Managing uncertainty in forecasting health workforce demand using the Robust Workforce Planning Framework: the example of midwives in Belgium.

Background: In Belgium, the Planning Commission for Medical Supply is responsible for monitoring human resources for health (HRH) and ultimately proposing workforce quotas. It is supported by the Planning Unit for the Supply of the Health Professions. This Unit quantifies and forecasts the workforce in the healthcare professions on the basis of a stock and flow model, based on trends observed in the past.

RSV Burden and Its Impact on Pediatric Inpatient Bed Occupancy in Belgium: An Analysis of National Hospital Claims Data.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections represent a substantial burden on pediatric services during winter. While the morbidity and financial burden of RSV are well studied, less is known about the organizational impact on hospital services (ie, impact on bed capacity and overcrowding and variation across hospitals).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of the population-wide Belgian Hospital Discharge Data Set for the years 2017 and 2018 (including all hospital sites with pediatric inpatient services), covering all RSV-associated (RSV-related International Classification of Diseases, 10th Version, Clinical Modification diagnoses) inpatient hospitalization by children under 5 years old as well as all-cause acute hospitalizations in pediatric wards.

Economies of scale and optimal size of maternity services in Belgium: A Data Envelopment Analysis.

This article uses a Data Envelopment Analysis to measure scale efficiency of maternity services in Belgium and estimate the minimum efficient scale in this context. Using administrative data for all maternity services in Belgium in 2016, the minimum efficient scale is estimated at 557 deliveries per year, which is above the currently prevailing norm of 400 deliveries per year. In particular, the closure of 17 small maternity services could improve efficiency without reducing accessibility.

Application of discrete choice experiment to analyze the demand for village chicken paid vaccination service against Newcastle disease in DR Congo.

Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly contagious viral disease that can affect a large number of avian species and cause severe economic loss in many countries. This disease is a major constraint for rural chicken production in most developing countries. In this country, ND is known since the 1940s.

Impact of shortened length of stay for delivery on the required bed capacity in maternity services: results from forecast analysis on administrative data.

Background: We examine the implications of reducing the average length of stay (ALOS) for a delivery on the required capacity in terms of service volume and maternity beds in Belgium, using administrative data covering all inpatient stays in Belgian general hospitals over the period 2003-2014.

Methods: A projection model generates forecasts of all inpatient and day-care services with a time horizon of 2025. It adjusts the observed hospital use in 2014 to the combined effect of three evolutions: the change in population size and composition, the time trend evolution of ALOS, and the time trend evolution of the admission rates.

Variability in elective day-surgery rates between Belgian hospitals - Analyses of administrative data explained by surgical experts.

Background: In the last decades, day surgery has steadily and significantly grown in many countries, yet the increase has been uneven. There are large variations in day-surgery activity between countries, but also within countries between hospitals and surgeons. This paper explores the variability in day-care activity for elective surgical procedures between Belgian hospitals.