Experiences of Stigmatization and Discrimination in Accessing Health Services: Voices of Persons Living With HIV in Ghana

Drawing on Earnshaw and Chaudoir’s HIV stigma framework, this study explored the experiences of persons living with HIV and AIDS regarding stigmatization and discrimination in accessing health services. Using a qualitative research methodology, 42 participants were purposively recruited during support group meetings of persons living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) at Amasaman in Accra, Ghana. Four focus group discussions (n = 22) and 10 in-depth interviews were conducted. Discussions and interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and categorized based on the objectives of the study. The findings indicated that PLWHAs had knowledge of stigma that was experienced through enacted, anticipated, and internalized stigma mechanisms. Evidence showed that PLWHA did not experience stigma and discrimination when they accessed services at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the largest hospital in Ghana. However, the situation was different when they accessed services at other public health facilities. Based on the findings, implications are discussed for policy, social work, and public health practices.     

Stigmatization in Different Mental Health Services: A Comparison of Psychiatric and General Hospitals

The earliest studies about stigmatization of persons receiving professional mental health care date from the time when psychiatric hospitals constituted the predominant facilities. The landscape of care has changed enormously since. Current research reveals that stigmatization still exists and has detrimental outcomes, not only for clients of psychiatric hospitals, but also for clients of so-called alternative settings. Studies that explicitly compare stigma experiences between different organizations are very scarce, however. This article compares clients from psychiatric and general hospitals according to three dimensions of stigmatization, using data from structured questionnaires (n = 555). The results reveal that when background characteristics are taken into account clients of psychiatric wards of general hospitals report less stigma expectations and social rejection experiences in comparison with their counterparts in psychiatric hospitals. Concerning self-rejection, no differences are found. These results suggest that more attention should be paid to specific characteristics of mental health services themselves in discussions about stigmatization and destigmatization of mental health care.     

Public policy analysis of Indiana's minority health initiatives

Similar to national health trends in the US, racial/ethnic minorities in the state of Indiana continue to experience disparities in poor health status from preventable health conditions. To address this problem, people from minority communities across the state mobilized a broad base of individuals and organizations to facilitate the successful legislative enactment of a statewide minority health initiative. A case study of the initiative is presented for public policy analysis. The theoretical framework for the study is Etzioni's Societal Guidance Theory. The findings show that minority health advocates were able to impact favorably on public policy formulation and funding of the initiative by increasing knowledge about minority health status among grass‐roots people, generating public consensus for public policy intervention, setting mutual goals via a 5‐year strategic minority health plan, creating organizational structures to implement the plan and utilizing power to push the initiative through the legislative process. The weaknesses of the initiative efforts include a limited infrastructure development of minority health coalitions, restricted effective use of the legislative process and varying degrees of linkages among other advocacy groups. Improvements in these areas are discussed and recommendations are made for the implementation phase of the initiative.     

Private expenditure and the role of private health insurance in Greece: status quo and future trends

The health care system in Greece is financed in almost equal proportions by public and private sources. Private expenditure, consists mostly of out-of-pocket and under-the-table payments. Such payments strongly suggest dissatisfaction with the public system, due to under financing during the last 25 years. This gap has been filled rapidly by the private sector. From this point of view, one might suggest that the flourishing development of private provision may lead in turn to a corresponding growth in private health insurance (PHI). This paper aims to examine the role of PHI in Greece, to identify the factors influencing its development, and to make some suggestions about future policies and trends. In the decade of 1985–1995 PHI show increasing activity, reflecting the intention of some citizens to seek health insurance solutions in the form of supplementary cover in order to ensure faster access, better quality of services, and increased consumer choice. The benefits include programs covering hospital expenses, cash benefits, outpatient care expenses, disability income insurance, as well as limited managed care programs. However, despite recent interest, PHI coverage remains low in Greece compared to other EU countries. Economic, social and cultural factors such as low average household income, high unemployment, obligatory and full coverage by social insurance, lead to reluctance to pay for second-tier insurance. Instead, there is a preference to pay a doctor or hospital directly even in the form of under-the-table payments (which are remarkably high in Greece), when the need arises. There are also factors endogenous to the PHI industry, related to market policies, low organisational capacity, cream skimming, and the absence of insurance products meeting consumer requirements, which explain the relatively low state of development of PHI in Greece.      

Ethnic differences in anticipated discrimination, generalised trust in other people and self-rated health: a population-based study in Sweden

This paper investigates the relationship between anticipation that employers may discriminate against certain people (not specified, but not specifically the respondent) according to race, colour of skin, religion or cultural background, and self-rated health, adjusting for social capital in the form of generalised (horizontal) trust in other people. It also investigates ethnic differences in anticipated discrimination in relation to self-rated health. The 2004 Public Health Survey in the Scania region of Sweden is a cross-sectional study. Twenty-seven thousand nine hundred and sixty-three respondents aged 18-80 years answered a postal questionnaire, which represents 59% of the random sample. A logistic regression model was used to assess the association between anticipated discrimination and self-rated health. Multivariate analyses of self-rated health were performed in order to investigate the importance of possible confounders (age, country of origin, education, economic stress, and generalised trust) on this association. Of the men and the women, 28.7 and 33.2%, respectively, rated their health as poor. Of the respondents, 16.0 and 28.7% reported that they anticipated that 'most employers' or 'approximately 50% of employers' would discriminate, respectively. Respondents with high age, born outside Sweden, with low/medium education, economic stress, low horizontal trust, and with anticipation that most or approximately 50% of employers (among men born in Sweden and all women) would discriminate had significantly higher odds ratios of poor self-rated health. Multiple adjustments had a slight effect on the significant relationship between anticipated discrimination and poor self-rated health for both men and women. The introduction of generalised trust in the models reduced the odds ratios to a limited extent. In conclusion, the anticipation that employers may discriminate against certain people (not the respondent) according to race, colour of skin, religion or cultural background is associated with poor self-rated health. However, this is a cross-sectional exploratory study and causality may go in both directions.     

Testing for statistical discrimination in health care

OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which doctors' rational reactions to clinical uncertainty ("statistical discrimination") can explain racial differences in the diagnosis of depression, hypertension, and diabetes. DATA SOURCES: Main data are from the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS), a 1986 study conducted by RAND Corporation in three U.S. cities. The study compares the processes and outcomes of care for patients in different health care systems. Complementary data from National Health And Examination Survey III (NHANES III) and National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) are also used. STUDY DESIGN: Across three systems of care (staff health maintenance organizations, multispecialty groups, and solo practices), the MOS selected 523 health care clinicians. A representative cross-section (21,480) of patients was then chosen from a pool of adults who visited any of these providers during a 9-day period. DATA COLLECTION: We analyzed a subsample of the MOS data consisting of patients of white family physicians or internists (11,664 patients). We obtain variables reflecting patients' health conditions and severity, demographics, socioeconomic status, and insurance from the patients' screener interview (administered by MOS staff prior to the patient's encounter with the clinician). We used the reports made by the clinician after the visit to construct indicators of doctors' diagnoses. We obtained prevalence rates from NHANES III and NCS. FINDINGS: We find evidence consistent with statistical discrimination for diagnoses of hypertension, diabetes, and depression. In particular, we find that if clinicians act like Bayesians, plausible priors held by the physician about the prevalence of the disease across racial groups could account for racial differences in the diagnosis of hypertension and diabetes. In the case of depression, we find evidence that race affects decisions through differences in communication patterns between doctors and white and minority patients. CONCLUSIONS: To contend effectively with inequities in health care, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms behind the problem. Discrimination stemming from prejudice is of a very different character than discrimination stemming from the application of rules of conditional probability as a response to clinical uncertainty. While in the former case, doctors are not acting in the best interests of their patients, in the latter, they are doing the best they can, given the information available. If miscommunication is the culprit, then efforts should be aimed at reducing disparities in the ways in which doctors communicate with patients.     

Racial discrimination,racial/ethnic segregation,and health behaviors in the CARDIA study

Objective

Racial discrimination has been associated with unhealthy behaviors, but the mechanisms responsible for these associations are not understood and may be related to residential racial segregation. We investigated associations between self-reported racial discrimination and health behaviors before and after controlling for individual- and neighborhood-level characteristics; and potential effect modification of these associations by segregation.

Design

We used data from the longitudinal Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study for 1169 African-Americans and 1322 whites. To assess racial discrimination, we used a four category variable to capture the extent and persistence of self-reported discrimination between examination at years 7 (1992–1993) and 15 (2000–2001). We assessed smoking status, alcohol consumption, and physical activity at year 20 (2005–2006). Segregation was examined as the racial/ethnic composition at the Census tract level.

Results

Discrimination was more common in African-Americans (89.1%) than in whites (40.0%). Living in areas with high percentage of blacks was associated with less reports of discrimination in African-Americans but more reports in whites. After adjustment for selected characteristics including individual- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic conditions and segregation, we found significant positive associations of discrimination with smoking and alcohol consumption in African-Americans and with smoking in whites. African-Americans experiencing moderate or high discrimination were more physically active than those reporting no discrimination. Whites reporting some discrimination were also more physically active than those reporting no discrimination. We observed no interactions between discrimination and segregation measures in African-Americans or whites for any of the three health behaviors.

Conclusions

Racial discrimination may impact individuals' adoption of healthy and unhealthy behaviors independent of racial/ethnic segregation. These behaviors may help individuals buffer or reduce the stress of discrimination.     

Distal determinants of mental health conditions (MHC) for asylum-seeking children in Greece: A health system enhancement study

Mental health conditions (MHC) of asylum-seeking children in Greece are dire, but still recovering from the financial crisis, Greece cannot afford the cost of mental health treatments. We were motivated to understand the root causes of these mental health problems to explore the possibilities for prevention. We developed our inferences in four ways: (1) secondary analyses of thirty-nine semi-structured informational interviews conducted with national and international aid organizations and healthcare providers; (2) secondary analyses of nine interviews with asylum seekers; (3) direct observation during six refugee camp visits from June 1 to July 28, 2017; and (4) a literature review to develop a diagnostic tree of causal outcomes.Results revealed eight proximal causes: chronic stress, trauma, at-risk population without protection and assistance, the large number of vulnerable groups, feeling of insecurity, feeling of lacking control, a lack of autonomy, and feeling helpless and hopeless. We identified sixty-nine distal determinants of adverse MHC beneath the proximal causes. Too numerous and too diverse to treat effecvively with limited resources, these root causes of MHC were thematically grouped into: laws and regulations, capacity and resources, accountability and standards, prioritization, bias and stigma, and displacement. Using a common health systems framework, we developed strategic policy approaches to target the root causes, which could prevent ill-health while saving time and resources.     

Policy scorecard for gender mainstreaming: gender equity in health policy

Objectives : To examine whether gender mainstreaming for women's health is included in national and state health policies. Methods : A policy analysis tool (Policy Scorecard) was developed and then applied to Australia's National Health Priority Areas as well as policies of three Australian States. Results : Despite Australia's leadership in women's health policy, its health policies are largely devoid of gender equity concerns at both national and state levels. Mainstreaming of gender equity outcomes has not yet occurred in Australia. Conclusions : Applying the Policy Scorecard for Gender Mainstreaming to local and country‐specific policies is revealing of governments’ commitment to women, and how well gender equity goals are embedded into policies and programs. Policy analysis using this gender‐sensitive Policy Scorecard provides opportunities for advocacy to advance women's health and gender equity at any level of government, in any country.     

Teachers' perceptions of health education practice in Northern Ireland: reported differences between policy and non-policy holding schools

It is generally accepted that schools should devote resources to developing and disseminating a health education policy, yet there is little empirical evidence to establish the value of policy in this context. This study examined teachers' perceptions of health education practice in policy and non-policy holding schools. A questionnaire measuring aspects of health education practice was issued to a random sample of schools. This consisted of 276 primary and 119 post-primary schools. In this cross-sectional study, significant differences in teachers' evaluations were found between policy and non-policy holding schools. It was evident that the presence of a health education policy was associated with higher ratings of health education practice. This evidence suggests that policy has intrinsic value in terms of health education practice. The development and dissemination of policy documents were also examined to assess the workload involved.     

The role of health education in the policy change process: Lessons from tobacco control

The ‘new public health’ perspective urges a return to an agenda centred on the modification of the determinants of health, with a special emphasis on public policies. This enthusiasm for strategies focusing on the modification of policies may lead, however, to declining interest in health education interventions. The aim of the present analysis is to reflect on the role of health education in the process leading to the adoption of ‘Healthy Public Policies’ by drawing on theories from political science: Hall's Policy Paradigm approach and Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith's Advocacy Coalition Framework. Rejecting the traditional perspective that political actors’ choices and preferences are exclusively framed by an economic rationality, these two frameworks integrate the influence of ideas and values in the policy process. Applying these analytical frameworks to the case of tobacco control, we found that the policy change process is constrained by the worldview of a broad group of actors from the political and social spheres and that the dominant elite's worldview structures such a process. In addition, policies are derived from the ‘policy learning process’ and from events external to the policy domain. We conclude that health education through its health advocacy role and the sensitization of the public is a critical ingredient of the policy process. However, health educators should take part in the process not only by disseminating technical or scientific arguments but also by bringing forward arguments that take into account the fundamental values defended by the policy-makers and the public.     

Local health policy development processes in the Netherlands: an expanded toolbox for health promotion

Although much research has been done on the existence and formation of risk and issue based health policies, there is only little insight in health policy development processes in a broader context. This hampers intervention in these policy processes to adequately develop integrated and effective health policies. Legislation in the Netherlands requires municipalities to develop and implement local health policies. These policies are supposed to aim at the promotion of health across sectors and with a strong community involvement. Health policy development processes have been studied in four Dutch municipalities. For each case, we identified a range of stakeholders and monitored the change or stability of their characteristics over 3 years. In addition, for each case, three overlaying maps of networks were made addressing communication and collaboration actions within the defined set of stakeholders. We point out a number of barriers which impede integrated policy development at the local level: the importance given to local health policy, the medical approach to health development, the organizational self-interest rather than public health concern, the absence of policy entrepreneurial activity. Furthermore, this article advocates the use of complementary theoretical frameworks and the expansion of the methodological toolbox for health promotion. The value of stakeholder and network analysis in the health promotion domain, at this stage, is two-fold. First, mapping relevant actors, their positions and connections in networks provides us with insight into their capacity to participate and contribute to health policy development. Second, these new tools contribute to a further understanding of policy entrepreneurial roles to be taken up by health promotion professionals and health authorities in favour of the socio-environmental approach to health. Notwithstanding the value of this first step, more research is required into both the practical application as well as in the theoretical connections with, for example, Multiple Streams theory.     

Disclosure,discrimination and desire: experiences of Black and South Asian gay men in Britain

Using findings from a qualitative investigation based on in-depth email interviews with 47 Black and South Asian gay men in Britain, this paper explores the cross-cutting identities and discourses in relation to being both gay and from an ethnic minority background. Taking an intersectional approach, detailed accounts of identity negotiation, cultural pressures, experiences of discrimination and exclusion and the relationship between minority ethnic gay men and mainstream White gay culture are presented and explored. The major findings common to both groups were: cultural barriers limiting disclosure of sexuality to family and wider social networks; experiences of discrimination by White gay men that included exclusion as well as objectification; a lack of positive gay role models and imagery relating to men from minority ethnic backgrounds. Among South Asian gay men, a major theme was regret at being unable to fulfil family expectations regarding marriage and children, while among Black gay men, there was a strong belief that same-sex behaviour subverted cultural notions related to how masculinity is configured. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of social location, particularly education and income, when examining the intersection of ethnicity and sexuality in future research.     

Health policy making under information constraints: An evaluation of the policy responses to the economic crisis in Greece

Introduction

Cost consolidation in the highly fragmented and inefficient Greek health care system was necessary. However, policies introduced were partly formed in a context of insufficient information. Expenditure data from a consumption point of view were lacking and the depth of the political and structural problems was of unknown magnitude to the supervisory authorities.

Methods

Drawing upon relevant literature and evidence from the newly implemented OECD System of Health Accounts, the paper evaluates the health policy responses to the economic crisis in Greece. The discussion and recommendations are also of interest to other countries where data sources are not reliable or decisions are based on preliminary data and projections.

Results

Between 2009 and 2012, across-the-board cuts have resulted in a decline in public health expenditure for inpatient care by 8.6%, for pharmaceuticals by 42.3% and for outpatient care by 34.6%. Further cuts are expected from the ongoing reforms but more structural changes are needed.

Conclusion

Cost-containment was not well targeted and expenditure cuts were not always addressed to the real reasons of the pre-crisis cost explosion. Policy responses were restricted to quick and easy fiscal adjustment, ignoring the need for substantial structural reforms or individuals’ right to access health care irrespective of their financial capacity. Developing appropriate information infrastructure, restructuring and consolidating the hospital sector and moving toward a tax-based national health insurance could offer valuable benefits to the system.     

基层医院健康教育的难点与对策

目的:探讨基层医院健康教育的对策。方法:针对基层医院影响护士履行健康教育存在病人和医院两方面的因素,通过六个方面实施健康教育的对策。结果:对症施教,取得了满意的教育效果。结论:通过实施有效的健康教育的对策,使健康教育覆盖率及病人满意率明显上升。     

A review of UK housing policy: ideology and public health

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to review UK public health policy, with a specific reference to housing as a key health determinant, since its inception in the Victorian era to contemporary times. REVIEW: This paper reviews the role of social and private housing policy in the development of the UK public health movement, tracing its initial medical routes through to the current socio-economic model of public health. The paper establishes five distinct ideologically and philosophically driven eras, placing public health and housing within liberal (Victorian era), state interventionist (post World War 1; post World War 2), neoliberal (post 1979) and "Third Way" (post 1997) models, showing the political perspective of policy interventions and overviewing their impact on public health. The paper particularly focuses on the contemporary model of public health since the Acheson Report, and how its recommendations have found their way into policy, also the impact on housing practice. CONCLUSIONS: Public health is closely related to political ideology, whether driven by the State, individual or partnership arrangements. The current political system, the Third Way, seeks to promote a sustainable "social contract" between citizens and the State, public, private and voluntary organizations in delivering community-based change in areas where health inequalities can be most progressively and successfully addressed.     

Smoking policy and prevalence in Greece: an overview

BACKGROUND: Smoking is one of the largest public heath problems and a cause of major concern not only among European members such as Greece but also worldwide. Greece over the past years has been suffering from a smoking epidemic with dramatic consequences on the economy and the cost of health services. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe the extent of tobacco usage, the methods used to control tobacco consumption, and the main reasons of anti-tobacco legislation failure over the past decades in Greece. METHODS: Data were collected from the international PubMed database and from the Greek database, Iatrotek, during January 2006 and the tobacco legislation was discussed with other counterparts in Greece and was rechecked with the Greek ministry of Health and Social Welfare. RESULTS: Currently Greece has the highest smoking prevalence not only among members of the European Union but also among all members of the OECD. Recent epidemiological studies estimate that 40% of the adult population are daily smokers, with one in two adolescents in certain areas also current smokers. Although anti-smoking policies do exist, and have been enforced over the years, many factors have contributed to their failure with a pro-tobacco culture and an increasing number of adolescent smokers exacerbating the problem. CONCLUSIONS: It is obvious that the strict enforcement of a nationwide anti-tobacco policy must be a priority on the national health agenda, if we are to ever effectively combat the high prevalence of smoking in Greece.     

Self-concealment,discrimination, and mental health in Macedonia: Disparities experienced by sexual and gender minorities

While sexual and gender minorities (SGM)-based discrimination and poor mental health is well established in the literature within Western contexts, there is a significant gap in our understanding in other regions, specifically Southeastern Europe. Additionally, limited information exists on self-concealment’s role in these pathways. We explored the relationship between self-concealment, discrimination and mental health in Macedonia, a country rife with sociopolitical oppression towards the population. We utilised regression and structural equation models to identify the effects of self-concealment on the relationship between discrimination and rumination and social interaction anxiety from a cross-sectional survey of 18–30 year olds (n?=?396). Self-concealment was a significant mediator between discrimination and psychosocial outcomes; accounting for 29% of the effect from discrimination to social anxiety, and 57% of the effect from discrimination to rumination (p?相似文献