Two cases from public health care levels were compared on practises used to manage working capital with two cases from the same levels of health care in private health sector. The objective was to establish whether the practises in public health sector comply with the efficient management of working capital principles and whether it was practically feasible to apply the methods in health care provision. Primary and secondary data was collected. Staffs at an operational and administrative level were interviewed at both the primary and the Secondary health care. It was found that principles of working capital practiced in private sector are mostly consistent with working capital theories and could actually be implemented effectively in public health sector without risking patient health. Inefficiencies were identified in the public sector at both an operational and administrative level especially at a secondary health care level. Finally the study makes recommendations on how to address such inefficiencies. / Thesis(MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Background Information: Outdoor music festivals (OMFs) are complex events to organise with many exceeding the population of a small city. Minimising public health impacts at these events is important with improved event planning and management seen as the best method to achieve this. Key players in improving public health outcomes include the environmental health practitioners (EHPs) working within local government authorities (LGAs) that regulate OMFs and volunteer organisations with an investment in volunteer staff working at events. In order to have a positive impact there is a need for more evidence and to date there has been limited research undertaken in this area. The research aim: The aim of this research program was to enhance event planning and management at OMFs and add to the body of knowledge on volunteers, crowd safety and quality event planning for OMFs. This aim was formulated by the following objectives. 1.To investigate the capacity of volunteers working at OMFs to successfully contribute to public health and emergency management; 2.To identify the key factors that can be used to improve public health management at OMFs; and 3.To identify priority concerns and influential factors that are most likely to have an impact on crowd behaviour and safety for patrons attending OMFs. Methods: This research program has involved a series of five exploratory research studies exploring two main themes within public health management for OMFs, event planning capacity and volunteer capacity. Four studies used a cross-sectional design and survey methodology to collect self-report data from each cohort while the remaining study utilised case methods. The study participants were recruited from Australian and European OMFs. For volunteer capacity, data have been collected from volunteers at two internationally recognised OMFs. One had formal training for their volunteers and the other did not. For planning capacity, data have been collected on consumer concerns regarding OMFs, priority factors that influence crowd behaviour and safety and leadership in event planning. Results (volunteer capacity): The first studies assessed the public health and emergency management capacity of volunteers working at two OMFs. Volunteer training was provided at one event but not at the other. Comparatively, the participants from the OMF where training was provided reported noticeably better awareness of and involvement in public health and emergency management at that event. Additionally, this awareness was improved with experience volunteering at the study festivals. These studies highlighted the benefits of volunteer training and retention. Results (event planning capacity): The next three studies focused on event planning capacity with the first being a case study on event planning leadership. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that the event licensing programs managed by LGAs could improve health outcomes for OMFs. A European OMF, the Glastonbury Festival, was chosen for this study. After problems in 2000, it was highly likely that the event would never be held again unless public health and safety was improved. This study documents the progression from that 2000 event through to the 2004 event that was considered the safest event yet. The LGA EHPs working through the event licensing programs had engineered these changes. The next study focused on consumer priority concerns associated with attending OMFs. A wide range of public health issues were identified as high concern including access to drinking water, toilets, safe food and personal protection issues such as females being grabbed or losing valuables. Safety in the mosh pit was a particular concern for almost half of the participants in the study. Also mosh pit safety was identified with other concerns such as females being grabbed, needing first aid, being struck by thrown items, crowd sizes, losing valuables and alcohol-related behaviour. Making safety in the mosh pit the most important public health issue for these study participants. The final study focused on identifying the main influences on crowd behaviour and safety at OMFs, particularly mosh pits. This study follows on from the consumer study. The study participants were skilled event security guards, specialising in OMFs and considered the performers, the music and group mentality as the most common motivators for changes in mosh pit behaviour. They also considered that generally (1) crowd composition, (2) drugs and particularly alcohol, (3) the type of performance, (4) venue configuration, and (5) activities of security staff were highly influential on crowd behaviour and safety at OMFs. Conclusion: Results from this research program have added to the body of evidence on public health management for OMFs. Findings support capacity building and retention for volunteer staff working at OMFs. Also this research has provided evidence on quality event planning, crowd behaviour and safety that can support EHPs working with OMFs. All of these studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals in order to communicate these findings to volunteer organisations and EHPs involved with OMFs. Where to from here? There remains considerable opportunity for research on a variety of topics related to public health management for OMFs. Some specific areas where further work is recommended are: othe development and evaluation of a pilot training program (web-based) for Australian volunteers working at OMFs (this training package is currently under development); othe development of a national code of practice for the event management industry; oresearch into festival patrons' risk perceptions and the impacts of those choices; oevaluation of the planning and management approaches used by specific OMFs; and oadditional detailed investigations of event characteristics such as crowd mood and its impacts on public health safety at OMFs.

Objetivos. Reflexos das transformações sociais promovidas pela Sociedade do Conhecimento são percebidos no contexto da gestão em saúde no Brasil. Apresentam-se referencial teórico sobre essas mudanças, gestão do SUS, sistemas de informação em saúde, produção científica e uso da informação na gestão. Foi analisada a produção científica brasileira em saúde pública como fonte de apoio à tomada de decisão em saúde. Metodologia. Foram feitos estudo exploratório qualitativo e análise documental em três áreas: bases de dados bibliográficas disponíveis na Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, agendas estaduais de saúde e sites das Secretarias Estaduais de Saúde. Resultados. Os principais resultados foram: as bases de dados LILACS e MEDLINE foram as fontes de apoio mais abrangentes para localizar produção brasileira publicada no país e no exterior, respectivamente; a produção científica brasileira destaca-se nessa área, correspondendo a 39 por cento dos registros da LILACS-SP; as principais instituições produtoras são universidades e organismos governamentais; a produção de saúde pública encontra-se distribuída em revistas de outras áreas da saúde; a internet, já utilizada pelo ministério e pelas secretarias de saúde, seria favorável para disseminação de conhecimento científico para a gestão em saúde. Conclusões e recomendações. A informação científica e técnica disponível poderia apoiar os processos de tomada de decisão, mas o caminho entre sua produção e uso não é linear e precisa ser estimulado. São apresentadas sugestões para promover integração e articulação entre pesquisa científica e decisão política. / Objectives. Social changes introduced by Knowledge Society are perceptible in the health management context in Brazil. Literature on these social changes, on National Health System - SUS legislation, on health information systems, on the health scientific production and on its use for decision making was reviewed. Brazilian public health scientific literature as support to health decision making was analyzed. Methods. Qualitative exploratory methods and document analysis were used to study bibliographic databases available at the Virtual Health Library, health agendas and sites of the State Secretaries of Health. Results. The main results were: LILACS and MEDLINE databases were the most comprehensive sources for searching Brazilian public health literature; 39 per cent of LILACS-SP records corresponds to Brazilian public health literature; universities and government institutions are the main producers of public health scientific literature; public health journal articles are published also in journals from other health fields; Internet, which is already being used by Ministry and State Secretaries of Health for communication, could be a favorable environment for dissemination of scientific information for health decision making. Conclusions and recommendations. Available health scientific and technical information could support health decision making processes but the channels between its production and use are not linear and need to be strengthened. Recommendations to improve relationship and interaction between health research and policy were presented.

Objetivos. Reflexos das transformações sociais promovidas pela Sociedade do Conhecimento são percebidos no contexto da gestão em saúde no Brasil. Apresentam-se referencial teórico sobre essas mudanças, gestão do SUS, sistemas de informação em saúde, produção científica e uso da informação na gestão. Foi analisada a produção científica brasileira em saúde pública como fonte de apoio à tomada de decisão em saúde. Metodologia. Foram feitos estudo exploratório qualitativo e análise documental em três áreas: bases de dados bibliográficas disponíveis na Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, agendas estaduais de saúde e sites das Secretarias Estaduais de Saúde. Resultados. Os principais resultados foram: as bases de dados LILACS e MEDLINE foram as fontes de apoio mais abrangentes para localizar produção brasileira publicada no país e no exterior, respectivamente; a produção científica brasileira destaca-se nessa área, correspondendo a 39 por cento dos registros da LILACS-SP; as principais instituições produtoras são universidades e organismos governamentais; a produção de saúde pública encontra-se distribuída em revistas de outras áreas da saúde; a internet, já utilizada pelo ministério e pelas secretarias de saúde, seria favorável para disseminação de conhecimento científico para a gestão em saúde. Conclusões e recomendações. A informação científica e técnica disponível poderia apoiar os processos de tomada de decisão, mas o caminho entre sua produção e uso não é linear e precisa ser estimulado. São apresentadas sugestões para promover integração e articulação entre pesquisa científica e decisão política. / Objectives. Social changes introduced by Knowledge Society are perceptible in the health management context in Brazil. Literature on these social changes, on National Health System - SUS legislation, on health information systems, on the health scientific production and on its use for decision making was reviewed. Brazilian public health scientific literature as support to health decision making was analyzed. Methods. Qualitative exploratory methods and document analysis were used to study bibliographic databases available at the Virtual Health Library, health agendas and sites of the State Secretaries of Health. Results. The main results were: LILACS and MEDLINE databases were the most comprehensive sources for searching Brazilian public health literature; 39 per cent of LILACS-SP records corresponds to Brazilian public health literature; universities and government institutions are the main producers of public health scientific literature; public health journal articles are published also in journals from other health fields; Internet, which is already being used by Ministry and State Secretaries of Health for communication, could be a favorable environment for dissemination of scientific information for health decision making. Conclusions and recommendations. Available health scientific and technical information could support health decision making processes but the channels between its production and use are not linear and need to be strengthened. Recommendations to improve relationship and interaction between health research and policy were presented.

Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-04T12:36:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009 / Nas últimas décadas o processo de flexibilização e mesmo de precarização que ocorreu no mundo do trabalho, somados às mudanças no papel do Estado, afetaram diretamente os projetos de expansão e universalização das ações e serviços de saúde no Brasil. Na Bahia, a proposta de solução para as dificuldades de fixação e gestão do trabalho dos profissionais da Estratégia Saúde da Família foi a criação de uma carreira estadual para esses trabalhadores. Para tanto, os municípios aprovaram leis de instituição de um novo ente jurídico, a Fundação Estatal Saúde da Família. O objetivo desse estudo foi analisar as estratégias de gestão do trabalho dessa Fundação, buscando compreender seus limites e possibilidades para o enfrentamento de problemas de provimento, fixação e qualificação dos trabalhadores para a Estratégia de Saúde da Família na Bahia. A pesquisa é eminentemente qualitativa e compreendeu um estudo de caso. Teve ênfase na análise documental e apoiou-se em entrevistas com atores envolvidos na formulação e debate da FESF. Durante sua realização, a proposta da FESF esteve em processo de construção, o que trouxe muitos desafios metodológicos para esse estudo. Os resultados desse estudo congregam o debate sobre o caráter interfederado do modelo jurídico - institucional da FESF, a elucidação da conformação colegiada do sistema de governança e das pactuações do contrato de gestão entre Fundação e município. Além disso, o trabalho enfoca as peculiaridades da proposta de gestão do trabalho que prevê, dentro da mesma carreira, mobilidade do trabalhador entre os municípios, remuneração variável, associada aos fatores de fixação de profissionais em cada município, e gestão do trabalho compartilhada entre FESF e municípios. A complexidade dessas propostas depara-se com a ausência de experiência na gestão desse modelo e também nas questões estruturais e institucionais que marcaram a gestão da saúde nos municípios. Portanto, um dos seus principais desafios é a operacionalização das novas ferramentas e instrumentos de gestão do trabalho que ela cria, em um contexto histórico de dificuldades nesse âmbito. / In the past decades the flexibility and even the precariousness that occurred in the labor field, together with changes in the State’s obligations, affected directly the projects for expansion and universality of the actions and health services in Brazil. In Bahia, the proposal for a solution to the difficulties in settling and management of human resources for Family Health Strategy was building a state career to these workers. For this, counties of the State have approved laws to create a new juridical institution, the State Foundation for Family Health. The aim of this study was to analyze the strategies of job management of the State Foundation for Family Health, trying to understand its limits and finding ways to deal with problems like finding human resources, settling and qualifying workers to the Family Health Strategy. This research is mainly qualitative and has a case study. There is emphasis in documental analysis but also counts with interviews with actors involved with development and debate of the State Foundation. During the time of the present study, State Foundation was being built, what brought many methodological challenges. The results of this study bring a debate on the interfederate juridical institutional model of the State Foundation; explain the construction of a decision council, its possible actions and agreements with the management contracts between Foundation and counties; analysis of the specificities of this job management proposal, in which the mobility between counties, variable salaries, together with fixation factors of professionals in each county and a shared administration Foundation/ counties is the be developed. The complexity of these proposals face an absence of experience in the application of this model and also bring structural and institutional dilemmas that characterize the management of health in counties. So, one of the main challenges is applying these instruments of job management within a historical context of difficulties in the field.