Linking client and employee perceptions of the organization: A study of client satisfaction with health care services

Client satisfaction with health care sen ices has usually been researched in terms of socio-demographic and predispositional characteristics associated with the client. The present study included organizational characteristics as predictors of client satisfaction with health care services. Participants in the research were clients and employees of an Australian public-sector health care organization who responded to separate client and employee questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for a number of client characteristics, organizational characteristics, as perceived by employees, accounted for a significant proportion of additional variance in client satisfaction with health care services. Results of the present study provided some support for the proposition that employee perceptions of the working environment should be considered in a more comprehensive understanding of client satisfaction with health care services. Limitations of the study highlight practical difficulties in the assessment of client outcomes and methodological complexities in linking individual and organizational processes.

The effects of work control and job demands on employee adjustment and work performance

The present study examined the effects of work control and job demands on employee adjustment and work performance using a multidimensional measure of work control (assessing levels of task control, decision control and work scheduling control). It was proposed that the negative effects of job demands and employee adjustment would be moderated by high levels of task control. It was also proposed that there would be evidence of main effects of both job demands and work control (particularly task-related levels of control) on employee adjustment. To test these predictions, a study of 135 university employees holding administrative positions was undertaken. Methodological improvements over previous research included the use of both self-reported adjustment measures and supervisor ratings of work performance as outcome variables, and the assessment of the predictor and outcome measures at different points in time (self-reported adjustment was assessed at both Times 1 and 2). The results revealed some support for the proposal that the effects of job demands would be buffered by high levels of task control, but not more peripheral aspects of work control. There were also significant main effects of task control on job satisfaction.

The currency of case management: benefits and costs

Case management models evolved as the mental health care system shifted hospital to community settings. The research evidence underscores the efficacy of certain case management models under 'ideal' conditions; what is less clear, is how these models perform in day to day clinical practice. Moreover, the economic perspective adopted by most studies is relatively narrow thus limiting a proper understanding of the costs and benefits of such models. This paper reviews recent work in the field and highlights gaps in both method and application as a focus for future work. Curr Opin Psychiatry 12:195-199, (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Participation in physical activities by older Australians: a review of the social psychological benefits and constraints

Participation in physical activities has been found to be an important factor in contributing to a healthy lifestyle. Research has found strong relationships between participation in regular physical activity and the prevention of disease, while its relationship to the psychological and social dimensions have been neglected. Recently however, several studies have found causal relationships between physical activity and improved mood state, reduced anxiety, reduced depression, and increased social support. Despite this, surveys indicate that participation levels in physical activities are declining among older Australians, with the exceptions of walking and gardening. This paper also examines constraints to participation in leisure programs, such as lack of time, poor health, fear of crime, the financial cost and the lack of a partner to participate with. A number of strategies have been suggested to overcome these constraints.

Conversations on clinical supervision: benefits perceived by school counsellors

This Australian study describes the benefits of clinical supervision as perceived by school guidance officers who work in a large education authority. The participants were a random sample of guidance officers and senior guidance officers who agreed to participate in focus group interviews conducted via teleconference calls. The benefits of and reasons for clinical supervision graphically described by the participants raise questions about the cost of inadequate supervision to the individual counsellors themselves and to the profession as a whole. The findings become even more important when considered in light of the world of work of the 21st century.

Employee reactions to behavioural control under conditions of stress: the moderating role of self-efficacy

Extensive research conducted in the occupational stress literature has failed to provide convincing support for the stress-buffering effects of work control on employee adjustment. Drawing on research conducted in the laboratory context, it was proposed that the stress-buffering effects of work control on employee adjustment would be more marked at high, rather than low, levels of self-efficacy. In a sample of 100 customer service representatives, a significant three-way interaction among role conflict, work control and self-efficacy (measured at Time 1) was observed on (low) depersonalization (measured at Time 2). Consistent with expectations, work control reduced the negative effects of work stress on this outcome measure only for employees who perceived high levels of self-efficacy at work. In addition, there was evidence to suggest that self-efficacy moderated the main effects of work control on job satisfaction and somatic health. These findings are discussed hi terms of their theoretical contribution to the job strain model, and also in relation to workplace interventions designed to improve levels of employee adjustment.

Undergraduate student experience in dental service delivery in rural South Australia: An analysis of costs and benefits

Background, Rural experience for dental students can provide valuable clinical education, change attitudes to rural practice, and make a valuable contribution to clinical service provision. The aim of this paper is to assess the costs and benefits of service delivery by students through rural training programmes Methods: Groups of two students worked in the public dental clinics in adjacent rural centres where there had been long-term difficulties in recruiting staff. The costs and benefits of the programme were assessed by the impact on waiting lists, the total cost per patient of, a course of care and by the marginal cost of adding service provision by students to existing arrangements. Results: The total costs of emergency and complete treatment provided by students were greater than the costs of treatment provided by public-sector dentists but less than the costs of private providers treating public patients. However, the value of services were greater when care was provided by students or private providers and the marginal cost of students providing services was 50-70 per cent of the cost of care provided by public dentists. Conclusion: This assessment suggests that the service benefits achieved compliment the primary objective of influencing the attitude of students to rural practice.

Male-by-female interactions influence fertilization success and mediate the benefits of polyandry in the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma

Numerous studies have reported that females benefit from mating with multiple males (polyandry) by minimizing the probability of fertilization by genetically incompatible sperm. Few, however, have directly attributed variation in female reproductive success to the fertilizing capacity of sperm. In this study we report on two experiments that investigated the benefits of polyandry and the interacting effects of males and females at fertilization in the free-spawning Australian sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma. In the first experiment we used a paired (split clutch) experimental design and compared fertilization rates within female egg clutches under polyandry (eggs exposed to the sperm from two males simultaneously) and monandry (eggs from the same female exposed to sperm from each of the same two males separately). Our analysis revealed a significant fertilization benefit of polyandry and strong interacting effects of males and females at fertilization. Further analysis of these data strongly suggested that the higher rates of fertilization in the polyandry treatment were due to an overrepresentation of fertilizations due to the most compatible male. To further explore the interacting effects of males and females at fertilization we performed a second factorial experiment in which four mates were crossed with two females (in all eight combinations). In addition to confirming that fertilization success is influenced by male X female interactions, this latter experiment revealed that both sexes contributed significant variance to the observed patterns of fertilization. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of male X female interactions at fertilization and suggest that polyandry will enable females to reduce the cost of fertilization by incompatible gametes.

The benefits of polyandry in the free-spawning polychaete Galeolaria caespitosa

In many species, females are thought to benefit from polyandry due to the reduced risks of fertilization by genetically incompatible sperm. However, few studies that have reported such benefits have directly attributed variation in female reproductive success to the interacting effects of males and females at fertilization. In this paper, we determine whether male x female interactions influence fertilization in vitro in the free-spawning, sessile polychaete Galeolaria caespitosa. Furthermore, we determined whether polyandry results in direct fertilization benefits for females by experimentally manipulating the number of males contributing towards staged spawning events. To test for male x female interaction effects we performed an initial experiment that crossed seven males with six females (in all 42 combinations), enabling us to assess fertilization rates for each specific male-female pairing and attribute variation in fertilization success to males, females and their interaction. This initial experiment revealed a strong interaction between males and females at fertilization, confirming that certain male-female combinations were more compatible than others. A second experiment tested the hypothesis that polyandry enhances female reproductive success by exposing each female's eggs to either a single male's sperm (monandry) or the sperm from three males simultaneously (polyandry). We performed this second experiment at two ecologically relevant sperm concentrations. This latter experiment revealed a strong fertilization benefit of polyandry, independent of the effects of sperm concentration (which were also significant). We suggest that these direct fertilization gains arising from polyandry will constitute an important source of selection on females to mate multiply in nature.

Employee group memberships and organisational communication during organisational change

The preset study adopted an intergroup approach to information sharing and communication in three organisational samples during change. In Study 1, employees from a public hospital (N = 142) completed a survey measuring perceptions of organisational communication and strength of identification with the work unit and the organisation as a whole. Consistent with predictions, team members rated communication from double ingroup members (same work unit/same occupational group) more favourably than communication from partial group members (same work unit/different occupational group). Also as predicted, work unit identification was related to favourable ratings of work unit communication across occupational groups, whereas occupational identification was related to favourable ratings of work unit communication within occupational groups. In Study 2, strength of identification with three organisational groups was associated with positive ratings of communication among employees from the same public hospital (N = 189) and a military organisation (N = 2119). Based on these results, intergroup strategies for the management of information sharing and organisational communication during change are discussed.

Impact of gender on benefits of exercise training on sympathetic nerve activity and muscle blood flow in heart failure

We compared the effects of exercise training on neurovascular control and functional capacity in men and women with chronic heart failure (HF). Forty consecutive HF outpatients from the Heart Institute, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil were divided into the following four groups matched by age: men exercise-trained (n = 12), men untrained (n = 10), women exercise-trained (n = 9), women untrained (n = 9). Maximal exercise capacity was determined from a maximal progressive exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Forearm blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) was recorded directly using the technique of microneurography. There were no differences between groups in any baseline parameters. Exercise training produced a similar reduction in resting MSNA (P = 0.000002) and forearm vascular resistance (P = 0.0003), in men and women with HF. Peak VO(2) was similarly increased in men and women with HF (P = 0.0003) and VE/VCO(2) slope was significantly decreased in men and women with HF (P = 0.0007). There were no significant changes in left-ventricular ejection fraction in men and women with HF. The benefits of exercise training on neurovascular control and functional capacity in patients with HF are independent of gender.