Editorial

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid expansion of telehealth utilization in medicine. However, the quality measures associated with telehealth use remain unclear, particularly among vulnerable populations. This study aims to investigate the impact of telehealth on individuals' perception of overall quality care among vulnerable patient populations. This cross-sectional study utilized Health Information National Trends Survey data. The individuals' overall perception of healthcare quality was compared between populations that had at least one telehealth visit and non-telehealth users, who all had the option of utilizing telehealth. This comparison focused on vulnerable populations, considering differences in race and ethnicity (non-Hispanic white vs. non-Hispanic black/Hispanic individuals) and socioeconomic status (high vs. low). Multivariable logistic regressions were employed to ascertain the association between individuals' overall perceptions of quality care with and without telehealth utilization. A total of 2920 participants, representing an unweighted population of 114,608,302, were analyzed. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for at least one telehealth visit associated with individuals' overall perception of quality care among the entire survey population was 0.76 with a 95% CI of 0.51-1.13 (p = 0.173). The AOR was 0.83 (95% CI 0.39-1.77, p = 0.618) among the non-White population, and the AOR was 0.71 (95% CI 0.29-1.78, p = 0.462) among individuals with low SES. Although telehealth utilization has both its limitations and advantages compared to traditional clinical visits, no statistically significant differences in individuals' overall perception of quality care were identified among telehealth and non-telehealth users. These findings were also consistent across various vulnerable populations.

There has been little research on the experiences of students with a hearing loss in mainstream higher education. This investigation compared perceptions of academic quality in 265 students with a hearing loss who were taking courses by distance learning and 178 students taking the same courses who had no declared form of disability. Students who were classified as hard of hearing (rather than deaf) produced significantly lower ratings of the appropriateness of their academic workload than did the students with no declared disability, but the ratings produced by students who were classified as deaf were not significantly different from those produced by the comparison group. In other respects, the students with a hearing loss were remarkably similar to the students with no declared disability in their perceptions of academic quality and their overall satisfaction with their courses.

Does online learning impede degree completion? A national study of community college students

Critics of distance education frequently assert that completion rates are lower in distance education courses than in traditional courses. Such criticism comes despite sparse and inconclusive research on completion rates for distance and traditional education courses. This article reviews some of the existing research and then describes some of the caveats and complexities in comparing completion rates in traditional and distance education. Analysis reveals that numerous factors make comparison between these two formats difficult, if not impossible. Problems include limitations in the research design itself, differences in student demographics, and inconsistent methods of calculating and reporting completion. After exploring these issues, the article presents best practices for improving completion rates while emphasizing that distance education completion rates may be acceptable after considering distance learners’ characteristics.

Action of Student–Resident Interaction During a Surgical Clerkship

Aims: Cancer patients experience multiple and concurrent health-related problems and symptoms due to their illness and therapies. The first objective of this analysis was to identify how health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) indicators cluster among cancer patients and how possible clusters change across patients with different sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The second objective of this study was to identify which HRQoL indicators are linked to patients’ perception of overall quality of life. Methods: Retrospective pooling of 30 closed randomized European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) clinical trials yielded baseline EORTC Quality of Life Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) HRQoL data for a total of 7417 patients. A cluster analysis was performed to determine how the 15 HRQoL indicators obtained with the QLQ-C30 cluster overall and by patient characteristics. Results: Three main clusters emerged from the overall dataset: a physical cluster, a psychological cluster and a gastrointestinal cluster. The same clusters were found in subgroups defined according to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, while some differences emerged among cancer sites. The Global Health scale was found to be part of the physical cluster in the overall dataset. This result was consistent across different levels of disease severity, while divergent results were seen across some cancer sites. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that HRQoL indicators are interrelated. Understanding these relationships may aid clinicians in managing the symptom burden experienced by patients, as well as policy-makers, in defining psychosocial support plans.

This study aims to identify key indicators affecting the residents' perception of overall quality of urban life in the Walled City of Famagusta, the historic core of the city, which reflects a decaying socio-spatial quality. The paper first presents a brief overview of the research methodology and then analyses the results from a household survey carried out in the Walled City, in order to provide a sheer understanding of people's feelings about their neighbourhood environment and the overall urban quality of life in case of implementation of a possible regeneration scheme for the area. The research contributes some empirical evidence to verify the claimed benefits and shortcomings in terms of effects of neighbourhood satisfaction, sense of community, sense of belonging, neighbourhood attributes, use/evaluation of cultural and recreational opportunities and safety on the overall quality of urban life of the residents, as well as to identify the predictors of the neighbourhood satisfaction.

Students taking courses by distance learning were asked to complete the Academic Engagement Form and the Course Experience Questionnaire. Usable data were obtained from 238 students with a hearing loss and 166 students with no reported disability. Their scores on the two instruments were highly correlated and shared over 80% of their variance. However, they showed different patterns of relationship with background variables (age, faculty, gender, hearing status and prior qualifications) and made distinct contributions to students' ratings of their general satisfaction with their courses. The role of course tutors in supporting academic engagement was crucial to the students' perceptions of the academic quality of their courses, and this relationship mediated the association between the reported attitudes and behaviour of the tutors and the students' general satisfaction with their courses.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting all over the world, the social studies course, like all other courses, has started to be given via distance education. Although there are many studies aiming to reveal classroom teachers’ distance education experiences in other disciplines (i.e., sciences mathematics, physical education), no study has been encountered on distance social studies teaching. Therefore, in the present study it was both aimed to examine the experiences of classroom teachers’ on conducting social studies courses in distance education and review the relevant studies systematically. In this way, the research findings will be interpreted in a more comprehensive way. The case study design and systematic review were utilized to conduct the present study. Data were collected through literature review and semi-structured interview form. Interviews were held with seven classroom teachers who conducted the social studies courses with distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Both criterion sampling and convenience sampling techniques were utilized to determine the participants. The data were analysed via content analysis technique. To ensure inter-rater reliability, inter-coder reliability was calculated and a detail description on the research stages was provided to increase the credibility of the study. The findings addressing the problems and the benefits classroom teachers experienced while conducting social studies courses in distance education substantially overlap with literature review findings. The challenges experienced by classroom teachers in distance education are more than the benefits. Classroom management, interaction and assessment and evaluation were the most complained issues by classroom teachers. It was also determined that advanced technology literacy skill, positive attitude towards distance education and dedication are crucial to success in distance education.

ABSTRACTThe discrepancy in the empirical literature surrounding distance education (DE) coursetaking among community college students has led to the online paradox, where short-term or more proximal academic outcomes associated with DE coursetaking are negative, but the long-term or distal academic outcomes are positive. Importantly, no previous study has yet examined the relationship between DE enrollment and the time it takes community college students to complete their degree programs or succeed in transferring to a four-year school. This gap in the research literature is unfortunate, as understanding the relationship between DE and time-to-completion may shed light on mechanisms underlying the online paradox. Consequently, the current study looks at the relationship between DE coursetaking and time-to-completion among first-time community college students. The study uses large, nationally representative data and propensity score matching (PSM) to mitigate the impact of self-selection into DE courses. Results indicate that students who completed at least one DE course during their first year of study finished their BA degrees, on average, two to three months sooner than similar students who did not take a DE course. Policy implications for DE and community college leadership are discussed.

Price placebo effect in hedonic consumption

Purpose Studies have examined strategies implemented to strengthen quality of emergency care in healthcare provider institutions in Ghana. But few studies have focused on what determines quality of emergency care from the patient’s perspective. The purpose of this paper is to fill that gap by examining factors salient to gauging quality of emergency care and priority areas for care improvement. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional data were collected from patients admitted in emergency units of public hospitals in two regions: Greater Accra and Central Regions. A structured questionnaire designed with inputs from emergency medicine physicians and patients was used to collect data from 381 patients. Principal component analysis (PCA) and logistic regression models were computed to respectively determine salient measures of emergency care quality and their association with patient overall perceived quality of emergency care. Findings Using the PCA, four factors (social and relational care, attentive prehospitalised care, ward quality and privacy and medical supplies) were derived as salient measures of emergency care quality. All the factors derived had statistically significant association with patient overall perception of quality. Originality/value Emergency care quality improvement strategies that incorporate the dimensions identified can produce effective therapeutic outcomes.

This study explores the influence of psychological pricing on students’ perceptions of the value of higher education programs in Morocco. It focuses on how the perception of tuition fees affects students’ views on academic quality, institutional reputation, and post-graduation employability. With a sample of 691 students from a variety of Moroccan higher education institutions, this research adopts a quantitative approach, utilising multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between these variables. The primary research questions investigate how tuition fee perceptions impact students’ assessments of academic quality, the prestige of the institution, and their expectations regarding employability after graduation. The findings reveal that higher perceived tuition fees are significantly correlated with better academic quality and a stronger institutional reputation. Students who perceive higher fees tend to associate them with superior education and more prestigious institutions. On the other hand, the influence of tuition fees on post-graduation employability is moderate, suggesting that while higher fees are seen as an indicator of quality, other factors—such as internships, professional networks, and industry partnerships—also play crucial roles in shaping students’ perceptions of employability. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how psychological pricing strategies shape student decision-making in higher education. It offers valuable insights for educational institutions looking to optimise their pricing strategies and enhance the appeal of their programs. By recognising that psychological pricing can influence not just financial decisions but also perceptions of academic quality and future career prospects, institutions can better align their tuition pricing with students’ expectations. Future research should explore the impact of socio-economic factors, as well as the moderating effects of other variables, on the relationship between tuition fees and the perceived value of higher education.

The global demand for nonalcoholic wine is growing significantly, driven by evolving consumer preferences, health‐conscious trends, and religious considerations. This study evaluates consumers' ability to differentiate wine samples based on alcohol content (12%, 6%, and 0% v/v), perceptions of overall quality, and the motivations and barriers influencing the choice of alcohol‐free wine across demographics (age, gender, and education). For this, a sensory evaluation was conducted using a ranking task, where consumers were randomly presented with the three wine samples and asked to rank them from highest to lowest alcohol content. Subsequently, participants rated the overall quality and reported the motivations and barriers influencing their choice of alcohol‐free wine. A total of 59 participants (57.6% female and 42.4% male) took part in consumer acceptance testing and surveys. Sensory analysis revealed that 88.14% of participants correctly identified the original wine (OW), while 76.27% identified the partially dealcoholized wine (PDW) and the alcohol‐free wine (DW). Overall quality scores significantly declined with decreasing alcohol content, with DW receiving the lowest score (4.2 ± 2.5), suggesting that ethanol concentration may influence flavor perception and overall sensory preference in the evaluated wines. Safety (52.5%), health or wellness benefits (44.1%), and the desire to avoid alcohol (37.3%) emerged as the primary motivations for consuming alcohol‐free wine. In contrast, sensory shortcomings (64.4%), higher costs (25.4%), and limited availability (23.7%) were identified as key barriers to the adoption of alcohol‐free wine. Furthermore, educational qualification (PhD > BSc > MSc) and age groups (younger: 18–35 years > older: above 35 years) significantly influenced the motivational factors “for social occasions without alcohol” ( χ 2 = 8.20, p = 0.02) and “health or wellness benefits” ( χ 2 = 9.74, p = 0.04), respectively. However, no statistically significant associations were found between demographic variables and key barriers.

Distance education is defined by six pedagogical elements: (1) physical separation of teacher and learner; (2) regulatory function or influence of an educational organization; (3) media to connect teacher and learner; (4) two-way communication exchange between teacher and learner; (5) individualized pedagogy instead of group focus; and (6) “industrialized” facilitators, entailing less individuated instructors (Keegan, 1980). Distance education technologies include video (videotape, satellite delivery, microwave delivery, broadcast video, and desktop video), computers (e-mail, Web-based courses, video conferences, DVD, and CD-ROM), collaborative activity software (chat, discussion rooms, and white boards), voice /audio technology (telephone, voice mail, audio conferences, audiotapes, and radio), supplemental print material (books, study guides, workbooks, and FAX), mobile technology (laptop computers, PDAs, tablet PCs, and cell phones), and blended-learning combining one or more of these delivery methods together, including face-to face instruction. Distance education technologies as tools are situated in the larger context of technological and scientific knowledge, economic institutions, including the property and market institutions of capitalism, and social institutions, such as education, which historically has been unequal and exclusionary due to class structure and the system of gender and racial power relationships (Carroll & Noble, 2001). People barred or deterred from regular access to education in various ways have always been users of distance education technologies, starting with its inception as correspondence course education in the 19th century and continuing today in high tech distance education classes with women comprising the majority of enrolled students (Hansen, 2001; Ossian, Christensen, & Rigby, 1968). The promise of distance education technologies in the 21st century is for empowerment of students through democratization of knowledge, personalized pedagogy, and convenient access. Despite the promise and the current high enrollments in distance education courses, attrition rate is high in North America and Europe (Carr & Ledwith, 2000; Serwatka, 2005), and this is a concern to educators and social policy makers, who search for reasons to account for the discrepancy between promise and practice. While recognizing men students have high attrition in distance education courses, too, the fact is women comprise the majority of distance technology users. If educators and policy makers hope to use distance education technology to reach female students (and garner the interest of more male students as well), then issues of gender in distance education technology need to be addressed. A female gendered perspective on distance education technology reveals a number of variables that explain women’s disengagement and dissatisfaction with online educational delivery systems. Educators, secondary education institutions, and instructional software designers are some of the groups working to create and implement inclusive, constructivist, and rich multi-media instructional design (McLoughlin, 2001) that will accommodate a wide range of learner needs.