Wellness incentives, equity, and the 5 groups problem

Wellness incentives are an increasingly popular means of encouraging participation in prevention programs, but they may not benefit all groups equally. To assist those planning, conducting, and evaluating incentive programs, I describe the impact of incentives on 5 groups: the "lucky ones," the "yes-I-can" group, the "I'll-do-it-tomorrow" group, the "unlucky ones," and the "leave-me-alone" group. The 5 groups problem concerns the question of when disparities in the capacity to use incentive programs constitute unfairness and how policymakers ought to respond. I outline 4 policy options: to continue to offer incentives universally, to offer them universally but with modifications, to offer targeted rather than universal programs, and to abandon incentive programs altogether.     

The relative geographic immobility of new registered nurses calls for new strategies to augment that workforce

Little is known about registered nurses' geographic mobility after they earn their first professional degree and become licensed to practice. Through a cross-sectional mailed survey of newly licensed registered nurses in fifteen states, we found that 52.5 percent work within forty miles of where they attended high school. Our complementary analysis of Census Bureau data shows that next to teaching, nursing is one of the least mobile professions for women, for reasons that remain unclear. To ensure that underserved areas have an adequate workforce of registered nurses, policy makers should expand the number of educational programs in these areas; fund programs that provide incentives to young people from these areas to attend nursing programs; consider supporting extension programs from accredited nursing schools; and review admission policies for nursing programs and the financial aid they offer. If states find it difficult to retain out-of-state graduates, giving preference to in-state applicants may make sense. Finally, programs and policies that offer financial incentives to attract registered nurses to underserved areas, such as the National Health Service Corps and the Area Health Education Centers, are critically important. When sufficiently funded, such programs could serve to offset the low mobility of new registered nurses that we observed.     

Effective policies for eliminating nursing workforce shortages: A systematic review

ObjectivesApplied policy options were reviewed for evidence of their effectiveness in reducing nursing shortages.BackgroundThe stable supply and qualitative maintenance of a healthy nursing workforce significantly impact patients’ outcomes; therefore, providing adequate nursing is a major global issue in terms of health policies.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of relevant studies to identify evidence of the effectiveness of applied policy options in managing shortages of nurses via four electronic databases. The data collection period was January 23–31, 2019.ResultsAfter screening 2151 initial candidate studies, 12 articles were included, 10 quantitative and 2 qualitative. Various policies had been implemented worldwide to combat nursing shortages, classified as new payment agreements, emergency hiring plans, RN residency programs, special contracting systems, rural allowance policies, and recruiting and guaranteeing incentives for nursing graduates and full-time government employment. Each study reviewed the implementation of policies tailored to the health-care environment of one country and reported successful results regarding nursing staff supply.ConclusionsThrough the current review, the authors seek to promote policies using a multi-dimensional approach of cooperation between the government and health institutions, systematic information collection on health-care personnel, and government investment in crucial private programs during times of need.     

The dynamics of the health labour market

One of the most important components of health care systems is human resources for health (HRH)--the people that deliver the services. One key challenge facing policy makers is to ensure that health care systems have sufficient HRH capacity to deliver services that improve or maintain population health. In a predominantly public system, this involves policy makers assessing the health care needs of the population, deriving the HRH requirements to meet those needs, and putting policies in place that move the current HRH employment level, skill mix, geographic distribution and productivity towards the desired level. This last step relies on understanding the labour market dynamics of the health care sector, specifically the determinants of labour demand and labour supply. We argue that traditional HRH policy in developing countries has focussed on determining the HRH requirements to address population needs and has largely ignored the labour market dynamics aspect. This is one of the reasons that HRH policies often do not achieve their objectives. We argue for the need to incorporate more explicitly the behaviour of those who supply labour--doctors, nurses and other providers--those who demand labour, and how these actors respond to incentives when formulating health workforce policy.     

地方政府层面的医药研发激励政策扩散研究

本文收集整理了2009—2019年我国中央政府颁布的医药研发激励政策和在地方政府扩散的相应政策,运用政策扩散分析方法和网络分析方法,从扩散力度、速度、广度等指标出发,对我国医药研发激励政策在地方政府的扩散情况进行分析,探究我国地方政府落实和推动中央医药研发激励政策的整体情况.研究结果发现,2016年后我国医药研发激励政...     

Fertility incentives and disincentives

Some 40 countries use some form of incentives and disincentives in support of population policies, about half with the aim of reducing fertility and half with the aim of increasing it. These schemes range from limitations on tax and family allowances or maternity benefits after a given family size has been reached to payments to acceptors of fertility control methods. Some schemes aim to eliminate or reduce the cost and inconvenience people may face in achieving their fertility preferences, whereas others contain an element of deterrence. It is difficult to isolate and measure the impact of incentives on fertility from the effects of other factors such as family planning service availability or modernization. Studies in pronatalist countries suggest that incentive schemes produce short-term fertility increases without a change in average family size. Monetary incentives must be constantly increased to keep pace with inflation, placing a heavy burden on government budgets. Administrative capacity to operate the scheme is critical in terms of both manpower and efficient systems for record keeping, monitoring, and close supervision to prevent abuse. There is also considerable debate on the moral and ethical implications of incentives and disincentives as policy tools. Incentives offered for the acceptance of a particular fertility control method potentially contravene the principle of voluntary and informed consent. In addition, the relative value of the reward is greater for those in the lower income groups. The discriminatory nature of certain types of incentives and disincentives is illustrated by measures introduced in Singapore that give highest priority in school enrollment to the children of highly educated mothers with 2-3 children. This ruling is expected to further intensify the controversy surrounding incentive and disincentive schemes.     

Nurse Migration: A Canadian Case Study

Objective. To synthesize information about nurse migration in and out of Canada and analyze its role as a policy lever to address the Canadian nursing shortage.
Principal Findings. Canada is both a source and a destination country for international nurse migration with an estimated net loss of nurses. The United States is the major beneficiary of Canadian nurse emigration resulting from the reduction of full-time jobs for nurses in Canada due to health system reforms. Canada faces a significant projected shortage of nurses that is too large to be ameliorated by ethical international nurse recruitment and immigration.
Conclusions. The current and projected shortage of nurses in Canada is a product of health care cost containment policies that failed to take into account long-term consequences for nurse workforce adequacy. An aging nurse workforce, exacerbated by layoffs of younger nurses with less seniority, and increasing demand for nurses contribute to a projection of nurse shortage that is too great to be solved ethically through international nurse recruitment. National policies to increase domestic nurse production and retention are recommended in addition to international collaboration among developed countries to move toward greater national nurse workforce self sufficiency.     

The perils of healthcare workforce forecasting: a case study of the Philadelphia metropolitan area

In 1996, a widely circulated and influential forecast for the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area stated that a decline in hospital and healthcare employment in the region would occur over the next five years. It also suggested that this decline would exacerbate the problem of an oversupply of nurses seeking hospital employment. The forecast reflected a regional leadership and expert consensus on the impact of the managed care transformation on workforce needs and was supported by short-term statistical trends in regional utilization and employment. Confounding these predictions was the fact that hospital and healthcare employment actually grew. By the end of 2001, hospitals in the region were experiencing problems in recruiting sufficient numbers of nurses, pharmacists, and technicians. The forecast failed to anticipate the impact of a strong regional economy on supply and underestimated the resilience of underlying forces that have driven the long-term growth in healthcare workforce demand. More effective ongoing monitoring can help moderate the fluctuation of workforce shortages and surpluses.     

Safe nurse staffing policies for hospitals in England,Ireland, California,Victoria and Queensland: A discussion paper

ObjectiveThe association between higher registered nurses (RN) staffing (educational level and number) and better patient and nurse outcomes is well-documented. This discussion paper aims to provide an overview of safe staffing policies in various high-income countries to identify reform trends in response to recurring nurse workforce challenges.MethodsBased on a scan of the literature five cases were selected: England (UK), Ireland, California (USA), Victoria and Queensland (Australia). Information was gathered via a review of the grey and peer-reviewed literature. Country experts were consulted for additional information and to review country reports.ResultsThe focus of safe staffing policies varies: increasing transparency about staffing decisions (England), matching actual and required staffing levels based on patient acuity measurement (Ireland), mandated patient-to-nurse ratios at the level of the nurse (California) or the ward (Victoria, Queensland). Calibration of the number of patients by the number of nurses varies across cases. Nevertheless, positive effects on the nursing workforce (increased bedside staffing) and staff well-being (increased job satisfaction) have been consistently documented. The impact on patient outcomes is promising but less well evidenced.ConclusionCountries will have to set safe staffing policies to tackle challenges such as the ageing population and workforce shortages. Various approaches may prove effective, but need to be accompanied by a comprehensive policy that enhances bedside nurse staffing in an evidence-based, objective and transparent way.     

Individual performance-based incentives for health care workers in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries: a systematic literature review

In response to rising costs and growing concerns about safety, quality, equity and affordability of health care, many countries have now developed and deployed performance-based incentives, targeted at facilities as well as individuals. Evidence of the effect of these efforts has been mixed; it remains unclear how effective strategies of varying design and magnitude (relative to provider salary) are at incentivizing individual-level performance. This study reviews the current evidence on effectiveness of individual-level performance-based incentives for health care in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, which are relatively well situated to implement, monitor and evaluate performance-based incentives programs. We delineate the conditions under which sanctions or rewards – in the context of gain-seeking, loss aversion, and increased social pressure to modify behaviors – may be more effective. We find that programs that utilized positive reinforcement methods are most commonly observed – with slightly more overall bonus incentives than payment per output or outcome achieved incentives. When comparing the outcomes from negative reinforcement methods with positive reinforcement methods, we found more evidence that positive reinforcement methods are effective at improving health care worker performance. Overall, just over half of the studies reported positive impacts, indicating the need for care in designing and adopting performance-based incentives programs.     

Decentralisation strategies and provider incentives in healthcare

Introduction

This article examines the incentive effects of delegating operational and financial decision making from central government to local healthcare providers. It addresses the economic consequences of a contemporary policy initiative in the English National Health Service (NHS)–earned autonomy. This policy entails awarding operational autonomy to ‘front-line’ organisations that are assessed to be meeting national performance targets. In doing so, it introduces new types of incentives into the healthcare system, changes the nature of established agency relationships and represents a novel approach to performance management.

Methods

Theoretical elements of a principal-agent model are used to examine the impact of decentralisation in the context of the results of an empirical study that elicited the perceptions of senior hospital managers regarding the incentive effects of earned autonomy. A multi-method approach was adopted. In order to capture the breadth of policy impact, we conducted a national postal questionnaire survey of all Chief Executives in acute-care hospital Trusts in England (n = 173). To provide added depth and richness to our understanding of the impact and incentive effects of earned autonomy at an organisational level, we interviewed senior managers in a purposeful sample of eight acute-care hospital Trusts.

Results

This theoretical framework and our empirical work suggest that some aspects of the earned autonomy as currently implemented in the NHS serve to weaken the potential incentive effect of decentralisation. In particular, the nature of the freedoms is such that many senior managers do not view autonomy as a particularly valuable prize. This suggests that incentives associated with the policy will be insufficiently powerful to motivate providers to deliver better performance. We also found that principal commitment may be a problem in the NHS. Some hospital managers reported that they already enjoyed a large degree of autonomy, regardless of their current performance ratings. We also found evidence that the objectives of providers may differ from those of both the central government and local purchasers. There is, therefore, a risk that granting greater autonomy will allow providers to pursue their own objectives which, whilst not self-serving, may still jeopardise the achievement of strategic goals.

Conclusion

It is apparent that the design and implementation features of decentralising policies such as earned autonomy require careful attention if an optimal balance is to be struck between central oversight and local autonomy in the delivery of healthcare.     

Hospitals' responses to nurse staffing shortages

Hospitals have used a mix of short-term and long-term strategies to deal with nurse shortages, particularly efforts emphasizing nurse education, competitive compensation, and temporary staff. Interviews with health care leaders from Round Five of the Community Tracking Study indicate that these activities, in conjunction with other factors, have assisted in reducing shortages of hospital nurses. However, hospitals' actions have increased costs and raised concerns about their potential impact on patient care. Additionally, a large degree of doubt exists among hospitals about their ability to meet future nursing needs.     

公立医院薪酬激励影响因素分析与实证研究

目的按照薪酬体系的分类,判断背景因素、各薪酬激励分类因素对员工被激励程度的影响。方法利用相关分析、回归分析判断背景因素、各薪酬激励因素对员工的激励程度。结果薪酬各个激励因素相互作用,从不同方面对员工的激励产生影响。结论医院薪酬政策应能够体现和服务于医院发展战略的需要,薪酬激励分类因素是影响薪酬激励效果的主要因素,背景因素是影响薪酬激励的次要因素。     

TANF policy: past, present, and future directions

The purpose of this article is to offer a brief and concise history of relevant public welfare policies for a discussion of the effects of public welfare reform, and how it impacts families in ways not comprehensively understood. Social scientists' concerns about the potential for the families to be thrust into an "extreme poverty" status due to the forced workforce participation requirement and expiration of time limited benefits is discussed. A second concern regarding a "one size fits all" approach to work requirements for TANF recipients being unrealistic and insensitive is also discussed. The authors recommend a comprehensive multi-system analysis to determine the impact of welfare reform. There is also a recommendation that the workforce requirements should correlate to an assessment score based on the ability of welfare recipients to function in identified areas. Implications of maintaining a welfare reform policy status quo are identified.     

我国远程医疗服务人员激励问题与对策探讨

目的:了解我国远程医疗服务人员的实际与期望激励和关键问题,为优化远程医疗激励政策提供参考。方法:以2019年10—11月对福建、海南、河南、湖南、贵州、四川、青海7省的1 084名远程医疗服务人员问卷调查数据和2020年1月对河南省6家医院的远程医疗服务人员进行半结构访谈资料为研究样本,分析远程医疗服务人员激励现状及存...     

Performance-based incentives and community health workers’ outputs,a systematic review

ObjectiveTo review the evidence on the impact on measurable outcomes of performance-based incentives for community health workers (CHWs) in low- and middle-income countries.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of intervention studies published before November 2020 that evaluated the impact of financial and non-financial performance-based incentives for CHWs. Outcomes included patient health indicators; quality, utilization or delivery of health-care services; and CHW motivation or satisfaction. We assessed risk of bias for all included studies using the Cochrane tool. We based our narrative synthesis on a framework for measuring the performance of CHW programmes, comprising inputs, processes, performance outputs and health outcomes.FindingsTwo reviewers screened 2811 records; we included 12 studies, 11 of which were randomized controlled trials and one a non-randomized trial. We found that non-financial, publicly displayed recognition of CHWs’ efforts was effective in improved service delivery outcomes. While large financial incentives were more effective than small ones in bringing about improved performance, they often resulted in the reallocation of effort away from other, non-incentivized tasks. We found no studies that tested a combined package of financial and non-financial incentives. The rationale for the design of performance-based incentives or explanation of how incentives interacted with contextual factors were rarely reported.ConclusionFinancial performance-based incentives alone can improve CHW service delivery outcomes, but at the risk of unincentivized tasks being neglected. As calls to professionalize CHW programmes gain momentum, research that explores the interactions among different forms of incentives, context and sustainability is needed.     

Organisation turnover among registered nurses: an exploratory model.

In light of current concerns over nursing shortages and productivity, turnover among hospital nurses has assumed renewed importance as a managerial issue. This study examines the thesis that organisation of hospital work is a determinant of voluntary turnover among registered nurses. This perspective differs from previous work in this area in that both turnover and its determinants are conceptualised at the organisational rather than individual level, thus opening the way for administrative intervention to reduce turnover. The conceptual model is tested using multiple regression techniques on a sample of 310 community hospitals. Results suggest the importance of administrative work structures and the professionalisation of the workforce as contributors to higher turnover.     

Human resource management in post-conflict health systems: review of research and knowledge gaps

In post-conflict settings, severe disruption to health systems invariably leaves populations at high risk of disease and in greater need of health provision than more stable resource-poor countries. The health workforce is often a direct victim of conflict. Effective human resource management (HRM) strategies and policies are critical to addressing the systemic effects of conflict on the health workforce such as flight of human capital, mismatches between skills and service needs, breakdown of pre-service training, and lack of human resource data. This paper reviews published literatures across three functional areas of HRM in post-conflict settings: workforce supply, workforce distribution, and workforce performance. We searched published literatures for articles published in English between 2003 and 2013. The search used context-specific keywords (e.g. post-conflict, reconstruction) in combination with topic-related keywords based on an analytical framework containing the three functional areas of HRM (supply, distribution, and performance) and several corresponding HRM topic areas under these. In addition, the framework includes a number of cross-cutting topics such as leadership and governance, finance, and gender. The literature is growing but still limited. Many publications have focused on health workforce supply issues, including pre-service education and training, pay, and recruitment. Less is known about workforce distribution, especially governance and administrative systems for deployment and incentive policies to redress geographical workforce imbalances. Apart from in-service training, workforce performance is particularly under-researched in the areas of performance-based incentives, management and supervision, work organisation and job design, and performance appraisal. Research is largely on HRM in the early post-conflict period and has relied on secondary data. More primary research is needed across the areas of workforce supply, workforce distribution, and workforce performance. However, this should apply a longer-term focus throughout the different post-conflict phases, while paying attention to key cross-cutting themes such as leadership and governance, gender equity, and task shifting. The research gaps identified should enable future studies to examine how HRM could be used to meet both short and long term objectives for rebuilding health workforces and thereby contribute to achieving more equitable and sustainable health systems outcomes after conflict.     

Implementation of pro‐poor exemption policy in Tanzania: policy versus reality

Like many other African countries, Tanzania has been implementing user fee policy in its health sector since the early 1990s. Accompanying user fee, mechanisms were designed that exempted the poor and vulnerable groups of the society from paying user charges. Although studies on the implementation of exemption policies in Tanzania exist, very few have documented the actual process of translating exemption policies into actions—the process of implementation. Drawing from policy analysis and implementation theories, this paper documents the implementation of the waiver (need‐based exemptions) policy in Tanzania. The findings indicate that waiver systems, while potentially effective in principle, were ineffective in implementation. Lack of specification of criteria by which the poor could be identified made policy implementers at different levels to implement the policy in their own style. Low level of public awareness about the existence of waiver mechanisms hindered the poor to demand exemptions. Furthermore, fear of loss of revenue at the health facilities and ineffective enforcement mechanisms provided little incentives for local government leaders and health workers to communicate the policy to beneficiaries. It is concluded from this study that to better achieve the objectives of the pro‐poor exemption policy, it is important to engage policy implementers more actively in the management and implementation of policies. Additionally, it is imperative to understand the behaviour and practices of policy implementers, especially district health managers, health workers and village and ward leaders, who may react negatively to new policies and implement the policies in ways contrary to what policy makers had intended. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managing medical workforces: from relative stability to disequilibrium in the UK NHS

The management of the medical workforce, in particular the market for physicians, is costly and complex. For decades this process has been dominated by largely mechanistic forecasting (e.g., fixed doctor-population ratios), which ignored economic determinants. Internationally, and specifically in the UK, such practices achieved some success in producing modest cyclical shortages and surpluses in the past. However with large increases in UK health care funding, together with the international recognition of significant practice, activity and outcome variations in health care, this approach is now inadequate. With physician shortages emerging internationally, the impact of incentives (both financial and non-financial) on skill-mix (are nurses cost effective substitutes or complements for physicians?), activity (can distribution means be shifted and variation reduced?) and outcomes (can survival duration and quality of life of survival be improved?) is now central to policy development. Such issues create nice challenges for researchers and policy makers.