Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “resource allocation”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

The development of a more equitable approach to resource allocation and manpower planning for undergraduate teaching in a UK medical school.

CONTEXT: Resource allocation and manpower planning in the clinical faculty of a UK medical school. PURPOSE: To design a model, which is perceived to be fair, to determine indicative undergraduate teaching budgets to departments within the school from university resources and to specialty care groups of the main university hospital from service increment for teaching (SIFT) resources, and to aid manpower planning. METHOD: The student load for each department is measured in full-time-equivalent student numbers (FTEs) for each specialty and compared with the total load for the whole curriculum to derive each department's percentage share of available undergraduate teaching resources. Data on staff numbers available for teaching, both from the school and NHS, are also included. Student load and teaching capacity are then compared. RESULT: Undergraduate teaching resources relate to student load in the resource allocation process, and changes to the course are automatically reflected. Staff data, when compared with student load, facilitate rational planning of establishment levels to meet the teaching needs of the undergraduate curriculum. Of the respondents to a survey of heads of departments and the faculty's management board, 88% agreed that it was a better approach to resource allocation than the previous historical basis. PRESENT LIMITATIONS AND SCOPE FOR DEVELOPMENT: Data are currently entered manually but will be transmitted electronically in the future via the Web. Further consideration will be given to the possible inclusion in the model of weighting factors for different types of teaching and to how appropriate measures of quality may be incorporated into the resource allocation process. CONCLUSION: The model, despite some limitations, is a cost-effective and pragmatic management tool.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed2000

Tests of a cognitive-resource-allocation account of the bizarreness effect.

The authors examined the role of cognitive-resource allocation in obtaining the often reported memory advantage for bizarre relative to common information by using the secondary-task method in 4 experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, they investigated the relationship between differences in cognitive resource allocation during comprehension and in recall for common and bizarre information. In Experiments 3 and 4, they investigated the same relationship but measured cognitive-resource allocation during imaging rather than during comprehension. Although bizarre items required more time to comprehend and to image than did common items, the differences were not reliable predictors of the recall differences between item types. Furthermore, analyses of response latencies to a secondary task provided no compelling evidence in support of a cognitive-resource-allocation explanation of bizarreness effects. Implications for the development of a comprehensive model of the influence of bizarreness on memory are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Staking a claim for claims: a case study of resource allocation in Australian Aboriginal health care.

There have been numerous ways in which the notion of equity has been put forward in the literature. This reflects the fact that equity is essentially driven by values and is therefore subject to individual interpretation and preferences. Deciding between these various value judgements is however outside the scope of economic analysis, as conventionally defined. This poses a problem for the examination of issues of resource allocation in Aboriginal health services in Australia, where equity, very clearly, has a role to play. One possibility for moving forward on this issue is the adoption of a 'claims' approach where the emphasis is on the explicit recognition of the values to be employed in the 'equitable' allocation of resources. This involves teasing out the principles by which, under various approaches, resources are allocated differentially across groups (e.g. under resource allocation formulae, the criterion of 'need' as measured by SMRs can be viewed to be a basis for a 'claim' over resources). The commonly cited 'basic needs approach' is then used in the paper as a case in point to illustrate how such underlying principles may be identified and then assessed. In relation to the issue of equity in Aboriginal health services, there are a number of possible standards for equity which seem to have a significant degree of community acceptance. The paper discusses ways in which they can be applied to the problem of deciding how to allocate resources in Aboriginal health.

Australia↗
PubMed1998

Ethics of resource allocation in developing countries: the case of Sri Lanka.

The issues of prioritization of health care services and allocation of resources have recently received increasing attention and discussion. Several reports have been published by governments in different countries and the issues are discussed in many recent books and papers. In this paper the focus is on the problems faced by a developing country when allocation of health care resources is considered. We consider these issues under three headings and exemplify the situation in a developing country by taking Sri Lanka as an example. Firstly the evidence to formulate an ethical basis for the existing health care system in Sri Lanka is discussed, in particular the problem of defining a minimum quality of health care for the population. Secondly, we consider the issues which arise when we want to formulate the ethical basis for health sector reform. In particular, we examine current World Bank proposals. We shall argue that there are a number of important conceptual and ethical issues that have not been properly addressed in the various policy documents. Finally, we introduce our own alternative ethical framework for policy reform.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed2002

Dynamic resource allocation for epidemic control in multiple populations.

We develop a dynamic resource allocation model in which a limited budget for epidemic control is allocated over multiple time periods to interventions that affect multiple populations. For certain special cases with two time periods, multiple independent populations, and a linear relationship between investment in a prevention programme and the resulting change in risky behaviour, we demonstrate that the optimal solution involves investing in each period as much as possible in some of the populations and nothing in all the other populations. We present heuristic algorithms for solving the general problem, and present numerical results. Our computational analyses suggest that good allocations can be made based on some fairly simple heuristics. Our analyses also suggest that allowing for some reallocation of resources over the time horizon of the problem, rather than allocating resources just once at the beginning of the time horizon, can lead to significant increases in health benefits. Allowing for reallocation of funds may generate more health benefits than use of a sophisticated model for one-time allocation of resources.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1999

Consequences of preformation for dynamic resource allocation by a carnivorous herb, Pinguicula vulgaris (Lentibulariaceae).

When resource availability changes frequently and unpredictably, natural selection favors flexible resource allocation; however, such versatility may be compromised in perennial plants that differentiate leaves or flowers a year in advance of their development (preformation). We investigated resource allocation by the carnivorous perennial Pinguicula vulgaris to determine whether increased resource availability changes within-season allocation to growth, vegetative propagation, and reproduction. In response to resource supplementation (feeding with fruit flies), plants attained a mass 60% greater than that of unfed plants after a single growing season. Feeding also enhanced vegetative propagation, which is closely associated with growth, without modifying relations between these two vegetative functions. In contrast, feeding did not alter the size of vegetative rosettes or the within-season incidence of either flowering or fruiting. This lack of immediate responses occurred because floral and leaf primordia differentiated up to 10 mo before resource supplementation and flower development. However, enhanced resource status likely affected future reproduction indirectly through resource effects on plant size. Large plants produced more floral primordia and between-year changes in fruiting status corresponded to changes in plant size. These results illustrate that preformation can delay responses to enhanced resources by perennial plants.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Patterns of resource allocation are reliable among younger and older readers.

Younger and older adults read short expository passages across 2 times of measurement for subsequent comprehension or recall. Regression analysis was used to decompose word-by-word reading times into resources allocated to word- and textbase-level processes. Readers were more sensitive to these demands when reading for recall than when reading for comprehension. Patterns of resource allocation showed good test-retest reliabilities and were predictive of memory performance. Within age group, resource allocation parameters were not systematically correlated with other individual-difference measures, suggesting that strategies of on-line resource allocation may be a unique source of individual differences in determining comprehension of and memory for text. Age differences in allocation patterns appeared to reflect general slowing among the older adults. Because older adults showed equivalent memory performance to that of younger readers, the reading time data may represent the on-line resource allocation needed for comparable outcomes among older and younger readers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Addressing resource allocation issues in recommendations from clinical practice guideline panels: suggestions from an American College of Chest Physicians task force.

Most panels that develop clinical practice guidelines are poorly equipped to address resource allocation or cost issues associated with management options. This risks neglect, arbitrariness, lack of transparency, and methodological flaws in consideration of resource allocation. We provide recommendations for guideline panels to promote greater transparency and rigor. We suggest focusing on resource allocation issues for only a limited number of recommendations and provide criteria for selecting those in which economic considerations are likely to influence the direction or strength of the recommendation. Panels should involve a health economist to assist with the systematic review and critical interpretation of relevant economic analyses. They should carefully define the intended audience and may consider issuing alternative recommendations when available resources vary widely across target clinical settings. Targeting a limited number of recommendations for the consideration of resource allocation issues, and ensuring methodologically high-quality review, will best serve guideline panels, and the health-care providers and patients they hope to assist.

Advisory Committees↗
PubMed1998

Algorithms for resource allocation of substance abuse prevention funds based on composite risk-factor index score: a case study on state of Florida--Part 2.

The purpose of Part 2 is to develop a model for resource allocation of state prevention funds to be distributed to its substate jurisdictions based on the relative need for prevention services measured in terms of composite risk-factor index (COMRISK) scores computed for each county. The risk factors are extracted from an extensive review of risk and protective factors addressed in the prevention literature. Based on twenty-two risk and protective factors identified, we were able to explain 71.3 percent of the total variation in student drug using behavior observed at the individual level. By aggregating individual COMRISK scores to the county level, we were able to determine aggregated COMRISK index scores at the county level. By determining the proportion of each county's share of the total statewide COMRISK and by weighting the latter proportion by the population size of each county, we have devised Prevention Needs Index (PNI) score based on the risks for each county. Finally, the county's share of PNI score as a proportion of the total statewide PNI score is computed. The latter proportion is then multiplied by the total amount of prevention resources available at the state. In this way, we were able to develop an alternative resource allocation model solely based on risk and protective factors for determining prevention needs of each county, independent of composite index score of drug use (COMDRUG) presented in Part 1. A comparison of three models for resource allocation has shown a significant amount of similarity of the total funds computed for each county. Accordingly, no preference is made among the resource allocation models suggested, although it is emphasized that the final decision concerning the level of funding must be made on the selection of the resource allocation algorithms rather than the suggested amount of funding computed for each county.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Optimizing time and resource allocation trade-offs for investment into morphological and behavioral defense.

Prey organisms are confronted with time and resource allocation trade-offs. Time allocation trade-offs partition time, for example, between foraging effort to acquire resources and behavioral defense. Resource allocation trade-offs partition the acquired resources between multiple traits, such as growth or morphological defense. We develop a mathematical model for prey organisms that comprise time and resource allocation trade-offs for multiple defense traits. Fitness is determined by growth and survival during ontogeny. We determine optimal defense strategies for environments that differ in their resource abundance, predation risk, and defense effectiveness. We compare the results with results of simplified models where single defense traits are optimized. Our results indicate that selection acts in favor of integrated traits. The selective advantage of expressing multiple defense traits is most pronounced at intermediate environmental conditions. Optimizing single traits generally leads to a more pronounced response of the defense traits, which implies that studying single traits leads to an overestimation of their response to predation. Behavioral defense and morphological defense compensate for and augment each other depending on predator densities and the effectiveness of the defense mechanisms. In the presence of time constraints, the model shows peak investment into morphological and behavioral defense at intermediate resource levels.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Does it matter who you are or what you gain? An experimental study of preferences for resource allocation.

Using an experimental conjoint-analysis like approach, preferences for resource allocation were studied. An interactive survey was developed which was published in the World Wide Web. A convenience sample of undergraduate students participated in the study. Subjects were confronted with nine pairwise scenarios describing hypothetical patient groups in need of life-saving treatments. The patient groups presented differed in terms of their health-related lifestyle, socioeconomic status, age, life expectancy, quality of life after treatment and whether they had received extensive medical care in the past. Participants were asked to allocate a finite budget to each patient group. All attributes used in this study significantly influenced respondents' preferences on how to allocate the budget between patient groups. The general importance of attributes used in the QALY approach is supported by this study with quality of life being a central criterion. The distributional patterns observed were, however, different from those expected when rigorously adhering to the QALY framework: In only a very small fraction of allocations subjects distributed the entire budget strictly on the patient group expecting the highest QALY gain. The vast majority of responders was willing to trade efficiency for a more equal distribution of resources. The approach described can be used to analyze the importance people place on different attributes in resource allocation decisions and to study preferences for the final distribution of resources.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2006

Resource allocation in public hospitals: is it effective?

The allocative inefficiency is a fundamental flaw in the public hospitals of the developing countries. The inefficiencies drain the limited public resources allotted for healthcare. Sri Lanka's public health system faces worsening budget constraints. The resource allocation practices of the Ministry of Health focus on increasing the cadre of hospital staff, consequently crowding out the investments on facility development. The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of resource allocation in the tertiary-care public hospitals that are under the central Ministry of Health. The model is based on the assumption that the hospital managers and other agents of a public hospital pursue the objective of quality maximization (in the absence of a profit motive). The inpatient mortality rate is selected as the indicator of quality. With the use of panel data fixed-effects, and first-differencing estimation methods, we study the impact of the resource allocation on the hospital mortality rates. The selected models are statistically significant at 0.1% level. The elasticity effect of the capital is considerably larger than the effects of the human resources, in servicing the patients. The results suggest that the human resource utilization is suboptimal, due to the inadequacy of the capital (i.e. medical equipment, etc.). The reorientation of the resource allocation towards the capital investments may save more lives.

Efficiency, Organizational↗
PubMed1998

Algorithms for resource allocation of substance abuse prevention funds based on social indicators: a case study on state of Florida--Part 3.

The purpose of Part 3 is to develop an algorithm for an equitable distribution of state prevention funds to its substate jurisdictions based on the need for prevention services. In this series, the need for prevention services is measured in terms of the existing social indicators observed at the county level. In order to establish a conceptual link as well as the empirical relevance of the selected social indicators as proxy measurements of the estimated need for prevention at the county level, we have employed both concurrent and construct validity tests using the following three constructs as the criterion variables in a multiple regressing setting: 1) county-based composite drug use index score (COMDRUG) measured via the statewide drug survey; 2) county-based proportions of prevention target populations using the conceptual definition advanced by the Institute of Medicine (IOM); and 3) the composite risk factor score (COMRISK) assembled from a list of twenty-two risk and protective factors observed for each county. These constructs were identified previously in Parts 1 and 2. While employing eight social indicators to estimate the overall prevention needs observed at the county level, the social indicators thus selected were able to explain 69 percent of the variations in COMDRUG, 68 percent of the variation in the proportions of students in need of prevention services using IOM definition, and 60 percent of the variation in COMRISK. Following successful validations of the social indicators as viable media with which to estimate county-based prevention needs, the ensuing multiple regression equation is, then, used to build a resource allocation model by determining the proportion of each county's share of the total statewide COMDRUG-predicted from the social indicators and, then, by weighting the latter proportion by the population size of each county under age eighteen. In this way, we have devised county-based Prevention Needs Index (PNI) scores based solely on social indicators. Finally, the county's share of PNI score is computed as a proportion of to the total statewide PNI score. Following this line of algorithm for resource allocation, we were able to develop yet another resource allocation model solely based on social indicators without the benefits of survey data. Comparing the funding results originating from four resource allocation models (i.e., COMDRUG, IOM Definition, COMRISK, and Social Indicators), it has been learned that there is a remarkable similarity from one funding level to another. Since all four schedules of county-based prevention funding levels have shown very high intercorrelations with a range from .9862 to .9993, it has been determined that these schedules are measuring essentially either the same domain or latent domains that are functionally equivalent to one another. Accordingly, no preference is made among the resource allocation models suggested, although it is suggested that the final decision on the level of funding must be based on the selection of the schedule for resource allocation rather than the suggested amount or level of funding computed for each county.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1998

Algorithms for resource allocation of substance abuse prevention funds based on the estimated need: a case study on state of Florida--Part 1.

The purposes of Parts 1-3 of this article is to develop a framework for county-based prevention resource allocation algorithms based on the aggregated need for substance abuse prevention services estimated at the county level. The development of these algorithms is founded upon two databases: statewide student drug survey and a set of social indicators routinely collected and published by various agencies of the state of Florida. The resource allocation models are devised by developing several indices of prevention needs that are conceptualized in terms of: 1) county-based composite drug use index (COMDRUG), 2) the definitions of prevention target populations as envisioned by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), 3) composite risk-factor index score, and 4) a set of social indicators that are empirically related to COMDRUG observed at the county level. The first three models are based on the prevention needs estimated from the statewide student survey on substance abuse. The social indicator model, however, is presented as an alternative resource allocation model which may be used in lieu of or in the absence of statewide survey. The resource allocation algorithms found on these four conceptualizations are thought to be more equitable and appropriate to the prevention needs of various communities than may be contrived otherwise. Due to a significant amount of information leading to the development of these models, Part 1 of this series is devoted to the following three topics: 1) sampling method used, 2) poststratification weighting methods used to estimate county-based COMDRUG, and 3) the development of resource allocation models based on COMDRUG and the IOM definitions of prevention target populations.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed2006

Effortful cognitive resource allocation and negative symptom severity in chronic schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between negative symptoms, early visual information-processing deficits, and effortful processing resource allocation was investigated. METHODS: Older patients with chronic schizophrenia (n = 58) and healthy controls (n = 71) participated. Pupillary responses were recorded during performance of the span of apprehension task (blocks of 3- and 10-letter arrays) as an index of resource allocation or mental effort during the task. RESULTS: Patients and controls showed larger pupillary responses in higher relative to lower processing loads both during array processing and just prior to array onset (preparation). Both groups, therefore, invested more cognitive effort preparing for and then processing larger arrays. A subgroup of patients with abnormally small pupillary responses and impaired performance showed greater negative symptom severity relative to a subgroup of patients with normal pupillary responses. Smaller pupillary responses in the patients were also significantly correlated with greater negative symptom severity, independent of positive symptom severity. Patients with reduced effortful resource allocation, therefore, exhibited greater negative symptomatology. A subgroup of patients with normal pupillary responses still showed impaired detection accuracy relative to controls, suggesting that reduced cognitive effort or resource allocation problems cannot account for impairments in early visual information processing in this subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: The study illustrates important relationships between cognitive effort and performance that can impact conclusions about the nature of cognitive impairments and associations between negative symptoms and neurocognition in schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Resource allocation and budgetary mechanisms for decentralized health systems: experiences from Balochistan, Pakistan.

This paper identifies key political and technical issues involved in the development of an appropriate resource allocation and budgetary system for the public health sector, using experience gained in the Province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The resource allocation and budgetary system is a critical, yet often neglected, component of any decentralization policy. Current systems are often based on historical incrementalism that is neither efficient nor equitable. This article describes technical work carried out in Balochistan to develop a system of resource allocation and budgeting that is needs-based, in line with policies of decentralization, and implementable within existing technical constraints. However, the development of technical systems, while necessary, is not a sufficient condition for the implementation of a resource allocation and decentralized budgeting system. This is illustrated by analysing the constraints that have been encountered in the development of such a system in Balochistan.

Budgets↗
PubMed1990

Resource allocation: a plea for a touch of realism.

The problem of resource allocation in health has stimulated much thought and research, in attempts to provide objective, rational methods by which necessary choices can be made. One such method was proposed in a paper in this journal. The authors argued for a utilitarian approach, which they claimed to demonstrate was acceptable to society at large. This paper argues that the evidence supporting such a claim was flawed; such a utilitarian approach is not socially acceptable, and is therefore not relevant. Rather more relevant directions for research are discussed, based on the assertion that a degree of realism is essential when considering the problems of resource allocation.

England↗
PubMed2003

Decentralization and equity of resource allocation: evidence from Colombia and Chile.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between decentralization and equity of resource allocation in Colombia and Chile. METHODS: The "decision space" approach and analysis of expenditures and utilization rates were used to provide a comparative analysis of decentralization of the health systems of Colombia and Chile. FINDINGS: Evidence from Colombia and Chile suggests that decentralization, under certain conditions and with some specific policy mechanisms, can improve equity of resource allocation. In these countries, equitable levels of per capita financial allocations at the municipal level were achieved through different forms of decentralization--the use of allocation formulae, adequate local funding choices and horizontal equity funds. Findings on equity of utilization of services were less consistent, but they did show that increased levels of funding were associated with increased utilization. This suggests that improved equity of funding over time might reduce inequities of service utilization. CONCLUSION: Decentralization can contribute to, or at least maintain, equitable allocation of health resources among municipalities of different incomes.

Chile↗