Free Library of Health: Consumer Health Information,Health Literacy,and Library Programming in Philadelphia

In 2016, the Free Library of Philadelphia reopened the newly renovated South Philadelphia Library. This full-service neighborhood library is co-located with pediatric primary care services, a city-run health center, and a recreation center in a first-of-its-kind facility called the Community Health and Literacy Center. The South Philadelphia Library aims to improve health literacy in the community through the provision of consumer health information and health programming, and the co-location with health care and recreation services provides unique opportunities to partner and offer health-based library services. A community health librarian certified in consumer health information assists customers with accessing reliable health information, and health programming covers many areas of interest. Partnerships with nearby health organizations also allow the library to connect customers with vetted neighborhood services. By combining health services with traditional library programming, customers are able to increase their health literacy when they visit the library.     

The Conceptual and Empirical Link Between Health Behaviors,Self Reported Health,and the Use of Home Health Care in Later Life

ABSTRACT

The primary qualification for Medicare's home health care benefit is being homebound, typically by a chronic disability. Disability and functional ability in late-life are heavily influenced by the long-term practice of health behaviors. One of the goals of Healthy People 2000 is to increase the years of healthy life which are measured, in part, by self reported health status. This compression of morbidity would, in effect, reduce the need for long term care. This paper examines three conceptual models linking health behaviors to self reported health in a unique sample of older adults who have chosen to participate in a corporate sponsored wellness program. It is hoped that these findings will encourage further research on formulating empirical pathways from health behaviors to reduced need for home health care.     

Health Insurance,Health Savings Accounts and Healthcare Utilization

Assuming symmetric information, we show that a high‐deductible health plan (HDHP) combined with a tax‐favored health savings account (HSA) induces more savings and less treatment compared with a full coverage plan under reasonable risk preferences. Furthermore, a higher tax subsidy increases savings in any case but decreases medical utilization if and only if treatment expenses are above the deductible. A larger deductible increases savings but does not necessarily decrease healthcare utilization. Whether an HDHP/HSA combination is preferred over a full coverage contract depends on absolute risk aversion. A higher tax advantage increases the attractiveness of an HDHP/HSA combination, whereas the effects of changes in the deductible are ambiguous. The paper shows that a potential regulator needs to carefully set the size of the deductible as only in a certain corridor of the probability of sickness, its effect on aggregate healthcare costs are unambiguously favorable. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding Health Literacy for Strategic Health Marketing: eHealth Literacy,Health Disparities,and the Digital Divide

Even despite policy efforts aimed at reducing health-related disparities, evidence mounts that population-level gaps in literacy and healthcare quality are increasing. This widening of disparities in American culture is likely to worsen over the coming years due, in part, to our increasing reliance on Internet-based technologies to disseminate health information and services. The purpose of the current article is to incorporate health literacy into an Integrative Model of eHealth Use. We argue for this theoretical understanding of eHealth literacy and propose that macro-level disparities in social structures are connected to health disparities through the micro-level conduits of eHealth literacy, motivation, and ability. In other words, structural inequities reinforce themselves and continue to contribute to healthcare disparities through the differential distribution of technologies that simultaneously enhance and impede literacy, motivation, and ability of different groups (and individuals) in the population. We conclude the article by suggesting pragmatic implications of our analysis.     

Health Literacy,Cognitive Ability,and Functional Health Status among Older Adults

Objective

To investigate whether previously noted associations between health literacy and functional health status might be explained by cognitive function.

Data Sources/Study Setting

Health Literacy and Cognition in Older Adults (“LitCog,” prospective study funded by National Institute on Aging). Data presented are from interviews conducted among 784 adults, ages 55–74 years receiving care at an academic general medicine clinic or one of four federally qualified health centers in Chicago from 2008 to 2010.

Study Design

Study participants completed structured, in-person interviews administered by trained research assistants.

Data Collection

Health literacy was measured using the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults, Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine, and Newest Vital Sign. Cognitive function was assessed using measures of long-term and working memory, processing speed, reasoning, and verbal ability. Functional health was assessed with SF-36 physical health summary scale and Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System short form subscales for depression and anxiety.

Principal Findings

All health literacy measures were significantly correlated with all cognitive domains. In multivariable analyses, inadequate health literacy was associated with worse physical health and more depressive symptoms. After adjusting for cognitive abilities, associations between health literacy, physical health, and depressive symptoms were attenuated and no longer significant.

Conclusions

Cognitive function explains a significant proportion of the associations between health literacy, physical health, and depression among older adults. Interventions to reduce literacy disparities in health care should minimize the cognitive burden in behaviors patients must adopt to manage personal health.     

Oral Health Care Availability in Health Centers of Mangalore Taluk,India

Background:

Community-oriented oral health programs are seldom found in India. When primary health care systems were in the 1980s, dentistry was not adequately included. This has left oral health far behind other health services.

Objectives:

To find the availability of dental professionals, infrastructure, equipment, and treatments provided in health centers of Mangalore taluk.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical officers and dentists working in all the health centers of Mangalore taluk, using an interview schedule, the oral health care availability inventory (ORAI).

Results:

Among 23 health centers of Mangalore taluk, dental services were available at six health centers (26%) [two community health centers (CHCs) and four primary health centers (PHCs)]. Mouth mirrors, dental explorers, and extraction instruments were available at six health centers [two CHCs (100%) and four PHCs (19%)]. No health centers provided orthodontic tooth corrections, removal of impacted teeth, oral biopsies, and fabrication of removable dentures.

Conclusions:

Availability of dental services was limited in the health centers, and a vast majority of the rural population in Mangalore taluk did not have access to dental care.     

The Role of Interorganizational Partnerships in Health Services Provision Among Rural,Suburban, and Urban Local Health Departments

Context: With limited resources and increased public health challenges facing the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others have identified partnerships between local health departments (LHDs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as critical to the public health system. LHDs utilize financial, human, and informational resources and develop partnerships with local NGOs to provide public health services. Purpose: Our study had 2 primary goals: (1) compare resources and partnerships characterizing rural, suburban, and urban LHDs, and (2) determine whether partnerships play a mediating role between LHD resources and the services LHDs provide. Methods: We conducted secondary data analysis using the National Association of County and City Health Officials 2005 Profile Study. We used chi-squared and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine differences between rural, suburban, and urban LHDs. We used regression-based mediation methods to test whether partnerships mediated the relationship between resources and service provision. Findings: We found significant differences between LHDs. Urban LHDs serve larger jurisdictions, have larger budgets and more staff, cultivate more partnerships with local NGOs, and provide more health services than suburban or rural LHDs. We found that partnerships were a partial mediator between resources and service provision. In playing a mediating role, partnerships reduce differences in service provision between rural, suburban, and urban LHDs. Conclusions: Partnerships mediate the relationship between resources and service provision in LHDs. LHDs could place more emphasis on cultivating relationships with local NGOs in order to increase service provision. This strategy may be especially useful for rural LHDs facing limited resources and numerous health disparities.     

广州市社区卫生服务机构妇幼保健工作现状及资源配置公平性研究

目的 探讨广州市社区卫生服务机构妇幼保健工作开展现状、资源配置情况及其公平性.方法 2010年12月至2011年2月,广州市妇幼保健院采用自行设计的<社区卫生服务机构及镇医院妇幼保健工作基本情况调查表>对广州市提供社区卫生服务机构进行普查,并运用Lorenz 曲线和Gini系数分析法,进行社区妇幼保健服务人力资源配置及其公平性进行评价.结果 广州市10个区及2个县级市,共计195家社区卫生服务机构接受调查,从业妇幼保健的人员共计735位.按照服务人口测算,社区卫生妇幼机构及妇幼保健人力资源配置的Gini系数分别为0.107,0.114;按照辖域面积测算,社区卫生妇幼机构及妇幼保健人力资源配置的Gini系数分别为0.509,0.598.按照辖域面积测算的Gini系数处于公平性配置警戒区域.结论 广州市社区卫生服务机构总体布局基本合理,达到国家覆盖人口设置标准,但公平性尚待改善,社区卫生服务人员结构仍尚待改善.     

Health,Cultural and Socioeconomic Factors Related to Self-Rated Health of Long-Term Jewish Residents,Immigrants, and Arab Women in Midlife in Israel

Self-rated health (SRH) has been found to predict future health, yet its importance is unique in the information it captures, beyond more objective measures. This information can include psychosocial and cultural factors that can be important in understanding women’s health. Our goal was to test whether long-term Jewish residents (LTJR), immigrant, and Arab women differed in their SRH, whether these differences were maintained after controlling for indicators of health status, and, if so, whether the differences among the three groups reflected psychosocial or socioeconomic factors. A nationally representative sample of 814 women in Israel aged 45–64 years was interviewed (between June 2004 and March 2006) regarding socio-demographics, physical health, health behaviors, and psychosocial aspects. Both immigrant and Arab women reported poorer SRH, physical and mental health, and socioeconomic status. Differences between Arab women and LTJR were mostly explained by differences in health measures (e.g., medications and symptoms) and psychosocial measures (e.g., caregiving load and depressive symptoms) and were eliminated when socioeconomic measures were added to the multiple regression models. Differences in SRH between immigrants and LTJR remained after multiple adjustments, suggesting that they reflected unmeasured cultural factors. Even with universal healthcare coverage in a small country (i.e., with minimal financial and geographical barriers to healthcare) minority groups’ health suffers in relation to their socioeconomic and life circumstances.     

健康促进与大卫生观

我国的大卫生观与世界卫生组织倡导的健康促进战略，在诞生背景、内涵等方面均十分吻合。为了地与国际接轨，应该尽快将大卫生观的理论与实践融入健康促进之中，走出一条有中国特色的健康促进之路。     

Cultural Capital and Self-Rated Health in Low Income Women: Evidence from the Urban Health Study, Beirut, Lebanon

This paper examines the association between cultural capital and self-rated psychosocial health among poor, ever-married Lebanese women living in an urban context. Both self-rated general and mental health status were assessed using data from a cross-sectional survey of 1,869 women conducted in 2003. Associations between self-rated general and mental health status and cultural capital were obtained using χ ² tests and odds ratios from binary logistic regression models. Cultural capital had significant associations with self-perceived general and mental health status net of the effects of social capital, SES, demographics, community and health risk factors. For example, the odds ratios for poor general and mental health associated with low cultural capital were 4.5 (CI: 2.95–6.95) and 2.9 (CI: 2.09–4.05), respectively, as compared to participants with high cultural capital. As expected, health risk factors were significantly associated with both measures of health status. However, demographic and community variables were associated with general health but not with mental health status. The findings pertaining to social capital and measures of SES were mixed. Cultural capital was a powerful and significant predictor of self-perceived general and mental health among women living in poor urban communities.Khawaja and Mowafi are with the Center for Research on Population and Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Box: 11-0236, Riad El-Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon.     

积极开展农村社区卫生服务不断提高初级卫生保健水平

实施“农民健康工程”,紧紧围绕为人民健康和经济建设、服务这一中心,以初级卫生保健为目标,以卫生机构改革、管理一体化为基础,以合作医疗为保障,大力开展农村社区卫生服务,有效缓解农民群众看病贵、看病难的问题。     

Routine Health Information Utilization and Associated Factors among Health Professionals Working in Public Health Facilities of the South Region,Ethiopia

BackgroundRoutine health information is the pillar for planning and management of health services and plays a vital role in effective and efficient health service delivery, decision making, and the improvement of programs. Therefore, this study aimed to assess routine health information utilization and associated factors among health professionals working in public health facilities of the south region.MethodsInstitution based cross-sectional study design was employed. Data was collected from randomly selected 719 participants using a pre-tested, interviewer administered structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out.ResultThe overall utilization of routine health information was 63.1. Place of residence, HMIS personnel, HMIS code, overwhelming data source, population based data, data quality control, feedback, monitoring chart, 8.467) and data transfer policy were factors significantly associated with utilization of routine health information.ConclusionSix out of ten health professionals had utilized routine health information. Place of residence, HMIS personnel, HMIS code, overwhelming data source, population based data, data quality control, feedback, monitoring chart and data transfer policy had significant associations with routine health information utilization. Therefore, concerned health authorities need to work on these factors to improve the utilization.     

斜土社区居民有关定期健康体检、就诊体检意向及参与健康教育情况调查分析

目的了解斜土社区居民有关定期健康体检、就诊体检意向及参与健康教育的情况,为社区卫生服务决策提供科学依据。方法于2009年10月对社区内4个居委会40岁以上的居民进行了有关定期健康体检、就诊体检意向及参与健康教育的调查,共调查600人。结果调查人员中有70.17%的人患有各种慢性病,有92.50%的人关注自己的健康,自觉健康状况很好的仅占9.00%,有80.33%的人认为定期健康体检有必要,健康体检至少1年1次的仅占10.67%,有55.33%的人首选到二、三级医院去做健康体检,有53.33%的居民在患病时首选到二、三级医院就诊,经常参加健康教育活动的占21.13%,对社区巡讲质量满意的占42.55%。结论居民对自身健康相当重视,但在健康体检、就医观念上尚存在较大的偏差和误区,健康教育的参与率和满意率偏低,需加强健康教育的力度,切实提高健康巡讲的质量。     

对基本医疗服务和特需医疗服务界定的探讨

健康是人类生存和发展的基本要素,享有卫生保健是每一个公民的权利。为了保证医疗服务的公平性,在推行“特需医疗服务”政策时,必须首先对基本医疗服务和特需医疗服务加以界定。指出,基本医疗服务和特需医疗服务的界定,不能背离医学宗旨,应正确理解卫生事业的性质。在运作中要加强管理,根据当地卫生资源配置情况,使特需医疗服务限定在一定时间和空间中进行。