Health Policy Commons^™

Senior Health (Age 65+) In The Mountain West, 2024, Taylor Volk, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents senior health care statistics for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The “2024 Senior Report – State Summaries,” study from America’s Health Rankings, United Foundation provided the data for all fifty states and Washington, D.C.

Barriers And Facilitators To Accessing Mental And Physical Health Care Among Sexual Minority Women: A Qualitative Exploration, Charlotte A. Dawson, A. Moulder, Kristin E. Heron

Department Psychiatry & Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Cisgender sexual minority women (SMW, e.g., lesbian, queer) are at greater risk for poor mental and physical health compared to heterosexual women and face challenges when accessing health care. Previous research has largely focused on general sexual and gender minority barriers to health care, but more research is needed on the experiences of specific subgroups, including cisgender SMW. The current study qualitatively explored barriers and facilitators for cisgender SMW seeking health care. Twenty cisgender SMW aged 18-40 recruited using Meta advertisements and past participant lists completed 45 min semi-structured interviews and a brief survey. Thematic analysis conducted by two coders …

The Texas Electorate's Views Of Health Care As A Human Right, Community Health Centers, And Certain Matters Of The Health Care Safety Net, Scott Elphingstone

Graduate Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations

In a country in which the government does not recognize a right to health care,social safety nets are the last hope for persons without insurance or other means to pay for needed care. In United States, community health centers, hospital emergency rooms, and private charities comprise that safety net. Community health centers offer a practicable alternative for politicians and citizens who want to help improve the lives of persons who struggle to access health care. This dissertation reviews the political history of community health centers from their founding as part of the War on Poverty in the 1960s through Democratic …

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Concerns About Psilocybin And Mdma As Novel Therapies Among Us Healthcare Professionals, Erin Wang, David S Mathai, Natalie Gukasyan, Sandeep Nayak, Albert Garcia-Romeu

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) with substances like psilocybin and MDMA has shown promise for conditions including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Psilocybin and MDMA may become approved medicines in the coming decade. This study assessed knowledge and attitudes regarding PAT among 879 U.S. healthcare professionals via anonymous online survey. Multivariable linear regression was used to identify predictors of openness to clinical use. Most participants (71.2%) were female and White (85.8%), with a mean (SD) age of 45.5 (12.7) years. Registered nurses (25.4%) and physicians (17.7%) comprised the largest professional groups. Respondents endorsed strong belief in therapeutic promise, and moderate openness to …

Rural Working-Age Adults Report More Cost Barriers To Health Care, Erika C. Ziller Phd, Carly Milkowski Mph, Amanda Burgess Mppm, Mph

Access / Insurance

Using the 2019-2020 National Health Insurance Survey, researchers at the Maine Rural Health Research Center examined rural-urban differences in affordability of care and cost-saving strategies among working-age adults. Rural adults (18-64) were more likely than their urban counterparts to report problems paying, or being unable to pay, their medical bills. They were also more likely to delay or go without needed care because of the cost. Compared with urban adults, those in rural areas were more likely to engage in prescription drug cost-saving measures such as skipping doses, delaying refills, or taking less medication than prescribed. For all affordability measures, …

Patterns Of Health Care Use Among Rural-Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Age 85 And Older, 2010-2017, Yvonne Jonk Phd, Heidi O'Connor Ms, Amanda Burgess Mppm, Carly Milkowski Mph

Access / Insurance

The purpose of this study was to examine rural-urban differences in health care use among Medicare beneficiaries age 85+. Understanding these differences, and the socioeconomic characteristics that contribute to them, can have important implications for Medicare policies aimed at serving the age 85+ population. Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey 2010-13 Cost and Use and 2015-17 Cost Supplement Files, we examined whether and how rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries age 85+ differ in terms of their:

1. socioeconomic and health characteristics that may inform health care use;
2. trends in health care use, including use of inpatient and emergency department (ED) care; …

Executive Summary: Driving The Southern Nevada Health Economy Forward, Tripp Umbach

Policy Briefs and Reports

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) plans to develop an integrated academic health center within the Las Vegas Medical District (LVMD).1 The academic health center includes UNLV’s five health science schools and mental and behavioral health, which is distributed among several colleges (medicine, liberal arts, urban affairs, and education) in the university. University Medical Center (UMC), a major teaching hospital, will also be an important driver of the academic health center. For the purposes of this report, UNLV’s medical and health science entities along with UMC are referred to collectively as the UNLV Academic Health Center.

Driving The Southern Nevada Health Economy Forward: Benefits Of A Transformational Unlv Academic Health Center, Tripp Umbach

Policy Briefs and Reports

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) plans to develop an integrated academic health center within the Las Vegas Medical District (LVMD). The academic health center includes UNLV’s five health science schools and mental and behavioral health, which is distributed among several colleges (medicine, liberal arts, urban affairs, and education) in the university. University Medical Center (UMC), a major teaching hospital, will also be an important driver of the academic health center. For the purposes of this report, UNLV’s medical and health science entities along with UMC are referred to collectively as the UNLV Academic Health Center. Additional academic health …

Usage And Impact Of Benefits Among Frontline Healthcare Workers, Mathieu Despard

Social Policy Institute Research

We completed a study about frontline healthcare workers – the benefits they get through work and how they are doing financially. This brief provides highlights from our survey to 2,321 workers and interviews with 30 workers.

Combatting Rising Healthcare Costs For Healthier Adults, Alejandra Muñoz-Rivera

Social Policy Institute Research

In 2020, healthcare expenditures averaged $12,530 per person, up 9.7% from 2019. In 2018, 19% of U.S. households had medical debt with $2,000 being the median amount owed. Over half of adults between 18 to 64 years of age are estimated to experience some form of medical financial hardship including medical bills or debt, stress about medical bills, and delaying or forgoing treatment specifically due to cost. In a 2022 survey of 140 Medicaid and Marketplace members by researchers from the Social Policy Institute (SPI) and the Centene Center of Health Transformation, one-third of respondents reported having unpaid medical bills. …

Sexual Health Assessment Is Vital To Whole Health Models Of Care, Alex Uzdavines, Drew A Helmer, Juliette F Spelman, Kristin M Mattocks, Amanda M Johnson, John F Chardos, Kristine E Lynch, Michael R Kauth

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Sexual health is the state of well-being regarding sexuality. Sexual health is highly valued and associated with overall health. Overall health and well-being are more than the absence of disease or dysfunction. Health care systems adopting whole health models of care need to incorporate a holistic assessment of sexual health. This includes assessing patients' sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). If health systems, including but not limited to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), incorporate sexual health into whole health they could enhance preventive care, promote healthy sexual functioning, and optimize overall health and well-being. Assessing sexual health can give providers …

The Financial Implications Of The Chinese Healthcare System, Lilly Schneider, Chi Hung Kenneth Leung

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

In 1949 one of the world’s most powerful and influential countries was born: The People’s Republic of China. Perhaps the greatest challenge the country has consistently faced since its inception has been ensuring a fiscally sound healthcare system. Today, China has the world’s largest population and a rapidly aging society with 330 million citizens over the age of 65 projected by 2050- nearly the same size as the total U.S. population. Living standards across China have been drastically increasing in recent decades and the Chinese people are desiring better, higher quality healthcare to complement their new lifestyles. With this desire …

Health Care And Education Access Of Transnational Children In Mexico, Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, Laura Juarez

Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center Research

Between 2001 and 2018, more than 5.5 million Mexican migrants were removed from the United States or returned to Mexico with their families as immigration enforcement escalated. Learning how this transition affected the access to health and education services of their children –also referred to as “the invisibles”– is a policy-relevant topic for both the United States and Mexico. Using representative data on 7.6 million Mexican and U.S.-born children from the 2015 Mexican Intercensal Survey, we provide evidence on the education and health care access gaps between these two groups and on the factors potentially responsible for the barriers encountered …

Improving Health Care In Nevada, Ember Smith, Kaylie Pattni

Policy Briefs and Reports

Across the United States, improvements in health outcomes lag while health care costs rapidly rise. Medical personnel and resource shortages combined with high underinsured and uninsured rates further complicate access to quality, affordable health care. In order to better understand state-level solutions, we explore factors that contribute to health care deficiencies and emphasize Nevada’s unique obstacles.

Many Older Americans Do Not Receive The Recommended Home Health Care After Hospitalization, Jun Li, Mingyu Qi, Rachel M. Werner

Population Health Research Brief Series

Only 54% of Medicare patients referred to home health care services following a hospitalization received home health care visits. Policymakers must address this discrepancy to ensure all patients receive the home health services they need.

The Collapse Of Health Care: The Effects Of Covid-19 On U.S. Community Health Centers, Ashley Van Slyke

Population Health Research Brief Series

The closure of community health centers is likely to have widespread detrimental impacts on the country’s public health and economy for years to come.

What's Left Of The Affordable Care Act?, Helen Levy, Andrew Ying, Nicholas Bagley

Articles

We assess the progress of the Affordable Care Act a decade after it became law. Although most of it remains intact, some parts have been repealed and others have not been implemented as expected. We review how and why the law has aged. Legal challenges have done less damage than is commonly appreciated, with the exception of the Supreme Court case that thwarted full expansion of Medicaid. Most of the important changes have other sources. Some parts were born to fail. Others were dismantled in response to interest-group pressure. Still others have failed to thrive for any number of reasons. …

Covid-19: Hospital And Intensive Care Unit (Icu) Bed Capacity In The Mountain West, Ember Smith, Kaylie Pattni, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Health

Utilizing the Harvard Global Health Institute’s (HGHI) COVID-19 projections, this fact sheet examines the potential hospital and ICU bed shortages in the Mountain West region: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah.

Our Female Veterans Deserve Better Healthcare, Mariah Brennan Nanni

Population Health Research Brief Series

Women represent one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. military, but their access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare is lacking. This issue brief explains gaps in healthcare coverage for female veterans and ways to address them.

Healthcare: A Universal Human Right Or White Privilege?, Nicole E. Heller

Student Publications

It is an undeniable fact that racism has been present in the United States since the beginning of the European colonization of the nation. Structural racism and implicit biases are the modern reality of the African American experience, reflecting years of direct racial targeting, mistreatment and discrimination. Today, there are many examples of deeply rooted racial discrepancies, de facto segregation, and modern acts of colonization. Perhaps one of the most troubling disparities present between African Americans and white Americans is the alarming difference in their experiences with healthcare. After a long history of medical torture, mistreatment, and a denial of …

Twelve Principles To Support Caregiver Engagement In Health Care Systems And Health Research, Kerry Kuluski, Kristina M. Kokorelias, Allie Peckham, Jodeme Goldhar, John Petrie, Carole Anne Alloway

Patient Experience Journal

Family and friend caregivers (i.e., unpaid carers) play a critical role in meeting the needs of people across various ages and illness circumstances. Caregiver experiences and expertise, which are currently overlooked, should be considered in practice (such as designing and evaluating services) and when designing and conducting research. In order to improve the quality of health care we need to understand how best to meaningfully engage caregivers in research, policy and program development to fill this important gap. Our study aimed to determine principles to support caregiver engagement in practice and research. A pan Canadian meeting brought together 48 stakeholders …

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review Fall 2018

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

No abstract provided.

An Ambivalent Embrace: Service Needs And Gaps For Asian Immigrants In New Destinations, John J. Chin

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Asian immigrants to the U.S. are settling in "new destinations," but there has been little research on their health care and social service needs. Our analysis of Census data to identify cities with the fastest Asian immigrant population growth (1990-2000) yielded 33 smaller cities in 13 states. The cities ranged in population from 7,677 to 86,660; were spread across 13 states in the Northeast, South, and Midwest regions of the US; and varied widely demographically. Pilot surveys conducted in 2009 indicated that, although many residents had positive attitudes towards immigrants, many were also concerned about job competition and dilution of …

Risk Factors Of Acute Respiratory Infections In Practice Area For Community Of Medical Students In Semarang, Siti Thomas Zulaikhah, Purwito Soegeng, Titiek Sumarawati

Kesmas

Infeki saluran pernapasan akut (ISPA) menempati urutan pertama dari 10 besar penyakit di Puskesmas Bangetayu dengan persentase terbanyak di Kelurahan Penggaron Lor. Keterampilan untuk mempelajari distribusi dan frekuensi penyakit serta faktor determinan yang memengaruhi manusia sangat diperlukan untuk menetapkan intervensi yang paling efektif untuk meningkatkan derajat kesehatan masyarakat. Perlu dilakukan penelitian untuk mengetahui faktor risiko yang paling dominan berhubungan dengan kejadian ISPA di lokasi praktik komunitas mahasiswa Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Islam Sultan Agung Semarang. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain potong lintang dengan jumlah responden 100 orang dan sampel dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan stratified random sampling. Sepuluh variabel yang diteliti adalah faktor risiko …

Public Schools, And Health Care: A Strategy To Promote Social Inclusion, Jana Sladkova, Anahi Viladrich, Nicholas Freudenberg

Occasional Paper Series

Sladkova, Viladrich, and Freudenberg refer to “social inclusion” as the process through which the newly arrived find their voice in an already complex, cacophonous society. They describe an approach to social inclusion for adult immigrants that melds learning English at the same time as learning to negotiate our often-Byzantine health care system. They highlight programs that work and a new perspective on how to maximize the effectiveness of limited adult education opportunities.

A Bottom-Up Approach To Effectively Implementing A Good Samaritan Policy At Bryant University, Jessica Fleet

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

The rising numbers of substance consumption on college campuses are becoming a public concern for higher educational institutions across the United States. The thesis studies the relationship between state laws and private higher education institution laws in regards to substance abuse. Examining state laws and private universities Medical Amnesty and Good Samaritan laws were used to determine what would effectively replace Bryant University’s current Substance Abuse Policy. The current policy lacks an educational element along with stressing the word of mouth ideology that students are protected when in need of drug or alcohol assistance in a medical situation. This is …

Toward An International Constitution Of Patient Rights, Alison Poklaski

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In the past decade, medical tourism-the travel of patients across borders to receive medical treatment-has undergone unprecedented growth, fueled by the globalization of health care and related industries. While medical tourism can benefit patients through increased access to treatment and cost-savings, medical travel also raises concerns about ensuring quality of care and legal redress in medical malpractice. Moreover, existing regulations fail to address these unprecedented issues. The multilateral adoption of an International Constitution of Patient Rights (ICPR) is necessary in order to more effectively preserve medical tourism's benefits and guard against its risks.

The Economics Of Health, Donald J. Meyer Editor

Upjohn Press

Donald J. Meyer leads a group of notable health economists who explore critical issues—and their economic impacts—facing the nation's healthcare system today. These include lifestyle choices and their health impacts, decisions on medical care and self-care, the fee-for-service payment model, disability and workers’ compensation insurance claims, long-term care, and how various aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) impact the nation’s healthcare system. Contributors include M. Kate Bundorf, Marcus Dillender, John H. Goddeeris, Donald J. Meyer, Edward C. Norton, and Charles E. Phelps.

Health Care Service Disparity: Factors Associated With The Distribution Of Primary Care Physicians, Robert L. Morgan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Primary care physicians operate on the front lines of health care. Although primary care physicians play a critical role in improving health outcomes, workforce trends in the United States show a growing shortage of primary care physicians as demand for primary care rises. In conveying the importance of primary care physicians, the worsening physician shortage, the inequitable distribution of providers, and the lackluster institutional response thus far, this paper calls into question the effectiveness of current indicators used to identify underserved areas and provide appropriate government assistance. Through the use of data from the 2010 census and American Medical Association …

Trends In Health Care Delivery Systems: Implications For Cancer Prevention And Control, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

The Affordable Care Act and larger economic forces are leading both health care providers and public health agencies to renegotiate their roles and responsibilities within the U.S. health system. This session reviews major changes occurring in both health care and public health delivery systems, with a focus on the implications for cancer prevention and control. The information infrastructure created by cancer registries and other health information systems are increasingly important for enabling greater coordination, alignment and accountability within the nation's changing delivery systems.