Browsing by Subject "Palestine"

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    Developing contextual quality standards for emergency departments in Palestine
    (2025) Bani Odeh, Abed Alra'oof; Stassen, Willem; Hamdan, Motasem; Wallis, Lee
    Background: Emergency departments (EDs) are crucial for delivering timely, life-saving care, particularly in low-resource and conflict-affected areas like Palestine. Palestinian hospitals face significant pressure in their EDs due to a heavy workload from routine injuries and those resulting from ongoing Israeli occupation. Enhancing healthcare quality at all levels of the health system is a national priority, with a focus on improving emergency care. However, the absence of specific national standards for measuring ED quality hinders efforts to standardize and enhance ED services in Palestine. Aims and Objectives: This PhD thesis aims to establish contextual quality standards for EDs in Palestine. It focuses on developing, validating, and assessing the feasibility of implementing Emergency Department Quality Standards (EDQS) tailored to the specific challenges of the Palestinian healthcare system. Methods: This research utilized a multi-methods approach. In the first study, a preliminary EDQS appropriate for hospital EDs in Palestine was developed through a literature review and refined using expert group discussions. The second study employed the e-Delphi technique to validate these EDQS. The third study assessed the feasibility of implementing the EDQS by conducting qualitative interviews with 10 ED front desk staff across nine hospitals in the West Bank. Results: The PhD research successfully developed contextually validated EDQS. In the first phase, 103 preliminary standards for emergency department operations were established across 16 sub-domains. The second phase validated 100 standards with an 80% consensus from 53 experts, resulting in minor adjustments. The administrative domain achieved a 97.3% consensus, while the clinical domain reached 96.4%. The third phase identified four key themes and 16 subthemes on the feasibility of EDQS in Palestinian EDs. Strong acceptance was noted, but challenges such as knowledge gaps, resource constraints, and resistance to change were highlighted. Nonetheless, participants believed EDQS could improve patient care and workflow efficiency with proper resources and strategies. Conclusions: This study enhances emergency care quality in Palestine by developing and validating the EDQS. Using a systematic, evidence-based approach, 100 standards were formulated to address clinical and administrative needs, incorporating international best practices while accounting for local challenges like resource limitations, conflict disruptions, and staff shortages. Expert validation underscored the standards' relevance, while a feasibility assessment identified barriers such as inadequate resources, lack of commitment, and knowledge gaps, highlighting the need for strategies like capacity building and stakeholder engagement. These findings are crucial for improving emergency care in low-resource, conflict- affected regions. The standards offer a framework for enhancing services, ensuring patient safety, and improving outcomes. Future efforts should focus on implementing and evaluating these standards to measure their impact on patient outcomes and satisfaction
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    Investigating the antecedents and consequences of e-participation on refugees sustainable livelihoods a case: Palestinian refugees in the Gaza strip
    (2022) Aradeh, Osama Aabid; Van Belle, Jean-Paul
    The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has advanced in all socioeconomic strata, especially in developing countries. The use of ICT has had a significant impact on the participation of civilians, both citizens and refugees in the context of politics. In addition, ICTs have enabled innovative forms of participation, both in terms of participation channels and the outcomes of participatory processes. However, studies on the impact of electronic participation on the livelihoods of vulnerable and marginalized groups, and public service providers are limited. This study investigated the role of e-participation implementation on improving and sustaining of refugees' livelihoods in developing countries, precisely the Gaza Strip in Palestine. This study used a mixed-method approach of qualitative and quantitative research. The quantitative approach was utilized to examine the perspectives of Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, using a survey conducted to collect statistical information. 281 questionnaires were collected from Palestinian refugees over the age of 18. Furthermore, qualitative approach was carried out in an inductive approach by means of individual in-depth semi-structured interviews with public service providers in the Gaza Strip, such as of water supply, electricity, housing and infrastructure in their daily lives. Seven organizations with 19 interviews, including four municipalities, two nongovernmental organizations and one international organization, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the near east (UNRWA), participated. The literature and findings of this study provided a more comprehensive insight from the perspective of public services providers and refugees related to antecedents and consequences of e-participation influencing the sustainable livelihoods of refugees in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. This study therefore diverts some the attention of around the political context to an ICT-based participation phenomenon in developing countries' livelihoods. In conclusion, this research was intended to provide theoretical and practical contributions. In theoretical terms and the context of e-participation between service providers and vulnerable groups such as refugees, the conceptual research framework can serve as basis for Information Systems researchers. In practical terms, this research study has tangible implications for understanding the contributions of using electronic participation channels to improve livelihoods of other similar groups inside or outside Palestine.