakeholder allocations and demands and the past stakeholder experience on third-party arbitration allocations. We find that the ex-arbitrators' stakeholder allocations differ more from the impartial ideal than the stakeholder allocations by those without arbitration experience. In contrast with previous findings, the arbitration outcomes do not depend on the asymmetries in the previous stakeholder roles.

  16. From ideals to deals—The effect of impartiality experience on stakeholder behavior

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we study a two-party pie-sharing problem in the presence of asymmetries in the stakeholders' private endowments. Both the two stakeholders and third-party arbitrators may influence the outcome. We consider Nash-demand negotiations, where the two stakeholders place demands and share the pie accordingly if demands are compatible, and elicit dictatorial allocations from the stakeholders and the arbitrators. The Nash demands by stakeholders are strategic; the dictatorial allocations by stakeholders and arbitrators are non-strategic. We are interested in the influence of the past arbitrator experience on stakeholder allocations and demands and the past stakeholder experience on third-party arbitration allocations. We find that the ex-arbitrators' stakeholder allocations differ more from the impartial ideal than the stakeholder allocations by those without arbitration experience. In contrast with previous findings, the arbitration outcomes do not depend on the asymmetries in the previous stakeholder roles. PMID:28786988

  17. Final Report - Facilitating Wind Energy: Addressing Challenges around Visual Impacts, Noise, Credible Data, and Local Benefits through Creative Stakeholder Engagement

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Harvey, Kate; Field, Patrick; Fierman, Elizabeth

    The project team consisting of the Consensus Building Institute, Inc., Raab Associates, Ltd., and the MIT-Harvard Program on Negotiation created a model and set of tools for building the capacity of state officials to effectively collaborate with diverse stakeholders in advancing wind development policy formation, wind facility siting, and transmission policy and siting. The model was used to enhance the ability of state officials to advance wind development in their states. Training was delivered in Cambridge, MA, in Spring 2011. The training and associated materials, including a Wind Energy Workbook, website, and simulations, is available for ongoing and widespread disseminationmore » throughout the US.« less

  18. Social media and suicide prevention: findings from a stakeholder survey

    PubMed Central

    ROBINSON, Jo; RODRIGUES, Maria; FISHER, Steve; BAILEY, Eleanor; HERRMAN, Helen

    2015-01-01

    Background Suicide is a leading cause of death, particularly among young adults. The rapid growth of social media and its heavy use by young adults presents new challenges and opportunities for suicide prevention. Social media sites are commonly used for communicating about suicide-related behavior with others, which raises the possibility of using social media to help prevent suicide. However, the use of social media varies widely between different suicide prevention advocates. The role this type of intervention should play in a community’s overall suicide prevention strategy remains a matter of debate. Aim Explore the ways in which stakeholders use social media for suicide prevention and assess their views about the potential utility of social media as a suicide prevention tool. Methods A 12-week stakeholder consultation that involved the online administration and completion of surveys by 10 individuals who conduct research about suicide and social media, 13 organizations that use social media for suicide prevention purposes, and 64 users of social media. Results Social media was seen as a useful means of delivering a range of suicide prevention activities. Respondents reported that the key benefits of social media were the opportunity to obtain emotional support from others, to express one’s feelings, to talk to others with similar problems, and to provide help to others. The social media site believed to hold most potential for delivering suicide prevention activities was Facebook. There were concerns about potential risks of social media, but respondents felt the potential benefits outweighed the risks. Conclusions Social media was recognized by different types of stakeholders as holding potential for delivering suicide prevention activities. More research is required to establish the efficacy and safety of potential social media-based interventions and ethical standards and protocols to ensure that such interventions are delivered safely need to be

  19. Social media and suicide prevention: findings from a stakeholder survey.

    PubMed

    Robinson, Jo; Rodrigues, Maria; Fisher, Steve; Bailey, Eleanor; Herrman, Helen

    2015-02-25

    Suicide is a leading cause of death, particularly among young adults. The rapid growth of social media and its heavy use by young adults presents new challenges and opportunities for suicide prevention. Social media sites are commonly used for communicating about suicide-related behavior with others, which raises the possibility of using social media to help prevent suicide. However, the use of social media varies widely between different suicide prevention advocates. The role this type of intervention should play in a community's overall suicide prevention strategy remains a matter of debate. Explore the ways in which stakeholders use social media for suicide prevention and assess their views about the potential utility of social media as a suicide prevention tool. A 12-week stakeholder consultation that involved the online administration and completion of surveys by 10 individuals who conduct research about suicide and social media, 13 organizations that use social media for suicide prevention purposes, and 64 users of social media. Social media was seen as a useful means of delivering a range of suicide prevention activities. Respondents reported that the key benefits of social media were the opportunity to obtain emotional support from others, to express one's feelings, to talk to others with similar problems, and to provide help to others. The social media site believed to hold most potential for delivering suicide prevention activities was Facebook. There were concerns about potential risks of social media, but respondents felt the potential benefits outweighed the risks. Social media was recognized by different types of stakeholders as holding potential for delivering suicide prevention activities. More research is required to establish the efficacy and safety of potential social media-based interventions and ethical standards and protocols to ensure that such interventions are delivered safely need to be developed and implemented.

  20. Development of a comprehensive model for stakeholder management in mental healthcare.

    PubMed

    Bierbooms, Joyce; Van Oers, Hans; Rijkers, Jeroen; Bongers, Inge

    2016-06-20

    Purpose - Stakeholder management is not yet incorporated into the standard practice of most healthcare providers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of a comprehensive model for stakeholder management in mental healthcare organization for more evidence-based (stakeholder) management. Design/methodology/approach - The assessment was performed in two research parts: the steps described in the model were executed in a single case study at a mental healthcare organization in the Netherlands; and a process and effect evaluation was done to find the supporting and impeding factors with regard to the applicability of the model. Interviews were held with managers and directors to evaluate the effectiveness of the model with a view to stakeholder management. Findings - The stakeholder analysis resulted in the identification of eight stakeholder groups. Different expectations were identified for each of these groups. The analysis on performance gaps revealed that stakeholders generally find the collaboration with a mental healthcare provider "sufficient." Finally a prioritization showed that five stakeholder groups were seen as "definite" stakeholders by the organization. Practical implications - The assessment of the model showed that it generated useful knowledge for more evidence-based (stakeholder) management. Adaptation of the model is needed to increase its feasibility in practice. Originality/value - Provided that the model is properly adapted for the specific field, the analysis can provide more knowledge on stakeholders and can help integrate stakeholder management as a comprehensive process in policy planning.

  1. User testing and stakeholder feedback contributed to the development of understandable and useful Summary of Findings tables for Cochrane reviews.

    PubMed

    Rosenbaum, Sarah E; Glenton, Claire; Nylund, Hilde Kari; Oxman, Andrew D

    2010-06-01

    To develop a Summary of Findings (SoF) table for use in Cochrane reviews that is understandable and useful for health professionals, acceptable to Cochrane Collaboration stakeholders, and feasible to implement. We gathered stakeholder feedback on the format and content of an SoF table from an advisory group of more than 50 participants and their constituencies through e-mail consultations. We conducted user tests using a think-aloud protocol method, collecting feedback from 21 health professionals and researchers in Norway and the UK. We analyzed the feedback, defined problem areas, and generated new solutions in brainstorming workshops. Stakeholders were concerned about precision in the data representation and about production feasibility. User testing revealed unexpected comprehension problems, mainly confusion about what the different numbers referred to (class reference). Resolving the tension between achieving table precision and table simplicity became the main focus of the working group. User testing led to a table more useful and understandable for clinical audiences. We arrived at an SoF table that was acceptable to the stakeholders and in principle feasible to implement technically. Some challenges remain, including presenting continuous outcomes and technical/editorial implementation.

  2. Reducing Patients’ Unmet Concerns in Primary Care: the Difference One Word Can Make

    PubMed Central

    Robinson, Jeffrey D.; Elliott, Marc N.; Beckett, Megan; Wilkes, Michael

    2007-01-01

    Context In primary, acute-care visits, patients frequently present with more than 1 concern. Various visit factors prevent additional concerns from being articulated and addressed. Objective To test an intervention to reduce patients’ unmet concerns. Design Cross-sectional comparison of 2 experimental questions, with videotaping of office visits and pre and postvisit surveys. Setting Twenty outpatient offices of community-based physicians equally divided between Los Angeles County and a midsized town in Pennsylvania. Participants A volunteer sample of 20 family physicians (participation rate = 80%) and 224 patients approached consecutively within physicians (participation rate = 73%; approximately 11 participating for each enrolled physician) seeking care for an acute condition. Intervention After seeing 4 nonintervention patients, physicians were randomly assigned to solicit additional concerns by asking 1 of the following 2 questions after patients presented their chief concern: “Is there anything else you want to address in the visit today?” (ANY condition) and “Is there something else you want to address in the visit today?” (SOME condition). Main Outcome Measures Patients’ unmet concerns: concerns listed on previsit surveys but not addressed during visits, visit time, unanticipated concerns: concerns that were addressed during the visit but not listed on previsit surveys. Results Relative to nonintervention cases, the implemented SOME intervention eliminated 78% of unmet concerns (odds ratio (OR) = .154, p = .001). The ANY intervention could not be significantly distinguished from the control condition (p = .122). Neither intervention affected visit length, or patients’; expression of unanticipated concerns not listed in previsit surveys. Conclusions Patients’ unmet concerns can be dramatically reduced by a simple inquiry framed in the SOME form. Both the learning and implementation of the intervention require very little

  3. Stakeholder involvement: how to do it right: article 9 in Integrating and coordinating efforts in COPD guideline development. An official ATS/ERS workshop report.

    PubMed

    Cluzeau, Françoise; Wedzicha, Jadwiga A; Kelson, Marcia; Corn, Judy; Kunz, Regina; Walsh, John; Schünemann, Holger J

    2012-12-01

    Professional societies, like many other organizations around the world, have recognized the need to use more rigorous processes to ensure that healthcare recommendations are informed by the best available research evidence with input from appropriate stakeholders. This is the ninth of a series of 14 articles that were prepared by an international panel to advise guideline developers in respiratory and other diseases on approaches for guideline development. We updated a review of the literature on stakeholder involvement, focusing on six key questions. In this review we addressed the following questions. (1) What are "stakeholders"? (2) Why involve stakeholders in guidelines? (3) At what stage should stakeholders contribute to guidelines? (4) What are the potential barriers to integrating stakeholder involvement? (5) How can stakeholders be involved effectively? (6) Should anyone be excluded from the process? We searched PubMed and other databases of methodological studies for existing systematic reviews and relevant methodological research. We did not conduct our own systematic reviews. Our conclusions are based on available evidence, the experience of guideline developers, and workshop discussions. Stakeholders are all those who have a legitimate interest in a guideline. They include healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers, public and private funding bodies, managers, employers, and manufacturers. Their engagement is justified for several reasons, including limitations of evidence, principles of transparency and democracy, ownership, and potential policy implications. They have a role to play at different points of guideline development, but their involvement can be complex. To be successful, stakeholder engagement needs to be inclusive, equitable, and adequately resourced.

  4. Accountability in Community Colleges Using Stakeholder Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pitcher, Paula R.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of the present study is to analyze stakeholder theory and its applicability to community college accountability. Community colleges have been using strategic planning as a management approach that includes the process of strategic action, and many organizations claim that they collaborate with their stakeholders during this process.…

  5. Stakeholders' Perceptions of School Counselling in Singapore

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Low, Poi Kee

    2015-01-01

    This article reports on a qualitative study that set out to understand stakeholders' perception of the school counselling service in Singapore. Using semi-structured interviews, this study explored the perceptions of three main stakeholder groups, namely teachers and counsellors working within the schools and those working in the communities.…

  6. Rising to the challenge: addressing the concerns of people working in the sex industry.

    PubMed

    Shaver, Frances M; Lewis, Jacqueline; Maticka-Tyndale, Eleanor

    2011-02-01

    In September 2010, three Canadian Criminal Code provisions related to prostitution were ruled unconstitutional because they increase the risk of harm to people working in the sex industry (PWSI). Using data from studies with PWSI and key informants conducted in several Canadian cities, we examine three domains related to worker health and safety: occupational health and safety, perceptions of and behaviors toward workers, and access to essential services. Addressing these issues necessitates moving beyond decriminalization. We conclude that using a harm reduction/labor rights framework would enhance our ability to address issues related to the physical, social, and mental well-being as well as rights of PWSI.

  7. STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT THROUGHOUT HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: AN EXAMPLE FROM PALLIATIVE CARE.

    PubMed

    Brereton, Louise; Wahlster, Philip; Mozygemba, Kati; Lysdahl, Kristin Bakke; Burns, Jake; Polus, Stephanie; Tummers, Marcia; Refolo, Pietro; Sacchini, Dario; Leppert, Wojciech; Chilcott, James; Ingleton, Christine; Gardiner, Clare; Goyder, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    Internationally, funders require stakeholder involvement throughout health technology assessment (HTA). We report successes, challenges, and lessons learned from extensive stakeholder involvement throughout a palliative care case study that demonstrates new concepts and methods for HTA. A 5-step "INTEGRATE-HTA Model" developed within the INTEGRATE-HTA project guided the case study. Using convenience or purposive sampling or directly / indirectly identifying and approaching individuals / groups, stakeholders participated in qualitative research or consultation meetings. During scoping, 132 stakeholders, aged ≥ 18 years in seven countries (England, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Lithuania, and Poland), highlighted key issues in palliative care that assisted identification of the intervention and comparator. Subsequently stakeholders in four countries participated in face-face, telephone and / or video Skype meetings to inform evidence collection and / or review assessment results. An applicability assessment to identify contextual and implementation barriers and enablers for the case study findings involved twelve professionals in the three countries. Finally, thirteen stakeholders participated in a mock decision-making meeting in England. Views about the best methods of stakeholder involvement vary internationally. Stakeholders make valuable contributions in all stages of HTA; assisting decision making about interventions, comparators, research questions; providing evidence and insights into findings, gap analyses and applicability assessments. Key challenges exist regarding inclusivity, time, and resource use. Stakeholder involvement is feasible and worthwhile throughout HTA, sometimes providing unique insights. Various methods can be used to include stakeholders, although challenges exist. Recognition of stakeholder expertise and further guidance about stakeholder consultation methods is needed.

  8. Addressing Vermont's concerns on climate change on many levels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Betts, A. K.

    2016-12-01

    As a climate scientist, I realized about 12 years ago that one of my responsibilities was to help Vermont understand and adapt to climate change. My road-map has four components: 1) Newspaper articles, radio and TV interviews to explain climate issues and how to deal with them in plain English (about 100 so far) 2) Public talks across the state to schools, professional, business and citizens groups, the legislature and state government - in fact to anyone that asked - with a willingness to honestly and clearly address all issues raised (230 so far). 3) Specific research on how the climate and seasonal cycle of Vermont have changed in the past, and are likely to change in the future, exploring the unknowns. 4) A personal web-site to make all my writings, talks and research open access (http://alanbetts.com). Because Vermont is a small state with a rural and environmental ethos and a strong desire to understand, I have been able to reach across the state in a decade. In parallel, Vermont has put in place an ambitious renewable energy policy, which is well underway. My multi-faceted strategy is open, clear and transparently honest, aimed at helping society understand and deal with this critical issue. This is in sharp contrast with the secret, deceptive multifaceted strategy to discredit climate science by well-funded right-wing groups (see Dark Money by Jane Mayer), in support of their political and economic agenda, which has found little support in Vermont.

  9. Cooperation of international Research Infrastructures to address environmental global challenges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bonet García, Francisco J.; Suárez-Muñoz, María; Conchubhair, Diarmuid O.; Dohna, Tina; Lo Bue, Nadia

    2017-04-01

    Human impact on the planet is causing a set of global environmental problems that threaten the wellbeing of current and future generations. Examples of these environmental problems include climate change, decline of biodiversity, alteration of biogeochemical cycles, ocean acidification, etc. These environmental Global Challenges (GCs) are transnational and complex, combining elements of both natural and social factors. Providing solutions for these challenges can be significantly enhanced through the collaboration of various related institutions, governments and stakeholders. A deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of GCs, as well as the processes which control them is required. Environmental Research Infrastructures (DANUBIUS-RI) are key players in this learning process. Covering many fields of research, it is through RIs collaboration that GCs can be more fully addressed. However, the collaboration among environmental RIs is still limited nationally as well as internationally. Although contact is encouraged and interactions are common practice, there are few cases where RI managers initiate and foster transnational collaborations in order to address specific problems. The COOP+ project aims to explore and strengthen cooperation among global RIs by bringing various RIs together and working on the identification of requirements, strengths, knowledge gaps and other relevant items in regard to the selected GCs. For this purpose, 13 GCs have been selected: coral bleaching, marine debris, noise impact on marine fauna, Arctic sea ice melting, pollinators decline, threatened species, agriculture pollutants, nitrogen cycle, carbon and GHG, geohazards and extreme events, estuaries, global urbanization process, and ozone depletion. These GCs are being analysed and described by multidisciplinary teams of experts composed of scientists, RIs operators and other stakeholders. This assessment will derive a list of tasks and requirements to be fulfilled by the

  10. The Minamata Convention on Mercury: attempting to address the global controversy of dental amalgam use and mercury waste disposal.

    PubMed

    Mackey, Tim K; Contreras, John T; Liang, Bryan A

    2014-02-15

    In October 2013, a new international binding treaty instrument called the Minamata Convention on Mercury opened for signature in Minamata City, Japan, the site of arguably the worst public health and environmental disaster involving mercury contamination. The treaty aims to curb the significant health and environmental impacts of mercury pollution and includes provisions addressing the mining, export and import, storage, and waste management of products containing mercury. Importantly, a provision heavily negotiated in the treaty addresses the use of dental fillings using mercury amalgam, an issue that has been subject to decades of global controversy. Though use of dental amalgam is widespread and has benefits, concerns have been raised regarding the potential for human health risk and environmental damage from emissions and improper waste management. While the Minamata Convention attempts to address these issues by calling for a voluntary phase-down of dental amalgam use and commitment to other measures, it falls short by failing to require binding and measurable targets to achieve these goals. In response, the international community should begin exploring ways to strengthen the implementation of the dental amalgam treaty provisions by establishing binding phase-down targets and milestones as well as exploring financing mechanisms to support treaty measures. Through strengthening of the Convention, stakeholders can ensure equitable access to global oral health treatment while also promoting responsible environmental stewardship. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Adapting the Patient-Centered Medical Home to Address Psychosocial Adversity: Results of a Qualitative Study.

    PubMed

    Vu, Cecilia; Rothman, Emily; Kistin, Caroline J; Barton, Kelly; Bulman, Barb; Budzak-Garza, Ann; Olson-Dorff, Denyse; Bair-Merritt, Megan H

    The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) seeks to improve population health. However, PCMH models often focus on improving treatment of chronic diseases rather than on addressing psychosocial adversity. We sought to gather key stakeholder input about how PCMHs might feasibly and sustainably address psychosocial adversity within their patient populations. We conducted 25 semistructured interviews with key stakeholders, such as physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and patients. The audiorecorded interviews focused on participants' perceptions of the best ways to modify the PCMH to address patients' psychosocial adversity. To facilitate information gathering, a fictional patient case was presented. Analyses were conducted using a 3-stage content-analysis process. Participants identified provider-related and systems-level changes necessary for addressing these psychosocial adversities effectively. On the provider level, participants thought that practitioners should foster trusting relationships with patients and should be emotionally present as patients describe their life experiences. Participants also emphasized that providers need to have sensitive conversations about adversity and resilience. On a systems level, participants discussed that documentation must balance privacy and include relevant information in the medical record. In addition, care should be delivered not by a single provider but by a team that has a longitudinal relationship with the patient; this care team should include behavioral health support. Participants provided practical strategies and highlighted provider and systems level changes to adequately address patients' prior psychosocial adversity. Future studies need to assess the degree to which such a trauma-informed approach improves patient access, outcomes, and care quality, and reduces cost. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Exploring Stakeholder Relationships in a University Internship Program: A Qualitative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoyle, Jeffrey A.

    2013-01-01

    This study explores stakeholder relationships between the key stakeholders of a public university, private employers, and university students in a marketing undergraduate internship program. By exploring these relationships through the process of stakeholder analysis a deeper understanding of the power dynamics between key stakeholders emerged.…

  13. Perspectives of Stakeholders on Implementing a Farm-to-University Program at an HBCU.

    PubMed

    Vilme, Helene; López, Ivette A; Walters, Lurleen; Suther, Sandra; Brown, C Perry; Dutton, Matthew; Barber, Janet

    2015-07-01

    To explore the perspectives of various stakeholders on whether an HBCU has the resources to establish a farm-to-university program that can improve fruits and vegetables intake among African American students. Additionally, this study assessed students' satisfaction with fruits and vegetables served in University dining halls, and their desire for changes in policies to increase local fruits and vegetables access on campus. This study employed a mixed method data collection strategy. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the stakeholders' perspectives and self-administered questionnaires were used to assess students' satisfaction with fruits and vegetables and desire for policy changes. Barriers reported by both food service administrators and farmers were cost and variation in supply and demand. Students expressed lack of satisfaction with fresh produce served in campus dining halls and a desire for change in policies to increase local fruits and vegetables access on campus. While there is student desire for improved access to fresh produce on campus, there are perceived barriers to overcome. University partnerships are needed to address the desired nutritional improvements.

  14. One exhibition, many goals. A case study on how to combine scientific questions with stakeholder views on effective communication of risks.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Charriere, M. K. M.; Junier, S.; Bogaard, T.; Mostert, E.; Malet, J. P.

    2014-12-01

    How effective is visual communication to increase awareness of natural hazards and risks? To answer this research question, we developed a research design that was at the same time an experimental setting and an actual communication effort. This contribution will address the scientists-stakeholders interaction that was involved, the resulting exhibition, the lessons learned and the value it had for the researchers and for the other stakeholders. Throughout the full length of the 2-years project held in the Ubaye valley (southeastern France) we collaborated with local and regional stakeholders (politicians and technicians). Informal meetings with local stakeholders were organized to determine what they perceived as the needs in term of risk communication and to investigate the potential to develop activities that would benefit both them and us. We were offered the opportunity to design an exhibition for the local public library. We proposed the content and this was adjusted in interaction with the stakeholders. Later local technicians and inhabitants contributed to the content of the exhibition and regional stakeholders helped with the funding of the exhibition. Finally, employees of the public library took the lead in advertising the activity, gathering participants and they helped designing the scientific survey. This survey was the key activity from a scientific point of view as it allowed us to measure the impact of this communication activity on risk awareness. Moreover, the principal scientist was present during all opening hours of the exhibition. This allowed direct and indirect contact with the visitors. The benefits of this exhibition for the community included triggering memories, encouraging exchanges, especially inter-generational, reinforcing stakeholders-to-stakeholders relationships and promote further communication on the topic. The scientific benefits are that we have an experiment that allows us to measure the impact of a communication effort, not

  15. a Case Study in Documentation Production as Learning Tools Benefitting Multiple Stakeholders

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Truesdale, T. J.; Hierlihy, B.; Jouan, P.

    2017-08-01

    The Fondation Strutt Foundation has taken on the conservation planning of the Strutt House as part of a P3 collaborative effort with the National Capital Commission (NCC). This paper will address three of the primary documents/data sets (documentary methodologies) being used on/for the Strutt House project. The Strutt House is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building and a significant example of Canadian modernist architecture. Stakeholder is a term often used in Architectural Projects reflecting an economic interest in success of the project. In conservation projects the stakeholder generally reflects social, cultural and/or economic interests in a given project. The Strutt House project has benefitted from stakeholders that have all been interested in the above, as well as the education of our future conservationists. The Strutt house was purchased from the architect's daughter in 2010, and as part of the acquisition, a Heritage Structure Report was commissioned and produced by PTAH Consultants Inc., Architects. The report forms the first of the primary referenced documents of this paper, including: a comprehensive photographic record of existing conditions; and, a building simulation model of the house `as designed/built'. This HSR and the accompanying data/documents have been adopted as the basis of an evolving document in the development of the Conservation Plan including: additional heritage surveys and technologies; traditional drawings, photographic and video records; and, a series of workshops on the structural stabilization efforts, thermography scans, and smoke/blow-door (air pressure) testing. In 2016, Pierre Jouan, a Master's thesis student from KU Leuvan, working with the Carleton University CIMS lab under the direction of Professor Mario Santana, and the FSF completed a 3-D scanning and photogrammetry workshop on the Strutt House and created a building information model (BIM model) from the collected data. The three primary documentation processes

  16. The Ethics of Health Care Delivery in a Pediatric Malaria Vaccine Trial: The Perspectives of Stakeholders From Ghana and Tanzania.

    PubMed

    Ward, Claire Leonie; Shaw, David; Anane-Sarpong, Evelyn; Sankoh, Osman; Tanner, Marcel; Elger, Bernice

    2018-02-01

    This study explores ethical issues raised in providing medical care to participants and communities of low-resource settings involved in a Phase II/III pediatric malaria vaccine trial (PMVT). We conducted 52 key informant interviews with major stakeholders of an international multi-center PMVT (GSK/PATH-MVI RTS,S) (NCT00866619) in Ghana and Tanzania. Based on their stakeholder experiences, the responses fell into three main themes: (a) undue inducement, (b) community disparities, and (c) broad therapeutic misconceptions. The study identified the critical ethical aspects, from the perspectives of stakeholders, of delivering health care during a PMVT. The study showed that integrating research into health care services needs to be addressed in a manner that upholds the favorable risk-benefit ratio of research and attends to the health needs of local populations. The implementation of research should aim to improve local standards of care through building a collaborative agenda with local institutions and systems of health.

  17. Stakeholder Perceptions of Cyberbullying Cases: Application of the Uniform Definition of Bullying.

    PubMed

    Moreno, Megan A; Suthamjariya, Nina; Selkie, Ellen

    2018-04-01

    The Uniform Definition of Bullying was developed to address bullying and cyberbullying, and to promote consistency in measurement and policy. The purpose of this study was to understand community stakeholder perceptions of typical cyberbullying cases, and to evaluate how these case descriptions align with the Uniform Definition. In this qualitative case analysis we recruited stakeholders commonly involved in cyberbullying. We used purposeful sampling to identify and recruit adolescents and young adults, parents, and professionals representing education and health care. Participants were asked to write a typical case of cyberbullying and descriptors in the context of a group discussion. We applied content analysis to case excerpts using inductive and deductive approaches, and chi-squared tests for mixed methods analyses. A total of 68 participants contributed; participants included 73% adults and 27% adolescents and young adults. A total of 650 excerpts were coded from participants' example cases and 362 (55.6%) were consistent with components of the Uniform Definition. The most frequently mentioned component of the Uniform Definition was Aggressive Behavior (n = 218 excerpts), whereas Repeated was mentioned infrequently (n = 19). Most participants included two to three components of the Uniform Definition within an example case; none of the example cases included all components of the Uniform Definition. We found that most participants described cyberbullying cases using few components of the Uniform Definition. Findings can be applied toward considering refinement of the Uniform Definition to ensure stakeholders find it applicable to cyberbullying. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. A Case Study of Key Stakeholders' Perceptions of the Learning Center's Effectiveness for English Learners at a District in Central California

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nava, Norma Leticia

    2016-01-01

    This qualitative study explored stakeholders' (administrators, teachers, and parents) perspectives of English learners in the learning center, a response to intervention model, at a school district in Central California. Research existed concerning the yearly academic growth of students in a learning center, but there was a lack of knowledge about…

  19. An Exploratory Use of the Stakeholder Approach to Defining and Measuring Quality: The Case of a Cypriot Higher Education Institution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Iacovidou, Melpo; Gibbs, Paul; Zopiatis, Anastasios

    2009-01-01

    Cyprus has recently adopted laws to allow for the provision of private higher education. This case study concerns one such institution that is developing its understanding of quality through the eyes of two of its key stakeholders, staff and students. This empirical study is nested within the literature that advocates community-wide acceptance of…

  20. A framework for engaging stakeholders on the management of alien species.

    PubMed

    Novoa, Ana; Shackleton, Ross; Canavan, Susan; Cybèle, Cathleen; Davies, Sarah J; Dehnen-Schmutz, Katharina; Fried, Jana; Gaertner, Mirijam; Geerts, Sjirk; Griffiths, Charles L; Kaplan, Haylee; Kumschick, Sabrina; Le Maitre, David C; Measey, G John; Nunes, Ana L; Richardson, David M; Robinson, Tamara B; Touza, Julia; Wilson, John R U

    2018-01-01

    Alien species can have major ecological and socioeconomic impacts in their novel ranges and so effective management actions are needed. However, management can be contentious and create conflicts, especially when stakeholders who benefit from alien species are different from those who incur costs. Such conflicts of interests mean that management strategies can often not be implemented. There is, therefore, increasing interest in engaging stakeholders affected by alien species or by their management. Through a facilitated workshop and consultation process including academics and managers working on a variety of organisms and in different areas (urban and rural) and ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic), we developed a framework for engaging stakeholders in the management of alien species. The proposed framework for stakeholder engagement consists of 12 steps: (1) identify stakeholders; (2) select key stakeholders for engagement; (3) explore key stakeholders' perceptions and develop initial aims for management; (4) engage key stakeholders in the development of a draft management strategy; (5) re-explore key stakeholders' perceptions and revise the aims of the strategy; (6) co-design general aims, management objectives and time frames with key stakeholders; (7) co-design a management strategy; (8) facilitate stakeholders' ownership of the strategy and adapt as required; and (9) implement the strategy and monitor management actions to evaluate the need for additional or future actions. In case additional management is needed after these actions take place, some extra steps should be taken: (10) identify any new stakeholders, benefits, and costs; (11) monitor engagement; and (12) revise management strategy. Overall, we believe that our framework provides an effective approach to minimize the impact of conflicts created by alien species management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Aliens in the promised land? Keynote address for the 1986 National Gathering of the United Church of Christ's Coalition for Lesbian/Gay Concerns.

    PubMed

    Comstock, G D

    The following article is a condensed version of the keynote address given at the 1986 National Gathering of the Lesbian/Gay Coalition of the United Church of Christ (UCC). Problems encountered by lesbians and gay men in organized religion, especially within the liberal tradition, are identified by a method of inquiry developed by Christian educator John Westerhoff for assessing egalitarianism within institutions. The story of Queen Vashti from the Book of Esther in Hebrew scripture, and the emerging tradition of coming-out experiences by lesbians and gay men; provide the norm and model for declaring independence from denominations that neglect the concerns of lesbians and gay men and for constructing religious alternatives.

  2. Community stakeholder responses to advocacy advertising

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Miller, B.; Sinclair, J.

    Focus group research was used to examine how community stakeholders, a group with local industry experience, responded to coal industry advocacy messages. The stakeholders expressed beliefs about both the advertiser and the coal industry, and while their knowledge led to critical consideration of the industry campaign, they also expressed a desire to identify with positive messages about their community. Applying a postpositivist research perspective, a new model is introduced to integrate these beliefs in terms of advertiser trust and industry accountability under the existing theoretical framework of persuasion knowledge. Agent and topic knowledge are combined in this model based onmore » responses to the industry advocacy campaign. In doing so, this study integrates a priori theory within a new context, extending the current theoretical framework to include an understanding of how community stakeholders - a common target for marketplace advocacy - interpret industry messages.« less

  3. Stakeholder analysis: theAndalusian Agency For Healthcare Quality case.

    PubMed

    Reyes-Alcázar, Víctor; Casas-Delgado, Marta; Herrera-Usagre, Manuel; Torres-Olivera, Antonio

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to identify the different groups that can affect or be affected by an agency charged with the promoting and guaranteeing of health care quality in Andalusian region (Spain) and to provide a framework with the stakeholders included in different categories. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. A case study with structured interviews among Andalusian Agency for Healthcare Quality Steering Committee members was carried out in 2010 to define stakeholders' categories and map the interest groups using 5 attributes: influence, importance, legitimacy, power, and urgency. After identification and categorization, stakeholders were weighted qualitatively according to the attributes of importance and influence using 4 possible levels. A matrix was made with the collected data relating both attributes. Furthermore, 8 different types of stakeholders were identified according to attributes power, legitimacy, and urgency. The study concludes that identifying and classifying stakeholders are fundamental to ensuring the success of an organization that must respond to needs and expectations, especially those of its clients. Moreover, knowing stakeholder linkages can contribute to increase organizational worth. This is essential for organizations basically directed to the provision of services in the scope of health care.

  4. Value flow mapping: Using networks to inform stakeholder analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cameron, Bruce G.; Crawley, Edward F.; Loureiro, Geilson; Rebentisch, Eric S.

    2008-02-01

    Stakeholder theory has garnered significant interest from the corporate community, but has proved difficult to apply to large government programs. A detailed value flow exercise was conducted to identify the value delivery mechanisms among stakeholders for the current Vision for Space Exploration. We propose a method for capturing stakeholder needs that explicitly recognizes the outcomes required of the value creating organization. The captured stakeholder needs are then translated into input-output models for each stakeholder, which are then aggregated into a network model. Analysis of this network suggests that benefits are infrequently linked to the root provider of value. Furthermore, it is noted that requirements should not only be written to influence the organization's outputs, but also to influence the propagation of benefit further along the value chain. A number of future applications of this model to systems architecture and requirement analysis are discussed.

  5. The International Finance Facility for Immunisation: stakeholders' perspectives.

    PubMed

    Crocker-Buque, Tim; Mounier-Jack, Sandra

    2016-09-01

    To evaluate stakeholders' understanding and opinions of the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm); to identify factors affecting funding levels; and to explore the future use of IFFIm. Between July and September 2015, we interviewed 33 individuals from 25 organizations identified as stakeholders in IFFIm. In total 22.5 hours of semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using a framework method. Stakeholders' understanding of IFFIm's financing mechanism and its outcomes varied and many stakeholders wanted more information. Participants highlighted that the change in the macro-economic environment following the 2008 financial crisis affected national policy in donor countries and subsequently the number of new commitments IFFIm received. Since Gavi is now seen as a successful and mature organization, participants stated that donors prefer to donate directly to Gavi. The pharmaceutical industry valued IFFIm for providing funding stability and flexibility. Other stakeholders valued IFFIm's ability to access funds early and enable Gavi to increase vaccine coverage. Overall, stakeholders thought IFFIm was successful, but they had divergent views about IFFIm's on-going role. Participants listed two issues where bond financing mechanisms may be suitable: emergency preparedness and outcome-based time-limited interventions. The benefit of pledging funds through IFFIm needs to be re-evaluated. There are potential uses for bond financing to raise funds for other global health issues, but these must be carefully considered against criteria to establish effectiveness, with quantifiable pre-defined outcome indicators to evaluate performance.

  6. Perceptions of stakeholders about nontraditional cookstoves in Honduras

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramirez, Sebastian; Dwivedi, Puneet; Bailis, Robert; Ghilardi, Adrian

    2012-12-01

    We used SWOT-AHP (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats-analytical hierarchy process) technique to measure perceptions of four stakeholder groups: employees, local promoters, community leaders and end-users, about a nontraditional cookstove (NTCS) in Honduras. These stakeholder groups are part of an ongoing NTCS dissemination project led by Proyecto Mirador. We found that all stakeholder groups have a positive perception about the existing NTCS. Employees and local promoters stakeholder groups share similar perceptions. Smokeless cooking was selected as a prime strength, closely followed by reduction in forest logging and greenhouse gas emissions by all stakeholder groups. Availability of financial resources and responsible management were identified as crucial opportunities. Time spent in wood preparation and NTCS maintenance were identified as principal weaknesses. A long waiting time between a request and installation of NTCS and the risk of losing existing financial resources were acknowledged as major threats. Design improvements that can reduce maintenance and wood preparation time, a secure long-term source of funding through a market mechanism or direct/indirect government involvement, and early execution of pending orders will help in increasing adoption of NTCSs in rural Honduras.

  7. Emergency Management and Tourism Stakeholder Responses to Crises

    PubMed Central

    Morakabati, Yeganeh; Page, Stephen J.; Fletcher, John

    2016-01-01

    This article examines the contested area of the responsibility for destinations and tourists, within emergency settings. It incorporates a Delphi-Scenario technique to facilitate a structured discussion of emergency management for different destination stakeholders. The Delphi exercise engaged 123 senior international stakeholders, from 9 different industry sectors, across 34 countries to provide a global perspective. The study’s principal focus is on the notion of emergency management, to identify the challenges that stakeholders would face within a disaster scenario. The exercise asked stakeholders to identify with whom the responsibility rests for 18 distinct disaster-related activities. The study proposes a responsibility allocation building-block framework that could help speed up the emergency management responses by “knowing who is going to do what” with a particular focus on dealing with international tourists as a community in a disaster zone. PMID:29708106

  8. Stakeholder views of ethical guidance regarding prevention and care in HIV vaccine trials

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background South Africa is a major hub of HIV prevention trials, with plans for a licensure trial to start in 2015. The appropriate standards of care and of prevention in HIV vaccine trials are complex and debated issues and ethical guidelines offer some direction. However, there has been limited empirical exploration of South African stakeholders’ perspectives on ethical guidance related to prevention and care in HIV vaccine trials. Methods Site staff, Community Advisory Board members and Research Ethics Committee members involved with current HIV vaccine trials in South Africa were invited to participate in an exploration of their views. A questionnaire listed 10 care and 10 prevention recommendations drawn from two widely available sets of ethical guidelines for biomedical HIV prevention trials. Respondents (n = 98) rated each recommendation on five dimensions: “Familiarity with”, “Ease of Understanding”, “Ease of Implementing”, “Perceived Protection”, and “Agreement with” each ethical recommendation. The ratings were used to describe stakeholder perspectives on dimensions for each recommendation. Dimension ratings were averaged across the five dimensions and used as an indication of overall merit for each recommendation. Differences were explored across dimensions, between care-oriented and prevention-oriented recommendations, and between stakeholder groups. Results Both care and prevention recommendations were rated highly overall, with median ratings well above the scale midpoint. In general, informed consent recommendations were most positively rated. Care-related recommendations were rated significantly more positively than prevention-related recommendations, with the five lowest-rated recommendations being prevention-related. The most problematic dimension across all recommendations was “Ease of Implementing,” and the least problematic was “Agreement with,” suggesting the most pressing stakeholder concerns are practical

  9. Stakeholder analysis and mapping as targeted communication strategy.

    PubMed

    Shirey, Maria R

    2012-09-01

    This department highlights change management strategies that may be successful in strategically planning and executing organizational change initiatives. With the goal of presenting practical approaches helpful to nurse leaders advancing organizational change, content includes evidence-based projects, tools, and resources that mobilize and sustain organizational change initiatives. In this article, the author highlights the importance of stakeholder theory and discusses how to apply the theory to conduct a stakeholder analysis. This article also provides an explanation of how to use related stakeholder mapping techniques with targeted communication strategies.

  10. How stakeholders frame dam removal: The role of current and anticipated future ecosystem service use

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reilly, Kate; Adamowski, Jan

    2016-04-01

    undammed river. Ultimately, we argue that increased provision of ecosystem services does not always represent a point of convergence between stakeholder groups, because both groups support ecosystem protection but differ in how they expect the benefits they derive from ecosystem services to change. Conflict resolution strategies may be better addressed by measures to mitigate the perceived loss of ecosystem services in the group against dam removal.

  11. Stakeholder Analysis To Shape the Enterprise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCaughin, Keith; Derosa, Joseph

    An enterprise is a complex adaptive social system that should maximize stakeholder, not shareholder, value — value to employees, customers, shareholders and others. We expand upon Russell Ackoff s direction to distribute value among stakeholders, to propose a schema of rules that guide the interactions among autonomous agents in the transactional environment of an enterprise. We define an enterprise as an organization and its transactional environment interacting with and adapting to each other. Enterprise behavior can only be understood in the context of this transactional environment where everything depends on everything else and interactions cannot be controlled, but can be influenced if they are guided by an understanding of the internal rules of the autonomous agents. The schema has four complementary rules (control, autonomy, return and value) derived from the work of Russell Ackoff and Michael Porter. The basic rules are applied in combination to eight stakeholder types derived from Richard Hopeman and Raymond McLeod (Leaders, Competitors, Customers, Public, Workers, Collaborators, Suppliers and Regulators). An enterprise can use this schema and rules in a process of stakeholder analysis to develop and continually refine strategies to encourage behaviors that benefit the enterprise and discourage behaviors that harm the enterprise. These strategies are implemented in a relationship management program in support of enterprise strategic management to consciously and explicitly shape the environment to reduce risks and increase opportunities for success.

  12. Stakeholder-based evaluation categories for regional climate services - a case study at the German Baltic Sea coast

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meinke, Insa

    2017-08-01

    In this study, categories, dimensions, and criteria for evaluating regional climate services are derived by a participatory approach with potential service users at the German Baltic Sea coast. The development is carried out within nine face-to-face interviews conducted with decision makers, working in climate sensitive sectors at the German Baltic Sea coast. Three main groups of categories were localized which seem to matter most to the considered stakeholders and which seem to be crucial evaluation categories for regional climate services: (1) credibility, (2) relevance, and (3) appropriateness. For each of these evaluation categories several dimensions emerged, indicating certain perspectives of stakeholder demands. When summarizing these evaluation categories and their dimensions, 13 evaluation criteria for regional climate services can be derived (see Table 1). The results show that stakeholders do mainly address components other than those found in the literature (e.g. inputs, process, outputs, outcomes, and impacts). This might indicate that an evaluation, following solely literature-based (non-participative) components, is not sufficient to localize deficiencies or efficiencies within a regional climate service, since it might lead to results which are not relevant for potential users.

  13. Defensive Stakeholder Management in European Universities: An Institutional Logics Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mampaey, Jelle; Huisman, Jeroen

    2016-01-01

    Earlier studies on stakeholder management in European universities focused on proactive strategies, that is, substantive organizational practices to establish and maintain mutually beneficial exchanges between universities and their stakeholders. We argue that the literature on stakeholder management has to be extended by theorizing defensive…

  14. A Doctor is in the House: Stakeholder Focus Groups About Expanded Scope of Practice of Community Psychiatrists.

    PubMed

    Mangurian, Christina; Modlin, Chelsea; Williams, Lindsey; Essock, Susan; Riano, Nicholas S; Shumway, Martha; Newcomer, John W; Dilley, James W; Schillinger, Dean

    2017-11-28

    We sought to understand stakeholder perspectives on barriers to metabolic screening for people with severe mental illness. We additionally assessed the feasibility of expanding psychiatrists' scope of practice to include treatment of cardiometabolic abnormalities. We conducted four focus groups among patients with severe mental illness, community psychiatrists, primary care providers, and public health administrators. Focus group transcripts were thematically analyzed. Three domains emerged: challenges with patient navigation of the complex health care system, problem list prioritization difficulties, and concern that treatment of cardiometabolic abnormalities were beyond the scope of practice of psychiatrists. Stakeholders agreed that navigating the health care system was challenging for this population and led to undertreatment of cardiometabolic risk factors. Expansion of psychiatrists' scope of practice within community mental health appears acceptable to patients and may be a mechanism to improve cardiometabolic care among people with severe mental illness.

  15. Ethical considerations of worksite health promotion: an exploration of stakeholders' views.

    PubMed

    van Berkel, Jantien; Meershoek, Agnes; Janssens, Rien M J P A; Boot, Cécile R L; Proper, Karin I; van der Beek, Allard J

    2014-05-16

    Developing, implementing and evaluating worksite health promotion requires dealing with all stakeholders involved, such as employers, employees, occupational physicians, insurance companies, providers, labour unions and research and knowledge institutes. Although worksite health promotion is becoming more common, empirical research on ethical considerations of worksite health promotion is scarce. We explored the views of stakeholders involved in worksite health promotion in focus group discussions and we described the ethical considerations that result from differences between these views. The focus group discussions were organised per stakeholder group. Data were analysed according to the constant comparison method. Our analyses show that although the definition of occupational health is the same for all stakeholders, namely 'being able to perform your job', there seem to be important differences in the views on what constitutes a risk factor to occupational health. According to the employees, risk factors to occupational health are prevailingly job-related. Labour unions agree with them, but other stakeholders, including the employer, particularly see employee-related issues such as lifestyle behaviour as risk factors to occupational health. The difference in definition of occupational health risk factors translates into the same categorisation of worksite health promotion; employee-related activities and work-related activities. The difference in conceptualisation of occupational health risk factors and worksite health promotion resonates in the way stakeholders understand 'responsibility' for lifestyle behaviour. Even though all stakeholders agree on whose responsibility lifestyle behaviour is, namely that of the employee, the meaning of 'responsibility' differs between employees, and employers. For employees, responsibility means autonomy, while for employers and other stakeholders, responsibility equals duty. This difference may in turn contribute to

  16. A multi-stakeholder evaluation of the Baltimore City virtual supermarket program.

    PubMed

    Lagisetty, Pooja; Flamm, Laura; Rak, Summer; Landgraf, Jessica; Heisler, Michele; Forman, Jane

    2017-10-23

    Increasing access to healthy foods and beverages in disadvantaged communities is a public health priority due to alarmingly high rates of obesity. The Virtual Supermarket Program (VSP) is a Baltimore City Health Department program that uses online grocery ordering to deliver food to low-income neighborhoods. This study evaluates stakeholder preferences and barriers of program implementation. This study assessed the feasibility, sustainability and efficacy of the VSP by surveying 93 customers and interviewing 14 programmatic stakeholders who had recently used the VSP or been involved with program design and implementation. We identified the following themes: The VSP addressed transportation barriers and food availability. The VSP impacted customers and the city by including improving food purchasing behavior, creating a food justice "brand for the city", and fostering a sense of community. Customers appreciated using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to pay for groceries, but policy changes are needed allow online processing of SNAP benefits. This evaluation summarizes lessons learned and serves as a guide to other public health leaders interested in developing similar programs. Provisions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Bill 2014 allow for select grocers to pilot online transactions with SNAP benefits. If these pilots are efficacious, the VSP model could be easily disseminated.

  17. Ask Dr. Sue: Center Directors Express These Health Concerns.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aronson, Susan S.

    1991-01-01

    A physician addresses three health concerns of child care center directors. She provides information about the increasing number of children with asthma problems, the exclusion of ill children from child care settings, and the increasing concern about lead poisoning. (GLR)

  18. Surrogate receptivity to participation in critical illness genetic research: aligning research oversight and stakeholder concerns.

    PubMed

    Freeman, Bradley D; Butler, Kevin; Bolcic-Jankovic, Dragana; Clarridge, Brian R; Kennedy, Carie R; LeBlanc, Jessica; Chandros Hull, Sara

    2015-04-01

    Collection of genetic biospecimens as part of critical illness investigations is increasingly commonplace. Oversight bodies vary in restrictions imposed on genetic research, introducing inconsistencies in study design, potential for sampling bias, and the possibility of being overly prohibitive of this type of research altogether. We undertook this study to better understand whether restrictions on genetic data collection beyond those governing research on cognitively intact subjects reflect the concerns of surrogates for critically ill patients. We analyzed survey data collected from 1,176 patients in nonurgent settings and 437 surrogates representing critically ill adults. Attitudes pertaining to genetic data (familiarity, perceptions, interest in participation, concerns) and demographic information were examined using univariate and multivariate techniques. We explored differences among respondents who were receptive (1,333) and nonreceptive (280) to genetic sample collection. Whereas factors positively associated with receptivity to research participation were "complete trust" in health-care providers (OR, 2.091; 95% CI, 1.544-2.833), upper income strata (OR, 2.319; 95% CI, 1.308-4.114), viewing genetic research "very positively" (OR, 3.524; 95% CI, 2.122-5.852), and expressing "no worry at all" regarding disclosure of results (OR, 2.505; 95% CI, 1.436-4.369), black race was negatively associated with research participation (OR, 0.410; 95% CI, 0.288-0.585). We could detect no difference in receptivity to genetic sample collection comparing ambulatory patients and surrogates (OR, 0.738; 95% CI, 0.511-1.066). Expressing trust in health-care providers and viewing genetic research favorably were associated with increased willingness for study enrollment, while concern regarding breach of confidentiality and black race had the opposite effect. Study setting had no bearing on willingness to participate.

  19. Smart Mobility Stakeholders - Curating Urban Data & Models

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sperling, Joshua

    This presentation provides an overview of the curation of urban data and models through engaging SMART mobility stakeholders. SMART Mobility Urban Science Efforts are helping to expose key data sets, models, and roles for the U.S. Department of Energy in engaging across stakeholders to ensure useful insights. This will help to support other Urban Science and broader SMART initiatives.

  20. Stakeholder views on returning research results.

    PubMed

    Haga, Susanne B; Zhao, Jennifer Q

    2013-01-01

    While the disclosure of research findings is relevant to all types of biomedical research, it has garnered particular attention with respect to genetics and genomics research due to some of the unique aspects of the data and the high public profile of the field. In this chapter, we review the attitudes of stakeholders (research participants, policymakers, and researchers) to define areas of consensus regarding the issue of returning research results across and within groups. In addition to stakeholder attitudes about obligations and interest in research results, other major related issues related to returning research results, such as informed consent, communication of research results, and cost, are discussed. Given the consensus between stakeholders to return summary reports of a study's outcomes and individual research results of clinical significance, we conclude that the time has come to encourage, if not require, researchers to consider these issues in the developmental planning stages of a project and to plan and budget accordingly. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Enhancing Effective Stakeholder Participation in Local Groundwater Sustainability Planning through Technical Assistance in California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weintraub, C.; Christian-Smith, J.; Dobbin, K.; Cullen, K.

    2017-12-01

    This presentation will share content from UCS's new publication, Getting Involved in Groundwater; A Guide to Effective Engagement in California's Groundwater Sustainability Plans, as well as lessons learned from collaborating with community organizations to provide technical assistance to Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) board members and stakeholders in the San Joaquin Valley on Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) development. California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) mandates extensive stakeholder engagement, presenting an opportunity for unincorporated, low-income communities that have historically been affected by but not included in water decisions. However, implementation requires a concerted, thoughtful effort. Through technical assistance and strategic outreach, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is working to ensure stakeholder engagement in GSP development is robust, diverse, and supported by the best science available. UCS created the GSP stakeholder engagement guide to equip GSA members, scientists and interested community members to meaningfully engage in the GSP development process. The guide serves as a technical primer on SGMA's GSP process and as a resource for understanding groundwater management in California. The guide is just one component of a larger effort to overcome barriers to effective engagement in sustainable groundwater management, especially those presented by technical information. In April, UCS co-hosted a technical assistance workshop for GSA and advisory committee members in Visalia, CA with the Community Water Center (CWC), a local environmental justice non-profit. The workshop was well received and UCS and the CWC were invited to host a second workshop in June. To deepen this engagement and provide one-on-one technical assistance, UCS developed a program to match relevant water experts in the UCS Science Network with GSA members or involved community members in need of specific technical support

  2. Detecting and addressing adolescent issues and concerns: evaluating the efficacy of a primary care previsit questionnaire.

    PubMed

    Lewin, Warren; Knäuper, Bärbel; Roseman, Michelle; Adler, Perry; Malus, Michael

    2009-07-01

    To assess the efficacy of a previsit questionnaire (PVQ), implemented without formal training, that was designed to screen for biomedical and psychosocial health issues and concerns among adolescent patients in a hospital-based primary care clinic, and to examine the subsequent action taken for health issues and concerns identified with the PVQ. Retrospective review of adolescent medical charts, using a pre-post design. An outpatient primary care clinic located in an urban teaching hospital in Montreal, Que. A total of 210 adolescent patients aged 13 to 19 who visited the clinic between 2000 and 2004. The type (medical vs psychosocial) and number of issues detected and actions taken by physicians in one-to-one consultations with adolescent patients 2 years before (2000-2002) and 2 years after (2002-2004) PVQ implementation, as noted in the patients' medical charts. In total, 105 charts were reviewed for each group. An increase in the number of psychosocial issues was detected following the introduction of the PVQ. An increase in the frequency of action taken for psychosocial concerns and a decrease in the frequency of medical action taken by physicians were found after PVQ implementation. More notations related to psychosocial concerns were also found in the adolescents' charts after introduction of the PVQ. A PVQ is an effective strategy to improve adolescent screening for psychosocial issues and concerns. Implementing such a questionnaire requires no training and can therefore be easily incorporated into clinical practice.

  3. Higher Education Quality: Perception Differences among Internal and External Stakeholders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abidin, Munirul

    2015-01-01

    Conceptually, education quality of higher education can be determined by evaluation of their stakeholders's satisfaction level. The purpose of this study is to describe how students as external stakeholder and lecturers as internal stakeholder, perceived their satisfaction of learning experience in the university. This study was conducted in…

  4. Stakeholder requirements for commercially successful wave energy converter farms

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Babarit, Aurélien; Bull, Diana; Dykes, Katherine

    2017-12-01

    In this study, systems engineering techniques are applied to wave energy to identify and specify stakeholders' requirements for a commercially successful wave energy farm. The focus is on the continental scale utility market. Lifecycle stages and stakeholders are identified. Stakeholders' needs across the whole lifecycle of the wave energy farm are analyzed. A list of 33 stakeholder requirements are identified and specified. This list of requirements should serve as components of a technology performance level metric that could be used by investors and funding agencies to make informed decisions when allocating resources. It is hoped that the technology performance levelmore » metric will accelerate wave energy conversion technology convergence.« less

  5. Exploring the challenges and successes of the Lecturer Practitioner role using a stakeholder evaluation approach.

    PubMed

    Hancock, Helen; Lloyd, Hilary; Campbell, Steve; Turnock, Chris; Craig, Stephen

    2007-10-01

    Plans for NHS reform include strategies to reduce the gap between theory and the realities of clinical practice, with the aim of improving patient care. The role of Lecturer Practitioners (LPs) as educators for nurses who 'bridge' the theory-practice gap forms a central part of this strategy. Given the amount of investment in the role and its potential, this study sought to evaluate the impact of the LP role within the education and practice setting from the perspective of key stakeholders. The study, which included five LPs from a range of backgrounds, followed the principles of stakeholder evaluation. Each LP and their line manager identified six informants who were familiar with the LP's role. The total sample consisted of 36 participants. Semi-structured interviews were used to gain the perceptions of stakeholders about the LP role. The emerging themes were then discussed, consensus reached, and a collaborative project report produced. The findings were derived from the perceptions of the stakeholders. Minimally interpretive analysis of the data resulted in identification of five themes: (i) general overview of LP's individual qualities; (ii) preconceived notions of the post; (iii) reality of the post; (iv) areas of concern; and (v) developing the role. The findings indicated that the LP role provides a credible and valuable link between theory and practice and, as such, is an important contribution to the modernization agenda of the NHS. It was apparent, however, that there are a number of areas in which developments are needed, and that organizational and individual actions are necessary in order to achieve the most from these posts.

  6. Use and perceived benefits and barriers of QSAR models for REACH: findings from a questionnaire to stakeholders

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    The ORCHESTRA online questionnaire on “benefits and barriers to the use of QSAR methods” addressed the academic, consultant, regulatory and industry communities potentially interested by QSAR methods in the context of REACH. Replies from more than 60 stakeholders produced some insights on the actual application of QSAR methods, and how to improve their use. Respondents state in majority that they have used QSAR methods. All have some future plans to test or use QSAR methods in accordance with their stakeholder role. The stakeholder respondents cited a total of 28 models, methods or software that they have actually applied. The three most frequently cited suites, used moreover by all the stakeholder categories, are the OECD Toolbox, EPISuite and CAESAR; all are free tools. Results suggest that stereotyped assumptions about the barriers to application of QSAR may be incorrect. Economic costs (including potential delays) are not found to be a major barrier. And only one respondent “prefers” traditional, well-known and accepted toxicological assessment methods. Information and guidance may be the keys to reinforcing use of QSAR models. Regulators appear most interested in obtaining clear explanation of the basis of the models, to provide a solid basis for decisions. Scientists appear most interested in the exploration of the scientific capabilities of the QSAR approach. Industry shows interest in obtaining reassurance that appropriate uses of QSAR will be accepted by regulators. PMID:23244245

  7. Restoration of degraded drylands in northern Chile: The need of local stakeholders' participation to prevent and combat desertification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jorquera-Jaramillo, Carmen; Yáñez-Acevedo, Marcia; Gutiérrez, Julio R.; Cortés-Bugueño, José Luis; Pastén-Marambio, Víctor; Barraza-Cepeda, Claudia

    2015-04-01

    demonstration purposes. The same actions plus 'conservation and management of native forests/shrubs at strict exclosure' were identified at LC site. All of the stakeholders interviewed at both sites recognized the actions, but not all of them had specific knowledge about some of the practices. Afforestation was the most selected and valued practice, revealing deep knowledge about the actions and positive valuation of the site experience, but also a need of more support for maintenance. At ES, the main concerns were drought and derived unemployment; at LC, the main concerns were access to the site, prolonged droughts, local conflicts and lack of community commitment. At both sites, many stakeholders highlighted the need for more financial support, better management and assistance in solving local conflicts. External stakeholders value both sites as replicable models and their positive impacts in increasing afforestation and soil conservation experiences; they also identify a need for continuous financial support and the exploration of other models for site implementation and educational activities. The integrated assessment identified a match between the trends in biophysical indicators' results and the perspectives on those indicators expressed by stakeholders. It remained clear that every intervention to combat desertification requires an active involvement of local stakeholders and the implementation of educational modules to ensure the adoption of appropriate practices. Keywords: Land degradation - restoration actions - participatory approach - economic and environmental aspects - recovery of degraded drylands

  8. Involvement of stakeholders in the water quality monitoring and surveillance system: The case of Mzingwane Catchment, Zimbabwe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nare, Lerato; Love, David; Hoko, Zvikomborero

    Stakeholder participation is viewed as critical in the current water sector reforms taking place in the Southern African region. In Zimbabwe, policies and legislation encourage stakeholder participation. A study was undertaken to determine the extent of stakeholder participation in water quality monitoring and surveillance at the operational level, and also to assess indigenous knowledge and practices in water quality monitoring. Two hundred and forty one questionnaires were administered in Mzingwane Catchment, the portion of the Limpopo Basin that falls within Zimbabwe. The focus was on small users in rural communities, whose experiences were captured using a questionnaire and focus group discussions. Extension workers, farmers and NGOs and relevant sector government ministries and departments were also interviewed and a number of workshops held. Results indicate that there is very limited stakeholder participation despite the presence of adequate supportive structures and organisations. For the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), stakeholders are the paying permit holders to whom feedback is given following analysis of samples. However, the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare generally only releases information to rural communities when it is deemed necessary for their welfare. There are no guidelines on how a dissatisfied member of the public can raise a complaint - although some stakeholders carry such complaints to Catchment Council meetings. With regard to water quality, the study revealed widespread use of indigenous knowledge and practice by communities. Such knowledge is based on smell, taste, colour and odour perceptions. Residents are generally more concerned about the physical parameters than the bacteriological quality of water. They are aware of what causes water pollution and the effects of pollution on human health, crops, animals and aquatic ecology. They have ways of preventing pollution and appropriate interventions to take when a source

  9. Which Lifelong Activities Are Held in Highest Regard by Physical Education Stakeholders in Michigan: Can Stakeholders Agree? A Delphi Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Ray; Mackey, Marcia J.; Rollenhagen, Benjamin R.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify what lifelong activities stakeholders agree upon as most important to include in physical education programs. Little research has been conducted regarding which lifelong activities are most important to include in the curriculum and if there is consensus in priorities across program stakeholders. Consensus…

  10. Portuguese Public University Student Satisfaction: A Stakeholder Theory-Based Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mainardes, Emerson; Alves, Helena; Raposo, Mario

    2013-01-01

    In accordance with the importance of the student stakeholder to universities, the objective of this research project was to evaluate student satisfaction at Portuguese public universities as regards their self-expressed core expectations. The research was based both on stakeholder theory itself and on previous studies of university stakeholders.…

  11. Issues for interpreting external stakeholder feedback on restructuring NCIC's research programs.

    PubMed

    Ashbury, F D; Iverson, D C; Shephard, P J

    1995-03-01

    The National Cancer Institute of Canada surveyed members of its stakeholder groups on a number of issues pertaining to restructuring research programs. While it was hoped that the survey would ensure input from its primary stakeholder groups and thereby facilitate decision-making on critical issues like distribution of funds and research awards, there is reason to believe this may not have occurred. Some of the stakeholder groups seemed to be over-represented in the respondent population and the effect of this on the results was therefore examined. Analysis revealed several important issues: 1) a clear definition of who constitutes a "stakeholder" needs to be developed when stakeholder input-gathering is being contemplated; 2) multi-faceted strategies need to be developed to gain input from stakeholders; 3) potential sources of bias can emerge from the various techniques used to gather feedback from stakeholders; and 4) a clear outline of how the feedback is to be used in the decision-making process needs to be determined.

  12. Stakeholders' opinions and questions regarding the anticipated malaria vaccine in Tanzania.

    PubMed

    Mtenga, Sally; Kimweri, Angela; Romore, Idda; Ali, Ali; Exavery, Amon; Sicuri, Elisa; Tanner, Marcel; Abdulla, Salim; Lusingu, John; Kafuruki, Shubi

    2016-04-05

    combined use of the anticipated malaria vaccine and ITNs, and that their acceptance remains high even when the vaccine may not provide full protection, this is a crucial finding for malaria vaccine policy decisions in Tanzania. An inclusive communication strategy should be designed to address the stakeholders' questions through a process that should engage and be implemented by communities and health care professionals. Social cultural aspects associated with vaccine acceptance should be integrated in the communication strategy.

  13. Health Care Leadership: Managing Knowledge Bases as Stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Rotarius, Timothy

    Communities are composed of many organizations. These organizations naturally form clusters based on common patterns of knowledge, skills, and abilities of the individual organizations. Each of these spontaneous clusters represents a distinct knowledge base. The health care knowledge base is shown to be the natural leader of any community. Using the Central Florida region's 5 knowledge bases as an example, each knowledge base is categorized as a distinct type of stakeholder, and then a specific stakeholder management strategy is discussed to facilitate managing both the cooperative potential and the threatening potential of each "knowledge base" stakeholder.

  14. Stakeholder opinions on the assessment of MPA effectiveness and their interests to participate at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Canada.

    PubMed

    Heck, Nadine; Dearden, Philip; McDonald, Adrian; Carver, Steve

    2011-04-01

    As the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) is globally increasing, information is needed on the effectiveness of existing sites. Many protected area agencies however have limited resources and are unable to evaluate MPA effectiveness. An evaluation conducted entirely by the managing agency may also lack credibility. Long-term monitoring and evaluation programs should ideally offer opportunities for participation of diverse groups in the selection of evaluation indicators and their assessment. A participatory approach has the potential to enhance evaluation capacity, to increase credibility and acceptance of results, to strengthen relationships between managers and local stakeholders, and to address more locally relevant information. Using a case study approach, this paper investigates diverse stakeholder groups' opinions on the design of an evaluation and their interest to participate in an assessment. Respondents were most interested in the assessment of MPA achievements and outcome indicators. Most groups identified a range of government agencies and stakeholders that should participate in an assessment but only half of all respondents were interested to participate in monitoring activities. Most frequently mentioned limitations for more participation were a lack of time and money, but also governance shortcomings such as limited participation possibilities and not paying enough credit to stakeholders' input. Participation interest was also influenced by occupation, place of residency, and familiarity with the marine environment. Differences exist among stakeholders about suitable evaluators and preferred monitoring partners, which could affect the credibility of evaluation results and affect monitoring activities.

  15. Attitudes and perceptions of stakeholders on decentralization of health services in Uganda: the case of Lira and Apac districts.

    PubMed

    Anokbonggo, W W; Ogwal-Okeng, J W; Ross-Degnan, D; Aupont, O

    2004-02-01

    In Uganda, the decentralization of administrative functions, management, and responsibility for health care to districts, which began in 1994, resulted in fundamental changes in health care delivery. Since the introduction of the policy in Uganda, little information has been available on stakeholders' perceptions about the benefits of the policy and how decentralization affected health care delivery. To identify the perceptions and beliefs of key stakeholders on the impact and process of decentralization and on the operations of health services in two districts in Uganda, and to report their suggestions to improve future implementation of similar policies. We used qualitative research methods that included focus group discussions with 90 stakeholders from both study districts. The sample population comprised of 12 health workers from the two hospitals, 11 district health administrators, and 67 Local Council Leaders. Perceptions and concerns of stakeholders on the impact of decentralization on district health services. There was a general consensus that decentralization empowered local administrative and political decision-making. Among stakeholders, the policy was perceived to have created a sense of ownership and responsibility. Major problems that were said to be associated with decentralization included political harassment of civil servants, increased nepotism, inadequate financial resources, and mismanagement of resources. This study elicited perceptions about critical factors upon which successful implementation of the decentralization policy depended. These included: appreciation of the role of all stakeholders by district politicians; adequate availability and efficient utilization of resources; reasonably developed infrastructure prior to the policy change; appropriate sensitisation and training of those implementing policies; and the good will and active involvement of the local community. In the absence of these factors, implementation of

  16. A Framework for Multi-Stakeholder Decision-Making and ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This contribution describes the implementation of the conditional-value-at-risk (CVaR) metric to create a general multi-stakeholder decision-making framework. It is observed that stakeholder dissatisfactions (distance to their individual ideal solutions) can be interpreted as random variables. We thus shape the dissatisfaction distribution and find an optimal compromise solution by solving a CVaR minimization problem parameterized in the probability level. This enables us to generalize multi-stakeholder settings previously proposed in the literature that minimizes average and worst-case dissatisfactions. We use the concept of the CVaR norm to give a geometric interpretation to this problem and use the properties of this norm to prove that the CVaR minimization problem yields Pareto optimal solutions for any choice of the probability level. We discuss a broad range of potential applications of the framework. We demonstrate the framework in a bio-waste processing facility location case study, where we seek compromise solutions (facility locations) that balance stakeholder priorities on transportation, safety, water quality, and capital costs. This conference presentation abstract explains a new decision-making framework that computes compromise solution alternatives (reach consensus) by mitigating dissatisfactions among stakeholders as needed for SHC Decision Science and Support Tools project.

  17. Universal Free School Breakfast: A Qualitative Process Evaluation According to the Perspectives of Senior Stakeholders.

    PubMed

    Harvey-Golding, Louise; Donkin, Lynn Margaret; Defeyter, Margaret Anne

    2016-01-01

    In the last decade, the provision of school breakfast has increased significantly in the UK. However, there is an absence of knowledge regarding senior stakeholder views on the processes and potential outcomes on different groups, within the communities served by school breakfast programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the views and experiences of senior level stakeholders and thereby provide an original qualitative contribution to the research. A sample of senior level stakeholders was recruited, including senior officers, directors, and elected members, from within a Local Authority (LA) involved in the leadership, implementation and delivery of a council-wide universal free school breakfast (UFSB) program, and from the senior staff body of mainstream primary and special schools, participating in the program. A grounded theory analysis of the data collected identified issues encountered in the implementation and delivery, and views on the funding and future of a USFB program, in addition to perceived outcomes for children, parents, families, schools, and the wider community. The results refer to both positive and negative issues and implications associated with the program, according to the perspectives of senior level stakeholders. Perceived positive outcomes included benefits to children, families, schools, and the community. For instance, alleviating hunger, improving health outcomes, and conferring financial benefits, with the potential to cumulate in overall improvements in educational, social, and behavioral outcomes. Reported negative implications included the absence of an effective communication strategy in implementing the USFB program; in addition to concerns about the impacts of "double-breakfasting" on obesity levels among children, particularly in less deprived communities. Findings were validated using theoretical sampling and saturation, triangulation methods, member checks, and inter-rater reliability measures. In presenting these

  18. Addressing Student Debt in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perkins, David; Johnston, Tim; Lytle, Rick

    2016-01-01

    Student debt is a national concern. The authors address debt in the classroom to enhance students' understanding of the consequences of debt and the need for caution when financing their education. However, student feedback indicates this understanding has a delayed effect on borrowing behavior and underscores the importance of making difficult…

  19. Stakeholder engagement: a model for tobacco policy planning in Oklahoma Tribal communities.

    PubMed

    Blanchard, Jessica W; Petherick, J T; Basara, Heather

    2015-01-01

    Oklahoma law pre-empts local governments from enacting smoking restrictions inside public places that are stricter than state law, but the sovereign status of Oklahoma's 38 Tribal nations means they are uniquely positioned to stand apart as leaders in the area of tobacco policy. To provide recommendations for employing university-Tribal partnerships as an effective strategy for tobacco policy planning in tribal communities. Using a community-based participatory research approach, researchers facilitated a series of meetings with key Tribal stakeholders in order to develop a comprehensive tobacco policy plan. Ongoing engagement activities held between January 2011 and May 2012, including interdepartmental visits, facility site tours, interviews, and attendance at tribal activities, were critical for fostering constructive and trusting relationships between all partners involved in the policy planning process. The 17-month collaborative engagement produced a plan designed to regulate the use of commercial tobacco in all Tribally owned properties. The extended period of collaboration between the researchers and Tribal stakeholders facilitated: (1) levels of trust between partners; and (2) a steadfast commitment to the planning process, ensuring completion of the plan amid uncertain political climates and economic concerns about tobacco bans. Extended engagement produced an effective foundation for policy planning that promoted collaboration between otherwise dispersed Tribal departments, and facilitated communication of diverse stakeholder interests related to the goal of tobacco policies. The findings of this study provide useful strategies and best practices for those looking to employ Tribal-university partnerships as strategies for tobacco control planning and policy-based research. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Stakeholder value-linked sustainability assessment: Evaluating remedial alternatives for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, Portland, Oregon, USA.

    PubMed

    Apitz, Sabine E; Fitzpatrick, Anne G; McNally, Amanda; Harrison, David; Coughlin, Conor; Edwards, Deborah A

    2018-01-01

    Regulatory decisions on remediation should consider affected communities' needs and values, and how these might be impacted by remedial options; this process requires that diverse stakeholders are able to engage in a transparent consideration of value trade-offs and of the distribution of risks and benefits associated with remedial actions and outcomes. The Stakeholder Values Assessment (SVA) tool was developed to evaluate remedial impacts on environmental quality, economic viability, and social equity in the context of stakeholder values and priorities. Stakeholder values were linked to the pillars of sustainability and also to a range of metrics to evaluate how sediment remediation affects these values. Sediment remedial alternatives proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site were scored for each metric, based upon data provided in published feasibility study (FS) documents. Metric scores were aggregated to generate scores for each value; these were then aggregated to generate scores for each pillar of sustainability. In parallel, the inferred priorities (in terms of regional remediation, restoration, planning, and development) of diverse stakeholder groups (SGs) were used to evaluate the sensitivity and robustness of the values-based sustainability assessment to diverse SG priorities. This approach, which addresses social indicators of impact and then integrates them with indicators of environmental and economic impacts, goes well beyond the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act's (CERCLA) 9 criteria for evaluating remedial alternatives because it evaluates how remedial alternatives might be ranked in terms of the diverse values and priorities of stakeholders. This approach identified trade-offs and points of potential contention, providing a systematic, semiquantitative, transparent valuation tool that can be used in community engagement. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018

  1. Premarital HIV testing in Malaysia: a qualitative exploratory study on the views of major stakeholders involved in HIV prevention.

    PubMed

    Barmania, Sima; Aljunid, Syed Mohamed

    2017-05-10

    HIV screening has existed in numerous methods as an important part of HIV prevention efforts over the years. Premarital HIV testing for couples who wish to marry has been implemented in a number of regions, which often operate in a mandatory rather than voluntary basis and is considered a contentious issue, with viewpoints held in favour and against. One such region is Malaysia which has a policy of mandatory premarital HIV testing of prospective Muslim married couples. The purpose of this study is to understand stakeholders' views on premarital HIV testing given the Malaysian Islamic context. 35 in-depth face to face semi-structured interviews were undertaken with key stakeholder groups involved in HIV prevention policy in Malaysia, namely, officials from the Ministry of Health, religious leaders and people living with HIV. Participants were recruited from the Klang Valley area, from July to December 2013, using purposive sampling techniques. Inclusion criteria necessitated that participants were over the age of 18 and provided full consent. Interviews were audiotaped, followed a standardised topic guide, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a framework analysis. Participants identified pre-marital HIV testing as an effective HIV prevention policy implemented in Malaysia and was viewed, for the most part, as a positive initiative across all stakeholders. Religious leaders were supportive of testing as it provides a protective mechanism, in line with the teachings of the Shariah, while Ministry of Health officials considered it a normal part of their HIV prevention screening initiatives. However, there were concerns surrounding issues such as confidentiality, counselling and discrimination surrounding the test described by the PLHIV group. The findings of this study show that among the participants interviewed was strong support for mandatory premarital HIV testing, which could possibly expose the vulnerability to HIV, reluctance to test and other areas in the

  2. The science of stakeholder engagement in research: classification, implementation, and evaluation.

    PubMed

    Goodman, Melody S; Sanders Thompson, Vetta L

    2017-09-01

    In this commentary, we discuss the science of stakeholder engagement in research. We propose a classification system with definitions to determine where projects lie on the stakeholder engagement continuum. We discuss the key elements of implementation and evaluation of stakeholder engagement in research posing key questions to consider when doing this work. We commend and critique the work of Hamilton et al. in their multilevel stakeholder engagement in a VA implementation trial of evidence-based quality improvement in women's health primary care. We also discuss the need for more work in this area to enhance the science of stakeholder engagement in research.

  3. Addressing religion and spirituality in the intensive care unit: A survey of clinicians.

    PubMed

    Choi, Philip J; Curlin, Farr A; Cox, Christopher E

    2018-04-30

    Studies have shown that when religious and spiritual concerns are addressed by the medical team, patients are more satisfied with their care and have lower healthcare costs. However, little is known about how intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians address these concerns. The objective of this study was to determine how ICU clinicians address the religious and spiritual needs of patients and families. We performed a cross-sectional survey study of ICU physicians, nurses, and advance practice providers (APPs) to understand their attitudes and beliefs about addressing the religious and spiritual needs of ICU patients and families. Each question was designed on a 4- to 5-point Likert scale. A total of 219 surveys were collected over a 4-month period.ResultA majority of clinicians agreed that it is their responsibility to address the religious/spiritual needs of patients. A total of 79% of attendings, 74% of fellows, 89% of nurses, and 83% of APPs agreed with this statement. ICU clinicians also feel comfortable talking to patients about their religious/spiritual concerns. In practice, few clinicians frequently address religious/spiritual concerns. Only 14% of attendings, 3% of fellows, 26% of nurses, and 17% of APPs say they frequently ask patients about their religious/spiritual needs.Significance of resultsThis study shows that ICU clinicians see it as their role to address the religious and spiritual needs of their patients, and report feeling comfortable talking about these issues. Despite this, a minority of clinicians regularly address religious and spiritual needs in clinical practice. This highlights a potential deficit in comprehensive critical care as outlined by many national guidelines.

  4. Consumer Concerns: Newcomer's Guide. 4.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Michael, Jean

    A bilingual pamphlet containing practical law-related information for recent Russian Jewish immigrants to New York City, this document addresses consumer concerns. Following a brief description of the Newcomer series, 15 questions are listed, each followed by an answer. Questions asked include the meaning of the terms consumer and contract;…

  5. Exploring bi-directional and SMS messaging for communications between Public Health Agencies and their stakeholders: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Revere, Debra; Calhoun, Rebecca; Baseman, Janet; Oberle, Mark

    2015-07-08

    dichotomous variables of 0 or 1 on a per respondent basis to enumerate the presence or absence of each thematic code, enable quantitative analysis, and inform interpretation of findings. Five major themes emerged from synthesizing survey and interview results: 1) Regardless of situational context (emergency vs. non-urgent) and message recipient (stakeholder group), e-mail is a favored modality for receiving public health messages; 2) The decision to use bi-directional, SMS or multiple communication strategies is complex and public health agencies' need to manage messaging concerns/barriers and benefits for all parties; 3) Both public health agencies and their stakeholders share similar values/uses and concerns regarding two-way public health messaging and SMS; 4) Public health is highly trusted, thus thoughtful, effective messaging will ensure continuation of this goodwill; and 5) Information reciprocity between public health agencies and stakeholders who share their information is essential. Multiple communication strategies might be utilized but the choice of a specific strategy needs to balance message content (emergency vs. routine communications), delivery (one- vs. two-way), channel (SMS, email, etc.), and public health agency burden with stakeholder preferences and technical capabilities, all while mitigating the risk of message overload and disregard of important communications by recipients.

  6. 75 FR 22127 - Notice of Data Availability Concerning 2010 CAIR NOX

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-27

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9142-3] Notice of Data Availability Concerning 2010 CAIR NOX... viruses. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning this action should be addressed to Robert L... objection. However, objections may be submitted concerning whether EPA determined, in a manner consistent...

  7. Integration of mental health into primary healthcare: perceptions of stakeholders in Pakistan.

    PubMed

    Hussain, Syed S; Khan, Murad; Gul, Raisa; Asad, Nargis

    2018-05-03

    In Pakistan, there is high prevalence of mental health disorders, but mental health services to address these are not well developed. To provide effective mental health services, the World Health Organization emphasizes the integration of mental health into primary health care (PHC). This study aimed to assess the views of key stakeholders about integration of mental health into PHC in Karachi, Pakistan. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted between June and September 2013 among 15 decision-making (from the Department of Health) and implementation-level stakeholders (mental health and public health professionals and primary care staff) from both the public and private sectors. Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Data were collected until theoretical saturation was achieved and conventional content analysis was carried out. Although there was general support among all the stakeholders for integration of mental health services within PHC, there were also a number of reservations. First was the perceived lack of support within the system in terms of resource allocation and acceptance from the community. Second was the lack of human resources in the field of mental health. In addition, resistance at the PHC level is likely as staff are already burdened with other preventive care services. The study suggests that strong political commitment, adequate human and financial resources, and strong advocacy are needed for the integration of mental health into PHC in Pakistan. Copyright © World Health Organization (WHO) 2018. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).

  8. Engineering Hematopoietic Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy: Strategies to Address Safety and Toxicity Concerns.

    PubMed

    Resetca, Diana; Neschadim, Anton; Medin, Jeffrey A

    2016-09-01

    Advances in cancer immunotherapies utilizing engineered hematopoietic cells have recently generated significant clinical successes. Of great promise are immunotherapies based on chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T (CAR-T) cells that are targeted toward malignant cells expressing defined tumor-associated antigens. CAR-T cells harness the effector function of the adaptive arm of the immune system and redirect it against cancer cells, overcoming the major challenges of immunotherapy, such as breaking tolerance to self-antigens and beating cancer immune system-evasion mechanisms. In early clinical trials, CAR-T cell-based therapies achieved complete and durable responses in a significant proportion of patients. Despite clinical successes and given the side effect profiles of immunotherapies based on engineered cells, potential concerns with the safety and toxicity of various therapeutic modalities remain. We discuss the concerns associated with the safety and stability of the gene delivery vehicles for cell engineering and with toxicities due to off-target and on-target, off-tumor effector functions of the engineered cells. We then overview the various strategies aimed at improving the safety of and resolving toxicities associated with cell-based immunotherapies. Integrating failsafe switches based on different suicide gene therapy systems into engineered cells engenders promising strategies toward ensuring the safety of cancer immunotherapies in the clinic.

  9. What do stakeholders need to implement shared decision making in routine cancer care? A qualitative needs assessment.

    PubMed

    Müller, Evamaria; Hahlweg, Pola; Scholl, Isabelle

    2016-12-01

    Shared decision making (SDM) is particularly relevant in oncology, where complex treatment options with varying side effects may lead to meaningful changes in the patient's quality of life. For several years, health policies have called for the implementation of SDM, but SDM remains poorly implemented in routine clinical practice. Implementation science has highlighted the importance of assessing stakeholders' needs to inform the development of implementation programs. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess different stakeholders' needs regarding the implementation of SDM in routine care. A qualitative study using focus groups and interviews was conducted. Focus groups were carried out with junior physicians, senior physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers (HPCs) (e.g. psycho-oncologists, physiotherapists), patients and family members. Head physicians as well as other HPCs in management positions were interviewed. Audiotapes of focus groups and interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis. Six focus groups with a total of n = 42 stakeholders as well as n = 17 interviews were conducted. Focus groups and interviews revealed five main categories of needs to be fulfilled in order to achieve a better implementation of SDM in routine cancer care: 1) changes in communication, 2) involvement of other parties, 3) a trustful patient-physician relationship, 4) culture change and 5) structural changes. Stakeholders discussed four clusters of intervention strategies that could foster the implementation of SDM in routine cancer care: 1) clinician-mediated interventions, 2) patient-mediated interventions, 3) provision of patient information material and 4) the establishment of a patient advocate. Study results show that stakeholders voiced a diversity of needs to foster implementation of SDM in routine cancer care, of which some can be directly addressed by intervention strategies. Present results can be used to develop an

  10. Stakeholder participation in comparative effectiveness research: defining a framework for effective engagement

    PubMed Central

    Deverka, Patricia A; Lavallee, Danielle C; Desai, Priyanka J; Esmail, Laura C; Ramsey, Scott D; Veenstra, David L; Tunis, Sean R

    2012-01-01

    Aims Stakeholder engagement is fundamental to comparative effectiveness research (CER), but lacks consistent terminology. This paper aims to define stakeholder engagement and present a conceptual model for involving stakeholders in CER. Materials & methods The definitions and model were developed from a literature search, expert input and experience with the Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research in Cancer Genomics, a proof-of-concept platform for stakeholder involvement in priority setting and CER study design. Results Definitions for stakeholder and stakeholder engagement reflect the target constituencies and their role in CER. The ‘analytic-deliberative’ conceptual model for stakeholder engagement illustrates the inputs, methods and outputs relevant to CER. The model differentiates methods at each stage of the project; depicts the relationship between components; and identifies outcome measures for evaluation of the process. Conclusion While the definitions and model require testing before being broadly adopted, they are an important foundational step and will be useful for investigators, funders and stakeholder groups interested in contributing to CER. PMID:22707880

  11. Stakeholder participation in comparative effectiveness research: defining a framework for effective engagement.

    PubMed

    Deverka, Patricia A; Lavallee, Danielle C; Desai, Priyanka J; Esmail, Laura C; Ramsey, Scott D; Veenstra, David L; Tunis, Sean R

    2012-03-01

    AIMS: Stakeholder engagement is fundamental to comparative effectiveness research (CER), but lacks consistent terminology. This paper aims to define stakeholder engagement and present a conceptual model for involving stakeholders in CER. MATERIALS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; METHODS: The definitions and model were developed from a literature search, expert input and experience with the Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research in Cancer Genomics, a proof-of-concept platform for stakeholder involvement in priority setting and CER study design. RESULTS: Definitions for stakeholder and stakeholder engagement reflect the target constituencies and their role in CER. The 'analytic-deliberative' conceptual model for stakeholder engagement illustrates the inputs, methods and outputs relevant to CER. The model differentiates methods at each stage of the project; depicts the relationship between components; and identifies outcome measures for evaluation of the process. CONCLUSION: While the definitions and model require testing before being broadly adopted, they are an important foundational step and will be useful for investigators, funders and stakeholder groups interested in contributing to CER.

  12. The Dutch Consumer Quality Index: an example of stakeholder involvement in indicator development

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Like in several other Western countries, in the Dutch health care system regulated competition has been introduced. In order to make this work, comparable information is required about the performance of health care providers in terms of effectiveness, safety and patient experiences. Without further coordination, external actors will all try to force health care providers to be transparent. For health care providers this might result in a situation in which they have to deliver data for several sets of indicators, defined by different actors. Therefore, in the Netherlands an effort is made to define national sets of performance indicators and related measuring instruments. In this article, the following questions are addressed, using patient experiences as an example: - When and how are stakeholders involved in the development of indicators and instruments that measure the patients' experiences with health care providers? - Does this involvement lead to indicators and instruments that match stakeholders' information needs? Discussion The Dutch experiences show that it is possible to implement national indicator sets and to reach consensus about what needs to be measured. Preliminary evaluations show that for health care providers and health insurers the benefits of standardization outweigh the possible loss of tailor-made information. However, it has also become clear that particular attention should be given to the participation of patient/consumer organisations. Summary Stakeholder involvement is complex and time-consuming. However, it is the only way to balance the information needs of all the parties that ask for and benefit from transparency, without frustrating the health care system. PMID:20370925

  13. Towards a feminist global bioethics: addressing women's health concerns worldwide.

    PubMed

    Tong, R

    2001-01-01

    In this paper I argue that a global bioethics is possible. Specifically, I present the view that there are within feminist approaches to bioethics some conceptual and methodological tools necessary to forge a bioethics that embraces the health-related concerns of both developing and developed nations equally. To support my argument I discuss some of the challenges that have historically confronted feminists. If feminists accept the idea that women are entirely the same, then feminists present as fact the fiction of the essential "Woman." Not only does "Woman" not exist, -she" obscures important racial, ethnic, cultural, and class differences among women. However, if feminists stress women's differences too much, feminists lose the power to speak coherently and cogently about gender justice, women's rights, and sexual equality in general. Analyzing the ways in which the idea of difference as well as the idea of sameness have led feminists astray, I ask whether it is possible to avoid the Scylla of absolutism (imperialism, colonialism, hegemony) on the one hand and the Charybdis of relativism (postmodernism, fragmentation, Balkanization) on the other. Finally, after reflecting upon the work of Uma Narayan, Susan Muller Okin, and Martha Nussbaum, I conclude that there is a way out of this ethical bind. By focusing on women's, children's, and men's common human needs, it is possible to lay the foundation for a just and caring global bioethics.

  14. Tailored stakeholder products help provide a vulnerability and adaptation assessment of Greek forests due to climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giannakopoulos, Christos; Karali, Anna; Roussos, Anargyros

    2014-05-01

    Greece, being part of the eastern Mediterranean basin, is an area particularly vulnerable to climate change and associated forest fire risk. The aim of this study is to assess the vulnerability of Greek forests to fire risk occurrence and identify potential adaptation options within the context of climate change through continuous interaction with local stakeholders. To address their needs, the following tools for the provision of climate information services were developed: 1. An application providing fire risk forecasts for the following 3 days (http://cirrus.meteo.noa.gr/forecast/bolam/index.htm) was developed from NOA to address the needs of short term fire planners. 2. A web-based application providing long term fire risk and other fire related indices changes due to climate change (time horizon up to 2050 and 2100) was developed in collaboration with the WWF Greece office to address the needs of long term fire policy makers (http://www.oikoskopio.gr/map/). 3. An educational tool was built in order to complement the two web-based tools and to further expand knowledge in fire risk modeling to address the needs for in-depth training. In particular, the second product provided the necessary information to assess the exposure to forest fires. To this aim, maps depicting the days with elevated fire risk (FWI>30) both for the control (1961-1990) and the near future period (2021-2050) were created by the web-application. FWI is a daily index that provides numerical ratings of relative fire potential based solely on weather observations. The meteorological inputs to the FWI System are daily noon values of temperature, air relative humidity, 10m wind speed and precipitation during the previous 24 hours. It was found that eastern lowlands are more exposed to fire risk followed by eastern high elevation areas, for both the control and near future period. The next step towards vulnerability assessment was to address sensitivity, ie the human-environmental conditions that

  15. Stakeholder-focused evaluation of an online course for health care providers.

    PubMed

    Dunet, Diane O; Reyes, Michele

    2006-01-01

    Different people who have a stake or interest in a training course (stakeholders) may have markedly different definitions of what constitutes "training success" and how they will use evaluation results. Stakeholders at multiple levels within and outside of the organization guided the development of an evaluation plan for a Web-based training course on hemochromatosis. Stakeholder interests and values were reflected in the type, level, and rigor of evaluation methods selected. Our mixed-method evaluation design emphasized small sample sizes and repeated measures. Limited resources for evaluation were leveraged by focusing on the data needs of key stakeholders, understanding how they wanted to use evaluation results, and collecting data needed for stakeholder decision making. Regular feedback to key stakeholders provided opportunities for updating the course evaluation plan to meet emerging needs for new or different information. Early and repeated involvement of stakeholders in the evaluation process also helped build support for the final product. Involving patient advocacy groups, managers, and representative course participants improved the course and enhanced product dissemination. For training courses, evaluation planning is an opportunity to tailor methods and data collection to meet the information needs of particular stakeholders. Rigorous evaluation research of every training course may be infeasible or unwarranted; however, course evaluations can be improved by good planning. A stakeholder-focused approach can build a picture of the results and impact of training while fostering the practical use of evaluation data.

  16. Port Stakeholder Summit - April 2014

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA's National Port Stakeholders Summit, Advancing More Sustainable Ports, focused on actions to protect air quality while reducing climate risk and supporting economic growth, making ports more environmentally sustainable.

  17. Public Health Climate Change Adaptation Planning Using Stakeholder Feedback.

    PubMed

    Eidson, Millicent; Clancy, Kathleen A; Birkhead, Guthrie S

    2016-01-01

    Public health climate change adaptation planning is an urgent priority requiring stakeholder feedback. The 10 Essential Public Health Services can be applied to adaptation activities. To develop a state health department climate and health adaptation plan as informed by stakeholder feedback. With Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) implemented a 2010-2013 climate and health planning process, including 7 surveys on perceptions and adaptation priorities. New York State Department of Health program managers participated in initial (n = 41, denominator unknown) and follow-up (72.2%) needs assessments. Surveillance system information was collected from 98.1% of surveillance system managers. For adaptation prioritization surveys, participants included 75.4% of NYSDOH leaders; 60.3% of local health departments (LHDs); and 53.7% of other stakeholders representing environmental, governmental, health, community, policy, academic, and business organizations. Interviews were also completed with 38.9% of other stakeholders. In 2011 surveys, 34.1% of state health program directors believed that climate change would impact their program priorities. However, 84.6% of state health surveillance system managers provided ideas for using databases for climate and health monitoring/surveillance. In 2012 surveys, 46.5% of state health leaders agreed they had sufficient information about climate and health compared to 17.1% of LHDs (P = .0046) and 40.9% of other stakeholders (nonsignificant difference). Significantly fewer (P < .0001) LHDs (22.9%) were incorporating or considering incorporating climate and health into planning compared to state health leaders (55.8%) and other stakeholders (68.2%). Stakeholder groups agreed on the 4 highest priority adaptation categories including core public health activities such as surveillance, coordination/collaboration, education, and policy development. Feedback from diverse

  18. Exploring regional stakeholder needs and requirements in terms of Extreme Weather Event Attribution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schwab, M.; Meinke, I.; Vanderlinden, J. P.; Touili, N.; Von Storch, H.

    2015-12-01

    Extreme event attribution has increasingly received attention in the scientific community. It may also serve decision-making at the regional level where much of the climate change impact mitigation takes place. Nevertheless, there is, to date, little known about the requirements of regional actors in terms of extreme event attribution. We have therefore analysed these at the example of regional decision-makers for climate change-related activities and/or concerned with storm surge risks at the German Baltic Sea and heat wave risks in the Greater Paris area. In order to explore if stakeholders find scientific knowledge from extreme event attribution useful and how this information might be relevant to their decision-making, we consulted a diverse set of actors engaged in the assessment, mitigation and communication of storm surge, heat wave, and climate change-related risks. Extreme event attribution knowledge was perceived to be most useful to public and political awareness-raising, but was of little or no relevance for the consulted stakeholders themselves. It was not acknowledged that it would support adaptation planning as sometimes argued in the literature. The consulted coastal protection, health, and urban adaptation planners rather needed reliable statements about possible future changes in extreme events than causal statements about past events. To enhance salience, a suitable product of event attribution should be linked to regional problems, vulnerabilities, and impacts of climate change. Given that the tolerance of uncertainty is rather low, most of the stakeholders also claimed that a suitable product of event attribution is to be received from a trusted "honest broker" and published rather later, but with smaller uncertainties than vice versa. Institutional mechanisms, like regional climate services, which enable and foster communication, translation and mediation across the boundaries between knowledge and action can help fulfill such requirements

  19. The views of key stakeholders in Zimbabwe on the introduction of postgraduate family medicine training: A qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Sururu, Cherifa; Mash, Robert

    2017-09-12

    Strengthening primary health care (PHC) is a priority for all effective health systems, and family physicians are seen as a key member of the PHC team. Zimbabwe has joined a number of African countries that are seriously considering the introduction of postgraduate family medicine training. Implementation of training, however, has not yet happened. To explore the views of key stakeholders on the introduction of postgraduate family medicine training. Key academic, governmental and professional stakeholders in Zimbabwean health and higher education systems. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected key stakeholders. Data were recorded, transcribed and analysed using the framework method. Anticipated benefits: More effective functioning of PHC and district health services with reduced referrals, improved access to more comprehensive services and improved clinical outcomes. Opportunities: International trend towards family medicine training, government support, availability of a small group of local trainers, need to revise PHC policy. Anticipated barriers: Family medicine is unattractive as a career choice because it is largely unknown to newly qualified doctors and may not be recognised in private sector. There is concern that advocacy is mainly coming from the private sector. Threats: Economic conditions, poor remuneration, lack of funding for resources and new initiatives, resistance from other specialists in private sector. Stakeholders anticipated significant benefits from the introduction of family medicine training and identified a number of opportunities that support this, but also recognised the existence of major barriers and threats to successful implementation.

  20. Using Institutional Effectiveness Data To Stimulate Improvement...Getting Data off the Shelf and into the Hands of Stakeholders. AIR 2000 Annual Forum Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hill, Sandy; Willekens, Rene G.

    This paper outlines a successful, stakeholder driven, continuous improvement process that is currently used at Estrella Mountain Community College, Arizona. The process is designed to address the next step of what to do with institutional effectiveness data after it has been collected and reported. Many institutional effectiveness processes stop…