Health Economics Commons^™

Complexity, Cofactors, And The Failure Of Aids Policy In Africa, Eileen Stillwaggon

Economics Faculty Publications

Global AIDS policy still treats HIV as an exceptional case, abstracting from the context in which infection occurs. Policy is based on a simplistic theory of HIV causation, and evaluated using outdated tools of health economics. Recent calls for a health systems strategy – preventing and treating HIV within a programme of comprehensive health care – have not yet influenced the silo approach of AIDS policy.

Evidence continues to accumulate, showing that multiple factors, such as malnutrition, malaria and helminthes, increase the risk of sexual and vertical transmission of HIV. Moreover, complementary interventions that reduce viral load, improve immune response, …

Opportunities For Comparative Research In Public Health Pbrns : A Baseline Analysis Of Local Practice Settings, Glen P. Mays, Sharla A. Smith, Elaine B. Wootten, Sylvia J. Porchia

Health Management and Policy Presentations

This analysis describes the organizational and operational characteristics of local public health agencies participating in an initial cohort of five (5) public health PBRNs in the U.S. We examine variation in practice settings within and between PBRNs; compare practice settings to state and national norms; and identify opportunities for comparative research that can be conducted through PBRNs.

Children's Health Insurance Program: The Dynamics Of Federalism And Health Care Policy, Erik White

Political Science Theses and Capstones

On February 4^th, 2009, President Obama signed into law the reauthorization of the Children Health Insurance Program. The federal government will now spend 30 billion dollars towards the goal of ensuring that more children in the United States are insured. I investigate this particular health care policy and look at the different dynamics that affect the ultimate goal of universal health insurance for children. Because this program allows for state flexibility under broad federal guidelines, one is able to look at individual states, and their particular actions and characteristics, to determine the best approach to insuring the most …

Who Will Care For The Women?, Candace Howes

Economics Faculty Publications

Over 20 million people today, including children, working-age disabled, and elderly persons, require some sort of assistance to live safely. Largely because women live longer than men, well into the ages when the probability of needing care increases, 70 percent of elderly people who need long-term care are women. Furthermore, most long-term care is provided by women, mainly as unpaid care in the home, or as low-paid care in institutions and community settings (Stone & Weiner 2001). The United States faces a severe long-term care crisis because of the nation's inability to plan for the changing demographic balance. The crisis …

The Likely Impact Of Mandated Paid Sick And Family-Care Leave On The Economy And Economic Development Prospects Of The State Of Ohio, Edward W. Hill, Spence Christopher, Daila Shimek, Ziona Austrian

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report analyzes the potential impact of a proposed paid sick and family care leave legislation on the economy of the state of Ohio, the economic development prospects of the state and on the management of production processes that depend on highly integrate teams. The report also reviews the literature on the effect of mandated paid sick and family care leave on the industrial relations system—workplace performance and worker retention. Our analysis concludes that there would have been a net cost associated with the paid sick leave and family-care initiative proposed in Ohio with a lower bound estimate of $63.84 …

Positioning Hospice Care Within The Black And Hispanic Communities, Carol Armstrong

Graduate Theses

Nationally, hospice care and the signing of advance directives are underutilized by minority populations. Research on this phenomenon includes cultural differences, access to medical care and language barriers. A retrospective study of 1,817 closed patient charts from a local hospice was conducted to determine significant differences among the White, Black and Hispanic patient populations. The number of White patients admitted to both hospice homecare and to the hospice inpatient was significantly greater than the number of admissions of either the Black or Hispanic patients. There were no significant findings in the total number of services provided to each of the …

For Love, Money Or Flexibility: Why People Choose To Work In Consumer-Directed Homecare, Candace Howes

Economics Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of wages and benefits (relative to other jobs available to workers), controlling for personal characteristics, on the recruitment and retention of providers working in a consumer-directed home care program.

This article was written as part of a project titled ‘‘Building a High Quality Homecare Workforce: Wages, Benefits and Flexibility Matter,’’ which was supported by a research grant from the Better Jobs Better Care Program and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (#049213) and Atlantic Philanthropies (#12099) with direction and technical assistance provided by the Institute for the Future of …

Debra L. Delaet On Health And Human Rights: Basic International Documents, 2d Edition, Edited By Stephen P. Marks. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Published By Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center For Health And Human Rights; Distributed By Harvard University Press, 2006. 392pp., Debra L. Delaet

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Health and Human Rights: Basic International Documents, 2d Edition, edited by Stephen P. Marks. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Published by Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights; Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2006. 392pp.

Book Review: Social Justice: The Moral Foundations Of Public Health And Health Policy, Robin West

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay is a review of Social Justice: The Moral Foundations of Public Health and Health Policy by Madison Powers & Ruth Faden (2006).

In this pathbreaking book, senior bioethicists Powers and Faden confront foundational issues about health and justice. How much inequality in health can a just society tolerate? In a world filled with inequalities in health and well-being, which inequalities matter most and are the most morally urgent to address? In order to answer these questions, Powers and Faden develop a unique theory of social justice that, while developed for the specific contexts of public health and health …

Examining Adherence And Sexual Behavior Among Patients On Antiretroviral Therapy In India, Avina Sarna, Indrani Gupta, Sanjay Pujari, A.K. Sengar, Rajiv Garg, Ellen Weiss

HIV and AIDS

With increased availability of ART, HIV-positive individuals are living healthier lives and continuing or resuming sexual activity. However, optimism related to ART’s success in slowing disease progression, reducing viral load, and improving health status may lead to more risky sexual practices and a possible increase in transmission of infections. To determining the sexual behavior of HIV-positive persons on ART, the Horizons program, in collaboration with research partners in Delhi and Pune, conducted a study to assess current levels of adherence to ART among a sample of people living with HIV/AIDS, identify the factors that influence their adherence to treatment, and …

World Bank, Adrienne Stohr

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The mission of the World Bank is to aid developing countries stabilize their economies through financial and technical assistance. The five dominant themes that emerge in a review of the World Bank literature are: health, gender, environment, globalization, and global governance. Each of these themes is broadly related to issues that consistently influence the larger issue of how the World Bank incorporates, rejects, or impacts human rights.

Using Incentives To Encourage Aids Programs And Policies In The Workplace: A Study Of Feasibility And Impact In Thailand, Simon Baker, Srisuman Sartsara, Patchara Rumakom, Philip Guest, Katie D. Schenk, Anthony Pramualratana, Suparat Suksakulwat, Surachai Panakitsuwan, Sikarat Moonmeung

HIV and AIDS

A recently completed Horizons study in Thailand examined the question of how to encourage the private sector to become actively involved in developing and improving workplace HIV/AIDS programs. The study found that the AIDS-response Standard Organization (ASO) initiative mobilized a moderate proportion of different types of companies to develop and improve HIV/AIDS workplace policies and programs. The data also reveal that companies that were eligible for the insurance discount made the greatest improvements. Thus a financial incentive combined with efforts to tap into managers’ willingness to respond to the epidemic can be important motivators for certain companies to improve their …

Microfinance And Households Coping With Hiv/Aids In Zimbabwe: An Exploratory Study, Carolyn Barnes, Erica Keogh, Nontokozo Nemarundwe, Loveness Nyikahadzoi, Ellen Weiss

HIV and AIDS

This study, conducted in Zimbabwe, sought to better understand the relationship between a microfinance program, Zambuko Trust, and how microentrepreneurs’ households cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS. The study examined how HIV/AIDS is affecting Zambuko’s operations and what microfinance institutions (MFIs) can do to lessen the impact of HIV/AIDS on their clients and operations. The findings indicate several small yet important ways that MFI programs help microentrepreneurs and their families respond to these impacts through access to credit and business management training. Participation in a microfinance program led to income smoothing and better financial management, which can help households mitigate …

The Professional Decline Of Physicians In The Era Of Managed Care, Aimee E. Marlow

New England Journal of Public Policy

Physicians have long enjoyed prestige, power, and autonomy, but the rise of managed care organizations has drastically changed their status. Many doctors are in thrall to the financial well-being of the corporations that employ them, their knowledge and expertise controlled and manipulated in the interest of profit maximization. This article investigates the professional decline of physicians, citing the use of gag clauses, incentives to withhold care, and the breakdown of their authority. In an effort to regain some measure of control, physicians have taken their concerns to the public, supporting state and federal legislation that attempts to curb questionable managed …

Labor's Response To Hospital And Workplace Transformation, Enid Eckstein

New England Journal of Public Policy

The health care industry and the nation's hospitals are in the throes of revolutionary change. The shift to managed care resulted in fundamental changes in the delivery of care and the structure of health care, For the past ten years, hospitals have actively been merging and creating large-scale integrated delivery systems. Employers, eager to expand market share and reduce costs, are engaged in radical reorganization of the hospital and the structure of work from which no group is immune. Physicians, nurses, technicians, and housekeepers are all affected by these changes. Hospitals are reducing their personnel, shifting work outside the hospital, …

Trends In Hospital And Nursing Home Care Expenditures, Maine, 1982 To 1986, Maine Department Of Human Services

Maine Collection

Trends in Hospital and Nursing Home Care Expenditures, Maine, 1982 to 1986

Maine Department of Human Services - Office of Data, Research, and Vital Statistics

John R. McKernan, Jr., Governor, Rollin Ives, Commissioner, Brenda Smith, Planning and Research Associate, May, 1989.

"This report produced under Appropriation No. 1310-4010."

Contents: Introduction / Hospital Care Expenditures / Nursing Home Care Expenditures / Comparison of Hospital and Nursing Home Care Expenditure Trends / Concluding Remarks / References

Aids And New England Hospitals, Jesse Green, Neil Wintfeld, Madeleine Singer, Kevin Schulman

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Centers for Disease Control projects that nine thousand persons with AIDS will be alive in New England in 1991, representing a sevenfold increase from 1986. Our analysis indicates that more than 2 percent of medical/surgical beds in New England will be used for AIDS care by 1991, representing 766 fully occupied hospital beds. The direct cost of providing hospital care to New England's AIDS patients is projected to be $195.2 million in 1991, reflecting 3 percent of all hospital inpatient costs in the region.

AIDS treatment is very unevenly distributed among hospitals in New England. Just twenty hospitals (8 …

Medical Care Of Aids In New England: Costs And Implications, Stewart J. Landers, George R. Seage Iii

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article presents an overview of cost issues related to AIDS. Data from the Massachusetts Cost of AIDS Study are combined with epidemiological projections to estimate the cost of treating people diagnosed with AIDS in New England. Aggregate inpatient, ambulatory, and home care costs are estimated to be $96.9 million and $524.8 million through 1987 and 1991, respectively. These estimates represent a relatively small percentage of total health care costs for all illnesses over the same time period.

The authors find that the cost of treating AIDS does not affect all health care providers uniformly and therefore argue that appropriate …