Dollars and performance: treating alcohol misuse in Maine.

If public funds are allocated efficiently, then an increase in funding should improve the performance of substance abuse treatment programs. In the data used in this paper, performance (measured as abstinence rates) and expenditures per patient are not positively correlated. One explanation is that funding is endogeneous, i.e. programs treating more difficult patients receive more funding. The data comes from all Maine's outpatient drug-free programs that received public funding between 1991 and 1994. After controlling for endogeneity, this paper concludes that the marginal impact of expenditures per patient on abstinence rates is small and statistically insignificantly different from zero.     

Financing tuberculosis control: the role of a global financial monitoring system

Control of tuberculosis (TB), like health care in general, costs money. To sustain TB control at current levels, and to make further progress so that global targets can be achieved, information about funding needs, sources of funding, funding gaps and expenditures is important at global, regional, national and sub-national levels. Such data can be used for resource mobilization efforts; to document how funding requirements and gaps are changing over time; to assess whether increases in funding can be translated into increased expenditures and whether increases in expenditure are producing improvements in programme performance; and to identify which countries or regions have the greatest needs and funding gaps. In this paper, we discuss a global system for financial monitoring of TB control that was established in WHO in 2002. By early 2007, this system had accounted for actual or planned expenditures of more than US$ 7 billion and was systematically reporting financial data for countries that carry more than 90% of the global burden of TB. We illustrate the value of this system by presenting major findings that have been produced for the period 2002-2007, including results that are relevant to the achievement of global targets for TB control set for 2005 and 2015. We also analyse the strengths and limitations of the system and its relevance to other health-care programmes.     

Funding formulas for public health allocations: federal and state strategies

Public health funding formulas have received less scrutiny than those used in other government sectors, particularly health services and public health insurance. We surveyed states about their use of funding formulas for specific public health activities; sources of funding; formula attributes; formula development; and assessments of political and policy considerations. Results show that the use of funding formulas is positively correlated with the number of local health departments and with the percentage of public health funding provided by the federal government. States use a variety of allocative strategies but most commonly employ a "base-plus" distribution. Resulting distributions are more disproportionate than per capita or per-person-in-poverty allotments, an effect that increases as the proportion of total funding dedicated to equal minimum allotments increases.     

Funding in-hospital same-day surgery in Canada

The significant advantage of replacing global (i.e., cost-based) ambulatory funding with the same dollar value of case mix (i.e., input-based) ambulatory funding is that the fundamental basis for funding has been altered. First of all, it is widely believed that case mix-based funding establishes even more compelling incentives for hospitals to control resource utilization and costs without reducing service volumes than global systems. Case mix also represents a more precise policy instrument for ministries of health because incentives (e.g., different funding rates for various types of day surgery) can easily be incorporated to direct the composition of services rather than merely limit total hospital day surgery expenditures, as is currently done. Using the hybrid global/case mix day surgery funding system described above, funding policies can be designed to control both total cost and case mix composition while at the same time introducing incentives toward increasing ambulatory services. Although historical funding inequities remain unrectified, further inequities as ambulatory surgery volumes or case mixes change can be avoided.     

Local public health agency funding: money begets money.

Local public health agencies are funded federal, state, and local revenue sources. There is a common belief that increases from one source will be offset by decreases in others, as when a local agency might decide it must increase taxes in response to lowered federal or state funding. This study tests this belief through a cross-sectional study using data from Missouri local public health agencies, and finds, instead, that money begets money. Local agencies that receive more from federal and state sources also raise more at the local level. Given the particular effectiveness of local funding in improving agency performance, these findings that nonlocal revenues are amplified at the local level, help make the case for higher public health funding from federal and state levels.     

云南艾滋病防治专项经费分配影响因素分析

目的深入了解中央专项经费分配过程中的影响因素,为完善分配决策提供科学依据。方法采用定性调查的方法,对云南省德宏州芒市、红河州建水县、蒙自县及保山市龙陵县各级从事艾滋病防治中央专项经费管理的相关人员进行深入访谈,并对结果进行分析。结果资金拨付时间过长,统一物资招标采购过程漫长等因素影响中央专项经费的拨付;二次分配使得基层对经费信息掌握不全面,计划工作量与实际工作量的差异导致经费不足,预算制定缺少后勤保障经费将直接影响防治活动的实施,工作中临时增添的活动缺乏相应的经费支持等因素影响中央专项经费的使用。结论解决艾滋病防治中央专项经费分配存在的问题,需要合理制定计划工作量和经费预算,激励地方财政投入配套经费,紧密结合基本公共卫生服务等。     

Healthy-living centres. Nipped in the bid

Applicants for healthy living centre funding can find the process very time-consuming. Fewer than 100 bids have been approved so far, from more than 1,000 applications. There are concerns about whether the projects will be taken on by primary care trusts once the lottery funding runs out.     

Funding for qualitative research

Obtaining funding for qualitative research remains a challenge for many researchers, more so than for most quantitative research. In this article, the authors describe useful approaches to planning qualitative research and writing an application. Included is information on exploring funding sources that are likely to be receptive, developing a research plan and a team, and suggestions on the language to be used in the application.     

我国卫生政策与体系研究科研项目及经费现状分析

目的：描述我国卫生政策与体系研究领域科研项目及经费现状,分析存在的问题,为促进研究能力提高提供建议。方法：通过问卷调查和关键人物深度访谈,从科研项目数量及分布、主题情况等方面进行分析。通过公开资料梳理,从项目数量与分布、主题情况等方面对国家自然科学基金的资助情况进行分析。结果：2015—2017年平均每个机构每年开展科研项目26.25项,涉及主题为卫生筹资、服务提供、卫生人力等;平均每个机构每年的科研经费为529.00万元;63.16%的研究机构来自国内的经费资助多于来自国际的经费资助,政府来源经费占全部经费比例为44.23%;财务管理方面,科研经费通常由上一级机构的财务管理部门通过预决算机制进行管理。2008—2017年,共有116家机构获得国家自然科学基金资助,平均每个机构获得项目数为4.81项、所获得资助金额为169.06万元,主要研究为卫生服务提供相关主题。结论：我国卫生政策与体系研究科研项目数量及经费快速增长,但主要集中于发达地区的研究机构,存在地区不平衡现象;国际资助呈现下降趋势,国内来源占比越来越高;经费管理机制在逐步调整,但不同机构落实方面存在差异。     

Regional emergency preparedness efforts by local health departments in Western New York.

Public health agencies at all levels are now under increasing pressure to prepare for and respond to emerging natural and manmade threats to the health and wellness of those they serve. In particular, local health departments must be prepared to provide front-line defense and first response as threats of terrorism have become increasingly real. Success in meeting this monumental task will be highly dependent on funding as well as the availability of other resources. Although local health departments serving smaller counties may have fewer resources and receive less preparedness funding, they must still develop similar plans, surveillance systems, and response capabilities as local health departments serving larger counties (albeit on a smaller scale). Although local health departments serving larger counties may have more resources and receive more preparedness funding, they may face a greater chance of an intentional terrorist act and could benefit from support from local health departments serving smaller counties. Regional planning and response solutions to this challenge will allow partnerships of small and large local health departments to pool their resources and cooperatively provide more services with less duplication using whatever funding is available. This article describes that process as it is occurring in western New York among eight local county health departments.     

Barriers to the equitable funding of primary healthcare in South Africa

Over 25 years after Alma-Ata, available evidence suggests that in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) the funding and coverage of primary care is still inequitable. This article reviews the progress that has been made towards the equitable funding of primary healthcare (PHC) in South Africa and evaluates barriers to future progress. The South African experience is assessed to consider implications for other LMIC. The results show that substantial inequities in funding persist (albeit using a narrow definition of PHC). Underlying causes relate to fiscal austerity, the lack of protection of PHC funding, incremental resource allocation and the belief that poorer districts are not able to use extra funds effectively. These results match the experience in other LMIC. Central governments have a critical role to play in lobbying for and protecting resources for PHC, maintaining more control over decentralised resource allocation and building capacity to benefit in poorer areas.     

Title VII Funding and Physician Practice in Rural or Low-Income Areas

CONTEXT: Whether Title VII funding enhances physician supply in underserved areas has not clearly been established. PURPOSE: To determine the relation between Title VII funding in medical school, residency, or both, and the number of family physicians practicing in rural or low-income communities. METHODS: A retrospective cross sectional analysis was carried out using the 2000 American Academy of Family Physicians physician database, Title VII funding records, and 1990 U.S. Census data. Included were 9,107 family physicians practicing in 9 nationally representative states in the year 2000. FINDINGS: Physicians exposed to Title VII funding through medical school and residency were more likely to have their current practice in low-income communities (11.9% vs 9.9%, P< or =.02) and rural areas (24.5% vs 21.8%, P< or =.02). Physicians were more likely to practice in rural communities if they attended medical schools (24.2% vs 21.4%; P =.009) and residencies (24.0% vs 20.3%; P =.011) after the school or program had at least 5 years of Title VII funding vs before. Similar increases were not observed for practice in low-income communities. In a multivariate analysis, exposure to funding and attending an institution with more years of funding independently increased the odds of practicing in rural or low-income communities. CONCLUSIONS: Title VII funding is associated with an increase in the family physician workforce in rural and low-income communities. This effect is temporally related to initiation of funding and independently associated with effect in a multivariate analysis, suggesting a potential causal relationship. Whereas the absolute 2% increase in family physicians in these underserved communities may seem modest, it can represent a substantial increase in access to health care for community members.     

"Voluntary" user fees in Buenos Aires hospitals: innovation or imposition?

Voluntary user fees in hospitals in Buenos Aires, which operate outside official controls, have not featured in other studies of health care in Argentina. After providing a historical overview of different hospital funding sources, the authors focus on the activity of cooperadoras--the organizations responsible for levying voluntary fees. Using detailed data from two case-study hospitals and more general financial sources, they assess the importance of these fees, identifying sharp variations between different hospitals, serious problems of under-reporting, and potential abuses. The authors also examine the means by which fees are levied and the degree of coercion involved. Voluntary fees are not a particularly successful funding strategy: the income they generate is variable; they are almost entirely unregulated; and they sometimes conflict with other, more legitimate funding sources. Most importantly, their voluntaristic aspect is largely notional: most patients are heavily pressured to make payments. The main motivation for continuing with voluntary fees is to avoid the political fallout that would probably result from introduction of a formal user fees policy.     

我国县级医院绩效与财政补偿策略——基于4省131个医院的调查

目的：分析县级医院的绩效与资源投入,为政府财政投入策略提供依据。方法：在4省抽取131个县级医院,用描述性分析、相关分析、多元回归分析、数据包络分析评价比较医院的经济投入、经济社会绩效及财政补助的作用。结果：绝大多数医院总收支平衡或有结余,业务亏损的医院只占25．2％;规模大的医院人员效率未见降低,但固定资产效率下降;医院得到政府补偿量与医院规模没有关系,富裕县医院得到明显多的财政补助;财政补助没有起到减少病人医疗费用的作用。结论：县级医院投入越高、产出越高,政府补助缺乏计划性及合理性。今后应根据医院服务量、效率、技术质量、费用控制程度等公益性指标进行补偿。     

Where does public funding for HIV prevention go to? The case of condoms versus microbicides and vaccines

This study analyses the priorities of public donors in funding HIV prevention by either integrated condom programming or HIV preventive microbicides and vaccines in the period between 2000 and 2008. It further compares the public funding investments of the USA government and European governments, including the EU, as we expect the two groups to invest differently in HIV prevention options, because their policies on sexual and reproductive health and rights are different. We use two existing officially UN endorsed databases to compare the public donor funding streams for HIV prevention of these two distinct contributors. In the period 2000-2008, the relative share of public funding for integrated condom programming dropped significantly, while that for research on vaccines and microbicides increased. The European public donors gave a larger share to condom programming than the United States, but exhibited a similar downward trend in favour of funding research on vaccines and microbicides. Both public donor parties invested progressively more in research on vaccines and microbicides rather than addressing the shortage of condoms and improving access to integrated condom programming in developing countries.     

Donor funding priorities for communicable disease control in the developing world

Prior research has considered donor funding for developing world health by recipient and donor country but not by disease. Examining funding by disease is critical since diseases may be in competition with one another for priority and donors may be making allocation decisions in ways that do not correspond to developing world need. In this study I calculate donor funding for 20 historically high-burden communicable diseases for the years 1996 to 2003 and examine factors that may explain variance in priority levels among diseases. I consider funding for developing world health from 42 major donors, classifying grants according to the communicable disease targeted. Data show that funding does not correspond closely with burden. Acute respiratory infections comprise more than a quarter of the burden among these diseases but receive less than 3% of direct aid. Malaria also stands out as a high-burden neglected disease. The evidence indicates that neither developing world need nor industrialized world interests explain all funding patterns, and that donors may be imitating one another in ways that do not take into account problems in the developing world. There is an urgent need for a major increase in funding for communicable disease control in the developing world, and for more balanced allocation of the resources already provided.     

Chances dim for fiscal '97 boost in AIDS drug funds

Congressional leaders rejected a proposal to supplement Federal funding for State-run AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAP), and President Clinton refused to intervene. A proposal by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that included $68 million in additional ADAP funding was part of a supplemental appropriations bill aimed largely at paying for flood relief. Some State ADAP programs remain financially sound following the latest round of Ryan White CARE Act grant allocations. Several States have curtailed new enrollments or adopted other cost-saving measures. Almost all of the States' budgets are being rapidly depleted as more people demand access to expensive medicines. The worst problem is in Mississippi, where State funds are not used to cover AIDS programs. AIDS policy advocates and State public health officials were disappointed that President Clinton declined to support Rep. Pelosi's request. The President's AIDS policy director, Sandra Thurman, explained that the funding request could not be developed without taking into account two factors. First, the Department of Health and Human Services is seeking ways to extend Medicaid eligibility to more low-income people living with HIV, reducing the ADAP budget. Second, upcoming treatment guidelines could affect the amount of funding needed to adequately fund the ADAPs. The guidelines are expected to recommend combination drug therapy using a protease inhibitor.     

Drug misuse services. No quick fixes

The Department of Health's new funding formula for drug misuse services will reduce funding in districts with the highest demand for services. Some regions will receive up to four times more per reported episode of drug misuse than others. This is due, in part, to the inclusion of numbers in rented accommodation in the funding formula.     

Public awareness and misunderstanding about DrinkWise Australia: a cross‐sectional survey of Australian adults

Objective: DrinkWise Australia is an alcohol industry Social Aspects/Public Relations Organisation (SAPRO). We assessed the Australian public's awareness of DrinkWise, beliefs about its funding source, and associations between funding beliefs and perceptions of DrinkWise. Methods: A total of 467 adult weekly drinkers completed an online cross‐sectional survey in February 2016. Results: Half the sample had heard of DrinkWise (48.6%); of these, the proportion aware that DrinkWise is industry funded (37.0%) was much smaller than the proportion believing it receives government funding (84.1%). Respondents who incorrectly believed DrinkWise receives government funding were more likely to hold a favourable perception of the organisation's credibility, trustworthiness and respectability than those who did not believe it receives government funding (75.9% vs. 58.3%; p=0.032). Conclusions: The drinking population is vulnerable to believing that alcohol industry public relations organisations such as DrinkWise are government funded, which in turn is associated with more favourable perceptions of the organisation's credibility, trustworthiness, and respectability. Implications for public health: Favourable perceptions of DrinkWise may enhance the industry's ability to delay or dilute potentially effective alcohol control policies. Future research should investigate whether educating the public about DrinkWise's alcohol industry funding alters the public's perception of how credible, trustworthy and respectable the organisation is.     

Public funding of US Syringe Exchange Programs

Although there has been no federal government funding of syringe exchange, there is substantial state and local government funding. We report here on program characteristics associated with receiving state and local government funding. Annual telephone surveys were made of program directors of syringe exchange programs known to the North American Syringe Exchange Network. The number of syringe exchange programs known to this network has increased from 63 in 1994–1995 to 127 in 2000. Approximately 80% of programs participated in each of the surveys. Approximately 50% of programs receive state and local government funding, and this has remained constant from 1994 to 2000. Receiving state and local government funding was associated with larger numbers of syringes exchanged per year and providing more on-site services. Among programs that received state or local government funding, this funding accounted for a mean of 87% of the budget for syringe exchange services. In the absence of federal funding, state and local government support is associated with better syringe exchange performance.