Accountability logics in disability service NPOs – Incorporating the role of service user advocacy in accountability and management control systems

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to contribute to a greater understanding of non-profit organization (NPO) management control systems (MCS) and accountability in organizations providing support service for capacity constrained service users. Specifically, the paper examines the role of MCS and accountability in supporting mission realization in NPOs providing services to people with intellectual disabilities and reflects on this in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The research comprised a case study of four NPOs providing services to people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland conducted prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The study probed management's perceptions of stakeholders and examined the manner in which the design and use of MCS and accountability processes supported mission realization. Findings: Service users were regarded as the least powerful stakeholder and consequently the least attended to in terms of MCS and accountability processes. The absence of relational and dialogical accountability with service users is not only central to maintaining this power asymmetry but also poses a threat to mission realization. These deficits can be addressed through the integration and monitoring of internal advocacy activities into MCS and accountability processes, which, on reflection, may also mitigate some of the negative consequences for service users of isolation from external support networks in times of crisis. Research limitations/implications: This research has opened up an area for enquiry – internal advocacy – heretofore not addressed in the management accounting literature, opening up a novel vein for future research. Such research could further examine the role of internal advocacy, drawing from and adding to the research in other support service domains. A number of objectives and questions might be considered: (1) probing the level of management recognition of the role of direct engagement in advocacy activities in supporting service user agency;(2) identifying with service users and management the nature and attributes of effective advocacy activities and practices;(3) questioning how such advocacy activities and practices might be reflected in MCS;(4) identifying what service user stakeholders regard as effective accountability to them in relation to their needs and objectives;and (5) assessing the impact on service user experience and on NPO mission realization of internal advocacy activities and the monitoring and review thereof through MCS. These suggestions for future research draw attention to aspects of support service delivery that have the potential to be profoundly influential on service outcomes. Practical implications: A performance management model reflecting the identified need to incorporate internal advocacy mechanisms into organizational management control systems is proposed in an effort to increase accountability of NPOs to their core mission stakeholder – service users. This model may be of value to NPO management as they move from a medical-model of care to a rights-based model for service delivery in care settings. Social implications: The paper reflects the importance of listening to the voice of vulnerable service users in NPO care settings and proposes a mechanism for embedding internal advocacy in formal management control systems and accountability processes. Originality/value: In proposing an "agency” supportive relational and dialogical accountability logic for such organizations, underpinned by "internal advocacy”, this research provides theoretical and practical insights for accountability processes and the design of MCS. The findings contribute empirically, not just to the NPO management and MCS literature but also to understanding the relational interaction of service users with service organizations, and what this means in supporting service user objectives and realization of organizational mission. © 2023, Frank Conaty and Geraldine Robbins.

Dementia and Cognitive Concerns are Risk Factors for Mortality in People with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and COVID-19

Background. Despite higher prevalence of cognitive disorders in people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) and dementia being a risk factor for COVID-19 mortality, the association between dementia and adverse outcomes in PWH with COVID-19 has not been well established. Methods. This was a matched case-control study (1:10) of patients with and without HIV at an academic institution with documented SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positivity from March 2020-March 2021. Data were extracted from the electronic health record data registry. PWH were matched to people without HIV (PWoH) by age, sex, race, and zip code. The primary exposures were dementia (identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes) and cognitive concerns, defined as documentation of possible cognitive impairment up to 12 months prior to COVID-19 diagnosis and ascertained using a semi-automated natural language processing annotation tool. VACS 2.0 Index (including age, sex, body mass index, CD4+ T-cell count and HIV-1 RNA) was calculated. Logistic regression models assessed the effect of dementia and cognitive concerns on the odds of death (OR [95% confidence interval]), adjusted for VACS 2.0 Index. Results. Sixty-four (0.45%) PWH were identified among 14129 patients with COVID-19 and were matched to 463 PWoH. Among PWH, 59% were virally suppressed, and 14% had CD4< 200 cells/muL. Compared to 463 matched PWoH, PWH had higher prevalence of dementia (16% vs. 6%, p=0.01) and cognitive concerns (22% vs. 16%, p=0.04). Death was more frequent in PWH (17% vs. 6%, p< 0.01) and at younger ages (58 vs. 66 years, p=0.03). Cognitive concerns (2.5 [1.1-5.9], p=0.03) and dementia (3.4 [1.3-8.1], p=0.01) were significantly associated with increased adjusted odds of death in the overall group. Among PWH, cognitive concerns (7.2 [1.1-48], p=0.04) and dementia (6.0 [0.8-43.8], p=0.08) remained associated with mortality. Conclusion. Dementia and cognitive concerns were associated with mortality among PWH with COVID-19. The magnitude of the effect of cognitive impairment on COVID-19 outcomes may be greater in HIV, and additional studies with larger cohorts will help to assess this association further. Assessment of cognitive status is an important component to care for aging PWH in the COVID-19 era.

THE EFFECT OF TIME OF DAY OF COVID-19 VACCINATION AND OTHER COVARIATES ON SIDE EFFECTS

Introduction: Circadian rhythms have critical roles in human health. We quantified the effect of time-of-day of COVID-19 vaccination and other covariates on self-reported side effects post vaccination. Methods: The dataset was created from MassGeneralBrigham (MGB) electronic health records and REDCap survey that collected self-reported symptoms for 1-3 days after each immunization. Variables are demographics (age, sex, race, and ethnicity), vaccine manufacturer, clock time of vaccine administration/appointment, any COVID-19 diagnosis/positive test prior to vaccination, any history of allergy, and any note of epinephrine self-injection (e.g., EpiPen) medication. Time of day groupings were morning (6 am10 am), midday (10 am2 pm), late afternoon (2 pm6 pm) or evening (6 pm10 pm). Side effects were classified as Allergic (Rash;Hives;Swollen lips, tongue, eyes, or face;Wheezing) and Non-Allergic (New Headache, New Fatigue, Arthralgias, Myalgias, Fever) symptoms. The study was approved by the MGB IRB.Machine learning (ML) techniques (e.g., extreme gradient boosting) were applied to the variables to predict the occurrence of side effects. Stratified k-fold cross validation was used to validate the performance of the ML models. Shapley Additive Explanation values were computed to explain the contribution of each of the variables to the prediction of the occurrence of side effects. Results: Data were from 54,844 individuals. On day 1 after the first vaccination, (i) females, people who received the Moderna vaccine, and those with any allergy history were more likely to report Allergic side effects;and (ii) females, people who received the Janssen vaccine, those who had prior COVID-19 diagnosis ,and those who received their vaccine in the morning or midday and were more likely to report Non-Allergic symptoms. Older persons had fewer side effects of any type. Conclusion: ML techniques identified demographic and time-ofday- of-vaccination effects on side effects reported on the first day after the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination. We will use these techniques to test for changes on days 2 and 3 after the first dose, and the first 3 days after the second dose and for the influence of recent night or shiftwork. Future work should target underlying physiological reasons.

Prolonged intubation in patients with prior cerebrovascular disease and COVID-19

Objective: To determine the odds of critical illness by day 28 and duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) over 45-day observation period in patients with history of cerebrovascular disease and COVID-19. Background: COVID-19-associated morbidity is correlated with multiple factors including age, comorbidities, and host response to the virus. Our understanding of the risk of critical illness due to prior neurological conditions remains limited. Here, we hypothesized that prior cerebrovascular disease is a risk factor for severe outcomes in COVID-19, including increased duration of MV. Design/Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1128 consecutive adult patients admitted to a tertiary care center in Boston, Massachusetts, and diagnosed with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. The association between history of cerebrovascular disease and critical illness defined as MV or death was examined using logistic regression with inverse probability weighting of the propensity score. Cumulative incidence of successful extubation without death over 45 days was examined using competing risk analysis. Results: Of the 1128 adults admitted with COVID-19, 350 (36%) were critically ill by day 28. The median age was 59 years (standard deviation: 18 years), 640 (57%) were men, and 401 (36%) were Latinx ethnicity. As of June 2nd, 2020, 127 (11%) patients died. A total of 257 (23%) of patients had a prior neurological diagnosis;most common was cerebrovascular disease (16%). Prior cerebrovascular disease was significantly associated with critical illness (OR 1.54 [95% CI: 1.14 - 2.07]), lower rate of successful extubation (cause-specific HR 0.57 [95% CI: 0.33-0.98]), and increased duration of intubation (restricted mean time difference 4.02 days [95% CI: 0.34- 10.92]) compared to patients without cerebrovascular disease. Conclusions: History of cerebrovascular disease adversely affects COVID-19 outcomes including increased risk of critical illness and prolonged intubation. Further studies are needed to define measures that reduce risk of poor outcomes in this subpopulation.

A simple and safe approach to HCV treatment: Findings from the a5360 (MINMON) trial

Background: To achieve global hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination by 2030, 80% of the ∼71 million people with chronic HCV need to be treated, necessitating simplification of treatment delivery and associated laboratory monitoring without compromising efficacy or safety. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the need for innovative models that minimize face-toface contact. Methods: ACTG A5360 is a single-arm, open-label trial to evaluate safety and efficacy of a minimal monitoring (MINMON) approach to HCV therapy in treatment-naïve persons with no evidence of decompensated cirrhosis. All participants received a single-tablet, fixed-dose regimen of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir for 12 weeks. MINMON included: (1) no genotyping;(2) all tablets dispensed at entry;(3) no on-treatment visits/labs;and (4) two remote contacts at Weeks 4 (adherence assessment) and 22 (scheduling sustained virology response [SVR] visit). Unplanned visits for participant concerns (related/unrelated to an adverse event [AE]) were allowed. SVR is defined as HCV RNA <lower limit of quantification at least 22 weeks after treatment initiation (missing HCV RNA = failure). 95% confidence intervals (CI) for SVR used Wilson's Score. Results: 400 participants were enrolled from 10/2018-07/2019 at 38 sites in five countries across 4 continents;399 initiated treatment. Median age was 47 years, 138 (35%) were cisgender women, 22 (6%) self-identified across the transgender spectrum, and 166 (42%) were White. At entry, 34 (9%) had compensated cirrhosis (FIB-4 ≥3.25) and 166 (42%) had HIV co-infection. Remote contact was successful at Weeks 4 and 22 for 394 (99%) and 335 (84%) participants, respectively. HCV RNA for SVR was available for 396 participants. Overall, 95% (379/399) achieved SVR (95% CI: 92.4%, 96.7%);SVR by country, biological sex, gender identity, age, cirrhosis status, HIV co-infection status and injection drug use are presented in Figure. Fifteen (3.8%) participants had unplanned visits;3 were AE related and 6 were related to abnormalities during screening. Serious AE events through Week 24 visit were reported in 14 (3.5%) participants;none were treatment related or resulted in death. Conclusion: In a diverse, global patient population, the MINMON approach to HCV treatment delivery was safe and achieved SVR comparable to current standards. Wider adoption of this approach coupled with innovative casefinding strategies may facilitate HCV elimination while minimizing in-person appointments and resource use.