Preventive health care in six countries: models for reform?

International systems are frequently offered as models for health care reform. This study, focusing on preventive services for children and pregnant women in six industrialized countries, finds that a broad range of preventive services can be provided through health care systems with divergent financing and cost containment, utilizing multiple entry points into the health care system, and employing targeted programs for high-risk patients. Despite variability in form and financing, health outcomes are not compromised, suggesting that health care reformers in this country need not be restricted to any single model to strengthen preventive health care for children and pregnant women.     

Safe care spaces and places: exploring urban Aboriginal families' access to preventive care

Many Aboriginal children living in Canadian cities experience high levels of perinatal and infant health challenges. Despite efforts to reduce inequities in early childhood development, numerous urban Aboriginal families have poor access to preventive care. In this paper, we challenge conventional notions of access and use a postcolonial population health perspective to explain how access to preventive care for Aboriginal families is influenced by safety and responsiveness within care experiences. We explore an approach to care that addresses the safety of care spaces and care places. The potential of this approach for improving access to preventive services for Aboriginal families may be of considerable interest to urban preventive health policy or health system managers.     

Achievements and challenges of medicare in Canada: Are we there yet? Are we on course?

Health care policy in Canada is based on providing public funding for medically necessary physician and hospital-based services free at the point of delivery ("first-dollar public funding"). Studies consistently show that the introduction of public funding to support the provision of health care services free at the point of delivery is associated with increases in the proportionate share of services used by the poor and in population distributions of services that are independent of income. Claims about the success of Canada's health care policy tend to be based on these findings, without reference to medical necessity. This article adopts a needs-based perspective to reviewing the distribution of health care services. Despite the removal of user prices, significant barriers remain to services being distributed in accordance with need-the objective of needs-based access to services remains elusive. The increased fiscal pressures imposed on health care in the 1990s, together with the failure of health care policy to encompass the changing nature of health care delivery, seem to represent further departures from policy objectives. In addition, there is evidence of increasing public dissatisfaction with the performance of the system. A return to modest increases in public funding in the new millennium has not been sufficient to arrest these trends. Widespread support for first-dollar public funding needs to be accompanied by greater attention to the scope of the legislation and the adoption of a needs-based focus among health care policymakers.     

城市社区卫生服务网络研究

目的 :建立适合中国国情的城市社区卫生服务网络。方法 :采用文献与现场调查相结合的研究方法 ,并对江苏省南京市、无锡市及徐州市的卫生行政管理部门、社区卫生服务机构及社区卫生服务管理人员进行调查。结果 :作为一种新型的服务理念和服务模式 ,社区卫生服务对社区居民的健康保健产生了积极的促进作用 ,同时也对卫生服务体系的改革产生了深远的影响 ,但科学、合理的社区卫生服务网络体系有待进一步完善。结论 :建议通过资源重组、功能整合、政策支持等综合措施 ,逐步建立完善的社区卫生服务体系。     

Health care services utilization and access inequalities in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region

This paper presents case study findings in five municipalities in the S?o Paulo Metropolitan Region. Inequalities in access to health care services and their utilization were described through advanced tabulation data from the 1998 SEADE Life Conditions Survey. The variables analyzed were: owning or not owning private health care insurance, income and age brackets. The health care service attributes studied were: health care services coverage by a health insurance plan, health services demands and average waiting time to receive health care. Compared with other studies, using the 1998 IBGE PNAD, the results allowed us to confirm interregional imbalances which can only be detected in shorter special scale studies: the municipalities. Despite showing the high private health insurances coverage the S?o Paulo Metropolitan Region has a great inner heterogeneity. The inequalities in private health care insurance, access, waiting time, and type of insurance coverage were observed through income quintiles and age classes analyses. Findings suggest that an expansion of the State's regulation capacity is necessary in order to empower the Brazilian Health Care System principles of universality and equity to be qualified to offer Brazilians the right to access health care services.     

Equity in Access to Health Care Services in Italy

ObjectiveTo provide new evidence on whether and how patterns of health care utilization deviate from horizontal equity in a country with a universal and egalitarian public health care system: Italy.ConclusionsDespite its universal and egalitarian public health care system, Italy exhibits a significant degree of SES-related horizontal inequity in health services utilization.     

Monitoring health reform: a report card approach

During the past several years, budget cuts have forced hospitals in several countries to change the way they deliver care. Gilson (Gilson, L. (1998). Discussion: In defence and pursuit of equity. Social Science & Medicine, 47(12), 1891-1896) has argued that, while health reforms are designed to improve efficiency, they have considerable potential to harm equity in the delivery of health care services. It is essential to monitor the impact of health reforms, not only to ensure the balance between equity and efficiency, but also to determine the effect of reforms on such things as access to care and the quality of care delivered. This paper proposes a framework for monitoring these and other indicators that may be affected by health care reform. Application of this framework is illustrated with data from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Despite the closure of almost 24% of the hospital beds in Winnipeg between 1992 and 1996, access to care and quality of care remained generally unchanged. Improvements in efficiency occurred without harming the equitable delivery of health care services. Given our increasing understanding of the weak links between health care and health, improving efficiency within the health care system may actually be a prerequisite for addressing equity issues in health.     

A review of concepts in health services access and utilization

The purposes of this article are to review the concepts of health services access and utilization and to analyze how these concepts interrelate. Access is a complex concept (often used inaccurately) which changes over time and according to the context. Health services utilization is at the core of health systems functioning. Despite some disagreement, according to this review the prevailing perspective is that access is related to characteristics of services supply. Health care services utilization can be applied as a measure of access, but use of services depends on other factors. Individual and contextual factors influence the use of services. The article shows that the concept of access is becoming more comprehensive and is changing its focus from entry into the health system to outcome of care. Access is valued in relation to its impact on health and depends on the effectiveness of care delivered. As an outcome measure, access becomes multidimensional and difficult to operationalize. Finally, the article discusses how health determinants differ from those of health services utilization, which impacts directly on illness, but only indirectly on health.     

Feasibility of a tailored intervention to improve preventive care use in women

BACKGROUND: Women age 50 years and older are in need of multiple preventive health care services. Despite recent improvements in rates of delivery of preventive care services, especially within managed care organizations, substantial numbers of women are still being underscreened. Efforts to improve delivery of preventive care services have often focused on one outstanding service despite the fact that patients often are in need of many services. METHODS: A total of 893 women age 50 to 55 years were mailed a self-administered survey to identify outstanding preventive health care service needs. Patients in need of three or more outstanding preventive health care services were identified from survey respondents to participate in a feasibility study evaluating a tailored, customized intervention called Tic Tac Health. RESULTS: Five-hundred ninety-one women returned the survey (67%). Four-hundred forty-eight (76%) women were in need of one or more preventive health services; 92 (16%) were in need of three or more. Twenty-two patients (24%) completed the Tic Tac Health card. The women who completed the card were similar to those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Despite documented physician visits, presence of managed care health insurance, and a designated primary care provider, a significant number of women are still in need of multiple preventive health services. An intervention targeting multiple preventive health services was demonstrated to be both feasible and effective. Further evaluation via a randomized controlled trial should be conducted to determine if an intervention like Tic Tac Health would be an effective modality for improving rates of receipt of multiple preventive health care services.     

The influence of health sector reform and external assistance in Burkina Faso

Despite health reform and increasing public investment in the health sector, utilization of curative health services, immunization coverage and patient satisfaction with the public health care system are steadily decreasing in Burkina Faso. It seems that the health care system itself is "ill". This paper examines the major symptoms associated with this illness. The central thesis suggests that any further improvement of health care performance in Burkina Faso will be subject to profound central reform in the area of human resources and financial management of the sector. Such a broad reform package cannot be achieved through the current project approach, but a sector-wide approach (SWAp) does not seem to be realistic at the present time. Policy discussions at a level higher than the Ministry of Health could be beneficial for achieving better donor coordination and increasing the commitment of the Ministry of Health to a sector-wide approach. Health sector reform issues and priorities and the role of international cooperation are reviewed and discussed.     

Women's reproductive decision making and abortion experiences in Cape Town,South Africa: A qualitative study

ABSTRACT

Unintended pregnancy is a significant public health issue in South Africa. Despite free services including contraception, women face structural and institutional barriers to accessing care. This qualitative study comprised interviews with 16 women aged 18 to 40 years and receiving post-abortion services at a public clinic in Cape Town. Data analysis revealed three main themes: personal journeys in seeking abortion, contraceptive experiences, and contrasting feelings of empowerment (in reproductive decision making) and disempowerment (in the health care system). Women perceived themselves as solely responsible for their reproductive health, but found it difficult to obtain adequate information or services.     

中国农村卫生发展现状与策略思考

该文回顾和总结了建国50多年来我国农村卫生工作取得的成就和经验,客观分析了经济转型时期农村卫生工作面临的矛盾、困难和机遇,最后对农村卫生改革提出若干思考:调整政府卫生投入政策,确保公共卫生和预防保健工作的落实,改革农村卫生服务体系的产权结构和管理体制,巩固农村卫生服务网,发展初级卫生保健,建立适宜的农村健康保健制度.     

Hospitalization among migrants in Italy: Access to health care as an opportunity for integration and inclusion

This paper analyzes migrant access to health care by comparing hospitalizations of native and immigrant population with respect the Tuscany Region (Italy). In the analyses, a critical gap both for legal and undocumented migrant population is highlighted. Indeed, we found some key differences between the migrant and native populations related to the use of specific hospital services in Tuscany and, indirectly, of community and primary care services. Moreover, especially for undocumented migrants, hospitals seem to be the only point of access to the health‐care system for migrant populations. The results suggest that the Italian health‐care system is unable to ensure an equitable access to health services. In this context, maternity care could be a key point of access to the welfare system that allows participation in the health system not only for mothers but also for all migrant family members.     

Mental health services then and now

Over the past twenty-five years, psychiatric services have shifted from hospital to community. Managed care reinforces this trend. Mental illness is better understood and less stigmatized, and services are more commonly used. But many in need do not receive care consistent with evidence-based standards, or at all. Challenges are greatest for people with serious and persistent mental illnesses who depend on generic health and welfare programs and integrated services. Evidence-based rehabilitative care is often unavailable. Failures in community care lead to arrest; jail diversion and treatment are required. Despite progress, implementing an effective, patient-centered care system remains a formidable challenge.     

Horizontal inequity in the utilisation of healthcare services in Australia

The Australian universal healthcare system aims to ensure affordable and equitable use of healthcare services based on individual health needs. This paper presents empirical evidence on the extent of horizontal inequity (HI) in healthcare services (unequal utilisation by income for equal need) in Australia during the period of promoting reliance on private healthcare financing. Using data from the most recent Australian National Health Survey of 2011−12 and 2014−15, we examined and measured the extent of HI in eight indicators of out-of-hospital services and hospital-related care. Contrary to earlier studies, our results show a small but pro-rich inequity in the probability of general practitioner visits. Inequity in the distribution of specialist and dentist visits was in favour of richer people, a result that is commonly found in other developed countries and is also consistent with existing Australian evidence. Hospital-related care was equitably distributed compared to the pro-poor pattern found in earlier studies. Despite the universal health insurance system in Australia, there was inequity in the utilisation of needed healthcare services. Our evidence is relevant to similar health systems as governments move to higher out-of-pocket payments and other private sources to reduce pressure on public healthcare expenditure.     

Compliance with technical standards for radiological protection at radiation therapy services in São Paulo State, Brazil

Radiation therapy services provide essential therapeutic procedures for cancer, one of the main causes of population morbidity and mortality. Despite their importance in the health system and their potential risks due to the use of ionizing radiation, there are few studies on such services. We evaluated compliance with technical standards for radiological protection in radiation therapy services in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Forty-nine services were studied in 2000 through interviews with technical staff. Typologies of performance profiles focusing on structure and process variables were constructed and services compared. Important differences were observed in the services' positions in the health care system, level of complexity, and geographic distribution, with better average performance in structural conditions but very inadequate performance in patient protection, indicating the need for more effective health surveillance.     

The effects of woman abuse on health care utilization and health status: a literature review.

Estimates of the physical abuse of women by husbands or boyfriends in the United States range from 85 per 1000 couples to 113 per 1000 couples per year. Victims of abuse are much more likely than nonvictims to have poor health, chronic pain problems, depression, suicide attempts, addictions, and problem pregnancies. Abused women use a disproportionate amount of health care services, including emergency room visits, primary care, and community mental health center visits. Despite its high prevalence and the disproportionate use of health care services it causes, woman abuse is rarely recognized by health care providers. Even when the abuse is recognized, health care professionals often provide inappropriate or even harmful treatment. Because many abused women pass through the health care system, it is important that providers learn how to identify those who are abused, treat all the effects of the abuse, and make appropriate referrals.     

Reforming the Swedish health services: the international context

This article reviews the performance of Swedish health services in the international context. It notes that Sweden stands out as a country which has made a major commitment to the welfare state. Nowhere is this more evident than in the health services. Expenditure on health care is high by international standards and over 90% of expenditure derives from public sources. Despite Sweden's achievement in providing comprehensive health care to its population, a number of problems have emerged in recent years. In response to these problems, there has been a debate about options for reform. It is suggested that management reforms may offer the best way forward in improving the performance of health services. Policy makers should take advantage of the decentralised nature of the Swedish system to initiate and evaluate different reforms in different county councils.     

School Health: A National Policy Issue In The Soviet Union

In the Soviet Union school health services are provided as an integral part of the health care delivery system, which is under the Ministry of Health. This paper presents an overview of the Soviet health care delivery system, the model for the delivery of school health services, the role and training of school personnel involved in school health services and implications the Soviet model may have for other countries.     

Impact of social factors on health status and help seeking behavior among migrants and Germans

Several studies show significant differences between Germans and migrants in health status, help-seeking behavior and utilization of health care facilities. Social factors are potential determinants partially explaining these differences. The main objective of the present cross-sectional study is to study the impact of social factors on health status and health care utilization including preventive services among Germans and migrants in the German health care system. A survey was conducted among 565 adults (mostly parents; 49% migrants, 51% Germans) accompanying their children at the compulsory medical school entry examination. The survey aimed at the self-reported health status of the adults, the help-seeking behavior, social and demographic variables as well as factors describing the ethnic background and the process of migration. As a result we found a statistically significant lower level of health care utilization for migrants compared to Germans whereas the self-reported health status was similar between Germans and migrants and not dependant on social factors. Social factors accounted for differences in health care utilization including the use of preventive services among both groups (Germans and migrants). Despite the ethnic background, a low social class was significantly associated with a decreased use of health care facilities among Germans and migrants compared to adults from a high social class. Further studies are needed to identify certain obstacles to utilizing the German health care system by adults from a low social class. Public health interventions could be suitable for addressing these difficulties.