Ethical patient engagement in healthcare governance.

Health leaders are faced with a lack of public trust in healthcare governance. This waning trust relationship was further solidified through the pandemic. Improving the relationship between health organizations and the community/citizens/patient partners is a moral imperative of which ethical governance is a significant factor. This article will structure the ethical analysis of patient partners in governance through reviewing who we are, how we function, and what we do on governance boards. Taking an ethical approach will enable the promise of the value and impact of the patient partner to be actualized. Ethical governance that recognizes the significant contributions and value of engaged patient partners can be achieved and may be one of the significant levers required to transform healthcare.

The influence of non-state-owned shareholder governance on the governance level of state-owned enterprises--Based on the perspective of board resolution behavior and party organization governance.

With an increasing number of heterogeneous shareholders participating in corporate governance in reality, the assumption of shareholder homogeneity in agency theory is gradually relaxing in the modern field of corporate governance. The policy of mixed ownership reform in China provides empirical evidence for studying heterogeneous shareholder governance. To fully understand the governance effects of non-state shareholders, we employ the ownership proportion held by non-state shareholders among the top ten shareholders and the appointment of directors as measures for non-state shareholder governance. Using a panel fixed-effect model from the perspective of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) party organizations, we examine the impact of non-state shareholder governance on the governance level of SOEs. The study reveals that non-state shareholder governance positively affects the governance level of SOEs, with board resolutions playing a crucial role in this relationship. When party members serve as directors, the governance effect of non-state shareholders is more significant. Based on the aforementioned research findings, we recommend further refining corporate governance measures for SOEs within the context of SOE reforms. It is advisable to optimize the party organizational governance structure and leverage the synergistic effects of non-state shareholder governance and party organizational governance. Advancing reforms along the Pareto improvement path will contribute to establishing a distinctive corporate governance system for Chinese SOEs.

The representation of women on Australian clinical practice guideline panels, 2010-2020.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the composition by gender of Australian clinical practice guideline development panels; to explore guideline development-related factors that influence the composition of panels. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Survey of clinical guidelines published in Australia during 2010-2020 that observed the 2016 NHMRC Standards for Guidelines, identified (June 2021) in the NHMRC Clinical Practice Guideline Portal or by searching the Guideline International Network guidelines library, the Trip medical database, and PubMed. The gender of contributors to guideline development was inferred from gendered titles (guideline documents) or pronouns (online biographies). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The overall proportion of guideline panel members - the guideline contributors who formally considered evidence and formulated recommendations (ie, guideline panel chairs and members) - who were women. RESULTS: Of 406 eligible guidelines, 335 listed the names of people who contributed to their development (82%). Of 7472 named contributors (including 511 guideline panel chairs [6.8%] and 5039 guideline panel members [67.4%]), 3514 were men (47.0%), 3345 were women (44.8%), and gender could not be determined for 612 (8.2%). A total of 215 guideline panel chairs were women (42.1%), 280 were men (54.8%); 2566 guideline panel members were men (50.9%), 2071 were women (41.1%). The proportion of female guideline panel members was smaller than 40% for 179 guidelines (53%) and larger than 60% for 71 guidelines (21%). The median guideline proportion of female panel members was smaller than 50% for all but two years (2017, 2018). CONCLUSIONS: The representation of women in health leadership roles in Australia does not reflect their level of participation in the health care workforce. In particular, clinical guideline development bodies should develop transparent policies for increasing the participation of women in guideline development panels.

The Role of Participation in and Effectiveness of Shared Governance Councils in the Nurses' Perception of a Professional Practice Work Environment.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to identify the differences in nurses' perceptions of their professional practice work environment (PPWE) related to their participation in shared governance (SG) councils and to examine the perception of effectiveness of SG councils among nurses who participate in them. BACKGROUND: Research suggests that adopting SG in nursing can lead to significant, positive outcomes, such as patient and nurse satisfaction and enhanced nurse empowerment, engagement, and a PPWE. METHODS: The study used a cross-sectional design in a Magnet®-designated urban Jordanian cancer care hospital. A convenience sample of 580 direct care nurses was used. The data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, the Council Health (CH) instrument, and the Professional Practice Work Environment Inventory (PPWEI). RESULTS: Results demonstrated a significant difference in the total score of PPWE between the SG council members (4.85) and nonmembers (4.68) (t = 2.906, P = 0.004). The results also indicated small to strong correlations of the total overall council health mean and all domain means of council effectiveness with total overall PPWEI mean and all domain means of PPWE (P < 0.05) among nurses who participated in SG councils. CONCLUSION: Findings support involving more staff in SG councils and that enhancing the SG councils' effectiveness positively affects the PPWE.

The Value of Including the Nursing Perspective in the Boardroom.

In response to the Future of Nursing Report, the Nurses on Boards Coalition promotes the health of communities and the nation by engaging nurses in board service. Nurses possess knowledge and skills that when leveraged in boardroom discussions and decisions may impact the health of the populations served by the board. This article highlights the insights of organizational board leaders, as they describe the impact and influence of nurse board members within their organizations.

Nurses on Boards: Still a Challenge for Health Care Organizations.

Multiple articles have explained the benefits of nurses as hospital board members. The Nurses on Boards Coalition has been working for several years to increase the number of nurse board members. Yet, the percentage of hospital and health care board positions filled by nurses has been decreasing. This article shares what all nurse leaders can do to increase the visibility of nurses as competent, valuable voices at the board table.

Emergency Medicine Journal Editorial Boards: Analysis of Gender, H-Index, Publications, Academic Rank, and Leadership Roles.

INTRODUCTION: Our goal in this study was to determine female representation on editorial boards of high-ranking emergency medicine (EM) journals. In addition, we examined factors associated with gender disparity, including board members' academic rank, departmental leadership position, h-index, total publications, total citations, and total publishing years. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we examined EM editorial boards with an impact factor of 1 or greater according to the Clarivate Journal Citations Report for a total of 16 journals. All board members with a doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathic medicine degree, or international equivalent were included, resulting in 781 included board members. We analyzed board members' gender, academic rank, departmental leadership position, h-index, total publications, total citations, and total publishing years. RESULTS: Gender disparity was clearly notable, with men holding 87.3% (682/781) of physician editorial board positions and women holding 12.7% (99/781) of positions. Only 6.6% (1/15) of included editorial board chiefs were women. Male editorial board members possessed higher h-indices, total citations, and more publishing years than their female counterparts. Male board members held a greater number of departmental leadership positions, as well as higher academic ranks. CONCLUSION: Significant gender disparity exists on EM editorial boards. Substantial inequalities between men and women board members exist in both the academic and departmental realms. Addressing these inequalities will likely be an integral part of achieving gender parity on editorial boards.

Leveraging Professional Governance During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Dynamic nursing leadership and engagement of nursing at all levels are critical to effective care delivery. During the COVID-19 crisis, many organizations suspended non-COVID-related meetings, including professional governance councils where practice decisions are made. This article highlights how shared or professional governance was leveraged during this global pandemic at a large academic medical center and community hospital effectively sustaining autonomous nursing practice while responding to a rapidly changing environment and impacting quality patient care.

Principales problemas en la gestión de establecimientos de salud en el Perú / Main problems in the management of health facilities in Peru

Introducción: Los directivos de las instituciones prestadoras de servicios de salud deben tomar decisiones oportunas y acertadas, e identificar de manera apropiada sus principales problemas, para proponer acciones de mejora de la gestión de sus instituciones. Objetivo: Identificar los problemas en la gestión de los establecimientos de salud en el Perú desde la perspectiva de sus directivos de acuerdo con la encuesta ENSUSALUD 2016. Métodos: Se realizó un análisis secundario descriptivo de la base de datos de la encuesta ENSUSALUD 2016. Se analizaron los datos correspondientes a personas que tenían un cargo directivo en las instituciones prestadoras de servicios de salud seleccionadas. Resultados: Se entrevistaron 366 personas con un cargo directivo en 184 instituciones prestadoras de servicios de salud peruanas del sector público y privado y de diferentes niveles de atención, de 25 regiones. El 68,03 por ciento de los entrevistados eran de sexo masculino y el 52,73 por ciento eran médicos. La edad promedio fue de 48,62 (± 11,10) y con un promedio de 11,7 (± 10,45) años trabajando en el centro de salud y 4,60 (± 6,63) asumiendo un cargo directivo. Casi la mitad de los directivos (43,7 por ciento) mencionaron que los principales problemas de gestión a nivel regional son el déficit de recursos humanos, el déficit presupuestal (38,2 por ciento) y el déficit de especialistas (34,7 por ciento). Conclusiones: Los principales problemas identificados por los directivos de los establecimientos de salud son la escasez de recursos humanos, la falta de insumos y medicamentos, la deficiente infraestructura y el déficit presupuestal. Estos resultados aportan conocimiento útil para los gestores y decisores en salud que tienen la responsabilidad de tomar decisiones adecuadas y oportunas para mejorar la calidad de los servicios y la satisfacción del usuario(AU)

Introduction: Managers of health service providers´ institutions must make timely and sound decisions, and appropriately identify their main problems, to propose improvement actions in the management of their institutions. Objective: Identify problems in the management of health facilities in Peru from the perspective of their managers according to the ENSUSALUD 2016 survey. Methods: A secondary descriptive analysis of the ENSUSALUD 2016 survey database was performed. Data of persons in a managerial position at selected health service providers´ institutions were analyzed. Results: 366 people with a management position were interviewed in 184 Peruvian public and private sector health service providers´ institutions and different levels of care, from 25 regions. 68.03 percent of respondents were male and 52.73 percent were doctors. The average age was 48.62 (±11.10) and with an average of 11.7 (±10.45) years working in the health institutions and 4.60 (±6.63) in a managerial position. Nearly half of managers (43.7 percent) mentioned that the main management problems at the regional level are the human resources deficit, the budget deficit (38.2 percent) and specialists deficit (34.7 percent). Conclusions: The main problems identified by managers of health facilities are the scarcity of human resources, the lack of inputs and medicines, the poor infrastructure and the budget deficit. These results provide useful knowledge for health managers and decision makers who have the responsibility to make informed and timely decisions to improve the quality of services and user´s satisfaction(AU)

Finding a New Normal: Hospital Governance Best Practices during COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a significant risk that compels hospital boards to react in an agile manner. Good governance requires active and effective oversight as hospitals continue to manage the pandemic for an indefinite period. Emerging from the first wave of COVID, in the context of continuously evolving restrictions, hospital boards must transition from interim solutions to sustainable practices. This new environment requires agile practices grounded in clear roles, sound structures and transparent processes. Boards can seize this opportunity to reflect on best practices, extract underlying principles of good governance and elevate these practices into a "new normal" governance environment.