The Bermuda health care system involves predominately private insurance based coverage. With private premiums, healthcare costs continually increase. Additionally, the Public Health System financing for those disproportionately affected by the high costs offer little support. The study examines the impact of a government subsidized health care policy implemented in 2009 on the health outcomes of the population. Specifically, the policy targets senior citizens aged 65 and older who often face disadvantaged costs in meeting the needs of their health. Chappell and Penning (1996) demonstrate the role of economic factors as a significant influence on health service utilizations. Using evidence from Chappell and Penning, the study provides a fixed effect regression analysis on health conditions before and after implementation of the program. Results reveal that senior citizens are significantly more likely to report having better health after the policy was implemented. Findings imply that increased government subsidized programs, such as FutureCare, have a significantly beneficial impact on the welfare of individuals in Bermuda.

Die Arbeit analysiert die Bedeutung des demografischen Wandels für die Entwicklung der Gesundheitsausgaben in Deutschland bis zum Jahr 2050. Anhand von Querschnittsdaten der amtlichen Statistik für den Bereich der Krankenhäuser wird unter der Annahme konstanter Altersprofile der Gesundheitsausgaben pro Kopf sowie konstanter Inzidenzraten der isolierte demografisch bedingte Ausgabenanstieg prognostiziert. Der theoretische Teil der Arbeit stellt weitere Einflussfaktoren sowie die Medikalisierungs- und Kompressionsthese zur Entwicklung von Morbidität im Alter vor. Als Antwort auf den diagnostizierten Anstieg der Ausgaben werden mögliche Reformansätze diskutiert. / The paper analyses the effects of continued demographic change on health expenditure in Germany until 2050. Using cross sectional data from official statistics for hospitals the isolated effect of demographic change on future expenditure is predicted by assuming time-invariant age-specific expenditure profiles per capita and incidence for specific groups of diagnoses. Further influencing factors as well as competing theories of compression versus expansion of morbidity are presented. As a reaction to the challenge of expected further increases in health expenditure, possible reforms are discussed.

Europe is known for being the continent, in which most alcohol is consumed. The amount consumed varies across the continent and is highest in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The tradition of how alcohol is consumed differs across Europe. Generally, the south of Europe consumes alcohol more frequently, but in smaller quantities. While in the north part of Europe larger quantities are consumed on fewer occasions, this is also referred to as binge drinking. However, this alone is not able to explain the variance in consumption patterns. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the selected national performance measurements on alcohol consumption. The average annual wage, unemployment rate and percentage of GDP spent on health expenditure were chosen based on previous research. The price-setting on alcohol was chosen as a representation of consumption restricting policies. A panel data regression is performed on eight countries from the period 2008 to 2017. The results show that there is a relationship between the dependent variable's health expenditure and price index and the independent variables. More specifically that health expenditure and price indexes have a negative relationship with alcohol consumption. Furthermore, in the last chapter future studies and policies are suggested.

Background The Sustainable Development Goals provides targets that foster greater mobilization of global resources and efforts. SDG Goal 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, sets targets for the reduction of maternal mortality rates and mortality rates for children under-five. Health insurance coverage is thought to provide access to needed primary services to accomplish these goals. West Africa is the region of the world with the highest burden of disease and it is unclear if insurance coverage does provide needed access to services. The articles within this thesis examine whether or not health insurance provides greater access to primary services for mothers and children, while determining other factors to be considered. Method For the systematic review, we carried out a search on four databases. Eligible studies included mother’s under-five and children in West Africa. The primary outcome was insurance impacting the rate of utilization of services. Data was extracted using standardized form, and methodology was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute forms. Our cross-sectional study used DHS data from 10 West African countries. Data was cleaned, weighed and analyzed using Stata. The independent variable was health insurance, and the variable of outcome was making a minimum of four antenatal care visits. Data was analyzed using binary logistic regression and we presented results using crude and adjusted odds ratio at 95% confidence interval. Results The narrative synthesis was chosen for the review. We found that in most study settings, insurance increased access to services. The cross-sectional study found that women with insurance were more likely to make the recommended number of ANC visits than their uninsured counterparts (aOR [95% CI] =1.55 [1.37-1.73]). Socio-economic status also impact access to services. Conclusion Health insurance does increase access to services and should be pursued as a viable long-term policy, but access is still dependent on socio-economic status. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, burden of disease of the region and systems challenges, other solutions should be pursued in the near-term. Future investigation should consider the role of equity as a guiding principle.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among adults in Vietnam. Little is known about the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in NCDs and other NCD-related factors in urban areas, in particular among the poor living in slum areas. Understanding these disparities are essential in contributing to the knowledge, needed to reduce inequalities and close the related health gaps burdening the disadvantaged populations in urban areas.  Objective: To examine the burden and health system responsiveness to NCDs in Hanoi, Vietnam and investigate the role of socioeconomic inequalities in their prevalence, subsequent healthcare utilization and related impoverishment due to health expenditures.  Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 3,736 individuals aged 15 years and over who lived in 1211 randomly selected households in 2013 in urban Hanoi, Vietnam. The study collected information on household’s characteristics, household expenditures, and household member information. A qualitative approach was implemented to explore the responsiveness of commune health stations to the increasing burden of NCDs in urban Hanoi. In-depth interview approach was conducted among health staff involved in NCD tasks at four commune health stations in urban Hanoi. Furthermore, NCD managers at relevance district, provincial and national levels were interviewed.  Results: The prevalence of self-reported NCDs was significantly higher among individuals in non-slum areas (11.6%) than those in slum areas (7.9%). However, the prevalence of self-reported NCDs concentrated among the poor in both slum and non-slum areas. In slum areas, the poor needed more health care services, but the rich consumed more health care services. Among households with at least one household member reporting diagnosis of NCDs, the proportion of household facing catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment were the greater in slum areas than in non-slum areas. Poor households in slum areas were more likely to face catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment. The poor in non-slum areas were also more likely to face impoverishment if their household members experienced NCDs. Health system responses to NCDs at commune health stations in urban Hanoi were weak, characterized by the lack of health information, inadequate human resources, poor financing, inadequate quality and quantity of services, lack of essential medicines. The commune health stations were not prepared to respond to the rising prevalence of NCDs in urban Hanoi.  Conclusion: This thesis shows the existence of socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of self-reported NCDs in both non-slum and slum areas in urban Hanoi. NCDs associated with the inequalities in health care utilization, catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment, particular in slum areas. Appropriate interventions should focus more on specific population groups to reduce the socioeconomic inequalities in the NCD prevalence and health care utilization related to NCDs to prevent catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment among the households of NCD patients.  The functions of commune health stations in the urban setting should be strengthened through the development of NCDs service packages covered by the health insurance.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 zanuto_eac_dr_prud.pdf: 949934 bytes, checksum: 1623590233780881433910cd01330670 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-22 / Objetivo: Analisar no período de 18 meses de seguimento o custo da dor lombar e fatores associados entre pacientes atendidos na atenção primária do SUS na cidade de Presidente Prudente – SP. Métodos: Estudo de base populacional conduzido em duas Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS) da cidade de Presidente Prudente – São Paulo, coorte com duração de 18 meses, cujas informações utilizadas foram adquiridas por meio de entrevista face-a-face. O cálculo amostral revelou a necessidade mínima de 310 adultos com idade igual ou superior a 50 anos, foram avaliados neste estudo a presença de dor lombar crônica (DLC), os custos acarretados por esta patologia no SUS, idade, sexo, etnia, escolaridade, atividade física, índice de massa corporal, atividades ocupacionais, tabagismo e etilismo. Dados categóricos foram expressos em porcentagem, e a associação foi estabelecida através do teste qui-quadrado, e regressão logística binária. A regressão logística (expressa como odds ratio [OR] e intervalo de confiança de 95% [IC95%]) analisou a magnitude de tais associações. Resultados: A maioria dos pacientes avaliados eram do sexo feminino 229 (70%) e com sobrepeso/obesidade 179 (78,2%). Foi encontrada alta prevalência de DLC (21,7%). O exercício físico se manteve como fator de proteção para DLC independente dos demais fatores de confusão (OR= 0.35 [IC95%= 0.15-0.80]), e o ciclismo foi relacionado com redução nos custos (rho= -0.289 [p-valor= 0,049]). A DLC também se associou de maneira independente com os gastos com consultas (OR= 1.91 [1.05-3.48]), gastos totais (2.14 [1.16 – 3.94]) e apresentou altos custos com consultas (Sem DLC US$ 34,25 ± 23,21 e DLC: US$ 39,62 ± 27,25, [p-valor= 0,049]). Conclusão: Em resumo foi identificada alta prevalência de dor lombar entre os pacientes SUS, ao passo que a prática de exercícios físicos no lazer foi fator protetor a este desfecho, pacientes do SUS com DLC possuem maiores custos diretos e indiretos com saúde de forma independente de fatores de confusão como idade e excesso de peso, enquanto que o ciclismo reduz os custos em pessoas com DLC. / Objective: To analyze in 18-months follow-up the cost of low back pain (LBP) and associated factors among patients treated in the primary care of Brazilian National Health System (BNHS-SUS) in the Presidente Prudente – SP. Methods: A population-based study conducted in two Basic Health Units (BHU) in the Presidente Prudente – SP, 18-months follow-up cohort, whose information was acquired through a face-to-face interview. The present study evaluated the presence of chronic low back pain (CLBP), the costs of this pathology in the BNHS – SUS, age, gender, ethnicity, schooling, physical activity, body mass index, occupational activities, smoking and alcoholism. Categorical data were expressed as a percentage, and the association was established through the chi-square test and binary logistic regression. Logistic regression (expressed as odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI 95% ]) analyzed the magnitude of such associations. Results: The majority of the evaluated patients were female 229 (70%) and overweight/ obese 179 (78.2%). It was found a high prevalence of CLBP (21.7%). Physical exercise remained a protective factor for CLBP independent of other confounding factors (OR= 0.35 [CI 95% = 0.15-0.80]), and cycling was related to a reduction in costs (rho= - 0.289 [p-value= 0.049]). The CLBP was also independently associated with the expenses with consultations (OR= 1.91 [1.05-3.48]), total expenses (OR= 2.14 [1.16 - 3.94]) and presented high consultation costs (No CLBP US $ 34.25 ± 23, 21 and CLBP: US $ 39.62 ± 27.25, [p-value = 0.049]). Conclusion: In summary, a high prevalence of low back pain was identified among BNHS-SUS patients, whereas physical exercise during leisure was a protective factor for this outcome, BNHS-SUS patients with CLBP have higher direct and indirect health costs independently of confounding factors such as age and excess weight, while cycling reduces costs in people with CLBP.

When estimating the influence income per capita exerts on health care expenditure, the research in the field offers mixed results. Studies employ different data, estimation techniques and models, which brings about the question whether these differences in research design play any part in explaining the heterogeneity of reported outcomes. By employing meta-regression analysis, the present paper analyzes 220 estimates of health spending income elasticity collected from 54 studies and finds that publication bias is of marginal concern for the literature. The model specification choices, more exactly whether a study accounts for institutional factors and advancements in medical technology, have a negative effect on reported outcomes. Moreover, the "economic research cycle hypothesis" finds support in our analysis. Lastly, the research finds that the true income elasticity of health spending is situated around unity level, which makes health care neither a luxury, nor a necessity. Keywords: meta-regression analysis, aggregate health expenditure, income elasticity 1

L’amélioration de l’accès aux soins de santé de la population est aujourd’hui au coeur des politiques de réduction de la pauvreté. Dans ce contexte, de plus en plus de pays en Afrique subsaharienne (ASS) adoptent des politiques de suppression des paiements directs des soins au point de service. Ces politiques ont pour objectifs d’augmenter la demande de soins en levant une partie de la barrière financière à l’accès aux soins et diminuer le fardeau financier de la maladie qui contribue aux dépenses catastrophiques. Avec l’urbanisation massive constatée dans le monde et en particulier dans les pays d’ASS, la prise en charge de la santé de la population en milieu péri-urbain est devenue plus complexe. L’augmentation de la charge de morbidité lié aux maladies chroniques, plus celle des maladies transmissibles toujours importante, rend plus difficile la maîtrise de la situation sanitaire de ces pays. Les enjeux posés par ces changement sont conduit à un regain d’intérêt sur les questions d’accès aux soins et de dépenses de santé des ménages en milieu urbain.Cette thèse, à partir de données recueillies sur le terrain, s’intéresse à la demande de soins et aux dépenses de santé des individus en milieu péri-urbain. Le chapitre I est consacré à la présentation du cadre théorique de l’analyse de la demande de soins et des spécificités de ce marché et à la présentation du Sénégal. Le chapitre II présente la méthodologie de recueil de données et une analyse détaillée des types de maladie identifiés, l’itinéraire thérapeutique des malades et leurs dépenses de soins. Le chapitre III porte sur l’analyse du comportement de la demande de soins lié aux symptômes aigus déclarés par les individus. L’analyse est effectuée à partir de l’estimation d’un probit multinomial. Le chapitre IV analyse les déterminants des dépenses de santé des individus avec un modèle de Heckman. / Improving population’s access to health care services stands among the utmost priorities in the’agenda of alleviating poverty in Africa. Recently, many policymakers in sub Saharan African countries have tried to remove users fees at the point of service This policy aims at easing the financial burden of out of pocket paiements in an episode of illness,which can be catastrophic,hence boosting the demand for healthcare services. Delivering adequate healthcare services in urban suburbs has become increasingly difficult with the massive urbanization trend, particularlyin Sub Saharan Africa. In addition, difficulties in improving health conditions are intensified by the rise in the morbidity, due to chronic and communicable diseases. Combined together, these phenomenons have brought to the forefront the relevance of the issues relative to healthcare delivery, access and financing in urban areas.Building upon survey data, this thesis focuses on individual’s demand of healthcare services and their corresponding health expenditure in urban suburbs of Senegal. Chapter I lays the theoretical foundations of healthcare services demand and its specific features; and presents the Senegalese context. The methodology relative to data collection and data analysis, including the identified diseases, their course of treatment and the associated health expenditures are detailed in Chapter II. Using a multinomial probit model, Chapter III analyzes the demand of healthcare services resulting from individual’s statement of acute symptoms. Finally, Chapter IV assesses the determinants of health expenditure, using the Heckman model.

La tesi si compone di tre capitoli. Il primo capitolo è una rassegna critica che intende spiegare come mai la riforma del sistema sanitario in Cina non funziona come ci si aspettava. Comparando il caso cinese con le con le riforme avvenute in Messico e Vietnam, vengono individuate alcune ragioni metodologiche sia di policy design che di valutazione d’impatto. Il secondo capitolo propone una fusione tra la letteratura sulla spesa medica e la letteratura inerente alla misurazione multidimensionale della povertà. Viene così analizzato l’impatto della spesa medica non-rimborsabile sul benessere generale. Il nostro studio suggerisce che, nelle aree rurali dei paesi in via di sviluppo, specialmente lì dove il sistema sanitario è agli esordi, le famiglie tendono ad essere messe in condizione di povertà più per colpa di problematiche legate agli aspetti sanitari che per una vera e propria scarsità monetaria. Ne segue che il design e le valutazioni delle politiche di welfare dovrebbero avere un respiro più ampio e non focalizzarsi soltanto sulla povertà in termini di reddito. L’ultimo capitolo è un tentativo di valutare gli impatti di un esperimento sociale ‘block-randomized’ in Cina. E’ stata utilizzata la metodologia Difference-in-Difference per stimare l’average treatment effect con un insieme di variabili relative alle spese mediche non-rimborsabili. I risultati dimostrano come i poveri possano beneficiare di più da questo tipo di interventi. / The thesis consists three chapters. The first one, a critical review, aims at explaining why health care system reform in China does not work as expected. By comparing the case of China with the cases of Mexico and Vietnam, we try to find the explanation from the policy design and evaluation methodology. The second chapter proposes to combine catastrophic health expenditure literature with multidimensional poverty literature to analyze the impact of out-of-pocket health expenditure on overall well-being. Our study suggests that, in the rural area of developing countries, especially where health care system is in its infancy, households may be driven into poverty by health-related deprivation more than monetary deprivation. Therefore, policy-makers should evaluate and design welfare policy from a broader perspective other than only focusing on addressing the monetary poverty. The last chapter attempts to evaluate the impacts of a block-randomized social experiment in rural China, which implemented the provider payment intervention on outpatient services. Difference-in-difference methods are employed to estimate the average treatment effect with a set of outcome variables related to out-of-pocket health expenditure. We find that the poor may benefit more from the interventions.

Τα ΑΕΕ είναι η πρώτη αιτία αναπηρίας και η τρίτη αιτία θανάτου παγκοσμίως. Επίσης οι ασθενείς με ΑΕΕ είναι οι συχνότεροι χρήστες των υπηρεσιών υγείας. Παράλληλα, στη χώρα μας δαπανάται ετησίως το 10% του Ακαθάριστου Εγχώριου Προϊόντος (ΑΕΠ) για την υγεία σε σχέση με το μέσο όρο του 8,9% των χωρών του Οργανισμού Οικονομικής Συνεργασίας και Ανάπτυξης (ΟΟΣΑ). Στόχος της μελέτης είναι η οικονομική αξιολόγηση του ενδο-νοσοκομειακού κόστους ασθενών με οξύ ΑΕΕ στην Ελλάδα καθώς επίσης και ο προσδιορισμός ανεξάρτητων παραγόντων που επηρεάζουν το κόστος νοσηλείας. Καταγράφηκαν δημογραφικά και κλινικά χαρακτηριστικά σε 429 συνεχόμενους ασθενείς με οξύ ΑΕΕ (ισχαιμικό ή αιμορραγικό) που εισήχθησαν σε όλες τις κλινικές του Πανεπιστημιακού Γενικού Νοσοκομείου Πατρών για διάστημα 18 μηνών. Υπολογίσαμε το κόστος, για κάθε ασθενή ατομικά, από την ώρα της εισβολής του ΑΕΕ έως την έξοδό του από το νοσοκομείο. Το κόστος μετρήθηκε σε ευρώ (€) και σύμφωνα με τις πραγματικές δαπάνες του νοσοκομείου. Η μέση ηλικία των ασθενών ήταν 68.9 (±12.7) έτη και η διάρκεια νοσηλείας ήταν 10.9 (±7.9) ημέρες. Οι 345 ασθενείς (80%) είχαν ισχαιμικό ΑΕΕ και 84 (20%) είχαν πρωτοπαθή ενδοεγκεφαλική αιμορραγία. Το άμεσο ενδο-νοσοκομειακό κόστος νοσηλείας όλων των ασθενών με οξύ ΑΕΕ ανήλθε στα 1.551.445,00 € για μια συνολική διάρκεια νοσηλείας 4.674 ημερών (331,9 € ανά ημέρα νοσηλείας). Το μέσο ενδονοσοκομειακό κόστος ανά ασθενή με ΑΕΕ ήταν 3.624,9(±2695.4) €. Το 59% του συνολικού κόστους αποδόθηκε στο κόστος "κλίνης και προσωπικού", (6%) "προ εισαγωγής", (13%) "εργαστηριακό έλεγχο", (6%) "απεικονιστικό έλεγχο", (8%) "αποκλειστική νοσηλευτική φροντίδα", (7%) "φαρμακευτική αγωγή", (0.6%) "θεραπεία αποκατάστασης" και (0.7%) "διάφορα έξοδα". Τα αιμορραγικά ΑΕΕ είχαν σημαντικά μεγαλύτερο κόστος από τα ισχαιμικά ΑΕΕ (μέσο 5305.4 και 3.214,5 €, αντίστοιχα). Μεταξύ των υπότυπων των ισχαιμικών ΑΕΕ το συνολικό μέσο κόστος ήταν σημαντικά χαμηλότερο για τα "κενοτοπιώδη" έμφρακτα (2328.7±1100.2 €). Η διάρκεια νοσηλείας είχε υψηλή συσχέτιση με το συνολικό ενδο-νοσοκομειακό κόστος. Η πολυπαραγοντική γραμμική ανάλυση παλινδρόμησης έδειξε ότι το τμήμα εισαγωγής, η βαρύτητα του ΑΕΕ στην εισαγωγή, ο τύπος του ΑΕΕ και η κατάσταση εξόδου ήταν ανεξάρτητοι παράγοντες του κόστους. Αν επιθυμούμε τη συγκράτηση του νοσοκομειακού κόστους, θα πρέπει να ληφθούν υπόψη πολιτικές διοίκησης που στοχεύουν στη μείωση της διάρκειας νοσηλείας. / Stroke is the first cause of disability and the third cause of death worldwide. Moreover, in the western countries, the stroke patients are the most frequent users of all the health services and the hospital budgets. At the same time, 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is annually spent on health in relation with the average 8.9% of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Aim of this study is the economic evaluation on the in-hospital cost of patients with an acute stroke in Greece and the identification of potential independent factors influencing this cost. Demographic and clinical data were recorded on 429 consecutive patients with an acute stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic), admitted to the University General Hospital of Patras during a period of 18 months. We calculated the cost, individually for each patient, from the stroke onset until the discharge from the hospital. The cost was measured in euro (€), according to the real expenditure of hospital. Mean age was 68.9 (±12.7) years and length of stay (LOS) was 10.9 (±7.9) days. In all, 345 patients (80%) had an ischemic stroke and 84 (20%) had a primary intracerebral hemorrhage. The direct in-hospital cost of all stroke patients, 1.551.445,00 €, accounted for a total hospitalisation of 4.674 days (331.9 € per day in hospital). The mean in-hospital cost per patient was 3.624,9 (±2695.4) €. The 59% of the total cost concerns the cost of "bed and staff", (6%) "pre-hospital cost", (13%) "laboratory investigations", (6%) "imaging investigations", (8%) "supportive nursing", (7%) "medication", (0.6%) "rehabilitation therapy" and (0.7%) "other expenses". Hemorrhagic strokes were significantly more expensive than the ischemic strokes (mean 5305.4 (± 4204.8) € and 3214,5 (±1976.2) € respectively). Amongst ischemic stroke subtypes the mean total cost was significantly lower for lacunar strokes (2328.7 ± 1100.2 €). The length of stay was highly correlated with in-hospital total cost. Multivariate linear regression model showed that the admission ward, stroke severity on admission, stroke type and status discharge were independent predictors of cost. In order to withhold the hospital cost, policies of administration that aiming to the reduction of length of stay should be taken into consideration.