Yogyakarta, December 16th, 2022
The Master of Science and Doctoral Program (MD) FEB UGM has held an open examination for the promotion of Doctor of Economics for a Ph.D. candidate, Silvi Hafianti. Mr. Rimawan Pradiptyo, M.Sc., Ph.D., Head of the Department of Economics, acted as Chair of the Session. In this open examination, presented Prof. Catur Sugiyanto, M.A., Ph.D. as a promoter and Elan Satriawan, M.Ec., Ph.D. as co-promoter. In addition, the assessment team was also present, which included Prof. Lincolin Arsyad. M.Sc., Ph.D. dan Amirullah Setya Hardi, Cand.Oecon., Ph.D., dan Dr. Endah Saptutyaningsih, M.Si. The team of examiners in this session was Heni Wahyuni, M.Ec.Dev., Ph.D. dan Eny Sulistyaningrum, M.A., Ph.D. Also attending were the families of the doctoral candidates, work relatives, and invited guests.
The open doctoral promotion examination was opened by the chairman of the session and then given chances to the promoter, co-promoter, assessment team, and examiner team to ask questions related to the dissertation that has been done. The Ph.D. candidate was able to answer questions well and fluently and defended the argument for her dissertation entitled “Essays on Impact of Increased Supply of Health Workers on Equity, Service Quality, and Utilization in Health Sector: Evidence from Indonesia,” so that she successfully graduated with the predicate “very satisfying.”
For information, the dissertation of Dr. Silvi focuses on empirical studies on the health sector, particularly the supply of medical personnel in terms of equity, service quality, and their use in health facilities in Indonesia. The main issue behind this research is the need for health workers to improve the quality of human resources. With the presence of quality health workers, the health condition of the workforce will be guaranteed and produce quality performance. The focus of this research is to examine the effect of the quality and utility of health services on several aspects, namely equality, private health services, and prenatal care services.
This study uses secondary data from IFLS in the form of surveys in 1997, 2007, and 2014. The fundamental thing that distinguishes this research from previous studies is the aspect studied. Previous studies have focused on structural or quantitative aspects, while this research has focused on service quality (the ability health workers in health facilities). The interested thing about this research is that it is comprehensive because it does not distinguish between public and private health facilities. This research contributes to filling the existing gap that not many studies yet, which match the services provided and received to find out whether service needs can be met or not.
The results of this study can be used to find out the distribution of health services in all regions in Indonesia, both in terms of public health facilities and private health facilities. The integration of the two can increase the success of equitable distribution of the quantity and quality of health services for all levels of society. That supports the health of the workforce, thus guaranteeing the ability to work and the quality of their work. Based on the results of this study, public and private health facilities tend to be complementary rather than substitutes. Increasing utilization in general also has nothing to do with quality, so needed to increase the quality of health services through various efforts.
The research results of Dr. Silvi have policy implications. First, build universal health care as a destination for everyone, so the quality of services is more equitable and follows the needs of patients. Second, the discrepancy between the supply of services and the reception of services is the target of quality improvement, so the users of health facilities are not worried about the quality of services. Thus, the equality of public and private health services can be realized. Third, knowing which aspects can be improved in each health facility (public and private).
Dr. Silvi officially holds the 5714th doctoral degree who passed the exam at Universitas Gadjah Mada and the 321st who passed the exam at FEB UGM. Prof. Catur Sugiyanto, M.A., Ph.D. as the promoter, congratulated Dr. Silvi and her family. He appreciated Dr. Silvi for completing her studies despite all the challenges and was able to complete her dissertation with an interesting contribution. Graduation from this doctoral program is not an end, but a new learning arena to produce new research. He also hopes that her research will be useful and the knowledge gained will be a provision to contribute. He advised that Dr. Silvi maintains communication and maintains the good name of her alma mater. (Y)