Health education and primary health care in Costa Rica: the role of the health assistant

Health status indicators for the population of Costa Rica comparedfavorably in the 1980s to those of more developed nations. Morbidityand mortality had been lowered, and health status differentialsbetween population subgroups had been narrowed. By 1984, mostof the objectives set by the World Health Organization had beenexceeded. These outcomes have been attributed to the successof a national primary health care program and to the role ofthe health assistant/asistente de salud in the operation ofthis program. This article examines the approach taken in achieving theseoutcomes. Of particular interest is the role of the health assistantas health educator in attaining the health promotion and diseaseprevention goals of the primary care program. Contemporary challenges which may diminish the role of the healthassistant and the possible consequences of this for public healthare considered, as is a recent government experiment which affordsa potential response to these issues. The latter, a new modelfor the organization and delivery of health services, featuresa partnership between government and a private sector providergroup. This arrangement retains the traditional role of thehealth assistant in primary care and enhances the health educationfunction of the health assistant. Under pressure and in transition, the health sector in CostaRica is striving to safeguard the admirable achievements ithas attained and to plan for further advances. It is clear thatunder present circumstances difficult choices must be made.One hopes that in the trade-offs made, those elements of theprimary health care program which have been essential to thisnation's success are not assigned a lower priority.     

Accounting for quality in the measurement of hospital performance: evidence from Costa Rica

This paper provides insights into how Costa Rican public hospitals responded to the pressure for increased efficiency and quality introduced by the reforms carried out over the period 1997-2001. To that purpose we compute a generalized output distance function by means of non-parametric mathematical programming to construct a productivity index, which accounts for productivity changes while controlling for quality of care. Our results show an improvement in hospital performance mainly driven by quality increases. The adoption of management contracts seems to have contributed to such enhancement, more notably for small hospitals. Further, productivity growth is primarily due to technical and scale efficiency change rather than technological change. A number of policy implications are drawn from these results.     

Dust exposure in workers from grain storage facilities in Costa Rica

Background

About 12 million workers are involved in the production of basic grains in Central America. However, few studies in the region have examined the occupational factors associated with inhalable dust exposure.

Progress Toward Long-Term Care Protection in Latin America: A National Long-Term Care System in Costa Rica

The aging of the world's population is a reality. People are living longer, not just in high-income countries, but it remains unclear whether their extra years will be lived in better health. In fact, an increasing number of older adults will probably require help to perform activities of daily living. Within the framework of its Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health, the World Health Organization has called on all countries to create suitable and equitable long-term care systems that meet the needs of older people. The challenge is particularly acute in Latin America. The region is aging faster than other areas in the world, and its less-prepared social protection systems suffer from limited economic resources.Costa Rica is one the first middle-income countries to create a national long-term care system. This article describes the main characteristics of this system and discusses it from an international perspective. The results show that it has been designed to prioritize severity of dependency and cost containment, and to reinforce the formalization of care. The outcome of its implementation will affect the decisions of neighboring countries and those with similar economic conditions concerning the development of their own long-term care systems.     

The impact of hospital management reforms on absenteeism in Costa Rica

The reduction of high levels of absenteeism among health care workers was one the objectives of the reforms undertaken to improve public hospital performance during the 1990s in Costa Rica. This paper attempts to assess the impact of changes in reimbursement methods and organizational reform on absence rates among health care personnel in Costa Rican public hospitals for the period 1995-2001. Our results show the reforms to have had a negative impact on absenteeism, which increased throughout the considered period. Results further indicate that the policy of not substituting absentee workers, which was introduced through the reforms, did not work as expected in a permissive environment in which peer pressure mechanisms were lacking. In addition, the explicit incentives for workers included in the reforms were retained and used at facility level. There is a pressing need in the future for control and disciplinary mechanisms for health care personnel and for the introduction of absence rates as an explicit goal to be monitored and evaluated.     

Longitudinal relation of community-level income inequality and mortality in Costa Rica

The controversy regarding the direct relationship between income distribution and health remains unresolved. Empirical evidence has often failed to advance our understanding because in the countries studied there was limited ability to distinguish hypotheses. This study examines the relation between inequality and mortality in the context of Costa Rica. Costa Rica's unique social and political structure makes confounding through resource and political channels less likely, thus any effects would work predominantly through direct psychosocial channels. Using mortality data extracted from the Vital Statistics Registry, we evaluate the longitudinal relations between lagged and contemporaneous income inequality and cause-specific mortality in Costa Rica from 1995 to 2005. For those aged 15–60, results indicate that there is a significant adverse relation between increases in lagged inequality and mortality from liver disease, and marginal adverse relations with mortality from diabetes and suicide. For those aged 60 and over, there is a limited evidence of a relation between inequality and health. These results suggest increases in inequality may impact health behavior of the working aged population in Costa Rica.     

Activity-based financing of health care--experiences from Sweden

The market-inspired control models that go under the name of New Public Management (NPM) are no longer being debated in the arena of public health care as they once were, although there are still very clear signs of NPM in many countries. One manifestation of NPM in health care is activity-based financing. The first purpose of this paper is to describe what impacts activity-based financing has had in Sweden's public health service. The second purpose is to explain why the application of the payment model has been gradually changed. The basis for the paper comprises research done on activity-based financing. The review of the development within Swedish health care regarding activity-based financing shows that effects appear. But it also becomes evident that the models often are adjusted and that the adjustments, for example the introduction of a production ceiling, changes the effects. The fundamental dilemma appears to be finding a balance between production efficiency and total cost control.     

Translating research into action: a case study on trans fatty acid research and nutrition policy in Costa Rica

Mounting epidemiologic evidence worldwide has fostered policy regulation of industrially made trans fatty acids (TFA) in several developed countries. Despite country-specific evidence about the effects of TFA on cardiovascular disease in Costa Rica, policy regulation has yet to occur. This qualitative study uses a conceptual framework to identify factors that may impede or promote the process of translation of scientific evidence about TFA into policy in the specific context of Costa Rica. We used single case-study methodology to integrate two sources of data: review of relevant internal documents and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 21 respondents purposively sampled from three sectors: the cooking oil and food industries, research and academia, and government entities. Content analysis, guided by a conceptual framework of research utilization, revealed 68 emergent themes divided across four categories of analysis. In brief, study participants perceived the political context suitable for discussing policies related to healthy fats. Nevertheless, TFA regulation was not part of the Costa Rican political agenda. Barriers perceived by respondents that impede knowledge translation included: (1) lack of awareness of in-country scientific studies on health effects of TFA; (2) lack of consensus or information about policy options (nutrition labelling, dietary guidelines, legislative mandates); (3) perceived distrust and disparate attitudes between sectors, believed by study participants to result in (4) limited collaboration across sectors. Commissioned task forces and other mechanisms to foster research engagement and facilitate sustained interaction and systematic collaboration among government, food industry and researcher sectors appear crucial in the consideration and adoption of nutrition policy in Costa Rica and other emerging economies.     

Tocopherol and carotenoid content of foods commonly consumed in Costa Rica

This article presents the first Costa Rican database on food carotenoids and tocopherols. The report concerning the content of these nutrients in foods that are common to the Latin American diet and to native Costa Rican varieties and cultivars is particularly important. Celery, which includes the leaves in Costa Rica, shows the highest content of lutein + zeaxanthin (26,400 μg/100 g) and β-carotene (16,200 μg/100 g), and is ranked fourth as a source of α-carotene (168 μg/100 g). The amount of lutein + zeaxanthin and β-cryptoxanthin present in Costa Rican red peppers is significantly high (2600 and 730 μg/100 g, respectively) and the amount of lycopene provided by 100 g of sardines canned in tomato sauce is higher (3300 μg/100 g) than the same amount of home-style tomato sauce (1420 μg/100 g) or raw tomato (1260 μg/100 g). Soybean oil has the highest δ-tocopherol content of all oils and is second to corn oil in γ-tocopherol content. Olive and sunflower oil have the highest α-tocopherol content. However, the content of α-tocopherol in celery and broccoli stands out. On average, these vegetables provide only 3 mg/100 g less of α-tocopherol than sunflower oil (12 mg/100 g and 15 mg/100 g, respectively). The reported data, together with the recently published Brazilian database on food carotenoids, could be the first step towards the systematic development of a Latin America carotenoid and tocopherol food composition database.     

Pesticide prioritization for a case-control study on childhood leukemia in Costa Rica: a simple stepwise approach

Multiple exposures and rapidly changing use patterns are obstacles for adequate recall of pesticide exposures in epidemiologic studies. We present a simple stepwise approach for prioritization of pesticides as part of the exposure assessment strategy in an ongoing case-control study on pesticides and childhood leukemia in Costa Rica. Pesticide imports between 1977 and 2000, approximately the pertinent exposure period, were surrogates for use data. In the first phase, 323 active ingredients were identified, of which 219 were eliminated based on low usage and absence or negative results in a preliminary search in three major toxicity databases. In the second phase, the remaining 104 pesticides underwent scoring for their toxicodynamic potential (TDP) with regard to carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity, weighted in this order. Bioavailability was assessed when TDP was multiplied by a weight for persistence and bioaccumulation, producing the intrinsic toxic potential (ITP). ITP was multiplied by an index of quantity (QI) of pesticide used in the exposure period, resulting in a weighted toxic potential (WTP). The top 25 positions in each of the four rankings (TDP, ITP, QI, and WTP) yielded together 64 highest-priority pesticides. This prioritization process has to be complemented with a further breakdown into crop-, time-, and biocide-specific shortlists to achieve a recall tool suitable for developing countries. Different parameters for prioritization assure inclusion of all relevant pesticides with regard to toxicity and bioavailability. The method contributes to cancer epidemiology in developing countries with access to basic use data and the Internet. The method is adaptable to other health outcomes.     

Health care financing in Hong Kong: a case for tax‐based financing

With the new government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region currently conducting a review of Hong Kong's health care financing system, this article argues that the existing tax‐based system not only works well at present, but is also sustainable in the future. The performance of the system is analysed in terms of cost, health outcomes and access. The arguments for change are discussed, and the case for maintaining the status quo is presented. The author concludes that the way forward would be to fine tune the existing system rather than to replace it with other systems which are known to have higher transaction costs and more serious supply‐side moral hazards. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Healthcare financing in Syria: satisfaction with the current system and the role of national health insurance--a qualitative study of householders' views

This study aims to identify the satisfaction with the current public health system and health benefit schemes, examine willingness to participate in national health insurance and review expectations and preferences of national health insurance. To this end, qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out with 19 Syrian householders. Our results show that a need for health reform exists and that Syrian people are willing to support a national health insurance scheme if some key issues are properly addressed. Funding of the scheme is a major concern and should take into account the ability to pay and help the poor. In addition, waiting times should be shortened and sufficient coverage guaranteed. On the whole, the people would support a national health insurance with national pooling and purchasing under a public set-up, but important concerns of such a system regarding corruption and inefficiency were voiced too. Installing a quasi non-governmental organisation as manager of the insurance system under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health could provide a compromise acceptable to the people.     

澳大利亚社区卫生服务筹资与补偿机制对我国的启示

分析澳大利亚社区卫生服务筹资与补偿机制对我国的启示，提出改革我国社区卫生服务筹资与补偿机制的政策建议：建立政府与市场相结合的多层次、多形式的社区卫生服务筹资体系，努力拓展社区卫生服务机构生存发展的空间。     

Equity in the financing of social security for health in Chile

Real public health spending has more than doubled since 1990, raising concerns about the targeting of public subsidies. This study examined the degree of equity in the financing of FONASA, the public insurer, which in 1995 covered 8.6 million beneficiaries, or 62% of the country's population. Study results, covering calendar year 1995, indicated that (1) government health subsidies were well-targeted, with about 90% reaching the indigent and 8% going to other, low-income beneficiaries; (2) only 2.5% of government subsidies leaked to higher-income, non-beneficiaries of FONASA (people covered by private insurers known as ISAPRES, otherwise covered, or without any coverage); (3) overall, FONASA's contributing beneficiaries (i.e. the indigent aside) self-financed their health benefits, although higher-income beneficiaries were providing significant cross-subsidies to low-income ones, making the internal financing of FONASA somewhat progressive; (4) the indigent received the highest amount of annual net benefits per capita, followed by low-income beneficiaries; and (5) the evasion of FONASA's payroll tax was pervasive, although public providers delivered care on an equal basis irrespective of the patients' contributions to FONASA. FONASA's finances would improve significantly if affiliation to health social security by both dependent and independent workers was made compulsory.     

The male–female gap in physician earnings: evidence from a public health insurance system

Empirical evidence from US studies suggests that female physicians earn less than their male counterparts, on average. The earnings gap does not disappear when individual and market characteristics are controlled for. This paper investigates whether a gender earnings difference can also be observed in a health‐care system predominantly financed by public insurance companies. Using a unique data set of physicians' earnings recorded by a public social security agency in an Austrian province between 2000 and 2004, we find a gender gap in average earnings of about 32%. A substantial share of this gap (20–47%) cannot be explained by individual and market characteristics, leaving labor market discrimination as one possible explanation for the observed gender earnings difference of physicians. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidences on weaknesses and strengths from health financing after decentralization: lessons from Latin American countries

OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to identify trends and evidence on health financing after health care decentralization. STUDY DESIGN: Evaluative research with a before-after design integrating qualitative and quantitative analysis. Taking into account feasibility, political and technical criteria, three Latin American countries were selected as study populations: Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. DATA SOURCES: The methodology had two main phases. In the first phase, the study referred to secondary sources of data and documents to obtain information about the following variables: type of decentralization implemented, source of finance, funds of financing, providers, final use of resources and mechanisms for resource allocation. In the second phase, the study referred to primary data collected in a survey of key personnel from the health sectors of each country. FINDINGS: The trends and evidence reported in all five financing indicators may identify major weaknesses and strengths in health financing. CONCLUSIONS: Weaknesses: a lack of human resources trained in health economics who can implement changes, a lack of financial resource independence between the local and central levels, the negative behavior of the main macro-economic variables, and the difficulty in developing new financing alternatives. Strengths: the sharing between the central level and local levels of responsibility for financing health services, the implementation of new organizational structures for the follow-up of financial changes at the local level, the development and implementation of new financial allocation mechanisms taking as a basis the efficiency and equity principles, new technique of a per-capita adjustment factor corrected at the local health needs, and the increase of financing contributions from households and local levels of government.     

Association between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Parenting Styles and the Risk of Overweight/Obesity among Adolescents in San José Province,Costa Rica

Parenting styles are a risk factor for adolescents overweight/obesity worldwide, but this association is not well understood in the context of Latin America. This study examines the association between the parenting styles of mothers and fathers and the risk of overweight/obesity among Costa Rican adolescents. Data are cross-sectional from a sample of adolescents (13–18 years old) enrolled in ten urban and eight rural schools (n = 18) in the province of San José, Costa Rica, in 2017. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the likelihood of adolescents being overweight according to the mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles. A significant association was found between the risk of adolescent overweight/obesity and the paternal authoritarian style only in rural areas (B = 0.622, SE = 0.317, Wald = 3.864, ExpB = 1.863, p = 0.04), and between said risk and the paternal permissive style only in male adolescents (B = 0.901, SE = 0.435, Wald = 4.286, ExpB = 2.461, p = 0.038). For maternal parenting styles, no associations reached significant levels once logistic regression models were adjusted for the fathers’ parenting styles. These findings underscore the importance of further studying the role of fathers’ paternal parenting styles on Latin American adolescent weight outcomes. Expanding our understanding of the parenting styles of fathers has important implications for the design and implementation of culturally- and gender-appropriate family interventions.