Impact of Implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) System on Improving Performance at the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) in Lebanon

The Total Quality Management System (TQM) is an integrated management approach that aims to continuously improve the performance of services and exceed the expectations of associates. The study aimed at determining the impact of the application of the Total Quality Management (TQM) system in improving performance in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) in Lebanon. The study also aimed at building a conceptual framework that can be used as a guide in formulating an effective approach that enables high management in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) to successfully implement a Total Quality Management (TQM) system. The study sample consisted of employees in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE). To verify the study hypotheses, a five-point Likert style questionnaire was constructed and distributed among the sample to measure and reveal the impact of implementing the TQM system on improving the performance of the CSE. The results of the study showed that implementing the TQM system has a critical role in improving the financial performance of the CSE, while it has no impact of significance on improving managerial performance at the CSE

Enhancement of corrosion protection of metal carbon steel C45 and stainless steel 316 by using inhibitor (Schiff base) in sea water

This research has presented a solution to the problem faced by alloys: the corrosion problem, by reducing corrosion and enhancing protection by using an inhibitor (Schiff base). The inhibitor (Schiff base) was synthesized by reacting of the substrates materials (4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde and 4-aminoantipyrine). It was diagnosed by infrared technology IR, where the IR spectrum and through the visible beams proved that the Schiff base was well formed and with high purity. The corrosion behavior of carbon steel and stainless steel in a saline medium (artificial seawater 3.5%NaCl) before and after using the inhibitor at four temperatures: 20, 30, 40, and 50 C° was studied by using three electrodes potentiostat. The corrosion behavior was studied by cathode and anode polarization through which all corrosion parameters were investigated which include: corrosion current icorr (1341× 10-7-  5393 × 10-9A/cm2), corrosion potential Ecorr (-1.031-  -0.227 mV vs SCE) , corrosion rates CR (0.658-0.007 mm.y-1), inhibition efficiency %IE (92-98%), and energy activation barriers Ea (4.709-26.733 kJ/mole). The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the corrosion behavior of these two metals under study, which include: enthalpy ∆H*(2.153-24.176 kJ/mole), entropy ∆S*(-197 -156 J/mole), and free Gibbs energy ∆G*(59.87-74.56 kJ/mole) before and after using the inhibitor, were also studied

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Impact of Implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) System on Improving Performance at the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) in Lebanon

The Total Quality Management System (TQM) is an integrated management approach that aims to continuously improve the performance of services and exceed the expectations of associates. The study aimed at determining the impact of the application of the Total Quality Management (TQM) system in improving performance in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) in Lebanon. The study also aimed at building a conceptual framework that can be used as a guide in formulating an effective approach that enables high management in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE) to successfully implement a Total Quality Management (TQM) system. The study sample consisted of employees in the Cooperative of State Employees (CSE). To verify the study hypotheses, a five-point Likert style questionnaire was constructed and distributed among the sample to measure and reveal the impact of implementing the TQM system on improving the performance of the CSE. The results of the study showed that implementing the TQM system has a critical role in improving the financial performance of the CSE, while it has no impact of significance on improving managerial performance at the CSE.</jats:p

COMPUTERIZED HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND THEIR ROLE IN TRACKING THE CORONA PANDEMIC IN GAZA STRIP

تهـدف هـذه الدراسـة إلـى التعـرف علـى نظـم المعلومات الصحية المحوسبة ودورها في تتبع جائحة كورونا بقطاع غزة. واسـتخدمت الدراسـة المنهج الوصـــــــفي التحليلي، المنهج النوعي (المقابلة)، وقد شملت الدراسة العاملين من إداريين ومتخصصين الذين يستخدمون نظم المعلومات الصحية المحوسبة في المستشفيات والمراكز الصحية المخصصة من قبل وزارة الصحة في تتبع جائحة كورونا بقطاع غزة، اسـتخدم الباحـثون الاستبانة كأداة للدراسـة، حيـث تـم توزيع (159) استبانة، واستبعاد (9) استبانات غير صــــــالحة، وبالتالي بلغ مجموع الاســــــتبانات الصــــــالحة والتي خضــــــعت للدراســــــة والتحليل 150 ونسبة الاستجابة بلغت 95.3%. وقد أظهرت الدراسة نتائج أهمها: وجود درجــة عــاليــة من الموافقــة مـــــــن قبـــــــل عينة الدراســـــــــــــة فيما يخص دور الأفراد، المعــــدات والأدوات والأجهزة والبرمجيات بنظم المعلومات الصحية المحوسبة في تتبع جائحة كورونا بقطاع غزة. وجـود علاقـة إيجابية بـين نظـم المعلومـات الـصحية المحوسـبة في تتبع جائحة كورونا بقطاع غزة ودور الأفراد، المعــــدات والأدوات والأجهزة والبرمجيات في تتبع جائحة كورونا بقطاع غزة، عـدم وجـود فـروق ذات دلالـة إحـصائية فـي اسـتجابات المبحـوثين حـول نظـم المعلومـات الـصحية المحوسـبة في تتبع جائحة كورونا بقطاع غزة تعـزى للمتغيرات الـــديموغرافيـــة (نوع الجنس، الفئـــات العمريـــة، المؤهـــل العلمي، سنوات الخبرة، طبيعة العمل).This study aims to identify computerized health information systems and their role in tracking the Corona pandemic in Gaza Strip. The study relied on the descriptive analytical approach and the qualitative approach (interview), interview is a study tool also the study included administrators and specialists who use computerized health information systems in hospitals and health centers designated by the Ministry of Health to track the Corona pandemic in Gaza Strip The researchers used the questionnaire as a tool for the study, where (159) questionnaires were distributed, as (9) invalid questionnaires were excluded, and thus the total valid questionnaires reached to (150), with a recovery rate of 95.3%. The study showed the most important results: There is a high degree of approval by the study community members regarding the role of individuals, equipment, tools, devices and software in computerized health information systems in tracking the Corona pandemic in Gaza Strip There is a positive correlation between computerized health information systems in tracking the Corona pandemic in Gaza Strip and the role of individuals, equipment, tools, hardware and software in tracking the Corona pandemic in Gaza Strip. There are no statistically significant differences in the respondents' responses to computerized health information systems in tracking the Corona pandemic in Gaza Strip due to the following demographic variables (gender, age groups, educational qualification)

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortiu (INICC) report, data summary of 43 countries for 2007-2012. Device-associated module

We report the results of an International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2007-December 2012 in 503 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. During the 6-year study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) U.S. National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care–associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 605,310 patients hospitalized in the INICC's ICUs for an aggregate of 3,338,396 days. Although device utilization in the INICC's ICUs was similar to that reported from ICUs in the U.S. in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals: the pooled rate of central line–associated bloodstream infection in the INICC's ICUs, 4.9 per 1,000 central line days, is nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.9 per 1,000 central line days reported from comparable U.S. ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher (16.8 vs 1.1 per 1,000 ventilator days) as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (5.5 vs 1.3 per 1,000 catheter days). Frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (42.8% vs 10%) and imipenem (42.4% vs 26.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (71.2% vs 28.8%) and imipenem (19.6% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC's ICUs compared with the ICUs of the CDC's NHSN

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium report, data summary of 50 countries for 2010-2015: Device-associated module

•We report INICC device-associated module data of 50 countries from 2010-2015.•We collected prospective data from 861,284 patients in 703 ICUs for 3,506,562 days.•DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance were higher in the INICC ICUs than in CDC-NHSN's.•Device utilization ratio in the INICC ICUs was similar to CDC-NHSN's. Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically