Economic and Health Status of TB Patients covered under TB Programme

Supply chain management has been discussed by researchers as well as business practitioners for more than two decades now, but still surprisingly little of this philosophy can be seen in today s business practices. One important enabler for taking the SCM philosophy is often mentioned, but not investigated in-depth, is top management support. The role top management plays in a company s SCM practices could be an important piece of research that is not yet in place in the big SCM puzzle. The purpose of this dissertation is therefore to describe and explain the role of top management in a company s supply chain management practices. The purpose is approached with the aid of two studies, where the second is partly built upon the findings from the first. The first study is an explorative, broad survey study aimed at investigating how companies SCM practices, here limited to include a focal company s logistics collaboration with suppliers and customers, are performed. In the second study, which is an explanative, multiple case study, the role of top management is investigated more in detail. The empirical foundation for the survey study is a questionnaire.

Autorentext

Dr. Muniyandi has over 15 years of academic and "hands on experience" in various areas of Health Economics. He has established himself as a leading researcher in this field and conducted several studies to evaluate the socio-economic impact of TB and the economic benefits of DOTS are his major contribution in TB control.

Klappentext

Chronic disease such as tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem worldwide. The impact of TB on overall health status and socio economic well being is extensive. Generally TB afflicts the most economically active segment of the population. The world has taken a fresh look at TB in the year 2000. TB holds the spotlight as a social, political and economic issue rather than just a health problem. Despite the existence of a National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) for four decades, the burden of TB in India is enormous. Since late 1998, India began rapid expansion of the World Health Organization recommended strategy, directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) and the present coverage is 100% of the population.1 Even though the programme provides free diagnostic and treatment services to all the patients registered, since tuberculosis affects the most productive age group, the resultant economic cost for society is high.