Health Economics Commons^™

The Healthcare Costs Of Overnutrition, Ryan Hodge

Honors Projects

Obesity is a growing problem globally and domestically. Obesity is related to several chronic and noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, type II diabetes, coronary heart disease, and some cancers. Both obesity and its related diseases are forms of overnutrition, which is the excess intake of nutrients that causes increased body fat to the point of impaired health. Using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) from 2008-2016, this paper is the first to estimate the causal effect of overnutrition on medical expenditure by examining the effect of overnutrition diseases on health care costs, correcting for the endogeneity bias of …

High-Frequency Internet Survey Of A Probability Sample Of Older Singaporeans: The Singapore Life Panel, Rhema Vaithianathan, Bryce Hool, Michael D. Hurd, Susann Rohwedder

Research Collection School Of Economics

Facing a rapidly ageing population, Singapore is presented with urgent policy challenges. Yet there is very little data on the economic, health and family circumstances of older Singaporeans. In response, the Centre for Research on the Economics of Ageing (CREA) at Singapore Management University has been collecting monthly data on a panel of Singaporeans aged between 50 and 70 years. We detail the methodology by which the Singapore Life Panel® (SLP) was constructed using a population-representative sampling frame from the Singapore Department of Statistics. Contact was made with 25,000 households through postal, phone and in-person canvassing. More than 15,200 respondents …

Entitled To Property: Inheritance Laws, Female Bargaining Power, And Child Health In India, Plamen Nikolov, Shahadath Hossain

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Child height is a significant predictor of human capital and economic status throughout adulthood. Moreover, non-unitary household models of family behavior posit that an increase in women’s bargaining power can influence child health. We study the effects of an inheritance policy change, the Hindu Succession Act (HSA), which conferred enhanced inheritance rights to unmarried women in rural India, on child height. We find robust evidence that the HSA improved the height and weight of children. In addition, we find evidence consistent with a channel that the policy improved the women’s intrahousehold bargaining power within the household, leading to improved parental …

The Health Costs Of Political Identity: Evidence From Public Safety Responses In The Us And A Natural Experiment In California, Sahiba Chopra

Master's Theses

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought political polarization in the US to the forefront of the battle against coronavirus. We find that for every one percentage point increase in votes for Trump there are 881 more Covid-19 cases and 17 more Covid-19 deaths. We find that these results are motivated by political identity as it is mediated through public safety behaviors like maskwearing and social distancing. In addition, a natural experiment in California during the first half of the pandemic in the US finds that 36% of the Covid-19 cases at the census tract level in California can be associated with …

Temperature Effects On Prevalence Of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among At-Risk Female Sex Workers In India, Rajshri Suresh

Master's Theses

Vulnerability to climate change varies depending on the baseline climate, sensitivity to given exposure, and the presence of social, political, cultural, and institutional inequalities that influence access to essential resources of livelihood, particularly among informal labor market participants. Within the risky informal labor market, the transient nature of sex work implies that sex workers suffer disproportional losses in health, income, protection, and other aspects of general well-being as a result of the effects of climate anomalies. In this paper, I investigate the effect of temperature on the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in a high-risk population of female sex workers …

Cost Estimation Alongside A Multi-Regional, Multi-Country Randomized Trial Of Antenatal Ultrasound In Five Low-And-Middle-Income Countries, B W. Bresnahan, E Vodicka, J B. Babigumira, Ashar Muhammad Malik, F Yego, A Lokangaka, B M. Chitah, Z Bauer, H Chavez, Sarah Saleem

Community Health Sciences

Background: Improving maternal health has been a primary goal of international health agencies for many years, with the aim of reducing maternal and child deaths and improving access to antenatal care (ANC) services, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Health interventions with these aims have received more attention from a clinical effectiveness perspective than for cost impact and economic efficiency.
Methods: We collected data on resource use and costs as part of a large, multi-country study assessing the use of routine antenatal screening ultrasound (US) with the aim of considering the implications for economic efficiency. We assessed typical antenatal outpatient and …

Seeking Sustainable Solutions To Period Poverty Amongst Homeless Women In Camden County, Nj, Bilal Khan, Alana Smith, Melisa Ibarra-Zavala

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) – National Ambassadors is an effort for underserved high school, undergraduate, and medical students to collaborate on a research-based community service project to equip future health professionals with tools to heal their communities.

The average woman spends up to 3500 days of their life menstruating. Menstrual health is therefore not just a fundamental human right, but a robust indicator of community well-being. Despite the biological inevitably of menstruation, barriers to practicing adequate menstrual hygiene, or “Period Poverty,” are far common and often ignored in public forums. Period products face a luxury goods sales tax in …

The Effect Of The Fresh Program On Fruit And Vegetable Consumption In Nyc, Haido Andrianos

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines whether the NYCEDC's FRESH Program has had an effect on the fruit and vegetable consumption of NYC residents. Using data collected by the NYC DOHMH, a difference-in-difference regression with fixed effects was run. Stratifications for race and sex were also performed.

The Effects Of Hospital-Acquired Condition (Hac) Reduction Program On Hospital Services And Finances, Yuting Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Effective 10/01/2014, the HAC Reduction Program was implemented by CMS. Using 2015-2017 hospital-level data, this paper measures the effects of this Program on hospital days, discharges, revenues, costs, and service performance. I find penalized hospitals barely improved healthcare performance; meanwhile they increased patients numbers by 12.0% to cover penalties received.

Economic And Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Of The Community-Level Interventions For Pre-Eclampsia (Clip) Trials In India, Pakistan And Mozambique, Jeffrey N. Bone, Asif R. Khowaja, Marianne Vidler, Beth A. Payne, Mrutyunjaya B. Bellad, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Ashalata A. Mallapur, Khatia Munguambe, Rahat Qureshi, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Woman and Child Health

Background: The Community-Level Interventions for Pre-eclampsia (CLIP) trials (NCT01911494) in India, Pakistan and Mozambique (February 2014-2017) involved community engagement and task sharing with community health workers for triage and initial treatment of pregnancy hypertension. Maternal and perinatal mortality was less frequent among women who received ≥8 CLIP contacts. The aim of this analysis was to assess the incremental costs and cost-effectiveness of the CLIP intervention overall in comparison to standard of care, and by PIERS (Pre-eclampsia Integrated Estimate of RiSk) On the Move (POM) mobile health application visit frequency.
Methods: Included were all women enrolled in the three …

Behavioral Economic Modeling Of The Effects Of Symptom, Severity, And Cost On Seeking Medical Care, Mark J. Rzeszutek

Dissertations

While the United States has some of the highest healthcare spending in the world, it has some of the worst health outcomes. For example, maternal mortality in the United States is almost five times as high as in other similarly wealthy countries. It also has the highest rates of avoidable deaths. One of the reasons for this may be the cost of accessing healthcare due to privatized insurance. For example, Americans may avoid important preventive medical visits and other health screeners due to cost. While lack of health insurance has been correlated with decreased health utilization, a precise understanding of …

From Self-Sufficiency To Import Dependence In The Republic Of The Marshall Islands: Data Issues And Challenges, Debra L. Claypool

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Although it appears likely that the profoundly asymmetrical political and economic relationship between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has contributed to the abandonment of traditional agriculture, import-dependency, and a decrease in quality of life for the citizens of the RMI, limits in existing quantitative data make it impossible to model exactly how this occurred. Therefore, rather than seek to model this causal relationship, the researcher employed three existing ethnographic studies to establish a quantitative measure of the transformation itself. Using additional government documents to supplement the existing data, a measure of relative percentage of …

Mental Illness Economics In The United States: A Comparison With Foreign Countries, Christopher Odum

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 2018, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of over forty-eight thousand people.1 Globally, eight-hundred thousand people die from suicide every year, which is twice the number from homicide.2 For years, there has been a stigma around mental illness causing it to be a taboo topic, but recently there has been more of a focus and acceptance in our society. Along with the stigma, throughout most of history there has not been a focus on innovating and curing mental health diseases. In many cases, these diseases left unchecked lead to irrational …

The Impact Of Information Shocks And Partisanship On The Evolution Of Covid-19 In Connecticut, Joslin Valiyaveettil

Honors Scholar Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of life within the United States since early 2020. How people decided to behave during this time heavily influenced the trends that followed, triggering both health and behavioral economic concerns. Those trends seemed to vary based on the area and the beliefs of those constituents. This paper explores how partisan beliefs had an impact on the changes in case rates that occurred within the top 30 most populated towns in the state of Connecticut. In July 2020, former President Donald Trump sent out a tweet publicly endorsing face masks for the first time. …

Exploring Equity In Health And Poverty Impacts Of Control Measures For Sars-Cov-2 In Six Countries, Sedona Sweeney, Theo Prudencio Juhani Capeding, Rosalind Eggo, Maryam Huda, Mark Jit, Don Mudzengi, Nichola R. Naylor, Simon Procter, Matthew Quaife, Lela Serebryakova

Community Health Sciences

Background: Policy makers need to be rapidly informed about the potential equity consequences of different COVID-19 strategies, alongside their broader health and economic impacts. While there are complex models to inform both potential health and macro-economic impact, there are few tools available to rapidly assess potential equity impacts of interventions.
Methods: We created an economic model to simulate the impact of lockdown measures in Pakistan, Georgia, Chile, UK, the Philippines and South Africa. We consider impact of lockdown in terms of ability to socially distance, and income loss during lockdown, and tested the impact of assumptions on social protection coverage …

The Impact Of Mindfulness On Healthy Food Choices, Kaylea Hopfer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The practice of mindfulness has a long history in research, particularly psychological studies. In this paper I examine the effects of a short mindfulness intervention on healthy food purchases. Specifically, I developed an online survey and recruited 634 participants via Prolific between July 24 - July 27, 2020. I randomly assigned participants to either a mindfulness manipulation or a control condition. Following treatment (or control) participants completed a food choice task and various other control. Following the survey, I analyzed data using R version 4.0.2 (2020-06-22) and R-Studio. I estimated three different regression models, ordinary least squares (OLS), Poisson, and …

The Effects Of The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program On Non-Targeted Interventions, Anna Kate Peterson

20th Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2021)

According to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, the rate of hospital readmissions for Medicare patients fell from 18.3 percent in 2010 to 17.1 percent in 2016. Still, since avoidable readmission within 30 days of discharge is a negative healthcare outcome and costly, whether the readmission is due to low-quality care or random complication, it captures the attention of healthcare cost-conscious policymakers. The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), implemented in 2012, aims to decrease readmission following selected procedures. This research analyzes the effect of the HRRP on readmission rates that were not a part of the HRRP’s intended scope, referred …

Periodontal Parameters And Anti-Cardiolipin Antibodies Following Periodontal Therapy In Chronic Periodontitis, Wan Majdiah Wan Mohamad, Noor Rashidah Saad, Siti Lailatul Akmar Zainuddin, Haslina Taib

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Anti-cardiolipin (anti-CL) antibodies are autoantibodies which are directed against cell membrane phospholipids. A significant number of periodontitis patients showed positive for anti-CL antibody. Objective: This study aimed to determine the periodontal parameters and anti-CL antibodies levels before and after non-surgical periodontal therapy in chronic periodontitis. Methods: This cross-sectional study had been carried out at Periodontal Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia. Thirty five chronic periodontitis (CP) and 39 non-periodontitis (NP) patients underwent clinical periodontal examination at baseline. Plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), periodontal pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were measured. Scaling …

Assessment Of Gingival Status And Gingival Overgrowth Among Immunosuppressed Patients In Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital, Wan Majdiah Wan Mohamad, Syamimi Izzati Mat Zaid, Haslina Taib

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Drug-induced gingival overgrowth (DIGO) is defined as an abnormal growth of the gingiva due to adverse effect of some drugs such as immunosuppressant, calcium channel blocker, and anticonvulsant. Immunosuppressive drugs play an important role in controlling organ transplant rejection and were widely used to treat different diseases. Objective: Immunosuppressive drugs are used for prevention of transplant rejection and management of autoimmune disease. Drug-induced gingival overgrowth (GO) is abnormal growth of gingiva due to adverse effect of these drugs. This study aimed to assess the gingival status, the prevalence of gingival overgrowth and its associated factors among immunosuppressed patients. Methods …

The Role Of Peer Influence On Oral Health Knowledge And Behaviors Among Adolescents, Maryam Sadeghipour Roudsari, Seyed Peyman Shariatpanahi, Mahshid Namdari, Mohammad Hossein Khoshnevisan, Mahsa Malek-Mohammadi, Mohammad Hadi Foroughmand

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Although many researchers, in different social sciences fields, are being attracted to the new potential promotional phenomenon, the influence of peer connections, the literature in dental public health is very poor. Objective: This article investigates the role of peer influence on individuals’ oral health knowledge and behavior among adolescents. Methods: The purpose of the study was to explore the correlation between secondary school students’ oral health u and knowledge within friendship groups. A valid and reliable questionnaire was developed. A total of 421 students (228 boys and 193 girls) aged between 12-13 years old participated in the study. …