Does Seasonal Influenza Related Hospital Occupancy Surge Impact Hospital Staff Sickness Presenteeism and Productivity Costs?

Background—The workload of public hospital staff is heightened during seasonal influenza surges in hospitals serving densely populated cities. Such work environments may subject staff to increased risk of sickness presenteeism. Presenteeism is detrimental to nurses’ health and may lead to downstream productivity loss, resulting in financial costs for hospital organizations. Aims—This study aims to quantify how seasonal influenza hospital occupancy surge impacts nurses’ sickness presenteeism and related productivity costs in high-intensity inpatient metropolitan hospitals. Methods—Full-time nurses in three Hong Kong acute-care hospitals were surveyed. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) was applied to account for clustering in small number of hospitals. Results—A total of 71.3% of nurses reported two or more presenteeism events last year. A 6.8% increase in hospital inpatient occupancy rate was associated with an increase of 19% (1.19, 95% CI: 1.06–1.34) in nurse presenteeism. Presenteeism productivity loss costs between nurses working healthy (USD1983) and worked sick (USD 2008) were not significantly different, while sick leave costs were highest (USD 2703). Conclusion—Presenteeism prevalence is high amongst acute-care hospital nurses and workload increase during influenza flu surge significantly heightened nurse sickness presenteeism. Annual presenteeism productivity loss costs in this study of USD 24,096 were one of the highest reported worldwide. Productivity loss was also considerably high regardless of nurses’ health states, pointing towards other potential risk factors at play. When scheduling nurses to tackle flu surge, managers may want to consider impaired productivity due to staff presenteeism. Further longitudinal research is essential in identifying management modifiable risk factors that impact nurse presenteeism and impairing downstream productivity loss.

Testing of silos from legume-cereal grass mixtures and feed additives in the feeding diets of dairy cows

The production approbation of silos prepared from legume-cereal grass mixtures with the use of an unconventional feed crop – eastern goat and preserved with Biosib biopreparation in experimental versions was carried out. The chemical composition and nutritional value of feed were determined, the structure of feeding rations was calculated, the dose of the energy feed additive was determined. In the balance experiment, the digestibility of the main nutrients of feed was calculated, the hematology of blood was studied. The productivity, costs of concentrated feed and energy for the production of 1 kg of milk are estimated, the main physical, chemical and technological properties of milk from the point of view of butter production are studied, the economic efficiency of using silos in the feeding rations of dairy cows is established.

Patient, family and productivity costs of end-stage renal disease in the Netherlands; exposing non-healthcare related costs

Background Healthcare costs related to ESRD are well-described, but broader societal costs of ESRD are less known. This study aimed to estimate patient and family costs, including informal care costs and out-of-pocket costs, and costs due to productivity loss related to ESRD, for patients receiving dialysis and living with a kidney transplant, using a bottom-up approach. Methods A total of 655 patients were asked to complete a digital questionnaire consisting of two standardised instruments (iMCQ and iPCQ) from November 2016 through January 2017. We applied a retrospective bottom-up cost estimation by combining data from the questionnaire with unit prices from the Dutch costing manual. Results Our study sample consisted of 230 patients, of which 165 were kidney transplant recipients and 65 received dialysis. The total annual non-healthcare related costs were estimated at €8284 (SD: €14,266) for transplant recipients and €23,488 (SD: €39,434) for dialysis patients. Costs due to productivity loss contributed most to the total non-healthcare costs (66% for transplant recipients and 65% for dialysis patients), followed by informal care costs (26% resp. 29%) and out-of-pocket costs, such as medication and travel expenses (8% resp. 6%). Conclusion By exposing patient, family and productivity costs, our study revealed that dialysis and transplantation are not only costly within the healthcare system, but also incur high non-healthcare costs (18–23% resp. 35% of the total societal costs). It is important to reveal these types of non-healthcare costs in order to understand the full burden of ESRD for society and the potential impact of new therapies.

Medición del Desempeño Organizacional en las Micro y Pequeñas Empresas del Sector Manufacturero en México

El desempeño organizacional facilita e impulsa el logro de los objetivos de la empresa a través de las personas. La tasa de mortalidad de las PYMES en México ha alcanzado el 4.5%; una adecuada administración y gestión del desempeño pudiera contribuir a decrecer dicha tasa. El objetivo de esta investigación fue medir el desempeño organizacional en las micro y pequeñas empresas del sector manufacturero. El enfoque de la investigación fue de naturaleza cuantitativa, el diseño fue no experimental y transaccional, el muestreo fue no probabilístico. La población bajo estudio fueron las micro y pequeñas empresas del sector manufacturero (excluyendo el de alimentos) de la ciudad de Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México. En el período de tiempo comprendido entre los meses de noviembre del 2018 a mayo del 2019. Se estableció contacto con los grupos de interés y se procedió a recabar retroalimentación a través de llamadas telefónicas, correos electrónicos y visitas físicas a las empresas. Los resultados arrojaron que las micro y pequeñas empresas de este sector no cuentan con los conocimientos necesarios para implementar mediciones del desempeño. Los principales indicadores para medir el desempeño de las PYMES en la que coinciden la mayoría de los autores fueron: calidad, productividad, costos, participación del mercado, recursos humanos, capacidad instalada y satisfacción del cliente. Organizational performance facilitates and drives the achievement of company objectives through people. The mortality rate of SMEs in Mexico has reached 4.5%; an adequate administration and performance management could contribute to decrease this rate. The objective of this research was to measure organizational performance in micro and small companies in the manufacturing sector. The research approach was quantitative in nature, the design was non-experimental and transactional, the sampling was nonprobabilistic. The population under study was the micro and small enterprises of the manufacturing sector (excluding the food sector) of the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. In the period of time between the months of November 2018 to May 2019. Stakeholders were contacted and feedback was obtained through phone calls, emails and physical visits to the companies. The results showed that micro and small companies in this sector do not have the necessary knowledge to implement performance measurements. The main indicators to measure the performance of SMEs in which most of the authors agree were: quality, productivity, costs, market share, human resources, installed capacity and customer satisfaction.

Health care costs and lost productivity costs related to excess weight in Belgium

Background This study aimed to estimate annual health care and lost productivity costs associated with excess weight among the adult population in Belgium, using national health data. Methods Health care costs and costs of absenteeism were estimated using data from the Belgian national health interview survey (BHIS) 2013 linked with individual health insurance data (2013–2017). Average yearly health care costs and costs of absenteeism were assessed by body mass index (BMI) categories – i.e., underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m²), normal weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25 kg/m²), overweight (25 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m²) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). Health care costs were also analysed by type of cost (i.e. ambulatory, hospital, reimbursed medication). The cost attributable to excess weight and the contribution of various other chronic conditions to the incremental cost of excess weight were estimated using the method of recycled prediction (a.k.a. standardisation). Results According to BHIS 2013, 34.7% and 13.9% of the Belgian adult population were respectively overweight or obese. They were mostly concentrated in the age-group 35–65 years and had significantly more chronic conditions compared to the normal weight population. Average total healthcare expenses for overweight and obese people were significantly higher than those observed in the normal weight population.

Return on investment of Canadian tobacco control policies implemented between 2001 and 2016

ObjectivesTo determine the return on investment (ROI) associated with tobacco control policies implemented between 2001 and 2016 in Canada.MethodsCanadian expenditures on tobacco policies were collected from government sources. The economic benefits considered in our analyses (decrease in healthcare costs, productivity costs and monetised life years lost, as well as tax revenues) were based on the changes in smoking prevalence and attributable deaths derived from the SimSmoke simulation model for the period 2001–2016. The net economic benefit (monetised benefits minus expenditures) and ROI associated with these policies were determined from the government and societal perspectives. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to check the robustness of the result. Costs were expressed in 2019 Canadian dollars.ResultsThe total of provincial and federal expenditures associated with the implementation of tobacco control policies in Canada from 2001 through 2016 was estimated at $2.4 billion. Total economic benefits from these policies during that time were calculated at $49.2 billion from the government perspective and at $54.2 billion from the societal perspective. The corresponding ROIs were $19.8 and $21.9 for every dollar invested. Sensitivity analyses yielded ROI values ranging from $16.3 to $28.3 for every dollar invested depending on the analyses and perspective.ConclusionsThis analysis has found that the costs to implement the Canadian tobacco policies between 2001 and 2016 were far outweighed by the monetised value associated with the benefits of these policies, making a powerful case for the investment in tobacco control policies.

Is a new office a blessing in disguise? The strategic importance of relocation

Purpose Corporate relocation is a rare event in the history of an individual company. The choices related to location, building and workplace constitute major long-term strategic decisions that determine the company’s future operating environment. However, business decision-makers often do not evaluate all the aspects of relocation before making relocation decisions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to systemise the knowledge behind corporate relocation and the strategic qualities and impacts of these choices. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper is based on a comprehensive literature review of 74 articles on the strategic qualities of short-distance corporate relocation of knowledge-intensive firms. Based on the review insights, a conceptual model of the strategic operational qualities for work environment selection is developed. Findings This paper identifies three strategic layers of physical environment change, namely, location, building and physical work environment, which need to be considered when deciding to relocate. Corporate relocation affects a company through five operational qualities, namely, staff productivity, costs, employee retention and availability, operational changes and organisational culture. Practical implications Relocation is a complex process for an individual company. Justifying choices based on direct costs can lead to unexpected changes in indirect costs for the company. This paper helps decision-makers understand the strategic importance of corporate relocation, identify relocation goals and plan successful relocation. Originality/value This paper uses a strategy and organisation lens to provide a systematic overview and synthesis of the strategic qualities of short-distance corporate relocation of knowledge-intensive firms.