Differentiating busking from begging: A psychological approach.

Despite the research support that street performance is generally a beneficial element to public space, the legitimacy of street performance remains controversial. One critical issue is that busking is often confused with begging. With a psychological perspective, the present research examines the distinction of busking from begging. Two studies approached the problem from the viewpoints of street performers and passersby, respectively. Study 1 (N = 188) surveyed street performers on their reasons for street performance and reasons for why donations to street performance should be acceptable. The respondents could articulate various features of street performance along which busking could be similar to and yet distinguishable from begging. Study 2 (N = 189) experimentally compared busking and begging in how they could affect people's perception of public space. Relative to public space with begging, public space with busking was perceived as significantly more comforting, more active, less prone to crimes, and overall more likeable. These descriptive (Study 1) and experimental (Study 2) findings help to clarify the difference between busking and begging: Street performance is not merely an act of soliciting donations in public space, but it also possesses artistic and entertaining qualities that can in turn make public space more favorable. The current findings can inform the policy making and regulations of street performance. Moreover, since the present research was conducted in Hong Kong, it contributes a cultural perspective to the literature on street performance.

In-kind donations to healthcare facilities during COVID-19: Experiences from a large medical center in northern Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: In early 2020, a global outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused high mortality rates and public panic. Worldwide demand for personal protective equipment has risen, with diminishing supplies and shortages reported. During the pandemic, charitable donations have been made by the public, aimed at helping medical staff. Based on the open data, we investigate the charitable in-kind donations received by a large medical center in northern Taiwan (Taipei Veterans General Hospital [TPEVGH]) in Taiwan during the pandemic. METHODS: The period of investigation was the first half of the year 2020. TPEVGH has received various public donations. The list of donations published on the hospital's official website was analyzed. The variables in the analysis were donation category, donation percentage, number of donations, and total donation amount. RESULTS: Most in-kind donations were food and beverages (55.1%), with a monetary value of 3 124 510 New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) (24.3%). Medical equipment accounted for the second-highest number of items (34.8%) but was the highest monetary value (70.6%; 9 275 945 of 12 875 855 NTD). Daily necessities accounted for the lowest number of items (10.1%) and had a total monetary value of 475 400 NTD (3.7%). Over two-thirds were beverages (68.4%), all of which were bottles or cans for easy storage. Despite only five items (13.2%) being juice, the donation size was the largest, accounting for nearly half (47.1%) of the total monetary value. Only one item was fruit, which was high-class organic apples. The monetary value of this item was the highest (7.8%) among all donated food. Most donated snacks were biscuits. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, most public donations to TPEVGH were food and daily necessities. While every donation should be appreciated, accepting high volumes of donations might incur donation management problems. Further research could be focused on managerial aspects, for example, quality and safety checking, storage, and distribution.

Factors related to health civic engagement: results from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes to understand progress towards a Culture of Health.

BACKGROUND: Civic engagement, including voting, volunteering, and participating in civic organizations, is associated with better psychological, physical and behavioral health and well-being. In addition, civic engagement is increasingly viewed (e.g., in Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health action framework) as a potentially important driver for raising awareness of and addressing unhealthy conditions in communities. As such, it is important to understand the factors that may promote civic engagement, with a particular focus on the less-understood, health civic engagement, or civic engagement in health-related and health-specific activities. Using data from a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States (U.S.), we examined whether the extent to which individuals feel they belong in their community (i.e., perceived sense of community) and the value they placed on investing in community health were associated with individuals' health civic engagement. METHODS: Using data collected on 7187 nationally representative respondents from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes, we examined associations between sense of community, valued investment in community health, and perceived barriers to taking action to invest in community health, with health civic engagement. We constructed continuous scales for each of these constructs and employed multiple linear regressions adjusting for multiple covariates including U.S. region and city size of residence, educational attainment, family income, race/ethnicity, household size, employment status, and years living in the community. RESULTS: Participants who endorsed (i.e., responded with mostly or completely) all 16 sense of community scale items endorsed an average of 22.8% (95%CI: 19.8-25.7%) more of the health civic engagement scale items compared with respondents who did not endorse any of the sense of community items. Those who endorsed (responded that it was an important or top priority) all items capturing valued investment in community health endorsed 14.0% (95%CI: 11.2-16.8%) more of the health civic engagement items than those who did not endorse any valued investment in community health items. CONCLUSIONS: Health civic engagement, including voting and volunteering to ultimately guide government decisions about health issues, may help improve conditions that influence health and well-being for all. Focusing on individuals' sense of community and highlighting investments in community health may concurrently be associated with increased health civic engagement and improved community and population health.

Diaper Need Met Among Low-Income US Children Younger Than 4 Years in 2016.

Objectives. To document the collective effort of diaper banks in the United States and to estimate the percentage of low-income children whose diaper need is met through these efforts.Methods. For each state, we compared the number of children younger than 4 years in families living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level with the number of children served by diaper banks in each state. We collected data reporting all 2016 activities from diaper banks (n = 262) via survey from January to March 2017.Results. In each state, the percentage of children experiencing diaper need that received assistance from a diaper bank ranged from 0% to 16% per month.Conclusions. The findings from this study highlight that a small proportion of low-income families accessed diapers through the existing community-based safety net provided by a national network of nonprofit diaper banks.Public Health Implications. Policies at the federal, state, and municipal level are needed to alleviate this consequence of poverty for children and their families.

Defining hospital community benefit activities using Delphi technique: A comparison between China and the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Currently there is no expert consensus regarding what activities and programs constitute hospital community benefits. In China, the hospital community benefit movement started gaining attention after the recent health care system reform in 2009. In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service and the nonprofit hospital sector have struggled to define community benefit for many years. More recently, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)'s new "community benefit" requirements, nonprofit hospitals further developed these benefits to qualify for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. METHODS: The Delphi survey method was used to explore activities and/or programs that are considered to be hospital community benefits in China and the United States. Twenty Chinese and 19 American of academics, senior hospital managers and policy makers were recruited as experts and participated in two rounds of surveys. The survey questionnaire was first developed in China using the 5-point Likert scale to rate the support for certain hospital community benefits activities; it was then translated into English. The questionnaires were modified after the first round of Delphi. After two rounds of surveys, only responses with a minimum of 70 percent support rate were accepted by the research team. RESULTS: Delphi survey results show that experts from China and the U.S. agree on 68.75 percent of HCB activities and/ or programs, including emergency preparedness, social benefit activities, bad debt /Medicaid shortfall, disaster relief, environmental protection, health promotion and education, education and research, charity care, medical services with positive externality, provision of low profit services, and sliding scale fees. CONCLUSIONS: In China, experts believe that healthcare is a "human right" and that the government has the main responsibility of ensuring affordable access to healthcare for its citizens. Meanwhile, healthcare is considered a commodity in the U.S., and many Americans, especially those who are vulnerable and low-income, are not able to afford and access needed healthcare services. Though the U.S. government recognized the importance of community benefit and included a section in the ACA that outlines new community benefit requirements for nonprofit hospitals, there is a need to issue specific policies regarding the amounts and types of community benefits non-profit hospitals should provide to receive tax exemption status.

Communities as 'renewable energy' for healthcare services? a multimethods study into the form, scale and role of voluntary support for community hospitals in England.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the forms, scale and role of community and voluntary support for community hospitals in England. DESIGN: A multimethods study. Quantitative analysis of Charity Commission data on levels of volunteering and voluntary income for charities supporting community hospitals. Nine qualitative case studies of community hospitals and their surrounding communities, including interviews and focus groups. SETTING: Community hospitals in England and their surrounding communities. PARTICIPANTS: Charity Commission data for 245 community hospital Leagues of Friends. Interviews with staff (89), patients (60), carers (28), volunteers (35), community representatives (20), managers and commissioners (9). Focus groups with multidisciplinary teams (8 groups across nine sites, involving 43 respondents), volunteers (6 groups, 33 respondents) and community stakeholders (8 groups, 54 respondents). RESULTS: Communities support community hospitals through: human resources (average=24 volunteers a year per hospital); financial resources (median voluntary income = £15 632); practical resources through services and activities provided by voluntary and community groups; and intellectual resources (eg, consultation and coproduction). Communities provide valuable supplementary resources to the National Health Service, enhancing community hospital services, patient experience, staff morale and volunteer well-being. Such resources, however, vary in level and form from hospital to hospital and over time: voluntary income is on the decline, as is membership of League of Friends, and it can be hard to recruit regular, active volunteers. CONCLUSIONS: Communities can be a significant resource for healthcare services, in ways which can enhance patient experience and service quality. Harnessing that resource, however, is not straight forward and there is a perception that it might be becoming more difficult questioning the extent to which it can be considered sustainable or 'renewable'.

Examining charitable giving in real-world online donations.

The current study uses big data to study prosocial behavior by analyzing donations made on the GoFundMe platform. In a dataset of more than $44 million in online donations, we find that 21% were made while opting to be anonymous to the public, with survey results indicating that 11% of these anonymous donations (2.3% of all donations) are not attributable to any egoistic goal. Additionally, we find that donors gave significantly more to recipients who had the same last name as them. We find evidence that men and women donated more when more donors of the opposite sex were visible on the screen at the time of donating. Our results suggest that men and women were both significantly affected by the average donation amounts visible at the time of their decisions, and men were influenced more. We find that women expressed significantly more empathy than men in messages accompanying their donations.

Lots of little ones: Analysis of charitable donations to a hospice and palliative care unit in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Charitable donations play a major role in the provision of hospice and palliative care (HPC) services, most of which are not reimbursed by health insurance programs. A good understanding of the constitution and use of donations is thus conducive to maintaining a high-quality HPC unit. METHODS: The data sources were the publicly available balance sheet, work report, and donor lists of a foundation exclusively supporting one of the best HPC units in Taiwan in the fiscal year of 2017. The analysis included the donation amounts and frequencies by donor type (individual, corporate, and group) and the categories of expenses. RESULTS: The foundation received 3033 donations worth a total of 7.8 million New Taiwan dollars (NTD) (approximately 258 thousand US dollars) in 2017. Two-thirds of the donations were allocated to the provision of direct care services. Of the 3033 donations, only 11 (0.4%) were worth 100 000 NTD or more, while 108 (3.6%) were valued between 10 000 and 99 999 NTD, 1268 (41.8%) were valued between 1000 and 9999 NTD, and 1646 (54.2%) were worth less than 1000 NTD. Of 1051 donors, 974 (92.7%) were individuals, 378 (36.0%) donated more than once, and 106 (10.1%) donated 12 or more times in one year. CONCLUSION: HPC services in Taiwan are sponsored by lots of individuals and small donations. For sustainability of standards-based and quality HPC services, the benevolence of the public should be thus cherished and adequately responded to.

Employer-Supported Volunteerism in Rural Worksites.

Employer-supported volunteerism has the potential to benefit employees and ultimately have a positive business impact. Volunteerism has been linked to improved quality of life, reduced morbidity, and higher self-rated health. This study was designed to understand what small, rural worksites are doing with regard to volunteerism, and what their barriers are to such activities. An online survey was distributed to worksites using the social network of a Resource, Conservation, and Development Council, a rural nonprofit entity. Analyses included descriptive statistics, and for qualitative data, review and summary of common themes. Thirty-eight worksites responded, representing a wide range of worksite types. Volunteer activities requiring less time and resources to organize were more commonly employed versus group-based activities. Identified barriers included time, costs, small staffing numbers, perceived employee lack of interest, worksite policies, distance to volunteer sites, language barriers, and lack of awareness of opportunities. Despite a variety of challenges, some forms of employer-supported volunteerism seem feasible even in very small rural worksites. Worksite type, culture, and leadership are likely to be determinants of the extent and nature of employer-supported volunteerism. Strategies to encourage greater volunteerism need to be tailored to the interests and resources of each site. Occupational health nurses should consider incorporating some form of employee volunteerism activities within their health promotion programming, as it is consistent with an overall strategy of enhancing employee well-being. This could lead to positive business impacts such as increased employee engagement, improved recruitment and retention, and improved productivity.

Employees' Environmental Protection and Charitable Donation and Ethical Leadership: An Empirical Study.

The sustainable development of the environment and society depends not only on firms' social responsibility initiatives, but also on employees' socially responsible behavior during their daily work life. Hence, it is important to study why and how employees go about the socially responsible behaviors (SRB), such as environmental protection and charitable donations. Although research has been done on the antecedents of employees' SRB from personal, contextual and leadership perspectives, little is known about the mechanism through which they affect these behaviors. Moreover, compared with the other two perspectives, research from the leadership perspective is relatively scarce. In this paper, we aim to fill these research gaps. Based on 936 respondents from 109 corporations, we empirically test the cross-level direct effect of ethical leadership on employees' SRB and the cross-level mediating effect of perceived organizational virtuousness. In our empirical analyses, we adopt statistical methodologies such as hierarchical linear modeling and multilevel mediation analysis. Our results show that perceived organizational virtuousness partly mediates the influence of ethical leadership on employees' environmental protection and charitable donation. In other words, ethical leadership enables employees to form the perception of organizational virtuousness, and therefore employees are more engaged in environmental protection and charitable donations. This research provides important insights for firms and their employees to become more socially and environmentally responsible.

Charity financial support to motor neuron disease (MND) patients in Greater London: the impact of patients' socioeconomic status-a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: There is an immense socioeconomic burden for both the patients with motor neuron disease (MND) and their families. The aim of this study is to evaluate the extent to which the provision offered by the Motor Neurone Disease Association is distributed among patients with MND living in the ethnically and socially diverse area of Greater London, according to the patients' socioeconomic situation and needs. SETTING: Greater London, where age and sex-adjusted prevalence rates of MND in 2016 were calculated. PARTICIPANTS: Prevalent MND cases in Greater London, using anonymised data extracted from the Association's database. EXPOSURE: Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Receiving a Motor Neurone Disease Association grant, and the amount of money received. RESULTS: 396 individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were detected, the age-specific and sex-specific prevalence of MND was 4.02 per 100 000 inhabitants, higher among men (5.13 per 100 000) than women (3.01 per 100 000). Men were statistically significantly 40% less likely to receive a grant compared with women; among grant recipients, the younger the age of the participant, the higher the size of the grant received. The Index of Multiple Deprivation was not associated with either receiving a grant nor the amount of money received, among recipients. CONCLUSION: Financial support by the Motor Neurone Disease Association is provided across individuals and across boroughs regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances. Differences that benefits women and younger patients were detected.

Predictive models for charitable giving using machine learning techniques.

Private giving represents more than three fourths of all U.S. charitable donations, about 2% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Private giving is a significant factor in funding the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy, which accounts for more than 10% of total GDP. Despite the abundance of data available through tax forms and other sources, it is unclear which factors influence private donation, and a reliable predictive mechanism remains elusive. This study aims to develop predictive models to accurately estimate future charitable giving based on a set of potentially influential factors. We have selected several factors, including unemployment rate, household income, poverty level, population, sex, age, ethnicity, education level, and number of vehicles per household. This study sheds light on the relationship between donation and these variables. We use Stepwise Regression to identify the most influential variables among the available variables, based on which predictive models are developed. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and machine learning techniques, including Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) are used to develop the predictive models. The results suggest that population, education level, and the amount of charitable giving in the previous year are the most significant, independent variables. We propose three predictive models (MLR, ANN, and SVR) and validate them using 10-fold cross-validation method, then evaluate the performance using 9 different measuring criteria. All three models are capable of predicting the amount of future donations in a given region with good accuracy. Based on the evaluation criteria, using a test data set, ANN outperforms SVR and MLR in predicting the amount of charitable giving in the following year.

Client personal recovery and recovery orientation of an Irish suicide intervention charity.

BACKGROUND: Recovery is a key goal for individuals, and services' recovery orientation can facilitate this process. The independent mental health sector is increasingly important in Ireland, particularly in counselling and suicide prevention. We aimed to evaluate Pieta House as a recovery-oriented service through clients' self-rated recovery; and clients' and therapists' evaluation of the service. METHODS: Clients completing therapy over a 3-month period were invited to complete the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS) and the Recovery Self Assessment-Revised (RSA-R). Therapists completed the RSA-R staff version. RESULTS: Response rate was 36.7% for clients (n=88), 98% for therapists (n=49). Personal recovery was endorsed by 73.8% of clients, with highest agreement for factors 'Willingness to Ask for Help' (84.5%), and 'Reliance on Others' (82.1%). A smaller number agreed with factors 'Personal Confidence and Hope' (61.3%) and 'No Domination by Symptoms' (66.6%). Clients' and therapists' evaluation of the service showed high levels of agreement with factors of 'Choice' (90.9% clients, 100% therapists); 'Life Goals' (84.1% clients, 98% therapists) and 'Individually Tailored Services' (80.6% clients, 79.6% therapists). Client involvement in service management had the lowest level of agreement (36.4% clients, 30.6% therapists). Clients' self-rated recovery correlated with their rating of the service (correlation value 0.993, p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Clients' self-rated recovery and the recovery orientation of Pieta House were rated highly, with areas for improvement in service user involvement, peer support and advocacy. The correlation of personal recovery and recovery orientation of the service may merit further study.

Charitable Food Systems' Capacity to Address Food Insecurity: An Australian Capital City Audit.

Australian efforts to address food insecurity are delivered by a charitable food system (CFS) which fails to meet demand. The scope and nature of the CFS is unknown. This study audits the organisational capacity of the CFS within the 10.9 square kilometres of inner-city Perth, Western Australia. A desktop analysis of services and 12 face-to-face interviews with representatives from CFS organisations was conducted. All CFS organisations were not-for⁻profit and guided by humanitarian or faith-based values. The CFS comprised three indirect services (IS) sourcing, banking and/or distributing food to 15 direct services (DS) providing food to recipients. DS offered 30 different food services at 34 locations feeding over 5670 people/week via 16 models including mobile and seated meals, food parcels, supermarket vouchers, and food pantries. Volunteer to paid staff ratios were 33:1 (DS) and 19:1 (IS). System-wide, food was mainly donated and most funding was philanthropic. Only three organisations received government funds. No organisation had a nutrition policy. The organisational capacity of the CFS was precarious due to unreliable, insufficient and inappropriate financial, human and food resources and structures. System-wide reforms are needed to ensure adequate and appropriate food relief for Australians experiencing food insecurity.

Issues facing families of infants discharged after cardiac surgery: the perceptions of charity helpline staff.

AIM: To elicit the perceptions of helpline staff who talk to parents of children discharged after cardiac surgery in infancy about parents' key concerns. METHODS: A qualitative study involving semistructured interviews with 10 staff at four heart charities. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using Framework analysis. RESULTS: Staff identified the knowledge, communication and support needs of parents which they described in terms of the impact of patient and family factors, sources of support and systems. Staff perceptions of helplines, in terms of the function of a helpline and the roles of its staff, together with staff's personal views based on their experience of multiple encounters with many families, influenced how they viewed families' needs and responded to their requests. CONCLUSION: Helpline staff provided important, previously uncaptured evidence about the challenges faced by parents of children discharged after cardiac surgery in infancy. Staff have an important role in supporting communication, in terms of speaking to families about how to talk to professionals and talking to professionals directly to get or give information when parents are unable to do so. Capturing the perspective of helpline staff about communication issues has highlighted the need for interventions with professionals as well as parents.

Comparing the Value of Nonprofit Hospitals' Tax Exemption to Their Community Benefits.

The tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals has received increased attention from policymakers interested in examining the value they provide instead of paying taxes. We use 2012 data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Cost Reports, and American Hospital Association's (AHA) Annual Survey to compare the value of community benefits with the tax exemption. We contrast nonprofit's total community benefits to what for-profits provide and distinguish between charity and other community benefits. We find that the value of the tax exemption averages 5.9% of total expenses, while total community benefits average 7.6% of expenses, incremental nonprofit community benefits beyond those provided by for-profits average 5.7% of expenses, and incremental charity alone average 1.7% of expenses. The incremental community benefit exceeds the tax exemption for only 62% of nonprofits. Policymakers should be aware that the tax exemption is a rather blunt instrument, with many nonprofits benefiting greatly from it while providing relatively few community benefits.

Measures to assess the performance of an Australian non-government charitable non-acute health service: A Delphi Survey of Organisational Stakeholders.

Organisation performance measurement is relevant for non-profit charitable organisations as they strive for security in an increasingly competitive funding environment. This study aimed to identify the priority measures and indicators of organisational performance of an Australian non-government charitable organisation that delivers non-acute health services. Seventy-seven and 59 participants across nine stakeholder groups responded to a two-staged Delphi technique study of a case study organisation. The stage one questionnaire was developed using information garnered through a detailed review of literature. Data from the first round were aggregated and analysed for the stage two survey. The final data represented a group consensus. Quality of care was ranked the most important of six organisational performance measures. Service user satisfaction was ranked second followed by financial performance, internal processes, employee learning and growth and community engagement. Thirteen priority indicators were determined across the six measures. Consensus was reached on the priority organisational performance measures and indicators. Stakeholders of the case study organisation value evidence-based practice, technical strength of services and service user satisfaction over more commercially orientated indicators.

Influence of medical insurance schemes and charity assistance projects on regular prophylaxis treatment of the boys with severe haemophilia A in China.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of medical insurance policy and charity assistance projects on the uptake and discontinuation of regular prophylaxis treatment in Chinese severe haemophilia A children. METHODOLOGY: This retrospective study was conducted on children with severe haemophilia A, who received FVIII prophylaxis treatment at 12 haemophilia centres in China from 1 November 2007 to 31 May 2013. RESULTS: The average duration of prophylaxis treatment received by haemophilia children significantly increased from 16.7 weeks in 2008 to 32.8 weeks in 2012 (P < .001). The main reason for prophylaxis acceptance included dissatisfaction with previous "on-demand" regimens, availability of improved local medical insurance policies and patient/family awareness of haemophilia. The main reason for subsequent discontinuation of prophylaxis was economic instability. The upper limit of insurance was up to RMB 150 000/y (~USD: 22 000/y) for 80.1% of the insured patients and would be sufficient to cover the continuous low-dose prophylaxis regimen. However, for many patients the burden of out-of-pocket copayment cost represented a risk for poor adherence to regular prophylaxis. In about two third of the patients, the annual out-of-pocket copayment cost amounted to >50% of their average annual disposable income. Many patients therefore required assistance from the charity assistance projects, but nonadherence remained prevalent. CONCLUSION: Medical insurance policy and charity assistance projects helped haemophilia children to accept and continue prophylaxis regimens. It was the proportion of the out-of-pocket copayment cost rather than the upper limit of insurance reimbursement that restricted long-term regular low-dose prophylaxis in China.