Unmet health care and health care utilization

The objective of this study is to examine the causal effect of health care utilization on unmet health care needs. An IV approach deals with the endogeneity between the use of health care services and unmet health care, using the presence of drug insurance and the number of physicians by health region as instruments. We employ three cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey confidential master files (2003, 2005, and 2014). We find a robustly negative relationship between health care use and unmet health care needs. One more visit to a medical doctor on average decreases the probability of reporting unmet health care needs by 0.014 points. The effect is negative for the women‐only group whereas it is statistically insignificant for men; similarly, the effect is negative for urban dwellers but insignificant for rural ones. Health care use reduces the likelihood of reporting unmet health care. Policies that encourage the use of health care services, like increasing the coverage of public drug insurance and increasing after hours accessibility of physicians, can help reduce the likelihood of unmet health care.     

Bypassing health providers: the quest for better price and quality of health care in Chad

This paper investigates individuals' bypassing behavior in the health sector in Chad and the determinants of individuals' facility choice. We introduce a new way for measuring bypassing which uses the patients' own knowledge of alternative health providers available to them, instead of assuming perfect information as previously done. We analyze how objective and perceived health care quality and prices impact patients' bypassing decisions. The analysis uses data from a health sector survey carried out in 2004 covering 281 primary health care centers and 1801 patients. We observe that income inequalities translate into health service inequalities. We find evidence of two distinct types of bypassing activities in Chad: (1) patients from low-income households bypass high quality facilities they cannot afford and go to low-quality facilities, and (2) rich individuals bypass low-quality facilities and aim for more expensive facilities which also offer a higher quality of care. These significant differences in patients' facility choices are observed across income groups as well as between rural and urban areas.     

Assessment of systems for paying health care providers in Vietnam: Implications for equity,efficiency and expanding effective health coverage

Provider payment arrangements are currently a core concern for Vietnam's health sector and a key lever for expanding effective coverage and improving the efficiency and equity of the health system. This study describes how different provider payment systems are designed and implemented in practice across a sample of provinces and districts in Vietnam. Key informant interviews were conducted with over 100 health policy-makers, purchasers and providers using a structured interview guide. The results of the different payment methods were scored by respondents and assessed against a set of health system performance criteria. Overall, the public health insurance agency, Vietnam Social Security (VSS), is focused on managing expenditures through a complicated set of reimbursement policies and caps, but the incentives for providers are unclear and do not consistently support Vietnam's health system objectives. The results of this study are being used by the Ministry of Health and VSS to reform the provider payment systems to be more consistent with international definitions and good practices and to better support Vietnam's health system objectives.     

Alcohol drinking patterns and health care utilization in a managed care organization

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the relationship between current drinking patterns and health care utilization over the previous two years in a managed care organization (MCO) among individuals who were screened for their alcohol use. STUDY DESIGN: Three primary care clinics at a large western MCO administered a short health and lifestyle questionnaire to all adult patients on their first visit to the clinic from March 1998 through December 1998. Patients who exceeded the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines for moderate drinking were given a more comprehensive alcohol screening using a modified version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Health care encounter data for two years preceding the screening visit were linked to the remaining individuals who responded to one or both instruments. Using both quantity-frequency and AUDIT-based drinking pattern variables, we estimated negative binomial models of the relationship between drinking patterns and days of health care use, controlling for demographic characteristics and other variables. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: For both the quantity-frequency and AUDIT-based drinking pattern variables, current alcohol use is generally associated with less health care utilization relative to abstainers. This relationship holds even for heavier drinkers, although the differences are not always statistically significant. With some exceptions, the overall trend is that more extensive drinking patterns are associated with lower health care use. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our sample, we find little evidence that alcohol use is associated with increased health care utilization. On the contrary, we find that alcohol use is generally associated with decreased health care utilization regardless of drinking pattern.     

Utilization of delivery services at the primary health care level in rural Vietnam

The objective of this study is to investigate factors that influence the utilization of delivery services at the primary health care level in rural Vietnam. A quantitative survey was conducted amongst 200 women who had given birth within the past 3 months. Focus group discussions and in-depth-interviews were then undertaken using the attitudes--social influence--self-efficacy model to obtain complementary information on the delivery decision. The results show that client-perceived quality of services and socio-cultural and economic factors, rather than geographical access, can affect the utilization of delivery services. It is therefore important to improve the cost-efficiency of the health care network, and delivery services should be provided in a client-oriented manner taking into account economic, social and cultural factors.     

The role of user charges and structural attributes of quality on the use of maternal health services in Morocco

Health care decision makers in settings with low levels of utilization of primary services are faced with the challenge of balancing the sometimes competing goals of increasing coverage and utilization of maternity services, particularly among the poor, with that of ensuring the financial viability of the health system. Morocco is a case in point where this policy dilemma is currently being played out. This study examines the role of household out-of-pocket costs and structural attributes of quality on the use of maternity care in Morocco using empirical data collected from both households and health care facilities. A nested logit model is estimated, and the coefficient estimates are used to carry out policy simulations of the impact of changes in the levels of out-of-pocket fees and structural attributes of quality in order to help guide policy makers responsible for the design of pending social insurance programs. The results of the paper suggest that social insurance strategies that involve increases in out-of-pocket charges in the form of copayments could be implemented without untoward effects on appropriate use of maternity care for non-poor women, but would be contraindicated for poorer and rural households.     

The impact of voluntary health insurance on health care utilization and out-of-pocket payments: new evidence for Vietnam

Vietnam aims to achieve full coverage of health insurance in 2015. An increasing type of health insurance in Vietnam is voluntary health insurance. Although there are many studies on the implementation of voluntary health insurance in Vietnam, little is known on the causal impact of voluntary health insurance. This paper measures the impact of voluntary health insurance on health care utilization and out-of-pocket payments using Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys in 2004 and 2006. It was found out that voluntary health insurance helps the insured people increase the annual outpatient and inpatient visits by around 45% and 70%, respectively. However, the effect of voluntary health insurance on out-of-pocket expenses on health care services is not statistically significant.     

佛山市某区1岁以下流动儿童保健服务利用与其母亲孕产期保健服务的相关性研究

目的 探讨1岁以下流动儿童保健服务利用与其母亲孕产期保健服务的相关性,为进一步提高流动儿童保健服务利用提出建议。方法 采用横断面调查,选取佛山市某区1岁以下流动儿童母亲579名为对象,对其进行面对面的问卷调查,利用二分类Logistic分析儿童系统管理与其母亲孕产期保健服务利用的相关性。结果 流动儿童保健服务利用现状为:儿童体检率89.1%,儿童系统管理率49.2%;流动儿童母亲孕产期保健服务利用现状为:产前检查率96.0%,孕早期检查率87.5%,≥5次产前检查率61.5%,住院分娩率99.7%,产后访视率37.3%,孕产妇系统管理率22.2%;多因素分析结果显示母亲产后访视、孕产期系统管理分别与儿童系统管理呈正相关(OR=2.017,95%CI=1.339~3.038;OR=1.941,95%CI=1.208~3.119)。结论 流动人口妇幼保健服务全程利用水平相对较低;母亲产后访视和孕产期系统管理是儿童系统管理的促进因素,提示母亲孕产期保健服务利用的改善可能有助于进一步提高儿童保健服务的利用。     

农村贫困人群健康状况及卫生服务利用调查

目的 了解山东省威海市贫困人群的现状和卫生服务利用情况,为制定解决农民因病致贫、因病返贫的有效措施提供依据.方法 按照分层随机整群抽样的方法抽取威海市居民4550人,用自制调查问卷进行调查;采用SPSS 13.0软件进行统计分析.结果 与普通人群比较,贫困人群自感健康状况差(P=0.00),医药费用占家庭生活消费的比例高(P=0.00),2周患病比例高6.7%(P=0.00),慢性病患病比例高16.5%(P=0.00),应住院未住院的比例高31%(P=0.00).结论 贫困人群自感健康状况差,卫生服务利用水平低,应制定措施以提高贫困人群卫生服务利用能力.     

The socio-economic determinants of maternal health care utilization in Turkey

The purpose of this study is to investigate the individual-, household- and community-level factors that affect women's use of maternal health care services in Turkey. The data used for the study come from the 1993 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS), a nationally representative survey of ever married women 15 to 49 years of age. In order to assess the impact of socio-economic factors on maternal health care utilization, we use logistical regression techniques to estimate models of the prenatal care use and birth delivery assistance among women who have had at least one birth in the three years prior to the survey. Separate models are also estimated for urban and rural women. The results indicate that educational attainment, parity level, health insurance coverage, ethnicity, household wealth and geographic region are statistically significant factors that affect the use of health care services thought essential to reduce infant and child mortality rates. The results of the model are used to provide insights for both micro- and macro-level planning of maternal health service delivery.     

Subsidized dental care for young men: Its impact on utilization and dental health

An important part of Norwegian welfare policy is provision of free dental care for children up to the age of 18. After that age some counties have introduced a public subsidy scheme for young people aged 19–20 years, where 75% of their dental care expenses are covered. After the age of 21, all patients have to pay the costs for dental care themselves. The focus of the present work was to examine the effect that the public subsidy scheme for young adults had on demand for dental care, and its effect on dental health. The analyses were performed on 2 extensive sets of survey data. The major finding was that the public subsidy scheme had no effect on demand for dental care. In addition, there was no relationship between whether these young adults were covered by the subsidy scheme and dental health.     

儿童保健服务利用受益归属分析

目的对儿童保健服务利用进行受益归属分析,了解儿童保健服务的受益人群和受益程度。方法共调查989名儿童。运用Kakwani指数、利用需要比和集中指数等方法进行受益归属评价。结果儿童保健各项服务利用总体上是低经济收入组受益多。不同保健服务项目在不同母亲文化程度组间受益不同,产后访视低母亲文化程度组受益更多。在儿童健康体检服务利用上农村儿童受益更多。结论加强对儿童保健服务利用受益较少人群的关注,从经济政策支持和健康教育等方面入手,提高低收入家庭和低文化程度家庭儿童保健服务的利用率,促进利用均等化。     

A microeconometric analysis of Canadian health care utilization

Understanding health care utilization is important to design efficient and effective health systems. Toward this end, we develop a relatively simple and intuitively appealing microeconometric framework to analyse health care utilization and illustrate its use with recent Canadian microdata. We find that health care utilization consists of distinct stochastic processes requiring the use of two stochastic regression models. In particular, the latent class modelling framework is the superior statistical framework if the data permit modelling unobserved heterogeneity and overdispersion. In many instances, results differ for the classes of high and low users of health care services.     

Community pharmacy as a primary health and self-care resource: a framework for understanding pharmacy utilization

A number of different models exist to help explain health care utilization behaviour, though none have been applied to the use of community pharmacy. In policy terms pharmacy utilization is an important one to address as Government is keen to support a shift in GPs' workload to community pharmacy. The paper begins by outlining the different health utilization models. We then draw on the different frameworks to help explore the nature of community pharmacy use. Using data from two separate pharmacy studies that included observational work, interviews and a literature review, we identify what key influences are important in conceptualizing pharmacy utilization. Previous research has tended to focus on factors associated with socio-demographic characteristics of service users, but the current research on which the paper draws, highlights the importance of factors associated with need and demand issues in shaping how pharmacies are utilized. Process factors and the impact of internal and external organizational factors are also highlighted as important.     

流动人口育龄妇女孕产期保健服务利用及其影响因素分析

目的：了解流动人口育龄妇女孕产期保健服务利用状况及其影响因素。方法：采用分层随机抽样的方法,以现场随机拦截访问的形式对江东区669名流动人口育龄妇女进行问卷调查,对建立产检情况、第一次产检时间、产检次数、孕产期保健知识指导和接受产后上门访视分别进行了单因素分析和多因素log istic分析。结果：流动人口育龄妇女的孕产期保健服务利用状况在不同文化程度之间存在显著性差异（P〈0.01）,不同收入水平的育龄妇女产检率虽无显著性差异（P〉0.05）,但在第一次产检时间及产检次数上存在显著差异（P〈0.01）。结论：流动人口妇女的文化程度及收入水平是孕产期保健服务利用的主要影响因素,应重点加强流动人口妇女孕产期保健知识的宣传教育,提高医疗保障水平,降低收费水平,为流动人口孕产妇提供便捷的孕产期保健服务。     

Rethinking professional prerogative: managed mental health care providers

Managed care represents a response to the wider institutional demand for technical rationality and efficiency. In the US, managed care exemplifies the commodification of health and is governed by a technocratic-rationality that often conflicts with the professionally governed value rationality of providers. Providers must negotiate between contradictory institutional demands for cost containment and quality care in their everyday work practices, and consequently experience a series of ethical dilemmas. This paper examines the effect the commodification of health care has had upon the work of mental health care providers, their loss of professional prerogative, their concrete experience of the ethical dilemmas which result from the commodification of care, and evidence of countervailing power.