湖南省居民医疗保险未参保情况及其影响因素

目的：了解湖南省城乡居民医疗保险覆盖率及居民未参保的影响因素,为达到人人享有卫生保障提供决 策依据。方法：采用多阶段分层整群随机抽样的方法,将湖南省122个县市划分为农村和城市两层,每层中抽取7个 县区;每个县区抽取5个乡镇或街道;最后每个乡镇或街道抽取2个行政村(居委会),采用系统抽样方法从每个行政 村(居委会)抽取户,对抽中户的常住人口逐一进行询问调查。采用复杂抽样权重估算居民参保率及95% CI,采用多因 素logistic回归分析未参保的影响因素。结果：调查人群医疗保险覆盖率达95.76%(95% CI：93.04%~98.49%),4.24%(95% CI：1.51%~6.96%)的居民未参加任何保险,特别是18岁以下城市居民未参保率高达10.17%。年龄、家庭人均收入、是 否有慢性疾病与城乡居民未参保相关(P<0.05)。结论：为实现2020 年人人享有卫生保障的目标,社会医疗保险部门应 采取措施进一步提高居民的参保率。     

Barrier contraceptive methods and preeclampsia

Recent investigations have suggested that women who use barrier methods of contraception may be at increased risk for preeclampsia. We used data from two prospective pregnancy studies to examine the relationship between contraceptive use before conception and preeclampsia. The preeclampsia rates among women using barrier contraceptives were not significantly higher than the rates in women using nonbarrier contraceptives or the rates in women using no contraceptives in either study. The odds ratios for preeclampsia in barrier contraceptive users in the two studies were 0.89 (95% confidence interval [Cl], 0.71 to 1.12) and 0.85 (95% Cl, 0.49 to 1.45) compared with nonbarrier contraceptive users and 0.91 (95% Cl, 0.71 to 1.16) and 0.81 (95% Cl, 0.48 to 1.35) compared with women using no contraceptives. After adjusting for other risk factors, we found no association between preeclampsia and barrier contraceptive use. Additional studies are needed to resolve this issue; however, we would recommend that women not be advised to avoid barrier contraceptives unless more data linking their use to preeclampsia appear.     

Breast cancer in relation to early use of oral contraceptives. No evidence of a latent effect

A long-term effect of oral contraceptives (OCs) on breast cancer risk has been suggested as an explanation for some studies' failure to detect an association between OCs and breast cancer. To address this latency hypothesis, we analyzed data on 4714 case subjects and 4540 control subjects from the population-based Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study. No support was evident for a latent effect of OCs on breast cancer risk through age 54 years: among parous women who had cumulated more than six years of OC use before their first term pregnancy, the risk of breast cancer, relative to nonusers before first term pregnancy, was 0.6 at zero to four years after first term pregnancy (95% confidence interval [Cl], 0.2 to 1.8), 0.7 at five to nine years (95% Cl, 0.3 to 1.7), and 1.1 at ten to 14 years (95% Cl, 0.3 to 3.9). Among nulliparous women with more than six years of OC use in total, the relative risk of breast cancer, by interval from last use of OCs, was 1.3 at zero to four years (95% Cl, 0.8 to 2.0), 1.1 at five to nine years (95% Cl, 0.5 to 2.0), and 0.6 at ten to 14 years (95% Cl, 0.1 to 3.7).     

Preventing early-onset group B streptococcal sepsis: clinical risk factor-based screening or culture-based screening?

INTRODUCTIONTwo strategies are available for prevention of early-onset group B streptococcal (GBS) sepsis – clinical risk factor-based screening and routine culture-based screening of pregnant women for GBS colonisation. In our hospital, we switched from the former to the latter approach in 2014.METHODSWe compared the incidence of early-onset GBS sepsis during 2001–2015 between infants born to pregnant women who were screened for GBS colonisation and those born to women who were not screened.RESULTSAmong 41,143 live births, there were nine cases of early-onset GBS sepsis. All infants with GBS sepsis were born to pregnant women who were not screened for GBS colonisation. The incidence of early-onset GBS sepsis among infants of women who were not screened was 0.41 per 1,000 live births (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.19–0.77) when compared to infants of women who were screened, for whom the sepsis incidence was zero per 1,000 live births (95% CI 0–0.19; p = 0.005).CONCLUSIONOur data suggests that routine culture-based screening of pregnant women for GBS colonisation is a better preventive strategy for early-onset GBS sepsis in neonates when compared to clinical risk factor-based screening.     

The breast reconstruction patient and her health insurance carrier.

To determine policies of health insurance companies regarding payment for breast reconstruction following mastectomy, we polled 50 companies selected at random, as well as every Blue Cross-Blue Shield company. To verify that insurance carriers' replies represented their practices, we polled 96 plastic and reconstructive surgeons in 47 states. Although most health insurance carriers claim to fully cover breast reconstruction following mastectomy for cancer, practices vary widely; many postmastectomy patients receive incomplete or no coverage for reconstruction. Two major reasons for discrepancies appear to be (1) inadequate coverage prompted by unrealistic conception of reconstruction on the part of carriers and (2) specific contractual exclusion. We suggest (1) educating lay and professional persons about breast reconstruction, (2) encouraging more realistic coverage from insurance companies, and (3) if necessary, legislative protection for the postmastectomy patient.     

Coverage and utilization of the health insurance among migrant workers in Shanghai, China

Background  According to the regulations of the Chinese and Shanghai governments, migrant workers employed in Shanghai should all be entitled to Shanghai Migrant Worker Hospitalization Insurance (SMWHI) without premium and the vast majority should also have the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NRCMS). This study aimed to examine the status of the coverage and utilization of health insurance among migrant workers employed in Shanghai.

Methods  Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study. A survey of 1020 migrant workers employed in Shanghai was conducted in 2010 with a structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions were held with respondents who were unable to maintain health insurance coverage through NRCMS or SMWHI. In-depth interviews were held with village heads and employers of the migrant workers, migrant workers who were hospitalized within the last year, and various individuals employed by the insurance agencies.

Results  The study found that 72.9% and 36.5% of migrant workers were covered by NRCMS or SMWHI, respectively, while 16.7% of them had no health insurance. The coverage by NRCMS among migrant workers correlated significantly with education level and workplace, while the coverage by SMWHI correlated significantly with the length of employment in Shanghai and workplace. The qualitative results confirmed that migrant workers were the main group who were not covered by NRCMS, and the coverage by SMWHI was completely dependent upon the employers of the migrant worker. The results also showed that health insurance utilization among migrant workers was strongly limited by hospital location.

Conclusions  We observed that the status of health insurance among migrant workers was not accordant with theory, and that Chinese health insurance policy should be further reformed in order to realize full coverage and equal utilization of health insurance among migrant workers in China.

     

Cigarette smoking and exposure to passive smoke are risk factors for cervical cancer

Personal cigarette smoking and exposure to passive smoke as risk factors for cervical cancer were examined in a population-based, case-control study conducted in Utah. Personal cigarette smoking was found to increase the risk of cervical cancer, after adjusting for age, educational level, church attendance, and sexual activity. The adjusted risk estimate associated with being a current smoker was 3.42 (95% confidence interval [Cl], 2.10 to 5.57); for having smoked for 5 or more pack-years, it was 2.81 (95% Cl, 1.73 to 4.55); and for having smoked at least 100 lifetime cigarettes, it was 2.21 (95% Cl, 1.44 to 3.39). The adjusted risk estimate (also adjusted for actual cigarettes smoked) associated with passive smoke exposure for 3 or more hours per day was 2.96 (95% Cl, 1.25 to 7.03). Risk from passive smoking was greater in women who were not smokers (odds ratio, 3.43; 95% Cl, 1.23 to 9.54) than in women who smoked (odds ratio, 2.59; 95% Cl, 0.23 to 29.24).     

Maternal perspectives on gestational weight gain: Critical information on developing weight control interventions

Background:

Our aim was to demonstrate what women reported being counselled about weight gain in pregnancy, their perceptions of inappropriate gestational weight gain (GWG), and plans for weight gain in pregnancy.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional survey of perceptions of prenatal attendees about inappropriate GWG was conducted at the prenatal clinic of a referral tertiary health facility in south western, Nigeria, between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013. Primary outcomes were the perceptions of women about risks involved with inappropriate weight gain and the proportion of women who self-reported being counselled at all on GWG, and had the right knowledge of risk(s) involved with inappropriate weight gain during pregnancy.

Results:

Of the 348 women who completed the survey, approximately four-fifths (82.8%) reported GWG being discussed at all by health care provider. Fewer women (29.3%) believed there were maternal risks with excess weight gain compared to inadequate weight gain (34.8%). With respect to perception of risks of inappropriate weight gain to infants, 23.65 and 18.4%, respectively, believed there were infant risks with excess and inadequate GWG. Overweight women [OR 0.39 (95% CI 0.16-0.98)] and those who received GWG information from more than one type of health care provider [OR 4.71 (95% CI 1.64-13.78)] had significant increased rate of correct knowledge of risks involved with inappropriate GWG.

Conclusion:

The lack of awareness of risks involved with inappropriate GWG by over half of respondents underscores the need for improvement in educational intervention on GWG in our environment.     

The efficacy of preemployment drug screening for marijuana and cocaine in predicting employment outcome

We present a prospective, controlled study of the association between preemployment drug screening results and employment outcomes in 2537 postal employees. For identified marijuana users, relative risk for turnover was 1.56 (95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.17 to 2.08); accidents, 1.55 (95% Cl, 1.16 to 2.08); injuries, 1.85 (95% Cl, 1.30 to 2.64); and discipline, 1.55 (95% Cl, 1.03 to 2.32). Their mean absence rate was 7.1% compared with 4.0% for nonusers. For identified cocaine users, relative risk for turnover was 1.15 (95% Cl, 0.65 to 2.05); accidents, 1.59 (95% Cl, 0.95 to 2.67); injuries, 1.85 (95% Cl, 1.01 to 3.39); and discipline, 1.40 (95% Cl, 0.62 to 3.17). Their mean absence rate was 9.8%. Our study shows that a preemployment drug screen positive for marijuana or cocaine is associated with adverse employment outcomes. The level of risk, however, is much less than previously estimated. This finding has important implications for the social, legal, and economic arguments for and against drug testing.     

Supporting health insurance expansion: do electronic health records have valid insurance verification and enrollment data?

Objective To validate electronic health record (EHR) insurance information for low-income pediatric patients at Oregon community health centers (CHCs), compared to reimbursement data and Medicaid coverage data.Materials and Methods Subjects Children visiting any of 96 CHCs (N = 69 189) from 2011 to 2012. Analysis The authors measured correspondence (whether or not the visit was covered by Medicaid) between EHR coverage data and (i) reimbursement data and (ii) coverage data from Medicaid.Results Compared to reimbursement data and Medicaid coverage data, EHR coverage data had high agreement (87% and 95%, respectively), sensitivity (0.97 and 0.96), positive predictive value (0.88 and 0.98), but lower kappa statistics (0.32 and 0.49), specificity (0.27 and 0.60), and negative predictive value (0.66 and 0.45). These varied among clinics.Discussion/Conclusions EHR coverage data for children had a high overall correspondence with Medicaid data and reimbursement data, suggesting that in some systems EHR data could be utilized to promote insurance stability in their patients. Future work should attempt to replicate these analyses in other settings.     

Who cares for the care givers? Lack of health insurance among health and insurance personnel

OBJECTIVE.--To analyze the health insurance status of physicians, other health personnel, and insurance industry personnel. DESIGN.--The study was based on data collected by the US Bureau of the Census in the March 1991 Current Population Survey for six groups of workers in health care occupations and three classifications of insurance employees. This survey included 6182 civilian health personnel and 1498 insurance workers under the age of 65 years. RESULTS.--Of civilian health personnel under the age of 65 years, 9% (90% confidence interval [CI], 8.2% to 9.8%) are uninsured, equivalent to 834,000 persons, including 15,000 (90% CI, 5000 to 25,000) physicians. Among insurance workers, 5.1% (90% CI, 3.9% to 6.2%) are uninsured. While 6% (90% CI, 4.2% to 7.9%) of those working in physicians' offices are uninsured, 52.2% (90% CI, 48.2% to 56.3%) receive no employer contribution toward their coverage. More than a fifth of nursing home employees lack insurance coverage, as do nearly a quarter of the 1.868 million health care workers with annual incomes less than $10,000. CONCLUSION.--Nearly a million health care and insurance workers are themselves uninsured and at high risk for being unable to obtain needed care.     

A prospective study of cigarette smoking and risk of cataract surgery in women.

OBJECTIVE--To examine prospectively the association between cigarette smoking and the risk of cataract extraction in women. DESIGN--Prospective cohort study beginning in 1980 with 8 years of follow-up. SETTING--United States, multistate. PARTICIPANTS--Registered nurses 45 to 67 years of age and free of diagnosed cancer. There were 50,828 women included in 1980 and others were added as they became 45 years of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--Incidence of senile cataract extraction. RESULTS--We documented 493 incident senile cataracts diagnosed and extracted during 470,302 person-years of follow-up. The age-adjusted relative risk (RR) among women who smoked at least 65 pack-years was 1.63 (95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.18 to 2.26; P for trend, .02). A similar increase in RR was noted when smoking was assessed in terms of number of cigarettes currently smoked or number of cigarettes smoked by past smokers. Results were also similar after adjusting for other potential risk factors for cataract. Smoking was also strongly associated with posterior subcapsular cataract specifically (RR, 2.59; 95% Cl, 1.49 to 4.50 for greater than or equal to 65-pack-year smokers relative to nonsmokers. CONCLUSION--Smoking appears to increase the risk of cataract extraction.     

Unmet health needs of uninsured adults in the United States

CONTEXT: In 1998, 33 million US adults aged 18 to 64 years lacked health insurance. Determining the unmet health needs of this population may aid efforts to improve access to care. OBJECTIVE: To compare nationally representative estimates of the unmet health needs of uninsured and insured adults, particularly among persons with major health risks. DESIGN AND SETTING: Random household telephone survey conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 105,764 adults aged 18 to 64 years in 1997 and 117,364 in 1998, classified as long-term (>/=1 year) uninsured (9.7%), short-term (<1 year) uninsured (4.3%), or insured (86.0%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Adjusted proportions of participants who could not see a physician when needed due to cost in the past year, had not had a routine checkup within 2 years, and had not received clinically indicated preventive services, compared by insurance status. RESULTS: Long-term- and short-term-uninsured adults were more likely than insured adults to report that they could not see a physician when needed due to cost (26.8%, 21.7%, and 8.2%, respectively), especially among those in poor health (69.1%, 51.9%, and 21.8%) or fair health (48.8%, 42.4%, and 15.7%) (P<.001). Long-term-uninsured adults in general were much more likely than short-term-uninsured and insured adults not to have had a routine checkup in the last 2 years (42.8%, 22.3%, and 17.8%, respectively) and among smokers, obese individuals, binge drinkers, and people with hypertension, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, or human immunodeficiency virus risk factors (P<.001). Deficits in cancer screening, cardiovascular risk reduction, and diabetes care were most pronounced among long-term-uninsured adults. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, long-term-uninsured adults reported much greater unmet health needs than insured adults. Providing insurance to improve access to care for long-term-uninsured adults, particularly those with major health risks, could have substantial clinical benefits. JAMA. 2000;284:2061-2069     

Prevention. How much harm? How much benefit? 3. Physical, psychological and social harm.

Harm caused by preventive programs may be physical, psychological, social or, if informed consent has not been obtained, ethical. Adverse effects of preventive screening programs may occur at any of the three levels of the "screening cascade", the screening procedure itself, the investigation of abnormal results of screening tests or the treatment of detected abnormalities or diseases. The greatest harm occurs at the second and third levels. Examples of procedures that may cause physical harm are venipuncture, mammography, colonoscopy, breast biopsy, transrectal ultrasonography, prostate biopsy, weight-reducing and cholesterol-lowering diets and radical prostatectomy. The psychological and social harm of preventive programs involves anticipated discomfort or perception of adverse effects of preventive interventions; unpleasant interactions with health care workers, time required for preventive programs, excessive overall awareness of health, anxiety over the results of a screening test implications of a positive screening test, consequences of being labelled as "sick" or "at risk," psychopathologic effects induced directly by preventive programs and, in the case of a false-negative test result, false assurance of disease-free status. Since the positive predictive value of screening tests in the general population is always low, most abnormal test results are "false-positive," these engender a great deal of psychological discuss among patients.     

Breast self-examination and breast examination by a health care provider: prevalence and predictors of screening in a randomly selected sample of Australian women

Professional organizations recommend the practice of monthly breast self-examination (BSE), and examination of the breasts by a health care provider every three years for women up to the age of 40 and annually thereafter. These practices were examined in a randomly selected sample of 1454 women. Only 39% (95% confidence interval [CI], 36%-42%) of the sample reported monthly BSE. Women were more likely to examine their breasts each month if they had found a breast lump, believed they were likely to get breast cancer, were not single, or were frequent users of general practitioners. Only 51% (95% CI, 45%-53%) of women under the age of 40 reported receiving three-yearly breast examinations; of those women aged 40 or more, 31% (CI, 27%-35%) of those with no additional risk factors and 35% (95% CI, 27%-42%) of those with at least one additional risk factor reported annual examinations. Women were more likely to have received a breast examination in the past three years if they had previously had a breast lump, were not single, had reached a higher educational level, were more frequent users of general practitioners, had private health insurance, or were described as other than ill or retired. There was a substantial association between BSE and breast examination by a health care provider with 25% (95% CI, 23%-27%) practising BSE and being screened by a health care provider. Thirty-five per cent (95% CI, 32%-38%) of women were not being screened by either method. The implications of the results for health education campaigns are discussed.     

A multivariate analysis of risk factors for preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE.--To determine, in a multivariate analysis, risk factors for preeclampsia that could be observed early in pregnancy and to establish whether these risk factors are different for nulliparas and multiparas. DESIGN.--A case-control study of preeclampsia. SETTING.--Women who gave birth at Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in 1984 and 1985. PARTICIPANTS.--Preeclamptic cases (n = 139) were determined from discharge diagnosis of severe preeclampsia and by confirmation of blood pressures and proteinuria from medical records. Controls (n = 132) were randomly selected women who had no discharge diagnosis of any hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and who had no evidence of hypertension or proteinuria from medical record review. MAIN VARIABLES EXAMINED.--Medical records were abstracted for information regarding maternal age, race, previous pregnancy history, family medical history, socioeconomic status, employment during pregnancy, body mass, and smoking and alcohol consumption. RESULTS.--Multiple logistic regression analyses confirmed that case patients were more likely than control patients to be nulliparous (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 5.4; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 2.8 to 10.3) and that preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy greatly increased the risk in a subsequent one (adjusted OR, 10.8; 95% Cl, 1.2 to 29.1). However, regardless of parity, preeclamptic women were also more likely to be of high body mass (adjusted OR, 1.7; 95% Cl, 1.2 to 6.2), to work during pregnancy (adjusted OR, 2.1; 95% Cl, 1.1 to 4.4), and to have a family history of hypertension (adjusted OR, 1.7; 95% Cl, 0.92 to 3.2). Having a previous history of a spontaneous abortion was protective but only in multiparous women (adjusted OR for multiparas, 0.09; 95% Cl, 0.02 to 0.48). In contrast, being black was a significant risk for preeclampsia but only in nulliparous women (adjusted OR for nulliparas, 12.3; 95% Cl, 1.6 to 100.8). CONCLUSIONS.--There are a number of risk factors for preeclampsia that may be determined early in a woman's pregnancy. Multiparas and nulliparas share certain risk factors but not others. A cohort investigation is needed to determine the ability of these risk factors to predict who develops preeclampsia.     

Why not private health insurance? 1. Insurance made easy

How realistic are proposals to expand the financing of Canadian health care through private insurance, either in a parallel stream or an expanded supplementary tier? Any successful business requires that revenues exceed expenditures. Under a voluntary health insurance plan those at highest risk would be the most likely to seek coverage; insurers working within a competitive market would have to limit their financial risk through such mechanisms as "risk selection" to avoid clients likely to incur high costs and/or imposing caps on the costs covered. It is unlikely that parallel private plans will have a market if a comprehensive public insurance system continues to exist and function well. Although supplementary plans are more congruous with insurance principles, they would raise costs for purchasers and would probably not provide full open-ended coverage to all potential clients. Insurance principles suggest that voluntary insurance plans that shift costs to the private sector would damage the publicly funded system and would be unable to cover costs for all services required.     

The positive experience of screening quality among users of a cervical cancer detection center

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to determine the main factors associated with increased utilization of a cervical cancer screening program (CCSP) in a population with a high mortality rate due to cervical cancer. METHODS: A population-based study was carried out in the Mexican state of Morelos, Mexico. The study population included 3,197 women between the ages of 15 and 49 years who were selected at random using a State Household Sampling Framework in the State of Morelos's 33 municipalities. The sample included 2,094 women with a history of a previous Papanicolaou (Pap) test. RESULTS: A previous experience of good screening quality is strongly associated with greater use of the CCSP (OR = 4.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-10.9). The educational level of the head of the family is related to more frequent use of Pap smear services. Women whose husbands have 13 or more years of education (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-2.9) were more likely to have been screened. Similarly, women who had used two or more family planning methods (OR = 1.6; 95% CI 1.2-2.1) and those who knew why the Pap test was given (OR = 3.0; 95% CI 2.1-4.3) had a better history of Pap screening. CONCLUSIONS: In areas where coverage of cervical cancer screening is low, a CCSP that guarantees the quality of all the different elements of care is essential if obstacles to cervical cancer prevention are to be eliminated. It is of particular importance to take into account and satisfy the perceptions and expectations of the women at risk.