WorldWideScience

Sample records for links national health

  1. US HealthLink: a national information resource for health care professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasnoff, W A

    1992-06-01

    US HealthLink is a new, comprehensive online medical information system designed specifically for health care professionals. Available to individuals for a fixed fee, it includes literature, news, diagnostic decision support, drug interactions, electronic mail, and bulletin boards. It also provides user-specific current awareness via clipping service, and fax delivery of both clipping and electronic mail information. US HealthLink can now be utilized to access a wide variety of medical information sources inexpensively.

  2. Linking NASA Environmental Data with a National Public Health Cohort Study and a CDC On-Line System to Enhance Public Health Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Crosson, William; Economou, Sigrid; Estes, Maurice, Jr.; Estes, Sue; Hemmings, Sarah; Kent, Shia; Puckett, Mark; Quattrochi, Dale; Wade, Gina; hide

    2012-01-01

    The overall goal of this study is to address issues of environmental health and enhance public health decision making by utilizing NASA remotely-sensed data and products. This study is a collaboration between NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Public Health Informatics. The objectives of this study are to develop high-quality spatial data sets of environmental variables, link these with public health data from a national cohort study, and deliver the linked data sets and associated analyses to local, state and federal end-user groups. Three daily environmental data sets were developed for the conterminous U.S. on different spatial resolutions for the period 2003-2008: (1) spatial surfaces of estimated fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures on a 10-km grid utilizing the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground observations and NASA s MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data; (2) a 1-km grid of Land Surface Temperature (LST) using MODIS data; and (3) a 12-km grid of daily Solar Insolation (SI) and maximum and minimum air temperature using the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) forcing data. These environmental datasets were linked with public health data from the UAB REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) national cohort study to determine whether exposures to these environmental risk factors are related to cognitive decline and other health outcomes. These environmental national datasets will also be made available to public health professionals, researchers and the general public via the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system, where they can be aggregated to the county, state or regional level as per users need and downloaded in tabular, graphical, and map formats. The

  3. Wealth and the nation's health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackburn, C

    1993-07-01

    Social and economic prosperity to a great extent depend on a healthy population; similarly good health depends on adequate income, writes Clare Blackburn. The government strategy for health promotion outlined most recently in The health of the nation, fails to acknowledge this. Nevertheless health visitors and school nurses cannot ignore the links between health and wealth.

  4. The link between health governance models and global health innovation: an exploration of OECD nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnarr, Karin; Snowdon, Anne; Cramm, Heidi; Cohen, Jason; Alessi, Charles

    2015-01-01

    While there is established research that explores individual innovations across countries or developments in a specific health area, there is less work that attempts to match national innovations to specific systems of health governance to uncover themes across nations. We used a cross-comparison design that employed content analysis of health governance models and innovation patterns in eight OECD nations (Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States). Country-level model of health governance may impact the focus of health innovation within the eight jurisdictions studied. Innovation across all governance models has targeted consumer engagement in health systems, the integration of health services across the continuum of care, access to care in the community, and financial models that drive competition. Improving our understanding of the linkage between health governance and innovation in health systems may heighten awareness of potential enablers and barriers to innovation success.

  5. Linked Health Data: how linked data can help provide better health decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farinelli, Fernanda; Barcellos de Almeida, Maurício; Linhares de Souza, Yóris

    2015-01-01

    This paper provides a brief survey about the use of linked data in healthcare to foster better health decisions and increase health knowledge. We present real cases from the Brazilian experience and emphasize some issues in research. This paper is not intending to be fully comprehensive, we discuss some open issues and research challenges in linked data and the technologies involved. We conclude that even though linked data has been adopted in many countries, some challenges have to be overcome, for example, interoperability between different standards. A defined solution able to foster the semantic interoperability between different standards must be developed. Benefits contributed through linked health data involve better decision making on diagnostics, assertive treatments, knowledge acquisition, improvements in quality healthcare service to citizens.

  6. The political ecology of health: perceptions of environment, economy, health and well-being among 'Namgis First Nation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richmond, C; Elliott, S J; Matthews, R; Elliott, B

    2005-12-01

    Informed by Mayer's (Progr. Hum. Geogr 20 (1996) 441) political ecology of disease framework, this paper investigates First Nation's perceptions of the links between environment, economy and health and well-being. A case study of 'Namgis First Nation (Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada) is used to explore the risks and benefits of salmon aquaculture for British Columbia's First Nations. Analysis of interview data (n = 23) indicates strong links between reduced access to environmental resources, marginal participation in the economy, and declining community health and well being. Results suggest that aquaculture development has further decreased the community's access to environmental resources, thereby restricting those economic, social, and cultural activities that determine good health and well-being for this community.

  7. Multinational Population-Based Health Surveys Linked to Outcome Data: An Untapped Resource

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stacey Fisher

    2017-04-01

    This study provides initial support for the methodological feasibility of pooling linked population health surveys however, challenges introduced by dissimilarities will require the use of innovative methodologies, and discussions regarding how to manage jurisdictional data restrictions and privacy issues are needed. Pooled population health data has the potential to improve national and international health surveillance and public health.

  8. Health information exchange: national and international approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vest, Joshua R

    2012-01-01

    Health information exchange (HIE), the process of electronically moving patient-level information between different organizations, is viewed as a solution to the fragmentation of data in health care. This review provides a description of the current state of HIE in seven nations, as well was three international HIE efforts, with a particular focus on the relation of exchange efforts to national health care systems, common challenges, and the implications of cross-border information sharing. National and international efforts highlighted in English language informatics journals, professional associations, and government reports are described. Fully functioning HIE is not yet a common phenomenon worldwide. However, multiple nations see the potential benefits of HIE and that has led to national and international efforts of varying scope, scale, and purview. National efforts continue to work to overcome the challenges of interoperability, record linking, insufficient infrastructures, governance, and interorganizational relationships, but have created architectural strategies, oversight agencies, and incentives to foster exchange. The three international HIE efforts reviewed represent very different approaches to the same problem of ensuring the availability of health information across borders. The potential of HIE to address many cost and quality issues will ensure HIE remains on many national agendas. In many instances, health care executives and leaders have opportunities to work within national programs to help shape local exchange governance and decide technology partners. Furthermore, HIE raises policy questions concerning the role of centralized planning, national identifiers, standards, and types of information exchanged, each of which are vital issues to individual health organizations and worthy of their attention.

  9. Evaluation of a Pilot Surveillance System: Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange in Atlanta (HELIX-Atlanta)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, P.; Shire, J.; Qualters, Judy; Daley, Randolph; Fiero, Leslie Todorov; Autry, Andy; Avchen, Rachel; Stock, Allison; Correa, Adolofo; Siffel, Csaba; hide

    2007-01-01

    CDC and its partners established the Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange, Atlanta (HELIX-Atlanta) demonstration project, to develop linking and analysis methods that could be used by the National Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Network. Initiated in October 2003, the Metropolitan Atlanta-based collaborative conducted four projects: asthma and particulate air pollution, birth defects and ozone and particulate air pollution, childhood leukemia and traffic emissions, and children's blood lead testing and neighborhood risk factors for lead poisoning. This report provides an overview of the HELIX-Atlanta projects' goals, methods and outcomes. We discuss priority attributes and common issues and challenges and offer recommendations for implementation of the nascent national environmental public health tracking network.

  10. The United Nations and One Health: the International Health Regulations (2005) and global health security.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuttall, I; Miyagishima, K; Roth, C; de La Rocque, S

    2014-08-01

    The One Health approach encompasses multiple themes and can be understood from many different perspectives. This paper expresses the viewpoint of those in charge of responding to public health events of international concern and, in particular, to outbreaks of zoonotic disease. Several international organisations are involved in responding to such outbreaks, including the United Nations (UN) and its technical agencies; principally, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO); UN funds and programmes, such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund; the UN-linked multilateral banking system (the World Bank and regional development banks); and partner organisations, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). All of these organisations have benefited from the experiences gained during zoonotic disease outbreaks over the last decade, developing common approaches and mechanisms to foster good governance, promote policies that cut across different sectors, target investment more effectively and strengthen global and national capacities for dealing with emerging crises. Coordination among the various UN agencies and creating partnerships with related organisations have helped to improve disease surveillance in all countries, enabling more efficient detection of disease outbreaks and a faster response, greater transparency and stakeholder engagement and improved public health. The need to build more robust national public human and animal health systems, which are based on good governance and comply with the International Health Regulations (2005) and the international standards set by the OIE, prompted FAO, WHO and the OIE to join forces with the World Bank, to provide practical tools to help countries manage their zoonotic disease risks and develop adequate resources to prevent and control disease

  11. The WHO-ITU national eHealth strategy toolkit as an effective approach to national strategy development and implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Clayton

    2013-01-01

    With few exceptions, national eHealth strategies are the pivotal tools upon which the launch or refocusing of national eHealth programmes is hinged. The process of their development obviates cross-sector ministerial commitment led by the Ministry of Health. Yet countries often grapple with the task of strategy development and best efforts frequently fail to address strategic components of eHealth key to ensure successful implementation and stakeholder engagement. This can result in strategies that are narrowly focused, with an overemphasis placed on achieving technical outcomes. Without a clear link to a broader vision of health system development and a firm commitment from partners, the ability of a strategy to shape development of a national eHealth framework will be undermined and crucial momentum for implementation will be lost. WHO and ITU have sought to address this issue through the development of the National eHealth Strategy Toolkit that provides a basis for the components and processes to be considered in a strategy development or refocusing exercise. We look at this toolkit and highlight those areas which the countries should consider in formulating their national eHealth strategy.

  12. The israeli virtual national health record: a robust national health information infrastructure based on a firm foundation of trust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saiag, Esther

    2005-01-01

    In many developed countries, a coordinated effort is underway to build national and regional Health Information Infrastructures (HII) for the linking of disparate sites of care, so that an access to a comprehensive Health Record will be feasible when critical medical decisions are made [1]. However, widespread adoption of such national projects is hindered by a series of barriers- regulatory, technical, financial and cultural. Above all, a robust national HII requires a firm foundation of trust: patients must be assured that their confidential health information will not be misused and that there are adequate legal remedies in the event of inappropriate behavior on the part of either authorized or unauthorized parties[2].The Israeli evolving National HII is an innovative state of the art implementation of a wide-range clinical inter-organizational data exchange, based on a unique concept of virtually temporary sharing of information. A logically connection of multiple caregivers and medical organizations creates a patient-centric virtual repository, without centralization. All information remains in its original format, location, system and ownership. On demand, relevant information is instantly integrated and delivered to the point of care. This system, successfully covering more than half of Israel's population, is currently evolving from a voluntary private-public partnership (dbMOTION and CLALIT HMO) to a formal national reality. The governmental leadership, now taking over the process, is essential to achieve a full potential of the health information technology. All partners of the Israeli health system are coordinated in concert with each other, driven with a shared vision - realizing that a secured, private, confidential health information exchange is assured.

  13. Linking communities to formal health care providers through village health teams in rural Uganda: lessons from linking social capital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musinguzi, Laban Kashaija; Turinawe, Emmanueil Benon; Rwemisisi, Jude T; de Vries, Daniel H; Mafigiri, David K; Muhangi, Denis; de Groot, Marije; Katamba, Achilles; Pool, Robert

    2017-01-11

    Community-based programmes, particularly community health workers (CHWs), have been portrayed as a cost-effective alternative to the shortage of health workers in low-income countries. Usually, literature emphasises how easily CHWs link and connect communities to formal health care services. There is little evidence in Uganda to support or dispute such claims. Drawing from linking social capital framework, this paper examines the claim that village health teams (VHTs), as an example of CHWs, link and connect communities with formal health care services. Data were collected through ethnographic fieldwork undertaken as part of a larger research program in Luwero District, Uganda, between 2012 and 2014. The main methods of data collection were participant observation in events organised by VHTs. In addition, a total of 91 in-depth interviews and 42 focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with adult community members as part of the larger project. After preliminary analysis of the data, we conducted an additional six in-depth interviews and three FGD with VHTs and four FGD with community members on the role of VHTs. Key informant interviews were conducted with local government staff, health workers, local leaders, and NGO staff with health programs in Luwero. Thematic analysis was used during data analysis. The ability of VHTs to link communities with formal health care was affected by the stakeholders' perception of their roles. Community members perceive VHTs as working for and under instructions of "others", which makes them powerless in the formal health care system. One of the challenges associated with VHTs' linking roles is support from the government and formal health care providers. Formal health care providers perceived VHTs as interested in special recognition for their services yet they are not "experts". For some health workers, the introduction of VHTs is seen as a ploy by the government to control people and hide its inability to provide health

  14. Using social determinants of health to link health workforce diversity, care quality and access, and health disparities to achieve health equity in nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Shanita D; Hansen, Kristen; Smithey, Marian; Burnley, Josepha; Koplitz, Michelle; Koyama, Kirk; Young, Janice; Bakos, Alexis

    2014-01-01

    It is widely accepted that diversifying the nation's health-care workforce is a necessary strategy to increase access to quality health care for all populations, reduce health disparities, and achieve health equity. In this article, we present a conceptual model that utilizes the social determinants of health framework to link nursing workforce diversity and care quality and access to two critical population health indicators-health disparities and health equity. Our proposed model suggests that a diverse nursing workforce can provide increased access to quality health care and health resources for all populations, and is a necessary precursor to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. With this conceptual model as a foundation, we aim to stimulate the conceptual and analytical work-both within and outside the nursing field-that is necessary to answer these important but largely unanswered questions.

  15. Health Services Use and Costs for Americans with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A National Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujiura, Glenn T.; Li, Henan; Magaña, Sandy

    2018-01-01

    Health services and associated costs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) were nationally profiled and the predictors of high expense users statistically modeled. Using linked data from the National Health Interview Survey and Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for the years 2002 through 2011, the study found a mixed…

  16. Operative Links

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wistoft, Karen; Højlund, Holger

    2012-01-01

    and have been the object of great expectations concerning the ability to incorporate health concerns into every welfare area through health promotion strategies. The paper draws on results and analyses of a collective research project funded by the Danish National Research Council and carried out...... links' that indicate cooperative levels which facilitate a creative and innovative effort in disease prevention and health promotion targeted at children and adolescents - across traditional professional boundaries. It is proposed that such links are supported by network structures, shared semantics...

  17. Association between home visiting interventions and First Nations families' health and social outcomes in Manitoba, Canada: protocol for a study of linked population-based administrative data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brownell, Marni D; Nickel, Nathan C; Enns, Jennifer E; Chartier, Mariette; Campbell, Rhonda; Phillips-Beck, Wanda; Chateau, Dan; Burland, Elaine; Santos, Rob; Katz, Alan

    2017-10-10

    First Nations people are descendants of Canada's original inhabitants. In consequence of historical and ongoing structural injustices, many First Nations families struggle with challenging living conditions, including high rates of poverty, poor housing conditions, mental illness and social isolation. These risk factors impede caregivers' abilities to meet their children's basic physical and psychosocial needs. Home visiting programmes were developed to support child developmental health in families facing parenting challenges. However, whether home visiting is an effective intervention for First Nations families has not been examined. We are evaluating two home visiting programmes in Manitoba, Canada, to determine whether they promote nurturing family environments for First Nations children. This research builds on new and established relationships among academic researchers, government decision-makers and First Nations stakeholders. We will link health, education and social services data from the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository to data from two home visiting programmes in Manitoba. Logistic regression modelling will be used to assess whether programme participation is associated with improved child developmental health, better connections between families and social services, reduced instances of child maltreatment and being taken into out-of-home care by child welfare and reduced inequities for First Nations families. Non-participating individuals with similar sociodemographic characteristics will serve as comparators. We will use an interrupted time series approach to test for differences in outcomes before and after programme implementation and a propensity score analysis to compare differences between participants and non-participants. Approvals were granted by the Health Information Research Governance Committee of the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba and the University of Manitoba Health Research Ethics Board. Our

  18. Effect of marijuana use on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality: A study using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey linked mortality file.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yankey, Barbara A; Rothenberg, Richard; Strasser, Sheryl; Ramsey-White, Kim; Okosun, Ike S

    2017-11-01

    Background Reports associate marijuana use with cardiovascular emergencies. Studies relating marijuana use to cardiovascular mortality are scarce. Recent advance towards marijuana use legalization emphasizes the importance of understanding relationships between marijuana use and cardiovascular deaths; the primary ranked mortality. Recreational marijuana is primarily smoked; we hypothesize that like cigarette smoking, marijuana use will be associated with increased cardiovascular mortalities. Design The design of this study was based on a mortality follow-up. Method We linked participants aged 20 years and above, who responded to questions on marijuana use during the 2005 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to data from the 2011 public-use linked mortality file of the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only participants eligible for mortality follow-up were included. We conducted Cox proportional hazards regression analyses to estimate hazard ratios for hypertension, heart disease, and cerebrovascular mortality due to marijuana use. We controlled for cigarette smoking and other relevant variables. Results Of the 1213 eligible participants 72.5% were presumed to be alive. The total follow-up time was 19,569 person-years. Adjusted hazard ratios for death from hypertension among marijuana users compared to non-marijuana users was 3.42 (95% confidence interval: 1.20-9.79) and for each year of marijuana use was 1.04 (95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.07). Conclusion From our results, marijuana use may increase the risk for hypertension mortality. Increased duration of marijuana use is associated with increased risk of death from hypertension. Recreational marijuana use potentially has cardiovascular adverse effects which needs further investigation.

  19. Mental health care and average happiness: strong effect in developed nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touburg, Giorgio; Veenhoven, Ruut

    2015-07-01

    Mental disorder is a main cause of unhappiness in modern society and investment in mental health care is therefore likely to add to average happiness. This prediction was checked in a comparison of 143 nations around 2005. Absolute investment in mental health care was measured using the per capita number of psychiatrists and psychologists working in mental health care. Relative investment was measured using the share of mental health care in the total health budget. Average happiness in nations was measured with responses to survey questions about life-satisfaction. Average happiness appeared to be higher in countries that invest more in mental health care, both absolutely and relative to investment in somatic medicine. A data split by level of development shows that this difference exists only among developed nations. Among these nations the link between mental health care and happiness is quite strong, both in an absolute sense and compared to other known societal determinants of happiness. The correlation between happiness and share of mental health care in the total health budget is twice as strong as the correlation between happiness and size of the health budget. A causal effect is likely, but cannot be proved in this cross-sectional analysis.

  20. Predictors of Intent to Leave the Job Among Home Health Workers: Analysis of the National Home Health Aide Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Robyn; Wilhelm, Jess; Bishop, Christine E; Bryant, Natasha S; Hermer, Linda; Squillace, Marie R

    2017-10-01

    To identify agency policies and workplace characteristics that are associated with intent to leave the job among home health workers employed by certified agencies. Data are from the 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey/National Home Health Aide Survey, a nationally representative, linked data set of home health and hospice agencies and their workers. Logistic regression with survey weights was conducted to identify agency and workplace factors associated with intent to leave the job, controlling for worker, agency, and labor market characteristics. Job satisfaction, consistent patient assignment, and provision of health insurance were associated with lower intent to leave the job. By contrast, being assigned insufficient work hours and on-the-job injuries were associated with greater intent to leave the job after controlling for fixed worker, agency, and labor market characteristics. African American workers and workers with a higher household income also expressed greater intent to leave the job. This is the first analysis to use a weighted, nationally representative sample of home health workers linked with agency-level data. The findings suggest that intention to leave the job may be reduced through policies that prevent injuries, improve consistency of client assignment, improve experiences among African American workers, and offer sufficient hours to workers who want them. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. National Health Expenditure Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — National Health Expenditure Accounts are comprised of the following, National Health Expenditures - Historical and Projected, Age Estimates, State Health...

  2. LINKING PUBLIC HEALTH AND AIR QUALITY DATA FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

    Science.gov (United States)

    Program Area: Environmental HealthTopic Area: Linking Public Health Data into ActionTitle of Presentation: Linking Public Health and Air Quality Data for AccountabilityBackground and Significance Tracking environmental exposures to air pollutan...

  3. Examining national trends in worker health with the National Health Interview Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luckhaupt, Sara E; Sestito, John P

    2013-12-01

    To describe data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), both the annual core survey and periodic occupational health supplements (OHSs), available for examining national trends in worker health. The NHIS is an annual in-person household survey with a cross-sectional multistage clustered sample design to produce nationally representative health data. The 2010 NHIS included an OHS. Prevalence rates of various health conditions and health behaviors among workers based on multiple years of NHIS core data are available. In addition, the 2010 NHIS-OHS data provide prevalence rates of selected health conditions, work organization factors, and occupational exposures among US workers by industry and occupation. The publicly available NHIS data can be used to identify areas of concern for various industries and for benchmarking data from specific worker groups against national averages.

  4. Creation of a national resource with linked genealogy and phenotypic data: the Veterans Genealogy Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannon-Albright, Lisa A; Dintelman, Sue; Maness, Tim; Backus, Steve; Thomas, Alun; Meyer, Laurence J

    2013-07-01

    Creation of a genealogy of the United States and its ancestral populations is under way. When complete, this US genealogy will be record linked to the National Veteran's Health Administration medical data representing more than 8 million US veterans. Genealogical data are gathered from public sources, primarily the Internet. Record linking using data from relatives is accomplished to integrate multiple data sources and then to link genealogical data to the veteran's demographic data. This resource currently includes genealogy for more than 22 million individuals representing the Intermountain West and the East Coast. The demographic data for more than 40,000 veteran patients using Veterans Hospital Administration services in Utah and Massachusetts have already been record linked. The resource is only in its second year of creation and already represents the largest such combination of genealogy and medical data in the world. The data sources, the creation of the genealogy, record-linking methods and results, proposed genetic analyses, and future directions are discussed.

  5. Establishing a national resource: a health informatics collection to maintain the legacy of health informatics development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Beverley; Roberts, Jean; Cooper, Helen

    2007-01-01

    This case study report of the establishment of a national repository of multi-media materials describes the creation process, the challenges faced in putting it into operation and the opportunities for the future. The initial resource has been incorporated under standard library and knowledge management practices. A collaborative action research method was used with active experts in the domain to determine the requirements and priorities for further development. The National Health Informatics Collection (NatHIC) is now accessible and the further issues are being addressed by inclusion in future University and NHS strategic plans. Ultimately the Collection will link with other facilities that contribute to the description and maintenance of effective informatics in support of health globally. The issues raised about the National Health Informatics Collection as established in the UK have resonance with the challenges of capturing the overall historic development of an emerging discipline in any country.

  6. Designing and implementing E-health Applications in the UK's National Health Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bower, D Jane; Barry, Nessa; Reid, Margaret; Norrie, John

    2005-12-01

    Telemedicine/e-health applications have the potential to play an important role in Britain's National Health Service (NHS), including the NHS in Scotland. The Scottish Telemedicine Action Forum (STAF) was established by the Scottish Executive Department of Health in 1999 to take a range of applications, targeted on national priorities, into routine service. In the process it has provided insights into how advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be moved from the research stage into routine service. In this article four of the projects are described and analysed focusing on the key issues that have emerged as critical for carrying projects successfully through to implementation in service as follows: 1. A multisite videoconferencing network linking 15 minor injury units to the main accident and emergency (A&E) centre. 2. A single-site neonatal intensive care "cotside" laptop system to assist communication between parents and clinical staff. 3. A single-site outpatient chronic disease management system. 4. A multisite software audit tool to support the care of cleft lip and palate patients from birth onward.

  7. Design and development of linked data from the National Map

    Science.gov (United States)

    Usery, E. Lynn; Varanka, Dalia E.

    2012-01-01

    The development of linked data on the World-Wide Web provides the opportunity for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to supply its extensive volumes of geospatial data, information, and knowledge in a machine interpretable form and reach users and applications that heretofore have been unavailable. To pilot a process to take advantage of this opportunity, the USGS is developing an ontology for The National Map and converting selected data from nine research test areas to a Semantic Web format to support machine processing and linked data access. In a case study, the USGS has developed initial methods for legacy vector and raster formatted geometry, attributes, and spatial relationships to be accessed in a linked data environment maintaining the capability to generate graphic or image output from semantic queries. The description of an initial USGS approach to developing ontology, linked data, and initial query capability from The National Map databases is presented.

  8. A review of linked health data in Australian nephrology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotwal, Sradha; Webster, Angela C; Cass, Alan; Gallagher, Martin

    2016-06-01

    Linked health data bring together data about one person from varying sources such as administrative health datasets, death registries and clinical registries using a process that maintains patient privacy. Linked health data have been used for burden of disease estimates and health-care planning and is being increasingly use as a research methodology to study health service utilisation and patient outcomes. Within Australian nephrology, there has been limited understanding and use of linked health data so far, but we expect that with the increasing availability of data and the growing complexity of health care, the use of such data will expand. This is especially pertinent for the growing elderly population with advanced kidney disease, who are poorly represented in other types of research studies. This article summarizes the history of linked health data in Australia, the nature of available datasets in Australia, the methods of access to these data, privacy and ethical issues, along with strengths, limitations and implications for the future. © 2016 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.

  9. Linking National and International Educational Assessments: NAEP and TIMSS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Taslima

    2013-03-01

    In an increasingly global economy, comparisons of student achievement in the United States to student achievement in other countries are of interest to the nation. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on mathematics and science achievement of 4th- and 8th-grade students for the all U.S. states and 60 countries. However, the reports are based on two separate assessments. Results for the U.S. states are based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and results for the other countries are based on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Further, unlike NAEP, TIMSS does not have an on-going state component. Thus, U.S. states cannot compare performance of their students with those of the students in other countries. To enable such comparisons, NCES launched a NAEP-TIMSS Linking study where the goal is to project TIMSS mathematics and science scores for the students in the 50 states that participated in NAEP. This linking study targeted eighth-grade students. NAEP assessments of mathematics and science were conducted in winter 2011 (January-March) and TIMSS assessments of mathematics and science were conducted in spring 2011 (April-June). Three approaches-- statistical moderation, calibration, and projection--are applied in linking the two scales. In this presentation, discussion will focus on the study design and approaches applied. In addition, results will be shared if released to the public by the NCES before March 2013. Otherwise results of earlier linking study conducted by the American Institutes for Research in 2007 using the statistical moderation technique will be shared.

  10. A model linking clinical workforce skill mix planning to health and health care dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McDonnell Geoff

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In an attempt to devise a simpler computable tool to assist workforce planners in determining what might be an appropriate mix of health service skills, our discussion led us to consider the implications of skill mixing and workforce composition beyond the 'stock and flow' approach of much workforce planning activity. Methods Taking a dynamic systems approach, we were able to address the interactions, delays and feedbacks that influence the balance between the major components of health and health care. Results We linked clinical workforce requirements to clinical workforce workload, taking into account the requisite facilities, technologies, other material resources and their funding to support clinical care microsystems; gave recognition to productivity and quality issues; took cognisance of policies, governance and power concerns in the establishment and operation of the health care system; and, going back to the individual, gave due attention to personal behaviour and biology within the socio-political family environment. Conclusion We have produced the broad endogenous systems model of health and health care which will enable human resource planners to operate within real world variables. We are now considering the development of simple, computable national versions of this model.

  11. A model linking clinical workforce skill mix planning to health and health care dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masnick, Keith; McDonnell, Geoff

    2010-04-30

    In an attempt to devise a simpler computable tool to assist workforce planners in determining what might be an appropriate mix of health service skills, our discussion led us to consider the implications of skill mixing and workforce composition beyond the 'stock and flow' approach of much workforce planning activity. Taking a dynamic systems approach, we were able to address the interactions, delays and feedbacks that influence the balance between the major components of health and health care. We linked clinical workforce requirements to clinical workforce workload, taking into account the requisite facilities, technologies, other material resources and their funding to support clinical care microsystems; gave recognition to productivity and quality issues; took cognisance of policies, governance and power concerns in the establishment and operation of the health care system; and, going back to the individual, gave due attention to personal behaviour and biology within the socio-political family environment. We have produced the broad endogenous systems model of health and health care which will enable human resource planners to operate within real world variables. We are now considering the development of simple, computable national versions of this model.

  12. Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers: supporting the workforce for national health security.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richmond, Alyson L; Sobelson, Robyn K; Cioffi, Joan P

    2014-01-01

    The importance of a competent and prepared national public health workforce, ready to respond to threats to the public's health, has been acknowledged in numerous publications since the 1980s. The Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers (PERLCs) were funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010 to continue to build upon a decade of focused activities in public health workforce preparedness development initiated under the Centers for Public Health Preparedness program (http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/cphp/). All 14 PERLCs were located within Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accredited schools of public health. These centers aimed to improve workforce readiness and competence through the development, delivery, and evaluation of targeted learning programs designed to meet specific requirements of state, local, and tribal partners. The PERLCs supported organizational and community readiness locally, regionally, or nationally through the provision of technical consultation and dissemination of specific, practical tools aligned with national preparedness competency frameworks and public health preparedness capabilities. Public health agencies strive to address growing public needs and a continuous stream of current and emerging public health threats. The PERLC network represented a flexible, scalable, and experienced national learning system linking academia with practice. This system improved national health security by enhancing individual, organizational, and community performance through the application of public health science and learning technologies to frontline practice.

  13. Building oral health research infrastructure: the first national oral health survey of Rwanda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, John P; Isyagi, Moses; Ntaganira, Joseph; Gatarayiha, Agnes; Pagni, Sarah E; Roomian, Tamar C; Finkelman, Matthew; Steffensen, Jane E M; Barrow, Jane R; Mumena, Chrispinus H; Hackley, Donna M

    2018-01-01

    Oral health affects quality of life and is linked to overall health. Enhanced oral health research is needed in low- and middle-income countries to develop strategies that reduce the burden of oral disease, improve oral health and inform oral health workforce and infrastructure development decisions. To implement the first National Oral Health Survey of Rwanda to assess the oral disease burden and inform oral health promotion strategies. In this cross-sectional study, sample size and site selection were based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Oral Health Surveys Pathfinder stratified cluster methodologies. Randomly selected 15 sites included 2 in the capital city, 2 other urban centers and 11 rural locations representing all provinces and rural/urban population distribution. A minimum of 125 individuals from each of 5 age groups were included at each site. A Computer Assisted Personal Instrument (CAPI) was developed to administer the study instrument. Nearly two-thirds (64.9%) of the 2097 participants had caries experience and 54.3% had untreated caries. Among adults 20 years of age and older, 32.4% had substantial oral debris and 60.0% had calculus. A majority (70.6%) had never visited an oral health provider. Quality-of-life challenges due to oral diseases/conditions including pain, difficulty chewing, self-consciousness, and difficulty participating in usual activities was reported at 63.9%, 42.2% 36.2%, 35.4% respectively. The first National Oral Health Survey of Rwanda was a collaboration of the Ministry of Health of Rwanda, the University of Rwanda Schools of Dentistry and Public Health, the Rwanda Dental Surgeons and Dental (Therapists) Associations, and Tufts University and Harvard University Schools of Dental Medicine. The international effort contributed to building oral health research capacity and resulted in a national oral health database of oral disease burden. This information is essential for developing oral disease prevention and management

  14. Defining disease phenotypes using national linked electronic health records: a case study of atrial fibrillation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine I Morley

    Full Text Available National electronic health records (EHR are increasingly used for research but identifying disease cases is challenging due to differences in information captured between sources (e.g. primary and secondary care. Our objective was to provide a transparent, reproducible model for integrating these data using atrial fibrillation (AF, a chronic condition diagnosed and managed in multiple ways in different healthcare settings, as a case study.Potentially relevant codes for AF screening, diagnosis, and management were identified in four coding systems: Read (primary care diagnoses and procedures, British National Formulary (BNF; primary care prescriptions, ICD-10 (secondary care diagnoses and OPCS-4 (secondary care procedures. From these we developed a phenotype algorithm via expert review and analysis of linked EHR data from 1998 to 2010 for a cohort of 2.14 million UK patients aged ≥ 30 years. The cohort was also used to evaluate the phenotype by examining associations between incident AF and known risk factors.The phenotype algorithm incorporated 286 codes: 201 Read, 63 BNF, 18 ICD-10, and four OPCS-4. Incident AF diagnoses were recorded for 72,793 patients, but only 39.6% (N = 28,795 were recorded in primary care and secondary care. An additional 7,468 potential cases were inferred from data on treatment and pre-existing conditions. The proportion of cases identified from each source differed by diagnosis age; inferred diagnoses contributed a greater proportion of younger cases (≤ 60 years, while older patients (≥ 80 years were mainly diagnosed in SC. Associations of risk factors (hypertension, myocardial infarction, heart failure with incident AF defined using different EHR sources were comparable in magnitude to those from traditional consented cohorts.A single EHR source is not sufficient to identify all patients, nor will it provide a representative sample. Combining multiple data sources and integrating information on treatment and

  15. Strengthening health systems through linking research evidence to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    informed policies. Accordingly, a critical way of addressing these challenges facing health systems in the region is through the linking of health research findings to policy. Keywords: Evidence; Sub-Saharan Africa; Health Policy; Health Systems ...

  16. Antioxidant micronutrients as intersectoral link between health and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Antioxidant micronutrients as intersectoral link between health and agriculture. ... desirable by helping to prevent disease, promoting health and improving the ... for sustainable development of which health should be a goal (Afr. J. Biomed.

  17. Linking Cultural Competence to Functional Life Outcomes in Mental Health Care Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalopoulou, Georgia; Falzarano, Pamela; Butkus, Michael; Zeman, Lori; Vershave, Judy; Arfken, Cynthia

    2014-01-01

    Minorities in the United States have well-documented health disparities. Cultural barriers and biases by health care providers may contribute to lower quality of services which may contribute to these disparities. However, evidence linking cultural competency and health outcomes is lacking. This study, part of an ongoing quality improvement effort, tested the mediation hypothesis that patients' perception of provider cultural competency indirectly influences patients' health outcomes through process of care. Data were from patient satisfaction surveys collected in seven mental health clinics (n=94 minority patients). Consistent with our hypothesis, patients' perception of clinicians' cultural competency was indirectly associated with patients' self-reported improvements in social interactions, improvements in performance at work or school, and improvements in managing life problems through the patients' experience of respect, trust, and communication with the clinician. These findings indicate that process of care characteristics during the clinical encounter influence patients' perceptions of clinicians' cultural competency and affect functional outcomes. © 2013 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Association of parental health literacy with oral health of Navajo Nation preschoolers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brega, A G; Thomas, J F; Henderson, W G; Batliner, T S; Quissell, D O; Braun, P A; Wilson, A; Bryant, L L; Nadeau, K J; Albino, J

    2016-02-01

    Health literacy is 'the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions'. Although numerous studies show a link between health literacy and clinical outcomes, little research has examined the association of health literacy with oral health. No large-scale studies have assessed these relationships among American Indians, a population at risk for limited health literacy and oral health problems. This analysis was conducted as part of a clinical trial aimed at reducing dental decay among preschoolers in the Navajo Nation Head Start program. Using baseline data for 1016 parent-child dyads, we examined the association of parental health literacy with parents' oral health knowledge, attitudes, and behavior, as well as indicators of parental and pediatric oral health. More limited health literacy was associated with lower levels of oral health knowledge, more negative oral health attitudes, and lower levels of adherence to recommended oral health behavior. Parents with more limited health literacy also had significantly worse oral health status (OHS) and reported their children to have significantly worse oral health-related quality of life. These results highlight the importance of oral health promotion interventions that are sensitive to the needs of participants with limited health literacy. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. A novel performance monitoring framework for health research systems: experiences of the National Institute for Health Research in England

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hallsworth Michael

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR was established in 2006 with the aim of creating an applied health research system embedded within the English National Health Service (NHS. NIHR sought to implement an approach for monitoring its performance that effectively linked early indicators of performance with longer-term research impacts. We attempted to develop and apply a conceptual framework for defining appropriate key performance indicators for NIHR. Method Following a review of relevant literature, a conceptual framework for defining performance indicators for NIHR was developed, based on a hybridisation of the logic model and balanced scorecard approaches. This framework was validated through interviews with key NIHR stakeholders and a pilot in one division of NIHR, before being refined and applied more widely. Indicators were then selected and aggregated to create a basket of indicators aligned to NIHR's strategic goals, which could be reported to NIHR's leadership team on a quarterly basis via an oversight dashboard. Results Senior health research system managers and practitioners endorsed the conceptual framework developed and reported satisfaction with the breadth and balance of indicators selected for reporting. Conclusions The use of the hybrid conceptual framework provides a pragmatic approach to defining performance indicators that are aligned to the strategic aims of a health research system. The particular strength of this framework is its capacity to provide an empirical link, over time, between upstream activities of a health research system and its long-term strategic objectives.

  20. A novel performance monitoring framework for health research systems: experiences of the National Institute for Health Research in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Turabi, Anas; Hallsworth, Michael; Ling, Tom; Grant, Jonathan

    2011-03-24

    The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) was established in 2006 with the aim of creating an applied health research system embedded within the English National Health Service (NHS). NIHR sought to implement an approach for monitoring its performance that effectively linked early indicators of performance with longer-term research impacts. We attempted to develop and apply a conceptual framework for defining appropriate key performance indicators for NIHR. Following a review of relevant literature, a conceptual framework for defining performance indicators for NIHR was developed, based on a hybridisation of the logic model and balanced scorecard approaches. This framework was validated through interviews with key NIHR stakeholders and a pilot in one division of NIHR, before being refined and applied more widely. Indicators were then selected and aggregated to create a basket of indicators aligned to NIHR's strategic goals, which could be reported to NIHR's leadership team on a quarterly basis via an oversight dashboard. Senior health research system managers and practitioners endorsed the conceptual framework developed and reported satisfaction with the breadth and balance of indicators selected for reporting. The use of the hybrid conceptual framework provides a pragmatic approach to defining performance indicators that are aligned to the strategic aims of a health research system. The particular strength of this framework is its capacity to provide an empirical link, over time, between upstream activities of a health research system and its long-term strategic objectives.

  1. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) - National Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 2001 forward. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) has monitored the health of the nation since 1957. NHIS data on a broad range of health topics are...

  2. Marketing activities and national development: is there a link ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The main objective of this study is to establish the link that exists between marketing and national development without losing sight of the intervening variables that might exist between them. The study suggested comparative advantage (CAD), resource-use efficiency (RUET), wealth creation (WECRE) as the possible ...

  3. National eHealth strategy toolkit

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    Worldwide the application of information and communication technologies to support national health-care services is rapidly expanding and increasingly important. This is especially so at a time when all health systems face stringent economic challenges and greater demands to provide more and better care especially to those most in need. The National eHealth Strategy Toolkit is an expert practical guide that provides governments their ministries and stakeholders with a solid foundation and method for the development and implementation of a national eHealth vision action plan and monitoring fram

  4. The political undertones of building national health research systems--reflections from The Gambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Ayo; Anya, Samuel E; Bloch, Paul

    2009-05-29

    dissemination of health research within the country. Civil society organizations, with links to both government and non-governmental organizations, are well placed to play the role of advocates.It is only through broad and active participation of stakeholders that the process of developing effective and sustainable national health research systems will truly become a national movement inspired, led and sustained by ministries of health.

  5. Mining Electronic Health Records using Linked Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odgers, David J; Dumontier, Michel

    2015-01-01

    Meaningful Use guidelines have pushed the United States Healthcare System to adopt electronic health record systems (EHRs) at an unprecedented rate. Hospitals and medical centers are providing access to clinical data via clinical data warehouses such as i2b2, or Stanford's STRIDE database. In order to realize the potential of using these data for translational research, clinical data warehouses must be interoperable with standardized health terminologies, biomedical ontologies, and growing networks of Linked Open Data such as Bio2RDF. Applying the principles of Linked Data, we transformed a de-identified version of the STRIDE into a semantic clinical data warehouse containing visits, labs, diagnoses, prescriptions, and annotated clinical notes. We demonstrate the utility of this system though basic cohort selection, phenotypic profiling, and identification of disease genes. This work is significant in that it demonstrates the feasibility of using semantic web technologies to directly exploit existing biomedical ontologies and Linked Open Data.

  6. National Database for Autism Research (NDAR): Big Data Opportunities for Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payakachat, Nalin; Tilford, J Mick; Ungar, Wendy J

    2016-02-01

    The National Database for Autism Research (NDAR) is a US National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research data repository created by integrating heterogeneous datasets through data sharing agreements between autism researchers and the NIH. To date, NDAR is considered the largest neuroscience and genomic data repository for autism research. In addition to biomedical data, NDAR contains a large collection of clinical and behavioral assessments and health outcomes from novel interventions. Importantly, NDAR has a global unique patient identifier that can be linked to aggregated individual-level data for hypothesis generation and testing, and for replicating research findings. As such, NDAR promotes collaboration and maximizes public investment in the original data collection. As screening and diagnostic technologies as well as interventions for children with autism are expensive, health services research (HSR) and health technology assessment (HTA) are needed to generate more evidence to facilitate implementation when warranted. This article describes NDAR and explains its value to health services researchers and decision scientists interested in autism and other mental health conditions. We provide a description of the scope and structure of NDAR and illustrate how data are likely to grow over time and become available for HSR and HTA.

  7. Building the national health information infrastructure for personal health, health care services, public health, and research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Detmer Don E

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Improving health in our nation requires strengthening four major domains of the health care system: personal health management, health care delivery, public health, and health-related research. Many avoidable shortcomings in the health sector that result in poor quality are due to inaccessible data, information, and knowledge. A national health information infrastructure (NHII offers the connectivity and knowledge management essential to correct these shortcomings. Better health and a better health system are within our reach. Discussion A national health information infrastructure for the United States should address the needs of personal health management, health care delivery, public health, and research. It should also address relevant global dimensions (e.g., standards for sharing data and knowledge across national boundaries. The public and private sectors will need to collaborate to build a robust national health information infrastructure, essentially a 'paperless' health care system, for the United States. The federal government should assume leadership for assuring a national health information infrastructure as recommended by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee. Progress is needed in the areas of funding, incentives, standards, and continued refinement of a privacy (i.e., confidentiality and security framework to facilitate personal identification for health purposes. Particular attention should be paid to NHII leadership and change management challenges. Summary A national health information infrastructure is a necessary step for improved health in the U.S. It will require a concerted, collaborative effort by both public and private sectors. If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it. Lord Kelvin

  8. National Health Interview Survey

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is the principal source of information on the health of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States...

  9. Linked Data Paves the Way to Improved Health Care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Gaucher

    2017-04-01

    This presentation demonstrates how new knowledge created using linked data can inform decision and policy makers, and lead to action within the health system. Several examples are presented to illustrate the approach and types of data being linked.

  10. The political undertones of building national health research systems – reflections from The Gambia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bloch Paul

    2009-05-01

    conduct, management and dissemination of health research within the country. Civil society organizations, with links to both government and non-governmental organizations, are well placed to play the role of advocates. It is only through broad and active participation of stakeholders that the process of developing effective and sustainable national health research systems will truly become a national movement inspired, led and sustained by ministries of health.

  11. Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilman, David; Clark, Michael

    2014-11-01

    Diets link environmental and human health. Rising incomes and urbanization are driving a global dietary transition in which traditional diets are replaced by diets higher in refined sugars, refined fats, oils and meats. By 2050 these dietary trends, if unchecked, would be a major contributor to an estimated 80 per cent increase in global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from food production and to global land clearing. Moreover, these dietary shifts are greatly increasing the incidence of type II diabetes, coronary heart disease and other chronic non-communicable diseases that lower global life expectancies. Alternative diets that offer substantial health benefits could, if widely adopted, reduce global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, reduce land clearing and resultant species extinctions, and help prevent such diet-related chronic non-communicable diseases. The implementation of dietary solutions to the tightly linked diet-environment-health trilemma is a global challenge, and opportunity, of great environmental and public health importance.

  12. Integrating national surveys to estimate small area variations in poor health and limiting long-term illness in Great Britain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Graham; Aitken, Grant; Taylor, Joanna; Twigg, Liz

    2017-08-28

    This study aims to address, for the first time, the challenges of constructing small area estimates of health status using linked national surveys. The study also seeks to assess the concordance of these small area estimates with data from national censuses. Population level health status in England, Scotland and Wales. A linked integrated dataset of 23 374 survey respondents (16+ years) from the 2011 waves of the Health Survey for England (n=8603), the Scottish Health Survey (n=7537) and the Welsh Health Survey (n=7234). Population prevalence of poorer self-rated health and limiting long-term illness. A multilevel small area estimation modelling approach was used to estimate prevalence of these outcomes for middle super output areas in England and Wales and intermediate zones in Scotland. The estimates were then compared with matched measures from the contemporaneous 2011 UK Census. There was a strong positive association between the small area estimates and matched census measures for all three countries for both poorer self-rated health (r=0.828, 95% CI 0.821 to 0.834) and limiting long-term illness (r=0.831, 95% CI 0.824 to 0.837), although systematic differences were evident, and small area estimation tended to indicate higher prevalences than census data. Despite strong concordance, variations in the small area prevalences of poorer self-rated health and limiting long-term illness evident in census data cannot be replicated perfectly using small area estimation with linked national surveys. This reflects a lack of harmonisation between surveys over question wording and design. The nature of small area estimates as 'expected values' also needs to be better understood. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  13. Quality of antenatal care service provision in health facilities across sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from nationally representative health facility assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanyangarara, Mufaro; Munos, Melinda K; Walker, Neff

    2017-12-01

    Utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services has increased over the past two decades. Continued gains in maternal and newborn health will require an understanding of both access and quality of ANC services. We linked health facility and household survey data to examine the quality of service provision for five ANC interventions across health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Using data from 20 nationally representative health facility assessments - the Service Provision Assessment (SPA) and the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA), we estimated facility level readiness to deliver five ANC interventions: tetanus toxoid vaccine for pregnant women, intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp), syphilis detection and treatment in pregnancy, iron supplementation and hypertensive disease case management. Facility level indicators were stratified by health facility type, managing authority and location, then linked to estimates of ANC utilization in that stratum from the corresponding Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to generate population level estimates of the 'likelihood of appropriate care'. Finally, the association between estimates of the 'likelihood of appropriate care' from the linking approach and estimates of coverage levels from the DHS were assessed. A total of 10 534 health facilities were surveyed in the 20 health facility assessments, of which 8742 reported offering ANC services and were included in the analysis. Health facility readiness to deliver IPTp, iron supplementation, and tetanus toxoid vaccination was higher (median: 84.1%, 84.9% and 82.8% respectively) than readiness to deliver hypertensive disease case management and syphilis detection and treatment (median: 23.0% and 19.9% respectively). Coverage of at least 4 ANC visits ranged from 24.8% to 75.8%. Estimates of the likelihood of appropriate care derived from linking health facility and household survey data showed marked gaps for all interventions

  14. Water-Food-Nutrition-Health Nexus: Linking Water to Improving Food, Nutrition and Health in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Chibarabada, Tendai; Modi, Albert

    2016-01-06

    Whereas sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) water scarcity, food, nutrition and health challenges are well-documented, efforts to address them have often been disconnected. Given that the region continues to be affected by poverty and food and nutrition insecurity at national and household levels, there is a need for a paradigm shift in order to effectively deliver on the twin challenges of food and nutrition security under conditions of water scarcity. There is a need to link water use in agriculture to achieve food and nutrition security outcomes for improved human health and well-being. Currently, there are no explicit linkages between water, agriculture, nutrition and health owing to uncoordinated efforts between agricultural and nutrition scientists. There is also a need to develop and promote the use of metrics that capture aspects of water, agriculture, food and nutrition. This review identified nutritional water productivity as a suitable index for measuring the impact of a water-food-nutrition-health nexus. Socio-economic factors are also considered as they influence food choices in rural communities. An argument for the need to utilise the region's agrobiodiversity for addressing dietary quality and diversity was established. It is concluded that a model for improving nutrition and health of poor rural communities based on the water-food-nutrition-health nexus is possible.

  15. Linking Health Information Systems for Effective Decision Making ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    The CBHIS will consist of village registers prepared and updated every six months by volunteer community health workers (CHWs). The registers will be summarized on chalkboards and used in deliberative dialogue sessions at the community and health facility levels. The HIS will be linked to the CBHIS by including village ...

  16. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Notes Podcasts E-Newsletters Public Education Projects National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week NIDA TV PEERx Drugs & Health Blog ... Award for Addiction Science USA Science & Engineering Festival Drug & Alcohol Chat Day HBO Addiction Project Learn the Link ...

  17. Neighborhood-health links: Differences between rural-to-urban migrants and natives in Shanghai

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danan Gu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: It is well known that migrant workers tend to have different perceptions of neighborhood environments than urban natives. However, less is known about how these differences in perception may be linked to the health of members of these two groups. Objective: We investigated differences in links between perceived neighborhood social and physical environments and three health outcomes, self-rated health, social stress, and chronic conditions, between rural-to-urban migrants (migrant workers and Shanghai-born native urban residents in China. Methods: Data used in this study were based on a survey of 477 rural-to-urban migrants and 546 native urban residents aged 18-64, conducted in Shanghai in 2008. Logistic regression analyses were performed to model relationships for migrant workers and native residents. Results: We found that among migrant workers, more positive perceptions of neighborhood social environments (social cohesion and safety were linked to better self-rated health and lower levels of perceived stress but were not linked to chronic disease conditions; there were also no links between perceptions of physical environments and any of the three health outcomes of this study among migrant workers. By contrast, among urban natives, more positive perceptions of neighborhood social environments were linked to lower odds of chronic disease conditions but were not linked to self-rated health and perceived stress; more positive perceptions of physical environments (amenities and air quality were linked with lower odds of social stress and of chronic disease conditions. Conclusions: Neighborhood social and physical environments affected the health of migrant workers and urban natives differently.

  18. Bonding, Bridging, and Linking Social Capital and Self-Rated Health among Chinese Adults: Use of the Anchoring Vignettes Technique.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    He Chen

    Full Text Available Three main opposing camps exist over how social capital relates to population health, namely the social support perspective, the inequality thesis, and the political economy approach. The distinction among bonding, bridging, and linking social capital probably helps close the debates between these three camps, which is rarely investigated in existing literatures. Moreover, although self-rated health is a frequently used health indicator in studies on the relationship between social capital and health, the interpersonal incomparability of this measure has been largely neglected. This study has two main objectives. Firstly, we aim to investigate the relationship between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital and self-rated health among Chinese adults. Secondly, we aim to improve the interpersonal comparability in self-rated health measurement. We use data from a nationally representative survey in China. Self-rated health was adjusted using the anchoring vignettes technique to improve comparability. Two-level ordinal logistic regression was performed to model the association between social capital and self-rated health at both individual and community levels. The interaction between residence and social capital was included to examine urban/rural disparities in the relationship. We found that most social capital indicators had a significant relationship with adjusted self-rated health of Chinese adults, but the relationships were mixed. Individual-level bonding, linking social capital, and community-level bridging social capital were positively related with health. Significant urban/rural disparities appeared in the association between community-level bonding, linking social capital, and adjusted self-rated health. For example, people living in communities with higher bonding social capital tended to report poorer adjusted self-rated health in urban areas, but the opposite tendency held for rural areas. Furthermore, the comparison between

  19. Bonding, Bridging, and Linking Social Capital and Self-Rated Health among Chinese Adults: Use of the Anchoring Vignettes Technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, He; Meng, Tianguang

    2015-01-01

    Three main opposing camps exist over how social capital relates to population health, namely the social support perspective, the inequality thesis, and the political economy approach. The distinction among bonding, bridging, and linking social capital probably helps close the debates between these three camps, which is rarely investigated in existing literatures. Moreover, although self-rated health is a frequently used health indicator in studies on the relationship between social capital and health, the interpersonal incomparability of this measure has been largely neglected. This study has two main objectives. Firstly, we aim to investigate the relationship between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital and self-rated health among Chinese adults. Secondly, we aim to improve the interpersonal comparability in self-rated health measurement. We use data from a nationally representative survey in China. Self-rated health was adjusted using the anchoring vignettes technique to improve comparability. Two-level ordinal logistic regression was performed to model the association between social capital and self-rated health at both individual and community levels. The interaction between residence and social capital was included to examine urban/rural disparities in the relationship. We found that most social capital indicators had a significant relationship with adjusted self-rated health of Chinese adults, but the relationships were mixed. Individual-level bonding, linking social capital, and community-level bridging social capital were positively related with health. Significant urban/rural disparities appeared in the association between community-level bonding, linking social capital, and adjusted self-rated health. For example, people living in communities with higher bonding social capital tended to report poorer adjusted self-rated health in urban areas, but the opposite tendency held for rural areas. Furthermore, the comparison between multivariate analyses

  20. National Center for Health Statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Submit Search the CDC National Center for Health Statistics Note: Javascript is disabled or is not supported ... Survey of Family Growth Vital Records National Vital Statistics System National Death Index Vital Statistics Rapid Release ...

  1. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    The NHIS collects data on a broad range of health topics through personal household interviews. The results of NHIS provide data to track health status, health care access, and progress toward achieving national health objectives.

  2. The link between industry and social interests in health in Brazil's National Health Innovation System: the experience of the Brazilian National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics (INTO).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vianna, Cid Manso de Mello; Fermam, Marcelo Kropf Santos; Rodrigues, Marcus Paulo da Silva; Mosegui, Gabriela Bittencourt Gonzalez

    2016-11-03

    This article has two parts. The first discusses the relationship between industry and health interests based on three different but non-mutually exclusive "logics": (a) independent; (b) divergent; and (c) convergent. The second part describes the experience at the Brazilian National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics (INTO) with a technology management model. The accumulated expertise in orthopedics at INTO can favor Brazil's domestic medical equipment industry without jeopardizing the country's social health needs. This means directing the production of feasible technologies adapted to the national reality, with a focus on safety and quality, without burdening the public coffers and by overcoming the country's dependency on imported products. The proposal is to promote socioeconomic development through a virtuous circle by attracting reserves and fomenting national competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets while improving social conditions and access to health. Resumo: Este artigo está dividido em duas partes. Na primeira, discute-se como se relacionam os interesses produtivos e a saúde a partir de três "lógicas" ou perspectivas diferentes que não são mutuamente excludentes: (a) independente; (b) divergente e (c) convergente. Na segunda, descreve-se a experiência do Instituto Nacional de Traumatologia e Ortopedia (INTO) na montagem de um modelo de gestão de tecnologia. O conhecimento internalizado em ortopedia do INTO pode favorecer a indústria nacional de equipamentos médicos sem abandonar as necessidades sociais brasileiras de saúde. Isto é, direcionar a produção de tecnologias viáveis e adaptadas à realidade nacional, com foco em segurança e qualidade, sem onerar os cofres públicos e abandonando a dependência de produtos importados. A proposta é a de promover um desenvolvimento socioeconômico que construa um ciclo virtuoso, por atrair divisas e fomentar a competitividade nacional em mercados internos e externos, melhorando as

  3. Australia's national men's health policy: masculinity matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunders, Margo; Peerson, Anita

    2009-08-01

    The development of Australia's first national men's health policy provides an important opportunity for informed discussions of health and gender. It is therefore a concern that the stated policy appears to deliberately exclude hegemonic masculinity and other masculinities, despite evidence of their major influence on men's health-related values, beliefs, perspectives, attitudes, motivations and behaviour. We provide an evidence-based critique of the proposed approach to a national men's health policy which raises important questions about whether the new policy can achieve its aims if it fails to acknowledge 'masculinity' as a key factor in Australian men's health. The national men's health policy should be a means to encourage gender analysis in health. This will require recognition of the influence of hegemonic masculinity, and other masculinities, on men's health. Recognising the influence of 'masculinity' on men's health is not about 'blaming' men for 'behaving badly', but is crucial to the development of a robust, meaningful and comprehensive national men's health policy.

  4. Linking national and global population agendas: case studies from eight developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, K; Walt, G

    1995-06-01

    This comparative study of the determinants of family planning policy initiation and implementation focuses on four pairs of countries: Zambia/Zimbabwe, Algeria/Tunisia, Pakistan/Bangladesh, and Philippines/Thailand. The conclusion is drawn that global efforts had an influence on national policy makers and on putting family planning issues on the policy agenda. Global impacts were affected by national economic and social conditions and the broader political and economic relations with Western countries. The absolute level of economic development was found to be unrelated to the timing of initiation of family planning on national policy agendas. Stronger national family planning programs occurred in countries where policy makers linked economic development at whatever level with the need to limit population growth. Pakistan and Thailand in the 1960s illustrated this commitment to family planning programs, and Zambia and Algeria illustrated the lack of connection between development and population growth at the policy level and the lack of family planning on the policy agenda. Affiliation with the West during the 1960s meant early initiation of family planning in Pakistan/Bangladesh and Philippines/Thailand. Stronger commitment to program implementation occurred only in Thailand during the 1970s and Zimbabwe during the 1980s. Commitment lessened in the Philippines and Pakistan. Program implementation and national support of family planning were viewed as also dependent upon domestic factors, such as sufficient resources. Algeria/Tunisia and Zambia/Zimbabwe were countries that promoted family planning only after national political ideology shifted and anti-imperialist sentiments subsided. The impact of the international Cairo conference on these countries was minimal in terms of policy change. Most of the countries however desired greater support from donors. Even objections from the Vatican and internal domestic pressures were insufficient to prevent countries such as

  5. Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange in Atlanta (HELIX-Atlanta): A Pilot Tracking System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rickman, Doug; Shire, J.; Qualters, J.; Mitchell, K.; Pollard, S.; Rao, R.; Kajumba, N.; Quattrochi, D.; Estes, M., Jr.; Meyer, P.; hide

    2009-01-01

    Objectives. To provide an overview of four environmental public health surveillance projects developed by CDC and its partners for the Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange, Atlanta (HELIX-Atlanta) and to illustrate common issues and challenges encountered in developing an environmental public health tracking system. Methods. HELIX-Atlanta, initiated in October 2003 to develop data linkage and analysis methods that can be used by the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network), conducted four projects. We highlight the projects' work, assess attainment of the HELIX-Atlanta goals and discuss three surveillance attributes. Results. Among the major challenges was the complexity of analytic issues which required multidiscipline teams with technical expertise. This expertise and the data resided across multiple organizations. Conclusions:Establishing formal procedures for sharing data, defining data analysis standards and automating analyses, and committing staff with appropriate expertise is needed to support wide implementation of environmental public health tracking.

  6. Social Support, Trust in Health Information, and Health Information-Seeking Behaviors (HISBs): A Study Using the 2012 Annenberg National Health Communication Survey (ANHCS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Qinghua; Chen, Yixin; Wendorf Muhamad, Jessica

    2017-09-01

    We proposed a conceptual model to predict health information-seeking behaviors (HISBs) from three different sources (family, the Internet, doctors). To test the model, a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted using data from the 2012 Annenberg National Health Communication Survey (ANHCS) (N = 3,285). Findings suggest higher social support from family predicts higher trust in health information from family members (abbreviated as trust in this article). Trust is positively related to HISBs from all three sources, with the path linking trust to HISB from family being the strongest. The effect of social support on HISB from family is partially mediated by trust, while effect of social support on HISBs from the Internet/doctors is fully mediated by trust. Implications of the study are discussed.

  7. Water-Food-Nutrition-Health Nexus: Linking Water to Improving Food, Nutrition and Health in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Whereas sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA water scarcity, food, nutrition and health challenges are well-documented, efforts to address them have often been disconnected. Given that the region continues to be affected by poverty and food and nutrition insecurity at national and household levels, there is a need for a paradigm shift in order to effectively deliver on the twin challenges of food and nutrition security under conditions of water scarcity. There is a need to link water use in agriculture to achieve food and nutrition security outcomes for improved human health and well-being. Currently, there are no explicit linkages between water, agriculture, nutrition and health owing to uncoordinated efforts between agricultural and nutrition scientists. There is also a need to develop and promote the use of metrics that capture aspects of water, agriculture, food and nutrition. This review identified nutritional water productivity as a suitable index for measuring the impact of a water-food-nutrition-health nexus. Socio-economic factors are also considered as they influence food choices in rural communities. An argument for the need to utilise the region’s agrobiodiversity for addressing dietary quality and diversity was established. It is concluded that a model for improving nutrition and health of poor rural communities based on the water-food-nutrition-health nexus is possible.

  8. National health inequality monitoring: current challenges and opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza; Bergen, Nicole; Schlotheuber, Anne; Boerma, Ties

    National health inequality monitoring needs considerably more investment to realize equity-oriented health improvements in countries, including advancement towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Following an overview of national health inequality monitoring and the associated resource requirements, we highlight challenges that countries may encounter when setting up, expanding or strengthening national health inequality monitoring systems, and discuss opportunities and key initiatives that aim to address these challenges. We provide specific proposals on what is needed to ensure that national health inequality monitoring systems are harnessed to guide the reduction of health inequalities.

  9. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Enhancing Mental Health Care for Suicidal Individuals and Other People in Crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, Madelyn S.; Munfakh, Jimmie L. H.; Kleinman, Marjorie; Lake, Alison M.

    2012-01-01

    Linking at-risk callers to ongoing mental health care is a key goal of crisis hotline interventions that has not often been addressed in evaluations of hotlines' effectiveness. We conducted telephone interviews with 376 suicidal and 278 nonsuicidal crisis callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) to assess rates of mental…

  10. Linked health data for pharmacovigilance in children: perceived legal and ethical issues for stakeholders and data guardians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopf, Yvonne Marina; Bond, Christine B; Francis, Jill J; Haughney, John; Helms, Peter J

    2014-02-12

    The inclusion of the Community Health Index in the recording of National Health Service (NHS) contacts in Scotland facilitates national linkage of data such as prescribing and healthcare utilisation. This linkage could be the basis for identification of adverse drug reactions. The aim of this article is to report the views of healthcare professionals on data sharing, ownership and the legal and other applicable frameworks relevant to linkage of routinely collected paediatric healthcare data. Qualitative study using semistructured face-to-face interviews addressing the study aims. Purposive sample of professional stakeholders (n=25) including experts on ethics, data protection, pharmacovigilance, data linkage, legal issues and prescribing. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using a framework approach. Participants identified existing data sharing systems in the UK. Access to healthcare data should be approved by the data owners. The definition of data ownership and associated legal responsibilities for linked healthcare data were seen as important factors to ensure accountability for the use of linked data. Yet data owners were seen as facilitators of the proposed data linkage. Twelve frameworks (legal, regulatory and governance) applicable to the linkage of healthcare data were identified. A large number of potentially relevant legal and regulatory frameworks were identified. Ownership of the linked data was seen as an extension of responsibility for, or guardianship of, the source datasets. The consensus emerging from the present study was that clarity is required on the definition of data sharing, data ownership and responsibilities of data owners.

  11. National Jewish Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... 2017 View More Upcoming Events View All Beaux Arts Ball Saturday, February 24, 2018 Financial Industries Dinner ... Go Submitting... © 2017 National Jewish Health 1400 Jackson Street Denver, Colorado 80206 1.877.225.5654 Policies & ...

  12. Gaming well: links between videogames and flourishing mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Christian M; Scholes, Laura; Johnson, Daniel; Katsikitis, Mary; Carras, Michelle C

    2014-01-01

    This paper is a review of the state of play of research linking videogaming and flourishing, and explores the role of videogames and technology to improve mental health and well-being. Its purpose is to develop understandings about the positive intersection of gaming and well-being, to document evidence regarding links between videogames and positive mental health, and to provide guidelines for use by other researchers as they design and use tools and games to improve mental health and well-being. Using Huppert's (Huppert and So, 2013) proposition that to flourish is more than the absence of mental disorder but rather a combination of feeling good and functioning effectively, resulting in high levels of mental well-being, and Seligman's (Seligman, 2011) PERMA theory of well-being, the paper identifies strengths in existing games that generate positive affect, positive functioning, and positive social functioning, contributing to, and supporting mental health and well-being.

  13. Gaming well: links between videogames and flourishing mental health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian eJones

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a review of the state of play of research linking videogaming and flourishing, and explores the role of videogames and technology to improve mental health and well-being. Its purpose is to develop understandings about the positive intersection of gaming and well-being, to document evidence regarding links between videogames and positive mental health, and to provide guidelines for use by other researchers as they design and use tools and games to improve mental health and well-being. Using Huppert’s (Huppert & So, 2013 proposition that to flourish is more than the absence of mental disorder but rather a combination of feeling good and functioning effectively resulting in high levels of mental well-being, and Seligman’s (Seligman, 2011 PERMA theory of well-being, the paper identifies strengths in existing games that generate positive affect, positive functioning and positive social functioning, contributing to, and supporting mental health and well-being.

  14. Prevalence and Mental Health Correlates of Witnessed Parental and Community Violence in a National Sample of Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinzow, Heidi M.; Ruggiero, Kenneth J.; Resnick, Heidi; Hanson, Rochelle; Smith, Daniel; Saunders, Benjamin; Kilpatrick, Dean

    2009-01-01

    Background: Although research suggests that witnessed violence is linked to adverse mental health outcomes among adolescents, little is known about its prevalence or its significance in predicting psychiatric symptoms beyond the contribution of co-occurring risk factors. The purpose of this study was to identify the national prevalence of…

  15. Association of Parental Health Literacy with Oral Health of Navajo Nation Preschoolers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brega, A. G.; Thomas, J. F.; Henderson, W. G.; Batliner, T. S.; Quissell, D. O.; Braun, P. A.; Wilson, A.; Bryant, L. L.; Nadeau, K. J.; Albino, J.

    2016-01-01

    Health literacy is "the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions". Although numerous studies show a link between health literacy and clinical outcomes, little research has examined the association of health literacy with oral health. No large-scale…

  16. Exploring the link between ambulatory care and avoidable hospitalizations at the Veteran Health Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pracht, Etienne E; Bass, Elizabeth

    2011-01-01

    This paper explores the link between utilization of ambulatory care and the likelihood of rehospitalization for an avoidable reason in veterans served by the Veteran Health Administration (VA). The analysis used administrative data containing healthcare utilization and patient characteristics stored at the national VA data warehouse, the Corporate Franchise Data Center. The study sample consisted of 284 veterans residing in Florida who had been hospitalized at least once for an avoidable reason. A bivariate probit model with instrumental variables was used to estimate the probability of rehospitalization. Veterans who had at least 1 ambulatory care visit per month experienced a significant reduction in the probability of rehospitalization for the same avoidable hospitalization condition. The findings suggest that ambulatory care can serve as an important substitute for more expensive hospitalization for the conditions characterized as avoidable. © 2011 National Association for Healthcare Quality.

  17. HRD as an Emergent and Negotiated Evolution: An Ethnographic Case Study in the British National Health Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sambrook, Sally

    2001-01-01

    Using a contingency framework, three stages in the evolution of human resource development (HRD) in the National Health Service were identified: tell (training enacted within the classical management paradigm); sell (a competence approach to development for all employees); and gel (strategic HRD linked to corporate goals and future needs).…

  18. Making effective links to decision-making: Key challenges for health impact assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elliott, Eva; Francis, Sarah

    2005-01-01

    This paper draws on an exploratory research study to examine the effectiveness of health impact assessments in Wales. Through the review of five case study health impact assessments the research identified a number of benefits of the process in terms of skills and knowledge development amongst participants. The indirect contributions to decision-making were also evident including the way in which health impact assessment provided useful insights into the local community's perspective and raised awareness about the wider determinants of health. The process was also useful in establishing a dialogue between different stakeholders, which indirectly assisted decision-making and implementation. The direct links between health impact assessment and decision-making were more difficult to trace and this paper puts forward a number of suggestions for making those links more transparent. Suggestions include integrating decision-makers and clarifying the intended links to decision-making at the start of the health impact assessment process. Mainstreaming health impact assessment so that it is triggered as a routine part of all decision-making would help ensure it stands the best chance of informing decisions

  19. CGH observes National Women’s Health Week

    Science.gov (United States)

    This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is observing the 17th annual National Women’s Health Week. The goal of the National Women's Health Week is to empower women to make their health a priority. In celebration, the NCI Center for Global Health held a seminar on the Knowledge Summaries for Comprehensive Breast Cancer Control: Pathways for Advanced Cancer Planning.

  20. Linking emotional distress to unhealthy sleep duration: analysis of the 2009 National Health Interview Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seixas AA

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Azizi A Seixas,1 Joao V Nunes,2 Collins O Airhihenbuwa,3 Natasha J Williams,1 Seithikurippu Ratnas Pandi-Perumal,1 Caryl C James,4 Girardin Jean-Louis11Center for Healthful Behavior Change, Department of Population Health, Division of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, 2Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City College of New York, New York, NY, USA; 3Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA; 4Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work, The University of the West Indies, Mona, JamaicaObjective: The objective of the study was to examine the independent association of emotional distress with unhealthy sleep duration (defined as <7 or >8 hours.Methods: Data from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS, a cross-sectional household survey, were analyzed to investigate the associations of emotional distress with unhealthy sleep durations, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, health risks, and chronic diseases through hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis.Participants: A total of 27,731 participants (age range 18–85 years from the NHIS 2009 dataset were interviewed.Measures: Unhealthy sleep duration is defined as sleep duration <7 or >8 hours, whereas healthy sleep is defined as sleep duration lasting for 7–8 hours. Emotional distress is based on the Kessler 6 Non-Specific Distress Battery, which assesses the frequency of feeling sad, nervous, restless, hopeless, worthless, and burdened, over a 30-day period.Results: Of the sample, 51.7% were female; 83.1% were white and 16.9% were black. Eleven percent experienced emotional distress and 37.6% reported unhealthy sleep. Adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that individuals with emotional distress had 55% greater odds of reporting unhealthy sleep (odds ratio [OR] =1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.42, 1.68, P<0.001.Conclusion: Emotional distress, an important proxy for

  1. Building National Health Research Information Systems (COHRED ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Building National Health Research Information Systems (COHRED). This grant will allow the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED) to create, host and maintain a web-based resource on national health research in low- and middle-income countries in partnership with institutions in the South. Called ...

  2. [Professional stressors and common mental health disorders: Causal links?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolas, C; Chawky, N; Jourdan-Ionescu, C; Drouin, M-S; Page, C; Houlfort, N; Beauchamp, G; Séguin, M

    2017-03-22

    According to the World Health Organization, depression has become the leading cause of disability in the world, contributing significantly to the burden of health issues especially in the industrialized countries. This is a major public health problem, with potential impact on work climates, productivity at work and the continued existence of the organizations. Some recent studies have examined potential links between professional factors and common mental health disorders, but none have demonstrated a direct causal link. In the present study, we explored possible links between work-related stressors and common mental health disorders, with the objective of determining priority mental health prevention axes. The study used a life trajectory method. We compared professional stressors and difficulties present in other spheres of life in the last five years between two groups: a group of 29 participants with common mental health disorders during the last five years (depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, pathological gambling), and a group of 29 participants who have not experienced a mental health disorder in the last five years. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with the participants using a life course analysis method. Each participant was interviewed during two or three meetings of two to three hour duration. Questions regarding difficulties in different spheres of life and mental health were asked. More precisely, data were collected with regards to the presence or absence of mental health disorders in the last five years and the nature of mental health disorders and difficulties. Moreover, we collected data pertaining to the most important positive and negative events in different spheres of life that were present in the last five years, including family life, romantic relationships, social life, academic difficulties, losses and separations, episodes of personal difficulties, financial difficulties as well as

  3. Links between economic and financial theory in graduate health administration education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pink, G H; Coyte, P C

    1989-01-01

    The curricula of graduate health administration programs have, historically, not articulated the theoretical links between health economics and health finance, although an understanding of these links could enhance comprehension of both disciplines. We provide a pedagogical approach that can be used to clarify these interconnections. It compares the standard neoclassical microeconomic concept of the hospital with the financial concept of the hospital, for the purpose of relating the optimal output decision in microeconomic theory to the optimal investment decision in financial theory. This approach can be taught in an advanced course in either economics or finance.

  4. National Minority Health Month Spotlight: Career Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    April is National Minority Health Month and in support of the 2016 theme, Accelerating Health Equity for the Nation, the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) is highlighting how diversity training and career development opportunities are contributing to efforts to reduce the unequal burden of cancer in our society.

  5. Postdeployment military mental health training: cross-national evaluations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foran, Heather M; Garber, Bryan G; Zamorski, Mark A; Wray, Mariane; Mulligan, Kathleen; Greenberg, Neil; Castro, Carl Andrew; Adler, Amy B

    2013-05-01

    Deployments increase risk for adjustment problems in service members. To mitigate this increased risk, mental health training programs have been developed and implemented in several nations. As part of a coordinated effort, three nations adapted a U.S. mental health training program that had been validated by a series of group randomized trials demonstrating improvement in postdeployment adjustment. Implementation of evidence-based programs in a new context is challenging: How much of the original program needs to remain intact in order to retain its utility? User satisfaction rates can provide essential data to assess how well a program is accepted. This article summarizes service member ratings of postdeployment mental health training and compares ratings from service members across four nations. The participating nations (Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States) administered mental health training to active duty military personnel in their respective nations. Following the training, military personnel completed an evaluation of the training. Overall, across the four nations, more than 70% of military personnel agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the mental health training. Although some differences in evaluations were observed across nations, components of training that were most important to overall satisfaction with the training were strikingly similar across nations. Fundamentally, it appears feasible that despite cultural and organizational differences, a mental health training program developed in one nation can be successfully adapted for use in other nations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  6. Forest health monitoring: 2007 national technical report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbara L. Conkling

    2011-01-01

    The Forest Health Monitoring Program produces an annual technical report that has two main objectives. The first objective is to present information about forest health from a national perspective. The second objective is to present examples of useful techniques for analyzing forest health data new to the annual national reports and new applications of techniques...

  7. Forest health monitoring: 2009 national technical report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin M. Potter; Barbara L. Conkling

    2012-01-01

    The annual national technical report of the Forest Health Monitoring Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed Evaluation...

  8. Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELIX)-Atlanta: A CDC-NASA Joint Environmental Public Health Tracking Collaborative Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Luvall, Jeff; Crosson, Bill; Estes, Maury; Limaye, Ashutosh; Quattrochi, Dale; Rickman, Doug

    2008-01-01

    HELIX-Atlanta was developed to support current and future state and local EPHT programs to implement data linking demonstration projects which could be part of the CDC EPHT Network. HELIX-Atlanta is a pilot linking project in Atlanta for CDC to learn about the challenges the states will encounter. NASA/MSFC and the CDC are partners in linking environmental and health data to enhance public health surveillance. The use of NASA technology creates value added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. Proving the feasibility of the approach is the main objective

  9. Design of the national health security preparedness index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uzun Jacobson, Evin; Inglesby, Tom; Khan, Ali S; Rajotte, James C; Burhans, Robert L; Slemp, Catherine C; Links, Jonathan M

    2014-01-01

    The importance of health security in the United States has been highlighted by recent emergencies such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic, Superstorm Sandy, and the Boston Marathon bombing. The nation's health security remains a high priority today, with federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local governments, as well as nongovernment organizations and the private sector, engaging in activities that prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to, and recover from health threats. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR), led an effort to create an annual measure of health security preparedness at the national level. The collaborative released the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI(™)) in December 2013 and provided composite results for the 50 states and for the nation as a whole. The Index results represent current levels of health security preparedness in a consistent format and provide actionable information to drive decision making for continuous improvement of the nation's health security. The overall 2013 National Index result was 7.2 on the reported base-10 scale, with areas of greater strength in the domains of health surveillance, incident and information management, and countermeasure management. The strength of the Index relies on the interdependencies of the many elements in health security preparedness, making the sum greater than its parts. Moving forward, additional health security-related disciplines and measures will be included alongside continued validation efforts.

  10. A comparison of the health status and health care utilization patterns between foreigners and the national population in Spain: new evidence from the Spanish National Health Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Quevedo, Cristina; Jiménez-Rubio, Dolores

    2009-08-01

    The increasing proportion of immigrants in Spanish society is placing pressure on the National Health Care System to accommodate the needs of this population group while keeping costs under control. In the year 2000, a law was approved in Spain according to which all people, regardless of their nationality, are entitled to use health care services under the same conditions as Spanish citizens, provided that they are registered in the local population census. However, empirical evidence about differences in health status and health care utilization between the immigrant and the Spanish population is insufficient. This paper uses the 2003 and 2006 Spanish National Health Surveys to explore the existence of inequalities in health and in the access to health services for the immigrant population living in Spain, relative to that of Spaniards. Our results show that there are different patterns in the level of health and the medical care use between the national and the foreign population in Spain: while immigrants' self-reported health relative to that of the Spanish population depends upon individual nationality, all immigrants, regardless of their nationality, seem to face barriers of entry to specialized care. Further research is needed to understand the nature of these barriers in order to design more effective health policies.

  11. Forest health monitoring: 2008 national technical report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin M. Potter; Barbara L. Conkling

    2012-01-01

    The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program’s annual national technical report has three objectives: (1) to present forest health status and trends from a national or a multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, (2) to introduce new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and (3) to report results of recently completed evaluation monitoring...

  12. Using NASA Remotely Sensed Data to Help Characterize Environmental Risk Factors for National Public Health Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, M. Z.; Crosson, W. L.; Economou, S.; Estes, M., Jr.; Estes, S. M.; Hemmings, S. N.; Kent, S.; Loop, M.; Puckett, M.; Quattrochi, D. A.; Wade, G.; McClure, L.

    2012-12-01

    The overall goal of this study is to address issues of environmental health and enhance public health decision making by using NASA remotely sensed data and products. This study is a collaboration between NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services. The objectives of this study are to develop high-quality spatial data sets of environmental variables, link these with public health data from a national cohort study, and deliver the environmental data sets and associated public health analyses to local, state and federal end-user groups. Three daily environmental data sets were developed for the conterminous U.S. on different spatial resolutions for the period 2003-2008: (1) spatial surfaces of estimated fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on a 10-km grid using US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground observations and NASA's MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data; (2) a 1-km grid of MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST); and (3) a 12-km grid of daily incoming solar radiation and maximum and minimum air temperature using the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) data. These environmental datasets were linked with public health data from the UAB REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) national cohort study to determine whether exposures to these environmental risk factors are related to cognitive decline, stroke and other health outcomes. These environmental national datasets will also be made available to public health professionals, researchers and the general public via the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system, where they can be aggregated to the county-level, state-level, or regional-level as per users' need and downloaded in tabular, graphical

  13. Can consumer choice replace trust in the National Health Service in England? Towards developing an affective psychosocial conception of trust in health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fotaki, Marianna

    2014-11-01

    Trust has long been regarded as a vitally important aspect of the relationship between health service providers and patients. Recently, consumer choice has been increasingly advocated as a means of improving the quality and effectiveness of health service provision. However, it is uncertain how the increase of information necessary to allow users of health services to exercise choice, and the simultaneous introduction of markets in public health systems, will affect various dimensions of trust, and how changing relations of trust will impact upon patients and services. This article employs a theory-driven approach to investigate conceptual and material links between choice, trust and markets in health care in the context of the National Health Service in England. It also examines the implications of patient choice on systemic, organisational and interpersonal trust. The article is divided into two parts. The first argues that the shift to marketisation in public health services might lead to an over-reliance on rational-calculative aspects of trust at the expense of embodied, relational and social attributes. The second develops an alternative psychosocial conception of trust: it focuses on the central role of affect and accounts for the material and symbolic links between choice, trust and markets in health care. © 2014 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2014 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Sources of information about mental health and links to help seeking: findings from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reavley, Nicola J; Cvetkovski, Stefan; Jorm, Anthony F

    2011-12-01

    The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of data from the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB) on the factors associated with the use of sources of information on mental health. A further aim is to examine the associations between the use of information sources and professional help-seeking. Data from the 2007 NSMHWB were used. The survey sample comprised 8,841 residents of private dwellings across Australia aged 16-85 years. Television was the most common source of information about mental health issues in the previous 12 months (accessed by 20.5% of respondents) followed by pamphlets and brochures (accessed by 15.6% of respondents). Having an anxiety or affective disorder, female gender, higher levels of education and having a family member with a mental health problem was associated with the seeking of information on mental health issues from the internet, non-fiction books and brochures/pamphlets. Accessing information on the internet was associated with increased use of any mental health services, GPs and mental health professionals (MHPs). The results suggest that promotion of internet resources may offer the opportunity to increase help seeking for mental health problems and may offer the opportunity to engage those least likely to seek professional help, notably young males.

  15. Linking global scenarios to national assessments: Experiences from the Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda L. Langner; Peter J. Ince

    2012-01-01

    The Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment provides a nationally consistent analysis of the status and trends of the Nation's renewable forest resources. A global scenario approach was taken for the 2010 RPA Assessment to provide a shared world view of potential futures. The RPA Assessment scenarios were linked to the global scenarios and climate projections used...

  16. Linking health education and sustainability education in schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Katrine Dahl; Nordin, Lone Lindegard; Simovska, Venka

    2015-01-01

    , the focus is on transformation processes occurring on the trajectory from international policy frameworks to the national context. The chapter considers the consequences of these transformation processes for educational practices within schools in light of the current major reform of basic general education......This chapter addresses the relationships between international and national (Danish) policies regarding sustainability and health promotion which have the potential to affect school-based health education/promotion and education for sustainable development. Based on policy mapping and analysis...... in Denmark with its aims of ensuring overall school improvement, increasing pupil wellbeing and improving academic outcomes. Analysis of international policy documents, as well as of research literature in both fields, shows that school-based health education (HE) and education for sustainable development...

  17. Association of parental health literacy with oral health of Navajo Nation preschoolers

    OpenAIRE

    Brega, A. G.; Thomas, J. F.; Henderson, W. G.; Batliner, T. S.; Quissell, D. O.; Braun, P. A.; Wilson, A.; Bryant, L. L.; Nadeau, K. J.; Albino, J.

    2015-01-01

    Health literacy is ‘the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions’. Although numerous studies show a link between health literacy and clinical outcomes, little research has examined the association of health literacy with oral health. No large-scale studies have assessed these relationships among American Indians, a population at risk for limited health literacy and oral health problems. This analysis was condu...

  18. Toward a national health risk management approach in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donnell, Carol

    2002-01-01

    There has been increasing international consensus about the importance of competition for achieving national growth and community well-being. The Australian government accordingly has introduced policies to promote such competition. Major legislative review and many public inquiries have assisted implementation of national competition policy and the development of national goals and standards related to international agreements to promote health and sustainable development. Since the 1980s, Australia has had legislation that requires the identification and control of health risks arising at work. The management structures necessary for coordinated delivery of national programs designed for effective identification and control of health risks arising in communities to achieve national health and development goals are still being developed, however. Major difficulties related to this development are discussed. National health development programs should be approached primarily through establishment of regional partnerships between bodies responsible for managing community health, local government, and employment placement, in consultation with other relevant organizations and the community. Related research and evaluation programs are required.

  19. Does cognitive ability buffer the link between childhood disadvantage and adult health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridger, Emma; Daly, Michael

    2017-10-01

    Individual differences in childhood cognitive ability have been neglected in the study of how early life psychosocial factors may buffer the long-term health consequences of social disadvantage. In this study, we drew on rich data from two large British cohorts to test whether high levels of cognitive ability may protect children from experiencing the physical and mental health consequences of early life socioeconomic disadvantage. Participants from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS; N = 11,522) were followed from birth to age 42, and those from the 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS; N = 13,213) were followed from birth to age 50. Childhood social disadvantage was indexed using 6 indicators gauging parental education, occupational prestige, and housing characteristics (i.e., housing tenure and home crowding). Standardized assessments of cognitive ability were completed at ages 10 (BCS) and 11 (NCDS) years. Psychological distress, self-rated health, and all-cause mortality were examined from early adulthood to midlife in both cohorts. Early social disadvantage predicted elevated levels of psychological distress and lower levels of self-rated health in both cohorts and higher mortality risk in the NCDS. Childhood cognitive ability moderated each of these relationships such that the link between early life social disadvantage and poor health in adulthood was markedly stronger at low (-1 SD) compared to high (+1 SD) levels of childhood cognitive ability. This study provides evidence that high childhood cognitive ability is associated with a decrease in the strength of socioeconomic status-driven health inequalities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. National health interview surveys in Europe: an overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hupkens, C L; van den Berg, J; van der Zee, J

    1999-05-01

    In order to study the value of national health interview surveys for national and international research and policy activities, this paper examines the existence and content of recent and future health interview surveys in the 15 member states of the European Union (EU), Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. National health interview surveys are performed in most countries, but not in Greece (only regional surveys), Luxembourg, Ireland and Iceland (only multi-purpose surveys). The health interview surveys in the other 14 countries provide regular data on the main health topics. Of the 14 health topics that are examined in this inventory seven are measured in all countries. Questions on health status (e.g. self-assessed health, long-term physical disability, and height and weight) and medical consumption (e.g. consultations with the general practitioner, GP) are often included. Lifestyle topics are less often included, except smoking habits, information about which is sought in all countries. Topics like diet and drugs/narcotics are more often included in special surveys than in general health interview surveys. Despite differences in the content, frequency and methodology of national health interview surveys in different countries, these surveys are a valuable source of information on the health of Europeans.

  1. 75 FR 36427 - National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps; Notice of Meeting In accordance with section 10(a)(2... of Clinician Recruitment and Service, Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn Building...

  2. 76 FR 29769 - National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps; Notice of Meeting In accordance with section 10(a)(2..., Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service, Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn...

  3. Using women's health research to develop women leaders in academic health sciences: the National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carnes, M; VandenBosche, G; Agatisa, P K; Hirshfield, A; Dan, A; Shaver, J L; Murasko, D; McLaughlin, M

    2001-01-01

    While the number of women entering U.S. medical schools has risen substantially in the past 25 years, the number of women in leadership positions in academic medicine is disproportionately small. The traditional pathway to academic leadership is through research. Women's health research is an ideal venue to fill the pipeline with talented women physicians and scientists who may become academic leaders in positions where they can promote positive change in women's health as well as mentor other women. The Office on Women's Health (OWH) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has contracted with 18 academic medical centers to develop National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health. Emphasizing the integral link between women's health and women leaders, each of the Centers of Excellence must develop a leadership plan for women in academic medicine as part of the contract requirements. This paper describes the training programs in women's health research that have developed at five of the academic medical centers: the University of Wisconsin, Magee Women's Hospital, the University of Maryland, Medical College of Pennsylvania Hahnemann University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. We discuss some of the challenges faced for both initiation and future viability of these programs as well as criteria by which these programs will be evaluated for success.

  4. The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aziz, A A; Salina, A A; Abdul Kadir, A B; Badiah, Y; Cheah, Y C; Nor Hayati, A; Ruzanna, Z Z; Sharifah Suziah, S M; Chee, K Y

    2008-09-01

    The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR) collects information about patients with mental disorder in Malaysia. This information allows us to estimate the incidence of selected mental disorders, and to evaluate risk factors and treatment in the country. The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR) presented its first report in 2004, a year after its establishment. The report focused on schizophrenia as a pioneer project for the National Mental Health Registry. The development of the registry has progressed with data collected from government-based facilities, the academia and the private sector. The 2003-2005 report was recently published and distributed. Since then the registry has progressed to include suicides and other mental illnesses such as depression. The NMHR Report 2003-2005 provides detailed information about the profile of persons with Schizophrenia who presented for the first time to various psychiatry and mental health providers throughout Malaysia. More detailed description regarding pharmacotherapy is reported and few cross tabulations done in an effort to provide better understanding and more clinically meaningful reports.

  5. Building a partnership to evaluate school-linked health services: the Cincinnati School Health Demonstration Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Barbara L; Mansour, Mona; Kohake, Kelli

    2005-12-01

    The Cincinnati School Health Demonstration Project was a 3-year collaboration that evaluated school-linked health services in 6 urban elementary (kindergarten to eighth grade) schools. Partners from the Cincinnati Health Department, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati wanted to determine if levels of school-linked care made a difference in student quality of life, school connectedness, attendance, emergency department use, and volume of referrals to health care specialists. School nurses, principals and school staff, parents and students, upper-level managers, and health service researchers worked together over a 2.5-year period to learn about and use new technology to collect information on student health, well-being, and outcome measures. Varying levels of school health care intervention models were instituted and evaluated. A standard model of care was compared with 2 models of enhanced care and service. The information collected from students, parents, nurses, and the school system provided a rich database on the health of urban children. School facilities, staffing, and computer technology, relationship building among stakeholders, extensive communication, and high student mobility were factors that influenced success and findings of the project. Funding for district-wide computerization and addition of school health staff was not secured by the end of the demonstration project; however, relationships among the partners endured and paved the way for future collaborations designed to better serve urban school children in Cincinnati.

  6. Forest health monitoring: 2005 national technical report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark J. Ambrose; Barbara L. Conkling

    2007-01-01

    The Forest Health Monitoring program's annual national technical report presents results of forest health analyses from a national perspective using data from a variety of sources. The report is organized according to the Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests of the Santiago Declaration. The results...

  7. Forest health monitoring: 2006 national technical report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark J. Ambrose; Barbara L. Conkling

    2009-01-01

    The Forest Health Monitoring Program’s annual national technical report presents results of forest health analyses from a national perspective using data from a variety of sources. The report is organized according to the Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests of the...

  8. 78 FR 55264 - National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps; Notice of Meeting In accordance with section 10(a)(2... Recruitment and Service, Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room 13-64, 5600...

  9. Public views on the links between air pollution and health in Northeast England

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howel, Denise; Moffatt, Suzanne; Bush, Judith; Unn, C.E.; Prince, Helen

    2003-01-01

    We investigated how public perceptions of the links between air pollution and health varied with contextual factors describing individuals and their locality. Information was collected via postal surveys on 2744 adults resident in five neighborhoods in Northeast England. Perceptions were compared by individual factors (health status, age, and gender) and locality actors (relative deprivation, proximity to industry and district--Teesside r Sunderland, with different amounts of heavy industry). There was relatively little variation in views about air pollution and health links between neighborhoods. The greatest contrasts were found when comparing those living near or further from industry and between the two districts. Any differences were related more to awareness of illness in the neighborhood thought to be affected by air pollution, rather than belief that a particular disease was linked to air pollution. Chronic illness status and age were sometimes found to be associated with perceptions of disease affected by air pollution, but gender and material deprivation were not central to differences in risk perceptions among the population studied. In understanding public perceptions about the links between air quality and health, research should focus on the characteristics of places as well as of people

  10. Psychosocial mechanisms linking the social environment to mental health in African Americans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resource-poor social environments predict poor health, but the mechanisms and processes linking the social environment to psychological health and well-being remain unclear. This study explored psychosocial mediators of the association between the social environment and mental health in African Amer...

  11. Private finance of services covered by the National Health Insurance package of benefits in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelchin-Nissan, Esti; Shmueli, Amir

    2015-01-01

    Private health expenditure in systems of national health insurance has raised concern in many countries. The concern is mainly about the accessibility of care to the poor and the sick, and inequality in use and in health. The concern thus refers specifically to the care financed privately rather than to private health expenditure as defined in the national health accounts. To estimate the share of private finance in total use of services covered by the national package of benefits. and to relate the private finance of use to the income and health of the users. The Central Bureau of Statistics linked the 2009 Health Survey and the 2010 Incomes Survey. Twenty-four thousand five hundred ninety-five individuals in 7175 households were included in the data. Lacking data on the share of private finance in total cost of care delivered, we calculated instead the share of uses having any private finance-beyond copayments-in total uses, in primary, secondary, paramedical and total care. The probability of any private finance in each type of care is then related, using random effect logistic regression, to income and health state. Fifteen percent of all uses of care covered by the national package of benefits had any private finance. This rate ranges from 10 % in primary care, 16 % in secondary care and 31 % in paramedical care. Twelve percent of all uses of physicians' services had any private finance, ranging from 10 % in family physicians to 20 % in pulmonologists, psychiatrists, neurologists and urologists. Controlling for health state, richer individuals are more likely to have any private finance in all types of care. Controlling for income, sick individuals (1+ chronic conditions) are 30 % in total care and 60 % in primary care more likely to have any private finance compared to healthy individuals (with no chronic conditions). The national accounts' "private health spending" (39 % of total spending in 2010) is not of much use regarding equity of and

  12. Applying the Innov8 approach for reviewing national health programmes to leave no one behind: lessons learnt from Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saint, Victoria; Floranita, Rustini; Koemara Sakti, Gita Maya; Pambudi, Imran; Hermawan, Lukas; Villar, Eugenio; Magar, Veronica

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT The World Health Organization’s Innov8 Approach for Reviewing National Health Programmes to Leave No One Behind is an eight-step process that supports the operationalization of the Sustainable Development Goals’ commitment to ‘leave no one behind’. In 2014–2015, Innov8 was adapted and applied in Indonesia to review how the national neonatal and maternal health action plans could become more equity-oriented, rights-based and gender-responsive, and better address critical social determinants of health. The process was led by the Indonesian Ministry of Health, with the support of WHO. It involved a wide range of actors and aligned with/fed into the drafting of the maternal newborn health action plan and the implementation planning of the newborn action plan. Key activities included a sensitization meeting, diagnostic checklist, review workshop and in-country work by the review teams. This ‘methods forum’ article describes this adaptation and application process, the outcomes and lessons learnt. In conjunction with other sources, Innov8 findings and recommendations informed national and sub-national maternal and neonatal action plans and programming to strengthen a ‘leave no one behind’ approach. As follow-up during 2015–2017, components of the Innov8 methodology were integrated into district-level planning processes for maternal and newborn health, and Innov8 helped generate demand for health inequality monitoring and its use in planning. In Indonesia, Innov8 enhanced national capacity for equity-oriented, rights-based and gender-responsive approaches and addressing critical social determinants of health. Adaptation for the national planning context (e.g. decentralized structure) and linking with health inequality monitoring capacity building were important lessons learnt. The pilot of Innov8 in Indonesia suggests that this approach can help operationalize the SDGs’ commitment to leave no one behind, in particular in relation to

  13. NHRIC (National Health Related Items Code)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Health Related Items Code (NHRIC) is a system for identification and numbering of marketed device packages that is compatible with other numbering...

  14. CDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is a system of integrated health, exposure, and hazard information and data from a variety of national,...

  15. The association between fluoride in drinking water and dental caries in Danish children. Linking data from health registers, environmental registers and administrative registers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kirkeskov, Lilli; Kristiansen, Eva; Bøggild, Henrik

    2010-01-01

    Kirkeskov L, Kristiansen E, Bøggild H, von Platen-Hallermund F, Sckerl H, Carlsen A, Larsen MJ, Poulsen S. The association between fluoride in drinking water and dental caries in Danish children. Linking data from health registers, environmental registers and administrative registers. Community...... Dent Oral Epidemiol 2010. (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract - Objectives: To study the association between fluoride concentration in drinking water and dental caries in Danish children. Methods: The study linked registry data on fluoride concentration in drinking water over a 10-year period...... with data on dental caries from the Danish National Board of Health database on child dental health for 5-year-old children born in 1989 and 1999, and for 15-year-old children born in 1979 and 1989. The number of children included in the cohorts varied between 41.000 and 48.000. Logistic regression was used...

  16. Why some countries have national health insurance, others have national health services, and the U.S. has neither.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, V

    1989-01-01

    This article presents a discussion of why some capitalist developed countries have national health insurance schemes, others have national health services, and the U.S. has neither. The first section provides a critical analysis of some of the major answers given to these questions by authors belonging to the schools of thought defined as 'public choice', 'power group pluralism' and 'post-industrial convergence'. The second section puts forward an alternative explanation rooted in an historical analysis of the correlation of class forces in each country. The different forms of funding and organization of health services, structured according to the corporate model or to the liberal-welfare market capitalism model, have appeared historically in societies with different correlations of class forces. In all these societies the major social force behind the establishment of a national health program has been the labor movement (and its political instruments--the socialist parties) in its pursuit of the welfare state. In the final section the developments in the health sector after World War II are explained. It is postulated that the growth of public expenditures in the health sector and the growth of universalism and coverage of health benefits that have occurred during this period are related to the strength of the labor movement in these countries.

  17. A logistic regression model for Ghana National Health Insurance claims

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Antwi

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available In August 2003, the Ghanaian Government made history by implementing the first National Health Insurance System (NHIS in Sub-Saharan Africa. Within three years, over half of the country’s population had voluntarily enrolled into the National Health Insurance Scheme. This study had three objectives: 1 To estimate the risk factors that influences the Ghana national health insurance claims. 2 To estimate the magnitude of each of the risk factors in relation to the Ghana national health insurance claims. In this work, data was collected from the policyholders of the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme with the help of the National Health Insurance database and the patients’ attendance register of the Koforidua Regional Hospital, from 1st January to 31st December 2011. Quantitative analysis was done using the generalized linear regression (GLR models. The results indicate that risk factors such as sex, age, marital status, distance and length of stay at the hospital were important predictors of health insurance claims. However, it was found that the risk factors; health status, billed charges and income level are not good predictors of national health insurance claim. The outcome of the study shows that sex, age, marital status, distance and length of stay at the hospital are statistically significant in the determination of the Ghana National health insurance premiums since they considerably influence claims. We recommended, among other things that, the National Health Insurance Authority should facilitate the institutionalization of the collection of appropriate data on a continuous basis to help in the determination of future premiums.

  18. [The national health system in Peru].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Moreno, Francisco

    2014-01-01

    In 1975, a group of professionals in Peru who were experts on national health systems began a process that led the country to be the first in South America to initiate a modern organization of the health system. This pioneering development meant that the creation of the National Health Services System [in Peru] in 1978 occurred before the health system reforms in Chile (1980), Brazil (1990), Colombia (1993), and Ecuador (2008). This encouraging start has had permanent reformist fluctuations since then, with negative development because of the lack of a State policy. Current features of the Peruvian system are inefficient performance, discontinuity, and lack of assessment, which creates a major setback in comparison with other health systems in America. In the 21st century, significant technical efforts have been missed to modernize the system and its functions. The future is worrying and the role of new generations will be decisive.

  19. 78 FR 73201 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental..., National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard, NSC, Room 6182A, Rockville, MD 20852... Autism Research Coordination, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard, NSC...

  20. Operative Links

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wistoft, Karen; Højlund, Holger

    2012-01-01

    educational goals, learning content, or value clarification. Health pedagogy is often a matter of retrospective rationalization rather than the starting point of planning. Health and risk behaviour approaches override health educational approaches. Conclusions: Operational links between health education......, health professionalism, and management strategies pose the foremost challenge. Operational links indicates cooperative levels that facilitate a creative and innovative effort across traditional professional boundaries. It is proposed that such links are supported by network structures, shared semantics...

  1. 76 FR 77239 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental... U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the National Advisory Mental Health Council... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Advisory Mental Health...

  2. [UNHEALTHY FOOD INTAKE IS LINKED TO HIGHER PREVALENCE OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN CHILEAN ADULT POPULATION: CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY IN 2009-2010 NATIONAL HEALTH SURVEY].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dussaillant, Catalina; Echeverría, Guadalupe; Villarroel, Luis; Marin, Pedro Paulo; Rigotti, Attilio

    2015-11-01

    metabolic syndrome (MS) is a clustering of risk factors known to promote cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Environmental factors, such as unhealthy diet, play a major role in the development of this condition. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of MS and its association with food intake quality among Chilean adults. we analyzed data of 2 561 adults (≥ 18 years-old) included in the last National Health Survey (NHS 2009-2010) who had appropriate information to diagnose MS based on ATP III-NCEP guidelines. Consumption frequency of fish, whole grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables was also analyzed and associated with MS prevalence. Using a healthy diet score (HDS), we described the overall diet quality and further correlated it with MS prevalence. we found that lower whole grain intake was associated with greater MS prevalence (OR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.088-2.919; p = 0.022). HDS showed better diet quality among women and in subjects with increasing age and higher educational level. A HDS Chilean adult population exhibits a high prevalence of MS linked to a poor diet quality. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  3. Assessing Measurement Error in Medicare Coverage From the National Health Interview Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gindi, Renee; Cohen, Robin A.

    2012-01-01

    Objectives Using linked administrative data, to validate Medicare coverage estimates among adults aged 65 or older from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and to assess the impact of a recently added Medicare probe question on the validity of these estimates. Data sources Linked 2005 NHIS and Master Beneficiary Record and Payment History Update System files from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Study design We compared Medicare coverage reported on NHIS with “benchmark” benefit records from SSA. Principal findings With the addition of the probe question, more reports of coverage were captured, and the agreement between the NHIS-reported coverage and SSA records increased from 88% to 95%. Few additional overreports were observed. Conclusions Increased accuracy of the Medicare coverage status of NHIS participants was achieved with the Medicare probe question. Though some misclassification remains, data users interested in Medicare coverage as an outcome or correlate can use this survey measure with confidence. PMID:24800138

  4. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1999-2000 forward. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of...

  5. Policy silences: why Canada needs a National First Nations, Inuit and Métis health policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavoie, Josée G

    2013-12-27

    Despite attempts, policy silences continue to create barriers to addressing the healthcare needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The purpose of this article is to answer the question, if what we have in Canada is an Aboriginal health policy patchwork that fails to address inequities, then what would a Healthy Aboriginal Health Policy framework look like? The data collected included federal, provincial and territorial health policies and legislation that contain Aboriginal, First Nation, Inuit and/or Métis-specific provisions available on the internet. Key websites included the Parliamentary Library, federal, provincial and territorial health and Aboriginal websites, as well as the Department of Justice Canada, Statistics Canada and the Aboriginal Canada Portal. The Indian Act gives the Governor in Council the authority to make health regulations. The First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) of Health Canada historically provided health services to First Nations and Inuit, as a matter of policy. FNIHB's policies are few, and apply only to Status Indians and Inuit. Health legislation in 2 territories and 4 provinces contain no provision to clarify their responsibilities. In provinces where provisions exist, they broadly focus on jurisdiction. Few Aboriginal-specific policies and policy frameworks exist. Generally, these apply to some Aboriginal peoples and exclude others. Although some Aboriginal-specific provisions exist in some legislation, and some policies are in place, significant gaps and jurisdictional ambiguities remain. This policy patchwork perpetuates confusion. A national First Nation, Inuit and Métis policy framework is needed to address this issue.

  6. Guidelines for developing effective health education service in a national health agency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ochor, J O

    1983-01-01

    The constraints facing health education include: the fragmentation and dispersal of health-educational services among different agencies and personnel; lack of policy guidelines; ineffectively organized and inefficiently managed health education systems; poor hierarchical status and inadequacy of resources. To resolve these constraints, national health education systems in health agencies should be developed on the basis of stipulated guidelines that could ensure their viability, efficiency and effectiveness. A study at the African Regional Health Education Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria, has yielded thirty synthesized guidelines. The "guidelines" were empirically tested as an evaluation tool by assessing the operational and organizational status of Oyo State Health Education Unit, Ibadan, Nigeria. These guidelines are adaptable to local conditions to enhance the re-organization, re-orientation and consolidation of health education in national health agencies.

  7. Local enactments of national health promotion policies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wimmelmann, Camilla Lawaetz

    2017-01-01

    organisational levels. Visiting, observing and interviewing 15 policy workers from 10 municipalities during a two-year period, this study investigated what happened to a Danish national health promotion policy as it was put into practice and managed in the Danish municipalities. The analysis reveals...... the concrete enactments and their locally experienced effects, our understanding of national public health policies risks becoming detached from praxis and unproductive. Public health policy-makers must pay methodological and analytical attention to the policies' multimodality and their concrete locally......Governments of welfare states are firmly committed to public health, resulting in a substantial number of public health policies. Given the multi-level structure of most welfare systems, the influence of a public health policy is related to its ability to spread geographically and move across...

  8. Eco-Health Linkages: evidence base and socio-economic considerations for linking ecosystem goods and services to human health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystem goods and services (EGS) are thought to play a role in protecting human health, but the empirical evidence directly linking EGS to human health outcomes is limited, and our ability to detect Eco-Health linkages is confounded by socio-economic factors. These limitations ...

  9. [An overview of the definition and implementation of the Brazilian National Policy on Health Data and Information Technology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavalcante, Ricardo Bezerra; Kerr-Pinheiro, Marta Macedo; Guimarães, Eliete Albano de Azevedo; Miranda, Richardson Machado

    2015-05-01

    The This qualitative study aimed to analyze the development and implementation of the Brazilian National Policy on Health Data and Information Technology (NPIIH). We analyzed documents and applied an online questionnaire to the experts involved in developing the policy. The data were submitted to content analysis using the categorical thematic modality. The PNIIS is the target of debate and proposals at various levels. Provisions have appeared in parallel to regulate measures on health data and information technology. Community participation in developing this policy and the convergence of laws, standards, resolutions, and policy-making levels in a common and broadly acknowledged and enforced policy are challenges, in addition to linking the public and private sectors. The study concludes that the National Policy on Health Data and Information Technology is making gradual progress, predominantly in theoretical debates, revisions, and updates. There are numerous challenges for its implementation and a prevailing need for legitimation.

  10. Childhood Environment and Mental Wellbeing at Age 60-64 Years: Prospective Evidence from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stafford, Mai; Gale, Catharine R; Mishra, Gita; Richards, Marcus; Black, Stephanie; Kuh, Diana L

    2015-01-01

    Mental wellbeing, conceptualised as positive affect, life satisfaction and realisation of needs that contribute to psychological growth, captures more than the absence of mental ill health. Several nations now aim to monitor and improve mental wellbeing. Whilst many studies document associations between adverse childhood experiences and mental disorders in adulthood, possible links between childhood experiences and adult mental wellbeing have so far received less attention. Using data from 1976 men and women in the MRC National Survey for Health and Development, we investigated prospective associations between childhood socioeconomic and psychosocial environments and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, designed to capture both hedonic and eudaimonic facets of wellbeing, at age 60-64. Whilst there was no evidence that childhood socioeconomic circumstances were related to later wellbeing independently of other childhood experiences, elements of childrearing and parenting, parental health and adjustment, and childhood illness were related. More advantaged socioeconomic position was associated with greater wellbeing but this did not explain the links between these childhood exposures and adult wellbeing, suggesting alternative explanatory pathways should be considered. Childhood illness and family psychosocial environment are associated with mental wellbeing in early older age, with effects sizes that are larger or comparable to socioeconomic circumstances in adulthood. Initiatives to improve the nation's mental wellbeing that include programmes targeted to supporting families and children may additionally have benefits that continue into older age.

  11. Childhood Environment and Mental Wellbeing at Age 60-64 Years: Prospective Evidence from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mai Stafford

    Full Text Available Mental wellbeing, conceptualised as positive affect, life satisfaction and realisation of needs that contribute to psychological growth, captures more than the absence of mental ill health. Several nations now aim to monitor and improve mental wellbeing. Whilst many studies document associations between adverse childhood experiences and mental disorders in adulthood, possible links between childhood experiences and adult mental wellbeing have so far received less attention.Using data from 1976 men and women in the MRC National Survey for Health and Development, we investigated prospective associations between childhood socioeconomic and psychosocial environments and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, designed to capture both hedonic and eudaimonic facets of wellbeing, at age 60-64.Whilst there was no evidence that childhood socioeconomic circumstances were related to later wellbeing independently of other childhood experiences, elements of childrearing and parenting, parental health and adjustment, and childhood illness were related. More advantaged socioeconomic position was associated with greater wellbeing but this did not explain the links between these childhood exposures and adult wellbeing, suggesting alternative explanatory pathways should be considered.Childhood illness and family psychosocial environment are associated with mental wellbeing in early older age, with effects sizes that are larger or comparable to socioeconomic circumstances in adulthood. Initiatives to improve the nation's mental wellbeing that include programmes targeted to supporting families and children may additionally have benefits that continue into older age.

  12. Social support, volunteering and health around the world: cross-national evidence from 139 countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Santosh; Calvo, Rocio; Avendano, Mauricio; Sivaramakrishnan, Kavita; Berkman, Lisa F

    2012-03-01

    High levels of social capital and social integration are associated with self-rated health in many developed countries. However, it is not known whether this association extends to non-western and less economically advanced countries. We examine associations between social support, volunteering, and self-rated health in 139 low-, middle- and high-income countries. Data come from the Gallup World Poll, an internationally comparable survey conducted yearly from 2005 to 2009 for those 15 and over. Volunteering was measured by self-reports of volunteering to an organization in the past month. Social support was based on self-reports of access to support from relatives and friends. We started by estimating random coefficient (multi-level) models and then used multivariate logistic regression to model health as a function of social support and volunteering, controlling for age, gender, education, marital status, and religiosity. We found statistically significant evidence of cross-national variation in the association between social capital variables and self-rated health. In the multivariate logistic model, self-rated health were significantly associated with having social support from friends and relatives and volunteering. Results from stratified analyses indicate that these associations are strikingly consistent across countries. Our results indicate that the link between social capital and health is not restricted to high-income countries but extends across many geographical regions regardless of their national-income level. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. General practitioners and national health insurance results of a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective. To determine the attitudes of South African general practitioners (GPs) to national health insurance (NHI), social health insurance (SHI) and other related health system reforms. Design. A national survey using postal questionnaires and telephonic follow-up of non-responders. Setting. GPs throughout South Africa.

  14. National health interview surveys in Europe: an overview.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hupkens, C.L.H.; Berg, J. van den; Zee, J. van der

    1999-01-01

    In order to study the value of national health interview surveys for national and international research and policy activities, this paper examines the existence and content of recent and future health interview surveys in the 15 member states of the European Union (EU), Norway, Iceland and

  15. 77 FR 9673 - National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-17

    ... Minority Health and Health Disparities Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal... and Health Disparities Special Emphasis Panel; R01. Date: February 16, 2012. Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m...., Scientific Review Officer, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes...

  16. Racial disparities in smoking knowledge among current smokers: data from the health information national trends surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reimer, Rachel Ann; Gerrard, Meg; Gibbons, Frederick X

    2010-10-01

    Although African-Americans (Blacks) smoke fewer cigarettes per day than European-Americans (Whites), there is ample evidence that Blacks are more susceptible to smoking-related health consequences. A variety of behavioural, social and biological factors have been linked to this increased risk. There has been little research, however, on racial differences in smoking-related knowledge and perceived risk of lung cancer. The primary goal of the current study was to evaluate beliefs and knowledge that contribute to race disparities in lung cancer risk among current smokers. Data from two separate nationally representative surveys (the Health Information National Trends surveys 2003 and 2005) were analysed. Logistic and hierarchical regressions were conducted; gender, age, education level, annual household income and amount of smoking were included as covariates. In both studies, Black smokers were significantly more likely to endorse inaccurate statements than were White smokers, and did not estimate their lung cancer risk to be significantly higher than Whites. Results highlight an important racial disparity in public health knowledge among current smokers.

  17. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Submit Search The CDC The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Note: Javascript is disabled or is not ... and Events NIOSH Contact Information Related Federal Agencies Occupational Safety and Health Administration Mine Safety and Health Administration Follow NIOSH ...

  18. NATIONAL EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE SURVEY (NEHIS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    The National Employer Health Insurance Survey (NEHIS) was developed to produce estimates on employer-sponsored health insurance data in the United States. The NEHIS was the first Federal survey to represent all employers in the United States by State and obtain information on all...

  19. Evaluation of the National School Health Coordinator Leadership Institute

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ottoson, Judith M.; Streib, Greg; Thomas, John Clayton; Rivera, Mark; Stevenson, Beth

    2004-01-01

    In 1999 the American Cancer Society (ACS) launched the National School Health Coordinator Leadership Institute, a groundbreaking initiative designed to enhance and invigorate school health in the nation's schools by training individual school health coordinators to act as change agents. The Institute consisted of three, week-long summer training…

  20. Cryptic relatedness in epidemiologic collections accessed for genetic association studies: experiences from the Epidemiologic Architecture for Genes Linked to Environment (EAGLE) study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malinowski, Jennifer; Goodloe, Robert; Brown-Gentry, Kristin; Crawford, Dana C

    2015-01-01

    Epidemiologic collections have been a major resource for genotype-phenotype studies of complex disease given their large sample size, racial/ethnic diversity, and breadth and depth of phenotypes, traits, and exposures. A major disadvantage of these collections is they often survey households and communities without collecting extensive pedigree data. Failure to account for substantial relatedness can lead to inflated estimates and spurious associations. To examine the extent of cryptic relatedness in an epidemiologic collection, we as the Epidemiologic Architecture for Genes Linked to Environment (EAGLE) study accessed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) linked to DNA samples ("Genetic NHANES") from NHANES III and NHANES 1999-2002. NHANES are population-based cross-sectional surveys conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Genome-wide genetic data is not yet available in NHANES, and current data use agreements prohibit the generation of GWAS-level data in NHANES samples due issues in maintaining confidentiality among other ethical concerns. To date, only hundreds of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in a variety of candidate genes are available for analysis in NHANES. We performed identity-by-descent (IBD) estimates in three self-identified subpopulations of Genetic NHANES (non-Hispanic white, non- Hispanic black, and Mexican American) using PLINK software to identify potential familial relationships from presumed unrelated subjects. We then compared the PLINKidentified relationships to those identified by an alternative method implemented in Kinship-based INference for Genome-wide association studies (KING). Overall, both methods identified familial relationships in NHANES III and NHANES 1999-2002 for all three subpopulations, but little concordance was observed between the two methods due in major part to the limited SNP data available in Genetic NHANES

  1. 78 FR 77472 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5... of Autism Research Coordination, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard...

  2. 78 FR 35293 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5... of Autism Research Coordination, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard...

  3. [Colombia 2015 National Mental Health Survey. Study Protocol].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Restrepo, Carlos; de Santacruz, Cecilia; Rodriguez, María Nelcy; Rodriguez, Viviana; Tamayo Martínez, Nathalie; Matallana, Diana; Gonzalez, Lina M

    2016-12-01

    The 2015 National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) is the fourth mental survey conducted in Colombia, and is part of the National System of Surveys and Population Studies for health. A narrative description is used to explain the background, references, the preparation, and characteristics of the 2015 NMHS. The 2015 NMHS and its protocol emerge from the requirements that support the national and international policies related to mental health. Together with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the objectives, the collection tools, the sample, and the operational plan are defined. The main objective was to obtain updated information about the mental health, mental problems and disorders, accessibility to health services, and an evaluation of health conditions. Participants were inhabitants from both urban and rural areas, over 7 years old, and in whom the comprehension of social determinants and equity were privileged. An observational cross-sectional design with national, regional and age group representativity, was used. The age groups selected were 7-11, 12-17, and over 18 years old. The regions considered were Central, Orient, Atlantic, Pacific, and Bogota. The calculated sample had a minimum of 12,080 and a maximum of 14,496 participants. A brief summary of the protocol of the 2015 NMHS is presented. The full document with all the collection tools can be consulted on the Health Ministry webpage. Copyright © 2016. Publicado por Elsevier España.

  4. Improving public health training and research capacity in Africa: a replicable model for linking training to health and socio-demographic surveillance data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jill R. Williams

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Research training for public health professionals is key to the future of public health and policy in Africa. A growing number of schools of public health are connected to health and socio-demographic surveillance system field sites in developing countries, in Africa and Asia in particular. Linking training programs with these sites provides important opportunities to improve training, build local research capacity, foreground local health priorities, and increase the relevance of research to local health policy. Objective: To increase research training capacity in public health programs by providing targeted training to students and increasing the accessibility of existing data. Design: This report is a case study of an approach to linking public health research and training at the University of the Witwatersrand. We discuss the development of a sample training database from the Agincourt Health and Socio-demographic Surveillance System in South Africa and outline a concordant transnational intensive short course on longitudinal data analysis offered by the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Colorado-Boulder. This case study highlights ways common barriers to linking research and training can be overcome. Results and Conclusions: This collaborative effort demonstrates that linking training to ongoing data collection can improve student research, accelerate student training, and connect students to an international network of scholars. Importantly, the approach can be adapted to other partnerships between schools of public health and longitudinal research sites.

  5. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2015)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  6. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2005)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  7. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2006)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  8. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2007)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  9. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2013)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  10. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2014)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  11. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 2002

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  12. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2008)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  13. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2009)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  14. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2012)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  15. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2011)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  16. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) primarily measures the prevalence and correlates...

  17. National Institutes of Health Funding in Plastic Surgery: A Crisis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvestre, Jason; Abbatematteo, Joseph M; Serletti, Joseph M; Chang, Benjamin

    2016-09-01

    Decreasing funding rates and increasing competition for National Institutes of Health research grants have prompted diverse interventions in various fields of biomedicine. Currently, the state of National Institutes of Health funding for plastic surgery research is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to describe the portfolio of National Institutes of Health grants in academic plastic surgery. Plastic surgery faculty at integrated and independent programs were queried individually in the National Institutes of Health RePORTER database for grants awarded in 2014. Funding totals, mechanisms, and institutes were calculated. Abstracts were categorized by research type and field of interest. Characteristics of National Institutes of Health-funded principal investigators were elucidated. Eight hundred sixty-one academic plastic surgeons at 94 programs were queried, and only 18 investigators (2.1 percent) were funded at 12 programs (12.8 percent). National Institutes of Health-funded investigators were predominately male (72 percent), fellowship-trained (61 percent), and aged 49.3 ± 7.8 years. A total of 20 awards amounted to $6,916,886, with an average award of $345,844 ± $222,909. Costs were primarily awarded through the R01 mechanism (77.2 percent). The top three National Institutes of Health institutes awarded 72.9 percent of the entire portfolio. Funding supported clinical (41.1 percent), translational (36.9 percent), and basic science (22.0 percent) research. Craniofacial (20.5 percent), hand (18.7 percent), and breast (16.2 percent) had the greatest funding. Few programs and faculty drive the National Institutes of Health portfolio of plastic surgery research. These data suggest a tenuous funding situation that may be susceptible to future spending cuts. Future research is needed to identify barriers to National Institutes of Health funding procurement in academic plastic surgery.

  18. IS THE LINK BETWEEN HEALTH AND WEALTH CONSIDERED IN DECISION MAKING? RESULTS FROM A QUALITATIVE STUDY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garau, Martina; Shah, Koonal Kirit; Sharma, Priya; Towse, Adrian

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore whether wealth effects of health interventions, including productivity gains and savings in other sectors, are considered in resource allocations by health technology assessment (HTA) agencies and government departments. To analyze reasons for including, or not including, wealth effects. Semi-structured interviews with decision makers and academic experts in eight countries (Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). There is evidence suggesting that health interventions can produce economic gains for patients and national economies. However, we found that the link between health and wealth does not influence decision making in any country with the exception of Sweden. This is due to a combination of factors, including system fragmentation, methodological issues, and the economic recession forcing national governments to focus on short-term measures. In countries with established HTA processes and methods allowing, in principle, the inclusion of wider effects in exceptional cases or secondary analyses, it might be possible to overcome the methodological and practical barriers and see a more systematic consideration of wealth effect in decision making. This would be consistent with principles of efficient priority setting. Barriers for the consideration of wealth effects in government decision making are more fundamental, due to an enduring separation of budgets within the public sector and current financial pressures. However, governments should consider all relevant effects from public investments, including healthcare, even when benefits can only be captured in the medium- and long-term. This will ensure that resources are allocated where they bring the best returns.

  19. 77 FR 74198 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental... U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the National Advisory Mental Health Council... Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Blvd., Room 6154, MSC 9609, Bethesda...

  20. 78 FR 57865 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5... Person: Ms. Lina Perez, Office of Autism Research Coordination, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH...

  1. 78 FR 48696 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5... Perez, Office of Autism Research Coordination, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive...

  2. 77 FR 29675 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-18

    ... Committee: National Institute of Mental Health Special Emphasis Panel; Neural Processes Underlying Sex... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental... unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute of Mental Health Special...

  3. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2002)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) measures the prevalence and correlates of drug...

  4. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2004)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) measures the prevalence and correlates of drug...

  5. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2003)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) measures the prevalence and correlates of drug...

  6. Linking data sources for measurement of effective coverage in maternal and newborn health: what do we learn from individual- vs ecological-linking methods?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willey, Barbara; Waiswa, Peter; Kajjo, Darious; Munos, Melinda; Akuze, Joseph; Allen, Elizabeth; Marchant, Tanya

    2018-06-01

    Improving maternal and newborn health requires improvements in the quality of facility-based care. This is challenging to measure: routine data may be unreliable; respondents in population surveys may be unable to accurately report on quality indicators; and facility assessments lack population level denominators. We explored methods for linking access to skilled birth attendance (SBA) from household surveys to data on provision of care from facility surveys with the aim of estimating population level effective coverage reflecting access to quality care. We used data from Mayuge District, Uganda. Data from household surveys on access to SBA were linked to health facility assessment census data on readiness to provide basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC) in the same district. One individual- and two ecological-linking methods were applied. All methods used household survey reports on where care at birth was accessed. The individual-linking method linked this to data about facility readiness from the specific facility where each woman delivered. The first ecological-linking approach used a district-wide mean estimate of facility readiness. The second used an estimate of facility readiness adjusted by level of health facility accessed. Absolute differences between estimates derived from the different linking methods were calculated, and agreement examined using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient. A total of 1177 women resident in Mayuge reported a birth during 2012-13. Of these, 664 took place in facilities within Mayuge, and were eligible for linking to the census of the district's 38 facilities. 55% were assisted by a SBA in a facility. Using the individual-linking method, effective coverage of births that took place with an SBA in a facility ready to provide BEmONC was just 10% (95% confidence interval CI 3-17). The absolute difference between the individual- and ecological-level linking method adjusting for facility level was one percentage

  7. National Training and Education Standards for Health and Wellness Coaching: The Path to National Certification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolever, Ruth Q.; Lawson, Karen; Moore, Margaret

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to announce the findings of the job task analysis as well as national training and education standards for health and wellness coaching (HWC) that have been developed by the large-scale, collaborative efforts of the National Consortium for Credentialing Health and Wellness Coaches (NCCHWC) and (2) to invite commentary from the public. The rapid proliferation of individuals and organizations using the terms of health and/or wellness coaches and the propagation of private industry and academic coach training and education programs endeavoring to prepare these coaches has created an urgent and pressing need for national standards for use of the term health and wellness coach, as well as minimal requirements for training, education, and certification. Professionalizing the field with national standards brings a clear and consistent definition of health and wellness coaching and accepted practice standards that are uniform across the field. In addition, clear standards allow for uniform curricular criteria to ensure a minimal benchmark for education, training, and skills and knowledge evaluation of professional health and wellness coaches. PMID:25984418

  8. Earth Science and Public Health: Proceedings of the Second National Conference on USGS Health-Related Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buxton, Herbert T.; Griffin, Dale W.; Pierce, Brenda S.

    2007-01-01

    The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. As the Nation?s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the USGS can play a significant role in providing scientific knowledge and information that will improve our understanding of the relations of environment and wildlife to human health and disease. USGS human health-related research is unique in the Federal government because it brings together a broad spectrum of natural science expertise and information, including extensive data collection and monitoring on varied landscapes and ecosystems across the Nation. USGS can provide a great service to the public health community by synthesizing the scientific information and knowledge on our natural and living resources that influence human health, and by bringing this science to the public health community in a manner that is most useful. Partnerships with health scientists and managers are essential to the success of these efforts. USGS scientists already are working closely with the public health community to pursue rigorous inquiries into the connections between natural science and public health. Partnering agencies include the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Public Health Service, and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Collaborations between public

  9. 77 FR 68135 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5..., National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard, NSC, Room 6182A, Rockville, MD 20852...

  10. Forest health monitoring: national status, trends, and analysis 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin M. Potter; Barbara L. Conkling

    2017-01-01

    The annual national report of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introducesnew techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed...

  11. Linking Compensation and Health Surveillance Data Sets to Improve Knowledge of US Coal Miners' Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almberg, Kirsten S; Cohen, Robert A; Blackley, David J; Laney, Anthony S; Storey, Eileen; Halldin, Cara N

    2017-10-01

    Increase knowledge of US coal miners' respiratory health by linking data from the black lung benefits program (BLBP) and the coal workers' health surveillance program (CWHSP). BLBP claims data from 2000 through 2013 was linked to CWHSP data from 1970 through 2016. Overall, 273,644 miners participated in CWHSP, 37,548 in BLBP, and 22,903 in both programs. Median age of miners at their time of first/only participation in CWHSP was 28 and 32 years, respectively. BLBP claimants were older (median age 59). Thirty-nine percent of BLBP claimants had not participated in CWHSP. The relative contributions of states to participation differed between CWHSP and BLBP. For example, Kentucky miners accounted for 18% of CWHSP participants, but 36% of BLPB participants. Many BLBP claimants never appeared in CWHSP, indicating missed opportunities for secondary prevention.

  12. The U.S. National Library of Medicine's Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wexler, Philip

    2004-01-01

    For nearly 40 years, the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) has been a significant leader in organizing and providing public access to an extensive storehouse of toxicological information through its online databases. With the advent of the Internet, TEHIP has expanded its role to also serve as a pre-eminent portal to toxicological information worldwide. Its primary databases reside within the web-based TOXNET system, and include the scientifically peer-reviewed Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) and Toxics Release Inventory, the National Cancer Institute's Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System (CCRIS) and the TOXLINE file of over 3 million bibliographic references. TEHIP's ChemIDplus is an extensive chemical dictionary that extends beyond simple nomenclature to offer displays of molecular structures and links from particular chemicals to other databases containing more information. Specialty files in occupational safety and health, and household products have recently been added to TEHIP's suite of resources. Additional databases in risk assessment, drugs, toxicology education, and global resources, are under development. ''Special Topics'' pages lead users to structured summaries and links in areas such as arsenic, chemical warfare agents, biological warfare, and West Nile Virus. A database on alternatives to the use of live animals, a three-module toxicology tutor, and a glossary of terms in toxicology are among TEHIP's other information aids, as well an increasing commitment to serving consumers, as witnessed by the animated ToxTown program. Outside the sphere of TEHIP, NLM offers additional databases, such as PubMed, of significant value to toxicology researchers

  13. Forest Health Monitoring: national status, trends, and analysis 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin M. Potter; Barbara L. Conkling

    2015-01-01

    The annual national report of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed Evaluation...

  14. Forest health monitoring: national status, trends, and analysis 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin M. Potter; Barbara L. Conkling

    2015-01-01

    The annual national report of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed Evaluation...

  15. Awareness regarding dengue fever among the link workers of urban health centres of Bengaluru CitySouth India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gowda Giriyanna

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To assess awareness of link workers regarding dengue fever and its prevention and the effect of health education about dengue and its prevention. Methods: Prospective interventional study was conducted in selected urban health centers of Bengaluru. About 106 link workers selected by systematic random sampling were interviewed by trained investigators. Health education was given to all of them and awareness was reassessed after a gap of one month. Results: Mean age of link workers was (36.95 ± 5.88 years. A total of 49.06% of link workers were aware that dengue is caused by virus, 74.53% were aware of complications of dengue, 87.74 % were aware that dengue is spread by Aedes mosquito. After health education the above observations increased to 81.4%, 87.63%, and 90.72% respectively. Difference between mean preand post-test score was statistically significant (P < 0.05. Conclusions: Awareness regarding dengue fever and its prevention was poor among link workers, which improved significantly after health education.

  16. Examining the link between women’s exposure to stressful life events prior to conception and infant and toddler health: The role of birthweight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Erika R.; Park, Hyojun; Wisk, Lauren E.; Mandell, Kara C.; Wakeel, Fathima; Litzelman, Kristin; Chatterjee, Debanjana; Witt, Whitney P.

    2015-01-01

    Background The lifecourse perspective suggests a pathway may exist among maternal exposure to stressful life events prior to conception (PSLEs), infant birthweight, and subsequent offspring health, whereby PLSEs are part of a “chains-of-risk” that set children on a certain health pathway. No prior study has examined the link between PSLEs and offspring health in a nationally-representative sample of US mothers and their children. We used longitudinal, nationally-representative data to evaluate the relation between maternal exposure to PSLEs and subsequent measures of infant and toddler health, taking both maternal and obstetric characteristics into account. Methods We examined 6,900 mother-child dyads participating in two waves of the nationally-representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (n=6,900). Infant and toddler health outcomes assessed at 9 and 24 months included overall health status, special health care needs, and severe health conditions. Adjusted path analyses examined associations between PSLEs, birthweight, and child health outcomes. Results In adjusted analyses, PSLEs increased the risk for very low birthweight (VLBW, <1,500 grams), which, in turn, predicted poor health at both 9 and 24 months of age. Path analyses demonstrated that PSLEs had small indirect effects on children’s subsequent health that operated through VLBW. Conclusion Our analysis suggests a chains-of-risk model in which women’s exposure to PSLEs increases the risk for giving birth to a VLBW infant, which, in turn, adversely affects infant and toddler health. Addressing women’s preconception health may have important downstream benefits for their children, although more research is needed to replicate these findings. PMID:26500337

  17. The Danish National Birth Cohort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Anne-Marie Nybo; Olsen, Jørn

    2011-01-01

    , physical exercise, working conditions, medication and infections during pregnancy, and environmental possible toxins. The study designs cover straightforward cohort analyses, case-control studies and sub-cohort analyses with enriched data collection. CONCLUSION: So far, the Danish National Birth Cohort has......INTRODUCTION: In this review a selection of studies published during the period 2002-2010, based on data from the Danish National Birth Cohort linked with other health registers, is described. Illustrative examples of studies addressing perinatal health outcomes (pregnancy complications and fetal...... that this investment in epidemiologic infrastructure was well spent. The existence of the Danish National Birth Cohort together with other cohorts and national registers has given Denmark a leading position in reproductive epidemiology....

  18. The National Health Services of Brazil and Northern Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gurgel Jr., Garibaldi D.; Carvalho de Sousa, Islâandia M.; de Araujo Oliveira, Sydia Rosana

    2017-01-01

    In 1990 the national health services in the United Kingdom and Sweden started to split up in internal markets with purchasers and providers. It was also the year when Brazil started to implement a national health service (SUS) inspired by the British national health service that aimed at principles......, and inequities have increased. The health sector reform in Brazil, on the other hand, contributed to great improvements in population health but never succeeded in changing the fact that more than half of health care spending was private. Demographic and epidemiological changes, with more elderly people having...... chronic disorders and very unequal comorbidities, bring the issue of integrality in the forefront in all 3 countries, and neither the public purchaser provider markets nor the 2-tier system in Brazil delivers on that front. It will demand political leadership and strategic planning with population...

  19. Expanding the g-Nexus: Further Evidence Regarding the Relations among National IQ, Religiosity and National Health Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeve, Charlie L.

    2009-01-01

    The current study seeks to better understand how religiosity and health are positioned within the g-nexus. Specifically, the degree to which differences in average IQ across nations is associated with differences in national religiosity (i.e., belief rate) and national health statistics independent of differences in national wealth is examined.…

  20. 78 FR 20666 - Food and Drug Administration/National Institutes of Health/National Science Foundation Public...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0345] Food and Drug Administration/National Institutes of Health/ National Science Foundation Public Workshop... public workshop; request for comments. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing its...

  1. The Danish National Health Service Register (NHSR) as a Source for Research on Primary Care

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, John Sahl; Olivarius, Niels de Fine; Krasnik, Allan

    . The data is easy accessible from the Danish National Board of Health. Conclusion: The register's strengths include completeness, size and long follow-up period. It is useful for research purposes especially when linked with other registers. However, grave reservations must be made regarding the validity...... of the register as no studies of this point have been made. Knowledge of the working conditions in general practice is necessary in order to use the NHSR for research purposes.......Aim: To describe NHSR in relation to research. Content: The data in the register from general practice is generated through the GPs’ electronic invoices to the Regional Health Administration. Data from 1990 onwards is available covering more than 600 million patient contacts. For each service...

  2. 77 FR 68134 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5.... Contact Person: Ms. Lina Perez, Office of Autism Research Coordination, National Institute of Mental...

  3. 77 FR 43849 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5.... Contact Person: Ms. Lina Perez, Office of Autism Research Coordination, National Institute of Mental...

  4. 75 FR 33983 - Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-16

    ... integrative health-care strategy that incorporates the most effective and achievable means of improving the... smoking cessation, proper nutrition, appropriate exercise, mental health, behavioral health, substance-use... 13544 of June 10, 2010 Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council...

  5. 29 CFR 1960.35 - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 1960.35 Section 1960.35 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH... § 1960.35 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (a) The Director of the National...

  6. Transcending jurisdictions: developing partnerships for health in Manitoba First Nation communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eni, Rachel; Phillips-Beck, Wanda

    2011-09-01

    The article describes national, regional and community-level activities that contributed to the Manitoba First Nation partnership in maternal and child health programming. The activities reveal a potential for health change that is possible through working together across jurisdictional boundaries. Although we are only in the early phases of program implementation, the Manitoba First Nation Strengthening Families Maternal Child Health Program already suggests considerable successes and measurable outcomes. The article encourages development of further partnerships in the promotion of First Nation health and wellness programming.

  7. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About HealthSense Diabetes HealthSense Title/Keywords: Go Diabetes HealthSense ...

  8. Exploring pathways linking greenspace to health: Theoretical and methodological guidance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markevych, Iana; Schoierer, Julia; Hartig, Terry; Chudnovsky, Alexandra; Hystad, Perry; Dzhambov, Angel M; de Vries, Sjerp; Triguero-Mas, Margarita; Brauer, Michael; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Lupp, Gerd; Richardson, Elizabeth A; Astell-Burt, Thomas; Dimitrova, Donka; Feng, Xiaoqi; Sadeh, Maya; Standl, Marie; Heinrich, Joachim; Fuertes, Elaine

    2017-10-01

    In a rapidly urbanizing world, many people have little contact with natural environments, which may affect health and well-being. Existing reviews generally conclude that residential greenspace is beneficial to health. However, the processes generating these benefits and how they can be best promoted remain unclear. During an Expert Workshop held in September 2016, the evidence linking greenspace and health was reviewed from a transdisciplinary standpoint, with a particular focus on potential underlying biopsychosocial pathways and how these can be explored and organized to support policy-relevant population health research. Potential pathways linking greenspace to health are here presented in three domains, which emphasize three general functions of greenspace: reducing harm (e.g. reducing exposure to air pollution, noise and heat), restoring capacities (e.g. attention restoration and physiological stress recovery) and building capacities (e.g. encouraging physical activity and facilitating social cohesion). Interrelations between among the three domains are also noted. Among several recommendations, future studies should: use greenspace and behavioural measures that are relevant to hypothesized pathways; include assessment of presence, access and use of greenspace; use longitudinal, interventional and (quasi)experimental study designs to assess causation; and include low and middle income countries given their absence in the existing literature. Cultural, climatic, geographic and other contextual factors also need further consideration. While the existing evidence affirms beneficial impacts of greenspace on health, much remains to be learned about the specific pathways and functional form of such relationships, and how these may vary by context, population groups and health outcomes. This Report provides guidance for further epidemiological research with the goal of creating new evidence upon which to develop policy recommendations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc

  9. 75 FR 53320 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-31

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental...: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, Bethesda, MD 20852. Contact Person... of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 6001 Executive Blvd., Room 6154, MSC 9609, Bethesda...

  10. 77 FR 70788 - National Advisory Council on Migrant Health; Cancellation of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National Advisory Council on Migrant Health; Cancellation of Meeting Name: National Advisory Council on Migrant....m. STATUS: The meeting of the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health, scheduled for December 4...

  11. Socio-geographic mobility and health status: a longitudinal analysis using the National Population Health Survey of Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, Sarah; Setia, Maninder S; Quesnel-Vallee, Amelie

    2009-12-01

    The paper reviews arguments that associations between small area socio-economic conditions and individual health are likely to vary according to the type of health condition considered. We comment on the importance of longitudinal research to examine how far area conditions predict later health outcomes, and also how far area variations in health may result from selective migration processes predicted by health status. Using data for 1996 and 2002, from the National Population Health Survey of Canada, linked to small area data on social and on material deprivation in the area of residence for 6950 survey respondents at the two time points, we report on analyses to address these questions. The area measures of material and social deprivation were previously developed by Pampalon and colleagues at the Institut National de Santé Publique de Québec and related to the dissemination area matching the informant's postal code. The health outcomes considered were restriction of activity due to chronic conditions and psychological distress. Our findings suggest that individuals living in materially deprived areas in 2002 were more likely to be affected by health conditions resulting in restriction of activity. Prevalence of psychological distress was higher in areas with greater social deprivation in 2002. Most of these area differences were attenuated when adjustment was made for individual socio-demographic characteristics. Measures recorded in 1996 of individual characteristics and measures of deprivation for area of residence were used to predict change in health outcomes by 2002. Several individual factors (sex, age group, income, household composition) in 1996 were predictive of later health outcomes. After controlling for these individual characteristics the only significant association between health change and area deprivation was with development of restricted activity, which was more common among people who, in 1996, had lived in areas that ranked moderately

  12. National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) is an academic center tasked with leading federal, and coordinating national, efforts to develop...

  13. 78 FR 27974 - National Advisory Council on Migrant Health; Cancellation of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National Advisory Council on Migrant Health; Cancellation of Meeting Name: National Advisory Council on Migrant.... Status: The meeting of the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health, scheduled for May 21 and 22, 2013...

  14. Inequality and adolescent cannabis use: A qualitative comparative analysis of the link at national level

    OpenAIRE

    Stevens, Alex

    2016-01-01

    Aim: This article explores the link between income inequality and adolescent cannabis use at the national level, in the context of other relevant social conditions, in developed countries. Methods and data: Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis is applied to two data sets that contain information on the national prevalence of past year cannabis use among 15 and 16 year olds, taken from the ESPAD and HBSC surveys, with supplementary data from the MtF and ASSAD surveys for the USA and Aust...

  15. National Library of Medicine Web Resources for Student Health Professionals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Womble, R.

    2010-04-02

    Familiarize students affiliated with the Student National Medical Association with the National Library of Medicine's online resources that address medical conditions, health disparities, and public health preparedness needs.

  16. Sexual orientation and health among U.S. adults: national health interview survey, 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Brian W; Dahlhamer, James M; Galinsky, Adena M; Joestl, Sarah S

    2014-07-15

    To provide national estimates for indicators of health-related behaviors, health status, health care service utilization, and health care access by sexual orientation using data from the 2013 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). NHIS is an annual multipurpose health survey conducted continuously throughout the year. Analyses were based on data collected in 2013 from 34,557 adults aged 18 and over. Sampling weights were used to produce national estimates that are representative of the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. adult population. Differences in health-related behaviors, health status, health care service utilization, and health care access by sexual orientation were examined for adults aged 18-64, and separately for men and women. Based on the 2013 NHIS data, 96.6% of adults identified as straight, 1.6% identified as gay or lesbian, and 0.7% identified as bisexual. The remaining 1.1% of adults identified as ''something else,'' stated ''I don't know the answer,'' or refused to provide an answer. Significant differences were found in health-related behaviors, health status, health care service utilization, and health care access among U.S. adults aged 18-64 who identified as straight, gay or lesbian, or bisexual. NHIS sexual orientation data can be used to track progress toward meeting the Healthy People 2020 goals and objectives related to the health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons. In addition, the data can be used to examine a wide range of health disparities among adults identifying as straight, gay or lesbian, or bisexual. All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

  17. National Health-Care Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-24

    and pre/ post partum care during delivery. America should select measures that reflect the health-care goals of the nation. As an example, the Healthy...accidents (8) More than 50% of patients with diabetes, hypertension, tobacco addiction, hyperlipidemia, congestive heart failure, asthma, depression ...reflect the cumulative efforts of different types of individual care. For example, infant mortality is a reflection of pre-natal care, post - natal care

  18. Patient-Reported Outcomes and Total Health Care Expenditure in Prediction of Patient Satisfaction: Results From a National Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Man; Zhang, Weiping; Chen, Wei; Bounsanga, Jerry; Cheng, Christine; Franklin, Jeremy D; Crum, Anthony B; Voss, Maren W; Hon, Shirley D

    2015-01-01

    Health care quality is often linked to patient satisfaction. Yet, there is a lack of national studies examining the relationship between patient satisfaction, patient-reported outcomes, and medical expenditure. The aim of this study is to examine the contribution of physical health, mental health, general health, and total health care expenditures to patient satisfaction using a longitudinal, nationally representative sample. Using data from the 2010-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, analyses were conducted to predict patient satisfaction from patient-reported outcomes and total health care expenditures. The study sample consisted of adult participants (N=10,157), with sampling weights representative of 233.26 million people in the United States. The results indicated that patient-reported outcomes and total health care expenditure were associated with patient satisfaction such that higher physical and mental function, higher general health status, and higher total health care expenditure were associated with higher patient satisfaction. We found that patient-reported outcomes and total health care expenditure had a significant relationship with patient satisfaction. As more emphasis is placed on health care value and quality, this area of research will become increasingly needed and critical questions should be asked about what we value in health care and whether we can find a balance between patient satisfaction, outcomes, and expenditures. Future research should apply big data analytics to investigate whether there is a differential effect of patient-reported outcomes and medical expenditures on patient satisfaction across different medical specialties.

  19. Toward the way forward: the national children's disaster mental health concept of operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreiber, Merritt; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Sayegh, Lisa

    2012-06-01

    Although increasing evidence suggests that children are at particular risk from disasters and evidence-based practices have been developed to triage and treat them effectively, no strategy or concept of operations linking best practices for disaster response is currently in place. To our knowledge, this report describes the first effort to address this critical gap and outlines a triage-driven children's disaster mental health incident response strategy for seamless preparedness, response, and recovery elements that can be used now. The national children's disaster mental health concept of operations (NCDMH CONOPS) details the essential elements needed for an interoperable, coordinated response for the mental health needs of children by local communities, counties, regions, and states to better meet the needs of children affected by disasters and terrorism incidents. This CONOPS for children proposes the use of an evidence-based, rapid triage system to provide a common data metric to incident response and recovery action and to rationally align limited resources to those at greater need in a population-based approach.

  20. Personality trait level and change as predictors of health outcomes: findings from a national study of Americans (MIDUS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turiano, Nicholas A; Pitzer, Lindsay; Armour, Cherie; Karlamangla, Arun; Ryff, Carol D; Mroczek, Daniel K

    2012-01-01

    Personality traits predict numerous health outcomes, but previous studies have rarely used personality change to predict health. The current investigation utilized a large national sample of 3,990 participants from the Midlife in the U.S. study (MIDUS) to examine if both personality trait level and personality change longitudinally predict 3 different health outcomes (i.e., self-rated physical health, self-reported blood pressure, and number of days limited at work or home due to physical health reasons) over a 10-year span. Each of the Big Five traits, except openness, predicted self-rated health. Change in agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion also predicted self-rated health. Trait levels of conscientiousness and neuroticism level predicted self-reported blood pressure. All trait levels except agreeableness predicted number of work days limited. Only change in conscientiousness predicted the number of work days limited. Findings demonstrate that a full understanding of the link between personality and health requires consideration of trait change as well as trait level.

  1. National expenditure on health research in South Africa: What is the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Mexico (2004), Bamako (2008) and Algiers (2008) declarations committed the South African (SA) Ministry of Health to allocate 2% of the national health budget to research, while the National Health Research Policy (2001) proposed that the country budget for health research should be 2% of total public sector health ...

  2. Linking individual medicare health claims data with work-life claims and other administrative data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokyr Horner, Elizabeth; Cullen, Mark R

    2015-09-30

    Researchers investigating health outcomes for populations over age 65 can utilize Medicare claims data, but these data include no direct information about individuals' health prior to age 65 and are not typically linkable to files containing data on exposures and behaviors during their worklives. The current paper is a proof-of-concept, of merging employers' administrative data and private, employment-based health claims with Medicare data. Characteristics of the linked data, including sensitivity and specificity, are evaluated with an eye toward potential uses of such linked data. This paper uses a sample of former manufacturing workers from an industrial cohort as a test case. The dataset created by this integration could be useful to research in areas such as social epidemiology and occupational health. Medicare and employment administrative data were linked for a large cohort of manufacturing workers (employed at some point during 1996-2008) who transitioned onto Medicare between 2001-2009. Data on work-life health, including biometric indicators, were used to predict health at age 65 and to investigate the concordance of employment-based insurance claims with subsequent Medicare insurance claims. Chronic diseases were found to have relatively high levels of concordance between employment-based private insurance and subsequent Medicare insurance. Information about patient health prior to receipt of Medicare, including biometric indicators, were found to predict health at age 65. Combining these data allows for evaluation of continuous health trajectories, as well as modeling later-life health as a function of work-life behaviors and exposures. It also provides a potential endpoint for occupational health research. This is the first harmonization of its kind, providing a proof-of-concept. The dataset created by this integration could be useful for research in areas such as social epidemiology and occupational health.

  3. The Politico-Economic Challenges of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme Implementation

    OpenAIRE

    Adam Fusheini

    2016-01-01

    Background National/social health insurance schemes have increasingly been seen in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as a vehicle to universal health coverage (UHC) and a viable alternative funding mechanism for the health sector. Several countries, including Ghana, have thus introduced and implemented mandatory national health insurance schemes (NHIS) as part of reform efforts towards increasing access to health services. Ghana passed mandatory national health insurance (NHI)...

  4. Health Indicators for Older Sexual Minorities: National Health Interview Survey, 2013-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dragon, Christina N; Laffan, Alison M; Erdem, Erkan; Cahill, Sean R; Kenefick, Daniel; Ye, Jiahui; Haffer, Samuel C

    2017-12-01

    Advances in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (sexual minority [SM]) acceptance and equality have been made in the past decade. However, certain SM subgroups continue to be disadvantaged due to lack of data and, thus, lack of knowledge about these populations. Data for older sexual minorities are especially lacking and will be increasingly important as more sexual minorities enter older age. This research explores results from a nationally representative health survey to elucidate some health indicators for older sexual minorities. Data from the 2013 and 2014 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) were pooled for increased sample size, and established research methods were followed as recommended by prior NHIS sexual orientation studies. We conducted descriptive analyses on the differences between SM and heterosexual groups, aged 65 years and older, for 12 health indicators. Four out of the 12 health indicators were significantly different for sexual minorities, and three out of those four indicated positive health outcomes or behaviors when compared with heterosexuals. Sexual minorities were more than three times as likely to receive HIV testing as heterosexual peers. Sexual minorities were more likely to receive an influenza vaccination, and much more likely to report excellent or very good health, than their heterosexual peers. Sexual minorities were more than twice as likely to report binge drinking, which is consistent with prior research for adult sexual minorities. This analysis is the first to examine national data on health indicators for sexual minorities, aged 65 years and older, using NHIS data. As more surveys begin to collect SMdata and more years of data are collected by NHIS, a clearer picture of the health of older adult sexual minorities should emerge.

  5. Health Policy Brief: Global Mental Health and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cratsley, Kelso; Mackey, Tim K

    2018-01-25

    Increased awareness of the importance of mental health for global health has led to a number of new initiatives, including influential policy instruments issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN). This policy brief describes two WHO instruments, the Mental Health Action Plan for 2013-2020 (World Health Organization, 2013) and the Mental Health Atlas (World Health Organization, 2015), and presents a comparative analysis with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2015). The WHO's Action Plan calls for several specific objectives and targets, with a focus on improving global mental health governance and service coverage. In contrast, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals include only one goal specific to mental health, with a single indicator tracking suicide mortality rates. The discrepancy between the WHO and UN frameworks suggests a need for increased policy coherence. Improved global health governance can provide the basis for ensuring and accelerating progress in global mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Influence of biomedical sciences on National Health Insurance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Health insurance becomes a viable alternative for financing health care amidst the high cost of health care. This study, conducted in 1997, uses a valuation method to assess the willingness of individuals from the working sector in Accra, Ghana, to join and pay premium for a proposed National Health Insurance Scheme ...

  7. Tracking Psychosocial Health in Adults with Epilepsy—Estimates from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobau, R; Cui, W; Kadima, N; Zack, MM; Sajatovic, M; Kaiboriboon, K; Jobst, B

    2015-01-01

    Objective This study provides population-based estimates of psychosocial health among U.S. adults with epilepsy from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey. Methods Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the prevalence of the following measures of psychosocial health among adults with and those without epilepsy: 1) the Kessler-6 scale of Serious Psychological Distress; 2) cognitive limitation; the extent of impairments associated with psychological problems; and work limitation; 3) Social participation; and 4) the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Global Health scale. Results Compared with adults without epilepsy, adults with epilepsy, especially those with active epilepsy, reported significantly worse psychological health, more cognitive impairment, difficulty in participating in some social activities, and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Conclusions These disparities in psychosocial health in U.S. adults with epilepsy serve as baseline national estimates of their HRQOL, consistent with Healthy People 2020 national objectives on HRQOL. PMID:25305435

  8. 75 FR 68612 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-08

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5... Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard, NSC, 8185a, Rockville, MD 20852, Phone: 301-443...

  9. 78 FR 12072 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5... Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard, NSC, Room 6182A, Rockville, MD 20852, Phone: (301...

  10. 76 FR 23612 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5... Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard, NSC, Room 8185a, Rockville, MD 20852. Phone: 301-443-6040...

  11. 78 FR 78966 - Board of Scientific Counselors, National Center for Health Statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-27

    ... Scientific Counselors, National Center for Health Statistics In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the...), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) announces the following meeting of the aforementioned..., NCHS; discussion of vital statistics; future program reviews; National Health Interview Survey 2017...

  12. Toward a New Era of Policy: Health Care Service Delivery to First Nations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miranda D. Kelly

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The disproportionate burdens of ill health experienced by First Nations have been attributed to an uncoordinated, fragmented health care system. This system is rooted in public policies that have created jurisdictional gaps and a long-standing debate between federal, provincial and First Nations governments as to who is responsible for First Nations health care. This article examines: (1 the policies that shape First Nations health care in Canada and in the province of British Columbia (BC specifically; (2 the interests of the actors involved in First Nations health policy; and (3 recent developments in BC that present an opportunity for change to First Nations health policy development and have broader implications for Indigenous health policy across Canada and worldwide.

  13. Animal Health Ireland: providing national leadership and coordination of non-regulatory animal health issues in Ireland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    More, S J; Doherty, M L; Downey, L; McKenzie, K; Devitt, C; O'Flaherty, J

    2011-12-01

    Livestock production plays an important role in the Irish economy. Regulatory animal health issues are the responsibility of government, but until recently there has been no national coordination of non-regulatory animal health issues. This gap has recently been filled with the establishment of Animal Health Ireland (AHI), a not-for-profit, partnership-based organisation providing national leadership and coordination of non-regulatory animal health issues in Ireland. Animal Health Ireland provides benefits to livestock producers and processors by providing the knowledge, education and coordination required to establish effective control strategies, both on-farm and nationally. This paper presents a brief overview of the context for AHI, and of its establishment and initial activities. Non-regulatory animal health issues have been prioritised. A series of work programmes (each focusing on a high-priority issue) have been established. Partnership is critical to success, both for AHI as an organisation and for effective farm-level transfer of knowledge. This model for national leadership and coordination of non-regulatory animal health issues may be of relevance elsewhere.

  14. Right To Health And Judicialization: A Study About Its Efficiency Of The National Judiciary Forum On Health

    OpenAIRE

    Edith Maria Barbosa Ramos; Isadora Moraes Diniz

    2017-01-01

    In the past few years, the judicialization of health has become a problematic theme to the Judiciary. In this contexto, the National Justice Council to puts itself in the role of promoting a judicial public policy for defense and guarantee of health rights, by the National Judiciary Forum on Health institution. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the National Forum practice in offering solutions and alternatives to the health judicialization process. The research was carried out durin...

  15. Using the National Provider Identifier for Health Care...

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The establishment in recent years of a National Provider Identifier (NPI) offers a new method for counting and categorizing physicians and other health care...

  16. Program Spotlight: National Outreach Network's Community Health Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Outreach Network of Community Health Educators located at Community Network Program Centers, Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity, and NCI-designated cancer centers help patients and their families receive survivorship support.

  17. U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps pharmacists: making a difference in advancing the nation's health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flowers, Louis; Wick, Jeannette; Figg, William Douglas; McClelland, Robert H; Shiber, Michael; Britton, James E; Ngo, Diem-Kieu H; Borders-Hemphill, Vicky; Mead, Christina; Zee, Jerry; Huntzinger, Paul

    2009-01-01

    To describe how U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) pharmacists serving in jobs that are normal for them, but considerably different than those found in the private sector, are making a difference in advancing the nation's health. Pharmacists who serve in the Commissioned Corps of PHS fill roles that are considerably different than their counterparts in the private sector. Their work takes them out from behind the counter and into the world. Pharmacy officers advance the health and safety of the nation by their involvement in the delivery of direct patient care to medically underserved people, national security, drug vigilance, research, and policy-making endeavors. PHS pharmacists fill essential public health leadership and service roles throughout the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and certain non-HHS federal agencies and programs. The Health Resources and Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Indian Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Coast Guard are among the many federal agencies in which pharmacy officers are assigned. In each setting, PHS pharmacists find traditional roles augmented with assignments and challenges that broaden the scope of their practice.

  18. The prospects for national health insurance reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belcher, J R; Palley, H A

    1991-01-01

    This article explores the unequal access to health care in the context of efforts by the American Medical Association (AMA) and its allies to maintain a market-maximizing health care system. The coalition between the AMA and its traditional allies is breaking down, in part, because of converging developments creating an atmosphere which may be more conducive to national health care reform and the development of a reformed health care delivery system that will be accessible, adequate, and equitable in meeting the health care and related social service needs of the American people.

  19. National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS-2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS) is an annual survey designed to collect statistical information on the numbers and characteristics of all known...

  20. Stress transgenerationally programs metabolic pathways linked to altered mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiss, Douglas; Ambeskovic, Mirela; Montina, Tony; Metz, Gerlinde A S

    2016-12-01

    Stress is among the primary causes of mental health disorders, which are the most common reason for disability worldwide. The ubiquity of these disorders, and the costs associated with them, lends a sense of urgency to the efforts to improve prediction and prevention. Down-stream metabolic changes are highly feasible and accessible indicators of pathophysiological processes underlying mental health disorders. Here, we show that remote and cumulative ancestral stress programs central metabolic pathways linked to mental health disorders. The studies used a rat model consisting of a multigenerational stress lineage (the great-great-grandmother and each subsequent generation experienced stress during pregnancy) and a transgenerational stress lineage (only the great-great-grandmother was stressed during pregnancy). Urine samples were collected from adult male F4 offspring and analyzed using 1 H NMR spectroscopy. The results of variable importance analysis based on random variable combination were used for unsupervised multivariate principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis, as well as metabolite set enrichment analysis (MSEA) and pathway analysis. We identified distinct metabolic profiles associated with the multigenerational and transgenerational stress phenotype, with consistent upregulation of hippurate and downregulation of tyrosine, threonine, and histamine. MSEA and pathway analysis showed that these metabolites are involved in catecholamine biosynthesis, immune responses, and microbial host interactions. The identification of metabolic signatures linked to ancestral programming assists in the discovery of gene targets for future studies of epigenetic regulation in pathogenic processes. Ultimately, this research can lead to biomarker discovery for better prediction and prevention of mental health disorders.

  1. Introduction of a child and adolescent mental health link worker: education and health staff focus group findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, A; Playle, J; Sanchez, P; Cahill, J; McGowan, L

    2008-10-01

    Policy guidance suggests that outcomes for adolescents with mental health problems can be improved by secondary education services (SES) and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) working more closely. This study reports on staff experiences of the introduction of a mental health link worker (MHLW). The findings of two focus groups are presented, conducted with staff from CAMHS and SES. These focus groups formed part of the overall wider evaluation of the MHLW role. The groups explored staff perceptions and experiences following the introduction of the MHLW, and elicited their views on the effectiveness of this innovative role. Qualitative methods were employed, and analysis was conducted using the principles of grounded theory and the constant comparative method. The findings revealed that the MHLW was well received by both groups, despite the identification of potential barriers. A number of key themes emerged, which included the ability of the link worker to improve communication and to encourage mutual understanding between services. The issues raised by these themes are discussed and recommendations are made for future practice and research.

  2. Acceptability to general practitioners of national health insurance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    D. Mch1tyre. Objective. To determine general practitioners' attitudes to national health insurance (NHI) and to capitation as a ... GPs who approved the introduction of NHI varied depending ... Health Economics Unit, Department of Community Health, University .... in Table I. They were then asked a series of closed questions.

  3. Patient-Reported Outcomes and Total Health Care Expenditure in Prediction of Patient Satisfaction: Results From a National Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Weiping; Chen, Wei; Bounsanga, Jerry; Cheng, Christine; Franklin, Jeremy D; Crum, Anthony B; Voss, Maren W; Hon, Shirley D

    2015-01-01

    Background Health care quality is often linked to patient satisfaction. Yet, there is a lack of national studies examining the relationship between patient satisfaction, patient-reported outcomes, and medical expenditure. Objective The aim of this study is to examine the contribution of physical health, mental health, general health, and total health care expenditures to patient satisfaction using a longitudinal, nationally representative sample. Methods Using data from the 2010-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, analyses were conducted to predict patient satisfaction from patient-reported outcomes and total health care expenditures. The study sample consisted of adult participants (N=10,157), with sampling weights representative of 233.26 million people in the United States. Results The results indicated that patient-reported outcomes and total health care expenditure were associated with patient satisfaction such that higher physical and mental function, higher general health status, and higher total health care expenditure were associated with higher patient satisfaction. Conclusions We found that patient-reported outcomes and total health care expenditure had a significant relationship with patient satisfaction. As more emphasis is placed on health care value and quality, this area of research will become increasingly needed and critical questions should be asked about what we value in health care and whether we can find a balance between patient satisfaction, outcomes, and expenditures. Future research should apply big data analytics to investigate whether there is a differential effect of patient-reported outcomes and medical expenditures on patient satisfaction across different medical specialties. PMID:27227131

  4. 77 FR 70444 - Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; Health Information...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-26

    ... Technology; Health Information Technology; HIT Policy Committee: Request for Comment Regarding the Stage 3 Definition of Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) AGENCY: Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Department...

  5. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... smaller. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HOME | CONTACT US | JOBS AT NIDDK | RSS FEEDS | GET ... External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About HealthSense Diabetes HealthSense ...

  6. National health policies: sub-Saharan African case studies (1980-1990).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dugbatey, K

    1999-07-01

    Four countries, Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Zimbabwe, were chosen as cases to study the impact of national health policies on national health status in sub-Saharan Africa. Through a conceptual framework that covers health problem identification, policy formulation and implementation procedures, the study examined national translations of Primary Health Care (PHC) and Health for All by the Year 2000 (HFA/2000) strategies. A series of government measures, taken between 1980-1986 for health policy development and implementation in these countries, were treated as policy determinants of national health outcomes for the period ending 1990. The impact of these determinants on national health status was then analyzed through a comparative description and documentation of observable patterns and trends in infant mortality rates (IMR), under-5 mortality rates (U5MR) and life expectancy. Policy guidelines from PHC and HFA/2000 were used in conjunction with the respective per capita Gross National Products to categorize the four cases. Based on these guidelines, Botswana was ranked high, both in terms of policy development and the level of economic development, while Zimbabwe ranked high in terms of policy development but relatively low in economic terms. Cote d'Ivoire ranked high on economic development but low with regard to its policy framework. Ghana was at the other end of the spectrum, ranking low both in terms of its policy development and its economic performance. The comparative analysis revealed that Botswana and Zimbabwe performed better than Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana on the three outcome indicators. Despite Cote d'Ivoire's superior level of economic development, its health status fell behind that of Zimbabwe and even Ghana. The study concluded that policies formulated and implemented in accordance with key PHC principles could account for improvements in national health status. Since the end of the study period (1990), there have been significant political

  7. Forest health monitoring: national status, trends, and analysis 2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin M. Potter; Barbara L. Conkling

    2016-01-01

    The annual national report of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi- State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed Evaluation...

  8. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2009-2010

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in...

  9. 78 FR 32259 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Amended Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel, July 15, 2013, 8:00 a...

  10. The place of public inquiries in shaping New Zealand's national mental health policy 1858-1996.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunton, Warwick

    2005-10-10

    This paper discusses the role of public inquiries as an instrument of public policy-making in New Zealand, using mental health as a case study. The main part of the paper analyses the processes and outcomes of five general inquiries into the state of New Zealand's mental health services that were held between 1858 and 1996. The membership, form, style and processes used by public inquiries have all changed over time in line with constitutional and social trends. So has the extent of public participation. The records of five inquiries provide periodic snapshots of a system bedevilled by long-standing problems such as unacceptable standards, under-resourcing, and poor co-ordination. Demands for an investigation no less than the reports and recommendations of public inquiries have been the catalyst of some important policy changes, if not immediately, then by creating a climate of opinion that supported later change. Inquiries played a significant role in establishing lunatic asylums, in shaping the structure of mental health legislation, establishing and maintaining a national mental health bureaucracy within the machinery of government, and in paving the way for deinstitutionalisation. Ministers and their departmental advisers have mediated this contribution. Public inquiries have helped shape New Zealand's mental health policy, both directly and indirectly, at different stages of evolution. In both its advisory and investigative forms, the public inquiry remains an important tool of public administration. The inquiry/cause and policy/effect relationship is not necessarily immediate but may facilitate changes in public opinion with corresponding policy outcomes long after any direct causal link could be determined. When considered from that long-term perspective, the five inquiries can be linked to several significant and long-term contributions to mental health policy in New Zealand.

  11. Health policy in interwar Greece: the intervention by the League of Nations Health Organisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theodorou, Vassiliki; Karakatsani, Despina

    2008-01-01

    The first serious attempts to deal with public health problems in Greece were undertaken between 1925 and 1935. This period also witnessed setbacks to developments in public health, caused by the lack of welfare infrastructure for social relief, as well as extensive health problems brought about by the settlement in Greece of 1,300,000 refugees from Asia Minor. In 1928 following the example set by other European countries, the Liberal Government appealed to international health organisations for support in order to effectively deal with these problems. This contribution constitutes a case study addressing the following issues: a) the impact the League of Nations Health Organisation intervention had on the establishment of public health services; b) the framework for a collaboration of the Rockefeller Foundation and the League of Nations Health Organisation; and c) the factors that led to the failure of the health care reorganisation.

  12. Design and Development of a Linked Open Data-Based Health Information Representation and Visualization System: Potentials and Preliminary Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauppinen, Tomi; Keßler, Carsten; Fritz, Fleur

    2014-01-01

    Background Healthcare organizations around the world are challenged by pressures to reduce cost, improve coordination and outcome, and provide more with less. This requires effective planning and evidence-based practice by generating important information from available data. Thus, flexible and user-friendly ways to represent, query, and visualize health data becomes increasingly important. International organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) regularly publish vital data on priority health topics that can be utilized for public health policy and health service development. However, the data in most portals is displayed in either Excel or PDF formats, which makes information discovery and reuse difficult. Linked Open Data (LOD)—a new Semantic Web set of best practice of standards to publish and link heterogeneous data—can be applied to the representation and management of public level health data to alleviate such challenges. However, the technologies behind building LOD systems and their effectiveness for health data are yet to be assessed. Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate whether Linked Data technologies are potential options for health information representation, visualization, and retrieval systems development and to identify the available tools and methodologies to build Linked Data-based health information systems. Methods We used the Resource Description Framework (RDF) for data representation, Fuseki triple store for data storage, and Sgvizler for information visualization. Additionally, we integrated SPARQL query interface for interacting with the data. We primarily use the WHO health observatory dataset to test the system. All the data were represented using RDF and interlinked with other related datasets on the Web of Data using Silk—a link discovery framework for Web of Data. A preliminary usability assessment was conducted following the System Usability Scale (SUS) method. Results We developed an LOD

  13. Design and development of a linked open data-based health information representation and visualization system: potentials and preliminary evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilahun, Binyam; Kauppinen, Tomi; Keßler, Carsten; Fritz, Fleur

    2014-10-25

    Healthcare organizations around the world are challenged by pressures to reduce cost, improve coordination and outcome, and provide more with less. This requires effective planning and evidence-based practice by generating important information from available data. Thus, flexible and user-friendly ways to represent, query, and visualize health data becomes increasingly important. International organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) regularly publish vital data on priority health topics that can be utilized for public health policy and health service development. However, the data in most portals is displayed in either Excel or PDF formats, which makes information discovery and reuse difficult. Linked Open Data (LOD)-a new Semantic Web set of best practice of standards to publish and link heterogeneous data-can be applied to the representation and management of public level health data to alleviate such challenges. However, the technologies behind building LOD systems and their effectiveness for health data are yet to be assessed. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether Linked Data technologies are potential options for health information representation, visualization, and retrieval systems development and to identify the available tools and methodologies to build Linked Data-based health information systems. We used the Resource Description Framework (RDF) for data representation, Fuseki triple store for data storage, and Sgvizler for information visualization. Additionally, we integrated SPARQL query interface for interacting with the data. We primarily use the WHO health observatory dataset to test the system. All the data were represented using RDF and interlinked with other related datasets on the Web of Data using Silk-a link discovery framework for Web of Data. A preliminary usability assessment was conducted following the System Usability Scale (SUS) method. We developed an LOD-based health information representation, querying

  14. Implementation and integration of regional health care data networks in the Hellenic National Health Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lampsas, Petros; Vidalis, Ioannis; Papanikolaou, Christos; Vagelatos, Aristides

    2002-12-01

    Modern health care is provided with close cooperation among many different institutions and professionals, using their specialized expertise in a common effort to deliver best-quality and, at the same time, cost-effective services. Within this context of the growing need for information exchange, the demand for realization of data networks interconnecting various health care institutions at a regional level, as well as a national level, has become a practical necessity. To present the technical solution that is under consideration for implementing and interconnecting regional health care data networks in the Hellenic National Health System. The most critical requirements for deploying such a regional health care data network were identified as: fast implementation, security, quality of service, availability, performance, and technical support. The solution proposed is the use of proper virtual private network technologies for implementing functionally-interconnected regional health care data networks. The regional health care data network is considered to be a critical infrastructure for further development and penetration of information and communication technologies in the Hellenic National Health System. Therefore, a technical approach was planned, in order to have a fast cost-effective implementation, conforming to certain specifications.

  15. 75 FR 66114 - National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-27

    ... Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory... and Health Disparities Special Emphasis Panel; NCMHD Health Disparities Research on Minority and... Review Officer, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 6707 Democracy Boulevard...

  16. 75 FR 12766 - National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-17

    ... Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meetings Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal... and Health Disparities Special Emphasis Panel Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research... Review, National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800...

  17. Global comparison of national individual food consumption surveys as a basis for health research and integration in national health surveillance programmes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huybrechts, Inge; Aglago, Elom K; Mullee, Amy; De Keyzer, Willem; Leclercq, Catherine; Allemand, Pauline; Balcerzak, Agnieszka; Zotor, Francis B; Gunter, Marc J

    2017-11-01

    Individual food consumption surveys (IFCS) are performed to evaluate compliance with food/nutrient intake requirements or exposure to potential harmful dietary contaminants/components. In this review, we inventoried methods and designs used in national IFCS and discussed the methodologies applied across countries. Literature searches were performed using fixed sets of search terms in different online databases. We identified IFCS in thirty-nine countries from six world continents. National IFCS systems are available in most of the high-income countries, while such surveys are scarce in low- and middle-income countries (e.g. Africa, Eastern Europe and several Asian countries). Few countries (n 9) have their national IFCS incorporated into national health and nutrition surveys, allowing the investigation of dietary-related disease outcomes. Of the integrated surveys, most have the advantage of being continuous/regular, contrary to other IFCS that are mostly erratic. This review serves as the basis to define gaps and needs in IFCS worldwide and assists in defining priorities for resource allocation. In addition, it can serve as a source of inspiration for countries that do not have an IFCS system in place yet and advocate for national IFCS to be incorporated into national health and nutrition surveys in order to create: (1) research opportunities for investigating diet-disease relationships and (2) a frame to plan and evaluate the effect of diet-related policies (e.g. promotion of local nutrient-rich foods) and of nutrition recommendations, such as food-based dietary guidelines. Countries that integrate their IFCS within their national health and nutrition survey can serve as proof-of-principle for other countries.

  18. 76 FR 50235 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-12

    ... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meetings Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee... (DERT), Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 615 Davis Dr... of Extramural Research and Training (DERT), Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences, National...

  19. Psychological Pathways Linking Social Support to Health Outcomes: A Visit with the “Ghosts” of Research Past, Present, and Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchino, Bert N.; Bowen, Kimberly; Carlisle, McKenzie; Birmingham, Wendy

    2012-01-01

    Contemporary models postulate the importance of psychological mechanisms linking perceived and received social support to physical health outcomes. In this review, we examine studies that directly tested the potential psychological mechanisms responsible for links between social support and health-relevant physiological processes (1980s to 2010). Inconsistent with existing theoretical models, no evidence was found that psychological mechanisms such as depression, perceived stress, and other affective processes are directly responsible for links between support and health. We discuss the importance of considering statistical/design issues, emerging conceptual perspectives, and limitations of our existing models for future research aimed at elucidating the psychological mechanisms responsible for links between social support and physical health outcomes. PMID:22326104

  20. Introducing technology learning for energy technologies in a national CGE model through soft links to global and national energy models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinsen, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes a method to model the influence by global policy scenarios, particularly spillover of technology learning, on the energy service demand of the non-energy sectors of the national economy. It is exemplified by Norway. Spillover is obtained from the technology-rich global Energy Technology Perspective model operated by the International Energy Agency. It is provided to a national hybrid model where a national bottom-up Markal model carries forward spillover into a national top-down CGE model at a disaggregated demand category level. Spillover of technology learning from the global energy technology market will reduce national generation costs of energy carriers. This may in turn increase demand in the non-energy sectors of the economy because of the rebound effect. The influence of spillover on the Norwegian economy is most pronounced for the production level of industrial chemicals and for the demand for electricity for residential energy services. The influence is modest, however, because all existing electricity generating capacity is hydroelectric and thus compatible with the low emission policy scenario. In countries where most of the existing generating capacity must be replaced by nascent energy technologies or carbon captured and storage the influence on demand is expected to be more significant. - Highlights: → Spillover of global technology learning may be forwarded into a macroeconomic model. → The national electricity price differs significantly between the different global scenarios. → Soft-linking global and national models facilitate transparency in the technology learning effect chain.

  1. Financial burden of household out-of pocket health expenditure in Viet Nam: findings from the National Living Standard Survey 2002-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Minh, Hoang; Kim Phuong, Nguyen Thi; Saksena, Priyanka; James, Chris D; Xu, Ke

    2013-11-01

    In Viet Nam, household direct out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditure as a share of the total health expenditure has been always high, ranging from 50% to 70%. The high share of OOP expenditure has been linked to different inequity problems such as catastrophic health expenditure (households must reduce their expenditure on other necessities) and impoverishment. This paper aims to examine catastrophic and poverty impacts of household out-of-pocket health expenditure in Viet Nam over time and identify socio-economic indicators associated with them. Data used in this research were obtained from a nationally representative household survey, Viet Nam Living Standard Survey 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010. The findings revealed that there were problems in health care financing in Viet Nam - many households encountered catastrophic health expenditure and/or were pushed into poverty due to health care payments. The issues were pervasive over time. Catastrophic expenditure and impoverishment problems were more common among the households who had more elderly people and those located in rural areas. Importantly, the financial protection aspect of the national health insurance schemes was still modest. Given these findings, more attention is needed on developing methods of financial protection in Viet Nam. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. The paradox of non-evidence based, publicly funded complementary alternative medicine in the English National Health Service: An explanation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheppard, Maria K

    2015-10-01

    Despite the unproven effectiveness of many practices that are under the umbrella term 'complementary alternative medicine' (CAM), there is provision of CAM within the English National Health Service (NHS). Moreover, although the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence was established to promote scientifically validated medicine in the NHS, the paradox of publicly funded, non-evidence based CAM can be explained as linked with government policy of patient choice and specifically patient treatment choice. Patient choice is useful in the political and policy discourse as it is open to different interpretations and can be justified by policy-makers who rely on the traditional NHS values of equity and universality. Treatment choice finds expression in the policy of personalised healthcare linked with patient responsibilisation which finds resonance in the emphasis CAM places on self-care and self-management. More importantly, however, policy-makers also use patient choice and treatment choice as a policy initiative with the objective of encouraging destabilisation of the entrenched healthcare institutions and practices considered resistant to change. This political strategy of system reform has the unintended, paradoxical consequence of allowing for the emergence of non-evidence based, publicly funded CAM in the NHS. The political and policy discourse of patient choice thus trumps evidence based medicine, with patients that demand access to CAM becoming the unwitting beneficiaries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Exploring the barriers to implementing National Health Insurance in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article explores the challenges of implementing the proposed National Health Insurance for South Africa (SA), based on the six building blocks of the World Health Organization Health System Framework. In the context of the current SA health system, leadership, finance, workforce, technologies, information and service ...

  4. England: a healthier nation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McInnes, D; Barnes, R

    2000-01-01

    HINTS AND TIPS: Several difficult challenges have had to be tackled in developing a health policy for England. Although not all the answers have yet been found and the learning process continues, some lessons can be drawn from experience to date. CONSULTATION: Public consultation and the involvement of a wide range of individuals and groups at all levels and stages is crucial to implementing the policy. Without it, The health of the nation would have remained a paper exercise and the local ownership of the policy that has been achieved in some places could not have come about. This principle has been adopted for Our healthier nation, which will benefit from extensive consultation. Communication of the concepts underlying the policy and of ideas about its strategic implementation is also crucial. A wide variety of mechanisms have been used in England, and this has helped to maintain momentum and to keep health policy high on the agenda. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Health of the Nation calendar and the Target publication have been especially popular. Target in particular has been and continues to be an effective medium for disseminating ideas and examples of successful implementation strategies. In addition, publication of The health of the nation material on the Internet widened its potential audience considerably. The publication of The health of the nation was especially timely, not only in terms of gaining support and commitment from the leadership of the Department of Health and other government departments, but also across the political spectrum. In addition, the then-recent NHS reforms gave new opportunities for health policy to be incorporated into health service practice. Our healthier nation is also being launched in tandem with a white paper on health services, and the links between them are being stated explicitly. COMMITMENT: As indicated above, commitment from the top is essential to the success of the strategy; this applies not only to the

  5. Nigeria's national health act 2014: a review of some of its ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nigeria's National Health Act 2014 was enacted on the 31st of October, 2014. The Act which provides a legal framework for the regulation and management of Nigeria's national health system, bristles with implications such as the need for improved political commitment by government to the health of Nigerians, improved ...

  6. 77 FR 36564 - National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-19

    ... Minority Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal... and Health Disparities Special Emphasis Panel; NIMHD Support for Conference and Scientific meetings... Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 6707 Democracy Blvd...

  7. 75 FR 9421 - National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-02

    ... Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory... and Health Disparities Special Emphasis Panel; Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research..., National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800, Bethesda...

  8. 78 FR 35837 - National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Endowments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-14

    ... disparities research to close the disparity gap in the burden of illness and death experienced by racial and... Number NIH-2007-0931] RIN 0925-AA61 National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research... disparities research and other health disparities research. DATES: Comments must be received on or before...

  9. A national quitline service and its promotion in the mass media: modelling the health gain, health equity and cost-utility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nghiem, Nhung; Cleghorn, Christine L; Leung, William; Nair, Nisha; Deen, Frederieke S van der; Blakely, Tony; Wilson, Nick

    2017-07-24

    Mass media campaigns and quitlines are both important distinct components of tobacco control programmes around the world. But when used as an integrated package, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness are not well described. We therefore aimed to estimate the health gain, health equity impacts and cost-utility of the package of a national quitline service and its promotion in the mass media. We adapted an established Markov and multistate life-table macro-simulation model. The population was all New Zealand adults in 2011. Effect sizes and intervention costs were based on past New Zealand quitline data. Health system costs were from a national data set linking individual health events to costs. The 1-year operation of the existing intervention package of mass media promotion and quitline service was found to be net cost saving to the health sector for all age groups, sexes and ethnic groups (saving $NZ84 million; 95%uncertainty interval 60-115 million in the base-case model). It also produced greater per capita health gains for Māori (indigenous) than non-Māori (2.2 vs 0.73 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) per 1000 population, respectively). The net cost saving of the intervention was maintained in all sensitivity and scenario analyses for example at a discount rate of 6% and when the intervention effect size was quartered (given the possibility of residual confounding in our estimates of smoking cessation). Running the intervention for 20 years would generate an estimated 54 000 QALYs and $NZ1.10 billion (US$0.74 billion) in cost savings. The package of a quitline service and its promotion in the mass media appears to be an effective means to generate health gain, address health inequalities and save health system costs. Nevertheless, the role of this intervention needs to be compared with other tobacco control and health sector interventions, some of which may be even more cost saving. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise

  10. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ... diabetes Family member, friend, or caregiver Health care professional Teacher or school health professional K-8th grade ...

  11. 76 FR 81515 - National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National..., to hear updates from the Health Resources and Services Administration and the NHSC program, as well... comments and questions. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Njeri Jones, Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and...

  12. Right To Health And Judicialization: A Study About Its Efficiency Of The National Judiciary Forum On Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edith Maria Barbosa Ramos

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In the past few years, the judicialization of health has become a problematic theme to the Judiciary. In this contexto, the National Justice Council to puts itself in the role of promoting a judicial public policy for defense and guarantee of health rights, by the National Judiciary Forum on Health institution. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the National Forum practice in offering solutions and alternatives to the health judicialization process. The research was carried out during 2015. Developed descriptive and exploratory research, with bibliographic procedure, documentary and semi-structured interview.

  13. Worry as a Predictor of Nutrition Behaviors: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrer, Rebecca A.; Bergman, Hannah E.; Klein, William M. P.

    2013-01-01

    Worry has been shown to predict a variety of health behaviors, such as cancer screening, yet there are few studies linking worry and nutrition. This study used nationally representative data from National Cancer Institute's Food Attitudes and Behavior Survey ("n" = 3,397) to examine the association between health-related worry and a variety of…

  14. 76 FR 31620 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-01

    ... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel, Research on Ethics and Integrity of Human and or Animal Subjects... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of..., DVM, Chief, Scientific Review Branch, Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute...

  15. 75 FR 76986 - Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; Health Information...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-10

    ... Technology; Health Information Technology; Request for Information Regarding the President's Council of... Information Technology To Improve Healthcare for Americans: The Path Forward'' AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION...

  16. [The strategic purchasing of health services: a big opportunity for the National Universal Health System].

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Block, Miguel Ángel; Alarcón Irigoyen, José; Figueroa Lara, Alejandro; Ibarra Espinosa, Ignacio; Cortés Llamas, Noemí

    2015-01-01

    proposed to establish a service packages, whether through a single obligatory list or through the definition of a flexible, high priority set to be offered to specific populations according to their economic possibilities. For the strategic purchasing of services, two alternatives are proposed: to assign the fund either to a single national manager or to each of the existing public provider institutions, with the expectation that they would contract across each other and with private providers to fulfill their complementary needs.The proposal does not consider the risks and alternatives to a single tax contribution fund, which could have been suggested given that it is not an essential part of a National Universal Health System. However, it is necessary to discuss in more detail the roles and strategies for a national single-payer, especially for the strategic purchasing of high-cost and specialized interventions in the context of public and private providers. The alternative of allocating funds directly to providers would undermine the incentives for competition and collaboration and the capacity to steer providers towards the provision of high quality health services.It is proposed to focus the discussion of the reform of the national health system around strategic purchasing and the functions and structure of a single-payer as well as of agencies to articulate integrated health service networks as tools to promote quality and efficiency of the National Universal Health System. The inclusion of economic incentives to providers will be vital for competition, but also for the cooperation of providers within integrated, multi-institutional health service networks.Health professionals and sector policy specialists coordinated by the Centro de Estudios Espinosa Yglesi as in Mexico propose a policy to anchor the health system in primary care centered on the individual. The vision includes effective stewardship,solid financing, and the provision of services by a

  17. 75 FR 46950 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-04

    ... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel, Gulf Oil Spill Health Effects. Date: August 17, 2010. Time: 1 p.m...--Health Risks from Environmental Exposures; 93.142, NIEHS Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of...

  18. 78 FR 65345 - National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-31

    ... Minority Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal... and Health Disparities Special Emphasis Panel; NIMHD Research Center in Minority Institution Program... applications. Place: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite...

  19. Linkage between the Danish National Health Service Prescription Database, the Danish Fetal Medicine Database, and other Danish registries as a tool for the study of drug safety in pregnancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Lars Henning; Petersen, Olav Bjørn; Nørgaard, Mette

    2016-01-01

    A linked population-based database is being created in Denmark for research on drug safety during pregnancy. It combines information from the Danish National Health Service Prescription Database (with information on all prescriptions reimbursed in Denmark since 2004), the Danish Fetal Medicine...

  20. The influence of distance and level of care on delivery place in rural Zambia: a study of linked national data in a geographic information system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabrysch, Sabine; Cousens, Simon; Cox, Jonathan; Campbell, Oona M R

    2011-01-25

    Maternal and perinatal mortality could be reduced if all women delivered in settings where skilled attendants could provide emergency obstetric care (EmOC) if complications arise. Research on determinants of skilled attendance at delivery has focussed on household and individual factors, neglecting the influence of the health service environment, in part due to a lack of suitable data. The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of distance to care and level of care on women's use of health facilities for delivery in rural Zambia, and to compare their population impact to that of other important determinants. Using a geographic information system (GIS), we linked national household data from the Zambian Demographic and Health Survey 2007 with national facility data from the Zambian Health Facility Census 2005 and calculated straight-line distances. Health facilities were classified by whether they provided comprehensive EmOC (CEmOC), basic EmOC (BEmOC), or limited or substandard services. Multivariable multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the influence of distance to care and level of care on place of delivery (facility or home) for 3,682 rural births, controlling for a wide range of confounders. Only a third of rural Zambian births occurred at a health facility, and half of all births were to mothers living more than 25 km from a facility of BEmOC standard or better. As distance to the closest health facility doubled, the odds of facility delivery decreased by 29% (95% CI, 14%-40%). Independently, each step increase in level of care led to 26% higher odds of facility delivery (95% CI, 7%-48%). The population impact of poor geographic access to EmOC was at least of similar magnitude as that of low maternal education, household poverty, or lack of female autonomy. Lack of geographic access to emergency obstetric care is a key factor explaining why most rural deliveries in Zambia still occur at home without skilled care

  1. The influence of distance and level of care on delivery place in rural Zambia: a study of linked national data in a geographic information system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabine Gabrysch

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Maternal and perinatal mortality could be reduced if all women delivered in settings where skilled attendants could provide emergency obstetric care (EmOC if complications arise. Research on determinants of skilled attendance at delivery has focussed on household and individual factors, neglecting the influence of the health service environment, in part due to a lack of suitable data. The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of distance to care and level of care on women's use of health facilities for delivery in rural Zambia, and to compare their population impact to that of other important determinants. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Using a geographic information system (GIS, we linked national household data from the Zambian Demographic and Health Survey 2007 with national facility data from the Zambian Health Facility Census 2005 and calculated straight-line distances. Health facilities were classified by whether they provided comprehensive EmOC (CEmOC, basic EmOC (BEmOC, or limited or substandard services. Multivariable multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the influence of distance to care and level of care on place of delivery (facility or home for 3,682 rural births, controlling for a wide range of confounders. Only a third of rural Zambian births occurred at a health facility, and half of all births were to mothers living more than 25 km from a facility of BEmOC standard or better. As distance to the closest health facility doubled, the odds of facility delivery decreased by 29% (95% CI, 14%-40%. Independently, each step increase in level of care led to 26% higher odds of facility delivery (95% CI, 7%-48%. The population impact of poor geographic access to EmOC was at least of similar magnitude as that of low maternal education, household poverty, or lack of female autonomy. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of geographic access to emergency obstetric care is a key factor explaining why most rural deliveries

  2. Methodology of the National School-based Health Survey in Malaysia, 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yusoff, Fadhli; Saari, Riyanti; Naidu, Balkish M; Ahmad, Noor Ani; Omar, Azahadi; Aris, Tahir

    2014-09-01

    The National School-Based Health Survey 2012 was a nationwide school health survey of students in Standard 4 to Form 5 (10-17 years of age), who were schooling in government schools in Malaysia during the period of data collection. The survey comprised 3 subsurveys: the Global School Health Survey (GSHS), the Mental Health Survey, and the National School-Based Nutrition Survey. The aim of the survey was to provide data on the health status of adolescents in Malaysia toward strengthening the adolescent health program in the country. The design of the survey was created to fulfill the requirements of the 3 subsurveys. A 2-stage stratified sampling method was adopted in the sampling. The methods for data collection were via questionnaire and physical examination. The National School-Based Health Survey 2012 adopted an appropriate methodology for a school-based survey to ensure valid and reliable findings. © 2014 APJPH.

  3. Forest health monitoring in the United States: focus on national reports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurt Riitters; Kevin Potter

    2013-01-01

    The health and sustainability of United States forests have been monitored for many years from several different perspectives. The national Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program was established in 1990 by Federal and State agencies to develop a national system for monitoring and reporting on the status and trends of forest ecosystem health. We describe and illustrate...

  4. Identification of Aboriginal children using linked administrative data: Consequences for measuring inequalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gialamas, Angela; Pilkington, Rhiannon; Berry, Jesia; Scalzi, Daniel; Gibson, Odette; Brown, Alex; Lynch, John

    2016-05-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the identification of Aboriginal children in multiple administrative datasets and how this may affect estimates of health and development. Data collections containing a question about Aboriginal ethnicity: birth registrations, perinatal statistics, Australian Early Development Census and school enrolments were linked to datasets recording developmental outcomes: national literacy and numeracy tests (National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy), Australian Early Development Census and perinatal statistics (birthweight) for South Australian children born 1999-2005 (n = 13 414-44 989). Six algorithms to derive Aboriginal ethnicity were specified. The proportions of children thus quantified were compared for developmental outcomes, including those scoring above the national minimum standard in year 3 National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy reading. The proportion of Aboriginal children identified varied from 1.9% to 4.7% when the algorithm incremented from once to ever identified as Aboriginal, the latter using linked datasets. The estimates of developmental outcomes were altered: for example, the proportion of Aboriginal children who performed above the national minimum standard in year 3 reading increased by 12 percentage points when the algorithm incremented from once to ever identified as Aboriginal. Similar differences by identification algorithm were seen for all outcomes. The proportion of South Australian children identified as Aboriginal in administrative datasets, and hence inequalities in developmental outcomes, varied depending on which and how many data sources were used. Linking multiple administrative datasets to determine the Aboriginal ethnicity of the child may be useful to inform policy, interventions, service delivery and how well we are closing developmental gaps. © 2016 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

  5. 76 FR 32374 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-06

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2011-0065] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) AGENCY: Occupational Safety and... on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) and NACOSH subgroups. SUMMARY: The National Advisory...

  6. 75 FR 28659 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2010-0012] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) AGENCY: Occupational Safety and... on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee on Occupational...

  7. 75 FR 78775 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2010-0012] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) AGENCY: Occupational Safety and... on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) and NACOSH subgroup meetings. SUMMARY: The National...

  8. 75 FR 26871 - National Women's Health Week, 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-12

    ... insurance companies from overcharging because of gender or denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition... recent decades, our Nation has made extraordinary progress in promoting women's health issues. However..., we recommit to breaking existing barriers and improving the health of American women for generations...

  9. Linking Hospital and Tax data to support research on the economic impacts of hospitalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Sanmartin

    2017-04-01

    This project has created a unique linked database that will support research on the economic consequences of ‘health shocks’ for individuals and their families, and the implications for income, labour and health policies. This database represents a new and unique resource that will fill an important national data gap, and enable a wide range of relevant research.

  10. Linking Data for Mothers and Babies in De-Identified Electronic Health Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harron, Katie; Gilbert, Ruth; Cromwell, David; van der Meulen, Jan

    2016-01-01

    Linkage of longitudinal administrative data for mothers and babies supports research and service evaluation in several populations around the world. We established a linked mother-baby cohort using pseudonymised, population-level data for England. Retrospective linkage study using electronic hospital records of mothers and babies admitted to NHS hospitals in England, captured in Hospital Episode Statistics between April 2001 and March 2013. Of 672,955 baby records in 2012/13, 280,470 (42%) linked deterministically to a maternal record using hospital, GP practice, maternal age, birthweight, gestation, birth order and sex. A further 380,164 (56%) records linked using probabilistic methods incorporating additional variables that could differ between mother/baby records (admission dates, ethnicity, 3/4-character postcode district) or that include missing values (delivery variables). The false-match rate was estimated at 0.15% using synthetic data. Data quality improved over time: for 2001/02, 91% of baby records were linked (holding the estimated false-match rate at 0.15%). The linked cohort was representative of national distributions of gender, gestation, birth weight and maternal age, and captured approximately 97% of births in England. Probabilistic linkage of maternal and baby healthcare characteristics offers an efficient way to enrich maternity data, improve data quality, and create longitudinal cohorts for research and service evaluation. This approach could be extended to linkage of other datasets that have non-disclosive characteristics in common.

  11. 76 FR 73689 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2011-0065] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) AGENCY: Occupational Safety and... on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) and NACOSH Work Groups. SUMMARY: The National Advisory...

  12. 75 FR 39265 - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-08

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, Announces the... Prevention, Classifications and Public Health Data Standards, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2337, Hyattsville, MD...

  13. 78 FR 53148 - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, Announces the... Administrator, Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, NCHS, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2337...

  14. 78 FR 9055 - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, Announces the..., Medical Systems Administrator, Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, NCHS, 3311 Toledo...

  15. Linking better shiftwork arrangements with safety and health management systems

    OpenAIRE

    Kogi, Kazutaka

    2004-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Various support measures useful for promoting joint change approaches to the improvement of both shiftworking arrangements and safety and health management systems were reviewed. A particular focus was placed on enterprise-level risk reduction measures linking working hours and management systems. METHODS: Voluntary industry-based guidelines on night and shift work for department stores and the chemical, automobile and electrical equipment industries were examined. Survey results t...

  16. Tracks: A National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network Overview

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    In this podcast, Dr. Mike McGeehin, Director of CDC's Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, provides an overview of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. It highlights the Tracking Network's goal, how it will improve public health, its audience, and much more.

  17. Ecological health in the Nation's streams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlisle, Daren M.; Woodside, Michael D.

    2013-01-01

    Aquatic biological communities, which are collections of organisms, are a direct measure of stream health because they indicate the ability of a stream to support life. This fact sheet highlights selected findings of a national assessment of stream health by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The assessment was unique in that it integrated the condition of three biological communities—algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish—as well as measures of streamflow modification, pesticides, nutrients, and other factors. At least one biological community was altered at 83 percent of assessed streams, and the occurrence of altered communities was highest in urban streams. Streamflows were modified at 86 percent of assessed streams, and increasing severity of streamflow modification was associated with increased occurrence of altered biological communities. Agricultural and urban land use in watersheds may contribute pesticides and nutrients to stream waters, and increasing concentrations of these chemicals were associated with increased occurrence of altered biological communities.

  18. Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: linking practice and research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tol, Wietse A; Barbui, Corrado; Galappatti, Ananda; Silove, Derrick; Betancourt, Theresa S; Souza, Renato; Golaz, Anne; van Ommeren, Mark

    2011-10-29

    This review links practice, funding, and evidence for interventions for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in humanitarian settings. We studied practice by reviewing reports of mental health and psychosocial support activities (2007-10); funding by analysis of the financial tracking service and the creditor reporting system (2007-09); and interventions by systematic review and meta-analysis. In 160 reports, the five most commonly reported activities were basic counselling for individuals (39%); facilitation of community support of vulnerable individuals (23%); provision of child-friendly spaces (21%); support of community-initiated social support (21%); and basic counselling for groups and families (20%). Most interventions took place and were funded outside national mental health and protection systems. 32 controlled studies of interventions were identified, 13 of which were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that met the criteria for meta-analysis. Two studies showed promising effects for strengthening community and family supports. Psychosocial wellbeing was not included as an outcome in the meta-analysis, because its definition varied across studies. In adults with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), meta-analysis of seven RCTs showed beneficial effects for several interventions (psychotherapy and psychosocial supports) compared with usual care or waiting list (standardised mean difference [SMD] -0·38, 95% CI -0·55 to -0·20). In children, meta-analysis of four RCTs failed to show an effect for symptoms of PTSD (-0·36, -0·83 to 0·10), but showed a beneficial effect of interventions (group psychotherapy, school-based support, and other psychosocial support) for internalising symptoms (six RCTs; SMD -0·24, -0·40 to -0·09). Overall, research and evidence focuses on interventions that are infrequently implemented, whereas the most commonly used interventions have had little rigorous scrutiny. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All

  19. Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: linking practice and research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tol, Wietse A; Barbui, Corrado; Galappatti, Ananda; Silove, Derrick; Betancourt, Theresa S; Souza, Renato; Golaz, Anne; van Ommeren, Mark

    2014-01-01

    This review links practice, funding, and evidence for interventions for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in humanitarian settings. We studied practice by reviewing reports of mental health and psychosocial support activities (2007–10); funding by analysis of the financial tracking service and the creditor reporting system (2007–09); and interventions by systematic review and meta-analysis. In 160 reports, the five most commonly reported activities were basic counselling for individuals (39%); facilitation of community support of vulnerable individuals (23%); provision of child-friendly spaces (21%); support of community-initiated social support (21%); and basic counselling for groups and families (20%). Most interventions took place and were funded outside national mental health and protection systems. 32 controlled studies of interventions were identified, 13 of which were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that met the criteria for meta-analysis. Two studies showed promising effects for strengthening community and family supports. Psychosocial wellbeing was not included as an outcome in the meta-analysis, because its definition varied across studies. In adults with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), meta-analysis of seven RCTs showed beneficial effects for several interventions (psychotherapy and psychosocial supports) compared with usual care or waiting list (standardised mean difference [SMD] −0.38, 95% CI −0.55 to −0.20). In children, meta-analysis of four RCTs failed to show an effect for symptoms of PTSD (−0.36, −0.83 to 0.10), but showed a beneficial effect of interventions (group psychotherapy, school-based support, and other psychosocial support) for internalising symptoms (six RCTs; SMD −0.24, −0.40 to −0.09). Overall, research and evidence focuses on interventions that are infrequently implemented, whereas the most commonly used interventions have had little rigorous scrutiny. PMID:22008428

  20. The Small Area Health Statistics Unit: a national facility for investigating health around point sources of environmental pollution in the United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, P; Westlake, A J; Hills, M; Kleinschmidt, I; Rodrigues, L; McGale, P; Marshall, K; Rose, G

    1992-01-01

    STUDY OBJECTIVE--The Small Area Health Statistics Unit (SAHSU) was established at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in response to a recommendation of the enquiry into the increased incidence of childhood leukaemia near Sellafield, the nuclear reprocessing plant in West Cumbria. The aim of this paper was to describe the Unit's methods for the investigation of health around point sources of environmental pollution in the United Kingdom. DESIGN--Routine data currently including deaths and cancer registrations are held in a large national database which uses a post code based retrieval system to locate cases geographically and link them to the underlying census enumeration districts, and hence to their populations at risk. Main outcome measures were comparison of observed/expected ratios (based on national rates) within bands delineated by concentric circles around point sources of environmental pollution located anywhere in Britain. MAIN RESULTS--The system is illustrated by a study of mortality from mesothelioma and asbestosis near the Plymouth naval dockyards during 1981-87. Within a 3 km radius of the docks the mortality rate for mesothelioma was higher than the national rate by a factor of 8.4, and that for asbestosis was higher by a factor of 13.6. CONCLUSIONS--SAHSU is a new national facility which is rapidly able to provide rates of mortality and cancer incidence for arbitrary circles drawn around any point in Britain. The example around Plymouth of mesothelioma and asbestosis demonstrates the ability of the system to detect an unusual excess of disease in a small locality, although in this case the findings are likely to be related to occupational rather than environmental exposure. PMID:1431704

  1. Leisure-time physical activity in university students from 23 countries: associations with health beliefs, risk awareness, and national economic development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haase, Anne; Steptoe, Andrew; Sallis, James F; Wardle, Jane

    2004-07-01

    Physical inactivity has been linked with chronic disease and obesity in most western populations. However, prevalence of inactivity, health beliefs, and knowledge of the risks of inactivity have rarely been assessed across a wide range of developed and developing countries. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 19,298 university students from 23 countries varying in culture and level of economic development. Data concerning leisure-time physical activity, health beliefs, and health knowledge were collected. The prevalence of inactivity in leisure time varied with cultural and economic developmental factors, averaging 23% (North-Western Europe and the United States), 30% (Central and Eastern Europe), 39% (Mediterranean), 42% (Pacific Asian), and 44% (developing countries). The likelihood of leisure-time physical activity was positively associated with the strength of beliefs in the health benefits of activity and with national economic development (per capita gross domestic product). Knowledge about activity and health was disappointing, with only 40-60% being aware that physical activity was relevant to risk of heart disease. Leisure-time physical activity is below recommended levels in a substantial proportion of students, and is related to cultural factors and stage of national economic development. The relationship between health beliefs and behavior is robust across cultures, but health knowledge remains deficient. Copyright 2004 The Institute for Cancer Prevention and Elsevier Inc.

  2. 75 FR 56549 - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, Announces the... Public Health Data Standards Staff, NCHS, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2337, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, e...

  3. 75 FR 44967 - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY... Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-46, Cincinnati, OH 45226, Telephone 877-222...

  4. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... of Health and Human Services HOME | CONTACT US | JOBS AT NIDDK | RSS FEEDS | GET E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ...

  5. Transforming First Nations Health Care in British Columbia: An Organizational Challenge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen Wilmot

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Following a series of agreements on First Nations health care in British Columbia beginning in 2005, several organizations were created to contribute to the development of a system of health care for First Nations in the province, with the aim of transforming First Nations health care to better meet users’ needs. This article considers the role of these organizations and their relationships with the provincial government, the federal government, and the First Nations people of British Columbia. It explores possible levels of transformation, as well as the possibilities and problems for these organizations in undertaking the transformation process, particularly with regard to their position on the boundary between the worlds of First Nations and Canada. It also considers sources of, and threats to, their legitimacy in this undertaking. Finally, wider points of relevance beyond British Columbia are identified.

  6. The development of health law as a way to change traditional attitudes in national legal systems. The influence of international human rights law: what is left for the national legislator?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birmontiene, Toma

    2010-03-01

    The development of health law as a sovereign subject of law could be seen as a correlative result of the development of international human rights law. From the perspectives of human rights law, health law gives us a unique possibility to change the traditional point of reference - from the regulation of medical procedures, to the protection of human rights as the main objective of law. At the end of the twentieth and the beginning of this century, human rights law and the most influential international instrument--the European Convention on Human Rights (and the jurisprudence of the ECHR) has influenced health care so much that it has became difficult to draw a line between these subjects. Health law sometimes directly influences and even aspires to change the content of Convention rights that are considered to be traditional. However, certain problems of law linked to health law are decided without influencing the essence of rights protected by the Convention, but just by construing the particularities of application of a certain right. In some cases by further developing the requirements of protection of individual rights that are also regulated by the health law, the ECHR even "codifies" some fields of health law (e.g., the rights of persons with mental disorders). The recognition of worthiness and diversity of human rights and the development of their content raise new objectives for national legislators when they regulate the national legal system. Here the national legislator is often put into a quandary whether to implement the standards of human rights that are recognized by the international community, or to refuse to do so, taking account of the interests of a certain group of the electorate.

  7. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ... onset of the disease. MOVE! This national weight management program is designed to help veterans lose weight, ...

  8. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ... of Information Act | Accessibility | Disclaimers | Copyright | Sitemap | For Staff Only | Jobs at NIDDK | Contact Us The National ...

  9. Explaining health care expenditure variation: large-sample evidence using linked survey and health administrative data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Randall P; Fiebig, Denzil G; Johar, Meliyanni; Jones, Glenn; Savage, Elizabeth

    2013-09-01

    Explaining individual, regional, and provider variation in health care spending is of enormous value to policymakers but is often hampered by the lack of individual level detail in universal public health systems because budgeted spending is often not attributable to specific individuals. Even rarer is self-reported survey information that helps explain this variation in large samples. In this paper, we link a cross-sectional survey of 267 188 Australians age 45 and over to a panel dataset of annual healthcare costs calculated from several years of hospital, medical and pharmaceutical records. We use this data to distinguish between cost variations due to health shocks and those that are intrinsic (fixed) to an individual over three years. We find that high fixed expenditures are positively associated with age, especially older males, poor health, obesity, smoking, cancer, stroke and heart conditions. Being foreign born, speaking a foreign language at home and low income are more strongly associated with higher time-varying expenditures, suggesting greater exposure to adverse health shocks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. 76 FR 50234 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Notice of Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-12

    ... Environmental Health Sciences Notice of Meetings Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act... of Extramural Research and Training (DERT), Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences, National..., Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT), Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences, National...

  11. 78 FR 19710 - Call for Collaborating Partners for National Women's Health Week

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-02

    ... organizations to participate in National Women's Health Week (NWHW) as partners to help create awareness of..., May 18, 2013. NWHW seeks to educate women about improving their physical and mental health and... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Call for Collaborating Partners for National Women's...

  12. Factors Influencing Support for National Health Insurance among Patients Attending Specialist Clinics in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almualm, Yasmin; Alkaff, Sharifa Ezat; Aljunid, Syed; Alsagoff, Syed Sagoff

    2013-01-01

    This study was carried out to determine the level of support towards the proposed National Health Insurance scheme among Malaysian patients attending specialist clinics at the National University of Malaysia Medical centre and its influencing factors. The cross sectional study was carried out from July-October 2012. 260 patients were selected using multistage sampling method. 71.2% of respondents supported the proposed National Health insurance scheme. 61.4% of respondents are willing to pay up to RM240 per year to join the National Health Insurance and 76.6% of respondents are of the view that enrolment in NHI should be made compulsory. Knowledge had a positive influence on respondent's support towards National Health Insurance. National Health Insurance when implemented in Malaysia can be used to raise funds for health care financing, increase access to health services and achieve the desired health status. More efforts should be taken to promote the scheme and educate the public in order to achieve higher support towards the proposed National Health Insurance. The cost to enroll in NHI as well as services to be included under the scheme should be duly considered. PMID:23985101

  13. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2009. Data from the National Health Interview Survey. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 10, Number 249. DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 2011-1577

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pleis, J. R.; Ward, B. W.; Lucas, J. W.

    2010-01-01

    Objectives: This report presents health statistics from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the civilian noninstitutionalized adult population, classified by sex, age, race and ethnicity, education, family income, poverty status, health insurance coverage, marital status, and place and region of residence. Estimates are presented…

  14. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Department of Health and Human Services HOME | CONTACT US | JOBS AT NIDDK | RSS FEEDS | GET E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ...

  15. 76 FR 62422 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Cancellation of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Cancellation of Meeting Notice is hereby given of the cancellation of the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee, October 12, 2011, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m...

  16. 76 FR 13197 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Strategic Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-10

    ... parties. The goal of this strategic planning process is to define an overarching Vision Statement... this planning process, visit the NIEHS Strategic Planning Web site at Request for Visionary Ideas The... Environmental Health Sciences Strategic Planning AGENCY: National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute...

  17. Investigation and Analysis on the Construction Situation of “Three Links and Two Platforms” of Education for Nationalities in Yunnan Province in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhilin Zhao

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available “Three Links and Two Platforms”, which refers to schools links to ICTs, high-quality resource of class links to ICTs, people links to ICTs, public service platform for educational resources and public service platform for educational management, has played a crucial role in improving the educational equality in minority areas in Yunnan province and in realizing the sharing of high-quality educational resources. This research mainly adopts method of document investigation, which has investigated the construction situation of “Three Links and Two Platforms” in eight ethnic autonomous prefectures in Yunnan province in China including Chuxiong Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture, etc. The results show that the average value of the construction of “Three Links” is 63.55%n 14.75% and 9.00% respectively. “Two Platforms” mainly focus on public service platform for educational resources and public service platform for the construction of educational statistics, and the informatization of national education in Yunnan province should be improved greatly.

  18. Training of Home Health Aides and Nurse Aides: Findings from National Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sengupta, Manisha; Ejaz, Farida K.; Harris-Kojetin, Lauren D.

    2012-01-01

    Training and satisfaction with training were examined using data from nationally representative samples of 2,897 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) from the National Nursing Assistant Survey and 3,377 home health aides (HHAs) from the National Home Health Aide Survey conducted in 2004 and 2007, respectively. This article focuses on the…

  19. School Health Services

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2017-09-13

    School health services reduce absenteeism and improve academic achievement according to research. If you have school-aged children, you’ll want to listen to this podcast to learn more about healthy school environments and the link between health and academic achievement.  Created: 9/13/2017 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 9/13/2017.

  20. Are national policies on global health in fact national policies on global health governance? A comparison of policy designs from Norway and Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Catherine M; Clavier, Carole; Potvin, Louise

    2017-01-01

    Since the signing of the Oslo Ministerial Declaration in 2007, the idea that foreign policy formulation should include health considerations has gained traction on the United Nations agenda as evidenced by annual General Assembly resolutions on global health and foreign policy. The adoption of national policies on global health (NPGH) is one way that some member states integrate health and foreign policymaking. This paper explores what these policies intend to do and how countries plan to do it. Using a most similar systems design, we carried out a comparative study of two policy documents formally adopted in 2012. We conducted a directed qualitative content analysis of the Norwegian White Paper on Global health in foreign and development policy and the Swiss Health Foreign Policy using Schneider and Ingram's policy design framework. After replicating analysis methods for each document, we analysed them side by side to explore the commonalities and differences across elements of NPGH design. Analyses indicate that NPGH expect to influence change outside their borders. Targeting the international level, they aim to affect policy venues, multilateral partnerships and international institutions. Instruments for supporting desired changes are primarily those of health diplomacy, proposed as a tool for negotiating interests and objectives for global health between multiple sectors, used internally in Switzerland and externally in Norway. Findings suggest that NPGH designs contribute to constructing the global health governance system by identifying it as a policy target, and policy instruments may elude the health sector actors unless implementation rules explicitly include them. Research should explore how future NPGH designs may construct different kinds of targets as politicised groups of actors on which national governments seek to exercise influence for global health decision-making.

  1. Are national policies on global health in fact national policies on global health governance? A comparison of policy designs from Norway and Switzerland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clavier, Carole; Potvin, Louise

    2017-01-01

    Background Since the signing of the Oslo Ministerial Declaration in 2007, the idea that foreign policy formulation should include health considerations has gained traction on the United Nations agenda as evidenced by annual General Assembly resolutions on global health and foreign policy. The adoption of national policies on global health (NPGH) is one way that some member states integrate health and foreign policymaking. This paper explores what these policies intend to do and how countries plan to do it. Methods Using a most similar systems design, we carried out a comparative study of two policy documents formally adopted in 2012. We conducted a directed qualitative content analysis of the Norwegian White Paper on Global health in foreign and development policy and the Swiss Health Foreign Policy using Schneider and Ingram's policy design framework. After replicating analysis methods for each document, we analysed them side by side to explore the commonalities and differences across elements of NPGH design. Results Analyses indicate that NPGH expect to influence change outside their borders. Targeting the international level, they aim to affect policy venues, multilateral partnerships and international institutions. Instruments for supporting desired changes are primarily those of health diplomacy, proposed as a tool for negotiating interests and objectives for global health between multiple sectors, used internally in Switzerland and externally in Norway. Conclusion Findings suggest that NPGH designs contribute to constructing the global health governance system by identifying it as a policy target, and policy instruments may elude the health sector actors unless implementation rules explicitly include them. Research should explore how future NPGH designs may construct different kinds of targets as politicised groups of actors on which national governments seek to exercise influence for global health decision-making. PMID:28589007

  2. Promoting Health/Preventing Disease. Objectives for the Nation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Public Health Service (DHHS), Rockville, MD.

    Broad national goals, expressed as reductions in overall death rates or days of disability, have been established as guidelines for private and public sector policy makers in health-related fields. These goals were established through the work of various agencies, organizations, and individuals participating in a Department of Health and Human…

  3. Participation in the National Health Insurance Scheme Among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: The National Health Insurance Scheme was established under Act 35 of 1999 by the Federal Government of Nigeria and is aimed at providing easy access to health care for all Nigerians at an affordable cost through various prepayment systems. It is totally committed to achieving universal coverage and ...

  4. 77 FR 43850 - National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-26

    ... and Health Disparities Special Emphasis Panel; NIMHD Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR... Review Officer, National Institute on Minority Healthand Health Disparities, 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite...

  5. A National Initiative to Advance School Mental Health Performance Measurement in the US

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connors, Elizabeth Halsted; Stephan, Sharon Hoover; Lever, Nancy; Ereshefsky, Sabrina; Mosby, Amanda; Bohnenkamp, Jill

    2016-01-01

    Standardized health performance measurement has increasingly become an imperative for assuring quality standards in national health care systems. As compared to somatic health performance measures, behavioral health performance measures are less developed. There currently is no national standardized performance measurement system for monitoring…

  6. 76 FR 7225 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-09

    ... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meetings Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee..., National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 615 Davis Dr., KEY615/3112, Research Triangle Park, NC..., National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 615 Davis Dr., KEY615/3112, Research Triangle Park, NC...

  7. 29 CFR 1912.5 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Health. 1912.5 Section 1912.5 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND... Matters § 1912.5 National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health. (a) Section 7(a) of the Act established a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health. The Committee is to...

  8. Linking Data for Mothers and Babies in De-Identified Electronic Health Data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katie Harron

    Full Text Available Linkage of longitudinal administrative data for mothers and babies supports research and service evaluation in several populations around the world. We established a linked mother-baby cohort using pseudonymised, population-level data for England.Retrospective linkage study using electronic hospital records of mothers and babies admitted to NHS hospitals in England, captured in Hospital Episode Statistics between April 2001 and March 2013.Of 672,955 baby records in 2012/13, 280,470 (42% linked deterministically to a maternal record using hospital, GP practice, maternal age, birthweight, gestation, birth order and sex. A further 380,164 (56% records linked using probabilistic methods incorporating additional variables that could differ between mother/baby records (admission dates, ethnicity, 3/4-character postcode district or that include missing values (delivery variables. The false-match rate was estimated at 0.15% using synthetic data. Data quality improved over time: for 2001/02, 91% of baby records were linked (holding the estimated false-match rate at 0.15%. The linked cohort was representative of national distributions of gender, gestation, birth weight and maternal age, and captured approximately 97% of births in England.Probabilistic linkage of maternal and baby healthcare characteristics offers an efficient way to enrich maternity data, improve data quality, and create longitudinal cohorts for research and service evaluation. This approach could be extended to linkage of other datasets that have non-disclosive characteristics in common.

  9. Linking Data for Mothers and Babies in De-Identified Electronic Health Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Ruth; Cromwell, David; van der Meulen, Jan

    2016-01-01

    Objective Linkage of longitudinal administrative data for mothers and babies supports research and service evaluation in several populations around the world. We established a linked mother-baby cohort using pseudonymised, population-level data for England. Design and Setting Retrospective linkage study using electronic hospital records of mothers and babies admitted to NHS hospitals in England, captured in Hospital Episode Statistics between April 2001 and March 2013. Results Of 672,955 baby records in 2012/13, 280,470 (42%) linked deterministically to a maternal record using hospital, GP practice, maternal age, birthweight, gestation, birth order and sex. A further 380,164 (56%) records linked using probabilistic methods incorporating additional variables that could differ between mother/baby records (admission dates, ethnicity, 3/4-character postcode district) or that include missing values (delivery variables). The false-match rate was estimated at 0.15% using synthetic data. Data quality improved over time: for 2001/02, 91% of baby records were linked (holding the estimated false-match rate at 0.15%). The linked cohort was representative of national distributions of gender, gestation, birth weight and maternal age, and captured approximately 97% of births in England. Conclusion Probabilistic linkage of maternal and baby healthcare characteristics offers an efficient way to enrich maternity data, improve data quality, and create longitudinal cohorts for research and service evaluation. This approach could be extended to linkage of other datasets that have non-disclosive characteristics in common. PMID:27764135

  10. Occupational safety and health: progress toward the 1990 objectives for the nation.

    OpenAIRE

    Millar, J D; Myers, M L

    1983-01-01

    Occupational safety and health is 1 of 15 areas addressed in the Public Health Service's Objectives for the Nation. This area represents 104 million working men and women and the deaths, diseases, and injuries that result from exposures to hazards in their work environment. Characteristics of public health practice are compared with characteristics of occupational safety and health practice. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), created by the Occupational Safety ...

  11. The Danish National Health Survey 2010. Study design and respondent characteristics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Anne Illemann; Ekholm, Ola; Glümer, Charlotte

    2012-01-01

    In 2010 the five Danish regions and the National Institute of Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark conducted a national representative health survey among the adult population in Denmark. This paper describes the study design and the sample and study population as well as the conte...

  12. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ... Person with prediabetes Person at risk for diabetes Family member, friend, or caregiver Health care professional Teacher ...

  13. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ... Community health worker Community organization Age Select one: Child Teen and young adult Adult Older adult (65+) ...

  14. 77 FR 24968 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-26

    ... and Concept Clearance and Discussion. Place: National Institutes of Health, Building 31, 31 Center... evaluate grant applications. Place: National Institutes of Health, Building 31, 31 Center Drive, Conference... Wide. Place: National Institutes of Health, Building 31, 31 Center Drive, Conference Room 10, Bethesda...

  15. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ... professional K-8th grade Community health worker Community organization Age Select one: Child Teen and young adult ...

  16. National nutrition surveys in Asian countries: surveillance and monitoring efforts to improve global health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, SuJin; Song, Won O

    2014-01-01

    Asian regions have been suffering from growing double burden of nutritional health problems, such as undernutrition and chronic diseases. National nutrition survey plays an essential role in helping to improve both national and global health and reduce health disparities. The aim of this review was to compile and present the information on current national nutrition surveys conducted in Asian countries and suggest relevant issues in implementation of national nutrition surveys. Fifteen countries in Asia have conducted national nutrition surveys to collect data on nutrition and health status of the population. The information on national nutrition survey of each country was obtained from government documents, international organizations, survey website of governmental agencies, and publications, including journal articles, books, reports, and brochures. The national nutrition survey of each country has different variables and procedures. Variables of the surveys include sociodemographic and lifestyle variables; foods and beverages intake, dietary habits, and food security of individual or household; and health indicators, such as anthropometric and biochemical variables. The surveys have focused on collecting data about nutritional health status in children aged under five years and women of reproductive ages, nutrition intake adequacy and prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases for all individuals. To measure nutrition and health status of Asian populations accurately, improvement of current dietary assessment methods with various diet evaluation tools is necessary. The information organized in this review is important for researchers, policy makers, public health program developers, educators, and consumers in improving national and global health.

  17. The health-development link: travel as a public health issue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Garcia, R

    2001-04-01

    The process of globalization has rendered societies interdependent on one another and has fostered the movement of people, goods and ideas at unprecedented speed and volume. Global travel has grown from 25 million in 1950 to 500 million in 1993, and estimations by 2010 reach 1 billion. The increased intensity and quantity of travel has resulted in greater vulnerability to the domino-type spread of old, new and re-emerging infectious diseases. Travelers and local populations are also vulnerable to death and disability due to accidents, violence and injuries, chronic diseases such as those due to substance abuse (tobacco, alcohol and others), and to undesirable behaviors such as those related to sex-tourism. This article argues that tourism, understood as any type of travel, is one of the most important sectors of the economy in many countries and, therefore, can contribute to community and national development. It also asserts that travel, as a factor in the spread of disease, lies in the realm of public health inquiry. It calls for greater collaboration between the tourism-travel industry and community, national and global leaders to promote and enforce "responsible tourism."

  18. Children's health, the nation's wealth: assessing and improving child health

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Institute Of Medicine Staff; Board on Children, Youth, and Families; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; National Research Council; Institute of Medicine; National Academy of Sciences

    2004-01-01

    ... competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This study was supported by contract number 282-99-0045, task order number 6 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Health and Human Services. Supplementary funding for a report synthesis and dissemination of the report and report synthesis was supported by contrac...

  19. A dental phobia treatment within the Swedish National Health Insurance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hägglin, Catharina; Boman, Ulla Wide

    2012-01-01

    Severe dental fear/phobia (DF) is a problem for both dental care providers and for patients who often suffer from impaired oral health and from social and emotional distress.The aim of this paper was to present the Swedish model for DF treatment within the National Health Insurance System, and to describe the dental phobia treatment and its outcome at The Dental Fear Research and Treatment Clinic (DFRTC) in Gothenburg. A literature review was made of relevant policy documents on dental phobia treatment from the National Health Insurance System and for Västra Götaland region on published outcome studies from DFRTC. The treatment manual of DFRTC was also used. In Sweden, adult patients with severe DF are able to undergo behavioral treatment within the National Health Insurance System if the patient and caregivers fulfil defined criteria that must be approved for each individual case. At DFRTC dental phobia behavioral treatment is given by psychologists and dentists in an integrated model. The goal is to refer patients for general dental care outside the DFRTC after completing treatment. The DF treatment at DFRTC has shown positive effects on dental fear, attendance and acceptance of dental treatment for 80% of patients. Follow-up after 2 and 10 years confirmed these results and showed improved oral health. In addition, positive psychosomatic and psychosocial side-effects were reported, and benefits also for society were evident in terms of reduced sick-leave. In conlusion, in Sweden a model has been developed within the National Health Insurance System helping individuals with DF. Behavioral treatment conducted at DFRTC has proven successful in helping patients cope with dental care, leading to regular attendance and better oral health.

  20. 78 FR 39738 - National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National... Affordable Care Act, NHSC retention resources, and partnerships. The public can join the meeting via audio... the call. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Njeri Jones, Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service...

  1. Barriers and facilitators to establishing a national public health observatory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shalini Pooransingh

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To determine what stakeholders perceive as barriers and facilitators to creating a national public health observatory (PHO in Trinidad and Tobago. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted based on 15 key informant interviews carried out from April to September 2013. The key informants worked within the health care sector in Trinidad and Tobago. Using a semi-structured interview guide, information was collected on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about creating a PHO; barriers and facilitators to creating and sustaining a PHO; legal considerations; and human resource and information technology requirements. Common themes of the responses were identified. RESULTS: The majority of participants supported the development of a national PHO, recognized its value in informing their work, and indicated that a national PHO could 1 provide information to support evidence-informed decision-making for health policy and strategic planning; 2 facilitate data management by establishing data policies, procedures, and standards; 3 increase the use of data by synthesizing and disseminating information; and 4 provide data for benchmarking. However, a number of barriers were identified, including 1 the perception that data collection is not valued; 2 untimely availability of data; 3 limited data synthesis, dissemination, and utilization to inform decision-making; and 4 challenges related to the allocation of human resources and existing information technology. CONCLUSIONS: Key informants support the development of a national PHO in Trinidad and Tobago. The findings align well within the components of the conceptual framework for establishing national health observatories. A stepwise approach to establishing a national PHO in Trinidad and Tobago, beginning with structural components and followed by functional components, is recommended. A national PHO in Trinidad and Tobago could serve as a model for other countries in the Caribbean.

  2. Barriers and facilitators to establishing a national public health observatory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pooransingh, Shalini; Misir, Akenath; Ramdath, Dan; Ramsewak, Samuel; Jaglal, Susan; Cameron, Cathy; Goel, Vivek

    2015-11-01

    To determine what stakeholders perceive as barriers and facilitators to creating a national public health observatory (PHO) in Trinidad and Tobago. A descriptive study was conducted based on 15 key informant interviews carried out from April to September 2013. The key informants worked within the health care sector in Trinidad and Tobago. Using a semi-structured interview guide, information was collected on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about creating a PHO; barriers and facilitators to creating and sustaining a PHO; legal considerations; and human resource and information technology requirements. Common themes of the responses were identified. The majority of participants supported the development of a national PHO, recognized its value in informing their work, and indicated that a national PHO could 1) provide information to support evidence-informed decision-making for health policy and strategic planning; 2) facilitate data management by establishing data policies, procedures, and standards; 3) increase the use of data by synthesizing and disseminating information; and 4) provide data for benchmarking. However, a number of barriers were identified, including 1) the perception that data collection is not valued; 2) untimely availability of data; 3) limited data synthesis, dissemination, and utilization to inform decision-making; and 4) challenges related to the allocation of human resources and existing information technology. Key informants support the development of a national PHO in Trinidad and Tobago. The findings align well within the components of the conceptual framework for establishing national health observatories. A stepwise approach to establishing a national PHO in Trinidad and Tobago, beginning with structural components and followed by functional components, is recommended. A national PHO in Trinidad and Tobago could serve as a model for other countries in the Caribbean.

  3. Creating a Screening Measure of Health Literacy for the Health Information National Trends Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Champlin, Sara; Mackert, Michael

    2016-03-01

    Create a screening measure of health literacy for use with the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). Participants completed a paper-based survey. Items from the survey were used to construct a health literacy screening measure. A population-based survey conducted in geographic areas of high and low minority frequency and in Central Appalachia. Two thousand nine hundred four English-speaking participants were included in this study: 66% white, 93% completed high school, mean age = 52.53 years (SD = 16.24). A health literacy screening measure was created using four items included in the HINTS survey. Scores could range from 0 (no questions affirmative/correct) to 4 (all questions answered affirmatively/correctly). Multiple regression analysis was used to determine whether demographic variables known to predict health literacy were indeed associated with the constructed health literacy screening measure. The weighted average health literacy score was 2.63 (SD = 1.00). Those who were nonwhite (p = .0005), were older (p literacy screening measure scores. This study highlights the need to assess health literacy in national surveys, but also serves as evidence that screening measures can be created within existing datasets to give researchers the ability to consider the impact of health literacy. © The Author(s) 2016.

  4. 77 FR 38296 - Draft Public Health Action Plan-A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-27

    ... Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, Attn: National Public Health Action Plan... Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, 4770 Buford Highway NE... topic's public health importance, existing challenges, and opportunities for action to decrease the...

  5. Sponsorship of National Health Organizations by Two Major Soda Companies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aaron, Daniel G; Siegel, Michael B

    2017-01-01

    Obesity is a pervasive public health problem in the U.S. Reducing soda consumption is important for stemming the obesity epidemic. However, several articles and one book suggest that soda companies are using their resources to impede public health interventions that might reduce soda consumption. Although corporate sponsorship by tobacco and alcohol companies has been studied extensively, there has been no systematic attempt to catalog sponsorship activities of soda companies. This study investigates the nature, extent, and implications of soda company sponsorship of U.S. health and medical organizations, as well as corporate lobbying expenditures on soda- or nutrition-related public health legislation from 2011 to 2015. Records of corporate philanthropy and lobbying expenditures on public health legislation by soda companies in the U.S. during 2011-2015 were found through Internet and database searches. From 2011 to 2015, the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo were found to sponsor a total of 95 national health organizations, including many medical and public health institutions whose specific missions include fighting the obesity epidemic. During the study period, these two soda companies lobbied against 29 public health bills intended to reduce soda consumption or improve nutrition. There is surprisingly pervasive sponsorship of national health and medical organizations by the nation's two largest soda companies. These companies lobbied against public health intervention in 97% of cases, calling into question a sincere commitment to improving the public's health. By accepting funding from these companies, health organizations are inadvertently participating in their marketing plans. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. 78 FR 47715 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Amended Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-06

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the Environmental Health Sciences Review Committee, July 24, 2013, 08:00 a.m. to July 26, 2013, 02:00...

  7. Chronic discrimination and bodily pain in a multiethnic cohort of midlife women in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dugan, Sheila A; Lewis, Tené T; Everson-Rose, Susan A; Jacobs, Elizabeth A; Harlow, Siobán D; Janssen, Imke

    2017-09-01

    A growing literature links discrimination to key markers of biobehavioral health. While racial or ethnic differences in pain are seen in experimental and clinical studies, the authors were interested in how chronic discrimination contributes to pain within multiple racial or ethnic groups over time. Participants were 3056 African American, Caucasian, Chinese, Hispanic, and Japanese women from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. The Everyday Discrimination Scale was assessed from baseline through 13 follow-up examinations. The bodily pain subscale of the MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was assessed annually. There were large racial or ethnic differences in reports of discrimination and pain. Discrimination attributions also varied by race or ethnicity. In linear mixed model analyses, initially adjusted for age, education, and pain medications, chronic everyday discrimination was associated with more bodily pain in all ethnic groups (beta = -5.84; P discrimination remained a significant predictor of pain for African American (beta = -4.50; P discrimination were strongly linked to reports of bodily pain for the majority of women. Further research is needed to determine if addressing psychosocial stressors, such as discrimination, with patients can enhance clinical management of pain symptoms.

  8. Secondary Data Analysis of National Surveys in Japan Toward Improving Population Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeda, Nayu

    2016-01-01

    Secondary data analysis of national health surveys of the general population is a standard methodology for health metrics and evaluation; it is used to monitor trends in population health over time and benchmark the performance of health systems. In Japan, the government has established electronic databases of individual records from national surveys of the population’s health. However, the number of publications based on these datasets is small considering the scale and coverage of the surveys. There appear to be two major obstacles to the secondary use of Japanese national health survey data: strict data access control under the Statistics Act and an inadequate interdisciplinary research environment for resolving methodological difficulties encountered when dealing with secondary data. The usefulness of secondary analysis of survey data is evident with examples from the author’s previous studies based on vital records and the National Health and Nutrition Surveys, which showed that (i) tobacco smoking and high blood pressure are the major risk factors for adult mortality from non-communicable diseases in Japan; (ii) the decrease in mean blood pressure in Japan from the late 1980s to the early 2000s was partly attributable to the increased use of antihypertensive medication and reduced dietary salt intake; and (iii) progress in treatment coverage and control of high blood pressure is slower in Japan than in the United States and Britain. National health surveys in Japan are an invaluable asset, and findings from secondary analyses of these surveys would provide important suggestions for improving health in people around the world. PMID:26902170

  9. Data Mashups: Linking Human Health and Wellbeing with Weather, Climate and the Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming, L. E.; Sarran, C.; Golding, B.; Haines, A.; Kessel, A.; Djennad, M.; Hajat, S.; Nichols, G.; Gordon Brown, H.; Depledge, M.

    2016-12-01

    A large part of the global disease burden can be linked to environmental factors, underpinned by unhealthy behaviours. Research into these linkages suffers from lack of common tools and databases for investigations across many different scientific disciplines to explore these complex associations. The MEDMI (Medical and Environmental Data-a Mash-up Infrastructure) Partnership brings together leading organisations and researchers in climate, weather, environment, and human health. We have created a proof-of-concept central data and analysis system with the UK Met Office and Public Health England data as the internet-based MEDMI Platform (www.data-mashup.org.uk) to serve as a common resource for researchers to link and analyse complex meteorological, environmental and epidemiological data in the UK. The Platform is hosted on its own dedicated server, with secure internet and in-person access with appropriate safeguards for ethical, copyright, security, preservation, and data sharing issues. Via the Platform, there is a demonstration Browser Application with access to user-selected subsets of the data for: a) analyses using time series (e.g. mortality/environmental variables), and b) data visualizations (e.g. infectious diseases/environmental variables). One demonstration project is linking climate change, harmful algal blooms and oceanographic modelling building on the hydrodynamic-biogeochemical coupled models; in situ and satellite observations as well as UK HAB data and hospital episode statistics data are being used for model verification and future forecasting. The MEDMI Project provides a demonstration of the potential, barriers and challenges, of these "data mashups" of environment and health data. Although there remain many challenges to creating and sustaining such a shared resource, these activities and resources are essential to truly explore the complex interactions between climate and other environmental change and health at the local and global scale.

  10. 42 CFR 124.515 - Compliance alternative for community health centers, migrant health centers and certain National...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ..., migrant health centers and certain National Health Service Corps sites. 124.515 Section 124.515 Public... Unable To Pay § 124.515 Compliance alternative for community health centers, migrant health centers and... migrant health center under section 329 of the Act is in substantial compliance with the terms and...

  11. National Health Accounts: A Framework For Understanding Health Care Financing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldo, Daniel

    2018-03-01

    Over the course of the past century, the challenges facing the United States in its consumption of health care goods and services have not changed very much. What is being consumed, who is paying for it, and how much is affordable are questions that arise in every cycle of the debate-if they ever go dormant. National Health Accounts are one tool to use in the search for answers to these questions and to the challenges behind the questions. The accounts cannot (and do not pretend to) address every aspect of the debate, but they provide an important context. In this article I briefly review the history of the health accounts and discuss their strengths and weaknesses in the context of the present debate over spending.

  12. 75 FR 43528 - Seeking Public Comment on Draft National Health Security Strategy Biennial Implementation Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-26

    ... National Health Security Strategy Biennial Implementation Plan AGENCY: Department of Health and Human... National Health Security Strategy (NHSS) of the United States of America (2009) and build upon the NHSS Interim Implementation Guide for the National Health Security Strategy of the United States of America...

  13. Teens, Health and Technology: A National Survey

    OpenAIRE

    Ellen Wartella; Vicky Rideout; Heather Montague; Leanne Beaudoin-Ryan; Alexis Lauricella

    2016-01-01

    In the age of digital technology, as teens seem to be constantly connected online, via social media, and through mobile applications, it is no surprise that they increasingly turn to digital media to answer their health questions. This study is the first of its kind to survey a large, nationally-representative sample of teens to investigate how they use the newest digital technologies, including mobile apps, social networking sites, electronic gaming and wearable devices, to explore health...

  14. Patient satisfaction with primary health care - a comparison between the insured and non-insured under the National Health Insurance Policy in Ghana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenny, Ama Pokuaa; Enemark, Ulrika; Asante, Felix A; Hansen, Kristian S

    2014-04-01

    Ghana has initiated various health sector reforms over the past decades aimed at strengthening institutions, improving the overall health system and increasing access to healthcare services by all groups of people. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) instituted in 2005, is an innovative system aimed at making health care more accessible to people who need it. Currently, there is a growing amount of concern about the capacity of the NHIS to make quality health care accessible to its clients. A number of studies have concentrated on the effect of health insurance status on demand for health services, but have been quiet on supply side issues. The main aim of this study is to examine the overall satisfaction with health care among the insured and uninsured under the NHIS. The second aim is to explore the relations between overall satisfaction and socio-demographic characteristics, health insurance and the various dimensions of quality of care. This study employs logistic regression using household survey data in three districts in Ghana covering the 3 ecological zones (coastal, forest and savannah). It identifies the service quality factors that are important to patients' satisfaction and examines their links to their health insurance status. The results indicate that a higher proportion of insured patients are satisfied with the overall quality of care compared to the uninsured. The key predictors of overall satisfaction are waiting time, friendliness of staff and satisfaction of the consultation process. These results highlight the importance of interpersonal care in health care facilities. Feedback from patients' perception of health services and satisfaction surveys improve the quality of care provided and therefore effort must be made to include these findings in future health policies.

  15. Status of national health research systems in ten countries of the WHO African Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirigia Joses M

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The World Health Organization (WHO Regional Committee for Africa, in 1998, passed a resolution (AFR/RC48/R4 which urged its Member States in the Region to develop national research policies and strategies and to build national health research capacities, particularly through resource allocation, training of senior officials, strengthening of research institutions and establishment of coordination mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to take stock of some aspects of national resources for health research in the countries of the Region; identify current constraints facing national health research systems; and propose the way forward. Methods A questionnaire was prepared and sent by pouch to all the 46 Member States in the WHO African Region through the WHO Country Representatives for facilitation and follow up. The health research focal person in each of the countries Ministry of Health (in consultation with other relevant health research bodies in the country bore the responsibility for completing the questionnaire. The data were entered and analysed in Excel spreadsheet. Results The key findings were as follows: the response rate was 21.7% (10/46; three countries had a health research policy; one country reported that it had a law relating to health research; two countries had a strategic health research plan; three countries reported that they had a functional national health research system (NHRS; two countries confirmed the existence of a functional national health research management forum (NHRMF; six countries had a functional ethical review committee (ERC; five countries had a scientific review committee (SRC; five countries reported the existence of health institutions with institutional review committees (IRC; two countries had a health research programme; and three countries had a national health research institute (NHRI and a faculty of health sciences in the national university that conducted health research

  16. Does Anger Regulation Mediate the Discrimination-Mental Health Link among Mexican-Origin Adolescents? A Longitudinal Mediation Analysis Using Multilevel Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Irene J. K.; Wang, Lijuan; Williams, David R.; Alegría, Margarita

    2017-01-01

    Although prior research has consistently documented the association between racial/ethnic discrimination and poor mental health outcomes, the mechanisms that underlie this link are still unclear. The present 3-wave longitudinal study tested the mediating role of anger regulation in the discrimination-mental health link among 269 Mexican-origin…

  17. A review of national policies and strategies to improve quality of health care and patient safety: a case study from Lebanon and Jordan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Jardali, Fadi; Fadlallah, Racha

    2017-08-16

    . Importantly, incentive systems that link contractual agreement, regulations, accreditation, and performance indicators are underutilized in Lebanon and absent in Jordan. At the healthcare organizational level, there is a need to instill a culture of continuous quality improvement and promote professional training in quality improvement and patient safety. Study findings highlight the importance of aligning policies, organizations, methods, capacities and resources in order to institutionalize quality improvement and patient safety practices in health systems. Gaps and dysfunctions identified can help inform national deliberations and dialogues among key stakeholders in each study country. Findings can also inform future quality improvement efforts in the EMR and beyond, with a particular emphasis on LMICs.

  18. A comparison of prevalence estimates for selected health indicators and chronic diseases or conditions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the National Health Interview Survey, and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2008.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chaoyang; Balluz, Lina S; Ford, Earl S; Okoro, Catherine A; Zhao, Guixiang; Pierannunzi, Carol

    2012-06-01

    To compare the prevalence estimates of selected health indicators and chronic diseases or conditions among three national health surveys in the United States. Data from adults aged 18 years or older who participated in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in 2007 and 2008 (n=807,524), the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in 2007 and 2008 (n=44,262), and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during 2007 and 2008 (n=5871) were analyzed. The prevalence estimates of current smoking, obesity, hypertension, and no health insurance were similar across the three surveys, with absolute differences ranging from 0.7% to 3.9% (relative differences: 2.3% to 20.2%). The prevalence estimate of poor or fair health from BRFSS was similar to that from NHANES, but higher than that from NHIS. The prevalence estimates of diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke were similar across the three surveys, with absolute differences ranging from 0.0% to 0.8% (relative differences: 0.2% to 17.1%). While the BRFSS continues to provide invaluable health information at state and local level, it is reassuring to observe consistency in the prevalence estimates of key health indicators of similar caliber between BRFSS and other national surveys. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... to make the text smaller. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HOME | CONTACT US | JOBS AT NIDDK | RSS FEEDS | GET E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles About ...

  20. Cohort profile: the National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort (NHIS-HEALS) in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seong, Sang Cheol; Kim, Yeon-Yong; Park, Sue K; Khang, Young Ho; Kim, Hyeon Chang; Park, Jong Heon; Kang, Hee-Jin; Do, Cheol-Ho; Song, Jong-Sun; Lee, Eun-Joo; Ha, Seongjun; Shin, Soon Ae; Jeong, Seung-Lyeal

    2017-09-24

    The National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort (NHIS-HEALS) is a cohort of participants who participated in health screening programmes provided by the NHIS in the Republic of Korea. The NHIS constructed the NHIS-HEALS cohort database in 2015. The purpose of this cohort is to offer relevant and useful data for health researchers, especially in the field of non-communicable diseases and health risk factors, and policy-maker. To construct the NHIS-HEALS database, a sample cohort was first selected from the 2002 and 2003 health screening participants, who were aged between 40 and 79 in 2002 and followed up through 2013. This cohort included 514 866 health screening participants who comprised a random selection of 10% of all health screening participants in 2002 and 2003. The age-standardised prevalence of anaemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, hypercholesterolaemia and abnormal urine protein were 9.8%, 8.2%, 35.6%, 2.7%, 14.2% and 2.0%, respectively. The age-standardised mortality rate for the first 2 years (through 2004) was 442.0 per 100 000 person-years, while the rate for 10 years (through 2012) was 865.9 per 100 000 person-years. The most common cause of death was malignant neoplasm in both sexes (364.1 per 100 000 person-years for men, 128.3 per 100 000 person-years for women). This database can be used to study the risk factors of non-communicable diseases and dental health problems, which are important health issues that have not yet been fully investigated. The cohort will be maintained and continuously updated by the NHIS. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  1. Using nationwide ‘big data’ from linked electronic health records to help improve outcomes in cardiovascular diseases:33 studies using methods from epidemiology, informatics, economics and social science in the ClinicAl disease research using LInked Bespoke studies and Electronic health Records (CALIBER) programme

    OpenAIRE

    Hemingway, Harry; Feder, Gene; Fitzpatrick, Natalie; Denaxas, Spiros; Shah, Amit; Timmis, A D

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND:Electronic health records (EHRs), when linked across primary and secondary care and curated for research use, have the potential to improve our understanding of care quality and outcomes.OBJECTIVE:To evaluate new opportunities arising from linked EHRs for improving quality of care and outcomes for patients at risk of or with coronary disease across the patient journey.DESIGN:Epidemiological cohort, health informatics, health economics and ethnographic approaches were used.SETTING:2...

  2. 76 FR 53685 - National Institutes of Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-29

    ..., CSR management to enhance the operations, processes, organization of, and services provided by the... data collection projects, the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve the...

  3. Wildlife health initiatives in Yellowstone National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Paul C.; Plumb, G.

    2007-01-01

    Yellowstone Science 15(2) • 2007 and conservation organizations ( see inset page 7, The Yellowstone Wildlife Health Program ). Wildlife and Human Health are Linked Much of the interest in disease ecology and wildlife health has been prompted by the emergence, or resurgence, of many parasites that move between livestock, wildlife, and/or humans. Wildlife diseases are important because of their impact on both the natural ecosystem and human health. Many human dis - eases arise from animal reservoirs (WHO 2002). Hantaviruses, West Nile virus, avian influenza, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are examples of disease issues that have arisen over the last decade. Indeed, nearly 75% of all emerg - ing human infectious diseases are zoonotic (a disease that has spread to humans from another animal species). Many of these diseases have spilled over from natural wildlife reservoirs either directly into humans or via domestic animals (WHO/FAO/ OIE 2004). Unprecedented human population abundance and distribution, combined with anthropogenic environmental change, has resulted in dramatic increases in human–animal contact, thus increasing the intimate linkages between animal and human health (Figure 1). Linkage of human and animal health is not a new phenomenon, but the scope, scale, and worldwide impacts of contemporary zoonoses have no historical precedent (OIE 2004a). Zoonotic infectious diseases can have major impacts on wild and domestic animals and human health, resulting in

  4. [Role of "Health" National project in improvement of health parameters in working population].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bykovskaia, T Iu

    2011-01-01

    The author analyzed results of "Health" National project accomplishment in Rostov region over 2006-2009. Findings are that quality of primary medical care has improved, material and technical basis of municipal health care institutions has progressed, salary of primary health care division specialists has increased. Over this period, infant mortality and mortality among able-bodied population in the region has decreased, birth rate has increased, coefficient of natural loss of population has reduced, life expectancy has increased.

  5. Trends and Predictors of National Institutes of Health Funding to Plastic Surgery Residency Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvestre, Jason; Abbatematteo, Joseph M; Chang, Benjamin; Serletti, Joseph M

    2017-12-01

    Recent studies have demonstrated low levels of National Institutes of Health funding for surgical research. The authors compared the funding in plastic surgery with the funding for other surgical specialties. A query of National Institutes of Health grants awarded to departments of surgical specialties was performed using the National Institutes of Health RePORTER database (2008 to 2016). Trends in funding were compared by specialty and adjusted for the number of active physicians in each specialty. Plastic surgery residency program characteristics were correlated with funding procurement. Eight hundred eighty-nine faculty at 94 plastic surgery residency programs were queried. Forty-eight investigators (5.4 percent) at 23 programs (24.4 percent) had National Institutes of Health funding. From 2008 to 2016, a total of $84,142,138 was awarded through 81 grants. Funding supported translational (44.6 percent), clinical (26.4 percent), basic science (27.2 percent), and educational (1.7 percent) research. In 2016, plastic surgery received the least amount of National Institutes of Health funding per active physician ($1,530) relative to orthopedic surgery ($3124), obstetrics and gynecology ($3885), urology ($5943), otolaryngology ($9999), general surgery ($11,649), ophthalmology ($11,933), and neurologic surgery ($20,874). Plastic surgery residency program characteristics associated with National Institutes of Health funding were high ranking and had more than 10 clinical faculty (p < 0.05). Plastic surgery receives the least National Institutes of Health funding among the surgical specialties. Departments and divisions of plastic surgery should support investigators applying for research grants to increase future National Institutes of Health funding.

  6. 77 FR 2548 - Board of Scientific Counselors, National Center for Health Statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-18

    ... Scientific Counselors, National Center for Health Statistics In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the...), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) announces the following meeting of the aforementioned...; review of the ambulatory and hospital care statistics program; a discussion of the NHANES genetics...

  7. The Union Health Center: a working model of clinical care linked to preventive occupational health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbert, R; Plattus, B; Kellogg, L; Luo, J; Marcus, M; Mascolo, A; Landrigan, P J

    1997-03-01

    As health care provision in the United States shifts to primary care settings, it is vital that new models of occupational health services be developed that link clinical care to prevention. The model program described in this paper was developed at the Union Health Center (UHC), a comprehensive health care center supported by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (now the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) serving a population of approximately 50,000 primarily minority, female garment workers in New York City. The objective of this paper is to describe a model occupational medicine program in a union-based comprehensive health center linking accessible clinical care with primary and secondary disease prevention efforts. To assess the presence of symptoms suggestive of occupational disease, a health status questionnaire was administered to female workers attending the UHC for routine health maintenance. Based on the results of this survey, an occupational medicine clinic was developed that integrated direct clinical care with worker and employer education and workplace hazard abatement. To assess the success of this new approach, selected cases of sentinel health events were tracked and a chart review was conducted after 3 years of clinic operation. Prior to initiation of the occupational medicine clinic, 64% (648) of the workers surveyed reported symptoms indicative of occupational illnesses. However, only 42 (4%) reported having been told by a physician that they had an occupational illness and only 4 (.4%) reported having field a workers' compensation claim for an occupational disease. In the occupational medicine clinic established at the UHC, a health and safety specialist acts as a case manager, coordinating worker and employer education as well as workplace hazard abatement focused on disease prevention, ensuring that every case of occupational disease is treated as a potential sentinel health event. As examples of the success

  8. Comparisons of health expenditure in 3 Pacific Island Countries using National Health Accounts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkins, Sandra; Irava, Wayne; Kei, Tin Yiu

    2010-09-01

    National Health Accounts (NHA) is an important monitoring tool for health policy and health systems strengthening. A pilot project amongst three Pacific Island Countries (PICs) to assist in developing their NHAs, allowed these countries to identify their sources of health funds, the health providers on which these funds are spent, and the types of health goods and services provided. In this paper we report some of the findings from the NHA exercises in FSM, Fiji and Vanuatu. The development of these NHA country reports have allowed these countries to better understand the flow of financial resources from financing agents, to health providers, and to health functions. The NHA findings across the three countries enabled a comparative analysis of health expenditures between the three countries as well as with countries in the Asia Pacific Region.

  9. The U.S. National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy: A Model for Positive Organizational Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baur, Cynthia; Harris, Linda; Squire, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    This chapter presents the U.S. National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy and its unique contribution to public health and health care in the U.S. The chapter details what the National Action Plan is, how it evolved, and how it has influenced priorities for health literacy improvement work. Examples of how the National Action Plan fills policy and research gaps in health care and public health are included. The first part of the chapter lays the foundation for the development of the National Action Plan, and the second part discusses how it can stimulate positive organizational change to help create health literate organizations and move the nation towards a health literate society.

  10. 78 FR 32672 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-31

    ... Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); Notice of Meeting Pursuant to the NIH Reform Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 281 (d)(4)), notice is hereby given that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS... Popovich, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of Extramural Research and Training...

  11. 75 FR 8085 - National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-23

    ... Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research SUMMARY: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is requesting public comment on a revision to the definition of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in the ``National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research'' (Guidelines). On July 7, 2009, NIH...

  12. 75 FR 13137 - National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-18

    ... Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research SUMMARY: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is extending the public comment period on a revision to the definition of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in the ``National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research'' (Guidelines). Due to a...

  13. Tracks: A National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network Overview

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2009-08-04

    In this podcast, Dr. Mike McGeehin, Director of CDC's Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, provides an overview of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. It highlights the Tracking Network's goal, how it will improve public health, its audience, and much more.  Created: 8/4/2009 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   Date Released: 8/4/2009.

  14. Drinking water management: health risk perceptions and choices in First Nations and non-First Nations communities in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupont, Diane; Waldner, Cheryl; Bharadwaj, Lalita; Plummer, Ryan; Carter, Blair; Cave, Kate; Zagozewski, Rebecca

    2014-05-30

    The relationship between tap water and health has been a topic of public concern and calls for better management in Canada since well-publicized contamination events in two provinces (Ontario and Saskatchewan) in 2000-2001. This study reports the perspectives on health risks from tap water and corresponding use of, and spending on, bottled water in a number of different communities in Canada. In 2009-2010, four First Nations communities (three from Ontario and one from Saskatchewan) and a geographically diverse sample of non-First Nations Canadians were surveyed about their beliefs concerning health risks from tap water and their spending practices for bottled water as a substitute. Responses to five identical questions were examined, revealing that survey respondents from Ontario First Nations communities were more likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe bottled water is safer than tap water (OR 1.6); more likely to report someone became ill from tap water (OR 3.6); more likely to express water and health concerns related to tap water consumption (OR 2.4); and more likely to spend more on bottled water (OR 4.9). On the other hand, participants from one Saskatchewan First Nations community were less likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe that someone had become ill from drinking tap water (OR 3.8), less likely to believe bottled water is safer than tap (OR 2.0), and less likely to have health concerns with tap water (OR 1.5). These differences, however, did not translate into differences in the likelihood of high bottled water expenditures or being a 100% bottled water consumer. The paper discusses how the differences observed may be related to water supply and regulation, trust, perceived control, cultural background, location, and past experience.

  15. Drinking Water Management: Health Risk Perceptions and Choices in First Nations and Non-First Nations Communities in Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupont, Diane; Waldner, Cheryl; Bharadwaj, Lalita; Plummer, Ryan; Carter, Blair; Cave, Kate; Zagozewski, Rebecca

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between tap water and health has been a topic of public concern and calls for better management in Canada since well-publicized contamination events in two provinces (Ontario and Saskatchewan) in 2000–2001. This study reports the perspectives on health risks from tap water and corresponding use of, and spending on, bottled water in a number of different communities in Canada. In 2009–2010, four First Nations communities (three from Ontario and one from Saskatchewan) and a geographically diverse sample of non-First Nations Canadians were surveyed about their beliefs concerning health risks from tap water and their spending practices for bottled water as a substitute. Responses to five identical questions were examined, revealing that survey respondents from Ontario First Nations communities were more likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe bottled water is safer than tap water (OR 1.6); more likely to report someone became ill from tap water (OR 3.6); more likely to express water and health concerns related to tap water consumption (OR 2.4); and more likely to spend more on bottled water (OR 4.9). On the other hand, participants from one Saskatchewan First Nations community were less likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe that someone had become ill from drinking tap water (OR 3.8), less likely to believe bottled water is safer than tap (OR 2.0), and less likely to have health concerns with tap water (OR 1.5). These differences, however, did not translate into differences in the likelihood of high bottled water expenditures or being a 100% bottled water consumer. The paper discusses how the differences observed may be related to water supply and regulation, trust, perceived control, cultural background, location, and past experience. PMID:24886757

  16. Social Relationships, Leisure Activity, and Health in Older Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Po-Ju; Wray, Linda; Lin, Yeqiang

    2015-01-01

    Objective Although the link between enhanced social relationships and better health has generally been well established, few studies have examined the role of leisure activity in this link. This study examined how leisure influences the link between social relationships and health in older age. Methods Using data from the 2006 and 2010 waves of the nationally representative U.S. Health and Retirement Study and structural equation modelling analyses, we examined data on 2,965 older participants to determine if leisure activities mediated the link between social relationships and health in 2010, controlling for race, education level, and health in 2006. Results The results demonstrated that leisure activities mediate the link between social relationships and health in these age groups. Perceptions of positive social relationships were associated with greater involvement in leisure activities, and greater involvement in leisure activities was associated with better health in older age. Discussion & Conclusions The contribution of leisure to health in these age groups is receiving increasing attention, and the results of this study add to the literature on this topic, by identifying the mediating effect of leisure activity on the link between social relationships and health. Future studies aimed at increasing leisure activity may contribute to improved health outcomes in older adults. PMID:24884905

  17. Social relationships, leisure activity, and health in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Po-Ju; Wray, Linda; Lin, Yeqiang

    2014-06-01

    Although the link between enhanced social relationships and better health has generally been well established, few studies have examined the role of leisure activity in this link. This study examined how leisure influences the link between social relationships and health in older age. Using data from the 2006 and 2010 waves of the nationally representative U.S. Health and Retirement Study and structural equation modeling analyses, we examined data on 2,965 older participants to determine if leisure activities mediated the link between social relationships and health in 2010, controlling for race, education level, and health in 2006. The results demonstrated that leisure activities mediate the link between social relationships and health in these age groups. Perceptions of positive social relationships were associated with greater involvement in leisure activities, and greater involvement in leisure activities was associated with better health in older age. The contribution of leisure to health in these age groups is receiving increasing attention, and the results of this study add to the literature on this topic, by identifying the mediating effect of leisure activity on the link between social relationships and health. Future studies aimed at increasing leisure activity may contribute to improved health outcomes in older adults. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  18. Strengthening Rehabilitation in Health Systems Worldwide by Integrating Information on Functioning in National Health Information Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stucki, Gerold; Bickenbach, Jerome; Melvin, John

    2017-09-01

    A complete understanding of the experience of health requires information relevant not merely to the health indicators of mortality and morbidity but also to functioning-that is, information about what it means to live in a health state, "the lived experience of health." Not only is functioning information relevant to healthcare and the overall objectives of person-centered healthcare but to the successful operation of all components of health systems.In light of population aging and major epidemiological trends, the health strategy of rehabilitation, whose aim has always been to optimize functioning and minimize disability, will become a key health strategy. The increasing prominence of the rehabilitative strategy within the health system drives the argument for the integration of functioning information as an essential component in national health information systems.Rehabilitation professionals and researchers have long recognized in WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health the best prospect for an internationally recognized, sufficiently complete and powerful information reference for the documentation of functioning information. This paper opens the discussion of the promise of integrating the ICF as an essential component in national health systems to secure access to functioning information for rehabilitation, across health systems and countries.

  19. The National Health Educator Job Analysis 2010: Process and Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doyle, Eva I.; Caro, Carla M.; Lysoby, Linda; Auld, M. Elaine; Smith, Becky J.; Muenzen, Patricia M.

    2012-01-01

    The National Health Educator Job Analysis 2010 was conducted to update the competencies model for entry- and advanced-level health educators. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Structured interviews, focus groups, and a modified Delphi technique were implemented to engage 59 health educators from diverse work settings and experience…

  20. Does Income Inequality Harm Health? New Cross-National Evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckfield, Jason

    2004-01-01

    The provocative hypothesis that income inequality harms population health has sparked a large body of research, some of which has reported strong associations between income inequality and population health. Cross-national evidence is frequently cited in support of this important hypothesis, but the hypothesis remains controversial, and the…

  1. 75 FR 52988 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2010-0012] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health... Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) will meet September 14 and 15, 2010, in Washington, DC. In conjunction...

  2. Linking better shiftwork arrangements with safety and health management systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogi, Kazutaka

    2004-12-01

    Various support measures useful for promoting joint change approaches to the improvement of both shiftworking arrangements and safety and health management systems were reviewed. A particular focus was placed on enterprise-level risk reduction measures linking working hours and management systems. Voluntary industry-based guidelines on night and shift work for department stores and the chemical, automobile and electrical equipment industries were examined. Survey results that had led to the compilation of practicable measures to be included in these guidelines were also examined. The common support measures were then compared with ergonomic checkpoints for plant maintenance work involving irregular nightshifts. On the basis of this analysis, a new night and shift work checklist was designed. Both the guidelines and the plant maintenance work checkpoints were found to commonly cover multiple issues including work schedules and various job-related risks. This close link between shiftwork arrangements and risk management was important as shiftworkers in these industries considered teamwork and welfare services to be essential for managing risks associated with night and shift work. Four areas found suitable for participatory improvement by managers and workers were work schedules, ergonomic work tasks, work environment and training. The checklist designed to facilitate participatory change processes covered all these areas. The checklist developed to describe feasible workplace actions was suitable for integration with comprehensive safety and health management systems and offered valuable opportunities for improving working time arrangements and job content together.

  3. UK national audit against the key performance indicators in the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health Sexually Transmitted Infections Management Standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClean, H; Sullivan, A K; Carne, C A; Warwick, Z; Menon-Johansson, A; Clutterbuck, D

    2012-10-01

    A national audit of practice performance against the key performance indicators in the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) and HIV Medical Foundation for AIDS Sexual Health Standards for the Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) was conducted in 2011. Approximately 60% and 8% of level 3 and level 2 services, respectively, participated. Excluding partner notification performance, the five lowest areas of performance for level 3 clinics were the STI/HIV risk assessment, care pathways linking care in level 2 clinics to local level 3 services, HIV test offer to patients with concern about STIs, information governance and receipt of chlamydial test results by clinicians within seven working days (the worst area of performance). The five lowest areas of performance for level 2 clinics were participating in audit, having an audit plan for the management of STIs for 2009-2010, the STI/HIV risk assessment, HIV test offer to patients with concern about STIs and information governance. The results are discussed with regard to the importance of adoption of the standards by commissioners of services because of their relevance to other national quality assurance drivers, and the need for development of a national system of STI management quality assurance measurement and reporting.

  4. 76 FR 40733 - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, (NIOSH), World Trade Center Health Program...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-11

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, (NIOSH), World Trade Center Health Program Science/Technical Advisory Committee (WTCHP-STAC) Correction: This notice was published in the Federal Register on June 23...

  5. Integrating Health Promotion in the National Agenda: The Perspective of a Grassroots Advocate

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donnell, Michael P.

    2012-01-01

    On June 16, 2011, Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General of the United States, released the "National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy: America's Plan for Better Health and Wellness," described as "the nation's first-ever National Prevention Strategy" by the U.S. Surgeon General. This was one of at least 38 provisions in the Patient…

  6. Adoption of One Health in Thailand's National strategic plan for emerging infectious diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sommanustweechai, Angkana; Iamsirithaworn, Sopon; Patcharanarumol, Walaiporn; Kalpravidh, Wantanee; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj

    2017-02-01

    This study illustrates how Thailand adopted the One Health concept. Massive socio-economic and health consequences of emerging infectious diseases, especially Avian Influenza in 2004, led to recognition of the importance of and need for One Health. Based on collaboration and consultative meetings between the national actors and international development partners, Thailand adopted One Health to drive more effective containment of Emerging Infectious Diseases. This concept gained support from the non-governmental and civil society organizations through processes of the National Health Assembly. In 2012, a Cabinet resolution endorsed a National Strategic Plan for Emerging Infectious Diseases (2013-2016), in which One Health appeared as a core principle. Collaboration among multi-disciplinary groups of professionals, particularly epidemiologists trained in Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP), including FETP, FETP-veterinarian, and FETP-wildlife veterinarians, promoted implementation of One Health.

  7. 76 FR 23826 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental....m. Agenda: To review and evaluate grant applications. Place: St. Gregory Hotel, 2033 M Street, NW... Blvd., Room 6154, MSC 9606, Bethesda, MD 20892-9606, 301-443-7861, ds[email protected] . Name of...

  8. National Health Accounts development: lessons from Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tangcharoensathien, V; Laixuthai, A; Vasavit, J; Tantigate, N A; Prajuabmoh-Ruffolo, W; Vimolkit, D; Lertiendumrong, J

    1999-12-01

    National Health Accounts (NHA) are an important tool to demonstrate how a country's health resources are spent, on what services, and who pays for them. NHA are used by policy-makers for monitoring health expenditure patterns; policy instruments to re-orientate the pattern can then be further introduced. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) of Thailand produces aggregate health expenditure data but its estimation methods have several limitations. This has led to the research and development of an NHA prototype in 1994, through an agreed definition of health expenditure and methodology, in consultation with peer and other stakeholders. This is an initiative by local researchers without external support, with an emphasis on putting the system into place. It involves two steps: firstly, the flow of funds from ultimate sources of finance to financing agencies; and secondly, the use of funds by financing agencies. Five ultimate sources and 12 financing agencies (seven public and five private) were identified. Use of consumption expenditures was listed under four main categories and 32 sub-categories. Using 1994 figures, we estimated a total health expenditure of 128,305.11 million Baht; 84.07% consumption and 15.93% capital formation. Of total consumption expenditure, 36.14% was spent on purchasing care from public providers, with 32.35% on private providers, 5.93% on administration and 9.65% on all other public health programmes. Public sources of finance were responsible for 48.79% and private 51.21% of the total 1994 health expenditure. Total health expenditure accounted for 3.56% of GDP (consumption expenditure at 3.00% of GDP and capital formation at 0.57% of GDP). The NESDB consumption expenditure estimate in 1994 was 180,516 million Baht or 5.01% of GDP, of which private sources were dominant (82.17%) and public sources played a minor role (17.83%). The discrepancy of consumption expenditure between the two estimates is 2.01% of GDP. There

  9. Rhetoric and Reality in the English National Health Service; Comment on “Who Killed the English National Health Service?”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudolf Klein

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Despite fiscal stress, public confidence in the National Health Service (NHS remains strong; privatisation has not hollowed out the service. But if long term challenges are to be overcome, pragmatism not rhetoric should be the guide.

  10. Role of the police in linking individuals experiencing mental health crises with mental health services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background The police are considered frontline professionals in managing individuals experiencing mental health crises. This study examines the extent to which these individuals are disconnected from mental health services, and whether the police response has an influence on re-establishing contact. Methods Police records were searched for calls regarding individuals with acute mental health needs and police handling of these calls. Mental healthcare contact data were retrieved from a Psychiatric Case Register. Results The police were called upon for mental health crisis situations 492 times within the study year, involving 336 individuals (i.e. 1.7 per 1000 inhabitants per year). Half of these individuals (N=162) were disengaged from mental health services, lacking regular care contact in the year prior to the crisis (apart from contact for crisis intervention). In the month following the crisis, 21% of those who were previously disengaged from services had regular care contact, and this was more frequent (49%) if the police had contacted the mental health services during the crisis. The influence of police referral to the services was still present the following year. However, for the majority (58%) of disengaged individuals police did not contact the mental health services at the time of crisis. Conclusions The police deal with a substantial number of individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, half of whom are out of contact with mental health services, and police play an important role in linking these individuals to services. Training police officers to recognise and handle mental health crises, and implementing practical models of cooperation between the police and mental health services in dealing with such crises may further improve police referral of individuals disengaged from mental health services. PMID:23072687

  11. Is Sex Good for Your Health? A National Study on Partnered Sexuality and Cardiovascular Risk among Older Men and Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hui; Waite, Linda J; Shen, Shannon; Wang, Donna H

    2016-09-01

    Working from a social relationship and life course perspective, we provide generalizable population-based evidence on partnered sexuality linked to cardiovascular risk in later life using national longitudinal data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) (N = 2,204). We consider characteristics of partnered sexuality of older men and women, particularly sexual activity and sexual quality, as they affect cardiovascular risk. Cardiovascular risk is defined as hypertension, rapid heart rate, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), and general cardiovascular events. We find that older men are more likely to report being sexually active, having sex more often, and more enjoyably than are older women. Results from cross-lagged models suggest that high frequency of sex is positively related to later risk of cardiovascular events for men but not women, whereas good sexual quality seems to protect women but not men from cardiovascular risk in later life. We find no evidence that poor cardiovascular health interferes with later sexuality for either gender. © American Sociological Association 2016.

  12. Clarifying the links between social support and health: culture, stress, and neuroticism matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jiyoung; Kitayama, Shinobu; Karasawa, Mayumi; Curhan, Katherine; Markus, Hazel R; Kawakami, Norito; Miyamoto, Yuri; Love, Gayle D; Coe, Christopher L; Ryff, Carol D

    2013-02-01

    Although it is commonly assumed that social support positively predicts health, the empirical evidence has been inconsistent. We argue that three moderating factors must be considered: (1) support-approving norms (cultural context); (2) support-requiring situations (stressful events); and (3) support-accepting personal style (low neuroticism). Our large-scale cross-cultural survey of Japanese and US adults found significant associations between perceived support and health. The association was more strongly evident among Japanese (from a support-approving cultural context) who reported high life stress (in a support-requiring situation). Moreover, the link between support and health was especially pronounced if these Japanese were low in neuroticism.

  13. Clarifying the links between social support and health: Culture, stress, and neuroticism matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jiyoung; Kitayama, Shinobu; Karasawa, Mayumi; Curhan, Katherine; Markus, Hazel R; Kawakami, Norito; Miyamoto, Yuri; Love, Gayle D; Coe, Christopher L; Ryff, Carol D

    2012-01-01

    Although it is commonly assumed that social support positively predicts health, the empirical evidence has been inconsistent. We argue that three moderating factors must be considered: (1) support-approving norms (cultural context); (2) support-requiring situations (stressful events); and (3) support-accepting personal style (low neuroticism). Our large-scale cross-cultural survey of Japanese and US adults found significant associations between perceived support and health. The association was more strongly evident among Japanese (from a support-approving cultural context) who reported high life stress (in a support-requiring situation). Moreover, the link between support and health was especially pronounced if these Japanese were low in neuroticism. PMID:22419414

  14. Visualising linked health data to explore health events around preventable hospitalisations in NSW Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falster, Michael O; Jorm, Louisa R; Leyland, Alastair H

    2016-09-07

    To explore patterns of health service use in the lead-up to, and following, admission for a 'preventable' hospitalisation. 266 950 participants in the 45 and Up Study, New South Wales (NSW) Australia Linked data on hospital admissions, general practitioner (GP) visits and other health events were used to create visual representations of health service use. For each participant, health events were plotted against time, with different events juxtaposed using different markers and panels of data. Various visualisations were explored by patient characteristics, and compared with a cohort of non-admitted participants matched on sociodemographic and health characteristics. Health events were displayed over calendar year and in the 90 days surrounding first preventable hospitalisation. The visualisations revealed patterns of clustering of GP consultations in the lead-up to, and following, preventable hospitalisation, with 14% of patients having a consultation on the day of admission and 27% in the prior week. There was a clustering of deaths and other hospitalisations following discharge, particularly for patients with a long length of stay, suggesting patients may have been in a state of health deterioration. Specialist consultations were primarily clustered during the period of hospitalisation. Rates of all health events were higher in patients admitted for a preventable hospitalisation than the matched non-admitted cohort. We did not find evidence of limited use of primary care services in the lead-up to a preventable hospitalisation, rather people with preventable hospitalisations tended to have high levels of engagement with multiple elements of the healthcare system. As such, preventable hospitalisations might be better used as a tool for identifying sicker patients for managed care programmes. Visualising longitudinal health data was found to be a powerful strategy for uncovering patterns of health service use, and such visualisations have potential to be more

  15. Linking international research to global health equity: the limited contribution of bioethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pratt, Bridget; Loff, Bebe

    2013-05-01

    Health research has been identified as a vehicle for advancing global justice in health. However, in bioethics, issues of global justice are mainly discussed within an ongoing debate on the conditions under which international clinical research is permissible. As a result, current ethical guidance predominantly links one type of international research (biomedical) to advancing one aspect of health equity (access to new treatments). International guidelines largely fail to connect international research to promoting broader aspects of health equity - namely, healthier social environments and stronger health systems. Bioethical frameworks such as the human development approach do consider how international clinical research is connected to the social determinants of health but, again, do so to address the question of when international clinical research is permissible. It is suggested that the narrow focus of this debate is shaped by high-income countries' economic strategies. The article further argues that the debate's focus obscures a stronger imperative to consider how other types of international research might advance justice in global health. Bioethics should consider the need for non-clinical health research and its contribution to advancing global justice. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey: The First National Survey of State Health Agency Employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sellers, Katie; Leider, Jonathon P; Harper, Elizabeth; Castrucci, Brian C; Bharthapudi, Kiran; Liss-Levinson, Rivka; Jarris, Paul E; Hunter, Edward L

    2015-01-01

    Public health practitioners, policy makers, and researchers alike have called for more data on individual worker's perceptions about workplace environment, job satisfaction, and training needs for a quarter of a century. The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) was created to answer that call. Characterize key components of the public health workforce, including demographics, workplace environment, perceptions about national trends, and perceived training needs. A nationally representative survey of central office employees at state health agencies (SHAs) was conducted in 2014. Approximately 25,000 e-mail invitations to a Web-based survey were sent out to public health staff in 37 states, based on a stratified sampling approach. Balanced repeated replication weights were used to account for the complex sampling design. A total of 10,246 permanently employed SHA central office employees participated in PH WINS (46% response rate). Perceptions about training needs; workplace environment and job satisfaction; national initiatives and trends; and demographics. Although the majority of staff said they were somewhat or very satisfied with their job (79%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 78-80), as well as their organization (65%; 95% CI, 64-66), more than 42% (95% CI, 41-43) were considering leaving their organization in the next year or retiring before 2020; 4% of those were considering leaving for another job elsewhere in governmental public health. The majority of public health staff at SHA central offices are female (72%; 95% CI, 71-73), non-Hispanic white (70%; 95% CI, 69-71), and older than 40 years (73%; 95% CI, 72-74). The greatest training needs include influencing policy development, preparing a budget, and training related to the social determinants of health. PH WINS represents the first nationally representative survey of SHA employees. It holds significant potential to help answer previously unaddressed questions in public health

  17. Symposium Introduction: Papers on 'Modeling National Health Expenditures'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Getzen, Thomas E; Okunade, Albert A

    2017-07-01

    Significant contributions have been made since the World Health Organization published Brian Abel-Smith's pioneering comparative study of national health expenditures more than 50 years ago. There have been major advances in theories, model specifications, methodological approaches, and data structures. This introductory essay provides a historical context for this line of work, highlights four newly published studies that move health economics research forward, and indicates several important areas of challenging but potentially fruitful research to strengthen future contributions to the literature and make empirical findings more useful for evaluating health policy decisions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. The National Health Insurance, the decentralised clinical training ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    studies, particularly those from Australia, Canada, and SA.[1-6] ... Gluckman's principles; therefore it is imperative to keep these in the forefront .... Digby A. Evidence, encounters and effects of South Africa's reforming Gluckman National Health.

  19. The case of national health promotion policy in Australia: where to now?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, James A; Crawford, Gemma; Signal, Louise

    2016-04-01

    Issue addressed Over the last three decades there has been an incremental investment in health promotion and prevention across Australia; yet, the Commonwealth Government and some state/territory governments have more recently instigated funding cuts in health promotion and prevention. This paper argues that the role of health promotion is critical in contemporary Australia and discusses strategies needed to move forward within the context of recent disinvestments. Discussion Key areas of concern relating to recent health promotion and prevention disinvestment in Australia include the abolishment of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, the cessation of the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health and significant cuts to Indigenous programs. These changes pose a significant threat to the health, economic and social well being of Australians and the region, particularly those that are most vulnerable. Conclusions Future health promotion and prevention efforts will require strategic leadership and action to enhance the promotion of health equity in Australia over the coming decades. We call on governments to (re)invest in health promotion and prevention both in and outside the health sector so that health promotion professionals can continue their advocacy efforts aimed at articulating their professional place in improving population health. So what? Recent changes to national health promotion and prevention policy are detrimental to the health and well being of the Australian population, particularly those most vulnerable. Sound planning to revitalise and refocus health promotion action in Australia is urgently required.

  20. Building policy capacities: an interactive approach for linking knowledge to action in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rütten, Alfred; Gelius, Peter

    2014-09-01

    This article outlines a theoretical framework for an interactive, research-driven approach to building policy capacities in health promotion. First, it illustrates how two important issues in the recent public health debate, capacity building and linking scientific knowledge to policy action, are connected to each other theoretically. It then introduces an international study on an interactive approach to capacity building in health promotion policy. The approach combines the ADEPT model of policy capacities with a co-operative planning process to foster the exchange of knowledge between policy-makers and researchers, thus improving intra- and inter-organizational capacities. A regional-level physical activity promotion project involving governmental and public-law institutions, NGOs and university researchers serves as a case study to illustrate the potential of the approach for capacity building. Analysis and comparison with a similar local-level project indicate that the approach provides an effective means of linking scientific knowledge to policy action and to planning concrete measures for capacity building in health promotion, but that it requires sufficiently long timelines and adequate resources to achieve adequate implementation and sustainability. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Public health strategy against overweight and obesity in Mexico's National Agreement for Nutritional Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latnovic, L; Rodriguez Cabrera, L

    2013-06-01

    Overweight and obesity are major world global health challenges of the 21st century. Mexico is not an exception. Approximately 70% of the adult Mexican population has an excessive body weight. The prevalence of obesity and overweight in Mexican school children aged 5-11 is also high: one child in four is overweight. In light of the seriousness of the situation, the solutions for this problem are based on modification of the environments and change of individual habits and behaviors related to nutrition and physical activity. As a result, the Mexican government, public sector and academy established three common goals and 10 priority objectives that are expressed in the National Agreement for Nutritional Health-Strategy to Control Overweight and Obesity. The obesity problem requires interventions and policies that reside outside of the health sector domain, key aspects of this public health policy was agreement among all stakeholders on cross-cutting actions. The best examples of National Agreement's inter-sectorial action implementation is in the school setting and Code of 'Self Regulation' on Advertising of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children introduced by the food and beverage industry. The ultimate goal of this national policy is to provide the strategic plan for healthy weight and better health, by promoting healthy lifestyles focused on correct diet and physical activity in all life stages, from pregnancy and early childhood and on into adulthood by a multi stakeholder approach. Although there have been great achievements in some areas of implementation, there are still challenges to confront.

  2. 75 FR 7485 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Amended Notice of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Special...

  3. Linking household and health facility surveys to assess obstetric service availability, readiness and coverage: evidence from 17 low- and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanyangarara, Mufaro; Chou, Victoria B; Creanga, Andreea A; Walker, Neff

    2018-06-01

    services" (≥30% of facility deliveries) were only found in three countries. The low levels of availability, readiness and coverage of obstetric services documented represent substantial missed opportunities within health systems. Global and national efforts need to prioritize upgrading EmOC functionality and improving readiness to deliver obstetric service, particularly in rural areas. The approach of linking health facility and household surveys described here could facilitate the tracking of progress towards quality obstetric care.

  4. 76 FR 58006 - Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; Delegation of Authority

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... for Health Information Technology; Delegation of Authority Notice is hereby given that I have delegated to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (National Coordinator), or his or... information technology as it relates to health information and health promotion, preventive health services...

  5. Investigating the work-family conflict and health link: Repetitive thought as a mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Kelly D; Gere, Judith; Sliwinski, Martin J

    2017-10-01

    Research is needed to investigate mechanisms linking work-family conflict to poor health in working adults. We took a novel approach to build on extant studies by testing a potential mechanism in these associations - repetitive thought. Data came from a sample of 203 partnered working adults. There were significant direct effects of work-family conflict with lower life satisfaction, positive affect, and perceived health as well as greater fatigue. As for total effects, work-family conflict was significantly associated with all health outcomes - life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, fatigue, perceived health, and chronic health conditions - in the expected directions through repetitive thought. This study provides support that repetitive thought is one potential mechanism of how work-family conflict can take a toll on psychological and physical health. Findings are discussed in relation to improving workplace policies to improve the health of working adults managing work-family conflict. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. Psychosocial Mechanisms Linking the Social Environment to Mental Health in African Americans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mama, Scherezade K; Li, Yisheng; Basen-Engquist, Karen; Lee, Rebecca E; Thompson, Deborah; Wetter, David W; Nguyen, Nga T; Reitzel, Lorraine R; McNeill, Lorna H

    2016-01-01

    Resource-poor social environments predict poor health, but the mechanisms and processes linking the social environment to psychological health and well-being remain unclear. This study explored psychosocial mediators of the association between the social environment and mental health in African American adults. African American men and women (n = 1467) completed questionnaires on the social environment, psychosocial factors (stress, depressive symptoms, and racial discrimination), and mental health. Multiple-mediator models were used to assess direct and indirect effects of the social environment on mental health. Low social status in the community (p health. Psychosocial factors significantly jointly mediated the relationship between the social environment and mental health in multiple-mediator models. Low social status and social support were associated with greater perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and perceived racial discrimination, which were associated with poor mental health. Results suggest the relationship between the social environment and mental health is mediated by psychosocial factors and revealed potential mechanisms through which social status and social support influence the mental health of African American men and women. Findings from this study provide insight into the differential effects of stress, depression and discrimination on mental health. Ecological approaches that aim to improve the social environment and psychosocial mediators may enhance health-related quality of life and reduce health disparities in African Americans.

  7. About the Associate Director for Health of EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dr. Ronald Hines serves as Associate Director for Health for the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development (ORD).

  8. Vertical equity of healthcare in Taiwan: health services were distributed according to need

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Shiow-Ing; Yaung, Chih-Liang

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Introduction To test the hypothesis that the distribution of healthcare services is according to health need can be achieved under a rather open access system. Methods The 2001 National Health Interview Survey of Taiwan and National Health Insurance claims data were linked in the study. Health need was defined by self-perceived health status. We used Concentration index to measure need-related inequality in healthcare utilization and expenditure. Results People with greater health ne...

  9. Public and private maternal health service capacity and patient flows in Southern Tanzania: using a geographic information system to link hospital and national census data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabatabai, Patrik; Henke, Stefanie; Sušac, Katharina; Kisanga, Oberlin M E; Baumgarten, Inge; Kynast-Wolf, Gisela; Ramroth, Heribert; Marx, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Strategies to improve maternal health in low-income countries are increasingly embracing partnership approaches between public and private stakeholders in health. In Tanzania, such partnerships are a declared policy goal. However, implementation remains challenging as unfamiliarity between partners and insufficient recognition of private health providers prevail. This hinders cooperation and reflects the need to improve the evidence base of private sector contribution. To map and analyse the capacities of public and private hospitals to provide maternal health care in southern Tanzania and the population reached with these services. A hospital questionnaire was applied in all 16 hospitals (public n=10; private faith-based n=6) in 12 districts of southern Tanzania. Areas of inquiry included selected maternal health service indicators (human resources, maternity/delivery beds), provider-fees for obstetric services and patient turnover (antenatal care, births). Spatial information was linked to the 2002 Population Census dataset and a geographic information system to map patient flows and socio-geographic characteristics of service recipients. The contribution of faith-based organizations (FBOs) to hospital maternal health services is substantial. FBO hospitals are primarily located in rural areas and their patient composition places a higher emphasis on rural populations. Also, maternal health service capacity was more favourable in FBO hospitals. We approximated that 19.9% of deliveries in the study area were performed in hospitals and that the proportion of c-sections was 2.7%. Mapping of patient flows demonstrated that women often travelled far to seek hospital care and where catchment areas of public and FBO hospitals overlap. We conclude that the important contribution of FBOs to maternal health services and capacity as well as their emphasis on serving rural populations makes them promising partners in health programming. Inclusive partnerships could increase

  10. Relational Regulation Theory : A New Approach to Explain the Link Between Perceived Social Support and Mental Health

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lakey, Brian; Orehek, Edward

    Perceived support is consistently linked to good mental health, which is typically explained as resulting from objectively supportive actions that buffer stress. Yet this explanation has difficulty accounting for the often-observed main effects between support and mental health. Relational

  11. Geriatric Patient Safety Indicators Based on Linked Administrative Health Data to Assess Anticoagulant-Related Thromboembolic and Hemorrhagic Adverse Events in Older Inpatients: A Study Proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Pogam, Marie-Annick; Quantin, Catherine; Reich, Oliver; Tuppin, Philippe; Fagot-Campagna, Anne; Paccaud, Fred; Peytremann-Bridevaux, Isabelle; Burnand, Bernard

    2017-05-11

    -based algorithms, (3) empirical measurement of indicators using linked administrative health data, (4) validation of indicators, (5) analyses of geographic and temporal variations for reliable and valid indicators, and (6) data visualization. Study populations will consist of 166,670 Swiss and 5,902,037 French residents aged 65 years and older admitted to an acute care hospital at least once during the 2012-2014 period and insured for at least 1 year before admission and 1 year after discharge. We will extract Swiss data from the Helsana Group data warehouse and French data from the national health insurance information system (SNIIR-AM). The study has been approved by Swiss and French ethics committees and regulatory organizations for data protection. Validated GPSIs and GQIs should help support and drive quality and safety improvement in older inpatients, inform health care stakeholders, and enable international comparisons. We discuss several limitations relating to the representativeness of study populations, accuracy of administrative health data, methods used for GPSI criterion validity assessment, and potential confounding bias in comparisons based on GQIs, and we address these limitations to strengthen study feasibility and validity. ©Marie-Annick Le Pogam, Catherine Quantin, Oliver Reich, Philippe Tuppin, Anne Fagot-Campagna, Fred Paccaud, Isabelle Peytremann-Bridevaux, Bernard Burnand. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 11.05.2017.

  12. 78 FR 56902 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of the following meeting. The meeting will be closed to the public in accordance...

  13. 78 FR 64221 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of the following meetings. The meetings will be closed to the public in accordance...

  14. International differences in the links between obesity and physiological dysregulation: the United States, England, and Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasunilashorn, Sarinnapha; Kim, Jung Ki; Crimmins, Eileen M

    2013-01-01

    Excess weight has generally been associated with adverse health outcomes; however, the link between overweight and health outcomes may vary with socioeconomic, cultural, and epidemiological conditions. We examine associations of weight with indicators of biological risk in three nationally representative populations: the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and the Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study in Taiwan. Indicators of biological risk were compared for obese (defined using body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference) and normal weight individuals aged 54+. Generally, obesity in England was associated with elevated risk for more markers examined; obese Americans also had elevated risks except that they did not have elevated blood pressure (BP). Including waist circumference in our consideration of BMI indicated different links between obesity and waist size across countries; we found higher physiological dysregulation among those with high waist but normal BMI compared to those with normal waist and normal BMI. Americans had the highest levels of biological risk in all weight/waist groups. Cross-country variation in biological risk associated with obesity may reflect differences in health behaviors, lifestyle, medication use, and culture.

  15. International Differences in the Links between Obesity and Physiological Dysregulation: The United States, England, and Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarinnapha Vasunilashorn

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Excess weight has generally been associated with adverse health outcomes; however, the link between overweight and health outcomes may vary with socioeconomic, cultural, and epidemiological conditions. We examine associations of weight with indicators of biological risk in three nationally representative populations: the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and the Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study in Taiwan. Indicators of biological risk were compared for obese (defined using body mass index (BMI and waist circumference and normal weight individuals aged 54+. Generally, obesity in England was associated with elevated risk for more markers examined; obese Americans also had elevated risks except that they did not have elevated blood pressure (BP. Including waist circumference in our consideration of BMI indicated different links between obesity and waist size across countries; we found higher physiological dysregulation among those with high waist but normal BMI compared to those with normal waist and normal BMI. Americans had the highest levels of biological risk in all weight/waist groups. Cross-country variation in biological risk associated with obesity may reflect differences in health behaviors, lifestyle, medication use, and culture.

  16. The rise of global health diplomacy: An interdisciplinary concept linking health and international relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chattu, Vijay Kumar

    2017-01-01

    Global health diplomacy (GHD) is relatively a very new field that has yet to be clearly defined and developed though there are various definitions given by different experts from foreign policy, global health, diplomacy, international relations, governance, and law. With the intensification of globalization and increasing gaps between countries, new and reemerging health threats such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Ebola, and Zika and a gradual rethinking on security concepts framed a new political context. The health problems addressed diplomatically have also become diverse ranging from neglected tropical diseases, infectious diseases, sale of unsafe, counterfeit drugs to brain drain crisis. We see that global health has become more diverse as the actors widened and also the interests appealing not only to the traditional humanitarian ideals associated with health but also to the principles grounded in national and global security. Recently, we are witnessing the increased priority given to the GHD because the issue of health is discussed by various actors outside the WHO to shape the global policy for health determinants. In fact, the area of health has become the part of UN Summit Diplomacy involving the G8, G20, BRICS, and the EU. The recent WHO Pandemic Influenza Framework, UN High Level Framework on Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are some of the examples of long-term negotiation processes for agreements that took place.

  17. Evaluation of the performance of national health systems in 2004-2011: An analysis of 173 countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Daxin; Ahn, Haksoon; Lievens, Tomas; Zeng, Wu

    2017-01-01

    In an effort to improve health service delivery and achieve better health outcomes, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for improved efficiency of health care systems to better use the available funding. This study aims to examine the efficiency of national health systems using longitudinal country-level data. Data on health spending per capita, infant mortality rate (IMR), under 5 mortality rate (U5MR), and life expectancy (LE) were collected from or imputed for 173 countries from 2004 through 2011. Data envelopment analyses were used to evaluate the efficiency and regression models were constructed to examine the determinants of efficiency. The average efficiency of the national health system, when examined yearly, was 78.9%, indicating a potential saving of 21.1% of health spending per capita to achieve the same level of health status for children and the entire population, if all countries performed as well as their peers. Additionally, the efficiency of the national health system varied widely among countries. On average, Africa had the lowest efficiency of 67%, while West Pacific countries had the highest efficiency of 86%. National economic status, HIV/AIDS prevalence, health financing mechanisms and governance were found to be statistically associated with the efficiency of national health systems. Taking health financing as an example, a 1% point increase of social security expenses as a percentage of total health expenditure correlated to a 1.9% increase in national health system efficiency. The study underscores the need to enhance efficiency of national health systems to meet population health needs, and highlights the importance of health financing and governance in improving the efficiency of health systems, to ultimately improve health outcomes.

  18. Racial and ethnic disparities in children's oral health: the National Survey of Children's Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietrich, Thomas; Culler, Corinna; Garcia, Raul I; Henshaw, Michelle M

    2008-11-01

    The authors evaluated racial/ethnic differences and their socioeconomic determinants in the oral health status of U.S. children, as reported by parents. The authors used interview data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health, a large representative survey of U.S. children. They calculated weighted, nationally representative prevalence estimates for non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics, and they used logistic regression to explore the association between parents' reports of fair or poor oral health and various socioeconomic determinants of oral health. The results showed significant racial/ethnic differences in parental reports of fair or poor oral health, with prevalences of 6.5 percent for non-Hispanic whites, 12.0 percent for non-Hispanic blacks and 23.4 percent for Hispanics. Although adjustments for family socioeconomic status (poverty level and education) partially explained these racial/ethnic disparities, Hispanics still were twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to report their children's oral health as fair or poor, independent of socioeconomic status. The authors did find differences in preventive-care attitudes among groups. However, in multivariate models, such differences did not explain the disparities. Significant racial/ethnic disparities exist in parental reports of their children's oral health, with Hispanics being the most disadvantaged group. Disparities appear to exist independent of preventive-care attitudes and socioeconomic status.

  19. Virginia Tech recognizes National Farm Safety and Health Week

    OpenAIRE

    Sutphin, Michael D.

    2006-01-01

    Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Virginia Cooperative Extension are observing National Farm Safety and Health Week, Sept. 18-22. This week commemorates the hard work, diligence, and sacrifices of our nation's farmers and ranchers and dovetails the announcement of an $800,000 grant to improve the lives of Virginia's farmers, their families, and those who live in rural communities.

  20. 78 FR 12065 - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Personal Protective Technology for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-21

    ... Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Personal Protective Technology for Pesticide Handlers: Stakeholder Meeting AGENCY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers...: Notice of public meeting. SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of...

  1. Stigma, Obesity, and the Health of the Nation's Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puhl, Rebecca M.; Latner, Janet D.

    2007-01-01

    Preventing childhood obesity has become a top priority in efforts to improve our nation's public health. Although much research is needed to address this health crisis, it is important to approach childhood obesity with an understanding of the social stigma that obese youths face, which is pervasive and can have serious consequences for emotional…

  2. Who Killed the English National Health Service?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Powell

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The death of the English National Health Service (NHS has been pronounced many times over the years, but the time and cause of death and the murder weapon remains to be fully established. This article reviews some of these claims, and asks for clearer criteria and evidence to be presented.

  3. Does non-standard work mean non-standard health? Exploring links between non-standard work schedules, health behavior, and well-being

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan R. Winkler

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The last century has seen dramatic shifts in population work circumstances, leading to an increasing normalization of non-standard work schedules (NSWSs, defined as non-daytime, irregular hours. An ever-growing body of evidence links NSWSs to a host of non-communicable chronic conditions; yet, these associations primarily concentrate on the physiologic mechanisms created by circadian disruption and insufficient sleep. While important, not all NSWSs create such chronobiologic disruption, and other aspects of working time and synchronization could be important to the relationships between work schedules and chronic disease. Leveraging survey data from Project EAT, a population-based study with health-related behavioral and psychological data from U.S. adults aged 25–36 years, this study explored the risks for a broad range of less healthful behavioral and well-being outcomes among NSWS workers compared to standard schedule workers (n = 1402. Variations across different NSWSs (evening, night/rotating, and irregular schedules were also explored. Results indicated that, relative to standard schedule workers, workers with NSWSs are at increased risk for non-optimal sleep, substance use, greater recreational screen time, worse dietary practices, obesity, and depression. There was minimal evidence to support differences in relative risks across workers with different types of NSWSs. The findings provide insight into the potential links between NSWSs and chronic disease and indicate the relevancy social disruption and daily health practices may play in the production of health and well-being outcomes among working populations. Keywords: United States, Work schedule tolerance, Health behavior, Mental health, Substance abuse, Obesity

  4. Promoting health equity: WHO health inequality monitoring at global and national levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza; Bergen, Nicole; Schlotheuber, Anne

    2015-01-01

    Background Health equity is a priority in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and other major health initiatives. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a history of promoting actions to achieve equity in health, including efforts to encourage the practice of health inequality monitoring. Health inequality monitoring systems use disaggregated data to identify disadvantaged subgroups within populations and inform equity-oriented health policies, programs, and practices. Objective This paper provides an overview of a number of recent and current WHO initiatives related to health inequality monitoring at the global and/or national level. Design We outline the scope, content, and intended uses/application of the following: Health Equity Monitor database and theme page; State of inequality: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health report; Handbook on health inequality monitoring: with a focus on low- and middle-income countries; Health inequality monitoring eLearning module; Monitoring health inequality: an essential step for achieving health equity advocacy booklet and accompanying video series; and capacity building workshops conducted in WHO Member States and Regions. Conclusions The paper concludes by considering how the work of the WHO can be expanded upon to promote the establishment of sustainable and robust inequality monitoring systems across a variety of health topics among Member States and at the global level. PMID:26387506

  5. Promoting health equity: WHO health inequality monitoring at global and national levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza; Bergen, Nicole; Schlotheuber, Anne

    2015-01-01

    Health equity is a priority in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and other major health initiatives. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a history of promoting actions to achieve equity in health, including efforts to encourage the practice of health inequality monitoring. Health inequality monitoring systems use disaggregated data to identify disadvantaged subgroups within populations and inform equity-oriented health policies, programs, and practices. This paper provides an overview of a number of recent and current WHO initiatives related to health inequality monitoring at the global and/or national level. We outline the scope, content, and intended uses/application of the following: Health Equity Monitor database and theme page; State of inequality: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health report; Handbook on health inequality monitoring: with a focus on low- and middle-income countries; Health inequality monitoring eLearning module; Monitoring health inequality: an essential step for achieving health equity advocacy booklet and accompanying video series; and capacity building workshops conducted in WHO Member States and Regions. The paper concludes by considering how the work of the WHO can be expanded upon to promote the establishment of sustainable and robust inequality monitoring systems across a variety of health topics among Member States and at the global level.

  6. Promoting health equity: WHO health inequality monitoring at global and national levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Health equity is a priority in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and other major health initiatives. The World Health Organization (WHO has a history of promoting actions to achieve equity in health, including efforts to encourage the practice of health inequality monitoring. Health inequality monitoring systems use disaggregated data to identify disadvantaged subgroups within populations and inform equity-oriented health policies, programs, and practices. Objective: This paper provides an overview of a number of recent and current WHO initiatives related to health inequality monitoring at the global and/or national level. Design: We outline the scope, content, and intended uses/application of the following: Health Equity Monitor database and theme page; State of inequality: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health report; Handbook on health inequality monitoring: with a focus on low- and middle-income countries; Health inequality monitoring eLearning module; Monitoring health inequality: an essential step for achieving health equity advocacy booklet and accompanying video series; and capacity building workshops conducted in WHO Member States and Regions. Conclusions: The paper concludes by considering how the work of the WHO can be expanded upon to promote the establishment of sustainable and robust inequality monitoring systems across a variety of health topics among Member States and at the global level.

  7. Contributions of national and global health estimates to monitoring health-related Sustainable Development Goals in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bundhamcharoen, Kanitta; Limwattananon, Supon; Kusreesakul, Khanitta; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj

    2017-01-01

    The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) triggered increased demand for data on child and maternal mortality for monitoring progress. With the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and growing evidence of an epidemiological transition towards non-communicable diseases, policy makers need data on mortality and disease trends and distribution to inform effective policies and support monitoring progress. Where there are limited capacities to produce national health estimates (NHEs), global health estimates (GHEs) can fill gaps for global monitoring and comparisons. This paper draws lessons learned from Thailand's burden of disease study (BOD) on capacity development for NHEs, and discusses the contributions and limitation of GHEs in informing policies at country level. Through training and technical support by external partners, capacities are gradually strengthened and institutionalized to enable regular updates of BOD at national and sub-national levels. Initially, the quality of cause of death reporting in the death certificates was inadequate, especially for deaths occurring in the community. Verbal autopsies were conducted, using domestic resources, to determine probable causes of deaths occurring in the community. This helped improve the estimation of years of life lost. Since the achievement of universal health coverage in 2002, the quality of clinical data on morbidities has also considerably improved. There are significant discrepancies between the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) estimates for Thailand and the 1999 nationally generated BOD, especially for years of life lost due to HIV/AIDS, and the ranking of priority diseases. National ownership of NHEs and effective interfaces between researchers and decision makers contribute to enhanced country policy responses, while sub-national data are intended to be used by various sub-national-level partners. Though GHEs contribute to benchmarking country achievement compared with global health

  8. Health equity in the New Zealand health care system: a national survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheridan, Nicolette F; Kenealy, Timothy W; Connolly, Martin J; Mahony, Faith; Barber, P Alan; Boyd, Mary Anne; Carswell, Peter; Clinton, Janet; Devlin, Gerard; Doughty, Robert; Dyall, Lorna; Kerse, Ngaire; Kolbe, John; Lawrenson, Ross; Moffitt, Allan

    2011-10-20

    In all countries people experience different social circumstances that result in avoidable differences in health. In New Zealand, Māori, Pacific peoples, and those with lower socioeconomic status experience higher levels of chronic illness, which is the leading cause of mortality, morbidity and inequitable health outcomes. Whilst the health system can enable a fairer distribution of good health, limited national data is available to measure health equity. Therefore, we sought to find out whether health services in New Zealand were equitable by measuring the level of development of components of chronic care management systems across district health boards. Variation in provision by geography, condition or ethnicity can be interpreted as inequitable. A national survey of district health boards (DHBs) was undertaken on macro approaches to chronic condition management with detail on cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, stroke and diabetes. Additional data from expert informant interviews on program reach and the cultural needs of Māori and Pacific peoples was sought. Survey data were analyzed on dimensions of health equity relevant to strategic planning and program delivery. Results are presented as descriptive statistics and free text. Interviews were transcribed and NVivo 8 software supported a general inductive approach to identify common themes. Survey responses were received from the majority of DHBs (15/21), some PHOs (21/84) and 31 expert informants. Measuring, monitoring and targeting equity is not systematically undertaken. The Health Equity Assessment Tool is used in strategic planning but not in decisions about implementing or monitoring disease programs. Variable implementation of evidence-based practices in disease management and multiple funding streams made program implementation difficult. Equity for Māori is embedded in policy, this is not so for other ethnic groups or by geography. Populations

  9. [Actively promote nutrition and health surveillance, achieve the national nutrition and health goals].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Gangqiang; Zhao, Wenhua; Chen, Junshi

    2016-03-01

    The results of Chinese Nutrition and Health Surveillance (2010-2012) showed that the anemia prevalence in China reduced significantly compared with 2002, and people's nutrition and health status have improved. Unbalanced diet still exist, such as low intake of vegetables and fruits, and high intake of salt. The serum total cholesterol level and the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and borderline high cholesterolemia were high among urban adults, and more attention should be paid for high serum total cholesterol level among older adults. These results are significant to the development of nutrition and health intervention strategy, carry out nutrition intervention and the achievement of national nutrition and health goals.

  10. Financing health care for all insurance the first step? is national h-ealth

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1990-08-04

    Aug 4, 1990 ... supplemented by a national health insurance scheme, rather than through simply ... duals and families, and often unaffordable to individuals if they have to pay the .... Employees' contributions may be matched by employers.

  11. The SAIL databank: linking multiple health and social care datasets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, Ronan A; Jones, Kerina H; John, Gareth; Brooks, Caroline J; Verplancke, Jean-Philippe; Ford, David V; Brown, Ginevra; Leake, Ken

    2009-01-16

    Vast amounts of data are collected about patients and service users in the course of health and social care service delivery. Electronic data systems for patient records have the potential to revolutionise service delivery and research. But in order to achieve this, it is essential that the ability to link the data at the individual record level be retained whilst adhering to the principles of information governance. The SAIL (Secure Anonymised Information Linkage) databank has been established using disparate datasets, and over 500 million records from multiple health and social care service providers have been loaded to date, with further growth in progress. Having established the infrastructure of the databank, the aim of this work was to develop and implement an accurate matching process to enable the assignment of a unique Anonymous Linking Field (ALF) to person-based records to make the databank ready for record-linkage research studies. An SQL-based matching algorithm (MACRAL, Matching Algorithm for Consistent Results in Anonymised Linkage) was developed for this purpose. Firstly the suitability of using a valid NHS number as the basis of a unique identifier was assessed using MACRAL. Secondly, MACRAL was applied in turn to match primary care, secondary care and social services datasets to the NHS Administrative Register (NHSAR), to assess the efficacy of this process, and the optimum matching technique. The validation of using the NHS number yielded specificity values > 99.8% and sensitivity values > 94.6% using probabilistic record linkage (PRL) at the 50% threshold, and error rates were SAIL databank represents a research-ready platform for record-linkage studies.

  12. Teens, Health and Technology: A National Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ellen Wartella

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In the age of digital technology, as teens seem to be constantly connected online, via social media, and through mobile applications, it is no surprise that they increasingly turn to digital media to answer their health questions. This study is the first of its kind to survey a large, nationally-representative sample of teens to investigate how they use the newest digital technologies, including mobile apps, social networking sites, electronic gaming and wearable devices, to explore health topics. The survey covered the types of health topics teens most frequently search for, which technologies they are most likely to use and how they use them, and whether they report having changed their behaviors due to digital health information. In addition, this survey explores how the digital divide continues to impact adolescents. Results of this study indicate that teens are concerned about many health issues, ranging from fitness, sexual activity, drugs, hygiene as well as mental health and stress. As teens virtually always have a digital device at their fingertips, it is clear that public health interventions and informational campaigns must be tailored to reflect the ways that teens currently navigate digital health information and the health challenges that concern them most.

  13. CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program in Action: Case Studies From State and Local Health Departments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eatman, Shana; Strosnider, Heather M

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) is a multidisciplinary collaboration that involves the ongoing collection, integration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data from environmental hazard monitoring, human exposure surveillance, and health effects surveillance. With a renewed focus on data-driven decision-making, the CDC's Tracking Program emphasizes dissemination of actionable data to public health practitioners, policy makers, and communities. The CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network), a Web-based system with components at the national, state, and local levels, houses environmental public health data used to inform public health actions (PHAs) to improve community health. This article serves as a detailed landscape on the Tracking Program and Tracking Network and the Tracking Program's leading performance measure, "public health actions." Tracking PHAs are qualitative statements addressing a local problem or situation, the role of the state or local Tracking Program, how the problem or situation was addressed, and the action taken. More than 400 PHAs have been reported by funded state and local health departments since the Tracking Program began collecting PHAs in 2005. Three case studies are provided to illustrate the use of the Tracking Program resources and data on the Tracking Network, and the diversity of actions taken. Through a collaborative network of experts, data, and tools, the Tracking Program and its Tracking Network are actively informing state and local PHAs. In a time of competing priorities and limited funding, PHAs can serve as a powerful tool to advance environmental public health practice.

  14. 77 FR 28883 - Draft Public Health Action Plan-A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-16

    ... Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion... Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, 4770 Buford Highway NE., Mailstop K-34, Atlanta, Georgia 30341... health importance, existing challenges, and opportunities for action to decrease the impact of...

  15. "What We Breathe Impacts Our Health : Improving Understanding of the Link between Air Pollution and Health"

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    West, J Jason; Cohen, Aaron; Dentener, Frank; Brunekreef, Bert; Zhu, Tong; Armstrong, Ben; Bell, Michelle L; Brauer, Michael; Carmichael, Gregory; Costa, Dan L; Dockery, Douglas W; Kleeman, Michael; Krzyzanowski, Michal; Künzli, Nino; Liousse, Catherine; Lung, Shih-Chun Candice; Martin, Randall V; Pöschl, Ulrich; Pope, C Arden; Roberts, James M; Russell, Armistead G; Wiedinmyer, Christine

    2016-01-01

    Air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of millions of people each year around the world, and air quality problems are growing in many developing nations. While past policy efforts have succeeded in reducing particulate matter and trace gases in North America and Europe, adverse health

  16. Using linked electronic data to validate algorithms for health outcomes in administrative databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Wan-Ju; Lee, Todd A; Pickard, Alan Simon; Shoaibi, Azadeh; Schumock, Glen T

    2015-08-01

    The validity of algorithms used to identify health outcomes in claims-based and administrative data is critical to the reliability of findings from observational studies. The traditional approach to algorithm validation, using medical charts, is expensive and time-consuming. An alternative method is to link the claims data to an external, electronic data source that contains information allowing confirmation of the event of interest. In this paper, we describe this external linkage validation method and delineate important considerations to assess the feasibility and appropriateness of validating health outcomes using this approach. This framework can help investigators decide whether to pursue an external linkage validation method for identifying health outcomes in administrative/claims data.

  17. Health risk assessment linked with purified biogas injection in a natural gas distribution system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leroux, Carole; Modelon, Hugues; Rousselle, Christophe; Zdanevitch, Isabelle; Evanno, Sebastien

    2009-06-01

    This document provides for the opinion of the French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (Afsset) expressed after the collective expertise carried out for the evaluation of the health risk linked with biogas injection in the natural gas distribution system. Following the recommendations issued by the Afsset, works have been started in order to collect the sludge-derived biogas and to analyse its composition. These data will be used to assess accidental risks (resulting from biogas valorisation, pipeline transport, industrial and domestic energy valorisation) as well as health risks for users (resulting from the injection in the natural gas distribution system)

  18. An Overview Of The Nigerian National Health Bill | Saka | Savannah ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The National Health Bill was developed in 2004 as an instrument for correcting ... in the 1999 constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria as it relates to the health sector. ... Its provisions have effects on all three levels of care and subsystems ...

  19. National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (NRC) at the University of Colorado College of ... National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education Email: info@NRCKids.org Please read our disclaimer ...

  20. Patient Satisfaction with Primary Health Care – A Comparison between the Insured and Non-Insured under the National Health Insurance Policy in Ghana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenny, Ama P.; Enemark, Ulrika; Asante, Felix A.; Hansen, Kristian S.

    2014-01-01

    Ghana has initiated various health sector reforms over the past decades aimed at strengthening institutions, improving the overall health system and increasing access to healthcare services by all groups of people. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) instituted in 2005, is an innovative system aimed at making health care more accessible to people who need it. Currently, there is a growing amount of concern about the capacity of the NHIS to make quality health care accessible to its clients. A number of studies have concentrated on the effect of health insurance status on demand for health services, but have been quiet on supply side issues. The main aim of this study is to examine the overall satisfaction with health care among the insured and uninsured under the NHIS. The second aim is to explore the relations between overall satisfaction and socio-demographic characteristics, health insurance and the various dimensions of quality of care. This study employs logistic regression using household survey data in three districts in Ghana covering the 3 ecological zones (coastal, forest and savannah). It identifies the service quality factors that are important to patients’ satisfaction and examines their links to their health insurance status. The results indicate that a higher proportion of insured patients are satisfied with the overall quality of care compared to the uninsured. The key predictors of overall satisfaction are waiting time, friendliness of staff and satisfaction of the consultation process. These results highlight the importance of interpersonal care in health care facilities. Feedback from patients’ perception of health services and satisfaction surveys improve the quality of care provided and therefore effort must be made to include these findings in future health policies. PMID:24999137

  1. National outbreak of Salmonella Give linked to a local food manufacturer in Malta, October 2016.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donachie, A; Melillo, T; Bubba, L; Hartman, H; Borg, M-L

    2018-06-26

    Salmonella Give is a rare serotype across Europe. In October 2016, a national outbreak of S. Give occurred in Malta. We describe the epidemiological, environmental, microbiological and veterinary investigations. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed on human, food, environmental and veterinary isolates. Thirty-six human cases were reported between October and November 2016, 10 (28%) of whom required hospitalisation. Twenty-six (72%) cases were linked to four restaurants. S. Give was isolated from ready-to-eat antipasti served by three restaurants which were all supplied by the same local food manufacturer. Food-trace-back investigations identified S. Give in packaged bean dips, ham, pork and an asymptomatic food handler at the manufacturer; inspections found inadequate separation between raw and ready-to-eat food during processing. WGS indicated two genetically distinguishable strains of S. Give with two distinct clusters identified; one cluster linked to the local food manufacturer and a second linked to veterinary samples. Epidemiological, environmental and WGS evidence pointed towards cross-contamination of raw and ready-to-eat foods at the local manufacturer as the likely source of one cluster. Severity of illness indicates a high virulence of this specific serotype. To prevent future cases and outbreaks, adherence to food safety practices at manufacturing level need to be reinforced.

  2. Financing national policy on oral health in Brazil in the context of the Unified Health System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilberto Alfredo Pucca Junior

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the model of oral health care implemented in the Unified Health System of Brazil in the last decade. This model was conceived as a sub-sector policy that, over the years, has sought to improve the quality of life of the Brazilian population. Through a chronological line, the study presents the National Policy on Oral Health as a counter-hegemonic patient care model for the dentistry practices existing in the country before this policy was implemented. The reorganization of the levels of oral health care, the creation of reference facilities for secondary and tertiary care, through Centers of Dental Specialties and Regional Dental Prosthesis Laboratories, and the differential funding and decentralized management of financial resources were able to expand the actions of oral health for more than 90 million inhabitants. The evolution shown after the deployment of the National Oral Health Policy, as of 2004, demonstrates the greater integration of oral health care under the Unified Health System and provides feedback information to help this policy to continue to be prioritized by the Federal Government and receive more support from the state and local levels in the coming years.

  3. Is the health of people living in rural areas different from those in cities? Evidence from routine data linked with the Scottish Health Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teckle, P; Hannaford, P; Sutton, M

    2012-02-17

    To examine the association between rurality and health in Scotland, after adjusting for differences in individual and practice characteristics. Mortality and hospital record data linked to two cross sectional health surveys. Respondents in the community-based 1995 and 1998 Scottish Health Survey who consented to record-linkage follow-up. Hypertension, all-cause premature mortality, total hospital stays and admissions due to coronary heart disease (CHD). Older age and lower social class were strongly associated with an increased risk of each of the four health outcomes measured. After adjustment for individual and practice characteristics, no consistent pattern of better or poorer health in people living in rural areas was found, compared to primary cities. However, individuals living in remote small towns had a lower risk of a hospital admission for CHD and those in very remote rural had lower mortality, both compared with those living in primary cities. This study has shown how linked data can be used to explore the possible influence of area of residence on health. We were unable to find a consistent pattern that people living in rural areas have materially different health to that of those living in primary cities. Instead, we found stronger relationships between compositional determinants (age, gender and socio-economic status) and health than contextual factors (including rurality).

  4. Adapting public policy theory for public health research: A framework to understand the development of national policies on global health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Catherine M; Clavier, Carole; Potvin, Louise

    2017-03-01

    National policies on global health appear as one way that actors from health, development and foreign affairs sectors in a country coordinate state action on global health. Next to a burgeoning literature in which international relations and global governance theories are employed to understand global health policy and global health diplomacy at the international level, little is known about policy processes for global health at the national scale. We propose a framework of the policy process to understand how such policies are developed, and we identify challenges for public health researchers integrating conceptual tools from political science. We developed the framework using a two-step process: 1) reviewing literature to establish criteria for selecting a theoretical framework fit for this purpose, and 2) adapting Real-Dato's synthesis framework to integrate a cognitive approach to public policy within a constructivist perspective. Our framework identifies multiple contexts as part of the policy process, focuses on situations where actors work together to make national policy on global health, considers these interactive situations as spaces for observing external influences on policy change and proposes policy design as the output of the process. We suggest that this framework makes three contributions to the conceptualisation of national policy on global health as a research object. First, it emphasizes collective action over decisions of individual policy actors. Second, it conceptualises the policy process as organised interactive spaces for collaboration rather than as stages of a policy cycle. Third, national decision-making spaces are opportunities for transferring ideas and knowledge from different sectors and settings, and represent opportunities to identify international influences on a country's global health policy. We discuss two sets of challenges for public health researchers using interdisciplinary approaches in policy research. Copyright

  5. Biological age as a health index for mortality and major age-related disease incidence in Koreans: National Health Insurance Service – Health screening 11-year follow-up study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kang YG

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Young Gon Kang,1 Eunkyung Suh,2 Jae-woo Lee,3 Dong Wook Kim,4 Kyung Hee Cho,5 Chul-Young Bae1 1Department of R&D, MediAge Research Center, Seongnam, Republic of South Korea; 2Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, CHA University, Chaum, Seoul, Republic of South Korea; 3Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of South Korea; 4Department of Policy Research Affairs, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Republic of South Korea; 5Department of Family Medicine, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Republic of South KoreaPurpose: A comprehensive health index is needed to measure an individual’s overall health and aging status and predict the risk of death and age-related disease incidence, and evaluate the effect of a health management program. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the validity of estimated biological age (BA in relation to all-cause mortality and age-related disease incidence based on National Sample Cohort database.Patients and methods: This study was based on National Sample Cohort database of the National Health Insurance Service – Eligibility database and the National Health Insurance Service – Medical and Health Examination database of the year 2002 through 2013. BA model was developed based on the National Health Insurance Service – National Sample Cohort (NHIS – NSC database and Cox proportional hazard analysis was done for mortality and major age-related disease incidence.Results: For every 1 year increase of the calculated BA and chronological age difference, the hazard ratio for mortality significantly increased by 1.6% (1.5% in men and 2.0% in women and also for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, stroke, and cancer incidence by 2.5%, 4.2%, 1.3%, 1.6%, and 0.4%, respectively (p<0.001.Conclusion: Estimated BA by the developed BA model based on NHIS – NSC database is expected to be

  6. Psychosocial Mechanisms Linking the Social Environment to Mental Health in African Americans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scherezade K Mama

    Full Text Available Resource-poor social environments predict poor health, but the mechanisms and processes linking the social environment to psychological health and well-being remain unclear. This study explored psychosocial mediators of the association between the social environment and mental health in African American adults. African American men and women (n = 1467 completed questionnaires on the social environment, psychosocial factors (stress, depressive symptoms, and racial discrimination, and mental health. Multiple-mediator models were used to assess direct and indirect effects of the social environment on mental health. Low social status in the community (p < .001 and U.S. (p < .001 and low social support (p < .001 were associated with poor mental health. Psychosocial factors significantly jointly mediated the relationship between the social environment and mental health in multiple-mediator models. Low social status and social support were associated with greater perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and perceived racial discrimination, which were associated with poor mental health. Results suggest the relationship between the social environment and mental health is mediated by psychosocial factors and revealed potential mechanisms through which social status and social support influence the mental health of African American men and women. Findings from this study provide insight into the differential effects of stress, depression and discrimination on mental health. Ecological approaches that aim to improve the social environment and psychosocial mediators may enhance health-related quality of life and reduce health disparities in African Americans.

  7. Health of Tenants in an English-Speaking Developing Nation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul A. Bourne

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Historically, whenever there are wars, world oil and financial crises, natural disasters, governments in developed as well as developing nations have responded by using rent control to protect tenants. Since 1990s, Jamaica has experienced banking, world oil, food and public debt crises was well as the recession; yet no study has examined the health status of tenants. Objectives: To determine factors that account for 1 health status, 2 self-reported illness and 3 health coverage of tenants in Jamaica, and compare particular demographic characteristics of tenants with that of the population as well as health, health conditions and health seeking behaviour in order to establish disparities. Results: Poverty among tenants is a rural phenomenon (69 out of every 100 poorest. Two out of every 5 tenants in the poorest income quintile sought medical care, 27 out of every 50 purchased the prescribed medication, 21% had chronic illnesses, 29% received social assistance and wealthy tenants were 4.7 times (95%CI: 0.90 – 24.9 more likely to have good health than those in the lower class. Three out of every 4 sick tenants utilized public health care services. Methods: This work utilized a 2007 national cross-sectional probability survey. A sub-sample of 1, 062 respondents (tenants were taken from the initial sample of 6,783 respondents. Logistic regression analyses were used to establish 1 self-rated health, 2 presence of illness and 3 health insurance coverage models. Conclusion: These findings provide an understanding of tenants, and can be used to make policy intervention in the future. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2013; 12(3.000: 243-260

  8. Scoping review: national monitoring frameworks for social determinants of health and health equity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leo Pedrana

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: The strategic importance of monitoring social determinants of health (SDH and health equity and inequity has been a central focus in global discussions around the 2011 Rio Political Declaration on SDH and the Millennium Development Goals. This study is part of the World Health Organization (WHO equity-oriented analysis of linkages between health and other sectors (EQuAL project, which aims to define a framework for monitoring SDH and health equity. Objectives: This review provides a global summary and analysis of the domains and indicators that have been used in recent studies covering the SDH. These studies are considered here within the context of indicators proposed by the WHO EQuAL project. The objectives are as follows: to describe the range of international and national studies and the types of indicators most frequently used; report how they are used in causal explanation of the SDH; and identify key priorities and challenges reported in current research for national monitoring of the SDH. Design: We conducted a scoping review of published SDH studies in the PubMed® database to obtain evidence of socio-economic indicators. We evaluated, selected, and extracted data from national scale studies published from 2004 to 2014. The research included papers published in English, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Results: The final sample consisted of 96 articles. SDH monitoring is well reported in the scientific literature independent of the economic level of the country and magnitude of deprivation in population groups. The research methods were mostly quantitative and many papers used multilevel and multivariable statistical analyses and indexes to measure health inequalities and SDH. In addition to the usual economic indicators, a high number of socio-economic indicators were used. The indicators covered a broad range of social dimensions, which were given consideration within and across different social groups. Many

  9. Scoping review: national monitoring frameworks for social determinants of health and health equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedrana, Leo; Pamponet, Marina; Walker, Ruth; Costa, Federico; Rasella, Davide

    2016-01-01

    The strategic importance of monitoring social determinants of health (SDH) and health equity and inequity has been a central focus in global discussions around the 2011 Rio Political Declaration on SDH and the Millennium Development Goals. This study is part of the World Health Organization (WHO) equity-oriented analysis of linkages between health and other sectors (EQuAL) project, which aims to define a framework for monitoring SDH and health equity. This review provides a global summary and analysis of the domains and indicators that have been used in recent studies covering the SDH. These studies are considered here within the context of indicators proposed by the WHO EQuAL project. The objectives are as follows: to describe the range of international and national studies and the types of indicators most frequently used; report how they are used in causal explanation of the SDH; and identify key priorities and challenges reported in current research for national monitoring of the SDH. We conducted a scoping review of published SDH studies in the PubMed(®) database to obtain evidence of socio-economic indicators. We evaluated, selected, and extracted data from national scale studies published from 2004 to 2014. The research included papers published in English, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The final sample consisted of 96 articles. SDH monitoring is well reported in the scientific literature independent of the economic level of the country and magnitude of deprivation in population groups. The research methods were mostly quantitative and many papers used multilevel and multivariable statistical analyses and indexes to measure health inequalities and SDH. In addition to the usual economic indicators, a high number of socio-economic indicators were used. The indicators covered a broad range of social dimensions, which were given consideration within and across different social groups. Many indicators included in the WHO EQuAL framework were not

  10. Globalization and the marginalization of unskilled labor: potential impacts on health in developed nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostry, Aleck Samuel

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this investigation was to determine the impacts of economic globalization on labor markets and outline potential pathways for these changes to affect health status in industrialized nations. A systematic review of the economic globalization and health literature revealed that, under the impact of globalization and market deregulation, the past 25 years have witnessed de-industrialization, shifts to nontraditional, insecure work arrangements, and relatively high levels of unemployment in most developed nations. This has occurred in the context of hypermobility of capital, relative immobility of labor, and declining market position for unskilled labor. Such structural changes in the labor markets in conjunction with shifts in educational opportunities and requirements have resulted in the increasing marginalization of unskilled workers from the labor market. Aside from direct effects on health due to the threat and experience of unemployment, and given that income inequality within nations is a main driver of national health status, lowered relative wages for the unskilled will probably affect national health status through increased income inequality.

  11. Immigrant Health Inequalities in the United States: Use of Eight Major National Data Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gopal K. Singh

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Eight major federal data systems, including the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS, National Survey of Children’s Health, National Longitudinal Mortality Study, and American Community Survey, were used to examine health differentials between immigrants and the US-born across the life course. Survival and logistic regression, prevalence, and age-adjusted death rates were used to examine differentials. Although these data systems vary considerably in their coverage of health and behavioral characteristics, ethnic-immigrant groups, and time periods, they all serve as important research databases for understanding the health of US immigrants. The NVSS and NHIS, the two most important data systems, include a wide range of health variables and many racial/ethnic and immigrant groups. Immigrants live 3.4 years longer than the US-born, with a life expectancy ranging from 83.0 years for Asian/Pacific Islander immigrants to 69.2 years for US-born blacks. Overall, immigrants have better infant, child, and adult health and lower disability and mortality rates than the US-born, with immigrant health patterns varying across racial/ethnic groups. Immigrant children and adults, however, fare substantially worse than the US-born in health insurance coverage and access to preventive health services. Suggestions and new directions are offered for improvements in health monitoring and for strengthening and developing databases for immigrant health assessment in the USA.

  12. Public health and health promotion capacity at national and regional level: a review of conceptual frameworks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Aluttis

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The concept of capacity building for public health has gained much attention during the last decade. National as well as international organizations increasingly focus their efforts on capacity building to improve performance in the health sector. During the past two decades, a variety of conceptual frameworks have been developed which describe relevant dimensions for public health capacity. Notably, these frameworks differ in design and conceptualization. This paper therefore reviews the existing conceptual frameworks and integrates them into one framework, which contains the most relevant dimensions for public health capacity at the country or regional level. A comprehensive literature search was performed to identify frameworks addressing public health capacity building at the national or regional level. We content-analysed these frameworks to identify the core dimensions of public health capacity. The dimensions were subsequently synthesized into a set of thematic areas to construct a conceptual framework which describes the most relevant dimensions for capacities at the national or regional level. The systematic review resulted in the identification of seven core domains for public health capacity: resources, organizational structures, workforce, partnerships, leadership and governance, knowledge development and country specific context. Accordingly, these dimensions were used to construct a framework, which describes these core domains more in detail. Our research shows that although there is no generally agreed upon model of public health capacity, a number of key domains for public health and health promotion capacity are consistently recurring in existing frameworks, regardless of their geographical location or thematic area. As only little work on the core concepts of public health capacities has yet taken place, this study adds value to the discourse by identifying these consistencies across existing frameworks and by synthesising

  13. 75 FR 36100 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-24

    ... National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d... Institute of Child Health and Human Development Special Emphasis Panel National Childrens Study. Date: July..., Scientific Review Administrator, Division of Scientific Review, National Institute of Child Health and Human...

  14. 77 FR 34393 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-11

    ... National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d...: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Initial Review Group; Biobehavioral and Behavioral... Review, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute o Child Health and Human Development, NIH, 6100...

  15. 76 FR 5595 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-01

    ... National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d...: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Initial Review Group, Biobehavioral and Behavioral... Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health And Human Development, NIH, 6100 Executive Blvd., Room...

  16. 77 FR 19677 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-02

    ... National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d... of Committee: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Special Emphasis Panel, ZHD1... of Scientific Review, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development...

  17. Efficiency of private and public primary health facilities accredited by the National Health Insurance Authority in Ghana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alhassan, Robert Kaba; Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward; Akazili, James; Spieker, Nicole; Arhinful, Daniel Kojo; Rinke de Wit, Tobias F.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Despite improvements in a number of health outcome indicators partly due to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Ghana is unlikely to attain all its health-related millennium development goals before the end of 2015. Inefficient use of available limited resources has been cited

  18. [Processes in the construction of the Brazilian National Health Promotion Policy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira Neto, João Leite; Kind, Luciana; Resende, Maria Carolina Costa; Colen, Natália Silva

    2013-10-01

    We investigated the processes involved in the construction of the Brazilian National Health Promotion Policy (PNPS) through the analysis of three documents produced by the Ministry of Health from 2002 to 2005 and the final text of the National Health Promotion Policy, approved in 2006. We interviewed five subjects who participated in drafting the PNPS, three of whom were Ministry of Health administrators, plus two researchers. The documents were explored with discourse analysis. The article contributes to the debate on the development of the PNPS. Health promotion showed various points of disagreement, which led to the delay in the document's final approval. International induction via funding proved to be a crucial element for defining the final wording of the PNPS, reestablishing the emphasis (subject to criticism) on lifestyle changes in its "Actions". The article highlights the negotiated consensus that led to the creation of the PNPS Management Committee, with participation by various sub-sectors, an innovative structure within the Ministry of Health.

  19. Planning for health care transitions: results from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lotstein, Debra S; Ghandour, Reem; Cash, Amanda; McGuire, Elizabeth; Strickland, Bonnie; Newacheck, Paul

    2009-01-01

    Many youth with special health care needs have difficulties transferring to adult medical care. To address this, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau has made receipt of transition services a core performance outcome for community-based systems of care for youth with special health care needs. In this article we describe the results for the transition core outcome from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs. We also describe changes in the measurement strategy for this outcome since the first National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs in 2001. In the nationally representative, cross-sectional 2005-2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs, parent or guardian respondents of 18198 youth with special health care needs (aged 12-17) were asked if they have had discussions with their child's health care providers about (1) future adult providers, (2) future adult health care needs, (3) changes in health insurance, and (4) encouraging their child to take responsibility for his or her care. All 4 components had to be met for the youth to meet the overall transition core outcome. Those who had not had transition discussions reported if such discussions would have been helpful. Overall, 41% of youth with special health care needs met the core performance outcome for transition. Forty-two percent had discussed shifting care to an adult provider, 62% discussed their child's adult health care needs, and 34% discussed upcoming changes in health insurance. Most (78%) respondents said that providers usually or always encourage their child to take responsibility for his or her health. Non-Hispanic black or Hispanic race/ethnicity, lower income level, not speaking English, and not having a medical home reduced the odds of meeting the transition core outcome. Current performance on the transition core outcome leaves much room for improvement. Many parents feel that having transition-related discussions with their

  20. Age differences at sexual debut and subsequent reproductive health: Is there a link?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reynolds Heidi

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Experiences at sexual debut may be linked to reproductive health later in life. Additionally, young women with older sexual partners may be at greater risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections. This study examines sexual debut with an older partner and subsequent reproductive health outcomes among 599 sexually experienced women aged 15–24 who utilized voluntary counseling and testing or reproductive health services in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Methods Logistic regression models, controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors, examined whether age differences at first sex were significantly associated with STI diagnosis in the previous 12 months and family planning method use at last intercourse. Results Sixty-five percent of women reported sexual initiation with a partner younger or less than 5 years older, 28% with a partner 5 to 10 years older, and 7% with a partner 10 or more years older. There was a trend towards decreased likelihood of recent use of family planning methods in women who had first sexual intercourse with a partner 5 to 9 years older compared to women with partners who were younger or less than 5 years older. Age differences were not linked to recent STI diagnosis. Conclusion Programs focusing on delaying sexual debut should consider age and gender-based power differentials between younger women and older men. Future research should examine whether wide age differences at sexual debut are predictive of continued involvement in cross-generational relationships and risky sexual behaviors and explore the mechanisms by which cross-generational first sex and subsequent reproductive health may be connected.

  1. Urbanization and health in China, thinking at the national, local and individual levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xinhu; Song, Jinchao; Lin, Tao; Dixon, Jane; Zhang, Guoqin; Ye, Hong

    2016-03-08

    China has the biggest population in the world, and has been experiencing the largest migration in history, and its rapid urbanization has profound and lasting impacts on local and national public health. Under these conditions, a systems understanding on the correlation among urbanization, environmental change and public health and to devise solutions at national, local and individual levels are in urgent need. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of recent studies which have examined the relationship between urbanization, urban environmental changes and human health in China. Based on the review, coupled with a systems understanding, we summarize the challenges and opportunities for promoting the health and wellbeing of the whole nation at national, local, and individual levels. Urbanization and urban expansion result in urban environmental changes, as well as residents' lifestyle change, which can lead independently and synergistically to human health problems. China has undergone an epidemiological transition, shifting from infectious to chronic diseases in a much shorter time frame than many other countries. Environmental risk factors, particularly air and water pollution, are a major contributing source of morbidity and mortality in China. Furthermore, aging population, food support system, and disparity of public service between the migrant worker and local residents are important contributions to China's urban health. At the national level, the central government could improve current environmental policies, food safety laws, and make adjustments to the health care system and to demographic policy. At the local level, local government could incorporate healthy life considerations in urban planning procedures, make improvements to the local food supply, and enforce environmental monitoring and management. At the individual level, urban residents can be exposed to education regarding health behaviour choices while being encouraged to take

  2. The securitization of health in the context of the war on terror. National security and global health: the conflict of imperatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Ryoa

    2017-03-01

    In this article, I want to show that the securitization of health issues in the name of national interests led to the militarization of health care in the context of the war against terrorism. However, the connection between health and security also gave way to the emergence of the notion of human security, thus, converging with the human right to health approach and the cosmopolitan discourse on global health. These two perspectives on the relation between health and security lead to conflicting imperatives in the current state of counter-terrorism operations. I argue that when the securitization of health concerns in the name of national security conflicts with the provision of health care in the name of universal human rights, the higher moral end must trump the prudential one. Moreover, it is a duty to promote the human right to health when liberal democracies in foreign policies directly violate this moral ideal in the name of national security.

  3. National Pregnancy and Health Survey: Drug Use Among Women Delivering Live Births (NPHS-1992)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The primary objective of the National Pregnancy and Health Survey (NPHS) was to produce national annual estimates of the percentages and numbers of mothers of live...

  4. National health financing policy in Eritrea: a survey of preliminary considerations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirigia Joses

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The 58th World Health Assembly and 56th WHO Regional Committee for Africa adopted resolutions urging Member States to ensure that health financing systems included a method for prepayment to foster financial risk sharing among the population and avoid catastrophic health-care expenditure. The Regional Committee asked countries to strengthen or develop comprehensive health financing policies. This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted among senior staff of selected Eritrean ministries and agencies to elicit views on some of the elements likely to be part of a national health financing policy. Methods This is a descriptive study. A questionnaire was prepared and sent to 19 senior staff (Directors in the Ministry of Health, Labour Department, Civil Service Administration, Eritrean Confederation of Workers, National Insurance Corporation of Eritrea and Ministry of Local Government. The respondents were selected by the Ministry of Health as key informants. Results The key findings were as follows: the response rate was 84.2% (16/19; 37.5% (6/16 and 18.8% said that the vision of Eritrean National Health Financing Policy (NHFP should include the phrases ‘equitable and accessible quality health services’ and ‘improve efficiency or reduce waste’ respectively; over 68% indicated that NHFP should include securing adequate funding, ensuring efficiency, ensuring equitable financial access, protection from financial catastrophe, and ensuring provider payment mechanisms create positive incentives to service providers; over 80% mentioned community participation, efficiency, transparency, country ownership, equity in access, and evidence-based decision making as core values of NHFP; over 62.5% confirmed that NHFP components should consist of stewardship (oversight, revenue collection, revenue pooling and risk management, resource allocation and purchasing of health services, health economics research, and development of

  5. National health financing policy in Eritrea: a survey of preliminary considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirigia, Joses Muthuri; Zere, Eyob; Akazili, James

    2012-08-28

    The 58th World Health Assembly and 56th WHO Regional Committee for Africa adopted resolutions urging Member States to ensure that health financing systems included a method for prepayment to foster financial risk sharing among the population and avoid catastrophic health-care expenditure. The Regional Committee asked countries to strengthen or develop comprehensive health financing policies. This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted among senior staff of selected Eritrean ministries and agencies to elicit views on some of the elements likely to be part of a national health financing policy. This is a descriptive study. A questionnaire was prepared and sent to 19 senior staff (Directors) in the Ministry of Health, Labour Department, Civil Service Administration, Eritrean Confederation of Workers, National Insurance Corporation of Eritrea and Ministry of Local Government. The respondents were selected by the Ministry of Health as key informants. The key findings were as follows: the response rate was 84.2% (16/19); 37.5% (6/16) and 18.8% said that the vision of Eritrean National Health Financing Policy (NHFP) should include the phrases 'equitable and accessible quality health services' and 'improve efficiency or reduce waste' respectively; over 68% indicated that NHFP should include securing adequate funding, ensuring efficiency, ensuring equitable financial access, protection from financial catastrophe, and ensuring provider payment mechanisms create positive incentives to service providers; over 80% mentioned community participation, efficiency, transparency, country ownership, equity in access, and evidence-based decision making as core values of NHFP; over 62.5% confirmed that NHFP components should consist of stewardship (oversight), revenue collection, revenue pooling and risk management, resource allocation and purchasing of health services, health economics research, and development of human resources for health; over 68.8% indicated cost

  6. National public health policy in a local context--implementation in two Swedish municipalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansson, Elisabeth; Fosse, Elisabeth; Tillgren, Per

    2011-12-01

    In 2003 the wide-ranging Swedish National Public Health Policy (SNPHP), with a focus on health determinants, was adopted by the Swedish parliament. In the context of multilevel governance, SNPHP implementation is dependent on self-governed municipalities and counties. The aim of the study is, from a municipal perspective, to investigate public-health policies in two municipalities. Content analysis of documents and interviews provided a foundation for an explorative case study. The SNPHP at national level is overriding but politically controversial. At local level, a health-determinants perspective was detectable in the policies implemented, but none regarding to health equality. At local level, the SNPHP is not regarded as implementable; rather, limited parts have, to varying degrees, been reconciled with local public-health goals, according to municipal needs and conditions. A success-promoting factor in the two municipalities was the presence of committed and knowledgeable actors/implementers. Also, the municipality with a more centrally controlled and stable party-political leadership succeeded better in implementing structural and intersectoral community-wide policies for coordinated local health promotion. The contents of national and local public-health policies differ, and municipalities that have implemented their own local health policies do not seem to regard the SNPHP as justifiable or adoptable. If the SNPHP overall aim regarding equal health is to be achieved homogeneously in Swedish municipalities, its contents and purpose need clearer management and negotiation, so that implementation of the national policy locally is understandable and motivated. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. The global and domestic politics of health policy in emerging nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez, Eduardo J; Ruger, Jennifer Prah

    2015-02-01

    In recent years, several emerging nations with burgeoning economies and in transition to democracy have pursued health policy innovations. As these nations have integrated into the world economy through bilateral trade and diplomacy, they have also become increasingly exposed to international pressures and norms and focused on more effective, equitable health care systems. There are several lessons learned from the case studies of Brazil, Ghana, India, China, Vietnam, and Thailand in this special issue on the global and domestic politics of health policy in emerging nations. For the countries examined, although sensitive to international preferences, domestic governments preferred to implement policy on their own and at their own pace. During the policy-making and implementation process, international and domestic actors played different roles in health policy making vis-à-vis other reform actors -- at times the state played an intermediary role. In several countries, civil society also played a central role in designing and implementing policy at all levels of government. International institutions also have a number of mechanisms and strategies in their tool box to influence a country's domestic health governance, and they use them, particularly in the context of an uncertain state or internal discordance within the state. Copyright © 2015 by Duke University Press.

  8. Reaching out to farmers with plant health clinics in Uganda | Aloke ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    It can yield success when embedded in national systems and organisations thereby building the links and relationships necessary for a functioning plant health system that adequately links research, extension, farmers, agro-dealers and regulatory bodies. Key words: Agrochemicals, diagnosis, knowledge bank, safe use ...

  9. Evidence from the national health account: the case of Dubai

    OpenAIRE

    Hamidi, Samer

    2014-01-01

    Samer Hamidi School of Health and Environmental Studies, Hamadan Bin Mohammad Smart University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Introduction: National health accounts (NHAs) provide useful information to aid in understanding the health care financing system. This article aims to present a profile of health system financing in Dubai using data from the NHA. We also aim to compare the provider structure of financing schemes in Dubai with those of the State of Qatar and selected Organization for Ec...

  10. 75 FR 7485 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-19

    ... National Institute of Child Health & Human Development; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d... Institute of Child Health and Human Development Initial Review Group; Health, Behavior, and Context... Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, National Institute For Child Health & Development, 6100 Executive...

  11. Public health strategy against overweight and obesity in Mexico's National Agreement for Nutritional Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latnovic, L; Rodriguez Cabrera, L

    2013-01-01

    Overweight and obesity are major world global health challenges of the 21st century. Mexico is not an exception. Approximately 70% of the adult Mexican population has an excessive body weight. The prevalence of obesity and overweight in Mexican school children aged 5–11 is also high: one child in four is overweight. In light of the seriousness of the situation, the solutions for this problem are based on modification of the environments and change of individual habits and behaviors related to nutrition and physical activity. As a result, the Mexican government, public sector and academy established three common goals and 10 priority objectives that are expressed in the National Agreement for Nutritional Health—Strategy to Control Overweight and Obesity. The obesity problem requires interventions and policies that reside outside of the health sector domain, key aspects of this public health policy was agreement among all stakeholders on cross-cutting actions. The best examples of National Agreement's inter-sectorial action implementation is in the school setting and Code of ‘Self Regulation' on Advertising of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children introduced by the food and beverage industry. The ultimate goal of this national policy is to provide the strategic plan for healthy weight and better health, by promoting healthy lifestyles focused on correct diet and physical activity in all life stages, from pregnancy and early childhood and on into adulthood by a multi stakeholder approach. Although there have been great achievements in some areas of implementation, there are still challenges to confront. PMID:27152155

  12. Blood-borne biomarkers and bioindicators for linking exposure to health effects in environmental health science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, M Ariel Geer; Kormos, Tzipporah M; Pleil, Joachim D

    2016-01-01

    Environmental health science aims to link environmental pollution sources to adverse health outcomes to develop effective exposure intervention strategies that reduce long-term disease risks. Over the past few decades, the public health community recognized that health risk is driven by interaction between the human genome and external environment. Now that the human genetic code has been sequenced, establishing this "G × E" (gene-environment) interaction requires a similar effort to decode the human exposome, which is the accumulation of an individual's environmental exposures and metabolic responses throughout the person's lifetime. The exposome is composed of endogenous and exogenous chemicals, many of which are measurable as biomarkers in blood, breath, and urine. Exposure to pollutants is assessed by analyzing biofluids for the pollutant itself or its metabolic products. New methods are being developed to use a subset of biomarkers, termed bioindicators, to demonstrate biological changes indicative of future adverse health effects. Typically, environmental biomarkers are assessed using noninvasive (excreted) media, such as breath and urine. Blood is often avoided for biomonitoring due to practical reasons such as medical personnel, infectious waste, or clinical setting, despite the fact that blood represents the central compartment that interacts with every living cell and is the most relevant biofluid for certain applications and analyses. The aims of this study were to (1) review the current use of blood samples in environmental health research, (2) briefly contrast blood with other biological media, and (3) propose additional applications for blood analysis in human exposure research.

  13. Personal, Electronic, Secure National Library of Medicine Hosts Health Records Conference

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Bar Home Current Issue Past Issues EHR Personal, Electronic, Secure: National Library of Medicine Hosts Health Records ... One suggestion for saving money is to implement electronic personal health records. With this in mind, the ...

  14. 75 FR 4402 - Notice of National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Leadership Council...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-27

    ... National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Leadership Council Conference Call Time and... the second meeting of the National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Leadership... Leadership Council provides overall guidance to the National Conversation project and will be responsible for...

  15. Food Insecurity and Depression Among Adults With Diabetes: Results From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montgomery, Joshua; Lu, Juan; Ratliff, Scott; Mezuk, Briana

    2017-06-01

    Purpose While both food insecurity and depression have been linked to risk of type 2 diabetes, little is known about the relationship between food insecurity and depression among adults with diabetes. Research Design and Methods Cross-sectional analyses of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2014), a nationally representative, population-based survey. Analytic sample was limited to adults aged ≥20 with diabetes determined by either fasting plasma glucose (≥126 mg/dL) or self-report (n = 1724) and adults age ≥20 with prediabetes determined by fasting plasma glucose (100-125 mg/dL) or self-report (n = 2004). Food insecurity was measured using the US Food Security Survey Module. Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between food insecurity and depression while accounting for sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviors. Results Approximately 10% of individuals with diabetes and 8.5% of individuals with prediabetes had severe food insecurity in the past year; an additional 20.3% of individuals with diabetes and 14.3% of those with prediabetes had mild food insecurity. Among individuals with diabetes, both mild and severe food insecurity were associated with elevated odds of depression These relationships were similar in magnitude among individuals with prediabetes. Conclusions Food insecurity is significantly associated with depressive symptoms in people with diabetes and prediabetes. Results point to the need to address economic issues in conjunction with psychosocial issues for comprehensive diabetes care.

  16. Sexual activity and psychological health as mediators of the relationship between physical health and marital quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galinsky, Adena M; Waite, Linda J

    2014-05-01

    The pathways linking spousal health to marital quality in later life have been little examined at the population level. We develop a conceptual model that links married older adults' physical health and that of their spouse to positive and negative dimensions of marital quality via psychological well-being of both partners and their sexual activity. We use data from 1,464 older adults in 732 marital dyads in the 2010-2011 wave of the National Social Life Health and Aging Project. We find that own fair or poor physical health is linked to lower positive and higher negative marital quality, spouse's health to positive quality, and that own and spouse's mental health and more frequent sex are associated with higher positive and lower negative marital quality. Further, we find that (a) sexual activity mediates the association between own and partner's physical health and positive marital quality, (b) own mental health mediates the association between one's own physical health and both positive and negative marital quality, and (c) partner's mental health mediates the associations of spouse's physical health with positive marital quality. These results are robust to alternative specifications of the model. The results suggest ways to protect marital quality among older adults who are struggling with physical illness in themselves or their partners.

  17. Health Information Brokers in the General Population: An Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey 2013-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cutrona, Sarah L; Mazor, Kathleen M; Agunwamba, Amenah A; Valluri, Sruthi; Wilson, Patrick M; Sadasivam, Rajani S; Finney Rutten, Lila J

    2016-06-03

    Health information exchanged between friends or family members can influence decision making, both for routine health questions and for serious health issues. A health information broker is a person to whom friends and family turn for advice or information on health-related topics. Characteristics and online behaviors of health information brokers have not previously been studied in a national population. The objective of this study was to examine sociodemographic characteristics, health information seeking behaviors, and other online behaviors among health information brokers. Data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (2013-2014; n=3142) were used to compare brokers with nonbrokers. Modified Poisson regression was used to examine the relationship between broker status and sociodemographics and online information seeking. Over half (54.8%) of the respondents were consulted by family or friends for advice or information on health topics (ie, they acted as health information brokers). Brokers represented 54.1% of respondents earning brokers (PR 1.34, 95% CI 1.23-1.47) as were those with education past high school (PR 1.42, CI 1.22-1.65). People aged ≥75 were less likely to be brokers as compared to respondents aged 35-49 (PR 0.81, CI 0.67-0.99). Brokers used the Internet more frequently for a variety of online behaviors such as seeking health information, creating and sharing online content, and downloading health information onto a mobile device; and also reported greater confidence in obtaining health information online. More than 50% of adults who responded to this national survey, including those with low income and those born abroad, were providing health information or advice to friends and family. These individuals may prove to be effective targets for initiatives supporting patient engagement and disease management, and may also be well-positioned within their respective social networks to propagate health messages.

  18. [Model for the regional allocation of the National Health Care Fund].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loreti, P; Muzzi, A; Bruni, G

    1989-01-01

    In 1978 a National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale = SSN) was constituted in Italy which exercises jurisdiction in the sector of health care and is duty bound to assist all citizens. Basically speaking, the NHS is organized on three levels (national, regional and local) with the management of direct operations assigned to the (about 700) Local Health Boards (Unità Sanitaria Locale = USL) each of which covers a well determined territorial area. The Authors indicate that rarely discussed or evaluated are the procedures for the regional allocation of health care funding which is determined by Parliament within the ambit of the National Budget (The National Health Care Fund). The current allocation model distributes the available capital resources for each expense item (e.g. hospitalization, pharmaceutical assistance, etc.) on a per capita basis with respect to the regional populations modified in order to allow for differing degrees of health care requirements. The regional populations are subdivided into broad age groups (e.g. children, intermediary, the elderly) with specific weighting factors expressing the different level of health care requirements. The application of these weighting factors alters the regional populations (with no change in the total population of the country) in order to express them in equivalent units with respect to the health care need. Moreover, standardized death rates are introduced into the model as indicators of the different health risk, and their application leads to a further modification in the level of the regional populations so as to express them in equivalent units with respect to the health risk as well. Once the available financial resources have been subdivided in this "theoretical" way, the following corrective factors are applied: a) hospital mobility correction factor: the regions with a credit admissions balance are assigned an additional cost which is borne by the regions with a debit admissions balance; b

  19. The Linked CENTURY Study: linking three decades of clinical and public health data to examine disparities in childhood obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, Summer Sherburne; Gillman, Matthew W; Rifas-Shiman, Sheryl L; Kleinman, Ken P; Mariotti, Megan; Taveras, Elsie M

    2016-03-09

    Despite the need to identify the causes of disparities in childhood obesity, the existing epidemiologic studies of early life risk factors have several limitations. We report on the construction of the Linked CENTURY database, incorporating CENTURY (Collecting Electronic Nutrition Trajectory Data Using Records of Youth) Study data with birth certificates; and discuss the potential implications of combining clinical and public health data sources in examining the etiology of disparities in childhood obesity. We linked the existing CENTURY Study, a database of 269,959 singleton children from birth to age 18 years with measured heights and weights, with each child's Massachusetts birth certificate, which captures information on their mothers' pregnancy history and detailed socio-demographic information of both mothers and fathers. Overall, 74.2 % were matched, resulting in 200,343 children in the Linked CENTURY Study with 1,580,597 well child visits. Among this cohort, 94.0 % (188,334) of children have some father information available on the birth certificate and 60.9 % (121,917) of children have at least one other sibling in the dataset. Using maternal race/ethnicity from the birth certificate as an indicator of children's race/ethnicity, 75.7 % of children were white, 11.6 % black, 4.6 % Hispanic, and 5.7 % Asian. Based on socio-demographic information from the birth certificate, 20.0 % of mothers were non-US born, 5.9 % smoked during pregnancy, 76.3 % initiated breastfeeding, and 11.0 % of mothers had their delivery paid for by public health insurance. Using clinical data from the CENTURY Study, 22.7 % of children had a weight-for-length ≥ 95(th) percentile between 1 and 24 months and 12.0 % of children had a body mass index ≥ 95(th) percentile at ages 5 and 17 years. By linking routinely-collected data sources, it is possible to address research questions that could not be answered with either source alone. Linkage between a clinical

  20. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... GET E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes Education Program HealthSense Home Make a Plan Articles ... about NDEP videos on Youtube here Hyperglycemia and Diabetes 2 Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, can occur ...

  1. Health equity in the New Zealand health care system: a national survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doughty Robert

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction In all countries people experience different social circumstances that result in avoidable differences in health. In New Zealand, Māori, Pacific peoples, and those with lower socioeconomic status experience higher levels of chronic illness, which is the leading cause of mortality, morbidity and inequitable health outcomes. Whilst the health system can enable a fairer distribution of good health, limited national data is available to measure health equity. Therefore, we sought to find out whether health services in New Zealand were equitable by measuring the level of development of components of chronic care management systems across district health boards. Variation in provision by geography, condition or ethnicity can be interpreted as inequitable. Methods A national survey of district health boards (DHBs was undertaken on macro approaches to chronic condition management with detail on cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, stroke and diabetes. Additional data from expert informant interviews on program reach and the cultural needs of Māori and Pacific peoples was sought. Survey data were analyzed on dimensions of health equity relevant to strategic planning and program delivery. Results are presented as descriptive statistics and free text. Interviews were transcribed and NVivo 8 software supported a general inductive approach to identify common themes. Results Survey responses were received from the majority of DHBs (15/21, some PHOs (21/84 and 31 expert informants. Measuring, monitoring and targeting equity is not systematically undertaken. The Health Equity Assessment Tool is used in strategic planning but not in decisions about implementing or monitoring disease programs. Variable implementation of evidence-based practices in disease management and multiple funding streams made program implementation difficult. Equity for Māori is embedded in policy, this is not so

  2. Preparing linked population data for research: cohort study of prisoner perinatal health outcomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Hilder

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A study of pregnancy outcomes related to pregnancy in prison in New South Wales, Australia, designed a two stage linkage to add maternal history of incarceration and serious mental health morbidity, neonatal hospital admission and infant congenital anomaly diagnosis to birth data. Linkage was performed by a dedicated state-wide data linkage authority. This paper describes use of the linked data to determine pregnancy prison exposure pregnancy for a representative population of mothers. Methods Researchers assessed the quality of linked records; resolved multiple-matched identities; transformed event-based incarceration records into person-based prisoner records and birth records into maternity records. Inconsistent or incomplete records were censored. Interrogation of the temporal relationships of all incarceration periods from the prisoner record with pregnancies from birth records identified prisoner maternities. Interrogation of maternities for each mother distinguished prisoner mothers who were incarcerated during pregnancy, from prisoner control mothers with pregnancies wholly in the community and a subset of prisoner mothers with maternities both types of maternity. Standard descriptive statistics are used to provide population prevalence of exposures and compare data quality across study populations stratified by mental health morbidity. Results Women incarcerated between 1998 and 2006 accounted for less than 1 % of the 404,000 women who gave birth in NSW between 2000 and 2006, while women with serious mental health morbidity accounted for 7 % overall and 68 % of prisoners. Rates of false positive linkage were within the predicted limits set by the linkage authority for non-prisoners, but were tenfold higher among prisoners (RR 9.9; 95%CI 8.2, 11.9 and twice as high for women with serious mental health morbidity (RR 2.2; 95%CI 1.9, 2.6. This case series of 597 maternities for 558 prisoners pregnant while in prison

  3. Preparing linked population data for research: cohort study of prisoner perinatal health outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilder, Lisa; Walker, Jane R; Levy, Michael H; Sullivan, Elizabeth A

    2016-06-16

    A study of pregnancy outcomes related to pregnancy in prison in New South Wales, Australia, designed a two stage linkage to add maternal history of incarceration and serious mental health morbidity, neonatal hospital admission and infant congenital anomaly diagnosis to birth data. Linkage was performed by a dedicated state-wide data linkage authority. This paper describes use of the linked data to determine pregnancy prison exposure pregnancy for a representative population of mothers. Researchers assessed the quality of linked records; resolved multiple-matched identities; transformed event-based incarceration records into person-based prisoner records and birth records into maternity records. Inconsistent or incomplete records were censored. Interrogation of the temporal relationships of all incarceration periods from the prisoner record with pregnancies from birth records identified prisoner maternities. Interrogation of maternities for each mother distinguished prisoner mothers who were incarcerated during pregnancy, from prisoner control mothers with pregnancies wholly in the community and a subset of prisoner mothers with maternities both types of maternity. Standard descriptive statistics are used to provide population prevalence of exposures and compare data quality across study populations stratified by mental health morbidity. Women incarcerated between 1998 and 2006 accounted for less than 1 % of the 404,000 women who gave birth in NSW between 2000 and 2006, while women with serious mental health morbidity accounted for 7 % overall and 68 % of prisoners. Rates of false positive linkage were within the predicted limits set by the linkage authority for non-prisoners, but were tenfold higher among prisoners (RR 9.9; 95%CI 8.2, 11.9) and twice as high for women with serious mental health morbidity (RR 2.2; 95%CI 1.9, 2.6). This case series of 597 maternities for 558 prisoners pregnant while in prison (of whom 128 gave birth in prison); and 2

  4. 77 FR 38845 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Scientific Management Review Board. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 ...

  5. 75 FR 21642 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Scientific Management Review Board. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 (Pub....

  6. 75 FR 51466 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Scientific Management Review Board. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 (Pub....

  7. 75 FR 72833 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Scientific Management Review Board. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 (Pub....

  8. 78 FR 15021 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-08

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting hosted by the Scientific Management Review Board. The NIH Reform Act of 200...

  9. 78 FR 52552 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Scientific Management Review Board. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 (Pub....

  10. 78 FR 33098 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting hosted by the NIH Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB). Presentations...

  11. 76 FR 62081 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-06

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Scientific Management Review Board. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 (Pub....

  12. 75 FR 60132 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Scientific Management Review Board. The meeting will be open to the...

  13. 75 FR 66114 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Scientific Management Review Board. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 (Pub....

  14. 78 FR 63230 - Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a stakeholder meeting hosted by the NIH Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB)....

  15. Is the health of people living in rural areas different from those in cities? Evidence from routine data linked with the Scottish Health Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teckle P

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To examine the association between rurality and health in Scotland, after adjusting for differences in individual and practice characteristics. Methods Design: Mortality and hospital record data linked to two cross sectional health surveys. Setting: Respondents in the community-based 1995 and 1998 Scottish Health Survey who consented to record-linkage follow-up. Main outcome measures: Hypertension, all-cause premature mortality, total hospital stays and admissions due to coronary heart disease (CHD. Results Older age and lower social class were strongly associated with an increased risk of each of the four health outcomes measured. After adjustment for individual and practice characteristics, no consistent pattern of better or poorer health in people living in rural areas was found, compared to primary cities. However, individuals living in remote small towns had a lower risk of a hospital admission for CHD and those in very remote rural had lower mortality, both compared with those living in primary cities. Conclusion This study has shown how linked data can be used to explore the possible influence of area of residence on health. We were unable to find a consistent pattern that people living in rural areas have materially different health to that of those living in primary cities. Instead, we found stronger relationships between compositional determinants (age, gender and socio-economic status and health than contextual factors (including rurality.

  16. 76 FR 80954 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-27

    ... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.../boards/ibcercc/ . Place: Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences, Building 101, Rodbell Auditorium... Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 615 Davis Dr., KEY615/3112, Research Triangle Park...

  17. COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM PRISON LAW INTENDED TO ROMANIAN NATIONAL HEALTH LAW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florentina Laurenţia GĂIŞTEANU

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Health protection represents a protection measure for persons being a guaranteed right in Romania provided by the 34 Article of Romanian Constitution. The state is liable for taking measures of protecting physical and mental health, both for free persons and for those persons serving custodial measures. Starting from the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Member States relating to the European Prison Rules Rec (2006 2, which provides in paragraph 2 of subparagraph 40 – “The organization of health care in prisons”- that health policy from prison will be integrated in national health policy, being compatible with that. That comparative study aims at the implementation of European’s recommendations in different medical specialty areas. During this presentation are highlighted identical or different provisions stipulated in the relevant legislation of both two health systems, concluding that in certain areas of prison system, the state provides extra healthcare legislation. Comparative study between the right of medical assistance provided by Romanian Prison Legislation and the right of medical assistance provided by Romanian National Health Care System.

  18. Human health risk assessment database, "the NHSRC toxicity value database": supporting the risk assessment process at US EPA's National Homeland Security Research Center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moudgal, Chandrika J; Garrahan, Kevin; Brady-Roberts, Eletha; Gavrelis, Naida; Arbogast, Michelle; Dun, Sarah

    2008-11-15

    The toxicity value database of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center has been in development since 2004. The toxicity value database includes a compilation of agent property, toxicity, dose-response, and health effects data for 96 agents: 84 chemical and radiological agents and 12 biotoxins. The database is populated with multiple toxicity benchmark values and agent property information from secondary sources, with web links to the secondary sources, where available. A selected set of primary literature citations and associated dose-response data are also included. The toxicity value database offers a powerful means to quickly and efficiently gather pertinent toxicity and dose-response data for a number of agents that are of concern to the nation's security. This database, in conjunction with other tools, will play an important role in understanding human health risks, and will provide a means for risk assessors and managers to make quick and informed decisions on the potential health risks and determine appropriate responses (e.g., cleanup) to agent release. A final, stand alone MS ACESSS working version of the toxicity value database was completed in November, 2007.

  19. Human health risk assessment database, 'the NHSRC toxicity value database': Supporting the risk assessment process at US EPA's National Homeland Security Research Center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moudgal, Chandrika J.; Garrahan, Kevin; Brady-Roberts, Eletha; Gavrelis, Naida; Arbogast, Michelle; Dun, Sarah

    2008-01-01

    The toxicity value database of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center has been in development since 2004. The toxicity value database includes a compilation of agent property, toxicity, dose-response, and health effects data for 96 agents: 84 chemical and radiological agents and 12 biotoxins. The database is populated with multiple toxicity benchmark values and agent property information from secondary sources, with web links to the secondary sources, where available. A selected set of primary literature citations and associated dose-response data are also included. The toxicity value database offers a powerful means to quickly and efficiently gather pertinent toxicity and dose-response data for a number of agents that are of concern to the nation's security. This database, in conjunction with other tools, will play an important role in understanding human health risks, and will provide a means for risk assessors and managers to make quick and informed decisions on the potential health risks and determine appropriate responses (e.g., cleanup) to agent release. A final, stand alone MS ACESSS working version of the toxicity value database was completed in November, 2007

  20. Sexuality: measures of partnerships, practices, attitudes, and problems in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waite, Linda J; Laumann, Edward O; Das, Aniruddha; Schumm, L Philip

    2009-11-01

    The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) was designed to examine the relationship between sexual behavior, sexual problems, and health among older women and men. We describe measures of sexual partnerships, sexual practices, sexual problems, attitudes toward sex, and nonsexual intimacy in the first wave of NSHAP. We compare measures of sexuality for those 57-85 years old, by age, separately for men and women. We construct scales of sexual mores, sexual interest, and relationship satisfaction and discuss properties of each scale. Sexuality among older adults tends to vary with age and gender. At all ages in this study, men are more likely than women to have a partner, more likely to be sexually active with that partner, and tend to have more positive and permissive attitudes toward sex. The proportions in a sexual partnership, behavior, problems, and attitudes all differ substantially by age. And these age patterns often differ for men and women. Data obtained in the NSHAP can be used to construct key measures of sexuality among older adults; to examine sexuality itself; and to explore the link between sexuality, health, well-being, and other dimensions of the lives of older adults.

  1. Assimilation and Health: Evidence From Linked Birth Records of Second- and Third-Generation Hispanics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giuntella, Osea

    2016-12-01

    This study explores the effects of assimilation on the health of Hispanics in the United States, using ethnic intermarriage as a metric of acculturation. I exploit a unique data set of linked confidential use birth records in California and Florida from 1970-2009. The confidential data allow me to link mothers giving birth in 1989-2009 to their own birth certificate records in 1970-1985 and to identify second-generation siblings. Thus, I can analyze the relationship between the parental exogamy of second-generation Hispanic women and the birth outcomes of their offspring controlling for grandmother fixed effects as well as indicators for second generation's birth weight. Despite their higher socioeconomic status, third-generation children of second-generation intermarried Hispanic women are more likely to have poor health at birth, even after I account for second-generation health at birth and employ only within-family variations in the extent of assimilation. I find that a second-generation Hispanic woman married to a non-Hispanic man is 9 % more likely to have a child with low birth weight relative to a second-generation woman married to another Hispanic. These results largely reflect the higher incidence of risky behaviors (e.g., smoking during pregnancy) among intermarried Hispanic women.

  2. Contributions of national and global health estimates to monitoring health-related sustainable development goals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bundhamcharoen, Kanitta; Limwattananon, Supon; Kusreesakul, Khanitta; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj

    2016-01-01

    The millennium development goals triggered an increased demand for data on child and maternal mortalities for monitoring progress. With the advent of the sustainable development goals and growing evidence of an epidemiological transition toward non-communicable diseases, policymakers need data on mortality and disease trends and distribution to inform effective policies and support monitoring progress. Where there are limited capacities to produce national health estimates (NHEs), global health estimates (GHEs) can fill gaps for global monitoring and comparisons. This paper discusses lessons learned from Thailand's burden of disease (BOD) study on capacity development on NHEs and discusses the contributions and limitations of GHEs in informing policies at the country level. Through training and technical support by external partners, capacities are gradually strengthened and institutionalized to enable regular updates of BOD at national and subnational levels. Initially, the quality of cause-of-death reporting in death certificates was inadequate, especially for deaths occurring in the community. Verbal autopsies were conducted, using domestic resources, to determine probable causes of deaths occurring in the community. This method helped to improve the estimation of years of life lost. Since the achievement of universal health coverage in 2002, the quality of clinical data on morbidities has also considerably improved. There are significant discrepancies between the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study estimates for Thailand and the 1999 nationally generated BOD, especially for years of life lost due to HIV/AIDS, and the ranking of priority diseases. National ownership of NHEs and an effective interface between researchers and decision-makers contribute to enhanced country policy responses, whereas subnational data are intended to be used by various subnational partners. Although GHEs contribute to benchmarking country achievement compared with global health

  3. Balancing economic freedom against social policy principles: EC competition law and national health systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mossialos, Elias; Lear, Julia

    2012-07-01

    EU Health policy exemplifies the philosophical tension between EC economic freedoms and social policy. EC competition law, like other internal market rules, could restrict national health policy options despite the subsidiarity principle. In particular, European health system reforms that incorporate elements of market competition may trigger the application of competition rules if non-economic gains in consumer welfare are not adequately accounted for. This article defines the policy and legal parameters of the debate between competition law and health policy. Using a sample of cases it analyses how the ECJ, national courts, and National Competition Authorities have applied competition laws to the health services sector in different circumstances and in different ways. It concludes by considering the implications of the convergence of recent trends in competition law enforcement and health system market reforms. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Health system changes under pay-for-performance: the effects of Rwanda's national programme on facility inputs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngo, Diana K L; Sherry, Tisamarie B; Bauhoff, Sebastian

    2017-02-01

    Pay-for-performance (P4P) programmes have been introduced in numerous developing countries with the goal of increasing the provision and quality of health services through financial incentives. Despite the popularity of P4P, there is limited evidence on how providers achieve performance gains and how P4P affects health system quality by changing structural inputs. We explore these two questions in the context of Rwanda's 2006 national P4P programme by examining the programme's impact on structural quality measures drawn from international and national guidelines. Given the programme's previously documented success at increasing institutional delivery rates, we focus on a set of delivery-specific and more general structural inputs. Using the programme's quasi-randomized roll-out, we apply multivariate regression analysis to short-run facility data from the 2007 Service Provision Assessment. We find positive programme effects on the presence of maternity-related staff, the presence of covered waiting areas and a management indicator and a negative programme effect on delivery statistics monitoring. We find no effects on a set of other delivery-specific physical resources, delivery-specific human resources, delivery-specific operations, general physical resources and general human resources. Using mediation analysis, we find that the positive input differences explain a small and insignificant fraction of P4P's impact on institutional delivery rates. The results suggest that P4P increases provider availability and facility operations but is only weakly linked with short-run structural health system improvements overall. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Diabetes HealthSense: Resources for Living Well

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... E-MAIL UPDATES External Link Disclaimer National Diabetes ... Diabetes HealthSense provides easy access to resources to help you live well and meet your goals—whether you have diabetes or are at risk ...

  6. [National Policy of Humanization and education of health care professionals: integrative review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Guilherme Correa; Meneguim, Silmara; Lima, Silvana Andréa Molina; Moreno, Vania

    2013-01-01

    The National Policy of Humanization aims at innovations in health production, management and care with emphasis on permanent education for workers in the Unified Public Health System and training of university students in the health care field. This study aimed to know, through an integrative review of the literature, the scientific production about the National Policy of Humanization and education of health care professionals, from 2002 to 2010. Ten articles were analyzed in thematic strand through three axes: humanization and users caring, humanization and the work process, humanization and training. The articles point to the need to overcome the biological conception, valuing cultural aspects of users. The work process is marked by the devaluation of workers and by users deprived of their rights. The training of health professionals is grounded in health services where the prevailing standards are practices that hinder innovative attitudes.

  7. Gender Disparities in Ghana National Health Insurance Claims: An Econometric Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Antwi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to find out the gender disparities in Ghana national health insurance claims. In this work, data was collected from the policyholders of the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme with the help of the National Health Insurance database and the patients’ attendance register of the Koforidua Regional Hospital, from 1st January to 31st December 2011. The generalized linear regression (GLR models and the SPSS version 17.0 were used for the analysis. Among men, the younger people prefer attending hospital for treatment as compared to their adult counterparts. In contrast to women, younger women favor attending hospital for treatment as compared to their adult counterparts. Among men, various levels of income impact greatly on their propensity to make an insurance claim, whereas among women only the highest income level did as compared to lowest income level.Men, who completed senior high school education, were less likely to make an insurance claim as compared to their counterparts with basic or no education. However it was women who had basic education that preferred using the hospital as compared to their more educated counterparts. It is suggested that the government should consider building more health centers, clinics and cheap-compounds in at least every community, to help reduce the travel time in accessing health care.  The ministry of health and the Ghana health service should engage older citizens by encouraging them to use hospitals when they are sick instead of other alternative care providers.

  8. National female literacy, individual socio-economic status, and maternal health care use in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McTavish, Sarah; Moore, Spencer; Harper, Sam; Lynch, John

    2010-12-01

    The United Nations Millennium Development Goals have identified improving women's access to maternal health care as a key target in reducing maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA). Although individual factors such as income and urban residence can affect maternal health care use, little is known about national-level factors associated with use. Yet, such knowledge may highlight the importance of global and national policies in improving use. This study examines the importance of national female literacy on women's maternal health care use in continental sSA. Data that come from the 2002-2003 World Health Survey. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the association between national female literacy and individual's non-use of maternal health care, while adjusting for individual-level factors and national economic development. Analyses also assessed effect modification of the association between income and non-use by female literacy. Effect modification was evaluated with the likelihood ratio test (G(2)). We found that within countries, individual age, education, urban residence and household income were associated with lack of maternal health care. National female literacy modified the association of household income with lack of maternal health care use. The strength of the association between income and lack of maternal health care was weaker in countries with higher female literacy. We conclude therefore that higher national levels of female literacy may reduce income-related inequalities in use through a range of possible mechanisms, including women's increased labour participation and higher status in society. National policies that are able to address female literacy and women's status in sub-Saharan Africa may help reduce income-related inequalities in maternal health care use. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Cost-effectiveness of national health insurance programs in high-income countries: A systematic review.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Son Nghiem

    Full Text Available National health insurance is now common in most developed countries. This study reviews the evidence and synthesizes the cost-effectiveness information for national health insurance or disability insurance programs across high-income countries.A literature search using health, economics and systematic review electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Medline, Econlit, RepEc, Cochrane library and Campbell library, was conducted from April to October 2015.Two reviewers independently selected relevant studies by applying screening criteria to the title and keywords fields, followed by a detailed examination of abstracts.Studies were selected for data extraction using a quality assessment form consisting of five questions. Only studies with positive answers to all five screening questions were selected for data extraction. Data were entered into a data extraction form by one reviewer and verified by another.Data on costs and quality of life in control and treatment groups were used to draw distributions for synthesis. We chose the log-normal distribution for both cost and quality-of-life data to reflect non-negative value and high skew. The results were synthesized using a Monte Carlo simulation, with 10,000 repetitions, to estimate the overall cost-effectiveness of national health insurance programs.Four studies from the United States that examined the cost-effectiveness of national health insurance were included in the review. One study examined the effects of medical expenditure, and the remaining studies examined the cost-effectiveness of health insurance reforms. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER ranged from US$23,000 to US$64,000 per QALY. The combined results showed that national health insurance is associated with an average incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of US$51,300 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY. Based on the standard threshold for cost-effectiveness, national insurance programs are cost-effective interventions

  10. 75 FR 52355 - Draft National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Work Group Reports...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Draft National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Work Group Reports; Opportunity for Public Comment AGENCY.../nationalconversation/work_groups.html . For additional information on the National Conversation on Public Health and...

  11. 76 FR 71046 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-16

    ... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act... Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 615 Davis Dr., KEY615/3112, Research Triangle Park... and Education; 93.894, Resources and Manpower Development in the Environmental Health Sciences; 93.113...

  12. Why Is Health Literacy Related to Health? An Exploration among U.S. National Assessment of Adult Literacy Participants 40 Years of Age and Older

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ownby, Raymond L.; Waldrop-Valverde, Drenna; Taha, Jessica

    2012-01-01

    Health literacy has emerged as an important factor related to health in older persons. The reason for the link between health literacy and health outcomes is not clear. Possible explanations include common relations among income, education, access to health care, health-promotion behaviors, frequency of reading, and perceptual impairments. In this…

  13. Health Literacy Impact on National Healthcare Utilization and Expenditure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasu, Rafia S; Bawa, Walter Agbor; Suminski, Richard; Snella, Kathleen; Warady, Bradley

    2015-08-17

    Health literacy presents an enormous challenge in the delivery of effective healthcare and quality outcomes. We evaluated the impact of low health literacy (LHL) on healthcare utilization and healthcare expenditure. Database analysis used Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) from 2005-2008 which provides nationally representative estimates of healthcare utilization and expenditure. Health literacy scores (HLSs) were calculated based on a validated, predictive model and were scored according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). HLS ranged from 0-500. Health literacy level (HLL) and categorized in 2 groups: Below basic or basic (HLS Healthcare utilization expressed as a physician, nonphysician, or emergency room (ER) visits and healthcare spending. Expenditures were adjusted to 2010 rates using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). A P value of 0.05 or less was the criterion for statistical significance in all analyses. Multivariate regression models assessed the impact of the predicted HLLs on outpatient healthcare utilization and expenditures. All analyses were performed with SAS and STATA® 11.0 statistical software. The study evaluated 22 599 samples representing 503 374 648 weighted individuals nationally from 2005-2008. The cohort had an average age of 49 years and included more females (57%). Caucasian were the predominant racial ethnic group (83%) and 37% of the cohort were from the South region of the United States of America. The proportion of the cohort with basic or below basic health literacy was 22.4%. Annual predicted values of physician visits, nonphysician visits, and ER visits were 6.6, 4.8, and 0.2, respectively, for basic or below basic compared to 4.4, 2.6, and 0.1 for above basic. Predicted values of office and ER visits expenditures were $1284 and $151, respectively, for basic or below basic and $719 and $100 for above basic (P healthcare utilization and expenditure. Individuals with below basic or basic HLL have greater healthcare

  14. 75 FR 52504 - Notice of Request for Approval of an Information Collection; National Animal Health Monitoring...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-26

    ...; National Animal Health Monitoring System; Dairy Heifer Raiser 2010 Study AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health... Service's intention to initiate an information collection to support the National Animal Health Monitoring... Warnken, Management and Program Analyst, Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health, VS, APHIS, 2150...

  15. Discrimination-related health inequality and role of social capital among marriage migrant women in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Chang-O

    2016-10-26

    This study aimed to evaluate whether social capital could alleviate health inequality against racial discrimination and identify the critical nature of social capital that generates health inequality differences within the social context of South Korea. Using the data of the 2009 National Survey of Multicultural Families, a nationally representative sample in which 40,430 foreign wives participated, the concentration index (CI) was used to measure the discrimination-related inequalities in self-rated health and was decomposed into contributing factors. The results showed a significant concentration of poor self-rated health unfavorable to foreign wives who were highly discriminated (CI 0.023, standard error [SE] 0.001, p inequality in health was observed among the group of linking social capital (CI 0.008, SE 0.008, p .332). The total differential decomposition method showed two major factors that generate differences in health inequality between the groups of non-linking and linking social capital: protest against discrimination (35.8 %); experiences of discrimination (28.3 %). The present results indicated that linking social capital can be a useful resource of health resilience factor that equalizes discrimination-related health inequality among marriage migrant women in South Korea. This study provides additional evidence that social capital needs to be placed in its political context.

  16. A national action plan for workforce development in behavioral health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoge, Michael A; Morris, John A; Stuart, Gail W; Huey, Leighton Y; Bergeson, Sue; Flaherty, Michael T; Morgan, Oscar; Peterson, Janice; Daniels, Allen S; Paris, Manuel; Madenwald, Kappy

    2009-07-01

    Across all sectors of the behavioral health field there has been growing concern about a workforce crisis. Difficulties encompass the recruitment and retention of staff and the delivery of accessible and effective training in both initial, preservice training and continuing education settings. Concern about the crisis led to a multiphased, cross-sector collaboration known as the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce. With support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, this public-private partnership crafted An Action Plan for Behavioral Health Workforce Development. Created with input from a dozen expert panels, the action plan outlines seven core strategic goals that are relevant to all sectors of the behavioral health field: expand the role of consumers and their families in the workforce, expand the role of communities in promoting behavioral health and wellness, use systematic recruitment and retention strategies, improve training and education, foster leadership development, enhance infrastructure to support workforce development, and implement a national research and evaluation agenda. Detailed implementation tables identify the action steps for diverse groups and organizations to take in order to achieve these goals. The action plan serves as a call to action and is being used to guide workforce initiatives across the nation.

  17. 75 FR 28661 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2010-0012] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) AGENCY: Occupational Safety and... Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary of Labor for...

  18. 76 FR 60085 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2011-0065] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) AGENCY: Occupational Safety and... Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health requests nominations for membership on...

  19. 77 FR 64549 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2012-0019] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) AGENCY: Occupational Safety and... on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) and a NACOSH Work Group. SUMMARY: NACOSH will meet...

  20. 77 FR 43616 - National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Docket No. OSHA-2012-0019] National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) AGENCY: Occupational Safety and... Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health requests nominations for membership on...