Assessing the feasibility of hyperlocal delivery model as an effective distribution channel

Purpose: The successive waves of the Covid-19 SARS-II pandemic and the attendant lockdown imposed by the governments worldwide drove the economic activities to a halt. Offices and factories closed, production of goods and services declined and supply chains got severely disrupted. Many companies were embattled with the grim reality of shrinkage of aggregate demand, first due to supply shock and later due to loss of jobs and wages. Amidst all this, the handling and shipping of commodities became extremely complex. As the pandemic shifted consumer preference in favour of digital platforms, more and more fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies were confronted with multiple strategies and choices of an appropriate distribution channel to ensure smooth delivery of raw materials and products. The present study aims to study this shift and its implications in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach: A mix-method approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative analysis, is employed to investigate the factors influencing the selection of distribution channels amongst general trade, modern trade, e-commerce and hyperlocal for FMCG companies in India. The first phase of the study uses exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by the application of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach in a fuzzy environment to realise the priority weights and ranking of the identified factors. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed to confirm the robustness of the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) outcomes. Findings: The study revealed that modern trade has emerged as the most favoured channel in the post-pandemic Indian economy. It has the potential to disrupt general trade. The study also revealed that the hyperlocal delivery model is not economically viable, and the partnership of FMCG companies with these applications is at best a short-term solution. However, it must be submitted that due to its sheer capability to ensure quick deliveries within a confined geographic area, hyperlocal delivery will gain momentum with the advancement of technology. Originality/value: This study can be seen as the first attempt to investigate the issues related to the selection of the distribution channels in the FMCG sector of India using multi-criteria decision-making technique (MCDM). © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Physician empathy during crisis: A survey of doctors in COVID-19 pandemic (COPE study)

Background There is a lack of research studies on physician empathy levels towards patients, which is a critical component of providing high-quality patient-care and satisfaction. Our study aimed at assessing the physician-reported empathy levels towards patients during a crisis like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Cross-sectional online-based survey was conducted among 409 practicing doctors from varied healthcare levels during the pandemic. We used a validated Jefferson Physician's Empathy (JPE) - Health Professional (HP) version questionnaire. Empathy score was expressed as a median and interquartile range, and the analysis was done in STATA 12.1 (StataCorp LP, Texas, USA). Results Among the survey respondents, 55% were between 26–35 years, 56% were from the government health sector, and 57% were male doctors. Overall physicians’ empathy score was 100 (89, 113). The empathy score among physicians engaged in OPD duty was significantly higher (p = 0.022). A total of 70.0% of physicians consulting more than 50 patients/day reported a score ≤105 (p = 0.035). Physicians aged more than 40 years (AOR = 2.545, 95% CI = 1.1133, 5.8184) and those working in government healthcare centers (AOR = 2.711, 95% CI = 1.1372, 6.4616) were about three times more likely to have a score >105 compared to younger physicians (p = 0.027) and private practitioners (p = 0.024). Conclusion Physician-reported empathy scores during the COVID pandemic were high. Middle-aged physicians involved in OPD consultation and those working in government healthcare recorded good scores. However, reporting lower empathy scores when the patient load increases highlights the need for administrative and medical education interventions.

A quantitative framework for health‐care service quality assessment in India

Purpose: The present situation of COVID-19 pandemic has put the health-care systems under tremendous stress and stringent tests for their ability to offer expected quality of health-care services, as it decides the sustainability and growth of health-care service providers. This study aims to deliver a quantitative framework for service quality assessment in the health-care industry by classifying the health-care service quality parameters into four balanced scorecard (BSC) perspectives. Design/methodology/approach: To determine the service quality for the Indian health-care system, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory and analytical network process are integrated in a fuzzy environment to contemplate the interaction among BSC perspectives and respective performance measures. Findings: The results indicate “internal processes” perspective assumes the key role within BSC perspectives, while performance measures “nursing staff turnover” and “staff training” play the key roles. The results also signify that “patient satisfaction” is the most vital issue and can be strongly influenced by measures belonging to the “learning and growth” perspective. In “learning and growth” perspective, “staff training” is the most decisive criteria, very highly influencing “patient satisfaction”, highly influencing “profitability,” “change of cost per patient (both in and out patients)” and “outpatient waiting time” while moderately influencing “staff satisfaction,” “bed occupancy” and “nursing staff turnover”. Moreover, “staff training” criteria have a positive influence on “nursing staff turnover.” Originality/value: The contributions of this study are in two folds in the domain of quantification of service quality for the health-care system. First, it delivers an assessment framework for Indian health-care service quality. Second, it demonstrates an application of the framework for a case situation and validates the proposed framework. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Suicide in the context of COVID-19 diagnosis in India: Insights and implications from online print media reports.

BACKGROUND: Suicide reports during the COVID pandemic is an increasing cause for concern. However, there is a limited understanding of suicide among individuals with positive/suspected COVID diagnosis specifically. Hence, this study, using online newspaper reports, aimed to determine factors influencing suicide among individuals withCOVID-19 infection status. METHODOLOGY: Information regarding positive/suspected COVID related suicide was obtained from online newspapers published in 4 languages between 30th Jan 2020 to 16th August 2020 using google news aggregator. Of 235 online identified, 93 were eligible for analysis after the exclusion and analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Median Age of COVID related suicide victims was 45 years (range 15 - 80) wherein 61.3% belonged to 30-59 year age group, and 75.3% were males. 50% of suicides occurred within the first week of COVID diagnosis confirmation, and 50% suicides occurred at COVID centres. Hanging (53.8%) was the commonest method of suicide, followed by jumping (12.9%). CONCLUSION: Higher risk for suicide was observed among male gender and those with positive/suspected COVID infection within the first week, while receiving treatment in COVID care centres. Hanging and jumping were the two commonest methods. The above highlight an urgent need to integrate suicide preventive strategies into standard care protocols of COVID-19 positive and suspected cases.

Indirect impact of covid-19 lockdown on society and environment

In a fairly short time, the worldwide spread of COVID-19 has brought a dramatic reduction in industrial activities, road traffic and tourism. During this time of crisis restrained human interaction with nature has appeared as a blessing for nature and the environment. Reports from around the world indicate that environmental conditions, including air quality and water quality in rivers, are improving after the COVID-19 outbreak, and wildlife is blooming. India has always been a pollution hub with enormous populations. But since COVID-19 announced the lockdown, air quality has begun to improve and all other environmental parameters such as water quality in rivers have begun to offer a positive sign of restoration. © 2020, Institute of Medico-Legal Publications. All rights reserved.

Indirect impact of covid-19 lockdown on society and environment

In a fairly short time, the worldwide spread of COVID-19 has brought a dramatic reduction in industrial activities, road traffic and tourism. During this time of crisis restrained human interaction with nature has appeared as a blessing for nature and the environment. Reports from around the world indicate that environmental conditions, including air quality and water quality in rivers, are improving after the COVID-19 outbreak, and wildlife is blooming. India has always been a pollution hub with enormous populations. But since COVID-19 announced the lockdown, air quality has begun to improve and all other environmental parameters such as water quality in rivers have begun to offer a positive sign of restoration.

Homeless persons with mental illness and COVID pandemic: Collective efforts from India.

COVID-19 pandemic had made an unprecedented impact worldwide. India has entered into a total lockdown by invoking the special provision of Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 and Disaster Management Act, 2015. The complete lockdown policy has a direct and indirect impact on Homeless Persons with Mental Illness (HPMI) concerning shelter, basic needs and access to health care, besides the transmission of COVID infection. In this manuscript, we highlight the collective efforts undertaken by both the Government and Civil Society in providing care and protection to HPMI against COVID during the lockdown in India.